My Eating Job

Working as a food tour guide, I have so many chances to meet different people from different nationalities everyday which makes me feel like I'm traveling around different parts of the world daily and also learning so much from my clients.

It's so hard to nominate my favorite clients or my favourite nationality because most of the people who make a booking with Hanoi Street Food Tours are food lovers so we have an instant connection. It's like we speak the language of food. I would never say that I teach my clients about food but I do show them what is special from the city I love, Hanoi, even though I'm not from here. I suppose I'm the one who helps them to understand more about Hanoi food. I enjoy working everyday and I'm pretty much always excited about going to work.

Many people think it is a very easy and relaxing job where I simply eat, drink and talk to earn some money. But from my experience, you need to have a genuine love for people and food, plus a determination to keep every tour upbeat and special for every client. The tours are not only about eating around Hanoi, but also is about the culture around the food. In Vietnam, we love to eat but we eat in a very healthy way! My clients regularly ask me "Why are Vietnamese people so skinny because it looks like they eat and drink all the time?" The answer is that we eat healthy food with lots of herbs and veggies. We are also meat lovers but we always balance meat with steamed or sir fried veggies and pickle fruits. And another very important factor is we do heaps of exercise everyday.

For my job I frequently work 3 to 6 hours a day, 7 days per week and sometimes, I have to walk around the city eating for 9 hours a day. For exercise, I do a bit of running around the tennis court trying to use up the calories and maintain my weight. At the end of the day, I have to admit that I love eating and I would never complain about hard work. I am a very lucky guy to be able to work in my desired field compared to million of people around the world without jobs or un happy with their jobs. I try to live by the saying "Work Hard, Play Harder".

Vietnamese Food Show

Here is the show that I worked on with Gourmet's Diary of a Foodie.

Once again, thanks to Rob and Tom for giving me a chance to work with a great professional team. I learned alot.

Back To Ha Long Bay

I went back to Halong Bay for one night and two days as I was invited to be involved in some filming for an American TV show called Diary of a Foodie. I had such a great time working and relaxing, meeting new people, and enjoying the great bay view.

We arrived in Ha Long City at about 11 am after picking up the crew at Noi Bai airport. Rob and Tom, the producers and cameramen for the show, seemed very happy to be here in the north after almost a week in the south filming about Vietnamese food. I spent lots of time taking hundreds of photos of people, boats and scenery.

I just love this gorgous place plus the great seafood that the tour company supplied on the boat. We had huge fish, big prawns, lots of big crabs, yummy scollops, fresh and tasty squid and of course some over-priced Chilean and Australian wines. Sorry but I love white wine and I can drink lots of it especially when I am on holiday :).

Laying on the roof of the boat with a glass of chilled wine, talking to friends about life, about the beauty of Ha Long Bay is a great way to release stress, don't you think? You can't expect anything more than that.

To be continued

Job Interviews in Hanoi Part II

A while ago, I posted the first part of a story about my job hunting experiences in Hanoi. This is part II.

I also went to the Sunway hotel looking for a receptionist job, and I got the funniest result ever. I came in with my friends who also used to work at the Emperor. Her English is fine and she's from Bac Giang, north of Hanoi. We had interviews and they called her to offer her a job and I failed. She asked the human resources manager about me, and he said: "my Vietnamese accent is bad and my English accent is so wierd." It made me laugh. I didn't think it was important for foreign customers in a 5 star hotel to understand my Vietnamese accent. I decided I would have to speak in Hanoian accent from then on if I wanted to have a job, I joked with her.

Before I went to the Sun Way hotel, I went to the Hilton Opera Hotel and applied for a job as restaurant captain with some of my friends who used to work at the Emperor. I did my test well, had an interview but they refused me with the same reason as the Sun Way hotel but at the Hilton, the manager told me that my English and my qualifications to be a waiter in their hotel were not enough even though I had been working in hospitality for almost 7 years. Some of my friends were accepted even though they had no experience. Anyway, after 2 months, they called me again and asked me to work in the banquet department doing parties, which was actually a porter job :) involving carrying tables, chairs and serving food with a really low salary 700,000Vnd-$45. I called the manager, Luong - I remembered his name - I said please don't waste your time and my time, what can I do with 700,000Vnd, this money is not enough for my breakfast and petrol money, but I appeciated his call :)

After some of these work hunting experiences, I realized that Hanoians think that when you are from the country side or from another city, you really need a job and you have to accept any job with whatever salary. They don't realize that we don't do that in the south. There, employees do need qualifications but the most important is what you can do and if you do it well then you get a better job. This is the opposite in Hanoi where they always ask for many certificates but for what? There are so many people who don't have ceritficate but they do a better job than the others because they started their job from a very low position or they started work early in their lives. What do you really think about this? If you are a boss of a company, will you accept a new staff member with lots of certificates or a staff member with experience?

