Vietnamese Desserts - Almond Panna Cotta Jelly

Eating Vietnamese desserts in Saigon. For more details click here:
Even though I’m personally not a huge sweets eater, when I was in Saigon, I wanted to taste some highly recommended Vietnamese desserts. One day I headed over to a desserts restaurant called Quán Chè Hiển Khánh, kind of an old school place located just down the road from Chợ Bàn Cờ Market.
Although they serve a number of different desserts and all sorts of different combination that you can order, what I was most interested in trying was the chè khúc bạch, Vietnamese panna cotta jelly with almond and lychee. The panna cotta jelly was sliced into bite sized cubes, then placed in a bowl along with peeled lychee fruit, and also a handful of sliced almonds. The mixture was then covered in crushed ice, and I think a bit of sweet syrup was also added to make the entire icy soup sweet.
What I immediately like was that it wasn’t too sweet. The ice water had a lovely honey like sweetness to it, but not overly much, and it was also nicely fragrant with jasmine flowers, giving it a nice floral aroma. The pieces of jelly were creamy and milky, almost like a cross between firm tofu and cream cheese, but they were also extremely silky in texture. The almond also contributed a lovely nutty flavor and a crunch to switch up the texture. Finally, inside my bowl of che khuc bach, they also included a few lychee fruits, which I think were just fresh, without being candied. They were delicious and extremely juicy and naturally sweet. Overall, it was extremely refreshing, not overly sweet, and a really nice combination of ingredients. For being someone who is not a huge fan of desserts, this Vietnamese treat was pretty good.
Along with ordering the panna cotta jelly dessert, we also tried a sweet and salty longan dessert. I’m not sure what it’s called in Vietnamese, but I believe they were salted and sweetened longan fruits, which are slightly similar to lychee, which were candied, then added to a bowl and covered in the same crushed ice. It was a little sweeter, and it was alright for me, but my wife Ying really enjoyed it.
If you’re looking for a taste of very good Vietnamese desserts when you’re in Saigon, Quán Chè Hiển Khánh not only serves delicious sweets, but it’s a pretty old and legendary spot as well.
Address: 718 Nguyễn Đình Chiểu, 1, 3, Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam
Open hours: 9 am - 12:30 pm and 2:30 pm - 10 pm daily
Prices: Most bowls of dessert cost 14,000 - 18,000 Vietnamese Dong
How to get there: The restaurant is located just down the road from Chợ Bàn Cờ Market, along Nguyen Dinh Chieu, just south of Nguyen Thien Thuat. From central Saigon, it is easiest to either get there by taxi, public bus, or motorbike. You can also walk if you’re up for it. Be sure to see the full post for more details:
Music in this video is courtesty of audionetwork.com
Mark Wiens and Ying Wiens: &
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