Countdown begins for annual Taste of the World Culinary Festival

HCM CITY – A national record for the largest banh xeo, or savoury rice pancake, will be set at the Taste of the World Culinary Festival to be held in HCM City later this month, organisers of the festival told a press conference yesterday (December 7).

It will be larger than 1.2 metres across, La Quoc Khanh, deputy director of the city Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said without specifying its size.

One of the dishes voted into the "HCM City – 100 interesting things" programme, this southern specialty is made from flour, turmeric powder, coconut milk, slivers of fatty pork, shrimp, and bean sprout.

It is a popular dish served in many restaurants in the city's downtown area.

"The organisers plan to have the 10 best dishes listed in ‘HCM City – 100 interesting things' to be served at the festival," Khanh said.

Taste of the World Culinary Festival, to be held at the September 23^rd Park from December 26 to January 2, will feature 60 city restaurants that offer cuisines from 24 countries.

"It will be the first time the festival will last eight days," Khanh said.

The organisers will have volunteers who can speak English introducing Vietnamese food and culture to foreigners, he added.

The festival will open with a colourful, multi-cultural parade through Pham Ngu Lao, Do Quang Dau, and Le Lai Streets on December 26.

The World Food Culture Center of South Korea will take part in the festival to promote South Korean food, art, and music, Khanh said.

Besides all the food on show, there will also be a bartending performance.

There will be traditional dances from South Korea, Russia, Germany, while the host country will showcase pastoral harmonies and folk melodies through performances titled "Dan ca ba mien" (Folk songs of three regions), and "Aåm thuc muon mau" (Multicolour gastronomy).

Visitors will have a chance to feast their eyes on a montage created from pictures of the Vietnamese ao ba ba (loose-fitting blouse worn in the south) and ao dai (traditional long tunic), the Korean hanbok, and the Japanese kimono.

From 7pm to 9pm on December 31, visitors will get discounts during the "Gio vang cuoi nam," or golden hour at the year end.

A music show will count down the New Year.

The festival will be organised by the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the HCM City Tourism Association, and Youth Advertising Joint Stock Company.

The organisers expect around 5,000 visitors to attend the festival. – VNS

Related Articles

• HCMC begins to think about giving up meat
• Young stars raise profile of Vietnam chess
• Rice exports to hit record $3.1 billion
• Culture Vulture
• Website featuring Overseas Vietnamese launched

Sisters celebrate humanity

Shades of grey: Portrait by Vu Bach Lien. Sister act: An exhibition by the sisters Vu Bach Hoa and Vu Bach Lien. — VNS Photo Truong Vi

HA NOI — The artwork of sisters Vu Bach Hoa and Vu Bach Lien is simplistic in terms of scale, colours and themes but it makes the viewers think and feel in complex and profound ways, says painter Le Huy Tiep, who is head of the Art Council.

A new exhibition in Ha Noi entitled Sisters features photos, paintings and sculptures by Hoa and Lien and will run until next Friday.

Hoa, the elder sister, was born in 1959 and lived through the American War. Her works, such as the sculpture in wood entitled The Village Girl or the lithograph The Fall Night, depict tranquillity, love of peace and the beauty of daily life.

Hoa says she loves flowers and always tries to bring them into her work.

"The way she kneads, carves or paints with so much love for each subject helps us to come to terms with life and the fragility of human existence," Tiep says. "People are more tolerant and warm-hearted when they are made to think about life."

Lien, a graphic artists, was born in 1976. Her particular forte is the language of digital art, stone lithography, etching and monoprint.

Her works display a concern for the positive and negative changes in life. Her art mostly focuses on women and children, tolerance and humanity.

She graduated from the Ha Noi College of Industrial Fine Arts, majoring in graphics.

"I use monoprint and lithography. Sometimes I fail to achieve my goals, but sometimes my work exceeds my expectations," she says.

The exhibition is being held at 16 Ngo Quyen Street, Ha Noi. — VNS

Related Articles

• Cuba issues stamps to honour ties with Vietnam
• Vietnam, China boost trade cooperation
• HCMC begins to think about giving up meat
• Millenium English contest enters finals
• Exhibition of two generations

Vietnamese teen takes prize in Singapore piano contest

Key player: Pianist Hoang Pham Tra Mi won the under-15 category at the Singapore International Chopin Piano tournament which ended on Sunday. — File Photo

HA NOI — Viet Nam's Hoang Pham Tra Mi won the first prize for the under-15-year-old category at the Singapore International Chopin Piano tournament, which ended on Sunday.

The competition, to commemorate the 200th anniversary of Chopin's birth, was organised for the first time by the Chopin Society (Singapore) and the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts.

The competition attracted 140 candidates from 15 countries and territories, including China, the Philippines, Indonesia, Viet Nam and host Singapore.

Mi, a 13-year-old student at the Viet Nam National Academy for Music, beat 30 other competitors to win the prize for her performance of Ballades No 1 and Etudes No 5.

Previously she won prizes in South Korea and Russia.

"Mi has shown great aptitude for the piano since her childhood," said Ta Quang Dong, a lecturer at the National Academy of Music, who accompanied the Vietnamese competitors.

"After two years teaching her, I think she has made great strides."

The Vietnamese team of eight pianists aged between 10 and 16 entered four out of five categories.

"Mi's victory is a big honour for the Vietnamese team because the international piano competition was judged by leading performers," Dong said.