Job Interviews in Hanoi Part I

I remembered the first job I applied for four years ago was the Emperor restaurant. I had my first interview with the owner, who agreed for me to work there for 800,000Vnd - $55. The next day, they called me and I had an interview with Patrick, the Swiss manager. After 15 minutes talking, he told me I had been accepted and my salary would be 1,000,000Vnd- $70. I would work as a captain, taking orders and putting food onto the table. I started working the evening shift because at that time I had to go to school to study French at Allain Francais.

After a few months, the owner called me into her office and told me that I was being sent to another restaurant called the Opera Club which belongs to the same company. The only thing was that I had to work in the morning and evening. I told her about my study situation and reminded her about her agreement from the first time but she refused to compromise with me. I was forced to quit that job which was unfortunate because I loved working there with very nice colleagues. She fined me 200,000Vnd-$13 because I refused to be transfered and would not follow the company regulations, even though they'd actually broken the agreement. Everyone was really surprised that I shouted because I am pretty easy- going and that was also the first time that a staffmember talked to her like that. A friend of mine also quit his job because of a similar situation, and when he came back to the restaurant to get his salary, the owner said to him that he doesn't know him, he had never ever met him before, then he called the security guy to throw him out. Every staff member was really upset about that but they couldn't do anything because they didn't want to lose their jobs.

The second place I applied to was the Sofitel Metropole. I got through the interview easily but at the end they didn't recruit me because they called the Emperor and the owner told them that I was a really bad employee who can't speak English well and don't really know how to work in a high class restaurant. I was really shocked when I heard that from the lady in human resources. I talked to my other friends who were no longer working there and they told me that the owner said the same thing to anyone who calls the restaurant to ask about someone's work history. I really don't know why they did that and wonder if the Sofitel Metropole is a very professional 5 star hotel if they take so much notice of that.

Anyway, I went back to the Sofitel Metropole again for my lastest interview for food and beverage manager. After I finished my writing test, in which I scored 86 or 88 points out of 100, the human resources manager told me to come back in 5 days to meet her general manager for a final interview. I went back and met the general manager, a French man and the Vietnamese Director. The first thing they said to me was your speaking is quite good but your writing was really bad. I didn't say anything even though I was really surprised about that. They asked me many questions and they asked me if I minded if they called the Emperor restaurant to check about my work experience there. I said of course, and I wanted to ask some questions about my working hours, salary.... and do you know what they told me? They told me that if I applied for a job in a professional hotel it means you have no right to ask about working hours. They both said that, and the French guy told me that he was at the hotel almost the whole day- I don't know why? He also told me that the hotel follows Viet Nam's labour laws. I said that I thought our country's working hours regulation was only 8 hours. The Vietnamese guy looked unhappy even though he knew I was right. He shut up. However, I also told them that if I was accepted to work there, then I would follow the hotel rules whatever they were. Then I asked them about the salary. They asked me how much I expected. I realized that I wouldn't get this job and I told them that I thought they should pay me at least $500 per month, before leaving.

It seems that I don't have the right to ask about working conditions.

Tobe continued

I Quit My Job

I have been working in hospitality since I was 18 years old and I've never been so tired of it as I have in the last one and a half years. It's not about the work pressure, but because of my boss' treatment.

I've always thought about myself as a good employee who tries my best in all of my duties but that didn't seem to mean anything to my boss.

Maybe I wasn't a good assistant because I didn't tell him all about the staff mistakes and instead asked about staff conditions. I always told my colleagues straight away about whatever they did wrong and helped them to communicate better to customers. I am not a hard guy and very understanding person that's why I have a really good relationship with most people I have been working with.

So I had a problem about what to do. I really didn't want to be a busy body and tell the boss about the smallest things because I could solve those problems, but sometimes, even though you think you're doing the right thing it's still not acceptable.

Anyway, I felt so tired that I decided to stop working at this beautiful restaurant, after that I think I will move down to the south next year for another job. I also hope I can do my favorite work again in hospitality or something related to hotels, tour companies, restaurants, organizing events and functions.

