Tieng Viet lovers club

[jackbl]

To make this thread a bit busier, i will start the ball rolling. A fren sms to send me greetings... "Chuc Jack 1 ngay moi An Lanh va Ma dao thanh cong"... Anyone know the true meaning of the 2 highlighted phrase?

Originally Posted by Hurricane88

Newbies dare not to ask for translation...hihihi....worried kena scolding....so quietly trying to learn somewhere else...

The veterans are already experts in tieng viet so nothing much to ask...

buon oi la buon...

[PuNkDeViL]

Hi to the expert here... can help me translate a sms send by my ba xa

"ong xa ngu chua ba xa khong ngu duoc"

thank and appericate for the help

[jackbl]

I tried the one at ZEN PLAZA, not bad ....

Japanese slow food
==============

The Sushi Bar restaurant in Ho Chi Minh City is well known for serving authentic Japanese sushi and drinks.

Located in the city center, the restaurant is outfitted in modern Japanese style, reasonably priced and has polite professional service.

The menu’s wide range of Sashimi and Sushi (raw fish or seafood with rice wrapped in seaweed sheets) is made from fresh fish imported from Japan daily.

“The Sushi Bar Roll,” which is a customer favorite, contains several kinds of fish and vegetables.

A recent addition on the fast food menu, Ca ngu voi rong nho bien (Sea grape and ground yam on tuna fish) is highly recommended.

Another taste sensation is the moriwase which contains salmon, tuna, octopus, prawn, eel and the eggs of salmon, shark and shrimp. It is a dish that has many colors to inspire the appetite.

Another specialty is sour ginger. Most Japanese dishes have it. Legend has it that by eating sour ginger you will increase your life-span. Eating food with ginger also helps keep the body warm.

The wine list has an extensive selection of Japanese wine and fermented drinks including the ladies’ favorite - home made apricot wine - plus more than 30 types of imported spirits and wines from around the world.

After the main course, you should try the Sushi Bar’s own-recipe ice cream made in various flavors such as Sakura (Cherry), Wasabi (Green radish) and Goma (Sesame).

Private rooms are available upstairs. The restaurant also caters for celebration parties. Home delivery within Ho Chi Minh City is available.

THE SUSHI BAR ADDRESS:

2 Le Thanh Ton Street, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City
Tel: (08) 3 823 8042
Mobile: 090 390 7634
Opening hours: 10 a.m. - 10:30 p.m.

5F, ZEN PLAZA, 54-56 Nguyen Trai Street, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City
Tel: (08) 3 925 0377
Mobile: 090 390 7634
Opening hours: 10 a.m. - 10 p.m.

Reported by Thuy Tien

[casannova03]

Originally Posted by PuNkDeViL

can help me translate a sms send by my ba xa

"ong xa ngu chua ba xa khong ngu duoc"

thank and appericate for the help

Ong Xa= Lao gong/husband/hubby

Ngu=sleep/stupid

chua=already

Ba Xa= Lao po/wife/wifey

Khong= cannot/can't/no

Duoc= can/ ok/

So in the context of this sentence, the layman/conversational meaning will be:

'Hubby sleep already? Wifey cannot sleep'

duoc in end is used emphasize the negative connotation of the action of sleeping.

Just like our chinese: Lau gong shui le ma? Lau po shui bu zao/liao.

In the vietnamese language, it is vital to look at the sentence and understand what the person is trying to convey to you, especially when using SMS where there is no 'sound' indication. It would be useful for beginners to try and second guess the reply by using the knowledge of your previous SMS to her..the reply should be somewhere along the line.

It will be useful if you can get to know a few commonly used words(i.e home=nha; sleep=ngu; eat=an; etc.), then learn the important key words to join the sentence (i.e and=va; but=nhung; if...then=neu...thi; etc).

Once you get to know the few key joining words, expand your vocab further by using the language more or reading up dictionaries....then you can use your improved vocab and mix and match to form sentences...

Using the correct way of mixing and matching will only get better with practice...sometimes when you devise your own word joining sentences but the gal dun understand (SMS reply: khong hieu), you will know you've made some grammatical error liao...dun worry...try again till she knows....

This was how i learned....

Cheers!!

[Pongo]

Originally Posted by PuNkDeViL

Hi to the expert here... can help me translate a sms send by my ba xa

"ong xa ngu chua ba xa khong ngu duoc"

thank and appericate for the help

this sms don't look good ... coz it will lead to u ask them why cannot sleep ... den they will say this n that den finally they will say cannot slp becoz thinkin "work no good no money" den .......

