It's in the white of my eyes
In
my life, I have had Vietnamese food four times altogether, twice in
Finland and twice here in Canada in four different restaurants. Each
time the food was pretty bad. Every other Asian nation seems to have
delicious food that I would happily eat every day if I had to, and the
Vietnamese seem to be an exception to this rule. I wonder if I am doing
something wrong, or is Vietnamese food simply just... bad? The prices
of dinners have been roughly equal to what you'd pay for similar amount
of food in other ethnic places.
I like summer. I should have gone out in shorts today because it's definitely warm enough for that. It is practically a Finnish midsummer here even though it is late April, but then again, Toronto is several latitudes closer to the equator. I walked to an area that has several ethnic restaurants and grocery stores, but I walked a bit further this time to a supermarket that announced outside that it was Asian, but inside the product assortment was strictly Korean. This was a pleasant surprise, since all other Asian supermarkets around here tend to be Chinese. I gathered a sampler of all kinds of products that didn't need refrigeration (as I intended to walk back home along another route), so I had to leave behind various types of kimchi (which I just love), several kinds of marinated squid and other meat products. I have to remember that place and next time bring a cooler bag with me.
The Indian grocery store that I often patronize around the same area also has several interesting products that we like to try. So far I have mainly enjoyed their frozen food section and especially their delicious little samosas, but last night we tried some khakharas for dinner. The box that they came in declared that they are handmade in a hygienic facility in which over a thousand ladies work under one roof. I am sure that there is some cultural significance in making such a declaration, but I can't think of what it could be.
I like summer. I should have gone out in shorts today because it's definitely warm enough for that. It is practically a Finnish midsummer here even though it is late April, but then again, Toronto is several latitudes closer to the equator. I walked to an area that has several ethnic restaurants and grocery stores, but I walked a bit further this time to a supermarket that announced outside that it was Asian, but inside the product assortment was strictly Korean. This was a pleasant surprise, since all other Asian supermarkets around here tend to be Chinese. I gathered a sampler of all kinds of products that didn't need refrigeration (as I intended to walk back home along another route), so I had to leave behind various types of kimchi (which I just love), several kinds of marinated squid and other meat products. I have to remember that place and next time bring a cooler bag with me.
The Indian grocery store that I often patronize around the same area also has several interesting products that we like to try. So far I have mainly enjoyed their frozen food section and especially their delicious little samosas, but last night we tried some khakharas for dinner. The box that they came in declared that they are handmade in a hygienic facility in which over a thousand ladies work under one roof. I am sure that there is some cultural significance in making such a declaration, but I can't think of what it could be.
You've just had bad luck with Vietnamese food. Don't give up on it. If you find a decent place, they do great things with herbs and bright, citrusy flavors. The French colonial influence is an added bonus, with some unusual preps that have a distinctly French feel (whole marinated and grilled fish; food sometimes served with baguette instead of rice). In the 80s, when I lived in the US, you could often eat elegant Viet food at real holes in the wall. Of course, a lot of the immigrants running those places were fresh off the boat; prices are probably more closely related to quality by now.
As for the Indian women, the wrappers of the papadom I buy at my local Indian market say that they are made by women, too. I had assumed that this was an anomaly and was chosen to appeal to the multi-culti prog types who live in my neighborhood, but maybe you're on to something.
Posted by robert | 4:22 PM
I had assumed that this was an anomaly and was chosen to appeal to the multi-culti prog types who live in my neighborhood, but maybe you're on to something.
Initially I thought that "hygienic" is some kind of coded way of saying that the untouchables haven't touched the food with their dirty hands.
Posted by Ilkka Kokkarinen | 3:11 PM