Use of Chopsticks

You might have used them in Chinese or Japanese restaurants elsewhere in the world. Or you must have seen it at least once or twice in some exotic magazines or TV show. Whichever the case, you will get used to the culture of chopsticks in Vietnam.

Most food, including rice, noodle or savory pastry involves the use of chopsticks. Some people find it hard and awkward. Some people get it first time. It is a cultural experience but do not hesitate to ask for knife and fork if you could not manage to master them. Even for Vietnamese people, chopsticks are not used until they get to 7 or 8 years old.

Different from Korean chopsticks which is often made of metal, or Japanese chopsticks which are often colorful toward one end, Vietnamese chopsticks are often made from wood or bamboo. The weight is often light but enough to pick up the food without giving the impression of fragility. Different restaurants have different types of chopsticks and those used in the family will often have the best quality.

In Vietnamese kitchen, a longer and thicker type of chopsticks is used to help the cook prevent overheating her hands from the stove. This is used intead of ladle and extremely useful when it comes to flipping spring-rolls.

Vietnamese chopsticks can also make a great souvenirs for those who want to bring an essense of the country back with them. These gifts are often wrapped nicely in bamboo-made cover and tied together with a bow or colorful string. They are sold for less than $4 in souvenir shops in most major destinations.

Source: vietnamfood.org

Trung Nguyen Coffee Village

To get to where the story of Vietnamese coffee began, and to trace the nation’s spectacular rise as a major world coffee exporter, a visit to Trung Nguyen Coffee Village is a must.

Located in the highland city of Buon Ma Thuot in Dak Lak Province in the Central Highlands, Trung Nguyen Coffee Village offers more than a cup of the exquisite beverage. It is an ideal place for those who are interested in learning about coffee trees and the coffee processing industry.

With a desire to build a coffee paradise for tourists who visit the capital of coffee, Trung Nguyen Corporation constructed a coffee village in a total area of 20,000m². Two years after beginning construction, the project was completed in 2008 and is considered the largest historical and cultural museum of coffee in the Central Highlands.

The garden of old coffee trees in the village. White flowers of coffee trees in Trung Nguyen Coffee Village.  Part of Trung Nguyen Coffee Village.

The village is separated into two main areas including one for enjoying coffee and the other for display. Each area brings interesting experiences to visitors. In the area for enjoying coffee, tourists can see a house with a special architectural space and style of ancient houses in Hue. It has three main compartments namely Cherry, Arabica and Robusta. However, the most striking feature of the village is a garden of old coffee trees. It surely gives tourists relaxing moments when enjoying a tasty cup of coffee under canopies of old coffee trees in an immense space.

Inside the village, there are small streams that help create a cool and airy space and convey stories about the coffee culture of the locals in the Central Highlands. It is the water resource from pure streams that is attributed to creating the distinctive tasty for this area’s coffee.

The second part of the village is used as a display area which was built from wood according to the architecture of a Dai (long) house of the E De ethnic people. Visiting the area, tourists have a chance to see with their eyes objects relating to processing coffee. It is also the place for displaying over 500 objects that show diverse cultures of enjoying coffee from many countries. Here, many art performances of making coffee of other countries in the world have been held, such as making Cappuccino from Italy, roasting and grilling coffee of the Japanese and the traditional method for roasting coffee of the E De people in Vietnam.

The display area of coffee boxes. Foreign tourists learn about the tools for making coffee in Trung Nguyen Coffee Village. Utensils of the ethnic people in the Central Highlands are exhibited in the village. Tourists visit the display area in Trung Nguyen Coffee Village where there are many old objects that hold coffee. Tourists  learn about a German coffee grinding machine. Foreign tourists are interested in the traditional method of processing coffee  of the ethnic people in the Central Highlands. Foreign tourists enjoy cups of coffee in Trung Nguyen Coffee Village.

Besides the objects, visitors are also fascinated by valuable ones which feature cultures of the ethnic people groups in the Central Highlands with gongs, mysterious legends and Can wine.

Last but not least is the souvenir shop in the village where tourists can buy Trung Nguyen coffee and other products such as bags and shirts made from brocade as presents for their relatives or friends.

