You can either post a guess or email one to me...
Thursday, December 11, 2008
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Pho~ a Long, Long Way to Run
Viet Nam |
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About this Blog
Who: Marjie, a life-long resident and high school teacher from Seattle
What: Decides to rent out her condo and sign a ten-month contract to teach sixth grade English and Ancient History at a relatively new, quickly growing international school in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
When: In August, with one month's notice - along with 33 others from the US, Canada, Australia, Britain and New Zealand (most of them last-minute, too)
p.s. (That was last year; now she's on Year #2)
What: Decides to rent out her condo and sign a ten-month contract to teach sixth grade English and Ancient History at a relatively new, quickly growing international school in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
When: In August, with one month's notice - along with 33 others from the US, Canada, Australia, Britain and New Zealand (most of them last-minute, too)
p.s. (That was last year; now she's on Year #2)
Frequently Mentioned Cast
The Castle - a five story stack house with a rooftop deck, in the midst of the best morning market in the city.
Katherine - castlemate and the primary PE teacher from Montreal, Canada.
Franco - castlemate and a third grade teacher from Portland, Oregon.
Tarn - former castlemate and the high school librarian from Wellington, New Zealand (in many of last year's posts).
Pretty Lady - Tarn's bicycle.
Nam (or "Mom") - Marjie's motorcycle-taxi driver and surrogate mother. He is also Marjie's self-appointed food screener.
Nam's Family - sells fabric at the morning market.
Thuy (pronounced "Twee") - sells fabric at the morning market and serves as the castle's Sunday night cooking instructor.
Thanh - (pronounced "Tawn") Thuy's sister and business partner.
Sweet Seamstress or Ms. Hao - seamstress who lives three doors down from the castle. Her assistant is Lieu and her son is Ut.
Bum Bum Girls - girls who work at the Bum Bum Salon in the alley near the Castle. Katherine and Marjie's "second home."
Tran - Katherine and Marjie's favorite massage therapist at the Bum Bum (she's not there anymore; now she comes to the castle for massages on request).
Banana Cake Lady and Rice Lady - women who supply Marjie's breakfast each morning.
"The Band" - Four people who regularly comment on the blog: Brian, Karyn ("the norris clan"), Amy ("amyt"), Bill (used to be "kumma" or "sbill" but recently transformed into "Mungo") and one person who makes star appearances: Rita (of One-Minute-Poem fame).
Katherine - castlemate and the primary PE teacher from Montreal, Canada.
Franco - castlemate and a third grade teacher from Portland, Oregon.
Tarn - former castlemate and the high school librarian from Wellington, New Zealand (in many of last year's posts).
Pretty Lady - Tarn's bicycle.
Nam (or "Mom") - Marjie's motorcycle-taxi driver and surrogate mother. He is also Marjie's self-appointed food screener.
Nam's Family - sells fabric at the morning market.
Thuy (pronounced "Twee") - sells fabric at the morning market and serves as the castle's Sunday night cooking instructor.
Thanh - (pronounced "Tawn") Thuy's sister and business partner.
Sweet Seamstress or Ms. Hao - seamstress who lives three doors down from the castle. Her assistant is Lieu and her son is Ut.
Bum Bum Girls - girls who work at the Bum Bum Salon in the alley near the Castle. Katherine and Marjie's "second home."
Tran - Katherine and Marjie's favorite massage therapist at the Bum Bum (she's not there anymore; now she comes to the castle for massages on request).
Banana Cake Lady and Rice Lady - women who supply Marjie's breakfast each morning.
"The Band" - Four people who regularly comment on the blog: Brian, Karyn ("the norris clan"), Amy ("amyt"), Bill (used to be "kumma" or "sbill" but recently transformed into "Mungo") and one person who makes star appearances: Rita (of One-Minute-Poem fame).
Blog Archive
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2008
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December
(15)
- I Talk Too Much
- Just Like the Pineapple Lady, Not at all Like the ...
- Christmas Light Strolling in Downtown Saigon
- Stuffed Stockings and Big Huge Tacos
- I Just Got Told and then Invited to Two Homes and ...
