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It all starts with a good bowl of Pho – Vietnamese rice noodle soup in a clear broth is garnished with ingredients such as green onions, white onions, coriander, Thai basil, fresh Thai chili peppers, lime wedges, bean sprouts and coriander. Fish sauce , hoisin sauce and chili sauce add the final touches to complete it.

An amazing array of flavours with the crunch from the sprouts and freshness from the herbs. The clear broth is flavorful and the fish sauce makes it really special. Its a must-eat-daily bowl of goodness while watching the busy water traffic on the lazy Mekong river, from the rooftop cafe of Hotel Majestic.

Another favorite is the Vietnamese Sandwich – Bahn Mi. We chanced upon this bakery in District 1, also grilling pork, chicken and sausages. They offered fresh, oven-warm and aromatic range of  French baguettes and breads, spread with pâté, and custom filled with your choice of grilled pork, vietnamese sausage and crisp strips of cucumber, cilantro and shredded pickled radish and carrots.

Shopping is hungry work and the Vietnamese salad roll- Gỏi cuốn, is a rice paper roll wrapped around pork, shrimp, herbs, rice vermicelli and other ingredients. These are light, served at room temperature, and are not deep fried. We visited a smart eatery Wrap & Roll, that serves different types of filling to make into your own spring rolls in a clean and friendly place. All orders come with a big plate of assorted greens like sprouts, basil, mint, and lettuce, and a small pile of vermicelli noodles. Roll it all up in a rice paper wrapper and dip it in the bowl of fish sauce, and it’s a perfect sampling of a Vietnamese classic.

Inspired by the Travel Channel, a visit to Com Nieu Saigon for its Com Dap – smashed rice, an entertaining bowl-breaking, rice-throwing spectacle. Its was a BIG disappointment. The old restaurant has moved across the road to in an imitation of a fine dining restaurant with high prices, slow service and not so great food. The original glory seems to have faded with passing of its founder Madame Ngoc.

The construction of buildings around the city is frantic and the roads a blur with zipping two-wheelers. The Bitexco Financial Tower dominates the skyline with 68 floors and has been inspired by a lotus bud (Vietnam’s national flower), alongside other skyscrapers, expensive restaurants and slick bars that are everywhere.

But my favorite activity in Ho Chi Minh is exploring the local markets, and the best is Cho Ben Than in District 1. A huge covered market with clearly defined areas based on goods sold. The sheer variety and volume at really affordable prices. Its so much fun. After 6pm every evening the market moves outside on the streets around the market building.

Its definitely a great place to shop for clothes, hand embroidered linen, lacquer ware, trinkets and food. All kinds of dried fruits, sea food and other food stuff is available in a bewildering array – a kaliedoscope of sights, smells, tastes and sound.

With all the amazing finds at the Ben Than Market, we could not wait to explore Cho Binh Tay in District 5, the chinese district. It was another world.

Vietnamese Ice Coffee with Green Jasmine Tea

I am missing the coffee. A tall glass packed with ice cubes and thick, sweet coffee – yummy Ca Phe Sua Da (iced coffee with sweetened condensed milk). Its smooth, sweet and almost tastes like chocolate. One cannot stop at one and after 3 glasses I am ready to take on the world on an incredible caffeine high.

Vietnamese Filter Coffee

The Ca Phe as coffee is called in Vietnam is everywhere and generally served with a side order of green jasmine tea as a palate cleanser which also does away with coffee breath. Very refined! The traditional drip coffee is served in a small coffee filter placed on top of the cup. The brewing style is low-tech, using a simple metal filter called a Phin, that is essentially a single-serving brewer and filter (just add hot water) The coffee drips slowly down onto the layer of condensed milk, while you sit back and relax. The resulting thick brew can be had hot or poured into a glass with crushed ice.

A step by step tutorial on Vietnamese coffee is here.

Café culture is everywhere from small street side coffee sellers to high-end French café. Rubbing shoulders with French cafés are Pho shops, German Bars and other eating joints, most with free wi-fi. It’s the best place for lazy long sessions with your favourite companions discussing life, the universe and everything.

Coffee was introduced into Vietnam by French colonists in the late 19th century. Vietnam is now the second-largest producer of coffee after Brazil. Now coffee has been adopted with regional variations and due to limitations on the availability of fresh milk, the French and Vietnamese began to use sweetened condensed milk with a dark roast coffee.

Tip on storing coffee: Oxygen deteriorates flavor within hours or days. Keep the bags sealed tightly with an elastic band, or in containers that don’t have much extra air.

In the course of our travels, we’ve all seen the discreet bathroom placards indicating that, in an effort to conserve the water, our linens will not be washed unless requested. At the TS Suites, Surabaya, small cards inform ‘Every day you indulge at TS Suites, we plant a tree in Surabaya.’ As eco-hotels expand beyond the jungle and into the mainstream, more properties than ever before are selling themselves as green. Is your chosen hotel everything it claims to be?

Perhaps the biggest problem, for both hoteliers and travelers, is one of definition. To put it simply: what on earth is a green hotel? Vikram Reddy, General Manager at Four Seasons Hotel, Jakarta explains “Green hotel is a hotel that is environmentally responsible, follows the practices of green living or makes improvements in order to minimize its impact on the environment.” Eric Favre, General Manager at Alila Hotel, Jakarta adds “a hotel that focuses on reducing its carbon footprint.“

However, being ‘Green’ is not without its challenges.  Marc Steimeyer, President Director of Tauzia Hotel Management explains the challenges they face in adhering to green standards “We are very, very far from a green building even if we try our best. There are no tax incentives, most of the sophisticated equipment required for this purpose has to be imported and is costly. For us the challenge is bigger because we are trying to green our budget hotels with limited investments, but we try… We want to go further with water treatment, recycling and the building construction in our Pop hotels.“

In fact, a zero carbon footprint is nearly impossible to achieve. Take, for example, energy consumption, an issue close to the hearts of many travelers concerned with global warming and energy dependence. Hotels in Bali have taken the lead with “back to nature” green in construction materials, recycling and to cut down energy bills. They might replace incandescent light bulbs with fluorescents, install motion sensors to reduce power use, or add new glass or insulation to cut heating and cooling costs. Many new properties are being built from the ground up with all these technologies in place, but retrofitting an existing building is definitely an expensive endeavor. Even so, Vikram Reddy feels that “it is the responsibility of every hotelier to get involved in environmental issues to help protect the destinations and the earth.”

Green Hotels through their programs lead guests and introduce them to the compatibility of sustainable practices and a luxury lifestyle, but also generate savings in costs and are good for our environment.  Eric Favre suggests that guests be more eco friendly by “reducing the amount of the water they use to shower/bath, reuse towels and bed sheets, switch off lights whenever possible and unplugging computers, phones etc …  after the devices have been charged.“

Hotels can now also seek accreditation for their sustainable eco friendly practices through various companies such as Earthcheck, which have certified Alila hotels. The main criteria for green certification include sustainable energy efficiency, conservation; water use efficiency and wastewater treatment; air quality and noise control; waste reduction and training

With an increase in global travel comes corporate responsibility for mitigating our business impact on the natural environment. It is the endeavor of hoteliers to build viable businesses integrating sustainability into the operation of hotels. Both in our hotels and beyond, we strive to be responsible caretakers of our planet.

As published in The Jakarta Post – Wednesday, 10th Aug 2011

The New Color of Hospitality - Green