Shadowing Practice: 10 Street Foods UNDER $1 in Saigon, Vietnam!!! Street Food Dollar Menu 2!! - Learn English Speaking with YouTube
B1
Meat!
478 sentences
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Meat!
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There's so much in here,
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it's already juicy, it's red.
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You know what kind of seasoning is in here?
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They have a secret recipe.
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They won't tell us.
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Even if we asked nicely.
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I'm gonna tell you exactly what it's in.
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Vietnam is a street food lovers paradise,
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and one of the few places where you can ball out on a budget.
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This is the least expensive,
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most affordable, and I could even probably say cheap for this food adventure.
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Do we have truffle?
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When it comes to cheap eats,
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these creative vendors have mastered the art of turning affordable ingredients into hurricanes of flavor and texture satisfaction.
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Today, I'm showing you 10 different street foods you can buy for under a dollar.
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There's no chopsticks.
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It's gonna be a bit messy.
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And some even cost less than that.
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So get ready to give your pennies a pinch.
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This is a side of street food you have never seen before.
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Joining our food adventure, a 23-year-old fashion designer and food lover.
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She's lived in Australia, Denmark,
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France, and now her motherland, Vietnam.
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Her name is Kimmy.
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Let's eat!
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It has begun.
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The cheapest street food tour probably in the world.
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I don't think you could find food much more affordable than what we have right here.
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These look f***ing fantastic.
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What is this?
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This is soy jean.
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Now soy is sticky rice and jean is fried stuff?
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Correct.
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The outside, it's made with fried rice.
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It's been crispified on the outside,
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cut in half, and they've just stuffed it full of so many fun, powerful, tasty ingredients.
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Like a thick dressing of mayonnaise,
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chili sauce, fried onion, liver pate,
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minced pork, pork floss, and a fried quail egg.
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About 25 cents for one of these,
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a dollar will get you four.
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I haven't actually touched one yet.
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See which one speaks to me.
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This one has its mouth open.
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Like it's calling out to me.
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Sorry, I'm the one.
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Let's go for it.
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Let's go.
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Mmm.
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Wonderful, sticky texture.
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Crunchy outside.
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A little bit spicy with a sweet chili sauce.
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Right, that kind of cheap chili sauce still gives it that fast food kind of flavor to it.
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Definitely.
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And everything in there is really salty.
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You don't have to go all the way to Saigon to find this dish.
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You just need to go to the right place,
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which is usually nearby schools,
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because kids love cheap food.
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But if you come to this particular cart,
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a cart with 17 years of experience,
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Mr. Bao is setting the standard for yum.
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Is everything we're eating today kids food?
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When you're a student you do want to save what coin you have and you want to make it go far.
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This sort of stuff is perfect.
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Well guys, stick around.
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We're going to go to all the places where kids go
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and probably by the end of the video I'll get arrested for just being creepy
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and old and walking around with cameras here in Vietnam.
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So it should be a fun adventure.
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Our Cheap Eats journey has led us here a street food heaven with over 50 vendors.
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This neighborhood has been long known as Saigon's Little Cambodia,
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selling Cambodian-inspired dishes and so much more.
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Meat!
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Finally!
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Okay, so this is our second location, second dish.
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Now, one of these delicious meat popsicles is,
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uh, how much I can?
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10K.
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Like under 60 cents.
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And the name of it is Nembo.
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Nung Sa.
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Grilled beef with lemongrass.
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When it comes to southern Vietnamese food,
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this is a must try.
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After five years of perfecting his meat,
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Mr. Lam now sells up to 1,000 sticks per day.
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You know what kind of seasoning is in here?
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They have a secret recipe.
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It's a family tradition.
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I'm gonna deconstruct this.
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Let's try it out.
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I'm gonna tell you exactly what's in it.
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Here we go.
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I see a little sugar, MSG, salt.
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Probably anato oil is making it red.
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My god, that's juicy.
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Yeah. So juicy.
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Seasoned ground beef is wrapped around a lemongrass stock, salt, and secret ingredients.
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Oh wow.
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The meat, because it's been grilled and there's a bit of sugar in there,
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the edges, some bits have become almost caramelized.
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So it's just sweet, savory, juicy, and totally delicious.
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I love it.
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Alright, so we've had our appetizer,
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our meaty main course, and now dessert right here.
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Jui Nung.
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Jui Nung.
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Jui Nung.
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Jui Nung.
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How's that?
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Jui Nung.
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Jui Nung.
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This is food created to be affordable by resourceful people with simple ingredients like bananas and coconut.
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Then under the skilled hands of Miss Hien,
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it transforms into a dessert that is unable to be resisted banana that's been grilled.
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You know, I didn't even know that was an option for about 30 years of my life.
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Sun-dried bananas are soaked in salt water,
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grilled until golden browned, cut and smothered in a creamy sweet coconut cream.
