Kim Son’s Tet in woven baskets
*Guest post in Vietnamese by my Mom, translated by me*
Back in the day, I seldom ate from street stalls or vendors’ baskets, my conscience imprinted with my mother’s unmovable doubt on the street food’s cleanliness. Nonetheless, I scurry with no hesitation to make it to Kim Son for lunch today, just because the TV news last night showed that Kim Son has a 9-day New Year food festival where the goodies are sold in baskets, mimicking the vendor stalls in Vietnam.
Like usual, the display is a buffet style, but this week the dining hall is decorated with flowers, fruits, and Tet greetings, the food selection is also larger and more interesting than normal days. I notice thịt kho and dưa giá (slow braised pork and pickled bean sprout, two traditional Tet savory dishes), bánh xèo (sizzling crepe), bánh bèo (water fern banh), bánh bột lọc (translucent banh) bánh cống (mung bean fried muffin).
In the baskets lie a few types of xôi, bánh tét, and mứt. A tightening mix of homesickness and joy rushes through me as I see woven baskets, bamboo shoulder poles, and the waxy green banana leaves holding and covering morsels of Tet.
We load our first plate with seven-course beef, though the kitchen churns out only four: grilled beef (bò nướng vỉ), beef loaf (bò chả đùm), lolot beef (bò nướng lá lốt), and beef sausage in omental fat casing (bò mỡ chài). The little pinky-length fat beef sausages are extraordinarily tender, grilled on medium fire and so well seasoned they have the sweet smell of talents.
Meanwhile, my husband chooses the restaurant’s recommended special of the day: grilled snail sausage in banana leaves. I don’t like snails but have a taste anyway just out of curiosity. It is slightly spicy, but I get blown away. There is no hint of the wet and grassy snail scent that used to give me goosebumps when I was little. The banana leaf wrapping protects the velvety sausages from the burnt smell of open fire grilling, and gives it a sweet green aroma of summer breeze. As much as I like fish, I must admit these are better than the Indonesian fish sausages I’ve had a few months ago.
Another special is bánh canh cua Nam Phổ. I only learned about Nam Phổ, a village in central Vietnam, and its famous udon-like noodle soup from books, so I am overjoyed to see the real thing on the menu today. Bits of crab meat amidst chubby slick chunks of banh canh in a scarlet broth rich of crab sauce is the loveliest sight of all noodle soups. Banh canh Nam Pho, unlike banh canh of the South, doesn’t have loads of shrimp or pork, the broth isn’t starkly clear, yet its thickness delivers just a mellow natural sweetness. The first bite reveals little taste, but the second, the third, and a few sips of the broth in between start to sweep in waves of riverbank wind and meadow fragrance.
The country lunch sets us back $35.75 and 90 minutes. As we get ready to leave at 12:30, the parking lot gets ready for a massive lion dance and firecracker show. The sight of sixteen gaudy lions and hundred-meter long red squib strings and their boisterous sounds follow me all the way home, as I think of how we, the Asian expats, try to bring with us our lunar new year and our motherlands wherever we go.
Address: Kim Son Restaurant
10603 Bellaire Blvd
Houston, TX 77072
(281) 598-1777
This post is included in the February 2011 edition of Delicious Vietnam, a blogging event organized by Anh from A Food Lover’s Journey and Hong and Kim from Ravenous Couple.
I and my friends have been analyzing the excellent advice from your website and so before long I got a horrible feeling I never expressed respect to the web site owner for those strategies. Those boys were for this reason very interested to read through them and now have in reality been using these things. Appreciation for getting so accommodating and also for choosing some brilliant subject areas millions of individuals are really desperate to understand about. Our sincere regret for not expressing gratitude to you earlier.
1Pretty component to content. I simply stumbled upon your website and in accession capital to say that I get in fact enjoyed account your weblog posts. Any way I’ll be subscribing on your augment or even I success you get admission to constantly fast.
2As a Newbie, I am constantly browsing online for articles that can benefit me. Thank you
3I’ve recently started a website, the info you provide on this site has helped me greatly. Thank you for all of your time & work.
4I have been exploring for a little for any high-quality articles or blog posts in this sort of house . Exploring in Yahoo I at last stumbled upon this site. Reading this information So i am glad to express that I have a very just right uncanny feeling I found out just what I needed. I most undoubtedly will make certain to don’t forget this website and give it a glance on a continuing basis.
5I visited a lot of website but I think this one has got something extra in it in it
6Hey very cool website!! Man .. Excellent .. Amazing .. I will bookmark your blog and take the feeds also…I’m happy to find numerous useful info here in the post, we need develop more strategies in this regard, thanks for sharing. . . . . .
7I’m not that much of a online reader to be honest but your blogs really nice, keep it up! I’ll go ahead and bookmark your site to come back in the future. Cheers
8Hi! I could have sworn I’ve been to this site before but after reading through some of the post I realized it’s new to me. Nonetheless, I’m definitely happy I found it and I’ll be bookmarking and checking back often!
9Thanks for all your efforts that you have put in this. very interesting information.
10I have been absent for a while, but now I remember why I used to love this web site. Thank you, I’ll try and check back more often. How frequently you update your site?
