Pounding back beers is a popular activity in Vietnam. Beer consumption in the country is going up every year. In 2013, Vietnam was #1 in Southeast Asia for beer consumption per capita. Considering it is only #8 for per capita income, that’s pretty good (or maybe bad). Heineken predicts that in 2015, Vietnam will be their largest market. There are many restaurants that will plop a case of beer down next to your table, along with a bucket full of ice, and let you drink until you pass out or have to go pick up the kids from school.

 

My landlord loves to “take beers” with me. Whenever I see him he invites me out. Last week, Sara and I had to pay our rent. Remembering the drunken sloppy night that was last rent-due-day, and the proceeding day’s hangover, I sent him a text message early in the day: Can you please come get the rent early, I have to go out for dinner with friends tonight. It was a lie that I told on behalf of my liver. He asked if I could drop it off on the way to my friend’s house. I agreed to meet him at a restaurant where he was drinking with his work friends. Of course, when we arrived he insisted we have a beer with him. I told him we only had one hour before we had to be at our friend’s house. He managed to drive four beers into me in that time.

When drinking with a Vietnamese person, there are a few things to remember:

1. Beer is served with ice… which isn’t necessarily a bad thing
   It’s hot in Vietnam. Ice is a man’s best friend, specially in a country where they eat dog. If the beer isn’t refrigerated, you’ll definitely want ice. If the beer does come cold, you still might want to drink it with ice. The slow watering down of the beer will help you get through the night. Also, the ice doesn’t affect the taste of the beer as much as you’d think. Only one large chunk is used and it’s replaced before it melts too much. A girl will swoop in with a pair of tongs, dip them into your drink, take the ice hunk out, and drop in a new one. You’ll have to get used to the fact that those tongs have been dipped in other people’s drinks. More beer will help with that.
2. If one person wants to drink everyone has to.
   Every drink must be preceded with the clinking of glasses. When you grab your glass, watch as your Vietnamese drinking companions grab theirs. Sometimes I pretend that I’m a gunslinger in the wild west. I hover my hand around the handle, wiggle my fingers a little bit, watch everyone else to see if their hands reach for their glasses, then grab it and lift it up for everyone to toast.
3. Một, hai, ba, vô! (pronounced mot, hi, bah, yo)
   In English we say cheers, in Vietnam they say 1, 2, 3, cheers, usually while standing. I’ve also been told that vo means in, as in put the beer in your mouth. I heard that from a drunken Vietnamese person whose English is fairly bad, so take it for what it’s worth.
4. It gets a little competitive
   If you notice your opponent companion watching you as you both chug beer down, it’s because they are watching to see when you will stop. They don’t want to be the first person to put down their glass. Things can get sloppy fast if you play this game. Sometimes challenges are delivered, “một trăm phần trăm” which means 100%. This is a challenge for you to chug the rest of your beer. Being a good drinker in Vietnam is seen as being a strong man. As a westerner, it is often assumed that you’ll be a good drinker, and that will be put to the test. Do not underestimate a Vietnamese person’s drinking abilities. Even though they are small, they can drink a lot.
5. Food will most likely be ordered
   If you’re asked to go drink beers, there will probably also be food involved. Vietnam has lots of bar snacks that satisfy your hunger and make you want to drink more. Some examples: frog legs, chicken wings, snails, cockles, bo luc lac, and hột vịt lộn (duck eggs with a partially developed fetus in them). This is a great way to try new food — you’re slightly braver because of the alcohol, you have people there that will eat it if you don’t like it, and your Vietnamese friends will be happy to show you how to eat it.
6. Going too far
   Inevitably, the night will hit a point when everyone is too drunk to make good decisions. More beers will be ordered. More challenges made. Sometimes, the beer girls are treated poorly. Once, a man I was drinking with handed his glass to the waitress and demanded that she chug beer with me. She obliged, even though it was obvious that she didn’t like beer, and she didn’t want to drink out of the old man’s glass. I said, “no, no, it’s ok” but my drinking companions demanded it. I tried to spare the poor girl by only drinking for a second. Worse than that though, is the amount of drinking and driving that happens in this country. If you’re going out to drink with friends, take a taxi. Even if you think you are only going out for a couple. Taxis are cheap, lives are precious. On a Saturday night, there are a lot of drunk people on the road. You shouldn’t be one of them. I’ve sat with a Vietnamese man and drank 8-10 beers in one sitting. He kept up with me the whole way, and he’s almost half my size. At the end of the night, I walked home and he hopped on his scooter and zig-zaged his way home. The World Health Organization says that “60% of hospitalized road trauma patients are estimated to have a blood alcohol concentration above the legal limit”. I’ve been told, “it’s part of the culture” and “everyone is doing it”. That’s even more reason to not do it. It’s crazy to hear expats who wouldn’t drink and drive in their home country, talk about how it’s okay in Vietnam, where traffic accidents happen more often and are more deadly.
7. Happy drunks
   Despite the competitiveness at the drinking table, Vietnamese people just want to have a good time. By the end of the night, you’ll find that their big red faces will be plastered with a smile and they’ll be throwing compliments at you. Don’t be too surprised if they throw an arm around you or even hold your hand as you walk out of the bar, specially if you were able to keep up with them. Usually, they call it a night by 10 or 11 PM, but you’ll be happy to go. Drinking in Vietnam is fast and furious. After chugging down all that beer you’ll sleep like a baby, and wake up feeling like a 90-year-old on their death bed. It’s the circle of life.

