Food and Ethnicity

When you make not so positive posts most of the time, you’ll get negative comments sometimes. I made a light muse yesterday and it turned into a heavy hate (from the reader’s view that is). For the first time I am being compared to Hitler. Coming from a confused broad, I am very flattered. I am joking again, but let’s get back to the food rant.

I do not have a problem with other ethnicity making a living off our food if they keep it authentic. A while ago, I went to a Vietnamese restaurant owned by Chinese, ordered a bowl of grilled pork vermicelli (bun thit nuong) and got grilled pork with mung bean noodles (bun tau). It was the weirdest combination I have ever taste. Much as I love my mama’s food, I didn’t like her version of pizza. Thankfully, she only made it once.

On the other hand, I do have a problem with Vietnamese restaurants that ran by Vietnamese but disgarded our true authenticity for American customers. Even though there are two restaurants, Miss Saigon and Saigon Café, located on the same street and two blocks from Vassar’s campus, I only visited each once. I ordered a bowl of Pho from Miss Saigon and asked for rau que. The owner told me, “Americans don’t eat rau que.” After I finished eating, she asked me how was it. I told her it is not so bad (comparing to instant Pho).