Monday, December 6, 2010

New Tibetan style restaurant in town

Customers enjoy vegetarian food-for-the-soul at Vajra - Photo: Hoa Minh
The next time you’re hungry you can duck out of the fast-lane and eat food that’s good for the soul at Vajra at 711 Le Hong Phong in HCMC’s District 10. The name in Sanskrit means thunderbolts and diamonds.

The ground floor has books, CDs and vegetarian food, while the next two floors are for dining. The décor features red, white, and black, and yellow, all colors that have important symbolism in Tibet. The red color symbolizes wisdom, white - compassion, black - protection, and yellow for diligence.

On the first floor the walls and ceiling are decorated with paintings and pictures taken in Tibet, along with a Tibetan prayer wheel, conch, shell horn and drums.

There’s a variety of dishes to suit the tastes of foreigners and Vietnamese. When you sit down the waiter serves a traditional free cup of milk tea. There is also Wifi and Tibetan music.

The restaurant opens between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. everyday. Vegetarian dishes range from VND5,000 to VND40,000 each or hot pots from VNDVND50,000 to VND80,000. For example, some soups cost VND10,000 such as seaweed soup and mushroom soup. Some main courses such as steamed rice in lotus leaf are only VND40,000, sautéed dice beef and French-fries, cheese roasted mushroom, steamed tofu with ginger range between VND25,000 and VND35,000.  Soft drinks cost VND12,000 to VND35,000.

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New Tibetan style restaurant in town

Customers enjoy vegetarian food-for-the-soul at Vajra - Photo: Hoa Minh
The next time you’re hungry you can duck out of the fast-lane and eat food that’s good for the soul at Vajra at 711 Le Hong Phong in HCMC’s District 10. The name in Sanskrit means thunderbolts and diamonds.

The ground floor has books, CDs and vegetarian food, while the next two floors are for dining. The décor features red, white, and black, and yellow, all colors that have important symbolism in Tibet. The red color symbolizes wisdom, white - compassion, black - protection, and yellow for diligence.

On the first floor the walls and ceiling are decorated with paintings and pictures taken in Tibet, along with a Tibetan prayer wheel, conch, shell horn and drums.

There’s a variety of dishes to suit the tastes of foreigners and Vietnamese. When you sit down the waiter serves a traditional free cup of milk tea. There is also Wifi and Tibetan music.

The restaurant opens between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. everyday. Vegetarian dishes range from VND5,000 to VND40,000 each or hot pots from VNDVND50,000 to VND80,000. For example, some soups cost VND10,000 such as seaweed soup and mushroom soup. Some main courses such as steamed rice in lotus leaf are only VND40,000, sautéed dice beef and French-fries, cheese roasted mushroom, steamed tofu with ginger range between VND25,000 and VND35,000.  Soft drinks cost VND12,000 to VND35,000.

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NPO youths celebrate Int’l Volunteer Day

Volunteers play one of the many games organized at the event for International Volunteer Day in HCMC - Photo: Annalise Richter
Over 200 young volunteers from NPOs around HCMC joined a party for International Volunteer Day on Sunday morning at Saigon Pearl International School in Binh Thanh District.

The atmosphere in the packed room in the school basement was ecstatic, as hundreds of youths played games and cheered on their peers, in between presentations and talks on stage.

A DRD volunteer at the event, Nguyen Thi Phuong Nhung is a social work student at HCMC University for Social Sciences and Humanities.

She said she joined DRD as a
volunteer to help with her confidence; improve her social-work skills and help others. DRD works with people with disabilities and is connected with many centers. One of the centers had a stall beside the DRD stall selling paper animal toys made by residents to raise money.

A Volunteers for Peace Vietnam volunteer, who is a visiting university student from Wales, Annalise Richter, said the event was great because young people in Vietnam had fun in such a different way to in the UK.

She said 18 year olds here are so playful, uninhibited, enthusiastic and very much group orientated, but in the U.K. they only get excited about things like drinking.

About 13 NPOs organized on Sunday’s activities. They included Blue Dreams Volunteer Group, DRD Volunteer Club, Habitat for Humanity Vietnam, Health Volunteers Organization, IVC (International Volunteer Club) and LIN Center for Community Development.

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Viet Nam's first coffee museum set to open

DAC LAC - Viet Nam's first coffee museum will open soon in the central- highland city of Buon Ma Thuot.

More than 10,000 rare exhibits that illustrate the history of coffee have been transferred to the museum's proprietor - the Trung Nguyen joint stock company - from the world's biggest coffee museum owner Jens Burg of Germany.

About 100 objects from the collection are on display at Trung Nguyen Coffee, No 7 Nguyen Van Chiem Street, District 1, HCM City.

Visitors are shown how coffee has been made from the beans to a cup throughout history.

"We define Buon Ma Thuot with its variety of coffee and its contribution to building Viet Nam coffee's world brand as coffee city," said Dac Lac Provincial People's Committee deputy chairman Dinh Van Khiet.

Professor Thai Quang Trung welcomed the national coffee museum.

"Coffee has two values that need to be confirmed," he said.

"It's herbal value and value to inspire people to create and develop."

Brazil, Ethiopia, Britain, Germany and Japan have coffee museums. - VNS

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Miss India snags crown

Worldly: Miss Earth-Air Jennifer Pazmino, Miss Earth 2010 Nicole Faria, Miss Earth-Water Watsaporn Wattanakoon, and Miss Earth-Fire Yeidy Bosquez pose at the sparkling ceremony on Saturday. — VNA/VNS Photo Quang Nhut

Worldly: Miss Earth-Air Jennifer Pazmino, Miss Earth 2010 Nicole Faria, Miss Earth-Water Watsaporn Wattanakoon, and Miss Earth-Fire Yeidy Bosquez pose at the sparkling ceremony on Saturday. — VNA/VNS Photo Quang Nhut

HA NOI — The Miss Earth 2010 crown was placed on 20-year-old Nicole Faria's head in the beach city of Nha Trang, Khanh Hoa Province on Saturday night.

