So,
Back from Vietnam, in a land where people actually speak the language, and I don't need to bargain at all (although sometimes I still try...). I'm on the couchsurfing kick now, for a bit of a change of pace before I go up to Cairns to get on the Reef. The people I am staying with are squatting in a house in North Melbourne.
It sounds a bit dodgy, and it is. The house isn't theirs, it's totally unfinished (although there is gas in the kitchen, electricity in part of the house, and the plumbing/running water works fine), and the food that they obtain is through dumpster-diving.
Note on dumpster-diving: This blows my mind. I realize that food is wasted all the time, especially working in the restaurant industry. However, the things these people are living off of is amazing. They cook every (are forced to), the food they use isn't bad (it just is a bit ripe, or a label fell off or something), and they need to get new stuff all the time, so food doesn't go bad (and they don't have a very big fridge). The end result is that they seem to eat better than most people I know. They take the time to forage and cook something that will be a good amount of sustanance, and much of the evening is focused on the meal, turning it into a social affair (which has always been my thing, as well as most of my friends, and I absolutely love it). Last night, we made a vegetarian pasta sauce over pasta. Tonight, Tomato Soup, Potato Salad, and an Apple/Strawberry crisp (Can you tell I'm helping tonight?). There is no mindset of getting something fast and cheap, as cheap doesn't even fulfill their needs. They do buy staples like milk/butter, but everything else can be found. They have high class dijon mustard, free range eggs, all sorts of craziness...
And these people are so freaking intelligent. Of course, they have a particular mindset about life and social awareness, but the hospitality I have recieved in the less than 24 hours I've been there has blown everything I know (and expect) from an affluent society out of the water. I feel at home, part of the family, and finally accepted into a foreign country as something other than a tourist.
It's pretty damned awesome. And I have all week...
The library is closing now, so I'm gonna go back and get some butter for dessert... I hope everyone's doing well!
Don't worry, I'm finally travelling how I wanted to...
Friday, November 27, 2009
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
That which shall not be named...
I was a bit tipsy as I ventured out, due to the 3 (large) beers that the father of the woman who runs the guesthouse gave me with dinner, so it made the already tense job of crossing the street seem even more difficult. Maybe the alcohol was important though, as where I was going wasn't exactly prime tourist territory. It was past 9PM, and I knew I had to get there quickly, before it closed.
Wandering in the direction I was told to go, I come to the street that is my destination. It's not well lit at all, not nearly as well traveled as most of the other streets in Saigon, but this was the street pointed out to me. I stumble down, looking for something I don't quite know how to find, with my phrasebook in hand...
I pass a busy streetside cafe thing, with a good amount of people sitting outside. A man gestures me over, smiling at me. I point to my phrasebook: "Thit cay?" I ask. "Yes, here!" he says, with a big smile on his face.
I sit down. There are no tourists here, and everyone is looking at me, muttering words I will never understand, and laughing under their breath. I start to feel a bit nervous, and wondering if I should even be here at all... Just then, a group of men walk by, one of them leans in close to my ear and asks:
"Do you want to eat dog?"
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, on the last full day that I was in Vietnam, after going to the market, buying food, and cooking dinner for the family I was staying with (not to mention drinking with them as well), I went out on my last chance to have this popular, if not widely eaten, Vietnamese street food.
Of course, I had no idea what I was ordering, I just asked them to recommend something. Out came little barbecued pieces of what looked like pork, but I knew wasn't. It was served with bitter herbs and leaves to wrap the meat in, and a chili/salt/pepper/lime mixture for dipping. And of course, another beer.
You know what? It isn't that bad.
Probably the chewiest meat I've ever eaten, but definitely not the least flavorful. Maybe it was the cooking method, but it kinda tasted like a gamier pork, and not in a bad way. If I hadn't already eaten dinner, and the place wasn't in the process of cleaning up (or if I had another day or two) I would have had more, to see what else you can do with it.
I do wonder about how they obtain the dog meat for cooking. There are alot of dogs in Vietnam, some farming dogs, many just lazy city dogs that roam around, and it's not clear if they are a part of a family or not... I will say this about dogs, I've never seen lazier ones in my life. The sun/heat are so intense, they just lie in the shade all day, not moving unless you are about to run them over... I wouldn't think that there were "dog farms" per se, though...
