Thirteen pairs of girls and boys spoke with each other in a romantic café. The “dates” took place for only seven minutes but it did help some find their “other half”.

On a Saturday evening in early December on the top floor of a café next to the Van Mieu Temple (Temple of Literature) bathed in light yellow lamplight and sweet music, 13 pairs of boys and girls made each others’ acquaintance.

After some moments of shyness questions such as, “What’s your name?”, “How old are you,” and “Where do you work”… broke through early hesitation. The dialogues warmed gradually.

For several weeks, hundreds of boys and girls have come to this café to try “speed dating”, a new phenomenon in Vietnam offered by the Linh Tam Co., Ltd.

Each date is only seven minutes long, making first impressions count. When the session ends each person writes their account of their new acquaintance and moves on to make another new friend.

Le Trung, a transport engineer, said: “It is regrettable that when we began talking comfortably the signature tune resounded and we had to say goodbye.“

Though believing that seven minutes is too short to see whether a partner suitable Do Kim Phuong, the manager of the Speed Dating project, said that it’s sufficiently long to make a first impression.

The participants also have opportunities to understand themselves through the notes left by partners in the “dating tickets” — the accounts written by each “date”.

When both partners mark each other as one of “the five most impressive partners” the organizers will process the information and send it on to both participants, Phuong said.

However, some participants were too shy and they couldn’t comfortably talk with their partners. According to Phuong, an IT engineer was very shy and he couldn’t speak out a word in his first date. He sat for a while and left the table to smoke. The organizing board had to persuade him to “be confident and see the date as a project that he has to implement”. Finally, he returned to the table to see further partners.

Hoang Lan, 28, the manager of a famous English training centre in Hanoi, is another example. In the eyes of others she is a modern, talented and self-confident woman. She has never had a boyfriend so her friend is urging her to use “speed dating” service.

Lan recalled: “At work, I’m a decisive woman but I was a different person at the dates. In the first two dates, I only smiled and answered my partners’ questions. Gradually, the jolly atmosphere and smiles of participants and the organizing board’s assistance helped me resume my confidence”.

Phan Hoai Nam, a salesman, said: “I thought that this service was not serious but through three dates, I see that participants were very honest. Though I’ve not found my girlfriend I’ve made many new friends.”

Kim Anh, a member of the Speed Dating project, said: “The biggest expectation of our group is creating opportunities for those who only focus on work to see partners without taking too much of their time. We hope that they will build up long-term relations. That’s the biggest happiness for the Speed Dating group”.

Speed Dating has developed in many European countries and in the US. In Vietnam, the Speed Dating service was launched on April 25, 2009 by the Linh Tam Co., Ltd. The firm has organized eight date shows with over ten successful pairs. The fee for a “speed date” night is $10, including a drink.

VietNamNet/VNE