They make an interesting couple (330 ml.; about 5,000 dong each): Zizy lemon soda comes on like tart, carbonated lemonade, while Thums Up brand Xáxi conjures up black cherry and liquorice.
The beers were less interesting:
Dai Viet bia vang (330 ml.; 6,500 dong). Pale yellow with a short-lived cream-colored head that left a faint tracery on the glass; aroma, flavor, and aftertaste of fermented vegetables.
Dai Viet bia den (330 ml.; 9,000 dong). Ditto, but darker.
333 (330 ml.; 7,800 dong). Pale yellow with a scant white head. Scant aroma, too; astringent mouthfeel, with the flavor of vegetable matter.
Larue Export (330 ml.; 7,000d). Amber with a foamy white head; hoppy aroma foreshadowed a little too much bitterness.
Citimarket Saigon
39 Le Duan, Ho Chi Minh City
(From a November 2006 visit)
