Part two of the South east Asian experience. - Part 2: Da Nang, Vietnam

Before I start taking you through this experience, I must preface. I have never been more full in my entire life, for some this may be an unpleasant feeling. However this feeling brings me so much joy as I know I have eaten GOOD. So big shout out to our tour guide Tran.

We started this tour at a true locals spot, unlike Bangkok this was a locals food tour. I did enjoy the Micheline guide experience through the busy Bangkok streets but it didn't feel authentic at times. But I knew this was going to be as authentic as it gets when we walked into this little hole in the wall place with chairs built for 6 year olds dotted about the place. I will admit it did make my already tight hips ever so slightly sore, but I did ask for authentic. One of the more bizarre but delicious things I ate that trip was Bánh bột lọc lá. It is hard to explain but I will give it a go. It was a whole shrimp, eyes and all, that had been submerged in a gummy like texture which had set. It had been set by being wrapped in a banana leaf. It was a diverse range of textures to say the least, but outstanding. I did decide to send a quick snap to my girlfriend who is safe to say, not as much of as a foodie as I am. I did get the exact reaction I wanted.

 The next part of the tour is more about the setting and location rather than the food (not saying it wasn't brilliant but soon you will understand). Tran told us that a lot of restaurants during the day serve a different purpose to the people of Da Nang. The last place was simply the owners lounge room, but this restaurant was a polling station. Tran had told us that this was where he voted last year. I thought it was clever how restaurants in Da Nang were used for different purposes at different times of the day, it must make such a difference to such bustling city.

After a few more stops with a belly near full capacity we went to the final stop, which felt straight out of Hogwarts. Long table, endless but incredible food and a sea of small plates. This was admittedly the only time I didn't try a dish. We had just enjoyed about 8 small dishes each then came out this seafood platter, I believe it was a mixture of my stomach being around 120 psi and a slight wobble of fear from food poisoning. I had told myself not to be afraid of eating whatever comes my way as I knew that getting food poisoning was a possibility, but this mountain of seafood had beaten me. You can't blame me, seafood in my mind felt like one of the riskiest options, so I regrettably opted out. It was our last night in Da Nang so with our food babies tagging along we did go for a night cap at a brewery that Tran had recommended. I even bought one of the breweries T-shirt for me to wear once I got home to make sure my friends never heard the end of my Da Nang adventure, a true highlight of the trip.