… as evidenced below:

(yup, you can tell that we ran out of nice-looking bowls for the food…)

From left to right and top to bottom: rice, bok choy in oyster sauce, tôm rang thịt ba chỉ (caramelised shrimp and pork belly), nước tương dến ớt (sweet soy sauce with ginger), sweet and sour sauce, bún canh gà (chicken broth with vermicelli), nước mắm gừng (ginger-lime dipping sauce), sour-sweet sauce, and Hainan chicken (one of those Chinese dishes that emigrated to Vietnam). There were a couple minor disasters, such as confusing the pork belly and the shrimp when preparing the marinade (a little embarrassing, as it’s the pork that needs to be covered with sugar and nước mắm in order for its fat to caramelise on high heat), and not having enough ice (pretty much a vital component for the chicken), but overall, it all went fairly smoothly.

Also, there was shrimp toast. More on that later.