[capri4163]

Oxa, can go ochard tower send me $200, em very sad you know...

[Reaper]

Originally Posted by jackbl

I tried the one at ZEN PLAZA, not bad ....

Japanese slow food
==============

The Sushi Bar restaurant in Ho Chi Minh City is well known for serving authentic Japanese sushi and drinks.

THE SUSHI BAR ADDRESS:

2 Le Thanh Ton Street, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City
Tel: (08) 3 823 8042
Mobile: 090 390 7634
Opening hours: 10 a.m. - 10:30 p.m.

5F, ZEN PLAZA, 54-56 Nguyen Trai Street, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City
Tel: (08) 3 925 0377
Mobile: 090 390 7634
Opening hours: 10 a.m. - 10 p.m.

Reported by Thuy Tien

Just to add, if you want to go to the Le Thanh Ton outlet, reservations is a MUST!!!! if not, expect a waititng time of at least 20-30 minutes.

Im my personal opinion, I find the Le Thanh Ton outlet better ther the Nguyen Trai one.

This is one restaurant I will highly recommend.

[jackbl]

HCMC set for three flood tides before Tet
===========================
High tides in Ho Chi Minh City will cause flooding three more times before Tet late next month in districts situated along rivers and canals and low-lying areas, according to the city authorities.

The tide is likely to be as high, or higher, than during last year’s corresponding period, the Steering Board for Flood and Storm Control said.

It urged local authorities, especially in districts 12, Thu Duc, Go Vap, Binh Thanh, Hoc Mon, Cu Chi and Binh Chanh, to speed up construction of 151 embankments, repair eroded banks and drain water.

District 12 and Go Vap should finish 18 out of their 35 key constructions this month, it said.

Reported by Mai Vong

[jackbl]

Surviving the street vendors in Vietnam
===========================
There’s one simple way to scare tourists away from Vietnam: have street vendors pester them to buy stuff.

At a pho (Vietnamese noodle) store on Pham Ngu Lao Street in Ho Chi Minh City, I saw a foreign tourist saying he had been solicited six times by a shoeshine boy.

Street vendors bug almost everyone at train stations, sightseeing spots, souvenir shops and food courts.

Some continue to do it no matter how many times you say, politely, that you are not interested in buying their stuff.

Of course the vendors, mostly poor people migrating from other provinces, have the right to earn money. And they deserve to be helped.

The images of vendors with their pushcarts laden with flowers or food trudging along streets can be touching.

City and local authorities across the country have reacted to the problem by banning them.

That alone won’t do.

At the government level, there must be clear policies for local authorities to manage the hawkers. A government agency can be designated to issue licenses to vendors.

Then, those who violate rules by obstructing traffic or causing public annoyance can have their licenses revoked.

Until something like this happens, tourist guide books on Vietnam might need to have a separate section on how to survive/escape street vendors.

By Huynh Ngoc Chenh

[Hurricane88]

Originally Posted by Pongo

this sms don't look good ... coz it will lead to u ask them why cannot sleep ... den they will say this n that den finally they will say cannot slp becoz thinkin "work no good no money" den .......

Hahaha...this is sharing from experience...

[jackbl]

Gala feasts
=========

What a night out on Xmas eve will get you in Ho Chi Minh City.

With less than a week to go for Christmas, it is a good time to look at what hotels and theme parks in HCMC are up to.

For Christmas this year, most hotels are upgrading their buffets to gala dinners. Activities accompanying the buffets include variety shows, Santa Claus distributing Christmas present and raffle ticket draws.

In the downtown area, the five-star Rex Hotel (141 Nguyen Hue St., Dist. 1) will launch a gala dinner on Christmas Eve (December 24) from 7 p.m-12:30 a.m., with a buffet, a variety show and a lucky draw. Tickets are US$75 for an adult and $40 for a child, including wine and soft drinks.

The five-star Majestic Hotel (1 Dong Khoi St., Dist. 1) will celebrate Christmas with a gala dinner from 7:15 p.m. until midnight on December 24. The buffet goes with a cocktail welcome on party and a variety show that includes live music, dancing and the performance of martial arts. Participation costs an adult $66 and a child $33, with free flow of wine, soft drinks and mineral water.

