Musings of Ms. Volatyle

Instant Involtini

admin — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 08:00:15 +0000

In the last few days, I’ve been thinking about some of the many amazing meals P and I have managed to whip up since arriving in Saigon. I could just be a navel-gazer and say we had it in us all along, but. I’ve never been a navel-gazer after all, have I.. that title is [...]

Avocado omelettes

admin — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 08:00:04 +0000

I have no idea why I didn’t think of this earlier, and why, in my incessant trolling of the world wide web, I didn’t find a recipe for this kinda avocado omelet. Serious to goodness, this has to be the only decent way of eating omelettes, hell, eating eggs. This is how you do it. For [...]

Phu Quoc

admin — Wed, 26 May 2010 08:00:33 +0000

I know a post is overdue but Phu Quoc is too close to my heart to be written about at the moment. Here are the pictures though.. hundreds of them. Just for the sake of a memory and a date entry. http://picasaweb.google.com/Pulkit.Vasudha/PhuQuoc

To Vung Tao: On a Hydrofoil

admin — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 08:00:25 +0000

I had two days off.. believe it or not.. it was my first two days off in a row since I started working at ILA. So we took off to Vung Tau, a small seaside town about 125 km from Saigon. We’d heard the hydrofoil was the romantic way to head to Vung Tau, so [...]

Where pedicures cost 50 cents

admin — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 08:00:09 +0000

…women dare to walk about in dirty, stinking feet. Vietnam is a country of salon services. Manicures and pedicures can cost as little as 10,000 dong (or 50 cents) each, feet cleaning costs about 60,000 dong ($3), hair cuts cost 40,000 dong ($2), and getting your nails done (which is a mani/pedi plus painting the [...]

My Hindi is up for Grabs

admin — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 08:00:23 +0000

Well, considering I’m not doing much with it anyway, and it is slipping away from me for lack of practice. I really don’t mind doing a language exchange with people who want to learn Hindi. At the very least, you could learn a few useful phrases for when you’re traveling in India, and I will [...]

Restaurant Review – Akbar Ali

admin — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 08:00:04 +0000

Surprisingly unmentioned in guide books and expat magazines in Saigon, Akbar Ali has been around for a good number of years and serves a smashing chicken curry. Akbar Ali is located at 240 Bui Vien, in the Pham Ngu Lao (backpacker) area of Ho Chi Minh City. I have to say, Akbar Ali is our [...]

Restaurant Review – Shahi Quila

admin — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 08:00:36 +0000

Our three week quest for good kebabs came to an end last night at Shahi Quila, or Royal Fort restaurant. Shahi Quila is located at 226 Bui Vien, in the Pham Ngu Lao area of Ho Chi Minh City. The chicken tikka kebabs were so good, they inspired (sic) me to write a review. Soft [...]

First Look at Vietnam

admin — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 08:00:49 +0000

I had read online that the airports of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City are just ramshackle buildings with few flights taking off the tarmac on any given day. Imagine my surprise, when we stepped off our (very colorful) Thai Airways flight, through the aerobridge, and entered an airport which could’ve been anywhere in N.America [...]

Super Simple Babaganoush Recipe

admin — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 08:00:11 +0000

This was a really, really simple Babaganoush recipe that was a major hit at P’s school reunion/drunken night party. Here’s the recipe: Ingredients – 2 big, fat eggplants 500 gm Yogurt Mint/Basil leaves Salt, Sugar to taste Method – 1. Make deep slits in the eggplants with a knife. Roast the eggplants until the skin [...]