Street Food and the Gentrification of Vietnam
http://www.pix-aid.org/articles/25/1/Street-Food-and-the-Gentrification-of-Vietnam/Page1.html
By Global Voices
Published on 25 June 2007
Such vendors are being forced into proper premises or more obscure cracks and darkened spaces.”
Is this another doomed attempt to force Vietnamese streets into the mold of a Singaporean style modernity? Or the death knell of Vietnamese street food? Another food blogger Eating Asia laments in the comments to this post: “I think vendor-less streets are the wave of the future in Asia… I feel your pain.”
Street food is unfortunately often the victim of the march of “progress” in countries that perceive chaotic street life as anathema to development. Sometimes the rationale is cosmetic (street food vendors clutter the streets); other times the objection is poor hygiene.
concerns of the sort currently in the news about China (tainted soy sauce is the example given in the article). It is still unclear to what extent this crack-down may affect the vital tradition of street food in Vietnam.
One hopes the Vietnamese government will recognize the inherent cultural value - not to mention tourist potential - of the lively street food scene of the nation, and see that food safety and development are not necessarily at odds with its street food traditions.
This article is from GlobalVoices written by Marc Robertson
 | Are street vendors soon to be a thing of the past in Vietnam? The women in conical hats balancing fruit and vegetables on their shoulder or the man selling hot "banh mi" from the back of his bicycle create an atmosphere cherished by tourists and a service and tradition to locals. But to some, beyond higynic arguments, these scenes don't mix with modernization and the development of Vietnam. |
Street Food and the Gentrification of Vietnam
Fried fish in the wheels of progress? Photo: Terry WINN | An otherwise innocuous blog post on chicken rice (com ga) in the
Central Vietnamese town of Hoi An hides a disturbing little
announcement for fans of Vietnamese street food. After describing the
chicken dish, longtime Hanoi-based food blogger Stickyrice writes: “Alas, the vendor informed us, it was the final night of street food in the old town thanks to some new by-law preventing cluttered pavements coming into effect the very next day. |
Is this another doomed attempt to force Vietnamese streets into the mold of a Singaporean style modernity? Or the death knell of Vietnamese street food? Another food blogger Eating Asia laments in the comments to this post: “I think vendor-less streets are the wave of the future in Asia… I feel your pain.”
Street food is unfortunately often the victim of the march of “progress” in countries that perceive chaotic street life as anathema to development. Sometimes the rationale is cosmetic (street food vendors clutter the streets); other times the objection is poor hygiene.
| A recent article in Nhan Dan, the official Communist Party of Vietnam
newspaper, announces an imminent “nationwide crack-down on food safety
violators and the building of standards for food hygiene in general”.
The English-language article warns of plans to increase food
inspections and stricter punishments for violators. This campaign appears to be in response to industrial food safety |  Street stands: Convenience or clutter? Photo: Terry WINN |
One hopes the Vietnamese government will recognize the inherent cultural value - not to mention tourist potential - of the lively street food scene of the nation, and see that food safety and development are not necessarily at odds with its street food traditions.
This article is from GlobalVoices written by Marc Robertson