By Tat Son, Trinh Van Bo
Source: Vietnam Pictorial

Photos of North Vietnam during the Vietnam war (1960s - early 1970s)

Escorting American pilot
A communist guerilla was escorting an
American prisoner of war who was
captured in North Vietnam (Nữ du kích
 giải một tù binh Mỹ bị bắt ở miền Bắc)
Author Thomas Bill Hardt - vnexpress.net 8/2/201

Thomas Bill Hardt is a famous German journalist and photographer (born in 1937). He traveled to many countries during the historical times. He is famous for realistic photos of the wars in Vietnam, Palestine and Nicaragua. Visiting Vietnam during the 1960s and 1970s, Thomas recorded horrifying images of the Vietnam war. His photos brought emotional feelings to the viewers. Thomas used to say "I witnessed both the joy of victory and the sorrow of loss of the people all over Vietnam".

Thomas made a total of 50 overseas trips to different countries in the world including 12 trips to Vietnam from 1962 to 1985. Witnessing the horrifying destruction of the war, he said “The nature of photographing is not only recording the last image, but also focusing on circumstances of the shootings". Therefore, he owns an invaluable archive of Vietnam’s photos during the war. His photos were classified into subjects such as the Vietnam war in 1972, the border war with the Chinese in 1979, American pilots, South Vietnam etc.

Boy on a buffalo (1969)
A boy was playing a flute on a buffalo. (Cậu bé
 mục đồng thổi sáo được Thomas chụp ở miền
 Bắc năm 1969) Author Thomas Bill Hardt
- vnexpress.net 10/2/2014

In 1999, he opened a photo exhibition “the Vietnam war” in Hanoi. In 2003, he returned to make another exhibition with the purpose of meeting again some people in his photos. He ended up meeting with the person who obsessed him most in his career:” The girl who opened the road” and her name is Hong Ly.

Thomas’s photos were highly regarded as invaluable images of the Vietnam wars. Since 1960, his Vietnam photos made Thomas famous worldwide and brought him many honorable prizes. They were known all over the world and presented in over 100 exhibitions from Moscow to New York. Many of his works were published in famous magazines.

While photographing painful images of the war, Thomas also focused on terrified faces of Vietnamese children. Every photo taken by Thomas is evidence for the horribleness of the war and it made the world raise their voice. Since 1987, Thomas had actively participated in child-protecting activities of the UN organizations.

New China map makes bogus East Sea claim

Le Hai Binh, spokesperson for the Foreign Affairs Ministry. — Photo bizlive

HA NOI (VNS)— Vietnam has strongly condemned the publication of a Chinese map showing that it owns almost the entire East Sea.
This has further complicated the situation in the East Sea. In May, China placed an oil rig in Vietnamese waters.
Le Hai Binh, spokesperson for the Foreign Affairs Ministry, told a press conference yesterday that the publication of the map by the Hunan Map Publishing House clearly violated international law and Viet Nam's national sovereignty.
Binh said that despite the recent visit to Hanoi by Chinese State Councillor Yang Jiechi, China continued with its aggressive actions.
This included putting the Spratly and Paracel Islands of Viet Nam into a new Chinese land registration system, opening a school project on Phu Lam Island belonging to Viet Nam's Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago - and expanding and transforming many parts of Spratly Island.
"We have many times re-affirmed Viet Nam's stance towards the Spratly and Paracel Islands, strongly condemning the wrongful acts and asking China to respect international law and the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC)," Binh said.
Binh said Viet Nam also denounced China's latest placement of the Nanhai 9 drilling platform off the Gulf of Tonkin, but said it was within undefined waters between China and Viet Nam. However, according to international law, no countries have authority to start exploratory activities in this area.
Viet Nam closely monitored other Chinese oil rigs in the East Sea, but was committed to using peaceful solutions to solve the situation, said Binh.
At the press conference, Ha Le, deputy head of Viet Nam's Fishing Surveillance Department, confirmed that 27 Vietnamese fishing surveillance vessels had been damaged and 15 fishing surveillance officers had been injured during nearly two-months of turmoil.
Le refuted a recent claim by the Chinese Foreign Affairs Ministry that said that Viet Nam's vessels intentionally rammed Chinese civilian vessels.

