Throw the rice pot of doom, ok, sort of

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So, after a 8 hour long negotiation meeting, matt and I decided go and do something fun on Tuesday evening. Matt wanted to get some souvenirs so we headed to the famous Ben Thanh market. If you've never experienced an Asian market your first trip may be an assault on the nose, eyes, and ears. Stalls are packed and crowded next to each other overflowing with everything from knock off perfumes to strange medicinal herbs. Sellers are shouting for your attention and shoving things in your face since they know you rare a foreigner. Hint:haggling is a must here and at least start by cutting the price in half. After we did a bit of haggling and some souvenir ogling, Matt bought some gifts. If you must know, I've sworn off Ben Thanth due to being swindled my first time last trip. It just leaves a bad taste in your mouth. Anyway, after our shopping expedition we headed to a restaurant called com Saigon which matt's Vietnamese friends had recommended. Their speciality dish is flying rice where they bake rice in a clay pot, break it, and then throw the hardened rice patty across the room to the waiter. The waiter then flips the rice patty up and down and serves it to you. Other dishes we had that night were pigeon and also eel steam boat. I must say I've only had eel on sushi but these were actual eel chunks hacked fresh from the eel. The outside is kind of slimy but the inside tastes like catfish. Very weird. I think I prefer eel sushi to fresh eel. Ah, anyway I had way too much food but felt it was a well deserved meal after all our hard work!

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Photos

Say "Sensory Overload"
Me inside Ben Thanh in HCMC, Vietnam

Thrown Rice Bowl
Here's a picture of the rice pot they threw and then caught. Don't worry, it didn't fall on the floor like the first one.

Ben Thanh Market
Cluttered with stalls

Big Bird, this is not
We had pigeon at the resturant. Tastes like chicken to me.

Eel Steamboat
Yes, it was steaming with chunks of eel. Sounds gross but tastes like catfish.