20589 Tue Jul 16 22:24:21 -0700 2002 9 1 San Francisco Bay Area 0 71846 I finally tried my first Banh Mi sandwich at Saigon. I went in and ordered one of each, and tried them all. Mr. Silverman thought I was crazy, but he tried them all too! I am very interested in the desserts they have there, but the lady was busy. If I go when it is quieter, I'll ask about them. On to dinner, if you can believe it! Chenery Park for fantastic fried chicken with sides of mashed potatoes and gravy, cole slaw and chard with bacon. We also tried the fig salad and the balsalmic ravioli. Fantastic! A fair warning, the chicken is only a Monday night special. ;( We topped the meal off with a warm peach cobbler and vanilla ice cream Service was great as usual, and the owner is thinking of offering a senior special discount if you are in your seat by 6pm, so I know we'll be back! Tue Jul 16 22:24:21 -0700 2002 0 Bunny Silverman 1 71859 Which sandwich did you like best? There are some interesting desserts which are cheap enough just to try. I pick up a different one each time. One that is really an aquired taste I guess is the Banh Xu Xe. It is the neon green dessert. I have aquired a taste for the rice and tapioca sweets after being intially put off by the texture. However, the green Banh Xu Xe had this aroma like dirty socks. Will try the tapica next time I'm there. Wed Jul 17 02:52:57 -0700 2002 71846 0 Stanley Stephan 2 71884 I love these kinds of desserts and am working my way through them. My most recent taste test was the rice balls in sweet wine -- not good. The balls were not interesting, either in flavor or texture, and the liquid was sweet-sour and quite unpleasant. Several of the desserts at Vietnam Sandwiches (aka Discount Deli, 426 Larkin) are labelled "tuppy yogurt," which actually means "tapioca." These are better bets, as are the rice cake/bun things, if you like that chewy denseness. Wed Jul 17 13:15:58 -0700 2002 71859 0 Millicent 3 71886 Millicent, you've developed the fine art of interpreting English usage by native speakers of Asian languages! I'm often asked how I get by dealing with Chinese businesses, not being fluent in Mandarin or Cantonese. What I do have is an ear for understanding accents and broken English of native Chinese speakers. Also pretty good with Vietnamese, Indian/Pakastani and Japanese people speaking English. (g) Wed Jul 17 13:26:46 -0700 2002 71884 0 Melanie Wong 4 71935 Could be a very useful skill. (I've always just ordered the pink thing or the green one.) The NY Times had an article a few months back on "Singlish," the dialect of English spoken in Singapore. It said the number of non-native English speakers in the world is rapidly outstripping natives, with interesting results. My favorite transliteration was a VDO store in Bangkok. Kind of like those cheesy Hollywood movie code names; today I passed MIIB on a marquee. Wed Jul 17 22:45:09 -0700 2002 71886 0 Windy 5 71952 Ah, yes, those Thai sweets that come in the pink flavor or the green flavor. If you find out what they really are, pls. let us know. Fortunately, I'm indifferent between the two. (g) Thu Jul 18 04:08:08 -0700 2002 71935 0 Melanie Wong 5 71974 The pink & green are Vietnamese tapioca/jelly drinks. I think they were actually listed on the English menu at New Tung Kee that way: #58 pink. Thu Jul 18 13:53:26 -0700 2002 71935 0 Windy 3 71925 The rice balls in sweet wine is an acquired taste. Since you didn't like it, your not alone. 9 out of 10 vnese don't like or know how to eat it either. Wed Jul 17 21:27:28 -0700 2002 71884 0 riceball 4 71963 How are they supposed to be eaten? I just scooped them out of the cup, trying to get a balance of rice and liquid. Thu Jul 18 12:10:53 -0700 2002 71925 0 Millicent 4 72005 Are these served hot or cold? A specialty of Shanghai cooking is small rice-flour balls cooked in a sweet soup made from osmanthus flower-scented rice wine lees. Thu Jul 18 19:30:09 -0700 2002 71925 0 chibi