Southern Vietnam in the 19th century as recorded by the French: ‘Haven’t gone, don’t know Saigon’

All servants are men. Sometimes, some of the maids or nannies are Annamite or Chinese women, but they are less interested in this work; There weren’t any female cooks or maids.

Restaurants on Bach Dang wharf Manh Hai Flickr

Your chef, Chinese or Annam, costs you from 8 to 20 silver coins (piastre) per month, about 40 to 100 francs. He gets paid like a civil servant and comes to your house at certain hours, on time like a civil servant. In the evening, he asks you about going to the market, 3 to 5 francs for two, and going home to sleep, unless there is room for him in your lower house, which is often disadvantageous, because he brings Friends and wives arrive and your abode will quickly turn into an inn.

With the daily allowance you give him, he goes to the market early and cooks around eight o’clock. Usually there are four dishes for breakfast, four for dinner. Immediately after lunch, the chef left, only to return when it was time to prepare dinner. Of course, he doesn’t eat the food he makes: for them, just rice is enough. This did not affect his culinary skills. At this point, the Chinese and the Annamites are very gifted – first-rate chefs and best merchants on the planet. world. His dishes are always rich and varied.

At the market, he has familiar suppliers, and there he easily finds a colleague to share a piece of food that is considered too much for you. However, sometimes, the menu becomes poor. Your chef has lost money on groceries and you have to lend him a loan. Another time, your meal is so rich that surprises you: he won the game of baquouan (i.e. three quan – ND – a kind of Chinese roulette), and with nobility, he shares his luck with you.

In your shopping budget, the Chinese don’t spend on spices or wine and usually you have to buy them at the store bread.

Either way, you can always invite a friend to dinner and if a lot of people come, just give him a franc. Chinese chef your discretion to handle. If you exceed what you normally receive on a daily basis, then you have to expand your wallet. Meat costs little, but wine is so expensive, to treat six people, it costs you a hundred francs. Lamb’s feet served on the table, it was a luxury dish and sold for 3 silver coins (piastre); bordeaux or bourgogne cost 2 or 3 silver coins; Champagne we usually drink, 2 silver coins a bottle.

On days like these, your chef is very proud; service cannot be faulted. Colleagues lend him a hand, everything goes perfectly. He invented it dessertsnothing to complain about.

In addition to the cook, a bartender (saïs) and a few waiters, one of whom is a fan puller, make up your group of servants. The rickshaw earns 60 to 100 francs a month, without food. Like the English charioteer, he only took care of the horses and carriages. Usually, the chariot is Malay. They make very nice horses, neat, good service.

The waiters received 40 to 60 francs in salary, and often less. They go to the market, serve the tables, prepare the baths, clean the rooms. They do what you need, and when not thieves they are excellent servants, quick to understand your habits, know your friends, customs, and guess your will.

In short, Cochinchina is one of the best countries to live in, but it is very expensive.

In Saigon, the true city of civil servants, there are no furnished apartments, but hotels for singles and empty houses for others. So, depending on the situation, the standard of living of each person, many guys live in hotels, such as many Americans.

All in all, life here is pretty fun; but after a very short time one gets tired of the multitude of dishes that are served to appetizing. Soon, people were going to eat at the restaurant, then back to the hotel, and so on. Accommodation and meals are about 150 to 160 francs per month.

For people with families, it’s another matter: having to settle down is a big responsibility. There are many furniture wholesalers, carriage builders, crockery dealers… but especially the auction floor, the trading floor, the sales room, the Drouot Saigon hotel if you have a need. This facility is located on Catinat Street (now Dong Khoi), open daily, but operates mainly on Sundays, this is where Europeans meet in the morning.

What people see there is amazing: luxury cars next to the sky car crashed down in the sky Southern; Annamite horses, furniture from all over the world: China, Europe, Annam, new, old, dirty or luxurious; bronze, porcelain, complete or dilapidated book collections; miscellaneous items, shotguns and bullets, Chinese screens, coffee shops… (continue)

(Taken from Cochinchina and its inhabitantsJCBaurac, translated by Huynh Ngoc Linh, Omega+ and Ho Chi Minh City General Publishing House, published in 2022)