Day 271

Banh Tam (Steamed Yuca Cake): Thankfully, Blogger is back up and running again today, so hopefully there won't be any more delays in my postings. Anyway, since I was in need of some new foods today, I ventured down to Buford Highway in search of some new markets. I did find one new place to shop (more on that tomorrow), but I managed to hit at Lee's Bakery beforehand. I've been to Lee's several times now, and I couldn't resist their killer banh mi sandwich for lunch today. However, my new food for the day concerns a different kind of banh.

In addition to some great Vietnamese eats made in-house, Lee's also has a pre-packaged counter that features several goods from different vendors. I've had good luck with their selections from the Viet My Bakery, and I happened to find something else from them today that interested me. It was called banh tam, and from a distance, it looked like little colorful straws. The label described it as steamed yuca (cassava) cake, and based on the ingredients (water, tapioca starch, yuca, sugar, coconut powder, etc.), I knew it was going to be a bit sweet.

After I got home today, I gave them a try. The texture was like a much softer, gelatinous gummi worm, but not at all sour. There was a slight hint of sesame and coconut, and the whole package was lightly sprinkled with sesame seeds. Not bad as a light snack or dessert, and I ate a few of them before giving up. Incidentally, I let the GF try these, and she didn't care for them at all - she wasn't a fan of the texture. She assumed they'd taste like something else, which I can understand. That's often the case with Vietnamese desserts, but I actually liked these.