Vietnam is taking ice cream flavours to another level. From fish sauce and pho to cheese and seaweed, the country has some unusual options for those willing to try something different.
Liam and Sarah, who often share glimpses of life in Vietnam, tried several of these unusual ice cream flavours to see if they tasted as strange as they sounded.
Their first stop was La Creme, where they tried fish sauce ice cream. The combination sound unusual but they said that the flavour turned out to be a pleasant surprise. "It was sweet and creamy, with a salty, caramel-like taste," they said.
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Next was pho ice cream, inspired by Vietnam's popular noodle soup. It had hints of anise, cloves and fresh herbs. However, they said the ice cream did not have the savoury beef flavour one might expect from the dish but, it was mildly sweet and easy to enjoy.
"It's lightly sweet with a strong anise flavor, cloves, and fresh herbs, though you don't really get any savory beef flavor that I was oddly hoping for. Very approachable and mild," they said.
The third flavour was egg coffee ice cream, inspired by Vietnam's famous egg coffee. This turned out to be one of their favourites. It had the rich and creamy taste of the traditional drink, although they felt it could have had a stronger coffee flavour.
"It captures every rich velvety flavor of a traditional Vietnamese egg coffee. It could even do with more coffee strength though," they said.
The duo then headed to 7-Eleven to try cheese ice cream. This flavour was less impressive than the others. Rather than tasting strongly of cheese, it was more like a sweet, milky cheesecake.
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"It was a bit underwhelming. It just honestly tasted like a milky cheesecake. Thankfully, no cheddar flavor, just a sweet milk," they said.
Corn ice cream was another surprise. The sweet flavour, combined with crunchy chocolate bits, made it a hit. "Like who doesn't love corn? There were even crunchy chocolate bits inside," they added.
Their final stop was Kem Trang Tien, a popular local ice cream chain, where they tried black sesame and seaweed ice cream. It had a mix of nutty, sweet and savoury notes, making it their overall favourite.
"This is good. Nutty, sweet, umami all at once. This might be our overall favorite," they said.
Some combinations may sound strange at first, but they could turn out to be worth a try.