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Let's try it out.
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Oh, so good I could get hit by traffic and not care.
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The banana gives it that body,
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gives you that vessel, but it's all about the coconut cream, right?
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It's sweet, creamy, rich, and it has a little bit of that like over sweet frosting flavor to it.
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A little salty as well.
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This one is only 15,000 don't.
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That's a lot of deliciousness.
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I'm gonna have much more I can eat.
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We have a lot more to go.
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Yeah.
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You gotta toughen up.
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It's all part of the food biz.
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Help me please.
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And then she takes another bite.
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This whole market is just bustling full of different types of food.
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This lady behind us has the fried section.
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Just a few stalls away, Miss Loan.
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Everything here gets fried.
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Bananas, sweet potatoes, breadfruit.
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All is coated in a flour batter before plunging it into the oil.
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But what stands out to me?
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It's basically a Vietnamese empanada.
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I'm gonna break it in half.
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Ooh, I better get a close-up on that.
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Oh, it's kicking.
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I feel it kicking.
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It's going to be a soccer player.
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Do you really want to break it?
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Yeah.
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Oh, yes.
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Look at all that.
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Damn.
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This fried goodness is stuffed with stir-fried minced pork and mushrooms,
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plus a quail egg.
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Mm.
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Nice, flaky crush on the outside.
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Inside, savory, sweet, and more light than I expected.
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Hey, it kind of makes me think of a bun bao.
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Oh, you're wrong.
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That's what it feels like, but just fried.
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Yeah.
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Oh.
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Like it's really similar meat.
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The meat, yeah it is.
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OK, I agree.
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It's kind of like the inside of a ban bao,
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where it's kind of like some steamed pork juiciness.
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Yeah.
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That's also sweet.
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Mm-hmm.
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Yeah, OK, I feel you.
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You proud of yourself?
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Oh, yeah.
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This humble, retro-style vendor is churning out one of the city's most affordable foods.
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Eaten alone, it's boring.
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Add on toppings and this sky is the limit.
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Actually, dried squid might be the limit.
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This is the least expensive,
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most affordable food that's gonna be on our list for this food adventure.
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This is porridge, a rice porridge that's sold for 1,000 dong.
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And it.. what is that even?
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Practically free.
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Can you believe it?
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I can, it's just, it's rice porridge.
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Porridge is great.
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Porridge is a food that you eat when you don't have teeth because you're a little kid or you're very old.
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Also when I was growing up,
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this is the sort of stuff my mom should be like eat eat eat every time I was sick.
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Yeah, it's good sick food.
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So is it good though?
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I mean, it's great especially with all these toppings.
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There are countless toppings for this congee.
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Salted duck egg, century egg,
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braised pork fat, nine different types of dried fish,
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pickled cucumber, salted radish, or the always delightful dried duck intestines.
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Yes.
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It has been fried up just for us,
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cut into little slices, and it will be absolutely delicious.
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I think we dump a little bit of everything in there.
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Uh-huh.
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We should start with this pork fat and just get some of that nice, ricey porridge.
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Let's try it out.
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Oh, it's not so crunchy.
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It's more chewy.
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It's like bacon bits, but big.
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I'd say I'm a fan.
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Oh, really?
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Jesus Christ, they're right there.
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Like I said, when I was little,
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my mom should be shoving this down my throat when I was sick.
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We can probably get this lady to feed you.
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Is that what you need?
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The Bryce porridge itself has virtually no flavor.
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Yeah.
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I like that pork fat.
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It's like big fat bacon bits.
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Over here, some porridge mixed with the duck intestine.
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This is gonna be a first for me.
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Mmm.
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I'm just gonna have some more of the porridge.
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Oh.
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You don't eat that in Australia?
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Maybe the kangaroo intestine.
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We can do that.
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Kangaroo intestine.
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That sounds good.
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Have you ever had the century egg?
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I have not.
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This is gonna be another first.
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Yummy.
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Yeah.
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Century egg itself.
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It's got a bold kind of pungent aroma.
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Mmm.
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Kind of really pinnup.
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Of those three, which is your favorite?
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The century egg.
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I'm digging these duck intestines.
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They've done stuff to it.
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They've been marinated in some kind of a sweet sauce.
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It doesn't look like an intestine at all.
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It's really good.
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Boom.
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Stingray.
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Usually people are eating this when they're getting wasted.
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Oh, very yum.
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That is my favorite dish.
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Stingray.
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Mmm-hmm.
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I'm sticking with these intestines.
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Boom!
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Food number six.
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This place actually has an interesting nickname.
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It's soy nha sak.
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So soy for this dish,
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nha sak, for the two morgues which surrounds it.
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Well I'm dying to try this out,
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so should we have a bite?
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Let's do it.