"Taking part in international events is great experience. The students can learn from competitors from around the world." — VNS

Related Articles

• Millenium English contest enters finals
• Hanoi model wins Miss Vietnam 2010
• Beach games open in Oman

Scholarship winners meet STF director

Le Ngoc Hong Ha (C), director of the Saigon Times Foundation, talks with STF’s long-term scholarship recipients in HCMC last week - Photo: Hai Yen

Le Ngoc Hong Ha, director of the Saigon Times Foundation under the Saigon Times Group last week met with 35 students who won STF long-term scholarships.

A student of HCMC University of Economics, Nguyen Kieu My Trang, said at the event, “I was born in a central province that is prone to natural disasters, so I feel very lucky to receive the STF scholarship. It will help me to continue my study so I would like to contribute some of my time to STF to help the community and my compatriots in central provinces.”

The STF director talked about two new books in the Knowledge Bookcase: “Cac khai niem co ban ve Kinh te” (Basic concepts on economics) compiled by lecturers of Fulbright Economics Teaching Program and “Ky thuat ghep gen, mot cong nghe hang dau cua the ky 21” (Gene transplant, a leading technology in the 21st century) by overseas Vietnamese doctor, Trang Quan Sen.

STF gave students some books from its Knowledge Bookcase to sell to raise money to stock school libraries in the Central.

Related Articles

• Scholarship winners meet STF director
• Defence officials meet in Da Lat
• Intel to fund high-tech computer lab at RMIT
• HCMC urges efforts to save Dong Nai River
• Mothers share sorrow of war

School kids learn to conserve water

HSBC Vietnam in partnership with the Office of Education and Training of District 1 launched a water saving campaign at eight primary schools in HCMC on Monday.

The organizers hope to raise the children’s awareness with a fun competition called Water Saving Heroes. The launching ceremony was held at Hoa Binh Primary School on Monday where hundreds of students and teachers participated in an interactive day with lots of water educational activities.

Around 8,300 students and more than 700 teachers of eight primary schools in District 1 will participate in the three-month project, teaching the importance of water and good water saving practices in the local community.

Each student will be presented a Water Saving Diary so that they can keep track of their water saving activities during the three-month campaign. Students’ parents will also be encouraged to participate by saving water at home and sending their monthly water bill to school for a family competition. After the campaign, the family with the highest average saving ratio over two months will win a shopping voucher valued at VND3 million for either an eco trip or a water saving washing machine.

HSBC’s Water Saving Campaign is part of the HSBC Climate Camp held earlier this year and is one of the action plans built by HSBC Climate Ambassadors to cope with climate change.

Every year, HSBC Vietnam Corporate Sustainability organises and sponsors many innovative community-oriented initiatives related to education, the environment and social issues and encourages bank staff to become actively involved. HSBC’s Water Saving Campaign will run from December 2010 until March next year with a closing event at Thao Cam Vien Park.

Related Articles

• School kids learn to conserve water
• Timber suppliers learn about legal issues
• Millenium English contest enters finals
• Intel to fund high-tech computer lab at RMIT
• Delayed floods disappoint farmers

School kids learn to conserve water

HSBC Vietnam in partnership with the Office of Education and Training of District 1 launched a water saving campaign at eight primary schools in HCMC on Monday.

The organizers hope to raise the children’s awareness with a fun competition called Water Saving Heroes. The launching ceremony was held at Hoa Binh Primary School on Monday where hundreds of students and teachers participated in an interactive day with lots of water educational activities.

Around 8,300 students and more than 700 teachers of eight primary schools in District 1 will participate in the three-month project, teaching the importance of water and good water saving practices in the local community.

Each student will be presented a Water Saving Diary so that they can keep track of their water saving activities during the three-month campaign. Students’ parents will also be encouraged to participate by saving water at home and sending their monthly water bill to school for a family competition. After the campaign, the family with the highest average saving ratio over two months will win a shopping voucher valued at VND3 million for either an eco trip or a water saving washing machine.

HSBC’s Water Saving Campaign is part of the HSBC Climate Camp held earlier this year and is one of the action plans built by HSBC Climate Ambassadors to cope with climate change.

Every year, HSBC Vietnam Corporate Sustainability organises and sponsors many innovative community-oriented initiatives related to education, the environment and social issues and encourages bank staff to become actively involved. HSBC’s Water Saving Campaign will run from December 2010 until March next year with a closing event at Thao Cam Vien Park.

Related Articles

• School kids learn to conserve water
• Timber suppliers learn about legal issues
• Millenium English contest enters finals
• Intel to fund high-tech computer lab at RMIT
• Australia wants stronger cooperation to vocational education

Japanese fusion quartet plays Hanoi

A music show called Karin & Quartet Music Concert will be held in the Youth Theater in Hanoi for two consecutive nights on December 8 and 9.

Karin & Quartet will be accompanied by a 16-stringed Vietnamese harp played by Vo Van Anh (a.k.a. Vanessa Vo), as well as the voice of Thu Huyen, a promising cheo (Vietnamese folk opera) singer. The fusion of Japanese and Vietnamese music will be one of the exciting musical journeys this year.

Karin produces amazing sounds on her 25-stringed koto (Japanese harp). She has traveled the world, constantly finding new inspirations.

Akihito Obama, who will join her on the shakuhachi (Japanese bamboo flute), displays a combination of eloquent traditional techniques as well as fluency in Western styles. Also traveling are Mami Ishizuka on the piano, covering a wide range of musical elements from jazz to world music, and percussionist Aki-ra Sunrise who uses self-made and other instruments from around the world.

Admission is free. Tickets are available at the Japan Foundation Center for Cultural Exchange in Vietnam, 27 Quang Trung Street in Hanoi, tel: 3944 7419.

Related Articles

• Japanese fusion quartet plays Hanoi
• Market drops below 450 points