Vietnamese dead's anniversary

I have just booked tickets for my son and me to go on a trip to visit my family in Vietnam.  This time I will join in my grandfather’s death anniversary party.  In Vietnam the dead ceremony is a painful event but the death anniversary is not, except for the first few years when the family is still feeling the pain because of the lost.  Generally, about 3 years after the member passes is when the family gets over the loss, and the death anniversary becomes more like a party for everyone to gather to enjoy foods and talk stories about everything in memory of the person who passed away.  Basically, my family will make a lot of food and invite relatives, neighbors and friends to come over to eat.  Each guess will bring a gift such as fruits, beer, wine, or meat to the party.  When they go home everyone will have a small bag of snacks to bring home.  I remembered when I was young I loved to wait for my dad or my mom come home so I could have some snacks to eat.   The Snacks are usually cookies, fruits or sweet mochi or sometimes it is a leftover food from the party.  My grandfather passed away almost 20 years ago but every year his death anniversary is important to us because it is a chance for a family reunion, and have a good time eating food. I can’t wait for this even.

My hometown: Cu Chi, Ho Chi Minh city

Today, I would like to introduce my home town of Cu Chi.  Cu Chi is a suburb of Ho Chi Minh City and it is famous for the Cu Chi tunnel system. This tunnel system is some of the largest tunnels in Vietnam, which is an immense network of connected underground pathways. It was built by soldiers and locals during the Vietnam War to hide combats and to communicate and transit supplies from one place to another.  Some tunnels include functional hospitals, food and weapons storage. Back in the old days it played a very important role in ensuring victory of the Vietnam War.  Nowadays, the historic value of this place is it is an attractive tourism destination from Ho Chi Minh City for both domestic and international tourists. If you have a chance to visit Ho Chi Minh, please stop by my hometown for an unforgettable experience. 

Vietnamese sandwich "Banh Mi"

The only thing that my husband never forgets to order whenever we go to a Vietnamese restaurant is the Vietnamese sandwich, one of the most popular Vietnamese food.  In Vietnam Vietnamese sandwich which we call “Banh mi” and is considered a street style food (they are usually sold in along the busy streets on the sidewalk).  Beginning of Vietnamese bread and all bread within Vietnam (mainly Saigon) was introduced by the French bakers who made baguette bread in the early 19th century. These variations of bread form and quality shaped the processing style endowed within Saigon bread that reflects the culinary needs of picky Saigon customers. There are many kind of sandwiches such as meat balls, ham, egg fried and pork BBQ sandwich... My husband and me favorite sandwich is the BBQ pork. My favorite restaurant which has the best Vietnamese sandwiches in Chinatown area is Song Huong restaurant located at 928 Kekaulike St, Chinatown, Honolulu, HI 96817.  This place is a little hole in the wall, but  the bread is very fresh and crispy and the meat is tender and flavorful.