Ashima Mushroom Hot Pot, 35A Nguyen Dinh Chieu Street, Dist 1, HCM City

"At Ashima Mushroom Hotpot restaurant, even the most reluctant diners end the night begging for more. Hong Van samples cow spunk mushrooms, and an old man of the woods. Asked to dine by his mother and aunts at a restaurant specialising in mushrooms, Harry Watson glumly replied: "I never eat mushrooms". As the host, I had invited the 13-year-old and his relatives to sample the Ashima Mushroom Hot Pot Restaurant during a recent visit to HCM City from Australia. Despite his reservations, as soon as we opened the front door, Harry was captivated by the tantalising aroma of mushrooms," from the Vietnam News.

Hmmm??? Cow spunk mushrooms?? Is some expat sub-editor having a laugh?

Comments

[Teddy]

Probably - headlines I've seen in the VN Snooze over the years include... Hot Pussy, Tossers, Cunning Linguist in town and PM makes Bodacious call.

[Graham]

I knew it...

[susan]

It was meant to be amusing, yes, but the English expression, or translation, is actually correct (as was 'old man of the woods'). (I questioned the writer who did not know. The phrase is used on the Ashima menu. But after doing a search on the internet, I found that it is actually used, often in China.) I was the subeditor on the story. Yes, Cunning Linguist did occur, but haven't seen the others...

[Graham]

Thanks for the clarification, I will keep 'em peeled for cow spunk mushrooms as mushie season starts later this year.

On a related note, how about this for an (expat?) subs headline:

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/S/SKOREA_HIGH_WIRE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT