3 x 3 x 3

what, where, how

What’s the best thing you’ve eaten lately?

I can answer. I will eventually and sincerely answer in this very missive. : )

Precisely, in fact.

With:

Three at home, in my studio kitchen.

Three out & about, with locations included.

Plus,Three quick facts about how I keep living in Vietnam.

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🥄 x 🇻🇳 x 🥣

July 2026 edition 3 x 3 x 3

What I’m eating x Where I’ve been going x How this is all happening

A-ha.

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🥄 Part I x 3: The Cooking

home cooking highlights / July 2026

🥄 🥄 🥄

1. Oooo, one perk of catsitting for a friend in my building - besides the certifiably orange cat who cracks me up - is the bonus access to an air-fryer. This was a quality dinner: Air-fried sweet potatoes, wilted arugula (that my friend left behind and I hadn’t enjoyed in forevs) w/ the power duo of balsamic + soy, homemade miso tahini sauce, my own pickled red jalapeños I made with peppers from Da Lat, and avocado.

   Avocado summer is underway, with multiple varieties grown here in Vietnam. I’ve been averaging 1-2 a week throughout July. 💚 🥑 💚

2. Earlier this month, another dear friend (lucky me) passed on the immersion blender that was passed on to her. The very next morning, I made myself a smoothie for the first time since November 2024. Pictured above in its red & white dragonfruit, banana, and young coconut glory.

   In my prior to divorce // things-shifting // unexpectedly relocating-to-SE Asia life, I was a daily smoothie person for ages.

   Boo, remember: I lived through long (long) winter, remote mountainous national park years. Six of them. Frozen and dried fruit — Smoothies —> Good morning. I’m talking bananas, lingonberries, blueberries, pineapple, strawberries, omg prunes, dates, cinnamon, oats, yadda yadda-ing. Some foraged, some Costco.

   And, ahem, prior to that life and carried into those winter years was my beloved Vita-Mix. One day, we may meet again. Now in storage in the states.

   And disclaimer with another colon: This high speed blender was a generous gift from the company during the earlier days of vegan food internet, circa the life before that last one. Golly.

3. I’m in a craving-lentils period. A state of being. It’s been a home cooking epiphany it terms of my life, meals and schedule.

   The red, the brown, the green. Nutritious, filling, versatile and delicious. I can spice in different directions and incorporate both what I have on hand, and what I’m craving. That extra sweet potato, the diced squash in the freezer, the last of the mustard greens. Garlic, shallots, chiles, and maybe probably totally ginger and turmeric.

   Some toasted sourdough on the side with olive oil, also from the freezer.

   The comfort and flow of cooking without a recipe.

   A bowl of hot lentil soup in a SE Asian heatwave. Seriously, yes.

   I work through dinner-time 6 nights of the week, and I so look forward to coming home to those (microwaved, in fact!) spoonfuls of savory pulses.

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   Just like every single day, each pot of soup and bowl is different.

   Spices, mingling, time, moods, ingredients.

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🇻🇳 Part II x 3: The Personal

Next, I’ll get the personal tidbits out of the way, so you can scroll down for the recipe. That’s a joke. ⬇️

For those curious, here are Three Things you may not know about my life in Vietnam. Straightforward, and factual.

Not to boast, nor selling an ebook on how to glamorously ex-pat or retire early. I’d say if you’ve read at least 50% of my words in prior missives, you grasp the inanity of that allure.

🇻🇳 🇻🇳 🇻🇳

1. I have a Vietnamese bank account. I pay by scanning a QR code with my phone for most payments. Food, drink, markets, convenience stores, etc.

2. I signed a lease on an apartment. Actually, my third, and now longest rental. These are the first leases in my name since my prior decade + Portland abode.

3. I’m (still) on a tourist visa. It’s normal. This means exiting & re-entering the country every 90 days. There are many one-day transit services to the Laos border. You can also fly elsewhere for however long it takes your e-visa to process (5 business days is the average, or you can pay an agent a rush fee), or, return with an exemption if/however longer your passport permits. I’ve done variations of all three.

   Let me repeat: It’s normal. That said, I don’t plan on doing this forever. The 2-year work permit is in my sights.