More condemnation

The Philippines' Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday also criticised China's publication of a map that covers nearly all waters and islands in the East Sea, affirming that it violates international law.
This act of China is completely unacceptable as it runs counter to international law and the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea to which China is a party, the ministry said in its statement.
The ministry's spokesman Charles Jose described China's "ambitious expansionism" as the reason for the current tensions in the East Sea. The official asserted that territorial and maritime disputes must be resolved at an international arbitral court.
Meanwhile, the Mexico – Viet Nam Friendship and Cooperation Institute (MVCFI) on Wednesday held a meeting in front of the Chinese Embassy in Mexico City to protest China's illegal stationing of the oil rig Haiyang Shiyou-981 in Viet Nam's continental shelf and exclusive economic zone.
About 100 members of the institute and representatives from media agencies and socio-political organisations of Mexico participated in the event, carrying placards and banners demanding China respect Viet Nam's sovereignty, immediately withdraw the rig and escort ships from Viet Nam's waters, and comply with international law.
At the event, MVCFI Honorary President Virgilio Caballero read a statement denouncing China's deployment of the rig along with a large number of vessels and aircraft to protect the rig and attack Vietnamese ships.
The document said such acts of China seriously violate the agreement on basic principles guiding the settlement of issues at sea agreed by the Vietnamese and Chinese Governments in October 2011, and run counter to the 2002 ASEAN – China Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea. The moves also defy international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, it added.
In the statement, MVCFI called upon Chinese leaders to respect the agreements, especially those containing commitments to solving disputes peacefully, reached with their Vietnamese counterparts and international organisations.
The institute demanded that China remove the rig and all escort ships from Viet Nam's waters and stop ramming into Vietnamese ships in order to ease the tension and enhance mutual understanding.
They also asked the Mexican Government, particularly Foreign Minister Jose Antonio Meade, to send a diplomatic note to the Chinese Government to clarify basic principles and international agreements signed within the UN framework.
After the meeting, MVCFI leaders handed over the statement to representatives of the Chinese Embassy.
Also on Wednesday, the Viet Nam Lawyers' Association (VLA) issued another declaration protesting against China's actions that are escalating tensions in Viet Nam's waters.
The association asserted that the acts of China are clearly the use of force which seriously violated Viet Nam's sovereignty and human rights, running counter to the United Nations Charter and international law, particularly the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
These violent acts in reality are a far cry from what China often says as "only normal law enforcement activities," the association said.
The VLA demanded that the Chinese side immediately get the rig out of Viet Nam 's waters and end all force-using acts that threaten the life of Vietnamese people.
However, if China deliberately does not abide by the UN Charter and international law and continues infringing Viet Nam's sovereignty, sovereign right and jurisdiction, the Viet Nam Lawyers' Association, with more than 46,000 members, called on the Vietnamese government to take legal actions in line with international law. The association pledged its support of the Government in such a move. — VNS

Source: vietnamnews.vn

Lullabies - The deep impression in the heart of Vietnamese people

When we were babies, our mom and our grandmom used to sing the Vietnamese lullabies for us. It was just not to lull us to sleep but also was the way they connected to our heart. At that time, we could not understand the meaning of the lullabies but we could feel the warmth and sweetness of our mom and our grandmom. And we grew up with these lullabies…

Lullaby songs are a sort of folk music often heard in Vietnam, especially in the countryside. They are used not only to lull small children to go to sleep but also to express human feelings such as homesickness, wife missing her husband...

Vietnamese lullabies often consist of two or four six-to-eight meter lines. They are usually based upon a characteristic frame of melody, and use slow, free rhythms. They also contain many inseted words such as "à ơi", "ầu ơ", "ơ", "hỡi"...

As the function of a lullaby song is to make the child slowly fall into sleep, the song is quiet, the tones stretched and melodious.

The melody of  lullabies vary from regions to regions.

