Food off the Streets

By Joanna Mary

Photos by Joanna Mary

One of the first thoughts that entered my head as we drove along the streets of Saigon upon our arrival was “O my God, I am so NOT going to have a problem finding food even at 3am!” I was captivated by the multitude of street vendors lined up along the sidewalk selling a variety of food and drinks. Street vendors can often be found in parks, and in any available spaces in front of buildings. Visiting these stalls, one can often select from a choice of baguettes, Pho (pronounced fur), crab noodle soup, a variety of fresh fruit as well as fruit juices and much much more. Prices are also affordable, starting from 15, 000 VND (approximately RM 3) to a maximum of 45, 000 VND (approximately RM7).

The variety of fresh fruits available in Saigon (our favourite munchie).

Generally there are two types of street vendors, those that have permanent stalls and the wandering sellers. A wandering seller refers to someone who balances a bamboo stick on their shoulder and goes around selling edibles, on foot. For most of us, street food became part of our daily diet, as its value-for-money and we were able to experience authentic Vietnamese cuisine. Ordering is often a hilarious experience due to communication barriers, thus relying mainly on hand gestures and a constant “no no no”. Just this afternoon when I was trying to buy a sugarcane drink from this very friendly Vietnamese lady, my failed attempt of asking the price of my drink, ended up with my drink ice-less. Nonetheless it is all part and parcel of exploring Vietnam.

Another interesting aspect of street vending in Vietnam is the small, child-like tables and chairs used to accommodate customers. The best way to understand what this looks like is to try and imagine the tables and chairs used for preschool children; that would give an idea of the size of the meal tables here. Although at first it was difficult to sit comfortably on chairs and tables meant for someone who is shorter and way smaller, I grew to cherish the moments that we had to huddle together shoulder to shoulder having a steaming bowl of Pho. I realized that the small physical space helped us bridge and embrace the cultural and individual differences as conversations flowed easier and sharing (both food and personal stories) became more open. Perhaps this would help explain the sense of community and friendliness of the Vietnamese people. There are no adequate words that I can use to describe the friendliness of the Vietnamese street vendors. Most vendors are welcoming and amazingly patient while we take hours to order and even longer to settle the bills, take relentless photos of their stall and being the inconsiderate tourists that we sometimes are, make a lot of noise. Calculations are another distressing segment of our mealtimes, but help is always at hand in the form of the vendors who patiently explain  the dongs from the dollars and thousands from the millions (never once cheating us). 

However being a street vendor is not the pathway to an easy life. I had the opportunity to briefly interview two street vendors who were kind enough to share their experiences with me. I realised after talking to them that they lead a difficult life, often making just enough money to survive, with barely enough left to save. Such is the story of Nhi, 27, a fruit juice seller located two minutes from the hotel who we frequent everyday. Nhi fell from grace when her husband was diagnosed with terminal illness and passed away two years ago, driving her to bankruptcy. She then opened up a fruit juice stall to support herself and her then 22-month old baby. She shared the difficulties that she faces in saving some extra money due to high rent and competition from other vendors. She is required to pay rental to the hotel adjacent to her stall, as the sidewalk where her stall stands is the hotel’s property. Public spaces in Vietnam interestingly enough are managed privately. In addition, competition is very high at any given time, as there are about 6 – 7 vendors selling the exact same thing as Nhi, within the same street. Most times they are usually a few feet away from each other. As Nhi shared, “the only way to survive is to keep your prices low and ignore the competitors”. However what is interesting is that although competition is widespread and the stakes are high, there still exists a strong sense of community and belonging, where everyone looks out for each other. In instances where a stall is left unattended, a neighbour will gamely stand in; a common sight is to see vendors happily chatting with each other.

Our favorite fruit juice lady, Nhi.

Life is even harder for Thuy, a 53 year old street wanderer who is still working at an old age to support a family of five. Her shift starts from noon till 2.00am daily, walking approximately 20 km, selling fresh vegetables and eggs to earn a living. She has a husband who works as a builder and three children who are unemployed. A sweet and accommodating lady, she explained during the interview how life is difficult as at times there is barely enough money for food, let alone other expenses. Thuy has been a wandering seller for so long that when we asked her how long has she been in business, she smiled at us saying, “I have been doing this for so long that I have lost count of the years”. It was a bittersweet moment, knowing that for most of these wandering sellers, chances for a brighter future remains desolately slim.

Thuy, 53, the wandering seller.