Souce: http://www.itchyfeetonthecheap.com/2014/11/19/7-thing-you-should-know-before-drinking-beer-with-a-vietnamese-person/

It's hard to pick a stone fruit favorite. A perfect peach is so vividly flavored it needs no adornment. Though my loyalty might lie with a ripe nectarine, with its nearly fudgy texture and sweet-tangy flavor (and none of that fuzz.) And this year, I've also been really impressed by the plums and pluots at my local market: floral, vanilla-tinged and sweet. So I've been eating my fill, and baking up cobblers aplenty.

Ripe peach makes for a delicious caipirinha.

But why wait for dessert to get your stone fruit fix? We asked a few bartender friends from around the country for cocktail recipes that capture the fresh, ripe, uncooked flavor of peaches, nectarines, and plums. After testing them all, we selected six favorites to help you celebrate stone fruit while it's still in season

Health benefits of passion fruit

• Delicious, passion fruit is a rich source of antioxidants, minerals, vitamins, and fiber. 100 g fruit contains about 97 calories.

• The fruit is an excellent source of dietary fiber. 100 g fruit pulp contains 10.4 g or 27% of fiber. A good fiber in the diet helps remove cholesterol from the body. Being a good bulk laxative, it also helps protect the colon mucosa by decreasing exposure time to toxic substances in the colon and wiping off the cancer-causing toxic substances from the colon.

• Passion fruit is good in vitamin-C, providing about 30 mg per 100 g. Vitamin-C (ascorbic acid) is a powerful water-soluble antioxidant. Consumption of fruits rich in vitamin-C helps the human body develop resistance against flu-like infectious agents and scavenge harmful, pro-inflammatory free radicals.

• The fruit carris very good levels of vitamin-A (provides about 1274 IU per 100 g), and flavonoid antioxidants such as ß-carotene and cryptoxanthin-ß. Current research studies suggest that these compounds have antioxidant properties, and along with vitamin-A are essential for good eyesight.

• Vitamin-A also required for maintaining healthy mucosa and skin. Consumption of natural fruits rich in vitamin-A and flavonoids may help to protect from lung and oral cavity cancers.

• Fresh granadilla is very rich in potassium. 100 g fruit pulp has about 348 mg of potassium. Potassium is a major component of cells and body fluids and helps regulate heart rate and blood pressure.

• Furthermore, granadilla is an excellent source of minerals. Iron, copper, magnesium and phosphorus are present in adequate amounts in the fruit.

Vietnam map made of many fruits Military Command by Can Tho City People's Committee in collaboration Thot district organizations exhibiting. This is one of the important events taking place in the framework of the Festival of Military - People of 2015.

Vietnam map made of fruits has a total area of 60m2, in which the width of 6m, 10m width and height is 2.5m header, footer is 0.5m. To date, Vietnam map made of fruits is said to the largest Vietnam.

Map Vietnam has nearly 1,000 kg of fruits used for fruit 800 kinds, 600 basket. The total value of this map over 100 million.

Organizing Committee said, tomorrow (7.2 days), the map will be completed and the Organizing Committee will recommend the Guinness recognition.

Close-up map of Vietnam's largest fruit:

 

As demand for coconut products continues to grow worldwide, the top producers of the fruit struggle to keep up.

Coconuts' remarkable levels of resilience means that they can be grown in a wide variety of soils, although they do require a relatively high amount of rainfall. The natural habitat of coconuts is found in coastal areas and on the fringes of deserts, where it is a primary source of sustenance for dwellers within these climes. The coconut is a tropical tree species, mainly grown and harvested by small-scale farmers. Production of coconuts is concentrated on island and coastal areas, such as Fiji and Samoa, as well as in the humid tropics, such as India, the Philippines, Thailand and Indonesia.

The Versatile Coconut

The coconut is a very useful plant with a wide range of products being sourced from it. Coconut products are used to make everything from clothing to animal feed to beauty creams. Its kernel is harvested for its edible flesh and delicious water, while its husk is used for its strong fibers. Most important, however, are its oils, which are extracted, processed, and marketed for culinary, medicinal, and cosmetic uses alike. Typically, the flesh is first dried down to 6% moisture to make copra. This product is then hauled to factories across the world where it is manufactured into oil. Less widely used, but more valuable, “virgin” coconut oil is directly extracted from raw coconut.

