February 6, 2012
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Vietnam Part 8: Last Day in Hanoi.
We set out in search of the strange for lunch. The BigBro found this place through google, obviously catered towards tourists.
And here we go. This right here is deep fried locusts. I will generally eat basically anything except for bugs, but, well, culinary curiosity trumps sometimes. Deep fried locusts are not what I had expected- I was thinking of the biblical locusts- those huge ones that devour crops and signal the apocalypse. Instead, these locusts were smaller than small crickets, salted and fried to a crisp crunch. I actually had a lot of these as they taste like anything else deep fried and that small- almost like small fried pork skin.
The crickets fried in pig fat were another story. I didn’t eat many of these as these were a bit large for my liking. Still smaller than your average cricket, they weren’t crispy like the locusts and I tried to mask it more with the chip that was provided. I can’t quite recall what they tasted like (which means it wasn’t gross), but the mushy texture and consistency of it all was unappetizing.
We continued walking around that afternoon with my mom attempting to do more shopping, but we were all pretty unsuccessful. My dad said this was like the ugliest tiger face ever. He’s probably right.
We had a several-course meal our last night in Hanoi, cooked at my dad’s uncle’s house. They made us Hanoi specialties like nem cua- except this nem cua was huge. But still, an egg roll with crab? Delicious.
I want to say that this is made from the same stuff as grass jelly, but I can’t quite remember. In any case, you put some of it on banana and it’s surprisingly good. We were stuffed after dinner, but they kept offering us more to eat. My dad said that in Vietnam, if people like you, they will keep trying to feed you, and it’s true. Everywhere we went, we would get fed constantly. I know where my parents get the constant need to feed us now.
My dad’s cousin.
My dad’s uncle. He killed me at Scrabble and it’s not like he’s making up words and hoping it’s an actual word. Legit. This is why I hate playing Words with Friends and Word Feud these days.
It was our last night in Hanoi and everyone was saying their goodbyes. My mom walked hand in hand with her cousin-in-law’s wife that she had just only met twice as we headed towards the taxi, which I find endearing and feels like something that never really happens in the US. I’m not sure how much longer it will be until we see them again.
End day four.
