Oil and Lacquer

The final destination of our travels in Northern Vietnam was Ha Nam. This town is the invisible place that we think of when we read folk tales. Grey mountains border this town. Boulders, rocks, stones, and pebbles stumble down from these mountains and the people build their houses and markets out of them.

Watch:

 Hat Voi Ha Nam (Sing Along with Ha Nam)

We stayed at my friend Tuat’s house, which also has a restaurant called Hai Lun. This restaurant is the most successful business in this area. Tuat’s father used to serve for the Vietnamese army, then after the war, he started a family restaurant—since he had a knack for cooking anyways. He passed away five years ago, but he had taught all of his children how to cook. Now, Tuat’s mother manages the restaurant, one of his sisters is the head of the kitchen, his brother does the money stuff, his other sister opened a twin restaurant across the street, and approximately 20 employees live and work on the property keeping the place alive. Because of its solo location on the main highway, this restaurant attracts almost all of the hungry travelers passing by.

The mayor eats at the restaurant daily. All of the boys in the house have formed their own soccer team and they often practice after the restaurant closes. Most of the vegetables grow in the garden and many of the animals used for cooking are raised on the property as well. Sometimes, the boys go out hunting or fishing and everyone prepares the food together when the return. When they are not singing through the night, Tuat’s brother Long reads action stories until he goes to sleep, and the young girl Uyen wanders around the restaurant chewing on sugar cane.