Nhau: beer cocktails, fusion kitchen & Qi harmony

Shell fish in lemongrass garlic sauce, perilla leaves with deep fried tofu and fermented shrimp paste sauce (the grey dipping sauce)

Whenever there is something to celebrate, Vietnamese people often go nhau. According to the local friends, it stands for beer drinking, while eating "weird" food. Finally I experienced a culture shock... or kind of.

So, my first time nhau. We arrived at an outdoor beer restaurant that looked like a walled parking place with the typical kids-sized plastic furniture. As this means that your knees are closer to your face than your food is, these places may not be the most comfortable establishments to eat. Still, do expect amazing meals as the rule in Asia is often: the less effort put in facilities & decor, the more is spent on your plate.

Xôi gà - sticky rice chicken

xôi gà at the (street) restaurants with mung bean  milk (right corner above)

Xôi stands for sticky rice, gà is the chicken part. It is sticky rice served with chicken meat pulled from the bones. It is full of flavours and different textures, a great example of a typical Vietnamese party-in-your-mouth dish. Just perfect for lunch or as a big snack to survive the last hours before dinner.