Most hotels in Cho Lon, the city’s Chinese quarter, such as Thien Hong (52 Tan Da St., Dist. 5), Bat Dat (238 Tran Hung Dao B St., Dist.5) and Dong Khanh (2 Tran Hung Dao B St., Dist.5) will celebrate Christmas with buffets of Vietnamese and Chinese dishes, live music and gifts. Adults are charged VND200,000 ($11.80).

Among the theme parks, Van Thanh (48/10 Dien Bien Phu St., Binh Thanh District) and Tan Cang (A100 Ung Van Khiem St., Binh Thanh District) will entertain customers on Christmas Eve with a buffet and a variety show, give gifts to children and award prizes to customers winning the lucky draw. Adults will have to pay VND200,000 to join the event.

In particular, the Saigon Ship Restaurant (Bach Dang Quay, Dist. 1) will be where people welcome Christmas while crusing the Saigon River from 7 p.m.-11 p.m. on December 24. The ship will do the Bach Dang Quay-Ben Nghe Port-Bach Dang Quay route between 9:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. during the gala dinner. Cost per customer is VND300,000 ($17.60).

Reported by Tien Dat

[jackbl]

The 2,000 dong food store
=================
Amid inflation and rising food costs, there’s one rice kitchen thriving on serving customers dishes costing a total of VND2,000 (US$0.12).
For this princely amount, you can have a basic, nutritious Vietnamese meal that includes, for example, eggs, fried pork meat and vegetable soup.

The only requirement besides paying VND2,000 is that you have to be poor.

As the sign outside the rice kitchen on Third Street, Lu Gia Housing Compound in Ward 15, District 11, states: “only serving poor college students” and those who are “truly poor.”

The place is becoming increasingly popular among college students, passers-by, homeless residents and lotto ticket sellers in the area, who come for a full lunch they at least can afford.

Two local women – one in her 30s and the other in her late 50s – from a nearby church called Tan Phuoc opened the store in mid-August.

Locals say the women don’t want to talk much about their motivation for running this “charity” place and months ago, even avoided reporters coming here for a story.

“We charge VND2,000 each serving so that people would feel like this isn’t charity, that they really earn the meal,” says Yen, one of the two founders.

The kitchen operates only from 10:30 a.m. to noon on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. This allows Yen and others in her church group enough time to prepare food and cook for at least 500 people.

My, a businesswoman, said her passion for the rice kitchen stemmed from her poor childhood.

“Providing meals for poor students will remind them that there are still good people in the society,” My said. “When poor students succeed in life, they, in turn, will devote themselves to serving the country and poor people so that nobody is poor.”

My prefers increasing the number of servings a day, instead of the number of serving days.

On serving days, the volunteer cooks and servers rise at 4:30 a.m. and stay until 2 p.m. to clean up after the customers have gone.

“Months ago, we used to prepare two or three dishes per serving but now that has come down to one dish and a vegetable soup due to rising food costs,” says 58-year-old Han, another member of the group.

The actual cost to cook each serving is, in fact, VND8,000 ($0.47).

The two women spend about VND6 million ($351) per month to rent the location, and after using the VND1 million ($58) that they normally receive from their 500 customers pay during each serving day, they must contribute in between VND2 million and VND3 million ($117-175).

And that doesn’t include the cost for electricity, water and gas.

Each customer is provided with a slip at one end and exchanges it for food at the other.

Fifty-year-old Tran Bon, who sells lottery tickets, came to know of the place from others who also sold lottery tickets in the area.

“I used to spend between VND8,000 and VND10,000 ($0.47-0.59) for lunch so this has allowed me to save quite a bit,” he says. “I guess this is somewhat like giving it to us for free because VND2,000 normally can get you only rice.”

For the past month, Le Thai, a freshman from Dong Thap Province at the University of Technology –Vietnam National University in HCMC, has patronized the shop.

“It even tastes better than the canteen food at my college,” Thai says.

Like many other members that run the store, Han refuses giving his last name for the same reason, which is the less notice the better.

During the four months the shop has been in operation, Han says he has witnessed some “not quite pleasing” incidents. There was one time he had to refuse to serve one family.

“One member was wearing gold and we knew for sure they weren’t poor.”

The shop doesn’t plan to come up with any procedure to check the customers’ background.

Those who run it say they just “know” who deserves to be served.

