Our experience with Vietnamese food

I need a little interlude to feature something about the food our family ate during our recent holiday in Vietnam. I won't say much other than letting the pictures do most of the talking.

Firstly, this is, of course, AirAsia's much vaunted Pak Nasser's nasi lemak. Okay, so this is not Vietnamese food, but our journey started with it. My verdict: it's edible and perhaps a wee bit tastier than Malaysia Airlines' version which I ate during a trip to Hong Kong in March. Must be the sugar in the curry.

This is the Sen Restaurant at the northern reach of the Hồ Tây (Ho Tay, or West Lake). The buffet spread there was enormously varied and the restaurant was full of patrons when we had our lunch there. A very popular place by all counts. BTW, the grill section was a revelation.

Here's how the Sen Hồ Tây looked like from the inside.

The menu of the Le Tonkin Restaurant where we had our dinner on the first day of our vacation. It struck me suddenly during dinner that the Americans had engaged in some skirmishes with the North Vietnamese in the Gulf of Tonkin incident (Sự kiện Vịnh Bắc Bộ) in 1964. Foodwise, we couldn't complain as this was our first experience at the Vietnamese course dinner.

This was breakfast at the Hotel Gondola where we stayed. Despite the simple fare, I must say that the food was Excellent, spelt with a Capital E.

To me, this was a nameless restaurant halfway between the Chùa Bái Đính (Bái Đính Temple) and Tràng An. It shall remain nameless and anonymous. This was a simple lunch which we struggled through in silence because the meat (first time described to us as their "walking chicken" and "walking goat") was Tough. Yes, tough as spelt with a Capital T. Tough and rather bland without dipping the pieces in their sauces. Want to see how the meat looked like?

Here they are....

This is the front of the Chả Cá Thăng Long Restaurant which serves nothing else but Cha Ca (Vietnamese-style fish with turmeric and dill).

The meat is of the snakehead fish. First marinaded with turmeric, then grilled within their kitchen before finally brought out to be fried at the table. Good experience. The dish is served with tons of fresh dill, other herbs, peanuts and rice noodles. Verdict: good and affordable, about USD10 per person.

Minced crab meat restuffed into their shells.

Fish fillet.

Definitely not seafood, unless their pigs can swim.

Just a sample of the seafood that were served to us on board the V Spirit cruise boat during our overnight visit to Vịnh Hạ Long (Hạ Long Bay). The seafood was fresh, very fresh. My only beef with the cruise boat operator was that we were given only a fixed number of pieces. We couldn't ask for extras.

And back in Hanoi, we had a most memorable crab-filled springroll at the Little Hanoi Restaurant. Darn, should have ordered more than a plate. They were really good.

We can't be going to Hanoi without sitting by the roadside and enjoying their Vietnamese coffee and an unknown sweet dessert, can we? This unknown dessert, well, it was just about rock hard, seeing that it was coated with a layer of dried melted sugar. It wasn't really very nice.

Or enjoying yet more fried springrolls in their little cafes....

Anyway, we decided to have lunch at the shop right beside the Gondola Hotel. We had been eyeing the food since arrival. Now was the time to tuck in and enjoy!

The famous Phở Gà (chicken noodle soup) which rounded up our food adventure in Vietnam.

Back to familiarity. On the return flight to Kuala Lumpur, we decided to order AirAsia's Uncle Chin chicken rice instead of the nasi lemak. Nothing really special about this dish except to say that the rice was nicely cooked and fragrant.

Century egg in the radar

Since a few years ago, I've become very sceptical of food products that are imported from China. The melamine milk scare is still very fresh in my mind, and I've known of Chinese traditional medicinal products being laced with unknown quantities of lead and mercury compounds. As far as I'm concerned, I steer very clear of edible Chinese imports, including vegetables and fruits, as much as possible.

The latest food scare staring me in the face concerns an imported delicacy: the century-old egg. Of course, the preserved egg is anything but a hundred years old. But it has been processed until it looks murky grey on the inside and transparent brown on the outside. Westerners are often turned off by it but we of Chinese descent love them. Well, most of us, anyway. Century-old eggs are best savoured with pickled ginger root slices while the preserved yolk itself is still a little runny.

But like all good delicacies go, it may be time to relook into our eating habits. According to a news report by the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong, there is a fresh food scandal in China and it may have repercussions here too, if our century-old eggs are imported from that land.

Thirty companies in Jiangxi province, China, producing preserved eggs were closed by authorities there after it was exposed that industrial copper sulphate, a toxic chemical, was used to speed up production. The eggs at the plants in Nanchang county have now been locked away for further testing, and authorities are screening small processing workshops without licences.