World-Leading Coconut Producers

Brazil was the top coconut producing country until 2010, but now three Asian producers have bettered it to take away its crown. Currently, 90% of global supply comes from Asia where it is a vital source of income for many countries. Coconut exports make up 50% of Vanuatu’s national income and 1.5 % of the Philippines’. The Solomon Islands and Samoa export mainly oil and copra, while India, The Philippines, and Sri Lanka concentrate on disseminating desiccated coconut products, and have dominated that market for over a century. The Philippines exports more than $1 billion worth of coconuts to the United States alone. Nonetheless, growth in the trade between them still lags 8% behind growth in demand.

Can Supply Catch the Demand for Coconut Products?

Demand for coconuts has grown upwards of 500% in the last decade. This is because coconut-based derivatives, such as soaps, virgin coconut oil, health products and coconut water, have all seen large spikes in demand, so much so that producers may not be able to keep up. The Philippines is requesting international help to streamline their production protocols, and the international community has responded by taking steps to reduce demand for coconuts.

Because demand for coconuts are not being met, European markets have taken a number of steps to curb their demand. Specifically, the European Union has proposed levies on vegetable imports to the EU, they have promoted the use of alternative vegetable oils, such as palm, canola and soya, and they have put stricter aflatoxin regulations into place within the copra production market. With the measures being taken to curb runaway demand, suppliers are still making a pretty penny. Indeed, numerous foreign firms are looking to invest in the supply side of coconut production, especially in places such as Sri Lanka's ultra-productive ‘Coconut Triangle’ region.

Effects of Industry Regulations

‘Fair Trade’ practices in the industry try to ensure that the benefits of the booming sector will trickle all of the way down to small farmers, but they unfortunately keep the production rates rising at a slower rate. Lack of investment in sustaining the coconut-growing land’s productivity, largely due to the high costs associated, mean that some farms are producing 75% less fruit than they did 30 years ago. The problem of insufficient supply to meet the increased demand is not helped by the fact that many of the trees producing coconuts today are over 50 years old, 20 years past their prime production years. According to APCC (the Asian and Pacific Coconut Community), many plantations across Asia are experiencing zero growth, and some are even ceasing production as their farmers switch their focus to oil palm production.

The Future of Coconuts

Today, the top coconut suppliers are struggling to meet the increasing demands of the global economy. Coconut has been a cash crop for decades and, even with stiff competition from other vegetable oils, it promises to continue to be a profitable venture in the future. Nonetheless, the top global coconut producers must learn from the current situation, and take steps to ensure that their farms are sustainable enough to stand the tests of time and meet future demands.

Countries With The Highest Coconut Production

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Rank	Country	Coconuts Produced (tons)
1	Indonesia	18,300,000
2	Philippines	15,353,200
3	India	11,930,000
4	Brazil	2,890,286
5	Sri Lanka	2,513,000
6	Vietnam	1,303,826
7	Papua New Guinea	1,200,000
8	Mexico	1,064,400
9	Thailand	1,010,000
10	Malaysia	646,932
11	United Republic of Tanzania	530,000
12	Myanmar	425,000
13	Solomon Islands	410,000
14	Vanuatu	410,000
15	Ghana	366,183
16	Jamaica	310,000
17	Dominican Republic	286,934
18	Nigeria	265,000
19	Venezuela	263,867
20	Mozambique	260,000
21	China	254,620
22	Fiji	225,000
23	Cote d'Ivoire	195,000
24	Samoa	190,000
25	Kiribati	170,000

Fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) sales in the first quarter of 2017 grew 9.6 percent from a year ago, the highest rate in three years, with beverages accounting for more than half of the expansion seen in rural areas, Nielsen Vietnam said. 

“The positive sentiment in Vietnam’s Lunar New Year (Tet) helped drive FMCG growth as consumers were willing spenders and retailer sentiment improved," Nguyen Anh Dung, Nielsen Director of Retail Measurement Services, said in its Quarterly Market Pulse report released Thursday.

"It is the first time we have seen positive growth for three years,” he said.

Fast-moving consumer goods refer to products that are sold quickly and at a relatively low cost.

The report, compiled by Nielsen, a global performance measurement company, is based on the results of a Nielsen Retail Measurement study of FMCG in six major categories: beverage, milk based, home care, personal care and cigarette.

In the January-March period, half of the six super categories witnessed double-digit growth. Food rose 13.9 percent, followed by home care with 12.4 percent and personal care that grew 12.2 percent.

Milk-based gained 10.3 percent, beverage advanced 9.1 percent and cigarette grew 5.6 percent.

