On the odd occasion, when I’m in one of my overly zealous parochial moods, I have been guilty of saying something along the lines “that as far as I’m concerned, if they closed all the international borders around the world tomorrow and no one could enter or leave our country, I would be more than content with the situation.” It is no secret that I categorically love New Zealand, and I am also very aware that I get more opportunities than most to visit and explore different parts of it each year, which may go a little way to help explain.
However after just returning from two weeks in Northern Vietnam with my family, I am justifiably a little ashamed of that ill-informed sort of outburst that I can be occasionally prone to.
Simply put, it was one of the most thought provoking experiences of wonder, delight with a richness of culture and contrasts that I could never have truly anticipated.
We had chosen Vietnam for a number of reasons. For a family holiday there can’t be many countries as affordable to travel through as this. Also for a case of extreme culture shock not only for Liz and me, but that we wished upon our two girls aged 10 and 12, it had the desired effect – think Lyall Bay meets down town Hanoi. Of huge significance also was of course the food, the glorious food.
Like so many experiences it can be sometimes hard to explain or do justice to the event you experienced, however I will endeavor to try, with a couple of images alongside to assist. The Vietnamese are some of the most warm and kind people I have come across. I found there was a genuine openness to them and they invariably made a fuss of you whenever you chose to sit street side and eat on the small plastic stools that dot the footpaths. Often generations of family are involved. It’s all the women who do the cooking (except for this guy maybe), in fact it often seemed like it was the women who did everything. And there is no such thing as retirement in Vietnam, everyone is constantly working.
Many streets specialised in certain dishes, with most operators serving just one or two variations or plates. Fresh rice noodles are everywhere and form the base to many specialties. I fell in love with the Pho (pronounced ‘fur’) which many start there day off with. Usually chicken or beef, it is a deep bowl of rice noodles covered with a fresh hot stock with a hint of spice, a little fresh meat (beef or chicken) then the eater adds to the broth, the addition of bean sprouts, chili, fish sauce, lime juice and an array of aromatic fresh herbs mostly from the mint and coriander family to their liking.
Like all the food served, it happens very quickly, with people in and out in a matter of minutes. It seems that everyone takes pride in what they serve, and I hardly ate a sub-standard mouthful anywhere.
Fresh and cooked spring rolls found everywhere were a daily addiction. Most food is cooked over charcoal which was obviously a delight to me, with an array of weird and wonderful cooking equipment you could possibly imagine.
All meats and fish products etc are butchered or cut up street side, and at over 30 degrees most days, there is no refrigeration to speak of, but with a population of 80 million or so, everything gets consumed within hours. Interestingly enough there was a very noticeable lack of flies anywhere.
Fresh fish, all very small, shrimp and wonderful glistening squid dominated the seafood areas of the markets. I also came across a lot of fish being preserved or dried in the sun.
The main meats on offer were chicken, beef and pork, however it was plainly obvious that this third world country eats pretty much everything – head to tail eating is the norm, with an array of the exotic, surprising and sometimes shocking (to my girls anyway), including jellyfish, bugs, dog and toads.
The fresh greens where outstanding. As mentioned, fresh herbs play a huge role as flavour points in much of the food, however personally I found them too strong on some occasions. Bitter melons, types of cucumber, jicama and the many other varieties of this style of vegetables, offering a contrasting soothing cool crunch to much of the food. 
The fruit had the most intense flavour imaginable, with highlights being fresh pineapple, lychees, watermelon, mangos and bananas. 
The Vietnamese coffee was another revelation. As thick and dark as sump oil, it was served hot or over ice, and often with a slug of condensed milk in the bottom that you stirred in to your liking.
It was an amazing experience for every minute we were in Vietnam, the highlights being the age of the country, the history, the architecture, the people and of course a street food scene and cuisine that was simply extraordinary.
Go there, you will love it and like me, be a lot richer and a little wiser for the experience.
