The One That Got Away...

One night in Hoi An, we were having a light dinner at the picturesque riverside bar and restaurant near our hotel....

Riverside restaurant - built out on stilts in the water

Beef wrapped in banana leaves

We were enjoying the ambience, the waterside views... and the wildlife....

Gecko on lamp shade

... when suddenly all hell broke loose!

A frisson of excitement whipped through the restaurant.... something was clearly up. All the staff ditched their duties and rushed to the edge of the river, pointing at the water and talking animatedly to each other.

Convinced that someone had fallen into the water (some of the tables were rather close to the edge and anyone leaning too far back on their chairs could well have experienced a good dunking), we went over to see what was happening. One of the waitresses grabbed my arm and pulled me closer to the edge, pointing at the water and chattering excitedly .... as my grasp of the Vietnamese language extends to "Xin Chao" [hello] and "Cam on" [thank you], this was pretty much a one-sided conversation.

Eventually we worked out that there was something very big (and perhaps very dangerous) lurking in the dark water...  a crocodile? An anaconda? A fresh water shark? Perhaps even a dragon?

Apparently, a very big fish! Next thing, from across the road a man arrived carrying an enormous fishing rod... he was certainly not going to pass up an opportunity to stock the restaurant's freezer. He weaved his way through the tables to the water's edge, casually cast off his line and waited something to nibble....

After a few minutes of patient waiting, he decided his luck was out that night and it would probably be best to leave the diners to finish their meals in relative peace.... only his attempt to exit discretely was scuppered when his fishing line became entangled in an overhead light fitting. After much flapping and fussing... and someone standing on the table (where diners were attempting to finish their meals!) to dislodge the hooked line, the man was on his way.

Fish was not on the menu. At least not in that restaurant, but there was plenty of it to be had in Vietnam... like the famous Elephant Ear fish that is a favourite in the Mekong Delta region...

Fried elephant ear fish

This is how the fish is served by the locals...

The flesh is flaked away from the bones with chopsticks, then layered with a mixture of fresh mint, coriander, and basil in the centre of softened rice paper. Using chopsticks, the filling is tucked in and the rice paper wrapped around the contents like a cigar. The roll is then dipped into nuoc cham (dipping sauce) and eaten by hand.

More on the Mekong Delta to follow soon....