So, I sort of thought that it was a derogatory joke when people said that the Vietnamese eat dogs, taking it to mean that they will eat virtually anything.
Well, they will eat virtually anything and they do eat dog.
Morbid fascination brought us to the part of town where one can find dozens of canine restaurants. To be fair, not all Vietnamese will eat man's best friend and most are probable repulsed by it. However, a fair number people do relish the taste for it as evident in the packed restaurants we found on our doggie tour.
We arrived at 7:30 in the evening expecting to find dog carcasses hanging from windows like the Chinese do roast duck in Chinatown, or see live dogs in cages waiting to be slaughetered, or god forbid, hear the sounds of one being beaten to death with a metal hose (which I've read is how some are killed to tenderize the meat.) Thankfully, the restaurants we found were more discreet than our imaginations led us to believe. Still, we found dark, caramel roated parts laid out on chopping blocks, not exceptionally unsual looking except for the giveaway tail which sticks straight up in the air like a car antenna. We were relieved no heads were on display like we'd seen in a magazine article, a gruesome snarl frozen in what must be a cruel roasting process. We shouldn't judge, really. I'm sure Spaniel kabobs are quite tasty and normal for some people.
