End-of-Lunar-Year Feast #3

Like Thanksgiving/Xmas/etc dinners in US, because there were so many people (about 20) feasting, to eat we had to be seated at 3 different tables (kids' table was outside). This is me eating at the "mens' table".
Note motor scooters parked in "living room" - this is very customary in Vietnam. Also note that motorbikes are "parked" just inside the "front door" of the house which fronts directly on the small street outside. The "green door" you see in background of this pic is the front door of the house located "across the street" from the Pham's house (very close). Again, this is very common throughout SE Asia.

End-of-Lunar-Year Feast #2

This is a pic of 1 of 2 tables set-up with the many varieties of feast offerings. In addition to these, many food items were presented/offered on the kitchen counter.
Note small bowls in front with chopsticks - these are given to each person who then fill them (repeatedly) with whatever offerings they want. Many different dips/sauces are also offered/presented next to the food for which they are most appropriate or intended to be used with. Everything was delicious albeit I disliked some - like a cow stomach stuffed with chopped organs & baked or boiled - not for me. But - I thoroughly enjoyed 95% of the 12-15 offerings (yes - I counted them)! Note the spring rolls which were superb (almost as good as Max's).
Note that is my Cha Da (iced green tea) in foreground of pic.

End-of-Lunar-Year Feast #1

Asian cultures have 2 major dinners (feasts) during their Lunar New Year (falls on Jan 23rd this year = Year of the Dragon) or Tet celebrations: one on new years day and the other to celebrate the end-of-the-lunar-year (normally done sometime during the last 3 weeks of the lunar year). These feasts also honor the hosts' ancestors. Only closest relatives & friends are invited to these dinners. I was surprised & honored to be invited to the Pham family's end-of-lunar-year feast - which I attended yesterday.
I counted 16 guests + 4 Pham family members = 20! The Pham's guests, like them, were "intellectuals" = journalists, doctors, medical/pharmaceutical sales reps - even a "university philosopher". Resulted in great discussions/debates re politics, economies, democracy, etc!
As I have said before, preparing a huge variety of great traditional foods is incredibly labor intensive. It took hours for Linh, her mother, grandmother, aunt, and the wife of a Pham family's close male friend (total of 5 people) to prepare the food. This is a pic of Linh and others preparing some of the food. Other ladies were on the roof terrace barbecuing pork and making a very good Vietnamese "flat/rice bread".
The very cute (as well as friendly) little girl in the pic is the daughter of one of the Pham family's relatives or friends (I was really confused about who was who).