A report by state broadcaster China Central Television on Friday showed that three plants producing preserved duck eggs - also known as hundred-year egg, century egg, thousand-year egg, thousand-year-old egg and millennium egg - were using industrial copper sulphate to halve the curing period to a month. This chemical usually contains high levels of toxic heavy metals, including arsenic, lead and cadmium, and so is banned for use as a food additive.

When I was small, my grandparents used to tell me that the eggs were traditionally preserved in straw soaked with horse urine but I don't know how true it was. Later, the producers turned to preserving the eggs with baking soda, salt and quicklime for about two months. Either process would turn the yolks' colour dark green and the egg white into a stiff, dark jelly. Using copper sulphate could significantly reduce the processing time while achieving the same effect.

Nephila pilipes

I can never sit still whenever I come across something that pricks my curiosity and this spider which I found at the Nandaka Vihara Meditation Centre at the foothills of the Bukit Mertajam hill in Cherok Tokun, Bukit Mertajam on mainland Penang, has been on my mind ever since I saw it last Sunday. Maybe I'll see it again this Sunday when my wife and I go to the Nandaka Vihara again.

Anyway, I've been searching about the Internet to try and find more information about this spider and came across some good information on it, including one in Wikipedia. So it seems that this is the Nephila pilipes which is a species of the golden orb-web spider.

It is quite commonly found in the primary and secondary forests of Japan, China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Taiwan, Malaysia Singapore, Myanmar, Indonesia, Thailand, Laos, Philippines, Sri Lanka, India, and Papua New Guinea. Females are large and grow to a body size of one-and-a-half to two inches (30 to 50 millimetres) with an overall length of up to eight inches (about 20 centimetres), with males considerably smaller. It is one of the biggest spiders in the world.

Although its venom is not lethal to humans, it is potent enough. The bite causes local pain, redness and blisters that normally disappear within 24 hours. Rarely, it might trigger allergic reactions and result in respiratory troubles in asthmatics or fast-acting involuntary muscle cramps. The bite can scar hard tissue such as fingers.

And finally, I've uploaded a very short videoclip of this spider. I had almost forgotten about it, being mesmerised by the pictures, until I looked into my camera this morning. So here it is, some 35 seconds of this spider below.

Bottom view of the Nephila pilipes

Side view of the Nephila pilipes

Slightly elevated view of the Nephila pilipes

Family dispute boils over

All this furore over the Line Clear nasi kandar stall in an alleyway off Penang Road. 

There have been rats - big rats - running around the drains, ground and roof beams in broad daylight for decades with the Penang Island Municipal Council (MPPP) or the health authorities doing nothing about it and now, with the family dispute boiling over into the open, MPPP decides to "take action" for the sake of maintaining cleanliness and hygiene.

For heaven's sake, MPPP, (1) butt out and let them settle their family dispute on their own, and (2) you should have taken action on the rats a long time ago without now using the licencing issue as an excuse to butt in.

Are you butting in or butting out?

Hanoi Day Four: Back from Hạ Long Bay (Vịnh Hạ Long)

Morning saw us assembled on the upper deck of the V Spirit to take in some fresh air and do some morning exercises. Now that it was daybreak, we could see that all around us were the various other cruise boats that had also dropped their anchors during the night.

For this second day at Vịnh Hạ Long (Hạ Long Bay), time was rather short and we were supposed to check out of our rooms by 9.30a.m. However, we'd still be on board and cruising around the bay area. My perspective of the cruise was that we never ventured too far from our point of departure, which was the Tuần Châu Club, perhaps never more than 10 kilometres. I was sure that from some high vantage point behind the clumps of limestone islands, I could almost see the Vietnamese mainland, maybe without recognising it. Anyway, I wasn't complaining because these touristy islands of Ha Long Bay were what we wanted to see in the first place.

This is the upper deck of the cruise boat. When we were up here the night before, I had hoped to be able to see some stars since there were no nearby lights to distract them from our view. However, it was rather cloudy and no star could be seen. Pity.

It should be remembered that these are floating villages inhabited by the fisherfolk around Hạ Long Bay. Although they live among unspoilt beauty, life remains tough for them.

One of the fisherfolks getting ready to venture out with her goods-laden sampan to greet the cruise boats

Our main destination in the morning: the Đảo Soi Sim (Soi Sim island) from where we could either club up the small hill for another breath-taking view around or go swimming in the sea. Yes, there is a small beach on the island.

