Asia tripping - part VII: Hanoi (still)

This is the seventh of several brief posts of my recent trip to Asia: photos, food and a few thoughts.

Saint Joseph's Cathedral, French Quarter, Hanoi

There are little hidden temples all throughout the Old Quarter of Hanoi
- much fun to discover and respectfully stumble in

Ca phe nau nong - hot milk coffee

One afternoon, weary from a day of walking we decided the join the locals at a street side coffee shop, strewn with discarded pumpkin seed shells, for an afternoon caffeine fix.

We somehow managed an order through the giggling shop girls, and landed ourselves with two cups of hot black coffee, and instructed to stir the condensed milk that gathered at the bottom of the cup. It was strong, warming and sweetly creamy - a sugar hit and caffeine hit in one.

Scooter traffic is insane - though not really deadly

Scooters, bikes, cars, people everywhere

No rules - just beep

Building containing Legends Beer

All the walking and eating through the day led us to a seat on the balcony of the third floor Legends Beer overlooking one of the busiest intersections around Hoan Kiem Lake. A German style microbrewery in the heart of Hanoi, it had a slight Contiki feel to it, but it must have just been the crowd.

Legends lager

Beers weren’t cheap compared to the local mass produced stuff (Bia Hanoi and even Bia Saigon), but to expected given the style of beer, and of course the view.

Memorable Hanoi traffic

I hadn’t expected vegetarian food to be difficult to find in Vietnam just generally, given the presence of Buddhism.

I suppose it wouldn’t be that hard to have a salad or noodle dish adjusted to be meat-free (probably not soup/stock though), but a couple of pescatarians I’d spoken to had trouble finding pure vegetarian food. One was even offered chicken when she enquired about “no meat” dishes.

Huc Bridge in Hoan Kiem Lake

We happily ascended the stairs of Green Gecko Restaurant on Ma May street after seeing a separate vegetarian menu out the front, to the level one dining area (with balcony seats) that much resembled a backpacker’s hostel lounge room.

Looking at the menu and around, it seemed most dishes had a westernised approach. But at least there was vegetarian food, including the curious faux meat kind of gluten.

Mango juice and lemon juice drinks at Green Gecko Restaurant, Ma May Street,
Old Quarter, Hanoi

The mango juice was arguably fresh – it was definitely the stringiest juice I’ve ever sampled, but true enough to taste. The lemon drink was the usual cordial-like beverage, this time served warm.

Sweet and sour gluten

The vegetarian sweet and sour gluten (see, I told you westernised) was a typically red combination of capsicum, pineapple and gluten, which I didn’t sample but was supposedly satisfactory.

Steamed fish

The steamed fillet of fish was a pretty sight but ultimately disappointing; bland and filled with small bones. Even the addition of soy sauce couldn’t really help its cause.

Seafood noodles

Slightly better were the seafood noodles – nothing special but at least registering some flavour on the palate.

Fruit stall at the night markets

We ended that night on a better flavour with fruit bought at the night markets. Guava and strawberries, sprinkled with a red spice mix that added zing to the already sweet fruit. So there we were, eating guava with toothpicks while haggling over undies and coats.

Trishaw rides - remember to bargain

Seafood on display

Our last lunch in Hanoi before rushing off to the airport was one to remember. Although I can be a bit cautious when it comes to seafood, especially when it’s just sitting there on the footpath, we took it as a good sign that there were several tables of locals in at a late lunch hour.

Cooked crab legs

It was also a good opportunity to use up the last of our Vietnamese dong in a seafood splurge. We were handed a laminated menu with English translated dishes, and easily ordered up a seafood storm.

We only later noticed that locals were given Vietnamese menus with about three times the amount of dishes available. Oh well.

Live prawns in a tank

Nonetheless, we were ecstatic with what we ordered, including live crabs and large prawns fished out from the nearby tank.

Bia Saigon at the seafood restaurant

Perhaps not regionally patriotic, my Bia Saigon went down extremely well despite the cool weather outside.

Cooking the crab

First up were the crabs, apparently the chef’s signature. Closely resembling blue swimmers (or indeed, actually blue swimmers), these reddened crustaceans were swimming in a spicy tamarind sauce, having come straight out of the chef’s street facing wok at the front of the store.

Cua ghe - crab in tamarind sauce

As always, they were a bit of work but the sweet/sour/hot combination of flavours from the sauce almost made licking the shells and our fingers more rewarding than trying to extract the flesh.

Muc nuong - grilled squid

The whole grilled squid was another tantalising treat, with char-blackened edges of the surprisingly tender rings. Garnished with a spicy fresh herb, the squid was utterly divine with a squeeze of kumquat juice.

Mi xao - fried noodles with seafood and vegetables

For carbs we had the seafood noodles, which turned out to be instant noodles in a sweet, spicy sauce. I find instant noodles quite comforting every now and then, especially when travelling (though certainly not everyday if it can be helped), so this steaming hot dish was wolfed down without complaint.

