File:Thắng cố.jpg

Seeing bits of boiled beef, goat that are sliced up to top off a bowl of noodles, I stumbled on what I thought was an offal stew of beef or goat. I thought the bits of tripe looked familiar enough, and the brownish skin looked like what you'd find in a Chinese-style goat hotpot stew.

Asking the man behind the pot if it was "thit de" (goat in Vietnamese) was met with much uninteligible chatter and hand-waving, beckoning me to sit down for a bowl. I put it down to the fact that he was Hmong and perhaps didn't speak much Vietnamese. I managed to get the price, and VND30000 / AUD2 / USD1.50 seemed reasonable.

Chowing down on the intestines and tripe, I was quite happy with the flavours even though it was a simple dish. The minerally taste of the offal was mild and everything tasted fresh. Seeing me enjoy it, Julia decided to taste a bit of the meat. As soon as she did, that was what gave it away.

I had a taste, and sure enough, it wasn't goat. It had a sweet flavour probably closest to wild boar, but stronger gameyness.

When one of the waitresses walked past, I asked again if it was "thit de". She responded with "thit cho". yep. dog.

I think I tried to have a little bit more, but we had to leave half the bowl untouched.

Suffice to say, lunch and dinner was vegetables and rice! :P