I was replying to Darryl Lict in post #4.
I passed by Pho House last night, but now it’s (another) Thai restaraunt.
Ever tried the place by San Pablo and Solano?
:dubious:
I was just in Vietnam a year ago and all the hats people were wearing and those for sale, all had a very sharp point, and were not floppy at all. I was surprised to see a lack of rigidity in the photos linked to above.
I bought two of them in Saigon. And we have one from Myanmar (Burma) too, which is very similar except for having straw designs on it.
BTW, here’s a good picture of genuine Chinese (Hakkanese) hats. (I used to live next to that beach; ah happy days.)
If you’re concerned about using the word “coolie” - which refers to Chinese workers, rather than Vietnamese, I think, though you never know with colonialists - Graham Greene refers to them as “limpet hats” in The Quiet American.
I had one for years, that I picked up off the street in Nha Trang. Like the peasant who dropped it in the first place, I too lost it somewhere. 
Is this the idea? They don’t say anything about an inner frame, though.
The genuine one I picked up had no inner headband - the ribbon kept it in place on the top of the head. However, all the Hakkanese ones I’ve seen have headbands, and are very cool (temperature, not fashion).
I can’t seem to find it on the internets, but I’ve seen these hats made of modern materials, probably nylon. Same design advantages if you don’t want to stand out as much.
And Bellevue has “What The Pho”.
OK, I’m naming my Vietnamese restaurant Pho Q. Who has one of these in their town? And if you steal it, you owe me a bowl of pho per year for life, OK?
I think I’ve seen a Pho King, maybe in Portland. Anyone seen a Pho King A?
I had wanted to go to Phuket for years. Imagine my disappointment when I got there and found out it was pooh-KET.
Mangeorge, I’m sure you know that you can take the Cal Train down to San Jose, Light Rail to Milpitas, and then BART back home. Just checking, and yeah, it’s a long day’s slog.
Sorry for the hijack, but you can get a bag of fresh fortune cookies (or a ton) at the factory in Oakland, at the corner of Harrison and 9th Street. It’s a non-descript building at the corner. Love the smell whenever I walk by. I think they supply the Western hemisphere.
You may resume your discussion.
Maybe that’s where I’m thinking of? Isn’t there one in S.F?
I love them, the fresher the better. Although they do last forever.
Here’s the one I remember in San Francisco. The one in Oakland is listed, but I can’t find a link.
For the one I mentioned: I don’t think they are into high tech stuff: no link. I don’t think they even have business sign, counter or open to public although you can just walk right in and buy cookies from them with no problem.
Asian comical hat, coming right up.
Forget those old-hat ones! These are sold on the streets here and are much more convenient. When you’re not wearing the thing, you fold it up.
Two trips to Vietnam, and years of seeing old Vietnamese ladies in Sydney wearing them, and all the hats here are rigid and sharp-pointed too. I don’t know about the floppy ones in that link, but when I saw them, something in my subconscious said “WWII” or maybe even the musical “South Pacific” - some sort of 40s or 50s Hollywood “Generic Asian” vibe. Maybe they’re from Korea or Singapore or something.
From memory, the one I wore in Vietnam once had a basic headband and the main thing that struck me about the hat was how light it was. The other thing is that I wore one on a very touristy cruise on the Mekong, but that was the only time in two trips that I saw men wearing them at all. They seem to be exclusively female (at least in Saigon and further south).