Basically, I won't ever serve it on a menu, but it's not nearly as freaky as thinking about it.
However, there is one Asian "delicacy" that is just as scary as it sounds: Durian.
This was another one I left until the end. I meant to get it in the Mekong, because they grow them down there, but our guide said that it was getting out of season, so I bought a piece from the Saigon Market hours before we got on the plane... A bit more than a dollar for a 1/4 lb piece.
Smell: Rotten Socks mixed with wet cat/dog.
Taste: Creamy Rotten Bananas mixed with wet cat/dog
I know the list of things I won't touch if put in front of me isn't very long (honestly, Natto is the only one I had coming into Vietnam), but two more have made the list: Fertilized Chicken Egg (but I'd eat it if I had to), and Durian. The taste of the fruit was so strong, and so revolting, my stomach was queasy for the next 2 hours, after having a fruit smoothie and spring rolls, as well as half a litre of water.
More power to you people who like it, but I'll take dog over Durian any day... Probably a lot easier to get dog in the states, as well. =)
Wandering in the direction I was told to go, I come to the street that is my destination. It's not well lit at all, not nearly as well traveled as most of the other streets in Saigon, but this was the street pointed out to me. I stumble down, looking for something I don't quite know how to find, with my phrasebook in hand...
I pass a busy streetside cafe thing, with a good amount of people sitting outside. A man gestures me over, smiling at me. I point to my phrasebook: "Thit cay?" I ask. "Yes, here!" he says, with a big smile on his face.
I sit down. There are no tourists here, and everyone is looking at me, muttering words I will never understand, and laughing under their breath. I start to feel a bit nervous, and wondering if I should even be here at all... Just then, a group of men walk by, one of them leans in close to my ear and asks:
"Do you want to eat dog?"
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, on the last full day that I was in Vietnam, after going to the market, buying food, and cooking dinner for the family I was staying with (not to mention drinking with them as well), I went out on my last chance to have this popular, if not widely eaten, Vietnamese street food.
Of course, I had no idea what I was ordering, I just asked them to recommend something. Out came little barbecued pieces of what looked like pork, but I knew wasn't. It was served with bitter herbs and leaves to wrap the meat in, and a chili/salt/pepper/lime mixture for dipping. And of course, another beer.
You know what? It isn't that bad.
Probably the chewiest meat I've ever eaten, but definitely not the least flavorful. Maybe it was the cooking method, but it kinda tasted like a gamier pork, and not in a bad way. If I hadn't already eaten dinner, and the place wasn't in the process of cleaning up (or if I had another day or two) I would have had more, to see what else you can do with it.
I do wonder about how they obtain the dog meat for cooking. There are alot of dogs in Vietnam, some farming dogs, many just lazy city dogs that roam around, and it's not clear if they are a part of a family or not... I will say this about dogs, I've never seen lazier ones in my life. The sun/heat are so intense, they just lie in the shade all day, not moving unless you are about to run them over... I wouldn't think that there were "dog farms" per se, though...
Basically, I won't ever serve it on a menu, but it's not nearly as freaky as thinking about it.
However, there is one Asian "delicacy" that is just as scary as it sounds: Durian.
This was another one I left until the end. I meant to get it in the Mekong, because they grow them down there, but our guide said that it was getting out of season, so I bought a piece from the Saigon Market hours before we got on the plane... A bit more than a dollar for a 1/4 lb piece.
Smell: Rotten Socks mixed with wet cat/dog.
Taste: Creamy Rotten Bananas mixed with wet cat/dog
I know the list of things I won't touch if put in front of me isn't very long (honestly, Natto is the only one I had coming into Vietnam), but two more have made the list: Fertilized Chicken Egg (but I'd eat it if I had to), and Durian. The taste of the fruit was so strong, and so revolting, my stomach was queasy for the next 2 hours, after having a fruit smoothie and spring rolls, as well as half a litre of water.
More power to you people who like it, but I'll take dog over Durian any day... Probably a lot easier to get dog in the states, as well. =)
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