Salmon

The Salmon supper

The Salmon head...a delicacy

Dr. Phum enjoying this delicacy

Dr. Hai and Andrea exchanging email addresses!

Many of you who know me know that I am not a fan of salmon! So, yesterday, Rose, our translator, told us that the hospital in Dien Bien would like to take us out to dinner. Did we like salmon? Politically correct answer was yes! So we went to the restaurant named "Salmon". Swimming in tanks on the main floor were the salmon! We were ushered up the stairs to the second floor where a dining room had been set for us. We had chicken! No just kidding! Salmon was the appetizer in the form of raw salmon which we put into a small bowl that had some lemon and ? in it. This turned it from pink to off white. Take a small square of rice paper, adding greens, green banana, ginger, garlic and onions and some of salmon, roll it like a burrito and viola, salmon appetizer. Actually very very good, especially when dipped in the soy sauce with Washabi!!! Sizzle went my taste buds. Next came the fried salmon with mayonnaise. I scrapped that off. Not a good choice in this heat to eat. But the salmon was good. Then the whole fish (these salmon are small and farm raised in a local mountain river) was served. Again, pretty good. Am beginning to think this is not so bad. Then out came the hotpot. For those of you who may not know what a hot pot is...it begins with a large pot of broth placed on a hot plate or burner. Once it is boiling, add the veggies, etc. Similiar to a Japanese dish. Unfortunately, in the hot pot was the head, tail, fins, etc of the poor fish who had been our appetizer. Sitting on plates on the table to put in was the rest: liver, kidneys, etc...Managed to chopstick the liver, kidney and head into the bowl of the Vietnamese doctor sitting next to me when he went to kibbitz at the next table!! YES!! Then came the soup: salmon chowder-awesome!! Could have made a meal on that. Fortunately, no salmon for dessert, just green tea. Overall, much as I normally do not eat salmon, I enjoyed the meal and if they wanted to take me there again, I'd go...and the head would go into the bowl NEXT to me!