Snails for Lunch!

After a very taxing morning (and before a very taxing afternoon), I was invited by our Hanoi Sales staff to join them for lunch.  Sales is the one department I've most neglected so far and I hadn't had a chance yet to meet most of the team members, so it was a great way for me to do so.

At noon, all eight of us loaded up into a single small cab for the five minute drive to our restaurant, Tom Bao Quan. 

It looked like a great place.  It was open air, had a great view of the small lake that sits adjacent to Tay Ho and, instead of kiddie stools, had low tables and Japanese-style pillows to sit on.

We all removed our shoes, sat down and let the feast begin! 

A very young staff, but they were fun and laughed a lot during lunch. 
Which, naturally, I hated (you know, since I'm not much of a laugher myself).

The first course was the appetizer which consisted of hot peanuts and peeled cucumbers.  You could dip the cucumber in a small bowl of salt and chili powder.

After that, they brought a bowl of "susu" vegetables which were steamed with garlic.  They were kinda spinach-y tasting and not bad.

Next up: Fried Chicken! 

Then they brought rice cake (steamed rice which is then fried and cut into eighths).  Also, note chicken head on left side of chicken plate (we were joking at how fresh the food in Vietnam is and I asked if it was so fresh that the chicken we were eating actually woke up this morning.  Everyone thought that was pretty funny).

At this point, I thought we were finished.  But those were just more appetizers.  The main course was yet to arrive.

Hot Pot!  Hot Pot is very popular in Vietnam.  When dining in restaurants, they'll generally bring a heating device, place it on the table, then place a broth-filled pot on top where it can be warmed.  As you can see, they also bring plates of fresh ingredients which you add yourself to the "soup". 

Today, our Hot Pot consisted of banana (more like plantain), tofu and snails (yes, shelled snails).  To that, a bowl of fresh herbs and vegetables was added.  After it simmers for 10-15 minutes, you fill your individual cup with rice noodles, pour the Hot Pot contents on top and dig in!

So I'm not big on either tofu or snails, but this was pretty good.  (I told an American co-worker today about the snails in the Hot Pot and after giving me a doubtful look, I told him they were just like slightly hardened gummy bears.  I think he remains skeptical).  The broth had a curry-flavor and, after mentioning it, I was told that it contained something like Vietnamese curry. 

When I asked what the name of our lunch dish was, they said, in Vietnamese, "Snails, banana and Tofu". 

As usual, no dessert was served.  The Vietnamese aren't particularly big on dessert, especially sweet desserts (at least here in the North - they prefer fruit).  After two servings of hot pot and all the appetizers we ate, this is a very good thing.