12:40 AM
Man on Net
"It's kind of fun to do the impossible."
Thursday, August 16, 2012
Monday, August 6, 2012
Chinese noodles stall in Saigon
Guest post from Huu Nghiem
Not far from my place, there is one noodles stall, right in the corner between Hung Vuong and Le Hong Phong, how many times I pass by, always crowded.
One evening, I tried to order some noodles takeaway, two waiters seemed so busy and ignored my order. I decided not to come back, never ever... until today.
Today on the way back home with my old friend, having different thing in mind but when we passed by this noodles stall, I suddenly mentioned to my friend about what happening before, look at the stall, just opened, still empty. We decided to give it a try. Only typical Chinese noodles: yellow noodles and wonton.
As many other stalls somewhere else in Saigon, they also have their own homemade noodles in a tiny wooden drawer - that could be one of their secrets to keep customers coming back.
My friend ordered a "dry noodles" without soup, actually a small bowl of soup served separately. What I like is a thin, crispy, golden shrimp cake on the top, but not the crunchy pork rind (tóp mỡ - dried piece of fat).
I didn't see this deep fried shrimp cake on top of noodles for long!
My order - just a bowl of noodles with soup, we still want won-ton but not ready yet! Good and very surprisingly clear soup. I forgot to ask them not to add a spoon of fat, but it was too late!
The soup is so clear as water, with some shining rings of fat, slices of cooked pork meat.
Noodles here are good, not too soft, a bit strong as we expect.
After we sat down, ordered, just few minutes later, all tables were quickly occupied, it was around only 5:00 pm at that time and they do business until late at night.
Not far from my place, there is one noodles stall, right in the corner between Hung Vuong and Le Hong Phong, how many times I pass by, always crowded.
One evening, I tried to order some noodles takeaway, two waiters seemed so busy and ignored my order. I decided not to come back, never ever... until today.
Today on the way back home with my old friend, having different thing in mind but when we passed by this noodles stall, I suddenly mentioned to my friend about what happening before, look at the stall, just opened, still empty. We decided to give it a try. Only typical Chinese noodles: yellow noodles and wonton.
As many other stalls somewhere else in Saigon, they also have their own homemade noodles in a tiny wooden drawer - that could be one of their secrets to keep customers coming back.
My friend ordered a "dry noodles" without soup, actually a small bowl of soup served separately. What I like is a thin, crispy, golden shrimp cake on the top, but not the crunchy pork rind (tóp mỡ - dried piece of fat).
My order - just a bowl of noodles with soup, we still want won-ton but not ready yet! Good and very surprisingly clear soup. I forgot to ask them not to add a spoon of fat, but it was too late!
After we sat down, ordered, just few minutes later, all tables were quickly occupied, it was around only 5:00 pm at that time and they do business until late at night.
Pickled chili, two bottles of black vinegar and soya sauce. No any veggies.
I did have some posts about yellow noodles in my blog, here is a quick review of another traditional Chinese noodles stall in Saigon. I like the old cart, decorated with different characters from Chinese tale.
By the way, I heard there is a noodles stall near to Tân Định market, on Nguyen Huu Cau street, over hundred year old, a third-generation family business, still at the same place. Hope will share with you very soon.
By the way, I heard there is a noodles stall near to Tân Định market, on Nguyen Huu Cau street, over hundred year old, a third-generation family business, still at the same place. Hope will share with you very soon.
Chinese noodles stall at 297 Lê Hồng Phong, district 5, business hours from 17:00 to 23:00.
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
“Best job in the world!”
Many of you are possibly still in school, others in university, others working and others looking for work. Whatever your situation, however, we think this news item will interest you.
- They are all mad, we’re really excited it’s going to be a really tight contest but an amazing outcome when we pick the final six.
First officials have to choose 18 finalists among the 40,000 entries who will be flown to Australia for interviews and final selection. Other vacant dream job positions are Outback Adventurer, Wildlife Caretaker, Lifestyle Photographer and Park Ranger. The six winners will be announced on June 21.
Tight - close or equal in score, progress, or ability.
Outcome - something that happens as a result of an activity or process.
Vacant - not occupied by a person : available to be taken by someone.
Text
The deadline has officially passed to apply for Australia’s six “Best Jobs in the World”, which includes such titles as “Chief Funster” and “Taste Master.”
More than 40,000 people from nearly 200 countries have applied for the six-month positions that come with a 100,000 dollar (Australian dollar) salary. Interested applicants were asked to create a 30-second video explaining their qualifications and most were of high quality says Karen Halbert of Tourism Australia.- They are all mad, we’re really excited it’s going to be a really tight contest but an amazing outcome when we pick the final six.
First officials have to choose 18 finalists among the 40,000 entries who will be flown to Australia for interviews and final selection. Other vacant dream job positions are Outback Adventurer, Wildlife Caretaker, Lifestyle Photographer and Park Ranger. The six winners will be announced on June 21.
Vocabulary
Deadline - a date or time when something must be finished : the last day, hour, or minute that something will be accepted.