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A super simple, straightforward snack.
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Sticky rice on a banana leaf,
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topped with soy sauce, scallions,
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fried shallots, ground peanuts, Chinese sausage and pork floss.
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Let's try it out.
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It's great.
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It's flavored carbohydrates.
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I like the peanut, it's like a peanut dust.
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Sorry.
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Pea nut.
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People aren't clear.
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And pork floss and lots of different fun flavors.
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Super fragrant.
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The sticky rice, very sticky.
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I'm gonna get a little more of these micro sausages.
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I mean, it is so thin.
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Man, they must have a really sharp knife, man.
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I think sticky rice is very underrated.
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Not enough people eat it.
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We should have more sticky rice in the world.
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What do you think about that?
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Agreed, we should have it everywhere.
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Controversial, but true.
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Let us know in the comments down below.
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I'm gonna finish this, probably get a second.
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I don't believe you.
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We still have four foods to go.
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And if we're wearing different clothes after this,
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it's not because it's a different day.
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It's because we had the meat sweats.
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We ruined our clothes because we ate so much food.
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I'm a lovin' wolf I'm a lovin' wolf I'm a lovin' wolf
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No woman, woman, woman I ain't comin' back home Boom!
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It is the next day,
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which is obvious because we're wearing new clothes right now.
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Are you wearing new clothes?
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This is, uh, yeah.
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My shirt yesterday was dark blue, this is medium blue.
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Right here, we have a whole bowl of banh khan.
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What's amazing about it is it's very resilient to the broth.
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Oh yeah, let's do a selfie.
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This is Miss Tama.
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Every day she's serving up her breakfast recipe,
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complete with tapioca noodles, fried fish cake,
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blood cake, and pork knuckle,
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all cooked in a savory pork bone broth.
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This whole bowl is under a dollar.
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And I want to ask ma'am,
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how do you decide the price?
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I would sell this for $10.
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She's like, if you want to sell it for $10,
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you can pay her the $10.
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Is there anything new in here to you?
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No, but the pig's blood jelly,
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that reminds me of my childhood.
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My mom would force me to eat that all the time,
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and I would cry.
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Oh, let's start with that.
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This actually is not that bad.
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See?
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I'm glad you like it.
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It is really good.
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So the noodles are very soft.
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You want to get your mouth all really close to the noodles,
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and then you can slurp it up like this.
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Mm.
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All right, here we got some fish.
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Oh, it's become kind of spongy.
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It really soaked up all that broth.
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This is awesome.
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Is she out here every day?
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She sells every day.
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30 years already.
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What?
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You look great.
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Yeah.
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Wow.
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Nice.
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You're doing something right.
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This right here has to be the smallest,
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biggest banh mi I have ever seen.
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It's about half the length of a normal banh mi.
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And double the ingredients?
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Right.
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Here, they've condensed your typical banh mi experience,
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starting with mayonnaise and liver pate,
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then shredded chicken, ham, pork loaf,
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egg, pickle, cilantro, and chilies.
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Finally, the cherry on top,
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shomai, with salted egg and tomato sauce.
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Oh.
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Mmm.
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Oh, it's dripping.
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It is a party of protein in my mouth hole.
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Especially the present is that shomai.
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Oh, I think there's, is there pate too?
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Oh, there is.
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Oh, there's not.
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Okay, we have options for editing.
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Everybody gets something a little bit different.
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Overall, it's just super meaty, savory, little like livery.
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I'm loving these pork balls,
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all the tomato sauce over that.
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The whole marketing gimmick of this place is they have 7,000 dong banh mi.
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So that's for just the tiny one with one ingredient.
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You could really get about three of these for a dollar but it would have less stuff put inside.
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But here they've managed to stuff this to the brim.
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It couldn't be stuffed anymore and it's still under a dollar.
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This is the cheapest or I should say most affordable food that we're gonna find today.
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For one of these little fatties here, it's only 1,500 don't.
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That's less than seven pennies.
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Wow.
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I know you knew that already,
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but can you act more surprised?
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There you go.
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Oh my god.
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20 years at this cart with one item on the menu.
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Mr. Laume holds the title for the cheapest roll in the city.
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He's rolling 700 in a day.
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Can you imagine?
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I bet Snoop Dogg would hire this guy to roll something for him.
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On top of rice paper,
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he puts ground peanuts and dried shrimpies,
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then lettuce, basil, and steamed jicama.
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Roll it up and serve it with hoisin sauce,
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sweet chili sauce, chilies, and ground peanuts.
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I like to get a little bit of the peanut in there first.
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Mm-hmm.
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Try it out.
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Ready.
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Did you just finish that in one bite?
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No. It's thick, sweet, salty,
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and then it has great little crispy peanuts in there.
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This itself, it has some nice chewy texture to it.
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When you have this as a vehicle to deliver the sauce to your mouth...