Beverage still accounted for a large proportion of total FMCG sales in the quarter at roughly 45 percent. Cigarette made up slightly below 19 percent and food accounted for 13 percent.

Growth in rural areas contributed 51 percent to the total FMCG sales nationwide in the first quarter, jumping 12.4 percent from a year ago, nearly double the 6.5 percent growth rate of urban areas.

“Despite the slowdown in the rural sector due to agricultural challenges last year, the sector bounced back strongly,” Dung said in the report.

More than 60 percent of Vietnam’s population live in rural areas and there are excellent opportunities for companies in this sector, he said.

"Rural consumers have rising incomes and greater access to product information than ever before through the internet and their uptake of smart phones," Dung added. "Manufacturers that have access to the latest knowledge and information on rural trends and consumer demands will be best placed to capture growth opportunities.”

The Market Pulse Report is published quarterly based on a Nielsen study in six cities: Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Hai Phong, Can Tho, Nha Trang and Da Nang.

http://e.vnexpress.net/news/business/data-speaks/vietnam-s-beverage-led-consumer-goods-sales-hit-three-year-high-in-q1-3573908.html

Sydney was a scorcher the last couple of days as temperatures rose to 41°C. The only sensible thing to do in this extreme heat was to stay indoors and crank up the air conditioner. With the extreme heat I haven’t had much appetite lately. I have been skipping lunch and just eating che sam bo luong. Che sam bo luong is a very refreshing and cooling drink (or dessert) which is so good for you. It can be very filling too with all the goodness of barley, longans, dates, seaweed, gingko nuts and lotus seeds.

I’ve boiled a huge pot which we have been eating for days. I love mine chilled with ice and lots of syrup. To make this you don’t really need accurate measurements. I just put in what I like more and less of what I don’t really like (seaweed). Make it sweet or light as you like.

Ingredients

can of gingko nuts
can of lotus seeds (can use dried just longer to cook)
200g of brown sugar
4 litres of water
100g of pearl barley
100g of dried longans
10g of dried seaweed

Instructions

Soak barley a couple of hours prior to cooking.

In a pot add water and barley on low heat and let cook for 3o minutes.

After 30 minutes add longans, dried dates and sugar.

Soak and wash the dried seaweed. They are very slimy and need a couple of washes.

Cook the barley, longans and dried dates until they are soft.

Add the gingko nuts and lotus seeds and bring to boil.

Add the seaweed. Bring to the boil and take the pot off the heat.

Can be served cold or hot.

Being geographically located in the tropical zone, Vietnam is truly a heaven when it comes to fruits. One who first comes to the country will be amazed at the countless number of colorful fruits sold at a very reasonable price in every street and market all year round.

Southern Vietnam is the largest fruit granary of the whole country, since the region’s weather is warm with long hours of sunshine, high average temperature and humidity year round. There are even tours arranged exclusively for tourists who love visiting orchards where they can witness how the fruits are grown and try fresh fruits right at the garden. As summer comes, the annual Fruits Festival is held in Ho Chi Minh City, attracting millions of visitors, local and foreigners alike.

Tropical fruits are often found very nutritious, providing rich source of carbohydrate, vitamins (especially A and C), minerals and fibres. Its flavor is often teh extreme of either sweet or sour, and many comes with a particular fragrance that is unmistakeable. Due to the typical weather conditions, the fruit’s colors are vibrantly eye-catching, with red, yellow and orange among the most popular ones. The abundance of fruits in the region also means that people use fruits in many different ways: eating raw, making juices, mixing salad, preserving jams and many other delicious desserts. In northern Vietnam and central highland areas, where the temperature is cooler with four separate seasons, farmers also grow temperate fruits such as apple, strawberry, cherry, grape, peach, or pear, making the collection of fruits in Vietnam an extremely rich one.

Following are some of the fruits you will be encountering as you make your way to Vietnam; some are probably found in the China town nearby to your residence.

Mango - Xoài

  

Mango is a nutrition-packed fruits and the Vietnamese one may be very different from what you have experienced in your local grocery stores. Read more about Vietnamese mango and recipes from mangoes.

Mangostreen - Măng cụt

  

Read more about Vietnamese mangosteens

Rambutans - Chôm Chôm

Read more about Vietnamese rambutans

Durians - Sầu riêng

Read more about Vietnamese durians

Pineapples - Dứa

Read more about Vietnamese pineapples

Dragon fruit - Thanh long

Read more about Vietnamese dragon fruits

Star apple - Vú sữa

Read more about Vietnamese star apples

Papaya - Đu đủ

Read more about Vietnamese papayas

Sapodilla - Hồng Xiêm

Read more about Vietnamese Sapodilla

Jackfruit - Mít

Read more about Vietnamese jackfruits

Coconut - Dừa

  

Read more about Vietnamese coconuts

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