Recently, my new girlfriend and I met up to grab lunch together, since we both work nearby.

She chose a pretty popular crab noodle soup place in downtown Ho Chi Minh City.

When they brought out the food, she put three spoonfuls of fermented shrimp paste into her bowl, but I didn't.

She asked: "You don't eat fermented shrimp paste?"

I replied: "I want to see how it tastes first, then decide whether to add any."

"Crab noodle soup isn't good without fermented shrimp paste."

"Go ahead and eat. I can eat pretty much anything; I just choose not to."

"Can you eat dog meat then?"

"Of course."

And so it triggered her to continue the enquiry.

You actually eat dog meat?

Dog meat is delicious.

Dogs are friends, and you eat them?

Any animal can be made into food; they're all edible (even though in my head I did think dogs are her friends, not mine).

You have dogs, yet you can say that?

The ones you keep as pets, you keep; the ones you eat, you eat. (I have two dogs and four cats.)

Has it been long since you ate it?

Pretty long; it's been 10 years.

You call 10 years long?

How many 10 years have you had to say it isn't long? (She's 32; I'm 33)

(awkward smile) Did someone talk you into eating it, or invite you to try it?

No, I ate it of my own accord.

Two dogs are seen at a public park in Hanoi, June 2026. Photo by VnExpress/Giang Huy

To be honest, I have not eaten dog meat for a long time, not for moral reasons or love but because other foods already provide enough nutrition; eating dog meat has more risks of developing diseases than other kinds of meat...

After we finished eating, my girlfriend stood up to leave right away, saying since I didn't feel remorse and that we didn't have the same mindset there was no need to keep talking.

I pleaded with her all the way to where we parked, but she wouldn't change her mind.

We went back to our workplaces.

Ever since that day, we haven't talked. I find it funny that she uses dogs to judge a person's morals. I'm a decent, civilized, and polite person; whenever we go out, I always insist on paying.

I find our ways of thinking too different, so I don't know what I should say next or whether I should leave things quietly and amicably.

We have only been talking for about a month and met 6-7 times.

I hope people can offer objective opinions, because everything I've recounted is from my feelings and point of view.