Faria, from India, won the affection of judges with her response to the question "For you, what is more important: sunrise or sunset?" Her answer: "I will obviously choose sunrise because whenever we see the sunrise, people will think about a new day filled with energy. A new day offers 24 valuable hours to do good things for ourselves and other people."

Originally a model, the 1.76m-tall Faria won the title Miss Talent earlier in the pageant with her exotic belly dance that combined Oriental and Middle Eastern styles.

One of the world's three most prestigious beauty contests, including Miss World and Miss Universe, Miss Earth is the only pageant that gives all runners-up a title.

Miss Ecuador Jennifer Pazmino won the title Miss Earth-Air, while Miss Thailand Watsaporn Wattanakoon walked away with the Miss Earth-Water honour. Miss Puerto Rico Yeidy Bosquez was crowned Miss Earth-Fire.

Except for winning The Best in Swim wear, Miss Viet Nam Luu Thi Diem Huong, didn't win any significant titles during the event, although she was among the top 14 contestants.

During the final night of the pageant, which took place at the five-star Vinpearl Land Resort & Spa, all 84 contestants strutted their stuff in swim wear, evening gown and ao dai (Vietnamese women dress) performances.

Ronan Keating, former member of the world-famous band Boyzone, also performed during the final night.

Miss Earth is an annual international beauty pageant which promotes environmental awareness. Miss Earth 2010 was organised to raise money for central Viet Nam flood victims. — VNS

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Lacquer exhibition explores dualities

Two or three: Que Huong (Homeland), a lacquer triptych by Vietnamese-German artist Khai Doan, is displayed at HCM City's Fine Arts Museum.

Two or three: Que Huong (Homeland), a lacquer triptych by Vietnamese-German artist Khai Doan, is displayed at HCM City's Fine Arts Museum.

HCM CITY — Vietnamese-German artist Khai Doan's lacquer exhibition has opened in HCM City at the Museum of Fine Arts.

The Dipolar exhibit displays 30 lacquer works featuring images of cities and family photos, and motifs of Dong Ho traditional paintings, including the Dam Cuoi Chuot (Rats' Wedding), Hung Dua (Picking Coconut).

As part of the theme, his works examine the concepts of near and far, young and old, familiar and strange, and abstract and concrete.

However, the contrary elements exist peacefully in his works as in the triptych paintings titled Que Huong (Motherland).

The work has the elements of water, tree roots and earth, representing Viet Nam where he was born, according to Khai. The colours of Germany's flag, black, red and yellow, are also prominent.

Khai says he wonders whether people can have more than one homeland.

In Dipolar, Khai uses traditional Vietnamese lacquer techniques, with gold, silver and mother-of-pearl to highlight depth through multiple layers of paint and sanding.

During the exhibition, the artist and his team will offer a demonstration on lacquerware techniques used in his works.

Khai, a graduate of fine arts and design in Germany, is currently living and working in HCM City.

He has studied the use of lacquer as an art medium for more than seven years.

His first exhibition in Viet Nam titled Joint Venture was held in Ha Noi and HCM City in 2005.

The HCM City exhibition, sponsored by the German Consulate General in the city, remains open at the Fine Arts Museum at 97A Pho Duc Chinh St in District 1 until December 15. — VNS

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Outdoor music fest to aid underprivileged

Top billing: This year's LoretoFest charity concert will be supported by Viet Nam's top rock singer Pham Anh Khoa as the Loreto Ambassador. Khoa has been associated with the event since it was founded in 2007. — File Photo

Top billing: This year's LoretoFest charity concert will be supported by Viet Nam's top rock singer Pham Anh Khoa as the Loreto Ambassador. Khoa has been associated with the event since it was founded in 2007. — File Photo

HCM CITY — An outdoor concert, Loreto-Fest, will be held on the lawns of RMIT University in HCM City to raise funds for underprivileged Vietnamese children on Saturday, organisers have said.

Organised by the Loreto Viet Nam Australia Programme (LVAP), the annual event raises approximately US$50,000 through sponsorship and attendance donations.

LoretoFest 2010 is the fourth edition of the much anticipated concert where organizations and individuals in the city wanting to assist disadvantaged children join together for a day of good music, food and beverages, not to mention games and other activities for children.

This year's LoretoFest highlights Viet Nam's top rock singer Pham Anh Khoa as the Loreto Ambassador, who has been participating in the event since its inception in 2007.

Australian bands Wagons and Mojo Webb will perform at the concert. Local artists taking the stage will include rock stars Pham Anh Khoa and Anh Khang, and rap singers Quan Rapsoul, and Suboi.

LVAP, which started operations in 1997, is committed to "lifting learners into the future," said Programme Co-ordinator Trish Franklin. "In this fourth music festival, we look forward to raising much needed funds to continue supporting initiatives supported by LVAP".

In addition to the performances happening on two stages, many exciting side-show activities can be enjoyed by children and their parents, like mini golf, face painting, X-rock climbing, circus Performances, Smartkids Toddlers Area, supervised football and netball, and horse riding.

Tickets for Loreto Fest 2010 are on sale at Commonwealth Bank, the International School of HCM City, and RMIT University.

Over the past three years, LoretoFest has raised over $150,000 that has helped build the Sunrise Special School Campus 2 which focuses on vocational training for older students who are visually and hearing impaired, intellectually challenged as well as other underprivileged children. — VNS

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