Last night Dutchie and I had a bit of a boys night out in down town Sai Gon. There are some great bars in this city and it’s an easy matter to walk from place to place, even if there is light rain falling, the evening air is mild and pleasant. We eventually ended up in a small bar with a group of Irish and New Zealand revellers all singing along to “Country Road” and “Delilah” at the top of our voices, everybody with big grins on their faces and feeling at peace with the world and each other.

Before we reached this state of euphoric bliss however, we happened upon the Pomodoro Italian restaurant on Hai Ba Trung St in District 1 and, mainly because Dutchie is very much craving Western food, we went in for a meal. I have to say that never in the entire time that I have been in Viet Nam have I witnessed staff as well trained as the staff in this restaurant. They were attentive without being obtrusive and I sat for some time just watching how well organised they are.

The meal was good, not expensive and the house wine was very drinkable. But it was the efficiency of the staff and the cleanliness of the restaurant that impressed me the most. I don’t mind the chaos that exists in most restaurants in Viet Nam, in fact it is an endearing trait of eating out here, but I am intrigued to find out who trained their staff and what methods they employed to have them reach such a great level of proficiency. That’s a good enough excuse to go back there I think!

(and the less said about the rest of our night out the better!)