Outside the comfort zone...

I picked up lunch from the corner near my apartment today. Mai had shown me the food [pictured below] yesterday and said that it is good. The lady sells it out of a steamer cart on the sidewalk... it is my first time buying and eating something from a street stand.

I've always been very iffy about meats. When I was little, if I saw my mom working with uncooked meat when in the process of making dinner, I couldn't bring myself to eat it. I've gotten better but am still (probably freakishly) quirky about my meats. If anything will help me broaden my comfort levels... this experience will!

A big part of making this experience a success, in my eyes, is to learn and immerse myself in the culture here... including the local foods.

I did enjoy this... but, not gonna lie, I got 1/2-way through and couldn't eat any more. I was afraid the meat was uncooked... and the egg was a bit chewy (I've read it is made with a quail egg). They have a smaller version with no egg... I think I will try that next time. If I do not get sick, I will have this again - the meat tasted good and the doughy bread is sweet and delicious!

It is called, banh bao, and I guess I would describe it as a [huge!] Vietnamese steamed dumpling/bun.

...Cheap lunch! ...mine cost 15,000 dong... about 70 cents.