See the beach? It's only a tiny patch of sand on the island but since there is a pier for boats, there are also bound to be tourists wanting to swim. Like everywhere else around us yesterday and today, the water was very calm. Clear enough but not pristinely clear, though.

Another view of the beach at Soi Sim island.

Here we go up to the top of the hill.

More of the same scenery, actually....

After coming down from the hill, we decided to stroll on the beach. Very few people ventured into the water.

Back on the boat, we were shown how to make the Vietnamese spring rolls.

And soon afterwards, we were already on our way back to the Tuần Châu Club, passing by these two little rocks in the sea. The Ga Choi islets are reputedly the symbol of Hạ Long Bay. 

By 12.30p.m., we were already back on terra firma. I wasn't looking forward to another four-hour journey on the crammed bus but really, there was no avoiding it. It was almost five o'clock when we finally reached the Gondola Hotel. 

Unknown to us, my wife had left behind some reading material on the bus and we did not realise it until some hours later when we were about to go out for dinner. As we passed by the front desk, the staff there passed the reading material to my wife. We were surprised; we never expected to see them again but the tour guide had made an extra effort to return them to us. We were really impressed by the service.

These two were making the best use of the time on board the bus.

Hanoi Day Three: Overnight trip to Hạ Long Bay (Vịnh Hạ Long)

Let me say something first about the bus transportation from Hanoi to Vịnh Hạ Long (Hạ Long Bay), a UNESCO world heritage site: the drive there was long, taking about four hours in one direction with only one pit stop along the way, and the ride was rather uncomfortable due to the narrow leg space. Luckily, I was seated way in front of the bus and could stretch out my legs. Still, it was pretty uncomfortable. Pity the poor guys at the back of the vehicle.

Anyway, we arrived at the Tuần Châu Club in Ha Long Bay slightly after half past noon, which gave us a few minutes respite to stretch our legs before boarding a boat that would take us to the V Spirit cruise boat. From the outside, the V Spirit did not look totally impressive but the rooms were spacious and the bathrooms were clean. The tour agency had even arranged for the four of us to occupy two adjoining rooms, so there was little to complain about. And because the weather at Hạ Long was good, the sea was smooth and the cruise boat was very stable. We hardly encountered the boat swaying in the waters of Hạ Long, even at night.

This was the dining room where we had all our meals. On our first day on board, we were served lunch and dinner but I can't say that the meals were memorable enough. In fact, one of the dishes they served us looked something like a peculiar version of chicken curry but it tasted weird even to our Asian standards.

The first destination at Hạ Long Bay: the grottoes or caverns at Hang Sứng Sốt, which were reached after a short climb up about 25 metres.

 The entrance into the caverns. The second surprise was to come after you go in.

And this was the first surprise. The views across the bay from the entrance into the caverns were worth the effort of climbing alone, not to say that it was strenuous, which it was not. Now for a wondrous journey through the interior....

Impressive enough but more surprises were to come further into the cavern.

Wow!

More wow! Truly an incredible sight. The colours came from some strategically placed lights throughout the caverns.

I had to dig deep among the 1,500-plus pictures to unearth this rare picture of the four of us together at Hạ Long Bay.

The pier at the other end of the Hang Sứng Sốt, where our boat was waiting to take us back to the V Spirit.

One of the many sampan ladies who eke out a living daily by trying to sell drinks and foodstuff to the tourists. Not many bought from them. Tough job.

Our next destination after the Hang Sứng Sốt. While my son went canoeing, we three went on a sampan ride.

We never expected that the lake on the other side of this cave would be so quiet and serene, but it was! It was so peaceful that when the boatman stopped rowing, every sound, every bird call, was clearly audible. We wished that the moment could last but soon, we were on our way through the cave again to the outside world.

As we approached the platform there were other tourists already waiting for their turns on the canoes.

Back at the platform, we saw this basket full of the freshest oysters. No doubt, we'd be having some of them for dinner!

The V Spirit cruise boat waiting for our return before the day ended.

As we were a little late to watch the sun's orb sinking into the horizon, we had to contend ourselves with watching the bay glowing red and slowly darkening.

It is to be noted that the bay where we dropped anchor was filled with other cruise boats too. The V Spirit was about the furthest from the rest of the boats and so, it gave us a good panoramic view of all the other cruise boats in the distance.

Should I mention that the 11th of May was also the last day of the English premier league? With little nothing else to do on board the V Spirit after dinner, some of us adjourned to the upper deck of the boat where our tour guide, Đức, had brought out his iPad and streamed in the Manchester City versus West Ham United game. I was a little curious how he could have streamed the match seeing that we were quite a long way from the nearest land at Hạ Long. Later, I was to learn that despite the distance from the shore, the Internet signal was still strong enough to stream in the signal. Sad to say, this puts Malaysian Internet broadband connectivity to shame anytime

Gaji buta, of course!

