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Tuesday in Townsville – Hello Lunar Year of the Snake

February 12, 2013 By Jan Robinson 6 Comments

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Dragon in Chinatown Saigon

B.H. and I have been known to throw the odd Chinese New Year Party.  Last year the first date I suggested was rejected by 75% of the invitees with a differing 75% of invitees rejecting second and third dates as well, where-after my mathematically challenged brain, gave up on the percentages and put it in the too hard basket.  So that New Lunar Year did arrive, but without the fanfare of a certain little back yard party in North Queensland.

After the confusion of the previous year’s multiple phone calls, I wised up and sent one email to everybody inviting them to a Bring a Dish Tet Party on 10th February, 2013.

In a stroke of brilliance I included a link to Vietnamese Recipes, and the  “Get out of Jail Free” card –

Any Asian Inspired Dish will do, nobody will know the difference.

You might think this last statement was a little far-fetched, but I assure you it is totally realistic.

Our town of 200,000 residents, does not have one – not one – Vietnamese Restaurant (an opening exists here people).  So you see nobody would know if it was Vietnamese or Nepalese for that matter (we most definitely don’t have one of those).

A delve into the decorations box, produced Chinese signs prepared in earlier years offering Harmony, Money, Love, Luck, Longevity, Happiness, Prosperity and Good Fortune.  But what I needed were some real true Vietnamese decorations.  Soon I became a well known figure stalking the aisles of Asian Supermarkets, on a quest for all things decoratively Vietnamese.

Home made decorations from previous years.

The first shop owner scoffed at my enquiry-

“NO NO!”  as if I was being totally ridiculous.

Resignedly I left with a variety of Chinese Lanterns in my shopping bag.

Subsequent shops and multiple visits later I had acquired

  • Even more Chinese Lanterns of differing sizes and one HUGE  one with pretty pictures and Chinese writing and big dangley tassley things.
  • Chinese New Year Envelopes.  These were meant to be given to young children and old people, so I made an inspired decision that placed our guests in the old category.  I added fake lucky Chinese coins, with a hole in the middle, to the envelopes and handed them out like lolly bags at the end of the night.  One shopkeeper informed me they were meant to have $5 notes in them.  Well maybe – if I hadn’t already spent a fortune on Chinese lanterns Mr. Shopkeeper.
  • Frozen Spring Rolls and Prawn Shaomai (Xiu mai tom) which said MADE IN VIETNAM on the packet!
  • And this gorgeous Teddy Bear plastic bottle of fish shaped salted crackers (which we ourselves ate in Ninh Binh so I know they were authentic).   Although those crackers were in an ordinary plastic bottle – not a pretty Teddy Bear one like this.

Welcome Mr. Snake

I pounded pork and fashioned pork balls or Nem Nuong  to compliment my purchased food items, and prepared Nam Dong Co Tiem Ga (Steamed chicken with mushrooms) as my main course offering.  I happen to know this is a real Vietnamese dish because I saw Luke from Luke Nguyen’s Vietnam T.V. series,  prepare it in the Mekong Delta.   So Lucky I didn’t prepare Banh Gan (Coconut Creme Caramel) for dessert because I saw a photo of the REAL VIETNAMESE VERSION afterward and it looked nothing like the one I had proposed.

So I took my own advice and served up glasses of ice-cream layered with pureed peach and mango, and no-one batted an eyelid as to it’s authenticity – or maybe they were just being polite?

Totally fake yet delicious Tet Dessert
Totally fake yet delicious Tet Dessert

In desperation I lamented to Barbara from The Dropout Diaries and SAIGON STREET EATS fame about my lack of strictly Vietnamese decorations and she assured me I was being totally authentic as they use Chinese decorations in Vietnam as well (who would have thought).

How nice was that?  However I took on board her suggestions of lots of yellow flowers and calligraphy – Chuc Mung Nam Moi – signs.   Budget Daughter who has artistic talent (B.H. and I have none, but we’re claiming her anyway) was conscripted to do the Calligraphy and she fully delivered.

Tet Happy New Year Calligraphy from Talented Budget Daughter

Budget Daughter decided a Lotus Flower was in order.

In typical Australian style the Tet party coincided with a Rugby League Indigenous vs. All Stars game so the big screen (B.H.’s idea) and leather lounge (My idea) were dragged outside into the fray.  The power kept dropping out because everyone had bought their Asian Offerings in electric woks and pans.  This led to much good-natured ribbing about the authenticity of our numerous and dodgy power leads.

By this time I was unfazed, as three light beers had worked their magic and I was in swapping stories mode, seated on the lounge with friends newly returned from Vietnam, while hogging the draft from a cunningly placed pedestal fan.

It was one of the best Lunar New Year parties yet, with everyone talking over the top of each other and the football match, which had finished before I even thought of venturing off the lounge to ask the score.

So we welcomed Mr. Snake loud and long, and I would have shaken his hand, but we all know Snake has no hands.

How did you celebrate Tet?

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Filed Under: Australia Travel Blog, Vietnam

About Jan Robinson

Jan Robinson writes about travel on her Budget Travel Talk blog. A solo traveller in her teens, for the last 40 years Jan has travelled through Australia, Asia, Europe, Turkey and New Zealand with her husband. They specialise in road trips, caravanning and Independent travel without spending a fortune. Her favourite destination is Turkey and she is currently dreaming of Myanmar and Mexico.

Previous Post: «A Photo of Lucille and her horse Jed in the hills along the Murray River between Jingelic and Ournie. Wwoofing Interview – A Ticket to Budget Travel
Next Post: Romantic Cinque Terre the land of Five Villages Italy Lovers Walk between Manarola and Riomaggiora»

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Jennie

    February 12, 2013 at 7:01 pm

    Looks fantastic and now I’m just a little homesick and wish we had of been there too!!!

    Reply
    • Jan

      February 13, 2013 at 8:49 am

      I was thinking on the day that it would have been great if you were here.

      Reply
  2. Barbara

    February 13, 2013 at 9:46 pm

    Hey Jan, your decorations look FANTASTIC! I do have a bit of bad news for you though. Banh gan (coconut creme caramel which translates as “liver cake”) is totally different to banh flan (just plain old Vietnamese creme caramel), so it’s no wonder they look different. You should totally cook some banh gan and send it down to the Sunshine Coast for me. I’ll be here for another week!

    Reply
    • Jan

      February 14, 2013 at 9:32 am

      Lucky you. B.H. and I love the Sunshine Coast, particularly Peregian and Coolum. We actually plan to retire down there. I don’t think I will be cooking Banh Flan any time soon – I am over cooking for the moment and I am not that good on desserts anyway. I am sure you will find lots of lovely places to eat on the Sunny Coast. Envious!

      Reply
  3. Sharon

    February 11, 2018 at 4:08 pm

    about time to celebrate again. sounds like you have fun doing this sort of thing 🙂

    Cheers Sharon…

    Reply
    • Jan

      February 11, 2018 at 4:53 pm

      I didn’t bring all my decorations with me when we shifted, so I don’t think so this year!

      Reply

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