Reported by Huong Le-Van Khoa

[jackbl]

Sex websites worried, excited over peer’s closure
=================================
Many pornography websites operating in Vietnam have become very nervous following the shutdown in mid-November of Index of /, but others see it as an opportunity to fill the space.

Police from the Ministry of Public Security on November 17 said they had closed down the website Index of / and detained 10 people considered most active in running it over the past few years.

The website had been promoted as an education forum “for a healthy teenage sex life,” but had become a full-fledged pornography site.

The closure of mocxi.com has prompted the MT sex forum, which has many members, to announce an indefinite blockade of any boxes “that have anything to do with sex.”

The forum will be temporarily transferred into a non-sex forum, according to an MT notice.

Many illegal sex websites remain in existence but are no longer enabling new people to sign up or allowing members to post stories, photos or movies of sex acts.

There are also many big websites that are not worried at all.

The administrators of the CNH forum, while informing its members of the mocxi.com’s shutdown, have guaranteed that people accessing the CNH website are “absolutely protected” and “all your information is extremely confidential.”

Forum LX also explains to its members why and how mocxi.com collapsed, and even informs it is recruiting designers to expand operations.

The mocxi case is also leading to a trend where more foreigners living overseas will replace Vietnamese residents to mod (moderate) illegal sex websites operating in Vietnam.

Vo Do Thang, director of Athena network security and administration training center, says many students don’t know that posting photos or movies of sex acts is illegal.

Reported by Dinh Dang

Originally Posted by jackbl

What a waste! Never had the chance to visit vietnamese porn site till date... anyone got another?

Ten arrested in porn website investigation
===========================
Police in Ho Chi Minh City Thursday arrested 10 suspects allegedly involved in the operation of a pornographic website and charged them with “distribution of depraved material.”

Reported by Dam Huy

[jackbl]

Meaning less viet gals coming to sgp to work???

Vietnam gender ratio could result in social disorder: experts
======================================
Experts are warning of increasing sex-related crimes and general social disorder if the highly unnatural level of gender imbalance in the country is not addressed.

They were speaking at conference in Hanoi Monday on “building a project to intervene in elements that affect gender at birth,” organized by the General Department of Population and Family Planning.

The male to female ratio in Vietnam has climbed from 105:107 to 112:100 in the 1999-2007 period, said Pham Nang An, deputy head of the population and family planning bureau under the department.

He said the ratio was alarming as it was far beyond the natural gender ratio of 103-106:100.

The 112:100 ratio was similar to China’s in 1987, An added. It had been estimated that in 2004 in eight to ten years, there could be “40 to 60 million missing women” in China.

An warned that rising gender imbalance in Vietnam could lead to social disorder and an increase in sexual crimes.

Pham Ba Nhat, head of the bureau, attributed the ratio to the traditional preference for male children in Vietnamese society.

Nhat said gender diagnosis during pregnancy and abortion of female fetuses was the main cause of the imbalance.

He added that elsewhere in the nation, that when baby girls were born, some parents informed authorities that the babies were adopted; thus they had the right to give birth to more babies. Vietnamese law regulates that a couple can only have two children at the most.

Prof. Nguyen Duc Vy of the Central Maternal Hospital said there was a need to distinguish between legal abortion and abortion based on gender. The latter must be banned, he added.

Vy said there should be a ban to abort fetuses of more than 12 weeks old, except for birth deformities, as at this time the fetus’s gender could be known.

Nguyen Dinh Cu, head of the Institute of Population and Social Issues, said surveys showed that more than 66 percent of pregnant women knew their fetus’s gender before giving birth, and up to 98 percent of the cases were thanks to ultrasonography check-ups.

Cu said the percentage showed that the implementation of the population ordinance, which bans parents from choosing their baby’s gender by any means, was lax.

He added there had been no penalties prescribed so far on violators including parents, doctors, and medical staff relating to checking fetuses’ gender so far.

Dr. Nguyen Thi Thuong from the institute said authorities should offer better welfare policies for the elderly and farmers as they still bore in mind that sons were the only people they could rely on to take care of them during old age. Daughters are considered outsiders as they have to live with their husbands’ families after their marriage.

Another conference in Ho Chi Minh City last month disclosed that around three million Vietnamese men will have difficulty finding wives by 2030 due to the rising gender imbalance.

Reported by Nam Son

[jackbl]

Wishing Everyone Merry X'mas and Happy 2009!