Fat Bings Restaurant

"Fat Bings" cafeteria is a little grotty hole in the side of an old building
in the Academy. It has dirty walls, a ceiling that is falling in, the
tables and chairs are just old old office furniture. You can see through to
the kitchen, there is a lot of rubble and broken wood on the floor, and bits
of pig etc...

The food is ... interesting. There is rice (of course), Zau Muong (which is
a boiled water plant), some sliced, boiled pork, small sour tomatoes in
vinegar, some fermented cabbage (not as nice as Kim Chi), a pinealpple and
Liver dish, pig throats, deep fried whole goldfish, deep fried prawn heads,
deep fried silk-worms, some sliced cucumber, a thin soup and a really really
yummy pork and coconut dish. It is accompanied by small plates of chille
and salt, little bowls of fish sauce ...

they say Fat Bings is the cheapest place to eat, only 6000 VND per person,
which is only 60cents australian. Actually, until recently, I thought it
was the ONLY place to eat at the academy, it is the only place they have
ever shown me. Also there, you can buy a bottle of hanoi vodka for only
3000VND (30cents!!). And they like to drink that, I can tell you!!

At the moment, worried for my health, I put myself on a 1 month drinking
ban. This means that sometimes I cannot eat with my workmates, because
you must drink if everybody else does. So one day last week, not being
allowed to go with the guys, I eat lunch with the older ladies I work with.

They take me to a DIFFERENT restaurant, a bigger, cleaner nicer place, the
food is more diverse and more tasty. It is just around the corner from Fat
Bings (in the Academy), but I had never been there. They serve a nice
banana curry, spring rolls, fish, the zau muong has garlic and chille, the
chopsticks are clean.

Also, there are many people there. Fat Bings is so small, maybe it can fit
about 30 people at a tight squeeze. So I always wonder, if the Academy is
so big, WHERE does everybody eat?? They eat here, its called "2 boys"
restaurant. I ask about the price, the ladies tell me it is only 7000VND
per person.. not so expensive.. So I ask why my boss and my workfriends
always eat at Fat Bings.. the old ladies tell me.. "you cannot drink here at
Two Boys Restaurant."

I have been here nearly 3 months now... and that was my first introduction to a non drinking cafeteria.