My Work Place

Over the last few months, Wild Rice restaurant where I work has had quite a few parties booked and I have had to arrange some of them. The table settings and flower arrangements depend on the purpose of the occasion.

For example, in the picture below, we arranged this table for a dinner meeting and it took us one hour to get it perfect.

And in the following picture, we arranged a huge party at the Temple of Literature where we served almost 200 people. It took us 3 hours to arrange these tables.

Moon River Retreat is a peaceful place which has four rooms with garden and river views. This is one of the most popular boutique destinations now. With Vietnamese design in the old house and the guest rooms and a garden with starfruit trees, along with the view of the Red River will make a stay here really memorable.

I always enjoy organising parties for work or for myself, I don't know why. Maybe it's because I have been working in the tourist industry for a long time. I suppose there is some satisfaction in this kind of work, making a place look nice and seeing the guests' reactions.

Work Problems

Speaking English is a passport for whoever wants to work in a restaurant, hotel, or in the tourist industry in general, even just for a normal job that doesn't necessarily need English. That's why there are so many people studying English now.

As I said in my other post about my work place, working in hospitality is not as easy as it looks, especially in Viet Nam, because it not only needs skill but it needs you to speak at least English because most customers who come to my restaurant are foreigners. I feel annoyed sometimes with my clients when they ask my colleagues, "Can I speak with someone can speak English to take my orders?" I have to explain so many times about this situation, that they just have to be patient but some of them get really angry.

Hello? You are in Viet Nam and Vietnamese people try really as hard as possible to communicate. Why don't the customers speak Vietnamese?

Another problem is that Vietnamese food is served whenever it's ready and we don't serve it in the same formal way as western food. It's the best way to enjoy the food, hot and fresh. But lots of people don’t understand and they try to make a big deal about it, to such an extent that they ask for discount or free meals even though the staff have explained.

Please give me some advice. I do know that it is also just one of the hazards of working in the hospitality industry. But what can I do to deal with these problems and customers?

My Work Place

Working in hospitality requires lots of special skills particularly when working in a high class hotel or restaurant.

Wild Rice is well-known for contemporary Vietnamese food that is beautifully presented. It is not just an average Vietnamese restaurant serving traditional dishes. Wild Rice is one of the fine dining restaurants in Hanoi that provides good food, great atmosphere and high quality service. Staff at Wild Rice are well trained and understand the idea of customer space.

First Post At Global Voices

I have been invited to write for Global Voices on a weekly basis as a volunteer blogger, which I'm very excited about. I know it won't be as easy as writing my own blog but your encouragement is an enormous support. Anyway, check out my first post over there Southeast Asian Games!. Global Voices is a fantastic perspective on issues and events around the world and how bloggers respond to them.

Let's Get Lost With Julian At Wild Lotus

Come and get lost at Wild Lotus on the second Friday of every month with Julian Carey, a jazz singer from Melbourne with a really powerful voice, who has been singing for over ten years and in Vietnam for the last six months.

Her performances last three hours with some breaks, between 6pm and 9pm. The fantastic band of three Vietnamese musicians and David, a bass guitarist from Melbourne enhanced Julian's voice up to another level. The whole bar seemed to have a good time enjoying her voice and started dancing at the end of the show. This is a good place for a weekend break to have a wine or beer and some free finger food in beautiful surroundings.

If you are interested in hiring Julian to sing, email the following address julianc@fpt.vn.

Cooking Class At Wild Rice

It took us almost the whole morning to arrange the tables and the flowers. The owner of the restaurant is very strict about the decoration and he always tries to do everything in the best way.

The lesson started at 9 by showing customers to the Hôm market to explain about the food, meat, herbs and vegetables that we were going to use in the lesson. We got back to Wildrice at 10.30 and started the lesson. The chef had prepared three of the most common and delicious dishes in Vietnam, beef noodle soup (Pho Bo), spring rolls (nem)and green papaya and prawn salad.

We prefer to have a small group to ensure better quality, meaning everyone can try to make their own dishes and then they try all of their labor. After the lesson, the restaurant served them a special meal which the chef had prepared.

People seemed very interested in the lesson and hopefully they learnt some new Vietnamese dishes which they can make at their homes.

For further information, pls call Wild Rice

(84.04). 943 8896 / Fax (84.04). 943 6299

Email : wildrice@fpt.vn

06 Ngo Thi Nham Street - Ha Noi