New book published on HCM City's culinary delights

An Vat Sai Gon (Noshing in Sai Gon) by Chu Thi Hong Anh and photographer Tran Viet Duc, has just been published and is available at bookstores nation-wide.

An Vat Sai Gon is a special book for all lovers of eating out in HCM City.

In examining the noshing culture of the city residents, the book tells a series of stories about the source of diverse dishes well known to many generations of the locals and expats.

Each story is illustrated by photographs taken by Tran Viet Duc of Vietnamese celebrities and foreigners noshing at various times of the day.

The popular noshing dishes are grouped under 12 different categories including Pho – Mien (noodle soup – grass noodle), Bun (rice vermicelli), Banh Canh (rice noodles), Cac Mon Cuon (wraps and rolls), Banh Mi (bread), Chao (rice porridge), Xoi (steamed glutinous rice), Che (sweet soup), and Ngheu So Oc Hen (different kinds of snails and shellfishs).

The book presents readers with the location and address of special noshing sites in the city.

The 319-page book, costing VND490,000 (US$24), seeks to promote the noshing culture as district trait of HCM City.

Korean calligraphy on Ho Chi Minh’s poems exhibited

Forty-five calligraphic works featuring the late President Ho Chi Minh’s famous collection of poems, “Prison Diary,” are on display at an exhibition which opened in Hanoi on December 24.

The event is to mark the 20th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between Vietnam and the Republic of Korea (RoK).

The works by 24 leading RoK calligraphers show their respect and admiration for President Ho Chi Minh and their love for Vietnamese people.

Over the past 50 years, the “Prison Diary” has been translated into many foreign languages and become a great inspiration to both domestic and international artists.

Poems in the collection were first translated into Korean language in 2000.

Architect of the Year to be chosen via online voting

The Architect of the Year award will be presented in Viet Nam this year for the first time, according to the organiser ashui.com.

The prize honours architects producing outstanding work that sets trends in Vietnamese architecture and stresses the importance of the architect's role in society. The works must also reflect the architect's talent, vision and practice.

The award categories include Architect of the Year, Community Architect and Potential Architect. Online voting is open to the public from December 24-30 at ashui.com/architectoftheyear.

The results will be announced next Monday.

Ashui.com belongs to the Viet Nam Urban Planning and Development Association.

Childrens' library opens today in central province

A library for children named after the Kim Dong Publishing House's late director Nguyen Thang Vu will be inaugurated tomorrow in central Quang Binh Province.

Vu published the Vietnamese version of the well-known Japanese educational manga Doraemon in the early 1990s, which became a runaway sensation.

Vu (1935-2010) was not only a book publisher, but also a poet, writer, painter, teacher, scientist and great friend of Vietnamese children.

The 200sq.m Nguyen Thang Vu Library, located inside Quang Thuan Primary School in Quang Trach District, is decorated with images from the comics and includes many works from the publishing house.

Lotus photos set to raise thousands for charity

Up to 52 photos of lotuses by photographer Tran Bich will be on display this Saturday at Molinari Cafe, No 5 Le Duan Street, HCM City.

Sen Hong Sac Xuan – Doi Sen 19 (Pink Lotus-Spring Colour – Lotus Life 19) is the photographer's 19th exhibition focused on the lotus.

All money earned from photo sales will be donated to needy people, including the disabled in the city and nearby areas. Bich contributed nearly VND3 billion (US$150,000) to charity activities from sales at his previous 18 exhibitions.

Hanoi – an ideal city to discover

Hanoi has been rated best destination in Vietnam for city life by Lonely Planet Traveller, the world’s leading tourist magazine.

The magazine said that Hanoi is a “millennium-old capital of crumbling pagodas and labyrinthine streets, now undergoing a werewolf-like transformation into a 21st-century Asian metropolis.”

The city’s Old Quarter, which covers nearly 100 hectares and includes almost 1,000 old houses, is extremely valuable to local people, commerce, culture and the city’s architecture. Its old buildings reflect the city’s different architectural styles during each period of its history.

Besides Hanoi, the magazine picked Sapa in northern mountainous Lao Cai Province as the best place for walking. Ha Long Bay, a World Natural Heritage site in northern Quang Ninh Province, was selected best for coast; Hoi An, a World Cultural Heritage site in the central region, as best for food; and the Mekong Delta in the south as best for river life.

Ealier, Hanoi and Hoi An also made the 2012 top 10 attractive destinations in Asia, as chosen by Smart Travel Asia, a Hong Kong online tourist magazine.

VNN/VOV/VNS/VNA