In addition, another interesting observation about Vietnamese street vendors is their mobility.  This is due to the political and economic standpoint of Vietnam, as street vendors are illegal and therefore comes under scrutiny by the police. Hence in order to avoid harassment, most vendors relocate from time to time.  Although some food stalls have some sort of permanent fixture along the sidewalks, more often than not, we have observed new vendors, in the place of old ones. This is most common especially when observing the street vendor in front of our hotel. Almost every morning, we come down to the sight and sounds of the ever changing street vendors selling all kinds of food for breakfast. Sometimes it is like a hide and seek game, where one minute you see a stall you want to try and the next day it is no longer there. This shows just how fragile the street vendors set up is- here today, gone tomorrow.

In about less than 48 hours we will be boarding the flight back to Malaysia, leaving behind good food, the familiar faces of those whose stalls we have frequented over the last eight days and the hospitality of our Vietnamese friends. I am sure I speak on behalf of all of us when I say that these street vendors have been an integral part of our experience here and it has been an eye opening experience to us, the crazy Monashians, to gain a small but nonetheless deeper understanding of the lives of Vietnamese street vendors.

Joanna Maria, 25, is an Honours student doing a thesis on female gamers and identity negotiation.

Video 05: Sing Song

Diary Entry Day 5: Calm After the Storm

By Francesca Peris

Photos by Joanna Maria

Having had an exhausting week, today was an amazingly ‘chilled’ out relaxing day. Most of us slept through the morning, only waking up around noon to grab a quick bite and continue to explore the unseen side of Saigon. The weather did not help speed up our process of getting ready thus leaving us as ‘blur as Dory’.

Hence our first and only stop for the day was to Caritas. In Latin, caritas stands for ‘charity’, which is exactly what these good hearted Vietnamese have devoted their lives to. To my surprise, all the speakers were able to communicate in proficient English which facilitated the question and answer session smoothly. I was very impressed by the passion, dedication and humility of this group of people who have committed their lives to serving to God’s calling.

A short explanation of the work before the main session

Being a Catholic myself, I was touched by the lengths that they are willing to go through to help the poor and needy, especially since it is not an easy task to get governmental approval for such projects here in Saigon. Most projects are held internally, and all donations come from fellow devotees as well as volunteers from around the world. It is amazing how these people are putting their time and effort into helping the people in Vietnam live a peaceful life.

However I was a tiny bit disappointed for not being able to visit their church as we were all looking forward to that experience. Personally, I was looking forward to having a quick minute or two of alone time in church. I am not super religious, but this trip has left me with a constant longing to be in a place of worship.

Soon after the meeting was over, the study group walked across to a nearby coffee shop named Nguyen Café, where we sat on the balcony while having authentic Vietnamese tea. Some spent a little more on overpriced coffee, but really, what’s wrong with spending a little more on coffee you can’t get anywhere else but in Vietnam. Any who, words were flying across narrow pathways, gossip in the air, carbon dioxide as well and harmless teasing added up to create beautiful ambiance.

Enjoying the company

Laughter and merriment

The leaves, yes the leaves, weren't just doing us a great job by providing us fresh air. It made the place feel like an English tea garden. Cyren, being an insect lover, was amazed and decided to pick up some lessons from Vivien. Thus two beautiful handmade grasshoppers were born. The whole bunch of us decided to stampede down the narrow staircase leaving behind “woos” and “hahas”.

Cyren’s ‘love’ grasshopper.

When we got back I found myself having an entire evening to myself and being a sleepyhead, I decided to take much needed nap. Today I also had the added misfortune of being ill. Unfortunately for me and my plans of napping, Cultural Night practices were taking place with full steam and the singing group (consisting of an interesting blend of talents), with their “Shooobeeedooobappp, app app app, app, Shalalala, Shalalala” came across to me as “Shalalalala, in the morninggggg, Shalalala, time to rise and shine”, and I resigned all hope of sleeping. Today I also had the added misfortune of being ill. But with constant bugging by my friend we decided to venture out to get some local delights. On the way I could not help craving for home food like ‘Indomee’ and ‘Maggie mee goreng tak mahu sayur’ (fried Maggi mee without vegetables) eventually giving in to the Vietnamese version of ‘meehoon soup’ which we tapau-ed (take away). While eating we shared intellectual gossip and updated each other of the latest dirt on everyone. We were almost done, but not quite, because I just remembered that I had to type out this diary entry! So, yeah people, day five in a nut shell, Francesca, signing out. Jumpa Lagi. Sayonara, Adios, and See you tomorrow for another round of journeying with the crazy Saigon explorers.

