The other day I left work so that others could get on with their nap time. I had a bite to eat on the street, and was enjoying the day--it has finally begun to cool down ever so slightly--when it suddenly began to rain.
We have had very little rain in the nearly four weeks we've been here, but this was monsoon strength. I nipped into a little restaurant in one of the high-rises that define the area (Smartcom is on the 24th and 25th floors of one of them) just before it really started to come down.
The waitress brought a menu and (as is the annoying custom here) stood waiting to take my order, even though the menu was (as is often the case) 15 pages long. Although I'd just eaten and had just come in for coffee because I still had an hour to kill before those staff members sleeping on my desk would be ready to rise and shine, I decided to leaf through the menu.
As luck would have it, the thing fell open to a page that made me realize that I have not even scratched the surface of scary food here. The section was titled "Something Wild," and the first five items concerned different preparations of pangolin (you could look it up--no, just kidding. I have graciously done so for you: a scaly anteater or trenggiling, a mammal of the order Pholidota.)
There were also two preparations of musk cat (if you click through, be sure to read the section on Exotic Dung Coffee, the civet is apparently quite the Asian gourmet's friend), and two (deep-fried and stewed) of bamboo rat (famous as Sherlock Holmes' "Giant Rat of Sumatra").
I handed the menu back to the waitress, asked her for coffee, and watched the rain come down, marveling at the culinary adventures that remain and, I suspect, will always remain in store for me.
Interestingly, I have always thought (and I imagine that most westerners do also) that I might come to Vietnam and unsuspectingly be served dog or cat or rat craftily substituted because it was cheaper than chicken or beef or pork. Far from it. These exotic meats are considered delicacies and command far higher prices than those we prefer. The dishes mentioned above were priced in the 600,000 dong range (about $30), whereas an Australian beef steak might be 120,000, ($7ish) or a bowl of grilled pork 15,000 (less than a buck).
P.
6 comments:
Peter...I noticed you said coffee...are double espressos hard to come by?
That musk cat critter looks like it could be a rare one...never seen one before...but then lots we have not seen...again...loving the details.
Yes, there are double espressos! Vietnam is one of the largest coffee exporters in the world, so coffee is everywhere. However, I have yet to find any coffee that I'm thrilled about. The locals love to drink it with chicory (just like New Orleans!) which I find tasty at first, but don't really like on a sustained basis. Then they add sweetened condensed milk, (no milk or cream available) so it's almost impossible to get coffee that isn't sweet. Since most the coffee we've had here is pretty bitter, it's actually better with a little sweetner. But I do miss the good, rich, nutty taste of Peet's in the morning.
P.
Yes, there are double espressos! Vietnam is one of the largest coffee exporters in the world, so coffee is everywhere. However, I have yet to find any coffee that I'm thrilled about. The locals love to drink it with chicory (just like New Orleans!) which I find tasty at first, but don't really like on a sustained basis. Then they add sweetened condensed milk, (no milk or cream available) so it's almost impossible to get coffee that isn't sweet. Since most the coffee we've had here is pretty bitter, it's actually better with a little sweetner. But I do miss the good, rich, nutty taste of Peet's in the morning.
P.
Yes, there are double espressos! Vietnam is one of the largest coffee exporters in the world, so coffee is everywhere. However, I have yet to find any coffee that I'm thrilled about. The locals love to drink it with chicory (just like New Orleans!) which I find tasty at first, but don't really like on a sustained basis. Then they add sweetened condensed milk, (no milk or cream available) so it's almost impossible to get coffee that isn't sweet. Since most the coffee we've had here is pretty bitter, it's actually better with a little sweetner. But I do miss the good, rich, nutty taste of Peet's in the morning.
P.
Wow- you must miss Peets, to talk about it three times. Food wise, Michele and I sort of felt the same way in China. We kept coming back to our dear friend Mrs. Piggy and Henny Penny.
Couldn't figure out how it happened or how to get rid of them.
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