Page 152 - WINE DINE AND TRAVEL FALL 2020 South Africa

“Vietnamese pizza.” the tinsel and “Chuc Mung Nam Moi” signs were
Banh trang nuong is round and has a crust but everywhere and New Year’s Day wasn’t until Jan.
that’s about its only connection to the Italian con- 25. (Vietnam, like China, celebrates New Year’s
coction. This pizza is sizzled on an outdoor grill based on a lunar calendar. Both were anticipating
starting with a base of thin rice paper. Instead of the upcoming Year of the Rat.)
tomato sauce, they smear quail or chicken egg At night, HCMC’s downtown was lit up like Las
over the rice paper. Then come the toppings. Vegas. Indoor and outdoor restaurants were
Amazing stuff like shrimp paste or bits of dried jammed. Every store had New Year’s decorations.
pork, sriracha sauce, red chilis, and scallions. Even A week later we were in Da Lat, a former French
cheese and bacon for westerners who can’t com- colonial city in the central highlands. One of its
pletely let go. nicknames is “City of Flowers,” because it’s sur-
When the cook hands you the finished pizza – rounded by thousands of greenhouses. Ten days
about the size of a small dinner plate – you fold it before New Year’s, Da Lat’s flower business was
over and take a bite. It’s like all of Vietnamese cui- going crazy.
sine rolled into one: crunchy, gooey, complex, Red and yellow are lucky colors in Vietnam and
spicy, exotic, seriously yummy. Da Lat’s streets were lined with people selling yel-
Love, low chrysanthemums, red roses and, our favorite,
John and Jody the lucky kumquat tree. Really. Kumquats every-
where. Apparently, they symbolize good health
NEW YEARS and good luck for business. The trees, just a few
feet high, were loaded with fruit and stuck in big
Dear Ron,
flowerpots. And, of course, carted around on the
“Chuc Mung Nam Moi!” backs of motorbikes.
That’s “Happy New Year!” in Vietnamese. It’s a And Hanoi seemed like a party town. During
much heftier greeting here than back home. Viet- evening strolls around Hoan Kiem Lake, the town’s
nam’s New Year is like Thanksgiving, Christmas historic center, we passed choral groups and dance
and Fourth of July rolled into one. troupes; bad karaoke leaked out of bars and
When we arrived at Ho Chi Minh City on Jan. 9 canned music blared out over pedestrian mobs.

152 WINE DINE & TRAVEL MAGAZINE 2020