Photo from Daynah’s Photographic Memories.

Before moving to Bird Flu Central aka Vietnam, we often enjoyed a breakfast of french toast on Sunday mornings. Not wishing to break with tradition, but also not having any eggs to break at home (har har), we’ve been ordering french toast from various local restaurants and having them delivered.

Today, we tried a relatively new cafe which has cinnamon french toast with sauteed bananas. After paying and tipping the delivery guy, I started arranging the food on the dining table - one banana smoothie, one chocolate milkshake, french toast with spilt syrup on top of the box, eggs sunny side up, and sausages, mushrooms, and bacon. NO BANANAS.

I had paid extra to have the sauteed bananas which are Marv’s favorite, but we had NO BANANAS. Calling the restaurant back, I tried to explain the situation to the staff.

Me: We just received our order but we have NO BANANAS.
Staff: The delivery man is coming.
Me: No. I received the food already but we have NO BANANAS. I paid for the french toast with bananas but there are NO BANANAS.
Staff: The delivery is coming. The french toast with bananas is 45,000 Dong.
Me: I know. I paid and there are NO BANANAS.
Staff: You pay 30,000 Dong, ok? Let me talk to the delivery man.
Me: The delivery man is gone bye-bye already. Good-bye. He go back to your restaurant.
Staff: Next time you order, we give you discount.
Me (with no intention of ever ordering from them again): No, I want him to come back RIGHT NOW with my money or with bananas.

When the delivery guy came back, we were handed a small plastic bag. There were two smallish, unpeeled bananas; not sauteed like they should have been had they accompanied the french toast.* These bananas cost more than 10 times what I’d have paid at the market.

Marv and I couldn’t stop laughing.

*Yes, I know how to sautee bananas but it’s the principle of it.

ETA: Here’s the 1923 song - Yes, We Have No Bananas!