Do you like it here? (Me?) Yeah, or you don’t care? (Yes, this is my home.) This is your home? (This is my home country, so I would definitely be OK with it.) Sure, yes. Actually, sometimes we think other countries are better, but then slowly we realize how beautiful our own mother country is. Just like now, they showed me some of the Âu Lạc (Vietnam) area, like the county, the province where I was born. And I felt “Wow,” because I was too young to appreciate these things. And now they show it when I’m older, I feel, “Beautiful country. My country is beautiful.” And where I was born, the county, the province, is beautiful. The district is beautiful. But when I was young, I didn’t think that much. Too young, you know? And too much war and too much things in the head. I did not appreciate the country. Now, when they showed it, I thought, “Wow.” It’s really beautiful. Precious.
You should like it. (I spent one month and a half in Âu Lạc [Vietnam].) Yeah? (From north to south, and I was surprised how diverse the sceneries were.) Yes? (Mountains.) How beautiful. (Beach.) It’s a very beautiful country. That’s why in the former times, everybody liked it, or would like to colonize it. (Yes.) And now I think they should leave us alone. Leave the Aulacese (Vietnamese) people alone to enjoy some peace for a change. Always war. It’s terrible. People have no time to even enjoy their country. Like me, I was young, but always running to avoid the bullets. And I never had a chance to enjoy anything. OK, good.
(She wants to make the soup pot to be plenty.) OK. We put them together. Easy to get, so it’s not mixed up. And then we put the cherry (tomatoes) on top, to make it good-looking. On top of these, it’s better than underneath. The way you did before. (OK.) Like this is more beautiful, more appetizing. OK? (OK.) It’s the same thing. (OK.) Just in there – It looks better, no? (Yes.) Like that. Never cover the cherry tomatoes because they’re beautiful. Like this, you see? (Yes, thank You, Master.) No, no problem. It’s just housewife stuff, not really important. I don’t think you really need to know. Because you have your business, and… You have business and you have your company, so you don’t even need this. (Yes.) You don’t really need to be a housewife. (No, I don’t need to.)
How did you make the coconut (sugar)? Is that from...? The coconut from pollen, the sugar from coconut pollen, how do they do that? Where did they get the pollen? (It’s the treetop... collect the...) The flower. (The flower.) Yes? (The nectar, the “nectar”?) But it’s not much. How do you collect? (It’s a lot. Actually, they collect two times a day.) Ah. (And then they put a jar for the nectar to drip.) For the nectar to fall in. Really? (Yes.) Just fall in by itself? (Yes.) Oh, why didn’t we do it all this time? It’s a waste. (I just discovered, because Hong Kong Loving Hut asked me to look for coconut sugar. Pure organic. Because some, they add white sugar into it.) I know, I know. This one is pure. (Yes, pure.) It’s so sweet and so beautiful. (Yes. There’s no preservatives, no coloring, no nothing.) I drink it with tea. Beautiful, beautiful. (It is like a malt, but more delicious.)
But I didn’t know that coconut has so much nectar. (Yes.) I know they have flowers, but the nectar just falls out like that? (Yes.) But how did the Hong Kong (Loving Hut) know that we have coconut sugar? (No, they asked me to look for it. So I…) They were looking for it? (Yes, they were looking for it, and then I went and looked for it.) I know, but how did they know even such a thing exists? I didn’t know. (They know coconut sugar, so she told me, “Help me.”) I didn’t know that coconut sugar exists. Beautiful. (Yes.) I have both coconut sugar from the, I think, the coconut plant or something, and the other one is the coconut (sugar) from the nectar. OK, you go call everybody. (OK.)
And this, and this, up. Yeah, and then like that. Quick, quick, quick, quick. (Yes.) Quick, quick, quick, quick. (Quickly.) Yeah, it’s quicker. This side, not yet. Ah, OK, now. That means “hungry.” That means he’s hungry. (He’s hungry.) Dog(-person’s) bowl, dog(-person’s) bowl, please. Self-serving. (Self-service.) This is for my dog(-person) only. Don’t wait for me to serve you. The sauces: the clear one is for the (vegan) spring rolls; this one is for the dark (vegan) rolls. This is with ginger, and this without (ginger). Got it? (Yes, Master.) (And there’s rice paper.) And then you can roll also. Take, take. (You can roll. Dip with water and roll.)
