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’ve read a few excellent stuff here. Definitely value bookmarking for revisiting. I surprise how so much attempt you put to create any such excellent informative web site.
1Thank you for the sensible critique. Me & my neighbor were just preparing to do a little research on this. We got a grab a book from our local library but I think I learned more from this post. I am very glad to see such magnificent info being shared freely out there.
2Wow! This could be one particular of the most beneficial blogs We’ve ever arrive across on this subject. Actually Excellent. I am also a specialist in this topic so I can understand your hard work.
3Some genuinely superb info , Glad I discovered this. “Purchase not friends by gifts when thou ceasest to give, such will cease to love.” by Thomas Fuller.
4Very fantastic visual appeal on this web site, I’d rate it 10 10.
5Thanks for this post, I am a big big fan of this web site would like to keep updated.
6I have recently started a web site, the info you offer on this web site has helped me greatly. Thank you for all of your time & work. “Patriotism is often an arbitrary veneration of real estate above principles.” by George Jean Nathan.
7Can I just say what a aid to seek out somebody who really is aware of what theyre talking about on the internet. You positively know the way to deliver an issue to light and make it important. More people must learn this and understand this side of the story. I cant believe youre no more well-liked because you undoubtedly have the gift.
8The crux of your writing while sounding agreeable initially, did not really work well with me after some time. Somewhere throughout the sentences you actually managed to make me a believer but only for a short while. I nevertheless have a problem with your jumps in assumptions and you would do nicely to fill in all those breaks. In the event you can accomplish that, I could certainly be impressed.
9WONDERFUL Post.thanks for share..more wait .. …
10Greetings! I know this is kind of off topic but I was wondering if you knew where I could locate a captcha plugin for my comment form? I’m using the same blog platform as yours and I’m having difficulty finding one? Thanks a lot!
11Whoa! This blog looks just like my old one! It’s on a entirely different subject but it has pretty much the same layout and design. Great choice of colors!
12F*ckin’ remarkable issues here. I’m very satisfied to look your post. Thanks a lot and i’m looking ahead to touch you. Will you please drop me a e-mail?
13This design is incredible! You certainly know how to keep a reader entertained. Between your wit and your videos, I was almost moved to start my own blog (well, almost…HaHa!) Fantastic job. I really enjoyed what you had to say, and more than that, how you presented it. Too cool!
14Hello just wanted to give you a brief heads up and let you know a few of the images aren’t loading properly. I’m not sure why but I think its a linking issue. I’ve tried it in two different web browsers and both show the same outcome.
15Hi, Neat post. There is a problem with your site in internet explorer, would test this… IE still is the market leader and a large portion of people will miss your wonderful writing due to this problem.
16Have you ever thought about including a little bit more than just your articles? I mean, what you say is important and everything. However think about if you added some great images or videos to give your posts more, “pop”! Your content is excellent but with pics and clips, this website could certainly be one of the most beneficial in its field. Superb blog!
17Very interesting subject , thanks for posting.
18Very nice design and superb subject material, absolutely nothing else we need :D.
19Thank you so much for giving everyone an extremely brilliant opportunity to read articles and blog posts from this web site. It’s usually so excellent and also full of fun for me and my office friends to visit your web site at the least thrice in a week to read through the new secrets you have got. Not to mention, I’m at all times amazed concerning the attractive advice served by you. Certain 3 tips in this article are without a doubt the simplest we have had.
20You have brought up a very superb points, thanks for the post.
21I’d perpetually want to be update on new posts on this website , saved to favorites! .
22Woah! I’m really digging the template/theme of this blog. It’s simple, yet effective. A lot of times it’s tough to get that “perfect balance” between superb usability and appearance. I must say you’ve done a very good job with this. Additionally, the blog loads very fast for me on Firefox. Outstanding Blog!
23Perfectly indited content material, Really enjoyed examining.
24Hey, you used to write wonderful, but the last several posts have been kinda boring?K I miss your super writings. Past several posts are just a bit out of track! come on!
25hi!,I really like your writing very so much! share we keep in touch extra approximately your post on AOL? I require an expert on this area to unravel my problem. Maybe that’s you! Taking a look ahead to look you.
26I like this website very much, Its a very nice post to read and incur information.
27We’re a group of volunteers and opening a new scheme in our community. Your website provided us with valuable information to work on. You have done an impressive job and our whole community will be thankful to you.
28