Dantri

Thanh Hà

We decided to travel by motorbike to Hà Nội’s Phú Xuyên District (about 40km south of the city centre) to enjoy bún hến (fresh rice vermicelli soup with mussels) during the Liberation Day (April 30) and May Day holidays.

When we arrived in Phú Xuyên, which is famous nationwide for its traditional occupations such as tailoring and making tò he (toy figurines), we saw a wooden board directing us to the bún hến shop of Nguyễn Thị Bảo, 70.

A tasty bowl of bún hến (rice vermicelli soup topped with fried mussels) that could make your mouth water. Photo bunhen.com

A local resident named Trương Văn Mạnh told us that Bảo has worked there for more than 30 years and her dish is the best in the district.

“I was interested in Bảo’s dish since she opened up her shop. The dish helps keep the body cool in summer and warm in winter. I feel quite healthier after enjoying it,” Mạnh said, noting that, unlike others who only work in the morning, Bảo sells her dish from 1pm until evening.

When we arrived at Bảo’s shop, we saw several groups who had also come from central Hà Nội. A girl named Thái Thu Hoài told us that she and her friends often travel here to enjoy the dish.

“I’ve eaten vermicelli soup with mussels at several shops in Hà Nôi’s Old Quarter but I recognise that Bảo’s dish is tastier with its own flavour,” Hoài said.

Bún hến is more enjoyable when being eaten with fried tofu and sour pickled fig. Photo Nguyễn Văn Cường

Bảo told us that she often buy 200-300kg of mussels in shell a day harvested from the neighbouring Mã, Hoàng Long, Cẩu and Dậm rivers to ensure that she has enough materials to cook bún hến .

“Apart from locals, many of my customers are from Hà Nội and surrounding provinces. They come to enjoy my dish and also bring some home for their parents and children,” Bảo said.

A waiter brought me a big bowl of bún hến with smoke and fragrance tumbling out of it, making my mouth water.

The mussels were savoury and soft but still crispy while the fresh vermicelli was fragrant as if it had just been made from newly harvested rice. I particularly enjoyed the purity of the broth in addition to the attractive flavour of coriander and fennel as well as the lovely pungent smell from fresh green and red chillis.

Customers are enjoying the vermicelli soup. Photo dantri.com.vn

Bảo said she uses medium-sized mussels because they have firm and tasty meat.

The process of cooking the mussels requires skill to ensure that the mussels are not too crispy without being fishy. They are fried with dried onions and fish sauce, she said, adding that she puts the vermicelli in the broth and waits until it is boiled pouring it into a bowl and topping it with fried mussels and other herbs. This is different from other shops which dip the vermicelli in boiling water then souse the broth in.

“By doing this, the vermicelli is being fully soaked with savoury broth,” Bảo explained.

Bảo’s daughter-in-law Trần Thị Hiền said she and her husband have been assisting her mother-in-law at the shop because “she is old enough to be retired”.

“We sell the dish all year round except three days of Tết (Lunar New Year festival). Right after Tết we have to work to a full capacity to serve crowds of customers.

Cook has mussels shelled to get their ‘meat’, the main ingredient of bún hến. Photo dienmayxanh.com

Bảo said many locals and those from Hà Nội have asked her to give them her secret recipe but she refused because “not all people have an affinity with this job so I want to hand down the recipe of making the dish to my children only”.

Apart from bún hến , housewives also cook chả hến (mussel-pork nuggets) or mussel soup to deal with summer heat, Bảo said.

Eastern medicine practitioner Nguyễn Văn Tuất from the Hà Nội Centre for Traditional Medicine said mussels are rich in folic, protein and vitamins.

“They are particularly good for patients with anaemia and cardiovascular diseases because they don’t have much cholesterol,” he said.

“My wife cooks the mussel sour soup or fried mussel dish twice or three times a week during summer. We all, including our grandchildren, feel healthy,” Tuất added. VNS

HCMC- New play for children to be staged at dance school

May 9, 3pm

HCM City Dance School, 155 Nam Ky Khoi Nghia Street, D3

The play is based on the short story collection for children The World’s Worst Children, by English bestselling author David Walliams. The collection revolves around five beastly boys and five gruesome girls.

Tickets: VND150,000 and can be bought at https://forms.gle/RMVEpMT7wmi1X2Fa7.

