UNIT 5 – VIETNAMESE FOOD AND DRINK

PRACTICE 2: READING

I. Complete the passage with the words given in the box

kinds dish for dried when mixed easy special

Nem Ran or Cha Gio (Fried Spring Roll)

This (1) __________ is called Nem Ran by northerners and Cha Gio by southerners. In Ha Noi,
(2)
the introduction of Nem Ran dates back to a time __________ Cha Ca had not existed.
Although it ranks among Vietnam's specialty dishes, Nem Ran is very (3) __________ to
(4)
prepare. Consequently, it has long been a preferred food on __________ occasions such as
Tet and other family festivities.
(5)
Ingredients used __________ Nem Ran comprise of lean minced pork, sea crabs or
unshelled shrimps, two kinds of edible mushroom (Nam Huong and Moc Nhi), (6) __________
onion, duck eggs, pepper, salt and different (7) __________ of seasoning. All are (8)

__________ thoroughly before being wrapped with transparent rice paper into small rolls.
These rolls are then fried in boiling oil.
II. Read the following passage, and then answer the questions

Banh Tom (Crispy Shrimp Pastry)

Although Crispy Shrimp Pastry is available almost everywhere in the country, it is best at the
Ho Tay Restaurant on the banks of Truc Bach Lake, close to West Lake in Hanoi. While diners
await the arrival of the hot fried shrimp pastry, they can enjoy the picturesque lake and
landscapes offered by the vast expanse of water from West Lake and the tree-lined Thanh Nien
Road.
The dish should be eaten as soon as it arrives at the table. The fried pastry is topped with red
shrimps and is eaten together with dishes of spicy vegetables mixed with sweet and sour sauce.
To remind you of the local shrimping business, waiters will often tell you that the shrimps that
you have ordered for your meal have just been netted in nearby West Lake. This will be a
memorable meal that will ensure you remember your stay in Hanoi.
1 Where is Banh Tom best in Viet Nam?
. _______________________________________________________________________________
2 What can diners do while they await the arrival of the hot fried shrimp pastry?
. _______________________________________________________________________________
3 When should the dish be eaten?
. _______________________________________________________________________________
4 What is it eaten together with?
. _______________________________________________________________________________
5 Do you think that the shrimps which have just been netted in nearby West Lake make it best?
. _______________________________________________________________________________

III. Fill in each blank with a word from the box.

basic stewing pot vary most even broth rice

Pho is one of the (1) __________ popular Vietnamese dishes. What is pho? Pho is a Vietnamese
noodle soup consisting of (2) __________ rice noodles, herbs and meat.
(3)
There are two __________types of pho and that is Pho Bo (beef noodle soup) and Pho Ga
(chicken noodle soup). Pho Bo is beef broth that is made by stewing cow bones in a large
(4)
__________ for quite a long time. Pho Ga is very similar to Pho Bo. Instead of beef broth,
chicken broth is made by (5) __________chicken bones. The noodle itself is made from varieties
of (6) __________.The ingredients and toppings may (7) __________a slight bit in the North and
the South. Pho is normally eaten for breakfast, but many of people eat at lunch, or
(8)
__________ dinner.

IV. A girl is talking about food. Match the short passages (1-5) with the topics (a-f), and
write the answers in the blanks. There is one extra topic.

a. the international food she likes best

b. how often she goes to the restaurant
c. how good she is at cooking
d. how healthy her eating habits are
e. her favorite restaurant
f. the food she doesn’t like
1. I’m lucky. My mum is a great cook and she loves cooking. She likes teaching me and my
brother too, so I can cook quite a lot of dishes. My mum’s dishes are better but my dishes are
OK.
 2. I eat most things. I was a vegetarian for a few months last year but I love meat so I
stopped. I don’t like food with a lot of salt or fat in it. Oh, I know, mushrooms. I hate them. They
are awful.
3. That’s a difficult question. We always go on holiday to a different country and every year
I come home and say that the food was the best in the world! Our last holiday was to Japan so
now I love Japanese food but I love Vietnamese food, too.
4. I try to eat good food and I try not to eat unhealthy snacks. If I’m hungry, I eat carrots,
not sweets, but at the weekend, my mum always makes cakes and I always eat a lot. I love them.
5. Last week, my parents took me to a very nice restaurant for my birthday. The food was
great but the restaurant was very formal. Next year, I want to go to the Beach Restaurant. They
are very friendly and the food is good. I think that’s my favourite.

V. Read the passage carefully, and then do the following tasks.

The healthy eating diet

Healthy eating is about feeling great and having more energy. If you choose the right
foods, your healthy diet will be a tasty diet, too. You can still enjoy your favourite sweet and
salty foods, but too much sugar and salt is bad for your body.
Dairy products like milk, cheese, and yoghurt are great because they contain calcium and
keep your teeth and bones healthy. You should choose low-fat dairy products.
Meat, fish, eggs, beans, and nuts are important, too. They keep our bodies healthy and
they give us energy to work and play.
Whole grains are an important part of every meal. If you eat lots of whole grains, you
will have a healthy heart. Whole grains are in bread, cereal, pasta, and rice. Dark bread and
brown rice are great sources of whole grains.
Fruit and vegetables are the most important part of a healthy diet. They are low in
calories and full of vitamins. Eat lots of fruit and vegetables with every meal, and as snacks
during the day. Fruit and vegetables with darker colours have more vitamins.