In North Vietnam, lullabies are sung in five notes, do-re-fa-sol-la. For example,

“My child, sleep well,

So mom can carry water to wash the elephant’s back,

            If anyone wants to see, go up to the mountain                   

To see Lady Trung, Trieu riding the elephant’s golden backs”

 The song from central Vietnam lies only in three notes, la-re-fa,  with nonsense syllables "ơ" inserted:

                   “Baby, sleep well,                     

So mother can go to the market to buy an earthen saucepan, 

If she goes to the southern market,

 She will buy you a long and bent sugar cane”

In Southern Vietnam, most of the lullabies begin with the word "ví dầu" (imagine):

 “Imagine you’re walking on a board-bridge fastened with nails,

It is hard as walking on an unstable bamboo bridge”

Although the habit of lulling children in Vietnam nowadays is gradually less popular than in the old days, these lullabies never disappear but become a holy part in every Vietnamese soul who was brought up by maternal love and sweet songs.

Source: vietnamtourism.org.vn

China continues aggressive action

China yesterday sent more than 100 ships, including six military vessels, to protect its oil rig illegally stationed in Viet Nam's waters.

China yesterday sent more than 100 ships, including six military vessels, to protect its oil rig illegally stationed in Viet Nam's waters.
The Viet Nam Fisheries Resources Surveillance Department said the Chinese vessels continued to aggressively harass Vietnamese ships.
For nearly an hour and a half in the early afternoon, Chinese reconnaissance aircraft CMS-B3586 flew about 500 to 700 metres above the sea 12 nautical miles from the rig Haiyang Shiyou-981.
Vietnamese fisheries surveillance vessels continued their duties between nine and 11 nautical miles from the rig. At the same time, they communicated with the Chinese, asking them to withdraw the rig and escort their ships out of Viet Nam's waters.
Chinese coastguard vessels and tugboats travelled in rows at high speed in an attempt to ram and fire water cannons at Vietnamese ships, which refused to budge.
Meanwhile, about 30 Chinese fishing ships, escorted by two coastguard vessels coded 46102 and 46106, operated at a distance of 20-50 metres from Vietnamese fishing boats.
Supported by fisheries surveillance ships, the Vietnamese fishermen continued their normal activities 40-45 nautical miles west-southwest of the rig.

Laos worries

The Lao Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday sent a diplomatic note to the Vietnamese Embassy in Vientiane, voicing concern about the East Sea situation.
The Lao ministry said the East Sea was an important and sensitive area and was of paramount importance in maintaining and promoting peace, stability and co-operation.
It said Laos was worried about developments, calling for both sides to restrain from actions that could escalate tension.
The note asked both sides to solve the dispute peacefully in accordance with international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
It said the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea must be implemented and that consultations on a Code of Conduct of Parties in the East Sea should be stepped up. — VNS

Source: vietnamnews.vn

Bánh bèo - Vietnamese Savory Steamed Rice Cake (Water Fern Cake)

Banh beo is a specialty of central Vietnam, especially popular in Da Nang, Hue, Quang Nam and Quang Ngai. It is basically made from rice flour and tapioca starch, topped with minced shrimp (Hue style) or a mixture of pork and shrimp (Da Nang/Quang Nam style). A simple yet elegant, cheap yet delicious dish which can be eaten throughout the day!

Video by: Helen

Chanel Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/HelenRecipes

Full recipe in English and Vietnamese at (Xem công thức tiếng Anh và tiếng Việt tại) :

http://danangcuisine.com/?p=652

Ingredients
For the batter
400g (14 oz) rice flour
100g (3.5 oz) tapioca starch
1 liter (1 quart) water
1 tsp salt
1 tsp vegetable oil

For Hue-style topping
300g shrimp, peel and deveined
Salt & pepper
For Quang-style topping
100g (3.5 oz) pork belly, finely diced
200g (7 oz) shrimp, finely diced
Shrimp butter

More Vietnamese cakes at (cac mon Banh Viet) http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=...

Soundtrack:
"Bèo Dạt Mây Trôi" by Anh Khang & Quang Thắng
Drifting water ferns & floating clouds