Official Says Beer Bars Are Too Hot In Vietnam

[cavanami]

OK, Mekong...please check in on this...

 

Official says beer bars are too hot in Vietnam

 

http://news.yahoo.com/official-says-beer-bars-too-hot-vietnam-070000924.html

 

A ministry official is proposing that the temperature in restaurants selling beer in Vietnam should not exceed 30 degrees Celsius (86 Fahrenheit), a rule that will be hard to enforce considering outdoor beer parlors are hugely popular in the country's big cities.

 

Wednesday's Tuoi Tre newspaper quoted Nguyen Phu Cuong, an official at the Ministry of Industry and Trade which was drafting the regulation, as saying the rule aims to "protect consumers."

Many drinkers, however, say the proposal shows how out of touch officials are because of the popularity of the outdoor bars.

 

"The rules are not realistic," said Nguyen Van Dan, 55, an engineer, who was sipping draught beer with salad and chicken at an outdoor beer parlor in downtown Hanoi. "They just can't force us to drink beer in air-conditioned rooms."

 

Tran Ngoc Son, 51, a businessman who was drinking beer with beef and peanuts at the same restaurant said drinking beer in outdoor restaurants was the "culture" for many Vietnamese.

"We just enjoy our beer at outdoors parlors much better than in air-conditioned places," he said "We don't need the government to take care for our health."

 

Last year, Vietnam's 90 million people consumed 3 billion liters of beer, or 33.3 liters (8.8 gallons) per head, making them the top beer drinkers per capita in Southeast Asia.

[Flashermac]

They definitely need outdoor a/c.

 

[YimSiam]

No sitting out drinking beer in Saigon? Tragic, tragic - that was my favorite pastime in that town, brief times I was there (although i suppose it was at night usually, and below 30 degrees).

 

Anyway, what they should insist on is the temp of the beer - it's truly a crime to serve most Vietnamese beers warm!

[Mekong]

Obviously this is an edict from Ha Noi to Piss off Sai Gon. Up in Ha Noi it is very rare for it to be 30 C after sunset, it is further North than Chiang Rai and gets wee nippy of an evening where as Sai Gon 1,500 KM to the South is on the same parallel as Koh Samui, is a little warmer. Up here they should impose a minimum temperature of 15 C during winter months where only mad dogs and Englishmen go drinking in the mid winter frost.

 

Flash, the Pic you posted is of "International Bia Hoi Corner" in Hoan Kiem District of Ha Noi, the old French Quarter of the City, a tourist trap where they charge $2.50 for a pitcher of beer, my local Bia Hoi 3 hours away only charges $0.75 per pitcher, I have even got them to put Ka Chien and Ko Chi Chien (Fried Chicken and Fries) on the menu for $0.50 out here in the sticks.

 

Cav.

 

I will investigate in a couple of weeks time, I have just got back from an butt whipping meeting in Seoul and on Saturday I will be back in Bangkok for a well earned rest.

[cavanami]

Good to have boots on the ground!