[Kara] A Vietnamese Feast for the Eyes as Well as the Stomach

While we were staying in Hoi An, Vietnam, we had a delicious and beautiful lunch, and a short cooking class.

First, we got to try our hand at making rice pancakes called bánh xèo.  The ingredients (as we understood them) are shrimp, pork and beansprouts that are fried in a batter made from rice flour, tumeric and green onions.  You can find a great recipe and cultural explanation of the pancakes here.

When we'd each made our pancakes, we sat down at a table expecting to eat them.  We got even more than we expected, though.  Look at this beautiful food.

In the basket are shrimp and green onions tied into bundles with sprigs of mint.

Once we finished the appetizers in the basket, our server removed a layer of banana
leaves to reveal these amazing spring rolls.

Finally, we get to eat the pancakes we've made.  We're supposed to roll them in rice paper with lettuce, cucumber, and baby bok choy.  Cannon doesn't like the food at all.  You can see it on his face.

Check out Cannon's face again.  He knows we'll make him eat some.

Seth is rolling his food around his chopsticks as we were shown.

But there's still another course!  These beautiful banana leaf boxes arrived.

They open to reveal sticky rice with sesame seeds on top.  Gorgeous!

Then our server embellished each plate of rice with vegetables and fish in the shape of an animal.  This is a turtle.

Rabbit

Spider

A squid?  Another spider?  I didn't understand what the sweet man said this was supposed to be.

Butterfly

 It was definitely a memorable lunch for us!