America?
21 02 2008Tonight we went to a restaurant recommended in our travel book. As we suspected, given the past recommendations for Hanoi, prices were twice as much as the book quoted. So we decided to be adventurous and eat at a place we passed along the way that appeared to be packed with Vietnamese people. This was more or less “street food” where you eat at kindergarten sized tables outside, dishes are done on the street with big buckets, soapy water and a hose, and there are no menus.
No one spoke English, and we speak 5 words of Vietnamese now. Luckily, the food is all pre-made, so you just point at what you would like to eat. We chose 3 things to start with–something that looked like spicy ground beef, something that looked like chicken curry, and something that looked like quiche. I had to get out the phrase book and point to the words for steamed rice. They thought that was a riot and I think were highly entertained by the fact that we were there in the first place. The quiche and the probably-not-ground-beef were pretty good. The chicken curry was definitely not chicken curry and not our favorite. We ended up going back two more times to pick out new things to try. The staff seemed to get a kick out of our adventure. Everything else we got we really liked, but I couldn’t tell you what it was. We are pretty sure one dish was pumpkin with a lot of garlic and maybe butter–delicious! The other dishes had a lot of dill which made them extra tasty.
At one point while I was picking out new foods to try, one of the waiters came to Steve and asked him a question in Vietnamese. Steve had no idea what was said, and so he replied, “America?” The waiter and people around burst out laughing. We had a good laugh too imagining what the actual question was:
“Would you like another beer?” “America?”
“Can I take your plate?” “America?”
“Did you enjoy your meal?” “America?”
“Can I get you something else?” “America?”
“You are crazy.” “America!”
It was a fun experience, and I am glad that the Vietnamese can laugh with us at our ignorance in language, food and customs.
Hi Meggie and Steve!
I’ve read the entry twice and am still giggling! I appreciate your adventurous spirit, and love the descriptions of the meals you are willing to try. The answer of “America” to any random question is a rather brave one, considering! So hats off to both of you for being so courageous in both the dining and language departments!!
Love, Mom
“Are you hungry?” “America”
“Are you from America?” “America”
The list could go on, and on, and on, and on, and on……… you get the point!
Thanks for the great reading! It is really great timing right now, because I am watching a thing on Vietnam…it’s IRONICAL!
Sounds like you are having a great time. I would enjoy trying all the different foods. Uncle Jerry and I did the same thing in Egypt. Most of the time I didn’t ask what I was eating and liked “most of it”.
Can’t wait to see all you pictures.
Love ya guys
Aunt Sandy
I think the food is one of the reasons I travel! Sometimes I am not so brave, but as Mom and Dad always said, “You never know until you try.” Usually, I like most of it too, and actually, I found that even if I don’t like something at first, if I eat enough of it, it kind of grows on me. For example, when we were in Hoi An, we saw everyone eating these little tiny snail shells, so one day while eating lunch our waitress offered for us to try. You get a toothpick and stab the little snail inside, pull it out and eat it. At first, all I tasted was river water and dirt, but we have heard that you really don’t want to insult anyone by saying you don’t like something, so we said, “Mmm!” Well, that just encouraged her to keep feeding us these snails! But after awhile, I started to taste the chili and citrus flavor that they must have been cooked in, and they kind of started tasting good. I don’t know that I’ll run out and get them on my own, but I can appreciate why people like them now…