VietNamNet Bridge - “I have been living in Vietnam for three
years but I can’t get used to the way Vietnamese people eating beside sewers,”
says Alain, a Spanish who is working for a non-governmental organization in
Hanoi.
Adam, the French manager of a
French restaurant in Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi, says that street food in Hanoi
is abundant and delicious but it is risky to try them.
Adam still remembered his
experience with “pho cuon,” a Hanoi’s specialty, at a restaurant near the Truc
Bach Lake over a year ago.
“At first, I was so excited
because one of my Vietnamese friends said this cuisine has a long history and
it is also a specialty of the people who live in the most ‘sophisticated’ area
in Hanoi,” he recalls.
“I craved for it so I surfed the
net for “pho cuon” before going to that restaurant. But when I saw how they
made it, I lost my guts to keep on eating,” he adds.
Adam says when the waiter brought
a dish of “pho cuon” to his table, he tried it immediately and found the flavor
quite special. However, he was terrified of the way they made that cuisine.
“Vegetables were in the basket;
the basket was put just on the way to the toilet. To go to the toilet I had to
go through the kitchen. The toilet did not have a place to wash hands. The
cooks were half-naked and sweating while they were cooking. Near their feet
were pots of sliced beef. They stood in a puddle. I guessed there must be
hundreds of people pass that way because every customer has to go to the
restroom,” Adam says.
After that “discovery”, Adam
advised his Vietnamese female friend to learn how to make pho cuon so that she
can enjoy it at home.
Alain, a Spanish, who is working
for a non-governmental organization in Hanoi, says when he first came to
Vietnam, he was so surprised when food was sold everywhere, even near sewers
and the food sellers both touched the food and washed the dishes in a small
basin.
“A small basin of water is used
to wash a lot of bowls,” Alain said. He was more surprising to see that unclean
restaurants attract a lot of people. “They seemed to enjoy the food in a
pleasant way,” he says.
“There are a lot of attractive
cuisines but I don’t dare to try them,” says Alain. He also wonders how the
food safety and hygiene is managed when the food stalls are moved to different
places each day.
According to Alain’s observation,
there is no big difference in food safety and hygiene between the fixed
restaurants that have certificates for food safety and hygiene with those that
do not have the certificate and mobile food stalls.
Although he has been living in
Hanoi for 3 years and gets used to the living and eating style of local people,
Alain says that he can’t get familiar to the image of people eating beside
sewers.
Alain also notices that the
Hanoian eat too much meat and are lazy to do exercise.
"Every meal is meat,"
Alain comments. According to his observations, in restaurants, meat is also the
main food, particularly red meat. This is different from the eating habits of
the people in his country.
Alain’s observation also
coincides with the scientific study of nutrition experts in Vietnam.
Research of the National
Institute of Nutrition shows that on average, a Vietnamese eat 84g of meat per
day and it is double for the Hanoian, with about 150 g/day/person.
Ngoc Anh
Business & Investment Opportunities
Saigon Business Corporation Pte Ltd (SBC) is incorporated in Singapore since 1994. As Your Business Companion, we propose a range of services in Strategy, Investment and Management, focusing Health care and Life Science with expertise in ASEAN 's area. We are currently changing the platform of www.yourvietnamexpert.com, if any request, please, contact directly Dr Christian SIODMAK, business strategist, owner and CEO of SBC at christian.siodmak@gmail.com. Many thanks.
No comments:
Post a Comment