   However, for the time being I maintain the awe of: “Oh, I have to fly to Thailand or Malaysia for the week”. My life shifted. I now live in Vietnam. Gosh.

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🥣 Part III x 3: The Dine-outs

Habitually, I tend to stick to smaller Quan Chays [the neighborhood vegetarian eateries] here in Da Nang. These spots usually bestow both the character and budget that fits where I’m at - and what I’m looking for - literally, figuratively, personally.

Between us, as my life normalizes and I’m busier working (way) more and really living-living here, I find myself becoming a bit more private with my dining habits. You know, in the age of social media and residing in an international, deeply cultural tourist destination. Interesting discussions for another time.

the dine-outs in da nang / details below / July 2026

🥣 🥣 🥣

1) The Dine-outs: Đậu Khuôn Sả Ớt

What: I dig the drier, hot hot hot stir-fried take on Lemongrass Chili tofu. This was a fab one. I immediately had to tell my friends, and I don’t do that a lot these days. ; )

Big plate of fried, chewy tofu and crispy bonus basil, aromatic lemongrass and enough sliced red chiles to take one with every bite. Yes, pls. Dip into soy sauce (and more chiles!!), or drizzle on. BTW, I had decent hot fries at another location of this brewery last month.

Give me a side of greens & rice with this tofu & a beer & good company and I’d probably swoon.

Where: Bia Trịnh Station - three locations in Da Nang https://www.facebook.com/biatrinh.106ledaihanh

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2) The Dine-outs: Mì Cay

What: Hiiii there, comfort food. This one is pretty much always on my mind. I’ve tried 4 or 5 vegan/chay takes of the “trendy” spicy Vietnamese-Korean fusion ramen, and this one is the repeat fave. There’s a hot x 2 regards tomato-ish soup base, the color & bite of the purple cabbage, all those cooked-just-right-for-me ‘shrooms, the smokey ‘ham’ esque stuff, the herbaceous thai basil, tofu, carrots, and whatever else there’s room for. For the spicy fans. For the ramen lovers. For the “it’s 9pm where am I getting dinner??” veg crowd who are down with the snack chay scene and yeah, yeah little plastic chairs. The Vietnamese mango salad is also quite nice here. I had a hit or miss night here once, and I like to think that’s the exception to the norm.

Where: Bé Chay - ăn vặt chay in An Hải https://maps.app.goo.gl/PgCGDiGs4wZpemDQ9

3) The Dine-outs: Chè Bắp finish @ this vegetarian/chay buffet

I went here last weekend for dinner, after almost an entire year !

There were 2 questions to contemplate upon my return:

1. Was I that full for a year?

2. Did I get what I wanted from that fateful, prior visit ? An honest-to-goodness lunch meet-up of a niche vegan whatsapp group?

The answers: Indeed x 2. Satisfaction of the social and culinary.

While I kept to myself for this particular dinner in the photographs, the satisfaction remained. I would calmly say I enjoyed the meal even more than I remembered. Many dishes were replenished as I went up for seconds. Woohoo. Hot spring rolls, more mixed rice, noodles, salad, and sweetened coconut milk.

Pace yourself. Have a rather light lunch if you’re going for dinner. If you’re me, bike across the city. And back again. And then, dinner.

Note the hours, and go with a window of time before they close after lunch or the night. There will be more fresh eats + warm selections.

Highlights: Tables of variety, the baby bok choy in oyster-esque sauce, fritters and chè bắp [sweet corn + coconut milk dessert] - my first trying this one, LOVED IT both hot & with some ice.

Where: Om Vegan in Hai Chau https://maps.app.goo.gl/SZjgtxddLgY9WMhh7

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Sharing, talking, cooking, eating, living.

The usual on the scone archives. ⭐

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What’s the best thing you’ve eaten lately?

To be continued with a few more openly fond eats that fuel my days, including the following bánh mì chay. <3

case in point

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References + Relevant Links:

• crossover episode scone-land-ing March 23, 2026

• dinner diary bangkok, scone archives June 29, 2026

• Restaurants:

  • Bé Chay - ăn vặt chay, Bia Trinh Station and Om Vegan [chay buffet]