“In writing of this book, I have no intention to introduce or discuss about Vietnamese culinary culture or culture of food. It is simply that I want to record the my emotions, impressions and memories of the taste of some dishes and snacks that are imbued with folk taste & traits of my Vietnam fatherland and that have imprinted in my private memories of the by-gone days. The images, events and emotions I recorded in this book are mainly of my years in my hometown, in the Vietnam Northern Red River’s Delta and during the time of the second half of the XX century - a historical period in which there were a lots of ups and downs: the military conflict between the South and the North, the Vietnam North communist subsidized economy, the tickets & coupons’ system, the beginning of the Renovation period ...” (From the Foreword written by the author himself Vu Tam Hue).