After a long day at Mekong Delta everyone planned to rest and start packing for our long departure back home. When returning back to the hotel it was a little sad to realize that this was the last day of our trip. Our group took time to visit the top floor pool and converse before getting ready for our farewell dinner.
The bus was able to drive us to our destination which was located in a beautifully lit alleyway. The farewell dinner took place in a restaurant named Carlsberg. The long and narrow restaurant was able to accommodate everyone nicely. The restaurant was able to provide our group with a seven course meal. Before all the meals came rushing in, our APA city manager, Zoe Gu, gave us a recap of our visit to Vietnam.
“I can’t believe it is our last day. We are happy to host you here in Vietnam and I know that it is your first time that you have traveled here or even traveled to Asia. We hope that you had a great time here…you visited many cultural sites, you also visited university and also visited company visits. We truly wish you enjoyed this journey in Vietnam with Mr. Long, with our guides, with Kiki and of course with me… I would like to invite you to raise your drinks and let’s cheer for having enjoyed and visited this country and wish you a great future!”
After Zoe’s great speech it was now Professor Ignacio’s turn to speak on our group’s performance on the trip. Ignacio started with saying how proud he is of our group and how much we were able to endure throughout the whole trip. After expressing how proud of us he was, Ignacio moved on to address all of the undergraduates and their ability to survive the trip. The room was filled with laughs and smiles as each of the undergraduates had their spotlight in Ignacio’s hot seat. Shortly after, the food started rushing onto the table. Our set menu consisted of the following in order; grilled bread with Bolognese sauce, green papaya salad with shrimp and pork, home Saigon grilled chicken with homemade sauce, home Saigon prawn curry, stir fried seasonal vegetable with garlic, steamed rice and last but not least seasonal ice cream.
Each flavor had its own unique taste which differed from one another. This allowed our pallets to be refreshed every single time we tried a new dish. The grilled bread with Bolognese sauce was one of the meatiest dishes by far but also had a crunch from the toasted bread which made it stand out. The meat was similar to a spaghetti sauce with sausage which was a familiar taste to some people. The green papaya salad with shrimp and pork left a fresh and sour taste from the papaya but also gave a nice crunch with the chewiness of the proteins added to it. The home Saigon grilled chicken with homemade sauce was cooked to perfection. The chicken itself had crispy skin and a juicy inside. It was paired with a coconut sauce which made it even better. The prawn curry had a great nutty flavor and was great when paired with the steamed rice with extra curry sauce on top. The vegetables in the curry sauce also added texture to the dish. The stir-fried seasonal vegetable with garlic consisted of bok choy with oil and garlic which can never fail to disappoint anyone with a great crunch. The seasonal ice cream was coconut ice cream that was made with coconut milk and drizzled with chocolate which gave a sweet and creamy end to our dinner.
The dinner we had was one of the better dinners that we had experienced as everyone was satisfied with their meals. It was sad to think that this was the last dinner in Vietnam and of the trip. Everything we had eaten throughout the trip was so great and it only got better from the start. With everyone in our group stuffed, we gathered back on the bus to prepare to go on the flight in the morning.
Blog written by Izak Sosa