French musical ‘Les Misérables’ tours

April 16-18, Hanoi Opera House, 1 Trang Tien Street, Hanoi

May, National Dance and Music Festival, Dak Lak Province

Early June, Ho Chi Minh City

Featuring famed historical French musical ‘Les Misérables’ by Victor Hugo.

With participation of local artists from the Vietnam National Opera and Ballet Theatre (VNOB), foreign artists from Hanoi Voices Choir, along with director Nguyen Trieu Duong and choreographer Linh An.

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EXHIBITION

Hanoi-I’m Feeling Lucky

Until May 30, 8 am – 8 pm
Matca Space for Photography,48 Ngoc Ha Street

From the organizer:

From whimsical scientific inventions in the early 20th century to the rising fitness culture in Silicon Valley to levitating house dogs: titles selected from independent French publisher RVB Books introduces new ways of thinking about our visual culture, weaving together acute observation, wild imagination, and tongue-in-cheek commentary.

Each book is made unique by the way it embodies its subject, as well as its non-traditional design and materials. Paradoxically, this selection is also a reflection of the way images are consumed.

Hanoi-The Subtle Moves

Apr 30-May 16, Tues – Sun, 10 am – 7 pm
Manzi Exhibition Space, No.2, ngo Hang Bun, Ba Dinh District

From Manzi:

Featuring nearly 30 silk works, which are all composition assignments of art students in their final year of Bachelor’s studies, ‘The Subtle Moves’ introduces to the public the promising representatives of a new artist generation as well as offers the artists themselves essential motivation at their significant turning point.

Ninh Thuan Province-Exhibition of Ninh Thuan – Quang Nam Cham culture

Until May 15,
Displaying nearly 80 artifacts, including photos, statues, pottery, over 1,500 tools, traditional handicrafts, costumes, jewellery, paintings, ancient musical instruments, and 1,400 books and reference materials.

Featuring the unique cultural and artistic heritages of the Cham people in the land of Ninh Thuan – Quang Nam and the exchange of Cham culture with others throughout history.

HCMC-A Dream Of The End At The End Of A Dream

Apr 27-June 26, Tues – Sat, 10 am – 7 pm
Galerie Quynh, 118 Nguyen Van Thu, D1

From the organizer:

An exhibition by Tuan Andrew Nguyen and Wowy. This is their second with the gallery, the latest in a wide range of collaborations since 2008’s Quiet Shiny Words/Cultural Doppelgangbangers, where the artists explored subcultures in the contexts of Vietnam and America.

Binh Dinh Province-Exhibition: ECO-SUS

Opening: Apr 8, 03 pm
Exhibition: Apr 8 – Aug 8
International Centre for Interdisciplinary Science and Education, 7 Science Avenue, Quy Nhon City, Binh Dinh Province

From the organizer:

Featuring 11 Visual artists across Vietnam.

ECO-SUS is curated by artists The Son and Uu Dam, opening along with Winter School for Sustainable Development with 100 excellent fellows and respected speakers organized by Danh Nguyen. ICISE, a European-style building inspired by Binh Dinh nature, situated in the heart of a 21 hectares valley surrounded by majestic mountains and a long yellow sand beach. A remarkable architecture design by the famous Jean François Milou. See you at this fascinating exhibition.

The thrilling ECO-SUS exhibition will take place on the beach at 3 PM on April 8th:
1. 03 pm – Warm-up, kick start with with a viral and ambitious artwork from ECO-ĐI by artist Nguyễn Trần Ưu Đàm on Quy Nhơn yellow sand beach to raise global awareness about the pollution.
2. 04 pm – Opening exhibition of 11 Vietnamese artists with their world-class artworks. Curatorial tour lead by artist/curator Thế Sơn
3. 04:30 pm – “Chula” Fashion show by designer Del Valle Cortizas Diego.

4. 09 Apr – Explore Làng Sông, an old monastery, a beautiful structure that built and stood for 158 years, listen to singing hymns, visit publication in the very historic place where Jesuits record the first Vietnamese sounds in Latin.

HCMC- Exhibitions: ‘Within / Between / Beneath / Upon’ & ‘Home: Looking inwards to the outer world’

Until Jun 6, 10 am – 07 pm
The Factory Contemporary Arts Centre, 15 Nguyễn Ư Dĩ, Thảo Điền Ward, D 2,

From the organizer:

The Factory Contemporary Arts Centre proudly presents two exhibitions: ‘Within / Between / Beneath / Upon’ and ‘Home: Looking inwards to the outer world’.