Languages / Vietnamese / Level 2 · Unit 1

Ngon lam! — Describing Past Experiences

Lesson 27 of 170 · Level 2 of 6All lessons
In this lesson

You are learning describing past experiences: you will read the scene it happens in, take apart the pattern behind them (describing past experiences with adjectives), hear them in a conversation, rehearse them, and finish by saying one thing out loud to be graded.

The scene

Pho Thin, 13 Lo Duc, Hai Ba Trung. The rival to Pho Gia Truyen — bolder, oilier, with a fried garlic crust. After eating, you describe what you tasted.

Pho Thin — The Garlic Review

Pho Thin on Lo Duc is the anti-Bat Dan. Where Pho Gia Truyen is austere — clear broth, quiet queue — Pho Thin is bold. The beef is flash-fried with garlic before being dropped into the bowl. A thin slick of garlic oil floats on the surface. The noodles are thicker.

The stranger finishes his bowl. A man at the shared table nods toward his empty bowl: 「Ngon khong?」

「Rat ngon! Nuoc dung dam da lam.」 The man grins. 「Toi da an o day hang tuan. Pho Thin khac Pho Gia Truyen — beo hon, thom hon.」

The stranger considers: 「Toi da an Pho Gia Truyen hom qua. Nuoc dung thanh hon. Nhung hom nay — mon nay tuyet voi!」

Two styles. Both ngon lam. This is the beginning of having opinions about pho in Hanoi.