Another ritual highlights the Confucian respect for hierarchy and community, this is inviting another table to take a drink, particularly older men, foriegners or newfaces. On many occasions I have been pressed by my Vietnamese friends to goto the other table of strangers and invite them to take a sip with me. It is also common, as a foriegner to experience this from neighboring tables whereby a man may come and ask a few rehearsed questions in english and then cheers the foriegners to take a drink. While some foriegners may view this as simple friendly behaviour, it is a demonstration of the confucianist value of respect for neighbors and by inviting them for a drink you are honoring them and their presence here.
Observing a nhậu session reveals Vietnam's social values through performative cultural expressions of food and drink sharing. So if you do have the opportunity to travel through Vietnam and have an interest in experiencing different cultures, a Nhậu session should be on your list.
Where to Experience Nhậu Culture?
I have a rule, the better or larger the plastic chairs, the higher the price of the Quán Nhậu. Nhậu ranges in price, you can have more ‘luxury style’ with white table cloth and grilled lobster all the way to small plastic tables in someones front yard eating boiled eggs and the cheapest rice wine.
Unsurprisingly the best QuánNhậu tends to be in more suburbal areas, away from main roads, city centers and popular tourist destinations. Copy and paste the words ‘QuánNhậu gần đây’ (quan nhau near here) into google and some good suggestions should pop up around you, there are QuánNhậu’s almost everywhere.
For central Vietnam, I can provide you with some great places. If you are in Hoi An, I would reccomend Xanh Quán on 138 tran quang khai street , here is one of Hoi An’s best kept secrets when it comes to trying local cuisine. They are famous for serving a monstrous bbq local catfish fish that is unique to Hoi An with local herbs and eaten with a simple crushed green chili, salt and lime dip to pair with the tender fish.