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Hold on, I got something in my retainer.
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Boom!
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We made it to our final and 10th destination.
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What am I looking at right here?
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This is called ban kè,
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which literally translated is chives cake.
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This is a traditional Chinese dish commonly found in Saigon's Chinatown.
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Miss Fung has preserved this ancient family recipe for over 70 years,
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making it the most famous place in town you'll find this dish.
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Steamed, pounded rice is stuffed with chives, taro, or even jicama.
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She fries both sides, then throws in a fried egg for good measure.
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Doused with a sweet diluted fish sauce and fresh chilies.
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I'm gonna rip this apart.
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It's been hanging out here for a while.
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It is just like white.
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Oh yeah, that's how it gets all the flavor.
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How do you know if it's too much fish sauce?
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Is that even possible?
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Yeah.
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I think it is.
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Mmm.
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That's great.
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Now, tell me.
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Too much fish sauce, is that a thing?
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No, it's the right amount.
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Because the fish sauce, I think it's been diluted.
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Obviously, the main flavor here is just chive.
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It's very chivey.
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So how much is it for this hockey puck with an egg on it?
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You'll have to ask Poi.
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Would you believe it is only 20,000 dong,
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which comes to just a little bit under one dollar.
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That's a pretty good deal.
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It is like a thick pancake almost.
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Like some kind of weird Vietnamese style pancake.
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But it's so addictive.
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Yeah it really is.
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We tried ten different foods.
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I'm really impressed with the creativity involved in the foods.
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I thought for sure someone would just hand me an apple for food number seven
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but there was an incredible diversity among everything we ate.
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Definitely.
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And a lot of inexpensive ingredients used intelligently and creatively.
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And where else can you find super good,
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super fresh, tasty, cheap food Vietnam.
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Bravo.
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Well done.
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Ten delicious street foods, all under one dollar.
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But people don't eat it because it's cheap.
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They eat it because it tastes dang good.
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From researching and shooting, to editing and mastering,
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our 10-person Best Ever Food Review Show team works hard to roll out the highest quality travel food entertainment twice a week.
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If you like what we do here,
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please consider supporting our Patreon our Patreon.
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Patreon allows fans of the show to contribute a monthly sum and receive a load of extras,
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like early video releases, private Q&A's and beyond.
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To learn more about our Patreon,
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check out the link in the description box down below,
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and if you can't give or don't even feel like it, that's okay too.
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We're just happy you're here.
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Well guys, that is the end of the video.
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Thank you to my eating partner here, Kimmy.
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Quick handshake.
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Good.
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You can follow Kimmy on social media.
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She's on Instagram.
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You can see all different types of fashion.
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Look, she's wearing her own fashion.
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Huh?
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That is it for this one.
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Thank you so much for watching.
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I will see you next time.
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Peace.
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I forgot to say it.
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Yeah, say it now.
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Ah, peace.
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There you go.
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Good enough.
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What does that even mean?
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It means, like, peace.
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Peace out.
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I don't know.
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you
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About This Lesson
In this lesson, learners will explore the vibrant world of Vietnamese street food through an engaging video transcript. As you practice, you'll focus on improving your English speaking skills while enjoying a detailed description of affordable street food options. This practice not only emphasizes culinary vocabulary but also allows learners to immerse themselves in the lively atmosphere of Saigon's food scene. By the end of this lesson, you will enhance your ability to speak about food experiences in English, making them more descriptive and enjoyable to share.
Key Vocabulary & Phrases
- Street food: inexpensive food sold by vendors on the street.
- Affordable: something that is reasonably priced and accessible.
- Flavor: the distinctive taste of a food or drink.
- Texture: the way a food feels in the mouth, such as crunchy or creamy.
- Secret recipe: a unique combination of ingredients known only to the maker.
- Stuffed: filled with various ingredients.
- Quail egg: a small egg that is often used in gourmet dishes.
- Pork floss: a dried meat product made from pork.
Practice Tips
To effectively enhance your English speaking practice with this lesson, consider using a shadowing app or shadowing site to participate in shadow speech exercises. Start by playing the video or reading the transcript aloud, focusing on matching the speaker's pace and intonation. The conversational speed is quite engaging, which can sometimes be fast but manageable. Listen carefully to how words are articulated and the rhythm of phrases, repeating them after you hear them. This will help you achieve a natural flow while speaking about various topics, particularly around food.
As you practice, make sure to pause after each sentence to replicate not just the words, but the enthusiasm and emotion conveyed in the speaker's tone. Emulate their excitement when discussing the street food—this will help you sound more conversational and relatable. Additionally, keep revisiting challenging phrases, and don’t hesitate to use the new vocabulary you've learned to describe your own food experiences. The more you practice, the more fluent and confident you will become in expressing yourself in English!
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.
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