I always thought Nems were Vietnamese spring rolls - ground meat or a shrimp or some crab rolled inside a thin sheet of pastry with some crispy vegetables and fried till gold. These banana leaf-wrapped packages call themselves Nem. But opened up reveal a spicy sausagemeat that needs to be deep fried.

When I did, I wasn't sure who should be eating them - me or the basset hound. But in the interests of research on your behalf, I took a bite. It squeaked in the teeth. And was fine, in the way of a compact cube of Spam might be. But I'll stick to the more familir Nems in future.

They came from Gō Công Supermarket, the little South East Asian store in the same strip as The Lebanese Butcher, 113 East Annandale Rd, Falls Church.

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