Sing Food - Part Three

And last was this ray fish. This was one of the most interesting and
flavorful fishes I have eaten. It looks sorts like skate - wiki tells
me it is in the same family - but it is different and better.

Unfortunately I didn't eat very much because the tropical heat and
humidity really wilted my appetite. I ended up drinking a few beers in
this Muslim aisle of the hawker center - yes, that is probably frowned
upon... so lash me.

Would You Marrow Me

Next was some spicy goat(?) bones, ordered for its marrow.

Sing Food

In the Singapore stopover I followed Anthony Bourdain's example from
"No Reseverarions" and went to a hawker center to try some Sing Muslim
food. First up was this curry mutton soup.

Singapore - the Green Lion

Stopped by Singapore again recently and, for all it's "Matrix"-like
limitations, it is impressively bucolic for a urban landscape. I
wonder if any F1 cars will course under these canopied expressways in
the night race later this summer.

Atypical Breakfast

I woke up a bit early to head to the office one morn before a quick
flight outta town.

I failed to remember that the office AC doesn't turn on till later so
I had to find something to do. Grabbed this for breakfast as a
diversion.

It was a bit too light/bland - I am used to being poisoned with MSG.
Paid 20k even though everyone around me probably paid half that. Too
early to argue, 'cause it could be that inflation that all the
international business press yammers on about.

HCMC Spin Class

Banh Cuon Breakfast

For some reason, the locals consider my fav Vietnamese dish, banh
cuon, mostly a breakfast item and therefore it is difficult to find
around town. But pho, a decidely non-morning fare to my palate, can be
found all day, all over.

Here is my mini-hotel's version of the dish. I should wake up early
more often.

Outlook Interview

I've been reading these "On The Stool" features in Timeout magazine, a 40 page or so weekly magazine insert in the local English language weekly business paper, Vietnam Investment Review.

I would never do a real 'interview,' mainly because I am not famous enough to warrant one.  Plus, I don't want my picture in the paper.  But of course, with this power-to-the-people-by-way-of-blog-publishing-even-though-no-one-reads-ya, I can participate.  Here are my HCMC tinged answers:

Name: D.

Age: older than 50% of the local populace, at least

Nationality: USA

Occupation: Middleman

 

What brought you to Vietnam?
A job.

What is keeping you here?

Said job.

Where do you go to escape?

Any of the local golf courses, which are better than my 'home' courses.

What do you miss about home?

Family, natch.

...what don't you miss?

How the daily news, in all its forms, is so US-centric.

How do you get around town?
Shoes, or taxi.

What's your favorite Vietnamese word or expression?
Du me.. j/k! 

What's your favorite local dish?
Banh cuon.

And what gives you a bellyache?

Baba, definitely baba.  

Favorite street/place to watch traffic?

Because I walk, everywhere.  Though I end up watching lots of traffic in the massive intersection outside Ben Thanh Market.

What was your most embarrassing moment in Vietnam?

I asked a dinner companion "Co la nguoi Saigon, ha?" - she, her husband (whom I earlier called "anh," correctly mind you) and a fourth local cracked up for five minutes before it was explained to me and/or I realized that I should've called her "chi."  Of course said Chi is rumored to be sitting in a Hong Kong jail on money laundering charges these days.  This little story probably summarizes a lot of my Vietnam experience.   

What tickles you pink?

Seeing the local Vietnamese happy. 

What makes you go "Oi gioi oi...?"
Non-native Vietnamese speakers saying "oi gioi oi."  It just sounds... I dunno how to express it.. it's just.. oi gioi oi.

Who would be the first person you'd invite to your birthday party?

Family, natch.  A particular family member.

...and the last?

Family that I don't know, but who knows me.  Or this Vietnamese defense attorney I met who defended Gary Glitter.  Toss up, really.  

What's the quickest way to spend a VND1 million?

Bottle of liquor at a pub/club/whatnot.

What's your hidden talent?

None, because I'm a braggart.

What Vietnamese person do you most admire?

Folks, who toil on the streets for their daily bread, passing the parked Bentley or Rolls or Maybach without giving the same a swift kick in the name of socialism.

What do you want to be when you grow up?

Old, retired, with a lower handicap.  Rich would be good too.

What's in your pockets right now?

Phones- this is Vietnam, right?! - a wallet with US credit cards and identification that I never use here, and some VND all folded akimbo. 

Where would we find you at 10pm on a Saturday night?

Probably drinking somewhere.

...and 10am on Sunday morning?

At the Him Lam driving range.

Your favorite nocturnal beverage?

That would be a martini, Bob.

Your show-stopping karaoke song of choice?

Ice, Ice, Baby?

What will you call your memoirs about your time in Vietnam?

Um, VA to VN has a certain ring to it.

Who will play you in the film adaptation?

School yard friends have said, alternately, that I look like Christian Slater, Keanu Reeves or Emilio Estevez.  So one of them.  Did I tell you I went to a school for the blind?

...and your dying words?

Fuck.