3 Ruou Ngoc Duongs and a packet of crisps please..

Or…. It makes the man strong….

We immersed ourselves in the culture so much during our first few months here in the name of research and adventure that there has been relatively few new experiences, but this one I think is worth a mention…

I only heard about rượu đê for the first time about a month ago. I was introduced to the concept by a Viet Kieu gentleman who’s name I will change to Nigel to protect the guilty. I meet Nigel for the first time in a great bar in An Phu on the banks of the Saigon River. He was completely crazy! (điên in Viet) On being introduced to him for the first time he started boasting about his sexual prowess, and I started to feel sorry for his wife that evening, his sign language was pretty graphic and left not much to the imagination. Strange I thought, to have such banter for a first introduction.

I then found out, that Nigel, had been par-taking that evening in a drinking session of rượu đê (Translated means Rice wine) or too be more exact he had been drinking Ruou Ngoc Duong (translated means Goats Testicles wine). Yes… I can sense you salivating now.

Now, if you have been “going local” in Vietnam as long as I have you will know that there are a number of things to consume here that allegedly “make the man strong” as Vietnamese women put it. Now, I am not sure if the average Vietnamese man has a particularly low Libido, However, most of the traditional Vietnamese Viagra’s are things such as, Snake wine, Snakes live beating heart, Snakes Gall bladder and a shot of Bile, that lovely green bitter substance. You are probably asking yourself the same question now I have been asking myself since stumbling on this cultural difference, How can that possibly work?

In the name of research and your reading pleasure, I decided to do some research on Ruou Ngoc Duong. This liquid is a Rice wine placed in a big jar with Raw Goats Balls floating in it, left for some time, if you will, to marinade and deliver their medicinal powers to the liquid.

On discussing further with Vietnamese friends and acquaintances it is said to have a serious effect, it has been known regularly to make grown men cry, or, can make you a little crazy, as in Nigel’s case.

Where can you find Ruou Ngoc Duong? I had never seen it on a menu before, or hear anyone discuss it for my first 5 months here. Apparently, in any good self respecting Goat restaurant. So little did I know, when I tried the Goats Blood wine a few months ago (also reputed to make the man strong) that if I had known what to ask for, I could have tried the Goats Balls wine at this time.

Not to worry though, a couple of weeks ago, just before leaving Saigon, to come north again to Da Nang, I had the chance to try Ruou Ngoc Duong in a locals Goat restaurant in District 7. I have no photos to show you! I drank a carafe with my friends in the interests of alcohol research. It should be noted that no women where harmed during, or after this social experiment!

Ruou Ngoc Duong tasted like Wintergreen (that great deep heat rub I remember so well from Rugby changing rooms in the coldest of Irish Winters)– surely nothing there to create an affect unless you are a certain way inclined?.. All the secret herbs and spices I imagine. I am glad to say that there were NOT goats’ balls floating in the wine…. Luckily they remain in the jar.
It would be fair to say that Ruou Ngoc Duong gives you a “different kind of drunk”.. Of course, those who know me will know that I am a paradigm of moderation!

What Blog would be complete without a couple of snaps, as such, I have included a couple of a recent road trip I did on my mighty Honda Wave 110 cc. I headed about 3 hours North out of Da Nang over the Hai Van pass! Da Nang is one truly beautiful place, with amazing People.


Photo: Driving down the Hai Van Pass into Da Nang..
Photo: The Hai Van Pass, and Da Nang Bay in the background.
Photo: A village called Nam O. On the outskirts of Da Nang, a big producer of fish sauce.