Tight - close or equal in score, progress, or ability.
Outcome - something that happens as a result of an activity or process.
Vacant - not occupied by a person : available to be taken by someone.
Video
Saturday, July 7, 2012
Chicken at "Garden Mai" - Gà Vườn Mai
Guest Post by Huu Nghiem.
Gà hấp hành - steamed chicken with green onion, superb good, flavored with onion.
Last night I've been to a place - called "Gà Vườn Mai", an eatery - famous for their seven chicken dishes (only garden chicken!): steamed chicken with green onion (gà hấp hành), roasted chicken with garlic (gà rôti), chicken with Vietnamese mint (gà hấp rau răm), sour and sweet salad with chicken (gà bóp thấu), steamed chicken with fermented tofu (gà hấp chao), with salt (gà hấp muối)...
Head to toe chicken - costs you 230.000 VND (by Mar of 2013)
When they serve, not a plate of few pieces of chicken, but a whole chicken. So either you go there alone or with friends they always serve a full plate. Better be in company, if you don't want to end up with a lot of leftovers on the table.
Roasted chicken with a lot of garlic. Very tasty.
I really like small golden ground garlic, so garlicky, so tasty, crispy and flavored with fish sauce!
same as others chicken dishes, always in whole - from head to toe...
and from toe to buttock, by the way, chicken's buttock is a favorite part to many foodies.
We couldn't order all seven chicken dishes in their menu, I would love to try others, so I surely come back here one day. The only problem I have is how to get here! It's a real tricky, the place looks very spacious but located in small alley that we do need a guidance. But believe me, it's worth trying!
Chicken "Garden Mai"
Here's the address 958/10/13/18 Lac Long Quan, Tan Binh district, (one "/" means one alley, so we need to turn right or left at least three alleys to get there!)
I realize that Vietnamese love chicken much more than beef or pork. Chicken is an unavoidable item for any traditional celebrations, this "bird gives birth every day" always has a special place on the altar during any of family anniversaries.And whenever we talk about chicken - it should be "Vietnamese chicken" (gà ta) or "garden chicken" (gà thả vườn). These two phrases means a kind of chicken being kept freely in the farm, not in a huge industrial cage, they are not fed with special industrial bran, but anything they find in the garden, from human's leftovers, rice to the earthworms. Those "free" chicken are smaller in size, give less meat but their meat is far better, tastier than the"industrial chicken".
Gà hấp hành - steamed chicken with green onion, superb good, flavored with onion. Last night I've been to a place - called "Gà Vườn Mai", an eatery - famous for their seven chicken dishes (only garden chicken!): steamed chicken with green onion (gà hấp hành), roasted chicken with garlic (gà rôti), chicken with Vietnamese mint (gà hấp rau răm), sour and sweet salad with chicken (gà bóp thấu), steamed chicken with fermented tofu (gà hấp chao), with salt (gà hấp muối)...
Head to toe chicken - costs you 230.000 VND (by Mar of 2013) When they serve, not a plate of few pieces of chicken, but a whole chicken. So either you go there alone or with friends they always serve a full plate. Better be in company, if you don't want to end up with a lot of leftovers on the table.
Roasted chicken with a lot of garlic. Very tasty.
I really like small golden ground garlic, so garlicky, so tasty, crispy and flavored with fish sauce!
same as others chicken dishes, always in whole - from head to toe... 
and from toe to buttock, by the way, chicken's buttock is a favorite part to many foodies. We couldn't order all seven chicken dishes in their menu, I would love to try others, so I surely come back here one day. The only problem I have is how to get here! It's a real tricky, the place looks very spacious but located in small alley that we do need a guidance. But believe me, it's worth trying!
Chicken "Garden Mai"Here's the address 958/10/13/18 Lac Long Quan, Tan Binh district, (one "/" means one alley, so we need to turn right or left at least three alleys to get there!)
Sunday, June 24, 2012
ESL Podcast : Talking About Movies
Download Podcast
Script by Dr. Lucy Tse
SCRIPT:
Martin: What did you think of that movie?
Joanna: It was okay, but I’m not really into big-budget movies with a lot of special effects and big-name stars.
Martin: Oh, you’re a film snob. I bet you only watch indie films made on a shoestring budget with low production values.
Joanna: No, that’s not true. I just don’t like crowd-pleasers that are predictable. I like movies that stretch the imagination and have some artistic value.
Martin: You mean you like those weird movies with no plot and a lot of strange characters. They’re artsy, but leave you totally confused.
Joanna: I don’t mind some ambiguity, if that’s what you mean.
Martin: Well, I’m going to see the new Spiderboy movie next week. I don’t suppose you want to come?
Joanna: Spiderboy? I’ve been looking forward to seeing that movie.
Martin: But it’s a big-budget blockbuster.
Joanna: I can’t watch artsy films all the time. Variety is the spice of life, don’t you think?
Reference
Timeline of the most expensive productions:
snob [snɑb /snɒ-]
n. a person regarded as arrogant and annoying
blockbuster n.
1.
2.
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