Francesca Anna Peris, 22, currently an undergraduate at Monash Malaysia, pursuing a Communications major. Her favorite quote:

         ‘Beauty itself is but the sensible image of the Infinite’ - Francis Bacon

Food of Saigon, Part 1: Les Français

By Andrea Tee
Photographs by Christyna Fong

I once read on a restaurant wall that food is the life blood of a country. Far from just being a source of fuel for its people, it reflects a country’s values and history, culture and tradition. It can, in fact, tell you where a country is now and where it will be in the future.
 

It may have been something I read on a wall, but that doesn’t make it any less true.

Old French illustration of the capture of Lang-Son

 Saigon is a fascinating amalgamation of French and Chinese influences, reflected in its food. In 1858, under the orders of Napoleon III of France, French gunships attacked the port of Đà Nẵng, colonizing Vietnam until 1945. While you wouldn’t expect to find heaps of bangers and mash for sale in post-colonial Malaysia, Vietnam seems to have embraced its 87-year French imperialist history in a big way. Its not uncommon to walk down a single street and see three different roadside vendors selling variations of pâté, cheese and French bread.
 

This combination is, in fact, a standard breakfast dish in Vietnam, and one I’ve already had twice because it is divine. A six-inch loaf of crusty, crispy French bread is sliced open and slathered with either Laughing Cow spreadable cream cheese or a spicy mayonnaise. Shredded chicken and slices of processed, deli meats are stuffed in, followed by sticks of cucumber and carrot.
 

Because this is Vietnam and it is still quintessentially Asian, a sprig of coriander and some chilli go in as well, and you’ve got this lovely, meaty, cream cheesy, spicy concoction encased in a light, crunchy shell. All for 18,000 VND (RM2.60). * It’s important to note that this may not be the standard price everywhere, but we are staying in a tourist area and things are predictably more expensive.

A flan pie--yet another delicious French pastry to be found in the bakeries of Saigon.

Though rice and noodles are, as in any south east Asian country, one of the main staples, Saigon boasts a huge array of breads and pastries. Nearly every bakery I have passed by sells a variety of sweet and savoury Danishes, as well as the ubiquitous French bread. There are a number of authentic French bakeries here too, and Christyna and I had the pleasure of stopping at one that sold an abundance of gorgeous, expertly-made pastries and cakes, all labelled under their original French names. We shared a baba au rhum (rum baba) for 40,000 VND (RM5.80); a small, yeast cake saturated with rum and served with whipped cream on top.

The cake, soaked and glistening with alcohol, was sitting in a veritable pool of golden rum. I hadn’t tried one before, as they’re not often sold in Malaysia (for obvious reasons), but if you love rum and cake, a baba au rhum could potentially be one your most satisfying pastry-related experiences, ever. The cake itself was moist and held its texture and shape when cut into, and the rum when eaten with a dollop of cream was incredibly rich, though not overwhelmingly so.

The delectable baba au rhum, overlooking the city one last time.

This richness persists in a lot of the French influenced food in Saigon. I don’t recall eating chicken eggs at all. Rather, duck and quails eggs are in heavy abundance here. Cheese and yoghurt too, are extremely popular, and so is the glorious French dessert, Crème Caramel.

Beef Ragout, a rich, beef stew with potatoes, carrots and generous chunks of beef is yet another commonly featured menu item. Served with a choice of French bread or steamed rice, the ragout is warming, hearty, stick-to-your-ribs kind of food.

Having hopefully satisfactorily whet your appetite, I will be covering the prevalent Chinese influence on typical Vietnamese street food in my next article.

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Andrea Tee, 22, is a Communications and Writing major in her final year. She reads, writes, goes on the internet and does other stuff sometimes.

Faith in Action

By Cheah Wui Jia

Photos by Lim Fei Xiang and Joanna Maria 

On Day Five of the trip, the students made their way to Chuong Trinh AIDS, a NGO that helps the HIV/AIDS patients of Ho Chi Minh city through multiple channels. Having ties with a number of organizations and sub-groups, we met Mr. Pham Thanh Van, the co-ordinator, whose organization liaises with community efforts to collectively come together as one and aid HIV/AIDs patients. It was into these community efforts that the students were then divided into for the day’s session. While some were assigned to visit the Pagoda’s community effort, others went to see how individual community members had taken on leadership roles to aid others within the community.

 The common thread binding all four groups is the social pandemic HIV/AIDS, showing just how ubiquitous the disease has become and how various walks of life have incorporated it into their community efforts to deal with it as effectively as possible.

