Here is a suggestion to Pixar: make a sequel to Ratatouille and have the rat come to Viet Nam. The French have a long history in Viet Nam and made a very deep impact on the Viet Nam's culinary scene. The film could also deal with many "post-colonial" and political issues that I'm sure kids are waiting for to be addressed in a computer-animated form.
What inspired this idea is that during lunch yesterday, a rat ran through the kitchen and climbed up onto the counter. My landlord, giving chase, tried to kill it but the rat went into the stove (one of these medium-sized portable gas stoves). He then tried to flush it out by turning on the stove tops--as much as I dislike rats, I did think that was kind of cruel but I bit my tongue; actually, living here you have to suspend any belief about animal cruelty--but Ratatouille was nowhere to be seen...He just wanted to cook! Anyways, they recommended I try rat as it is a specialty and better than chicken (the pic above is from the web) so I shall put that on the list. We then ate lunch in silence while staring at the stove. Maybe they should make one of those short films they show before some of their movies because I don't think Ratatouille will last long in Viet Nam.
A Few other notes:
Weasel coffee in Viet Nam is different from cà phê Chồn (Kopi luwak) : cà phê Chồn refers to coffee beans eaten and digested from the Civet, while what is called Weasel Coffee in Viet Nam is actually beans eaten by another animal and is just regurgitated, not fully passed through the digestive system. Weasel coffee is much cheaper and more available, although apparently you can get cà phê Chồn that is artificially made using the same enzymes in the Civet's digestive system. I may have to splurge but I am drinking this stuff!
Also, another reason not to eat dog.
A followup on the 1000 year Anniversary of Hanoi. I thought the Vietnamese Government did an outstanding job in planning and executing this celebration. I fully support the Vietnamese Government in this case.
However, some very dumb people disagree with me. It was rumored that the Government spent around 40 million dollars for this celebration and, well, let's say some people didn't see where that 40 million dollars went. Overall, some people thought the celebration was boring and felt it was an older man's nostalgic view of what a "partay" should be. Traffic was horrible, construction was rushed in many areas, outdated stages and equipment were placed throughout the city, and the events were dull and dry (old trees and rocks can only go so far) and only focused on the more ancient "traditional" aspects of Hanoi, ignoring the current environment. People went to these events, but when they got there, they just walked around. There seemed to be no attempt to make Hanoi's anniversary a more global, or even national, event, nor was there any sign of looking forward, a missed opportunity to showcase Hanoi's plans for growth and evolution in the next 1000 years. I think many people liked celebrating their history, but perhaps it was difficult to relate to some of these traditions.
There was also a very unfortunate accident when a firework setup exploded in Hanoi. This was censored by the government in the news (online, TV, print) so I won't tell you that it killed 4 people.
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| fun... |
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| I am impressed by their flower arrangement skills. |
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| And this is the traditional áo dài, a national reminder of our history, culture, and...hold on, I got a text. I actually love this picture. |
tony
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