Food Wonders Vietnam - Specialites de Chevre

Looking for good Chevre while in the Mekong Delta? Go no further than Restaurant Thanh Thuy in the town of Can Tho.

Owned by the meticulous and hospitable 'Christian', a Chef transplanted from Toulouse, this unlikely fusion of Vietnamese and French styles charmed our sandals off on the sultry Mekong evening we traveled across town to sample the restaurants' specialty - goat meat.

We were not up to tackling the goat scrotum hot pot but were willing to test tamer fare. Not only was the goat curry (ask for it very mild) and the "goat breast" grilled tableside excellent but the service reminded me of those little things that contribute to the whole experience of a good meal in the west, those things unimportant in the east; the staff being careful to keep their fingers out of the food, a good coffee after a meal, recommending wine and pouring our drinks, clearing the table at just the right moment and on the whole making the paying customer feel more like an invited guest. After the meal we were even offered complimentary glasses of the liquors made on the premises - banana liqueur, snake wine and some sort of liqueur made from, what else? goat (I can't elaborate on what part of the goat for though Christian was willing, his English was weak. A little musky though. That's the liquor, not Christian). These to wash down the excellent Tarte desert. All this top notch food and hospitality, so lacking in the Asian restaurants we have patronized, for a price so low you feel you are taking money out of the owners Well, in a way we did. I make this recommendation for the goat. I make this recommendation for the kind of attentiveness that has the owner seeing you to your cyclo taxi and stand waving good-bye at your departure. I make this plug for another selfish reason too - on the ride home we realized we were grossly undercharged. We felt terrible as we were already far away and unable to make our driver understand what we wanted to do. So if anyone visiting the Mekong Delta in the mood for great specialites de chevre would alleviate our feelings of guilt by visiting Christian and leaving an extra $1.50 when you settle up, we'd be ever so gratefu l. So will your palate.