11F*ckin’ amazing things here. I am very glad to see your post. Thanks a lot and i’m looking forward to contact you. Will you please drop me a e-mail?
12Usually I don’t read article on blogs, but I wish to say that this write-up very forced me to try and do so! Your writing style has been amazed me. Thanks, very nice article.
13Yeah bookmaking this wasn’t a bad determination great post! .
14I’d incessantly want to be update on new articles on this website , bookmarked! .
15Hi my friend! I want to say that this post is awesome, nice written and include almost all significant infos. I’d like to see more posts like this.
16Hi there! Someone in my Myspace group shared this website with us so I came to give it a look. I’m definitely enjoying the information. I’m bookmarking and will be tweeting this to my followers! Exceptional blog and brilliant design.
17Hiya, I’m really glad I have found this info. Today bloggers publish just about gossips and internet and this is actually irritating. A good site with exciting content, that’s what I need. Thanks for keeping this website, I will be visiting it. Do you do newsletters? Can not find it.
18I just like the helpful info you supply in your articles. I’ll bookmark your weblog and take a look at once more here frequently. I’m moderately certain I will learn lots of new stuff right here! Good luck for the next!
19Perfect work you have done, this site is really cool with wonderful information.
20You made various good points there. I did a search on the subject and found most people will have the same opinion with your blog.
21I want reading and I think this website got some really utilitarian stuff on it! .
22Good write-up, I am normal visitor of one’s blog, maintain up the nice operate, and It is going to be a regular visitor for a lengthy time.
23Simply wanna input that you have a very nice site, I like the design it really stands out.
24I am glad to be a visitor of this stark weblog! , regards for this rare info ! .
25I’ve been absent for some time, but now I remember why I used to love this blog. Thanks, I’ll try and check back more often. How frequently you update your site?
26I am glad to be a visitant of this gross weblog! , regards for this rare information! .
27I couldn’t resist commenting
28I view something really special in this site.
29Hmm is anyone else having problems with the images on this blog loading? I’m trying to figure out if its a problem on my end or if it’s the blog. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.
30Hello. splendid job. I did not expect this. This is a impressive story. Thanks!
31I like this blog very much, Its a real nice office to read and obtain info . “I look upon every day to be lost, in which I do not make a new acquaintance.” by Samuel Johnson.
32It is in point of fact a nice and useful piece of information. I am satisfied that you shared this helpful info with us. Please stay us informed like this. Thanks for sharing.
33Woah! I’m really digging the template/theme of this site. It’s simple, yet effective. A lot of times it’s challenging to get that “perfect balance” between user friendliness and appearance. I must say you have done a amazing job with this. Additionally, the blog loads very quick for me on Firefox. Superb Blog!
34I think you have observed some very interesting details, thanks for the post.
35Simply wanna say that this is invaluable, Thanks for taking your time to write this.
36I like your writing style truly enjoying this site.
37Some really good info , Sword lily I noticed this. “What we want is to see the child in pursuit of knowledge, and not knowledge in pursuit of the child.” by George Bernard Shaw.
38hello!,I like your writing very much! share we communicate more about your article on AOL? I require an expert on this area to solve my problem. May be that’s you! Looking forward to see you.
39I’d have to test with you here. Which is not something I usually do! I take pleasure in reading a post that can make individuals think. Also, thanks for allowing me to remark!
40I like what you guys are up also. Such clever work and reporting! Carry on the excellent works guys I’ve incorporated you guys to my blogroll. I think it will improve the value of my site :).
41Wow that was odd. I just wrote an very long comment but after I clicked submit my comment didn’t show up. Grrrr… well I’m not writing all that over again. Anyhow, just wanted to say great blog!
42You actually make it appear really easy along with your presentation but I to find this topic to be really one thing that I feel I’d by no means understand. It kind of feels too complicated and extremely large for me. I am having a look forward in your subsequent publish, I will attempt to get the hang of it!
43Great blog here! Also your website rather a lot up very fast! What web host are you using? Can I am getting your associate link to your host? I want my web site loaded up as quickly as yours lol
44The next time I read a blog, I hope that it doesnt disappoint me as much as this one. I mean, I know it was my choice to read, but I actually thought youd have something interesting to say. All I hear is a bunch of whining about something that you could fix if you werent too busy looking for attention.
45I’m very happy to read this. This is the kind of manual that needs to be given and not the random misinformation that is at the other blogs. Appreciate your sharing this best doc.
46Oh my goodness! an amazing article dude. Thanks Nonetheless I am experiencing subject with ur rss . Don’t know why Unable to subscribe to it. Is there anybody getting identical rss problem? Anybody who is aware of kindly respond. Thnkx
47I’m very happy to read this. This is the type of manual that needs to be given and not the accidental misinformation that’s at the other blogs. Appreciate your sharing this best doc.
48Hi there! This post couldn’t be written any better! Reading through this post reminds me of my previous room mate! He always kept talking about this. I will forward this article to him. Pretty sure he will have a good read. Thank you for sharing!
49I like this post, enjoyed this one appreciate it for posting.
50