Hi everyone,

I am organising a Traditional Vietnamese Dinner as i don't recall or remember that anyone has organised a Traditional Vietnamese Dinner lately. That's why i want people to discover what Vietnamese cuisine tastes like.

Here is a bit of history about Vietnam:

Vietnam, a one-party communist state, has one of south-east Asia's fastest-growing economies and has set its sights on becoming a developed nation by 2020.

It became a unified country in 1976 after the armed forces of the communist north had seized the south of the country in the previous year.

This followed three decades of bitter independence wars, which the communists fought first against the colonial power France, then against US-backed South Vietnam. In its latter stages, this conflict held the attention of the world.

Vietnam struggled to find its feet after unification and it tried at first to organise the agriculture-based economy along strict collectivist lines.

But elements of market forces and private enterprise were introduced from the late 1980s and a stock exchange opened in 2000.

Vietnam has been accused of suppressing political dissent and religious freedom. Rights groups have singled out Hanoi's treatment of ethnic minority hill tribe people, collectively known as Montagnards.

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Are you now interested in discovering and tasting the Traditional Vietnamese Cuisine?

Meeting date: On Friday coming, on the 30/09/2011

Meeting time: Between 20H and 20H15

Meeting place: Directly inside the Vietnamese Restaurant called "Cho Lon" as i will book a table under the name "GLOCALS". Once you are inside, please ask for my table.

See below for their full address:

Cho Lon
Rue de Zurich 43
1201 GENEVA
Tel. of the restaurant : +41 22 731 13 18

Directions: Please take either tram 13 or 15 and get off at tram stop called "Mole".

Please simply RSVP for this event if you are interested in joining my activity.

*** And after the dinner, we will go for drinks nearby! It is Party time!!!! ***

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** Popularity of Vietnamese Cuisine and See Below My Favourite Vietnamese Dishes **

Vietnamese cuisine is known for its common use of fish sauce, soy sauce and hoisin sauce.

Vietnamese recipes use many vegetables, herbs and spices, including lemon grass, lime, and kaffir lime leaves. Throughout all regions the emphasis is always on serving fresh vegetables and/or fresh herbs as side dishes along with dipping sauce. The Vietnamese also have a number of Buddhist vegetarian dishes. The most common meats used in Vietnamese cuisine are pork, beef, prawns, various kinds of tropical fish, and chicken. Duck and goat/lamb are used much less widely.

Certain dishes which have become trademarks of Vietnamese cuisine include Pho, Bun, Banh Mi, and Goi Cuon.

Banh Xeo: Crepe made out of rice flour with tumeric, shrimps with shelves on, slivers of fatty pork , sliced onions, and sometimes button mushrooms, fried in one or two teaspoons of oil, usually coconut oil. It is eaten with lettuce and various local herbs and dipped in sweet fermented peanut butter sauce. Rice papers are sometimes used as wrappers to contain banh xeo and the accompanying vegetables.

Banh Cuon: Rice flour rolls and/or pancakes sometimes stuffed with ground pork and onion.

Pho: It is a beef noodle soup with a rich, clear broth achieved from hours upon hours of boiling meat and different herbs. There are many varieties of pho, with different selections of meats (most commonly beef and chicken) along with beef balls. Pho is typically served in bowls with spring onion, (in pho tai) slices of semi cooked beef (to be cooked by the boiling hot broth), and then of course the broth itself. The use of vegetables and various herbs is common in the southern region.

Banh beo: a central Vietnamese dish consisting of tiny and round rice flour pancakes, each served in a tiny round dish. They are topped with minced shrimp and other smaller ingredients such as green onions and pork rinds.

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As for the dessert, they have Che which is a sweet dessert or pudding usually made from beans and sticky rice. Many varieties of che are available, each with different fruits, beans (for example, mung beans or kidney beans) and other ingredients. Che can be served cold, cool or hot.

Also a popular beverage is bubble tea.

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If someone has a digital camera, can you please bring one along with you as i would like to take lovely and great pictures of the Traditional Vietnamese Dinner. Many thanks in advance!

*** And after the dinner, we will go for drinks nearby! It is Party time!!!! ***

I hope to see you all then! The more The merrier!

Best regards,

David