Fried Bananas - Chiên Chuối

I had been looking everywhere for these mythical fried bananas!  I had read about them somewhere and was determined to find them.  After some consultation with some Vietnamese friends it seems I had my timings all wrong.  They are likely to appear early afternoon on the street and that is usually the time I am finishing up work. They are also a little tricky to spot as unlike a lot of the street food here, they are not on display as they need to be made fresh.

You can imagine my delight as I strolled down Pasteur yesterday and right near Qing Bar was a lady set up with her chiên chuối .

Yes, it is highly unhealthy and yes, I had just had a big lunch...but what can you do?

She skilfully bashes the living daylights out of a banana, dips it in the the batter and pops it in the bubbling oil.  All by the side of the busy road.

The result was pretty good I must say.  The dough was a bit thick for my liking and it could have done with a sprinkling of sugar.  I guess I had built them up in my mind and was slightly disappointed.  Probably a good thing or I would end up the size of a house.  They cost 5,000VND each (about 25c).  I suppose every individual makes them differently so perhaps my quest should be to find the perfect chiên chuối lady.  A girls gotta a have a hobby right?