- Good Castle Christmas Karma and Moon Travels
- Blog Contest: What Do You Think This Is?
- Remedies
- So, am I living in a tropical, Buddhist country?
- Guess what everyone...
- Ant Update
- White Elephant Gifts for Castle Parties in Saigon
- Squid and Strawberries, and "Goat Meat Boiled with...
- My New Calendar
- Pa-goat-a Day is Coming!
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December
(15)
22 comments:
It looks like baba ganouche. Eggplant and garlic and other good stuff.
I'm going to go with something less exotic: Yogurt. Likely strawberry.
I'm not sure, but is it something we could eat at Tamarind Tree on Sunday night? That's right, I've convinced Jo and two other friends to go eat Vietnamese food. What should we not miss on the menu?
Taro?
Miriam, I am so happy you are going! Sbill is going with 16 people Friday night and I placed the order. The manager told Sbill that I ordered too much and pared it down! She definitely ruined some fun...but...OK, what NOT to miss:
1. Turmeric Coconut Rice Cakes
2. Tamarind Tree Rolls and maybe one with grilled meatball and one with lemongrass beef
3. The deep fried rolls with taro
4. The papaya salad
5. The catfish in claypot
6. The Tamarind Tree crepes
7. My parents had the spinach the other night and said it was divine (I haven't tried it.) Maybe Sbill can give you some suggestions, too, after his meal tonight?
OK, I had better stop there. Be sure to send me your review!
Oh, and to answer your question: No, what is pictured is not on the menu that I know of. And it is not babaganouj, yogurt, or taro.
Keep the guesses coming!
It looks like rice pudding or tapioca to me. Maybe it's just a yummy dip for those veggies!
You all are waaaaaayyyyy too tame. Hint: It is an animal product.
Well, I was going to guess tapioca, but you squelched that! Is it bone marrow?
I guess some sort of animal fat dip.
Liver Yogurt?
It looks like yogurt, but I'll try again with something that sounds terrible: seasoned blend of animal fat and cream to dip the vegetables in. (yuk!)
Pig fat that has been fried - strained and allowed to cool?
No, no, I've got to go along with "Dad" and guess it's a brain product. I've only seen "head cheese" and it's about that color.
(I refuse to go down the testicle route, but am surprised no one else has)
Could it be worms? I can't believe I'm even suggesting it.
The most creative guess prize goes to Michelle: "Pig fat that has been fried, strained, and allowed to cool." You say that like you have done it!
The prize goes to my dad, because he mentioned "brain" first. This is mashed brain. It came with the whole brain (which we thought was intestines) and the kidney (which we thought was liver) on Pagoata Day.
The day I posted this, Tarn mentioned, "Hey, do you guys know what was on those plates?"
He had been reading the menu with Thuy and saw what she had ordered; he thought he shouldn't tell us what it was until later. Last night we asked a Vietnamese guy about mashed brain and he said it is "delicious."
I wonder if any of us will ever know if that is true or not?
Oh, and Miriam, I have seen worms here. In a bowl, moving.
Wow - that's my first win at anything for the whole week!
So... It's a sort of brain yogurt then? I think I should get partial credit.
No, Brian, it is no kind of yogurt, it is plain mashed brain. They eat mashed brain in its pure form here, unlike you people in Bellingham.
Dad, I am sorry that mashed brain is the only thing you have won this week, because your prize for guessing "mashed brain" is mashed brain! I will put it in your Christmas box...
I have to come clean . . . I work with a man who moved from Vietnam to America when he was 14. He suggested that it was pork fat fried and strained. After I showed him the picture he had several guesses but the pork fat one was the most likely in my mind. He has since asked me a half a dozen times when you would reveal what it really was - I am happy that on Monday I can tell him! Thanks Marjie for a fun guessing game for all of us!
I am SO bummed I missed this game! I would have guessed tzatziki sauce, but that's the wrong continent.
Mungo sad he miss contest. Mungo would have guessed brain, because that is what Mungo's brain look like.
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