Ah, but this is Malaysia, not Norway, not Ireland, not anywhere else in this world. This is Malaysia where all free-loading government employees believe it is their birth right to enjoy their jobs and perks with little responsibility. It's called "gaji buta".

Read it here.

Festival of the patriotic poet

A bit of cultural discourse today. As this is the fifth day of the Chinese fifth lunar month, we Chinese are celebrating the Chang festival. Since about a week ago, I've been noticing vendors starting to come out in force to hawk their glutinous rice cakes at the Kampong Baharu market in Bukit Mertajam. There were already quite many of them yesterday but today at the market, the vendors were everywhere! A feast for everyone.

There are all sizes available but the one common feature is the traditional tetrahedron bamboo wrap. (I say traditional because I know that in certain quarters of George Town, there are Chang sellers that prepare a version shaped like a small compact pillow.)

Anyway, it takes deft fingers and a certain degree of expertise to wrap up these Chang in bamboo leaves and I'm proud to say that my wife is rather good at it. Perfection comes from constant practice and come this annual festival, she had been helping her mother prepare the Chang at her home. But for the past two or three years already, she had stopped making her delicacy due to age.

The story of the Chang is generally attributed to the patriotic poet, Chu Yuan (屈原), who is remembered annually during this Fifth Moon Festival. The story goes that Chu Yuan was a loyal minister of the state of Chu (楚) and was a Court favourite until his replacement through Court intrigues. As a consequence, he was banished.

When General Pai Chi (白起) of the Tsin state (秦國) launched a second attack on the Chu capital of Ying (郢) in the spring of 278 BC, Chu Yuan knew that all hope to save the state was lost. Filled with grief, he went to the shore of the Mi-Lo River (汨羅江) to commit suicide.

Chu Yuan went out by boat to the middle of the river. Some fishermen on the far shore recognised him and asked why he sought a watery grave, to which the poet replied: "The whole country is corrupt except me. The people are inebriated except me."

"But in that case, wouldn't it be better for you to move with the trend and rise in power?" Chu Yuan replied that he preferred a death of honour and to be interred in the belly of the fishes of the river. So saying that, he clasped a huge rock with both hands and jumped into the Mi-Lo River and drowned.

The story continues that as soon as he jumped into the water, the fishermen beat their drums and rowed out furiously in their boats to try and save him. However, it was in vain. This was later followed by the throwing of rice into the river for the spirit of the heroic former minister. As this incident happened on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, the people on the shores began remembering him by beating their drums and rowing out in their boats annually to scatter rice dumplings into the river. That was also how the dragon boat races came into being. Nice story, yah?

The beauty of the Nandaka Vihara

When my wife and I decided to visit the Nandaka Vihara at the foothills of the Bukit Mertajam hill in Cherok Tokun this morning, I thought it was just going to be a routine visit since we have come here countless times before. While she'd be in the meditation hall to listen to the monks, I would normally wander off to enjoy a bit of the greenery and scenery.

Which was precisely what I did. The first few minutes of my walk were rather uneventful until I decided to make a detour and go down some granite steps to a sun deck. But before I could reach it, suddenly I noticed a big spider web that loomed to my right.

Right smack in the centre of the web was this huge spider: a huge, predatory spider that was waiting for a victim to be caught in its trap. I've seen such spiders before but they were quite a distance from me. This one, though, was at my eye level and I could have touched it easily if I had wanted to. It was that close to me. But caution stopped me from doing so. No, I wasn't going to risk getting bitten by this monster of a spider. From tip to tip, it probably measured around five inches. Its body alone measured about one and a half inches.

So I just stood there and took quite a lot of pictures on my camera. Chances such as this do not happen often and this was the best chance I could get. The only problem was that I could only photograph this beast from the bottom and thus, missed the sight of it from the top. Nevertheless, it afforded me a great view of the spider's abdomen, especially where the legs connected to it. Here is one of them:

Bottom view of the Nephila pilipes

The Nephila pilipes is a species of the golden orb-web spider. It is quite commonly found in the primary and secondary forests of Japan, China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Taiwan, Malaysia Singapore, Myanmar, Indonesia, Thailand, Laos, Philippines, Sri Lanka, India, and Papua New Guinea. Females are large and grow to a body size of one-and-a-half to two inches (30 to 50 millimetres) with an overall length of up to eight inches (about 20 centimetres), with males considerably smaller. It is one of the biggest spiders in the world.