This particular account has been written by a student who made house visits to community leaders of the Bin Thanh district. - Editors' Note

We met with Father Vincent and volunteers of Caritas Saigon, Joe and Joseph, at the house of the archbishop who together with ten other priests governs the diocese of Ho Chi Minh City. This diocese coordinates efforts of the 200 units of parishes within the province, uniting them for a common cause: to love the community. The word “caritas” is the Latin word for charity. Father Vincent, also known by his Vietnamese name Vincent Dao, is the director of Caritas Saigon.

Father Vincent of Caritas Saigon having a chat with Dr Yeoh

Caritas Internationalis is a confederate of 165 Roman Catholic relief, development and social service organizations functioning in over 200 countries. The members are part of a national charitable organization that works with the support of their respective Church. Each Caritas member nation has a diocese. Caritas Saigon constitutes a diocese of Caritas Vietnam.

The vision of the Catholic organization constitutes the expression of the love of God in the form of caring for the disadvantaged. Father Vincent describes the poor “in materials or in love” as the target groups of this organization. The slogan of Caritas Saigon, “The Joy of Service”, manifests itself in the various ways by which Caritas attempts to bridge the rich and the poor; Caritas Saigon professes that its aim is to link the rich at heart, who want to provide funds or other forms of support, to the poor and vulnerable. The latter encompasses HIV positive children, children of migrants, and young women dealing with pregnancies out of wedlock. Caritas Saigon aims to ensure that support or resources are channeled to, in the words of Joe who is a volunteer of Caritas Saigon, “the right people at the right time”.

The motto of Caritas Saigon

   According to Caritas Saigon, the income disparity in Vietnam is widening; the United Nations states that high wage earning Vietnamese earn an income that equals 36.2 times that of low wage earners. 5.1 million PWDs (People With Disabilities) make up seven percent of the Vietnamese population. 293 000 Vietnamese are HIV positive carriers, with Ho Chi Minh City having the highest percentage of HIV/AIDS sufferers. Caritas believes that the Catholic faith needs to be made evident by ministering to the needs of these vulnerable groups.

        Vietnamese law prohibits proselytization of any form of religion; the government, suspicious of the intentions of the organization shut it down in 1976. In the year of 2008, Caritas Vietnam was allowed by the government to resume its operation after the Vietnamese government recognized the impact that Caritas organizations had made in the international arena. While Caritas Saigon has not been officially granted the license to operate as a relief organization, it nevertheless undertakes its humanitarian efforts by maintaining a low profile, refraining from the execution of large-scaled projects or the attribution of a particular relief effort to Caritas Saigon.

        Caritas Saigon ministers to the needs of the AIDS victims. The HIV/AIDS department was set up in the year of 2005, setting up clinics for children suffering from AIDS. It is in charge of five “Love Shelters”, providing food, counseling, and medication. By promoting awareness on the disease, Caritas Saigon attempts to educate the public on HIV/AIDS to eliminate stigma and exclusion. One of the shelters operated by Caritas Saigon is the Mai Tam shelter which provides care, medicine and education programs to mothers and women living with HIV in Ho Chi Minh City.

        Urban migration occurs at a high rate in Vietnam. Children of migrant workers are often underprivileged as individuals who have been uprooted from their homes. They are unable to obtain an education as their migrant parents struggle financially to make ends meet. As a result, these migrant children are often found loitering on the streets instead of attending school in the day. Caritas Saigon conducts “Loving Classes” which provides the migrant children with basic meals and cultivating in them a desire and eagerness to learn. On top of that, they work with the community to send these children to school or to skills training centre for those who are of working age.

        Abortion occurs at a high rate; 2.4 million cases of abortion occur every year, and women who have undergone abortion tend to suffer from depression. These women are therefore in need of spiritual support. The archbishop’s house has consulting rooms where single women dealing with pregnancies receive counseling and the support that they need. Caritas Saigon hopes to provide sex education to young women by teaching them the value of life, love and sex.

Group photograph with our hosts Father Vincent, Joe and Joseph

        We ended the session feeling inspired by the efforts of Caritas Saigon. After taking a group photograph with Father Vincent, Joe and Joseph, we bid our hosts farewell and proceeded to our next destination at a local café to enjoy some Vietnamese coffee.

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Cheah Wui Jia, 23, is currently an Honours student doing her thesis on Christianity in Malaysia and its tithing practices. She’s a fresh Arts graduate who likes to study people and how they behave (thus the Psychology major), and loves writing about people (hence the Writing major).

Video 03: Da Cao