the well (near the base of mountain), or from the source of the River. Rice was the variety from the imperial rice field. clay pots for cooking rice were used only a single time before disposal. No one was allowed to have any contact with the cooked dishes except for the cooks and board members. The dishes were first served to eunuchs, then the king's wives, after which they were offered to the king. The king enjoyed meals () alone in a comfortable, music-filled space. Cultural importance Salt is used as the connection between the worlds of the living and the dead. Bánh phu thê is used to remind new couples of perfection and harmony at their weddings. Food is often placed at the ancestral altar as an offering to the dead on special occasions (such as Lunar New Year). Cooking and eating play an extremely important role in Vietnamese culture. Proverbs The word ăn (to eat) is included in a great number of proverbs and has a large range of semantic extensions. ("Checking the status of the rice pot when eating, watch where/what direction you are sitting.") = Be careful of possible faux pas. = living in accordance to one's limit and social circumstance ("The father eats salty food, the children go thirsty.") = Bad actions will later bring bad luck/consequences to descendants. ("Chewing carefully [makes one] feel full longer, ploughing deep is good for the rice") = Careful execution brings better results than hasty actions. ("Learning how to eat, how to speak, how to wrap, how to open") = Everything needs to be learned, even the simplest, start from "how to eat" politely. Many Vietnamese idioms reflect the sex-is-eating''' mapping: ("He eats meatballs, she eats springrolls") = Both husband and wife are having affairs. ("Tired of rice, craving noodle soup") = A man gets bored of his wife and find another girl. ("You eat snack, you pay money") = Pay before having sex with prostitutes. (Long story short, bánh is a metaphor for the prostitute) ("Eating on the sly without cleaning your mouth") = Committing adultery but left trace International popularity Outside of Vietnam, Vietnamese cuisine is widely available in countries with strong Vietnamese immigrant communities, such as Australia, the United States, Canada, and France. Vietnamese cuisine is also popular in Japan, Korea, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Germany, United Kingdom, Poland, Philippines and Russia, and in areas with