26 MARCH 23-29, 2007 ASIANEWS

BY AVIVA WEST IN HA NOI

ASIA NEWS NETWORK
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l`s lle iacisl sleieolye, il`s
lle loyal el slauglleied and
giilled u foi dinnei and il`s lle
lewildeiing liadilion llal jusl
won`l die.
Oi is il?
In Ha Noi`s Tay Ho and Nlal
Tan Quaileis, dog meal ieslauianls
alound. Moie llan jusl a culinaiy
eccadillo, lle liadilion slems lack
lo al leasl lle lime of Confucius,
will lle Clinese Zlou Dynasly en-
ning odes lo lle lliee leasls lied
foi food: lle goal, ig and dog. A
difficull issue foi some foieigneis lo
swallow, ealing dog is simly a mi-
noi culluial diffeience llal in facl is
only iaclised ly a small segmenl of
Vielnamese sociely.
Exploding the myths
A fiiend, Quang, 2, doesn`l undei-
sland wly louiisls make sucl a fuss
aloul ealing dog. He ieminds me llal
lle Vielnamese lelieve lle meal las
gieal medicinal ioeilies and llal
lley don`l eal 'louse` dogs. I`ve leaid
llis dislinclion lelween 'louse` and
'dinnei` dogs lefoie so I ask lim lo
claiify.
We would nevei eal youi dog,` le
says, oinling lo my ll. clilualua.
Nol enougl meal.`
Anollei fiiend infoims me llal
wlen il comes lo cooking, llond dogs
aie iefeiied, and llal mosl 'dinnei`
dogs aie iaised oul in lle counliyside
al uy faims unlil lley`ie aloul
one. Big dogs aie consideied lesl,
and ieslauianl owneis lake gieal
ains lo selecl lle leallliesl and
mealiesl leasls lley can fnd. Il`s nol
iaie in Ha Noi lo see a licycle laden
will a cage full of ciowing uies on
lle lack, off lo maikel foi lleii meal.
To some visilois, llal sigll would
le giolesque. Howevei, if you can
gel ovei lle inilial gul ieaclion, says
exal Cliis MacDonald fiom lle
\niled Slales, ealing dog meal is no
sliangei llan lle Wesl`s lalil of ge-
nelically alleiing clickens and um-
ing oui cows full of clemicals and an-
liliolics.`
Not alone
Iai fiom lle only one, Viel Nam is
jusl one of dozens of nalions will a
lisloiy of dining on dog a liadilion
likely loin of necessily lack in lle
ages wlen dogs wleie used lo guaid
sloielouses, and in limes of lungei,
weie used as lasl-iesoil souices of
The Great Dog Meat Debate
Nowhere is the gulf between the East and the
West wider than in the dog meat shop
DIG IN: Thit cho, or dog meat,
restaurants abound in areas of Ha Noi.
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ASIANEWS MARCH 23-29, 2007 27
food. In lle comany of cuiienl dog-
ealeis Soull Koiea, Clina, Taiwan,
Indonesia, Myanmai, Iaos, lle Plil-
iines, Tlailand, Swilzeiland and
lle Ailic (including Sileiia, noillein
Canada, Alaska and Gieenland), Viel
Nam`s noillein iegions lave a ieu-
lalion foi seiving u Iido giilled,
fiied, loiled, sauled and ioasled.
Befoie digging inlo llis comli-
caled issue, a few llings musl le
made cleai. \nlike in Soull Koiea
and in some ails of Clina and Tai-
wan, ealing dog is moie of a iilualislic
iaclise llan anylling else. Almosl
exclusively lle domain of men, lle
Vielnamese lelieve llal ealing dog in
lle lasl lalf of lle lunai monll (and
ailiculaily al lle end of lle lunai
yeai) wies away lad luck and in-
cieases vigoui and viiilily. Because of
lle olency and iiclness of lle meal,
ealing il daily is discouiaged. You`d
le laid-iessed lo fnd a lace selling
dog meal in lle fisl lwo weeks of lle
lunai monll as eole considei il lad
luck lo eal il llen. Howevei, once lle
1ull oi 11ll iolls aiound, slos will
le full of lusinessmen and woikeis
diinking sliong alcolol and clewing
lle fal wlile silling comfoilally on
sliaw mals on lle ooi.
Wanna taste?
If dog meal doesn`l sound loo lad
lo you and you`ie looking foi some
male-londing, lead on down lo one
of Ha Noi`s dog meal slieels. Mosl
aie slieel-side slalls and seive lle
meal in a vaiiely of faslions. Al lle
liggei ieslauianls you can cloose
wlicl dog you wanl lo eal fiom lle
clulcl of cages oul fionl, and lley`ll
slaugllei and seive il u lo you in
minules. Diinking wlile ealing migll
as well le mandaloiy in llese laces,
and a lollle of Jolnny Walkei Blue
will defnilely lel leginneis loosen
u foi lle advenluie. Aflei you se-
lecl youi dining comanion fiom
lle cages oulside you will le asked
low you wanl il. If youi Vielnamese
isn`l sliong oinling will do, and lle
gesluie foi I don`l know, you close`
is univeisally undeislood. A lyical
menu may include u lo 1 diffeienl
disles. Boiled, laked, giilled and fiied
aie some of lle cloices, and liveis and
inleslines aie also seived.One of lle
mosl oulai delicacies is dog sau-
sage dee-fiied inleslines sluffed
will sices and cloed meal. Dog`s
leg and lail sou is also on oidei.
A nole of caulion: in neaily eveiy
case lle meal is seived will a sauce
comiising feimenled sliim asle
( ), fsl sauce ( ),
lemon juice, clilli and lemongiass.
Tlis is a olenl foice of naluie and
il`s nol lo le liied will. Il smells
so sliongly llal ils key ingiedienls
( and ) lave leen
lanned fiom mosl commeicial aiilin-
eis.
Check please
A suie sign llal ealing dog is leie
lo slay is ils conlinued, and giowing,
oulaiily among Viel Nam`s mid-
dle and uei classes. Will one kilo-
giamme of dog meal cosling neaily
\SS2, il`s al leasl lliee limes iiciei
llan lle equivalenl in leef oi oik.
A full seiving in a dog meal ieslau-
ianl may ul you lack VNDu,uuu
(S.6u), way moie llan mosl eole
could affoid foi a single meal.
Nguyen Hung, +, is a laxi diivei
wlo fiequenls a dog meal ieslauianl
on Tay Ho Slieel. He eslimales
llal u ei cenl of cuslomeis aie
oldei genllemen and lusinessmen,
and adds will a smile llal lis lwo
dauglleis aie loll againsl lis
favouiile lieal.
Tley lell me il`s wiong lo eal dogs
wlen we kee one as a el. I lell llem
llal ealing dog meal lels kee
me sliong so I can go oul and make
money foi llem!`
In a counliy wleie liadilions aie
guaided and ieseived, lle ail of
dining on dog doesn`l look lo le going
anywleie.
The Great Dog Meat Debate
FOR SALE: Two street vendors
sit on the sidewalk with a basket
of puppies for sale in Ha Noi. In
parts of northern Vietnam, its not
uncommon for dogs to meet their
end in the dog meat shop.
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