A NEON CORAL (new color?) Catholic Church around the corner from the hotel. |
June 30th, 2013, was my birthday [See? I told you I'm running late! I'm sorry]. Technically, it started here and then wormed its way Westward as the Central Time Zone eventually had my birthday - It was a nice long one! Two full days of Birthday wishes, right?! Pretty badass. Maybe not (definitely not, not even close) as raucous and off-the-hook as the Rager we threw for my 30th last year, but if I did that every year there's an excellent chance I wouldn't survive to 40.
My two new friends, Rae and Malte, took me out for lunch, sightseeing, coffee, and markets. Initially we were planning on doing it all on Saturday, but we rescheduled for Sunday. I had initially been planning to spend the day alone, going to the zoo, dinner, and getting ice cream and just doing some general reflecting about where I was and what I was doing. I'm glad that didn't end up happening (as much as I would have enjoyed it).
The whole place had these chairs. |
The place was housed in a French Colonial building, lending it a certain antique charm. We arrived in the middle of siesta time, on a Sunday, and the service was... eh. No one spoke any English, or apparently any "Mime" which was SUPER frustrating, but worth the laugh in the end.
A salad. I tried to find out what it was from the online menu, but it was a hopeless case. A hopeless case, Charlie Brown. |
"Furniture was tested by the Scientists. They quoted Furniture tăng it can help the nutrition absorption, body control and dangerous Decrease risk of chronic diseases."Yeah, who knows. All I know, is thank you the Scientists, for a moderately comfy chair for my birthday meal!
Indian Fried Rice, with Cauliflower and Stuff. |
But, thanks to the magic of the "Point and Nod" we are eventually able to place our order. It was absurdly difficult to order bottled water, even though we had a bottle of water that we were pointing at while saying the word for "water." They brought us a coffee instead, which I drank just because. Eventually they brought us water, but they were frozen inside so there was only a few sips. Stuff like this is fairly normal so far on my trip. It's annoying, but what can you do. You're a stranger in a strange land... you get what you get! Until I have the confidence and knowledge to correct the situation in the native tongue, I feel I just need to roll with it.
Rae is eating what her Ayurvedic doctor prescribed her, which meant basically nothing delicious (except mangos, as far as I can tell) and after perusing the menu for a while we settled on a few dishes to eat "family style." Rae got a salad (above) with some rice crackers, and, while it turned out to have coriander in it and no one else could eat it but me, I thought it was delicious!
Braised Coconut with Pineapple and Mushrooms. |
ASIDE: I should note that I almost always forget two things when I'm eating out:
1) I ALWAYS forget to take a picture of the food before I've started eating it! You'll notice that there are very few dishes that look like they just came out of the kitchen - it's more like some tiny, messy bear got in there and was pawing around before I can snap the picture. That tiny bear is me. I am a hungry, tiny bear, and hopefully I will remember in time to just take a picture of every single thing that I eat before I dig in!
2) I almost ALWAYS forget my messenger bag on the back of the chair. It's really a problem. I should put an alarm or something on it, or a leash that attaches to my upper arm, or something practical like that. I've almost walked off without it twice now. Considering how that's basically the only time it leaves my back, you'd think I'd miss it.
The messy, hungry little bear was here! Braised Jackfruit. |
We desperately wanted rice to go along with our meal, but they, very strangely, didn't offer it on the menu and our limited Vietnamese didn't allow for "May we please have rice, sir?" which is honestly a woefully common phrase that I must learn ASAP.
Bastard. I know you're not MY roosters, but I can hate you anyway. |
Rae sent it back indignantly (hilarious to watch!) to get the dish we DID order, which ended up being like roughly a billion times more awesome: Braised Jackfruit and Stuff. You can see what's left of it over to the right here. Jackfruit is something that I've only seen in cans from Philippine stores near my Albany Park 'hood, and is a rather magical fruit. Because it's very dense, if you simmer or braise it long enough it changes its consistence to become something similar to chicken flesh, tender and juicy and able to be pulled apart like animal flesh. There are also seeds - each roughly twice the size of a pumpkin seed - that develop a nutty, bean-like flavor and texture upon cooking. In Chicago we made Pulled BBQ Jackfruit in the slow cooker (as a vegetarian alternative to Pulled BBQ Pork, my fav) and, while pretty good, my guess is that it would have been even better if the fruit had been fresh! This dish was damn tasty.
Rae (doing something Korean) and Malte (being German) at Coffee May in District 1. I'll be back! |
After getting our check and paying (yet another bizarre interaction) we headed out and found a taxi to take us to the city center (stopping along the way to take a picture of this rooster). I had to find an ATM, and Malte and I kind of wanted some coffee. Thank god there's literally coffee everywhere in Saigon.
We found Coffee May, a two story, open-air coffee shop across the street from the Notre Dame Cathedral plaza, and relaxed for an hour, sipping Ca Phe Da (iced black vietnamese coffee) and Ja Da (Iced Tea), laughing and getting to know each other better - it was only the second time I'd met either of them. Fortunately, we got along pretty well and the heat of the afternoon passed as we chatted and watched the tourists and residents below us.
Notre Dame Cathedral |
Just as we left it began to rain, which was perfect: our next stop was the Benh Thanh Market not too far away. We took a cab because of the rain, and spent the next hour or two rummaging through the beautiful, the tawdry, the delicious, and the downright inexplicable housed in this massive indoor building.
People in a rush will attend mass by driving their bikes up to the front gate and parking, watching through the gate and arches! Hilarious! |
As the rain came down torrentially, pounding the roof of the Market, we exited and slowly made our way around the building, stopping to look at the Night Market (basically, the same as the Day Market inside the building, but all the shops are under lean-tos on the outside - I swear they even sell the same exact products and foods). We stopped and had some fresh mangosteen, which neither Malte or I had ever had or seen. Rae insisted, and it turned out to be quite delicious.
After walking around the park for another hour, it was time to part ways. I was exhausted from all the new experiences and people, and Malte had hurt his foot by slipping in a road and wanted to get it bandaged up. We bid adieu and went our separate ways.
All in all, my 31st birthday was a rousing success! Good food, relaxing times, new friends, and sightseeing - it was a blast. It was probably more fun than going to the zoo and eating ice cream by myself (as hard as that is to believe, ha ha). If I get more pics from them of the market (especially the crazy gilded horse statue for sale!!) I'll add them at a later date!
I also couldn't have asked for a more beautiful and overwhelming outpouring of love from my family and friends in the states. I was on the phone from the moment I got up at 5:30 to the moment I left for lunch, and all evening was spent reconnecting with those of you who left me messages, texts, and facebook hellos. A very enjoyable day, indeed!
Love,
Ben
"I am a hungry, tiny bear." Phrases like this are how you know we're siblings. I will be using this daily.
ReplyDeleteI expect $.05 USD royalty checks.
DeleteHmmm, if you 2 are the "tiny, hungry bears" that makes me... well, I don't have to say it - we all KNOW what that makes me! And I am honored, oh little bear-kins.
ReplyDelete