A. Find the underlined words in the text to match the meanings.

1. __________ : an amount of energy.
2. __________ : the power that your body gets from food.
3. __________ : food that you eat between meals.
4. __________ : If food is this, it tastes of sugar.
5. __________ : If food is this, it tastes of salt.
6. __________ : the types of food that you want to eat most often.
7. __________ : things in food that we need to grow and be healthy.
8. __________ : the place where you get something from.
B. Answer the following questions.
1. What does the healthy eating diet help you?

_______________________________________________________________________________

2. What can you also enjoy when you have a healthy eating diet?

_______________________________________________________________________________

3. Why are dairy products good for your health?

_______________________________________________________________________________

4. What is the function of meat, fish, eggs, beans and nuts?

_______________________________________________________________________________

5. Why are whole grains an important part of every meal?

_______________________________________________________________________________

6. What types of foods can we get whole grains from?

_______________________________________________________________________________

7. Why are fruit and vegetables the most important part of a healthy diet?

_______________________________________________________________________________

8. What types of fruit and vegetables have more vitamins?

______________________________________________________________________________

VI. Read the following passage and write T (True) or F (False) for each statement.

Meals in Britain
A traditional English breakfast is a very big meal: sausages, bacon, eggs, tomatoes,
mushrooms… But nowadays many people just have cereal with milk and sugar, or toast with
marmalade, jam, or honey. Marmalade and jam are not the same! Marmalade is made from
oranges and jam is made from other fruit. The traditional breakfast drink is tea; which people
have with cold milk. Some people have coffee, often instant coffee, which is made with just hot
water. Many visitors to Britain find this coffee disgusting.
For many people lunch is a quick meal. In cities there are a lot of sandwich bars, where office
workers can choose the kind of bread they want - brown, white, or a roll - and then all sorts of
salad and meat or fish to go in the sandwich. Pubs often serve good, cheap food, both hot and
cold. School children can have a hot meal at school, but many just take a snack from home - a
sandwich, some drink, some fruit, and perhaps some crisps.
‘Tea’ means two things. It is a drink and meal. Some people have afternoon tea, with sandwich,
cakes, and, of course, a cup of tea. Cream teas are popular. You have scones (a kind of cake)
with cream and jam.
The evening meal is the main meal of the day for many people. They usually have it quite early,
between 6.00 and 8.00, and often the whole family eats together.
On Sundays many families have a traditional lunch. They have roast meat, either beef, lamb,
chicken, or pork, with potatoes, vegetables and gravy. Gravy is a sauce made from the meat
juices.
The British like food from other countries, too, especially Italian, French, Chinese and Indian.
People often get take-away meals - you buy the food at the restaurant and then bring it home to
eat. Eating in Britain is quite international.
__________1. Many British people have a big breakfast.
__________2. People often have cereal or toast for breakfast.
__________3. Marmalade is different from jam.
__________4. People drink tea with hot milk.
__________5. Many foreign visitors love instant coffee.
__________6. All British people have a hot lunch.
__________7. Pubs are good places to go for lunch.
__________8. British people eat dinner late in the evening.
__________9. Sunday lunch is a special meal.
__________10. When you get a take-away meal, you eat it at home.

VII. Fill in the blank with a word/ phrase in the box.

available ingredients herbs familiar

rice appearance dessert features

The main features of Vietnamese Cuisine

Cuisine in the country with more than 90,000,000 people differs strikingly between the north,
south and central regions, but two key (1) __________ stand out.
(2)
Firstly, __________ plays an essential role in the nation’s diet as it does throughout
Southeast Asia. Humorous speaking Vietnamese is noodle-crazy. You have seen regularly the
(3)
__________ of noodle in their breakfast, lunch and dinner, in homes, restaurants and at
roadside stands. Noodles are eaten wet and dry, in soup or beside soup, and are made in different
shapes and thicknesses of wheat, rice and mung beans such as bun cha, Cao Lau, Hue beef
(4)
noodle, bun rieu... Rice is also a main __________for making banh chung, banh bao, banh
xeo, banh beo, xoi...
(5)
Secondly, no meal is complete without fresh vegetables and __________. Thanks to the
tropical climate, fresh vegetables are (6) __________all the year round. As the result, dishes with
(7)
fresh vegetable become __________with every family, especially with poor people in the old
days. Some popular dishes are canh, goi ngo sen, nom du du, rau muong, ca phao...Vietnam can
(8)
also be considered as a tropical paradise of __________ and beverage with che, sugarcane,
fruit smoothies, bubble tea...