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If you’re able, please consider donating to Give2Asia in Vietnam (you can select “Vietnam Fund” when you go to donate), a nonprofit with disaster response funds to provide meals for vulnerable populations during the outbreak as well as support the works of local groups like Vietnam Young Physicians Association, Blue Dragon Children’s Foundation, and Vietnam Youth Federation. 🔗https://give2asia.org/covid-19-pandemic-response-vietnam/ THE FOOD: This banana cake (bánh chuối nướng) is a little different than its Western cousin. For starters, it’s hard to even call it a cake...the texture is more like a custard/pudding with a milder (but still very much present) sweetness. The ingredients are also easy to acquire: bananas, coconut milk, and stale bread being the Big Three. Recipe is from A Taste of Joy and Love: 🔗http://atasteofjoyandlove.com/baked-banana-cake-banh-chuoi-nuong/ THE HISTORY: Speaking of the Big Three, history often focuses on major players and important legislations and cONseQuEnTal wars. But I was amazed, when I read Dealing With Desire by Kimberly Kay Hoang, by how much more impactful history becomes when it’s told through the perspective of everyday people. The sex industry in Sài Gòn/ Hồ Chí Minh City is the site of interaction between not only men and women, but also the East and West. The idea of Asian Ascent and Western Decline really reveals itself after the Financial Crisis in 2008 in weird, funny, and sometimes disturbing ways. Overall, it’s a really well done book, and I was only really able to get through a small part of it, so please check it out if you’re interested! MUSIC: Just Gone by King Olivers Creole Jazz Band: https://pixabay.com/music/vintage-just-gone-82/ Cool Piano Jazz by JuliusH: https://pixabay.com/music/traditional-jazz-cool-piano-jazz-2642/ Flavour by Wataboi: https://pixabay.com/music/beats-wataboi-flavour-1164/ EFFECTS: Steam by Tech4 Amar: Android Tips And Tricks IMAGES (in order of appearance): thumbnail: ryoji via Unsplashed 1. “Dealing in Desire by Kimberly Kay Hoang” © University of California Press 2. “Members of the 1st Foreign Parachute Heavy Mortar Company in 3. Indochina” by davric under Public Domain 4. “Views of Hanoi and the Tonkin, published in Le Monde Illustré in 1891” under Public Domain 5.“ ‘Escrarbilles’ in La Vie Indo-Chinoise on February 26, 1898” under Public Domain 6. “Vintage photo of ad for bar/ massage parlor” by unknown 7. “Promotional poster for ‘Renovation - Journey of dreams’ ” © Vietnam National Museum of History 8. “2 White Men at Bar” © Bs. Love 9. “Promotional Paris by Night tour 2021-2022 poster” © Paris By Night 10. “Hostess Bar Women” © Kims Tavern Bar 11. “Asian businessmen” by Redd/ Unsplashed 12. “Hanoi Government Building” by Ajay Karpur/ Unsplashed 13. “Vietnam and Taiwan investors” © Hanoi Times 14. “Asian Man in Bar” by unknown 15. “Stock brokers on trading floor” © Richard Drew/AP Photo 16. “World map showing real GDP growth rates” licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 BIO: Viet Not Nam is about one girl’s journey in the kitchen to learn about Viet food, music, and the history around her homeland. Hi, I’m Ngan and I’m said girl ;) INSTAGRAM: @nganstop