First time eating dog meat, Western guests praised it as delicious

Andrew was quite hesitant when he tried the first piece of dog meat and felt like the pet was licking his face. But then he continued to try the dog's stomach and also ordered grilled dog meat.

Not every foreign visitor to Vietnam dares to try dog ​​meat. But Andrew, a journalist for the Sydney Morning Herald, is an exception. He and his travel companion, Yip, had the chance to try dog ​​meat while in Saigon in 2013. Here is Andrew’s account of his memorable meal in Vietnam:

We arrived at the dog meat restaurant late in the afternoon in Saigon. Motorbikes were buzzing on the street, passing by the restaurant without anyone paying any attention to the dog roasting on a pile of coals. It was about the size of a sheepdog. The staff prepared various dishes before bringing it to my and Yip’s table.

There are many ways to prepare dog meat. Photo: Alamy.

The dog meat was on the tray, Yip's mouth watered as she picked up a piece of meat with a thick layer of skin and fat. She dipped it in a bowl of shrimp paste seasoned with lime and chili before bringing it to her mouth to bite. Yip stopped chewing when she saw me trying to remove the fat from the lean meat, and grumbled as she picked up another slice of meat on the plate: "You have to eat the fat to get the full flavor of it."

When I put the first piece of dog meat in my mouth, everyone in the restaurant stopped to watch. I chewed slowly as if all the dogs I had ever owned were running through my mind and licking my face. The meat was tough, dry and had a gamey taste, reminding me of overcooked kangaroo. The dog meat dish cost 60,000 VND and was best washed down with beer.

The chef turned the dog meat on a skewer to make sure it was crispy on all sides. Next to it was a plate of dog sausage, next to what looked like lamb steak and rice rolls. There were many other dishes on the menu made from other parts of the dog, such as tails and legs. There were many dishes that the restaurant didn’t serve, but the chef was so accommodating that he made them for me.

Suddenly, a grumpy-looking old woman looked at me, waved to her table and offered me a piece of meat. Yip said it was stomach, and I tried to chew without letting the food touch any of the taste buds on my tongue. She watched me swallow the stomach and gave me a thumbs up in satisfaction. I said, "Ngon," to indicate the Vietnamese mouthfeel, but I said it off-key as if I was about to spit the food I had just swallowed at the old woman.

The grilled dog meat was served, I gave the stomach and tail to Yip and used my chopsticks to pick up the minced dog meat stuffed with leaves, green beans and onions. The grilled flavor seemed to melt in my mouth. With our stomachs full and eyes hungry, we only finished half of the dishes we ordered.

Yip asked for a take-out bag, trying to explain how much our neighbors would enjoy the food. A friend at the next table must have been impressed by my eating, as she came over to touch my beard and told Yip that I was very handsome. Dog meat really does have a seductive effect on people.

According to VNE