I took my friend, Huong, the subject of my book,to see Julius Caesar at the Shakespeare theater at Navy Pier yesterday. I have been taking her to the plays there for awhile. After the play, we went to a Vietnamese restaurant which she thinks is very authentic. If you haven't eaten Vietnamese food, or even if you have, I recommend Hoanh Long, located at 6144 Lincoln in Chicago. I always go for the fried egg rolls which my Huong pointed out are more Chinese than Vietnamese. She is Chinese but from Viet Nam. The papaya salad with shrimp and pork is excellent. Then a plate of bean sprouts, mint, and basil arrived topped by strips of beef. A bowl of water with a plate of thin round rice papers. You dip the rice paper into the water to soften it, then fill it with bean sprouts,a leaf of mint and basil, some strips of beef, and wrap it like an eggroll. My eggrolling abilities are nonexistent so Huong wrapped a couple for me. We also ordered a stir fried chicken with cashews and a vegetable stir fry with rice noodles. Yum.
A friend and her husband were also with us. He had been a helicopter pilot in Viet Nam so Huong and he enjoyed reminiscing about the country. One of his memories was of small boys selling pop bottles full of fuel by the roadside for motorcyclists who would pull up, buy a bottle, pour it in their fuel tank, and take off. Oh, yes, Huong said. She had forgotten about that.
A friend and her husband were also with us. He had been a helicopter pilot in Viet Nam so Huong and he enjoyed reminiscing about the country. One of his memories was of small boys selling pop bottles full of fuel by the roadside for motorcyclists who would pull up, buy a bottle, pour it in their fuel tank, and take off. Oh, yes, Huong said. She had forgotten about that.
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