Rough Guide to Vietnam - Jan Dodd [32]
In Vietnam, drinking alcohol is a social activity to be shared with friends. You’ll rarely see the Vietnamese drinking alone and never without eating. Be prepared for lots of toasts to health, wealth and happiness and no doubt to international understanding, too, and note that it’s the custom to fill the glasses of your fellow guests; someone else will fill yours.
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Eating and drinking | Drinks | Alcoholic drinks |
Bia hoi know-how
There are countless bia hoi (draught beer) outlets in most major cities in Vietnam, ranging from a few ankle-high stools gathered round a barrel on the pavement to beer gardens. Quality tends to be more consistent at the larger outlets supplied by major breweries such as Hanoi Beer and Halida (under the name Viet Ha), rather than the smaller places which usually buy their beer from microbreweries. On the whole, the more expensive – and colder – the beer, the better it is.
Bia hoi culture is about enjoying a few beers with a group of friends – usually all male, though in the cities you see a few women these days. People almost never drink alone and rarely drink without eating, so many places serve a range of snacks and more extensive dishes.
To help you order food in a bia hoi outlet, we’ve listed a few classic dishes below. Menus, if they exist, will be in Vietnamese. They normally give a price range for each dish (meat dishes typically range between 30,000đ and 50,000đ), so you order a small, medium or large amount, for example, depending on the size of your group. To maximize the variety, it makes sense to order small quantities of several dishes and share. If no prices are indicated on the menu, be sure to ask when ordering. Usually a note with the running total is left on the table, so you can keep track of how much you’re spending.
bo luc lac cubed spicy beef and green pepper stir-fry
ca bo lo oven-cooked fish
dau chien ron fried tofu
dau tu xuyen tofu in a Chinese pork and tomato sauce
de tai chanh lightly-cooked goat with green banana, pineapple and lemon
dua chuot che sliced cucumber
ech chien bo deep-fried battered frogs’ legs
ech xao mang frogs’ legs with bamboo shoots
ga xe phay shredded chicken salad with bean sprouts, carrot, peanuts and basil
khoai tay ran chips/French fries
lac peanuts
muc chien bo squid fried in butter
muc kho dried squid
muc tam bot battered squid
nem chua minced spicy cured pork wrapped in banana leaf
nom du du papaya salad
nom hoa chuoi banana-flower salad
nom ngo sen lotus-stem salad
oc xao xa ot stir-fried snail, lemongrass and chilli
rau bi xaoi bo/toi beef/pumpkin-leaf fried with garlic
tho quay roast rabbit
tom hap bia shrimps steamed in beer
tom nuong grilled shrimps
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The media
Vietnam has several English–language newspapers and magazines, of which the daily Viet Nam News (www.vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn) has the widest distribution. It provides a brief – and very select – run–down of local, regional and international news, as well as snippets on art and culture. Though short on general news, both the weekly Vietnam Investment Review (www.vir.com.vn) and the monthly Vietnam Economic Times (www.vneconomy.com.vn) cover issues in greater depth and are worth looking at for an insight into what makes the Vietnamese economy tick. Both also publish useful supplements (Time Out and The Guide respectively) with selective but up–to–date restaurant and nightlife listings mainly covering Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, plus feature articles on culture and tourist destinations.
All media in Vietnam are under tight government control. There is, however, a slight glimmer of less draconian censorship, with an increasing number of stories covering corruption at even quite senior levels and more criticism of government policies and ministers,