Some of this, boy? It’s hot. Love, you be careful. You eat the vegan shrimp first and the vegan fish first, then you eat the (vegan) spring roll later. Sit, sit. Sit down. It’s up to you. Up to you. Wow, a lot of people. Very good, very good. Could we have another bowl here? (Lift this up, love. Otherwise, it is getting hot again.) We have it in here already. Eat, eat, eat, eat, eat. You can eat with or without salad. I don’t have anything... I just use my hand then. OK, like that. And then you put one of these here, one of the vegan shrimps there, and one of whatever there. And some of these there. Like that. (Yes, Master.) That’s too much. I am so “greedy,” no? Like the guy, like the king in that story. Yeah, you go. And then one of these, or two of these, I want one. I think one is better. We don’t have enough. (Yes. Thank You.)
Oh, man! Yeah, yeah. Yeah, you can use that. Of course, you can. (Do you have the sauce?) Everybody. Some of these, make it look colorful. Yum, yum, yum, yum. Alright. Vegan fish sauce. I don’t have the... I don’t have any bowl. Do you have any bowl? [Take it from] the front and then raise it up, then you don’t touch anything else. (Yes.) Even eating, I have to teach you. I pretend I know everything. Where is my bowl? Anybody getting it? (Yes. The sister went.) And then you roll it the way you want, and then you eat it. Oh, yeah. (Yes. Cucumber.) Yeah, whatever. The ginger sauce. This is ginger sauce, just for the black ones (rolls). We don’t have a lot, so we have a little bit of each. (Yes.) (There’s soy sauce here if you want to dilute with soy sauce.) Dilute? You mean “more deepen” [the flavor]? Yeah, I can’t roll it either, so... I told you already you have to do this. Don’t put your finger inside. No. (Yes.) I can’t even roll it myself.
Somebody, open it. I need a tough man. We have some knives here. OK, then I don’t need you. OK, guys, help yourselves. (Thank You.) Have some (vegan) cakes and tea. Some for the dog(-person). Here you go. And then I’ll bring you some vegan bone later. That one. Tong? She was there and gone already, now, and… never mind. No, no. Don’t go. Then I have to give her this. For the people downstairs, for the dog(-people) caretaker, and this is all for you. Hallo! Hallo! OK, Benny. Is it OK for you alone to handle three dog-people? OK. Let her arrange it. Go. Later these are all yours. (Yes, thank You.) It’s you… Three of you? Then just give two packs. Because he is absent. (Yes.) You have to cut it. And clean it up a little bit. Clean the table. (Yes, Master. Sorry.)
You have a knife or something? (Yes, Master.) You like (vegan) chocolate, guys? (Yes.) And this. But today, we eat this special one first. And then we eat (vegan) chocolate later. (Vegan) chocolate is for later. (Vegan) chocolate, you can keep. Keep, some for women, some for men, and share later. And now we eat this kind of thing. Aulacese (Vietnamese) stuff. OK. Here, here. Come. (Yes, Master.) But it has a board also; it’s good. Give me a mask, please. It’s Aulacese (Vietnamese) “Bánh in.” “Bánh in,” I don’t know what it means, “Bánh in.” According to the written word, it means printed cake, printed. Maybe because they print the words and the stuff on it. And this is a fairy, for example, here. Fairy, moon fairy. (Oh.)
It also belongs to [the] Moon Festival stuff. We have also Moon Festival in Âu Lạc (Vietnam). (Yes, Master.) And they print everything on. See, print everything. Clean. OK? New. Maybe I need a glove? (Yes, Master.) I think they prefer without gloves, but I like to have gloves. (Yes, Master.) Example of hygiene. I think everybody likes me to touch without gloves, but I don’t like it. Looks so unhygienic. Never mind, it still has some blessings.
This is a very special (vegan) cake, Aulacese (Vietnamese) cake. Do we have this in China, Chinese? (Yes.) Yeah? How do you call that? (It’s mooncake.) This is not mooncake. It’s different. (Yes.) My clothes are new today, newly washed from top to bottom. Hair’s also clean. I’m trying to make it for everybody to have some, but I’m not sure.
Photo Caption: Nourish the Wonder Spring of the Soul!
