A short and sweet break is always great especially when it means returning to my hometown to visit friends, family and eat amazing food. I never get tired of eating seafood and Nha Trang is famous for the stuff so it's the perfect place for me. Seafood is involved in most dishes for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
I have a kind of 'eating routine' when I go home. I start my morning with a bowl of fish noodles soup or Bún Bò Huế then drive to some random cafes to meet old friends. After that, I stop at a favorite place for a snack where they make crunchy rice crackers and steamed rice pancakes topped with stir fried spring onions and dried shrimps. I try to get some exercise in so I can eat more so I normally play tennis for a couple of hours at my old club. After that, I'm hungry again.
One of the other best things about going home is eating home cooked food, getting spoiled by my mum, my sisters and sister-in-law. I know there will always be lots of excellent food awaiting me. Sweet and sour fish broth, steamed squid, deep fried tuna with special dipping sauce (fish sauce, chilli, garlic, lime and sugar), salad and deep fried pork belly. I pretty much always have to have a nap when I eat at home. Normally I am encouraged to eat way too much. Nothing like the hospitality of home.
In the evenings, I catch up with my good friends for dinner. We go to the new part of the city for special seafood feasts; barbequed prawn, squid and fish with salt and chilli, fresh jelly fish salad and steamed crabs.
And if that isn't enough, I always return to Hanoi with a polystyrene box full of snap frozen fish and squid which keeps me going until I'm in Nhatrang again
