Dear foodie friends, so sorry to just now tell you of this Vietnamese deliciousness

Dear fellow foodies,

Though it may seem cruel to tell you about a spectacular food event after it happens, know that there’s a good reason. I want you to have time to get it on your calendar for next year.

Some wonderful friends and gourmands in crime invited us to their downtown church, St. Anthony Catholic Church, and its annual Lunar New Year Festival on Saturday.

The church’s congregation is predominantly Vietnamese, and St. Anthony offers Masses in English and Vietnamese.

Several months ago, we were on another culinary adventure with these friends when we met St. Anthony’s personable pastor, Ben Nguyen, and learned of the dinner.

Vietnamese food is one of the things my husband, former Eagle food editor Joe Stumpe, and I like to eat and cook most. We marked our calendars, and Joe even gave up a band gig to go. For anyone who knows musicians, or my husband, that’s a very, very big deal.

As we entered the church hall at Second and Ohio, there were lots of excited teenagers getting ready to make their entrance to perform and kick off the dinner.

“Ten minutes! Ten minutes!” one shouted.

They were already pretty loud, but we hadn’t heard anything yet.

As we walked in, the inviting smell of freshly fried crab rangoon greeted us. We walked by a table where some women were cooking it in a hallway, and it was hard to pass without asking for a bite.

We then accidentally walked into the main kitchen — a sprawling hub of activity, much larger than the average restaurant kitchen.

I’d like to stop here and acknowledge the people who made this event happen. I was impressed throughout the night not only with how everything tasted but with how it was all executed, as if these volunteers were professionals who work together every day in an actual restaurant. I think they should perhaps consider it. I’d be their first customer.

Next, we ventured to the hall’s basement where there were games and raffles and lots of kids running around. Turns out, we were supposed to be upstairs at a more formal dinner.

We arrived there just in time to see the teenagers from outside enter dressed as dragons, each of which had two people inside the costumes, undulating to make the dragons come alive and move to the beats of accompanying percussionists.

If you’ve ever been lucky enough to be at Saigon or another Vietnamese restaurant around the Lunar New Year celebration, you know how frenzied and fun the dragons and drums can be. This was a whole other level, though. It was an almost deafening roar — just what you’d want from dragons.

For the first but not only time that night, I thought to myself that there is no one else in Wichita who is experiencing this right now. In fact, it didn’t feel like we were in Wichita.

Then came the meal. Nine — that’s right, nine — courses.

First was Soup Mang Cua, a crab and asparagus soup with quail eggs.

Next was Chao Tom, which is seasoned shrimp paste wrapped around sugar cane and fried. It was Joe’s favorite dish of the night, and one he promises to attempt to replicate soon.

As quickly and efficiently as the dishes were brought and cleared, so too were plates of jalapenos regularly refilled, and I added them to everything.

The internet tells me the next course, Goi Thap Cam, is a salad that “is a common appetizer for wedding or housewarming parties as it looks very pleasing to the eyes yet still very easy to make.”

Canh Ga Nuoc Mam is a dish of glazed chicken wings in fish sauce. Are you picking up on a theme? You’ve got to be able to eat seafood to fully partake in this meal. In fact, lobster was up next.

In a break from seafood, Com Chien Tom Lap Xuong, or sausage fried rice, followed along with Heo Rung Xao Lan, a boar stir fry.

Bo Luc Lac is the traditional Vietnamese shaking beef dish.

Finally, Trai Cay Trang Mieng was a simple kumquat, a light, just-right bite for the end of an extravagant meal.

Throughout the dinner, there was musical entertainment, including a delightful male singer who was something of a cross between an Asian Elvis and Michael Buble. However, much like when I’m in a Vietnamese restaurant and a TV featuring elegantly clad singers is on full blast, it was just a little too loud to hear my dinner companions.

That’s a small complaint, though, for an evening to remember.

Next year’s dinner date hasn’t been set yet, but the festival usually is two weeks before the Lunar New Year, which next year is Feb. 10.

The festival is free, but to reserve a table, it’s a $1,500 donation per table, or $150 for each person at the table.

You could simply buy food to take home, as many guests do, but I’m already looking forward to next year’s many-course, in-person extravaganza.

Hope to see you there.