Exploring Vietnam: First Week of ISP

I have been in Hue since last Monday, almost one week. To get to Hue, Eliza, Molly, and I took a night bus. Remember how cool the night bus seemed in Harry Potter? Well, this ride wasn't quite the same (though for $15 it was definitely the cheapest way to travel to Hue). There were three rows of very narrow beds with top and bottom bunks. For once, I was really glad that I'm short. Eliza couldn't stretch out her legs without hitting the guy in front of her. Luckily, we were one of the first people on so we claimed some bottom bunks. We were suppose to leave at 6:30 p.m., but I think it was closer to 8:30 by the time we left Hanoi. For some reason there were really old TVs playing a channel straight out of the seventies, bell-bottom wearing singers included. The TVs eventually turned off and I actually fell asleep for most of the trip. I only woke up when we went through a torrential rain storm sometime during the night. We arrived in Hue after 9 a.m. on Monday, November 12.

Eliza and Molly on the night bus.

We spent Monday getting settled into our hotel and figuring out our schedules for the next week. I emailed my adviser and confirmed that I would report to the Duy Tan Hotel restaurant for my internship at 9 a.m. on Tuesday. I ended up going to the restaurant from 9 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. Tuesday - Saturday. The first two days I just observed, but then on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday there were multiple wedding receptions and lots to do. I was able to help with prep work (chopping veggies, thinly slicing pork...), plating, and tasting of course.

Being in a kitchen in Vietnam is almost like one in the US. There are lots of prep tables, sharp knives, gas burners, giant metal pots and pans, freezers, refrigerators, and a pantry. However, you can tell you are in Vietnam when you look in the pantry and see an entire wall devoted to fish sauce, soy sauce, bags of MSG, and hot sauce. On one wall there's a Buddhist shrine with incense, flowers, and fruit. There are also giant steamers and rice cookers and no actual ovens in the kitchen. The only two ovens are in a separate room and I only saw them used once the entire time I was there.

Each day there are about 42 people who work in the kitchen. On Saturday, there were two weddings at the same time and over 20 chefs in the kitchen, not to mention all of the waiters and waitresses that were in and out.

Hue use to be the capital and home to the royal families. When chefs cooked for the emperors they had to focus on food texture, taste, color combination, and presentation style. This chef is carving dragons out of pumpkins to decorate a dish.

All of the ingredients are delivered fresh to the restaurant each morning. This is the man who delivers the fish. He brings them when they are still alive then kills, scales, and cleans them for the chefs.

One of the many wedding receptions I've crashed. Each wedding is a huge presentation. Some of the waiters and waitresses at the hotel dress up in traditional Vietnamese clothing and dance before the bride and groom make their entrance.