Saturday, 10 Dec 05: Day 7

It turned out to be a lovely cool day so, after breakfast, we walked all the way to and visited the History Museum. The entrance fee was just 10000 dong (SGD $1.10) each.

We were just in time to catch the water puppet show for US$2 (SGD $3.40) each. I'm sure we weren't watching the best of performers. Still, we were amazed at how simple the technology was and yet there was such a range of movement.

The 1/2 hour performance came in four snippets:

• Dance of the phoenix
• Ducks and the boys
• Vietnamese life on the water
• The four legendary animals – phoenix, turtle, qi lin (Chinese unicorn) and the dragon

the setting


the beauty


the pagaentry


the whimsy


the charm


the action


Everyman's tale (if you've Vietnamese, that is)

It was easy to see why this artform would enthrall villagers. This wasn't some high-art tradition that only courtiers could appreciate. This was the art of folk tales and fables, the gentle humour of peasants.

Then it was time to do our last minute shopping and say goodbye to all our favourite haunts, starting with Ben Thanh Market. Believe it or not, we had more coffee to buy! From there, we walked back along Le Loi. I finally succumbed to the persuasive techniques of an elderly auntie who spoke excellent English and bought...

communism as pop culture

memories of Uncle Ho

... two shirts, for US$2 each (SGD $3.40).

But it was Nguyen Thiep Street that we were the saddest to leave. First, there were the sights that never failed to tickle.


artistic licence

Then there was the Pho 24 branch where we had our first HCM meal. We couldn't leave without having a last meal there... burp... And of course we couldn't just walk past Brodard's without a last taste either.

responsible for our weight gain (and no, that's not us)

mmmm, slurp

One pineapple roll, almond croissant and custard puff later (21000 dong/SGD $2.25), we were revitalised enough to continue with our farewell tour.

HM was finally poised to commit to an embroidered handbag, from bag shop Medaka, that she had been eyeing for a week. So we popped in for a while, and left with the said bag, for US$24/SGD $40.80 (see pic below).

Nguyen Thiep Street, with Medaka on the right


sophisticated kitsch

Then, onward to a final stop at Authentique before dinner.

upstairs in the home and decor section

easy on the eye

We were happy to piece together a final purchase, a stoneware tea-set, for US$20 (SGD $34).

ours, yay!

Now, where should we have our last HCM dinner? For a moment, I was tempted to say at the night markets, but Lonely Planet had the last word. Recommended within its Vietnam guide was the author's choice, Huong Lai. Its claim to fame? Vietnamese food, as served by Mom.

We trudged through the rain, umbrellas overhead, looking for the restaurant along Le Thanh Ton. We had two sources of information, the Lonely Planet guide, and a flyer I had picked up at one of our JCB-approved boutiques. Fortunately, we had the flyer with us, for the LP guide's address was outdated and the entrance was quite nondescript.

We were glad to get out of the rain, and into this:


our first impression of Huong Lai


stairway to heaven

busy, busy, busy

What a tastefully decorated little place! The service staff, supposedly street kids who had been picked up and given a second chance at life ala Jamie Oliver, were well-trained and eager to please. We had our little suspicions that the owner wasn't Vietnamese (uh, you do get a sense of these things).

Then the food started appearing. The food, we decided, was gourmet Vietnamese, but the presentation was again tailored to inspire gasps of admiration from Japanese customers.


finally, suitably moist goi cuon


prawns in coconut juice, with salt and lime for dipping

claypot rice with seafood (left) and grilled eggplant with garlic (right)

braised fish in claypot

green bean che and lotus seed che

We had the choice of several set menus. We chose this one:

• Goi cuon – the best we had throughout the trip
• Prawns in coconut juice - oh, to die for, so sweet
• Claypot rice with seafood – subtle
• Grilled eggplant with garlic – delicately delicious
• Braised fish in claypot – a spicy bean paste sauce with a nam nuoc undertone
• Tofu soup with chives – very clear
• Green bean che and lotus seed che – like Chinese tong sui

The meal was worth the walk in the rain. The set was a wonderful counterpoint of various tastes and textures. It may have been toned down a little to accommodate European and Japanese palates, for all we knew, but it felt authentic to us. It was not the Chinese-style cuisine we had been encountering at most restaurants, nor was it the restaurant cuisine we had come to associate with Vietnamese restaurants, you know, bun chao tom or prawn paste wrapped around sugar cane, that kind of thing. And the best part? The bill only came up to 306000 dong or SGD $32.75! Incredible, for the quality of food and presentation, not to mention the ambience. I was glad we had opted for this over the night markets.

Interestingly enough, as we had predicted, the owner wasn't Vietnamese. He was a dapper softspoken Japanese man (HM described him as asexual!) who approached each table to have a quick word with. He thanked us profusely for our extravagant compliments. We said we hoped the restaurant would still be around when we next visit.

By the time we were done with dinner, the rain had practially stopped. We did a slow amble towards "home". Outside the Municipal Theatre was a hive of activity. That morning, we had noticed a stage that seemed to have been set up practically overnight. We assumed that there would be a week's worth of preparation before rehearsals proper, involving the set-up of tiered seating and so on, just like for the National Day Parade or the Chingay Parade back home. Hence we were surprised, to say the least, to be invited to sit down and watch the show, as we passed by. The next thing we knew, we, and hundreds of locals and tourists, were watching what was apparently a full-dress rehearsal of the HCM City equivalent of our NDP, complete with a cast of thousands and a tv crew. This was obviously a moment not to be missed.


the stage awaits


patriotic fervour


revolutionary spirit (on tippy toes, says HM)


captured for posterity


look ma, no hands!


one family's cheap night out


Vietnamese-style boy band?


the world was their audience


Viet Idol


don't play play, they pulled out all the stops...


the future of the nation


two hours later, the show was over

Our trip was just about over too. We walked back to the Grand Hotel, enjoying the cool air, with only the packing to look forward too.