My selection:

• Soup: Steamed Egg Flan with Seafood
• Appetizer: Steamed Prawn Lotus Salad with Herbs and Chilli Lime Vinaigrette
• Entree: New Zealand Braised Lamb Shank with Gnocchi, Spinach, Pine Nuts & Raisin Lamb Jus
• Dessert: Pannacotta with Strawberry Coulis

4 Courses at US$28.00, plus $8.00 for Signature Dish Supplement, plus 10% Government Taxes and 5% Service Charge.

Location: Hanoi, Vietnam. Near the West Lake.

Review and details to follow. (ie. Too pleased to write a review. Photos of the meal and places from mobile phone will be uploaded soon.)

Restaurant Bobby Chinn Rules:

This restaurant is an Abba, Kenny G, and Gypsy King Free Zone. We also refuse to play any bands with more than one lead singer or matching sweater. Female Teenyboppers dressed like whores with synchronized dancing are also banned! To preserve the dining experience, we request that you are well versed in mobile phone etiquette (SILENCE). All our Poultry & Meats are Halal or as close as it gets to Kosher … Except the Pork of course! None of the staff were harmed (physically) to bring you quality food and service tonight, or ever. Children’s menu available upon request and duct tape is available for hyperactive children. Please do not ask us to split the bill other than by a number. We do not do “She had this, and I had 1/2 of that” very well. Please note that we have smaller portions at the same prices for Anorexics and those aspiring. Also this restaurant is non smoking, please smoke at the bar, feel free to fart there also. Thank you …

Two days before the performance of the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra at Esplanade, there was a concert entitled “Treasures of Japan,” performed by the Singapore Chinese Orchestra, together with some of the leading traditional Japanese instrumentalists. One of the things I noticed with Japanese orchestral/classical/traditional music is that it’s very very sharp. The shakuhachi makes a pretty distinct yet sharp tone, while the taiko has sharp and defined beats.

Even if the pieces were performed by the SCO, one would notice that while the pipa or erhu player is using a traditional Chinese instrument, the way they are played are still very sharp.

I particularly enjoyed the taiko performances by Eitetsu Hiyashi and of course the encore. Sadly, I wasn’t able to record anything as it was prohibited (ie. just follow law!).

A day or two before this concert, there was another concert by The Zheng Ensemble at the concourse. Their junior members performed “Butterfly Lovers,” an all-time favorite.

It’s very interesting to see how we see the roots of East Asian music from that of Chinese. Further, if we go down south to Vietnam, we see the strong influence of the Chinese in Viet music and culture. I just find it very interesting that when one quips to a Viet, “oh you look Chinese,” you’ll see long faces. I reckon this is due to 2 things. First, the Chinese invaded Vietnam when Vietnam tried to invade Cambodia. Second, when the French colonized Vietnam, they reformed their writing systems and thus breaking the umbilical cord between Vietnam and China. If the French Jesuit Alexander de Rhodes didn’t invent this new writing system and if he just studied Chinese like Matteo Ricci, perhaps Vietnam would still be using Chinese characters today, and therefore I’d be able to easily read their materials and communicate with them. However, as the French phrase goes, c’est la vie!