Tom nuong - grilled shrimp

Last to arrive were the grilled, jumbo-sized prawns which were swimming about in their tank next to us less than half an hour ago. Skewered straight then grilled, the prawns had a fantastic crunch (with and without their shells, though obviously more with) and were basted in yet another mildly spicy marinade that was finger-licking good.

With crabs and prawns, it was certainly a messy meal – and a relatively pricey one by local standards. But, nervously ready to head back to Noi Bai International, it was the best possible goodbye we could have had to Hanoi, its fabulous food and its friendly faces.

More Asia tripping posts to come, in Hong Kong and Malaysia.

Asia tripping - part VI: Hanoi street food, Vietnam

This is the sixth of several brief posts of my recent trip to Asia: photos, food and a few thoughts.

Streets of the Old Quarter, Hanoi, Vietnam

While it may have taken a few outings to get used to, I eventually found myself loving the streets of Hanoi’s Old Quarter – for their character, efficiency of sorts, and the way things just work regardless of the hindrances in place.

Streetside fruit stall behind Dong Xuan markets

It felt like a people’s place, as opposed to a place for business or trade – perhaps with the exception of the Dong Xuan markets which were selling mostly cheap clothes.

Food alley next to Dong Xuan Markets

Following a quick tour of the said markets, we stumbled upon an alleyway filled with restaurants and open air stalls. People sat on small plastic chairs in the lane while motorbike and scooter traffic continued to drive through; past the diners and beeping through the pedestrians.

Minding the scooter traffic as you eat

There was lots of food on offer, from spring rolls and pho, to less commonly seen dishes and even a buffet style store. We managed to watchfully dodge and scoot our way to the end of the alley; a little unsure about protocol and cleanliness, but mostly hungry.

Making banh cuon

It was hard not to be enthralled by the fashionable young boy making banh cuon to order. He would speedily ladle and spread a thin, white batter on to a cloth stretched over a steamer pot and put the lid on for no more than half a minute.

Making banh cuon sheets

Lifting up a lid of steam, he would delicately peel the thin steamed rice noodle off the cloth, sprinkle a filling within, and have it rolled, chopped and on a plate in a matter of seconds, before getting on to making the next one.

Our banh cuon is served

We squeezed into our seats next to a bubbling pot and power outlet, and had banh cuon in front of us in moments. Topped with fried shallots and a dried seafood floss of some sort, we self-garnished from a big bowl of Vietnamese mint.

A mint garnish

The pieces were easily broken into bite sizes and dipped into nuoc cham; the silky texture savoured with the lumpy pork and woodear mushroom filling, as well as the sweetly tart sauce. It was our first enlightening meal in Vietnam.

Frying banh tom

After what was really a snack, we shifted down one stall to where the smell of deep-fry tempted. Banh tom, we were told, fritters of white sweet potato slivers with whole, unpeeled prawns; battered and fried into a cake.

Takeaway pickles and dipping sauce

An order is accompanied by a shared metal plate of fresh herbs and mixed lettuce leaves, and a bowl each of thinly sliced pickled vegetables, submerged in a dark brown dipping sauce.

One of the ladies at the stall fishes out the cooked banh tom from the woks of hot oil, roughly cuts them up with scissors, and plates them up for the customer. She even does a takeaway trade with a copious use of plastic bags.

Banh tom

The banh tom were expectedly crunchy and a bit oily, which was easily ignored after a dunk in the dipping sauce and wrapped with herbs in lettuce.

A tiny fried prawn

The best part was the prawns – heads, tails, legs and all fried to a crisp, however sparse they were.

Baguettes by bicycle, near Hoan Kiem Lake, Hanoi, Vietnam

The French influence in Hanoi can't be clearer than locals and their baguettes. Whether street side, on a bicycle or indeed, multiple 'stalls' along the highway on the way to Halong Bay, it seems a fresh baguette, or banh mi is simply a daily ritual.

Baguettes by the street side

Spring rolls by the street side

Baguettes aren't the only things on random street corners. Here, two young girls were making and deep frying two types of spring rolls, with passersby simply ordering and eating by the stall side, amid the usual traffic.

Heavy scooter traffic

One of the beef salad stores near the Hoan Kiem Lake

Later in the day, back towards the Hoan Kiem Lake area, we came across two street stalls across the road from each other – both packed with puffy-jacketed, seated diners munching on what looked like green papaya salads.

Dressing the salad

Watching the stallholders was entertainment itself – a handful of julienned green papaya, a sprinkle of thinly sliced beef, scissor-snipped dried liver (we think) and more snippings of fresh green herbs.

Dressing, much like nuoc cham, came from large soft drink bottles and was poured liberally over the salads, which were then ferried through the seated crowd from a guy who would take payment.

Nom thit bo kho

And with disposable chopsticks, we ate nom thit bo kho on the cold street with the locals, picking every last bit of papaya and every last morsel of beef. The crushed nuts and mint leaves as garnishes were a highlight of the salad.

And indeed, street food in Hanoi was an illness-free food highlight of the city and our trip overall. More Asia tripping posts to come on Vietnam, Hong Kong and Malaysia.

Asia tripping - part V: Halong Bay, Vietnam

This is the fifth of several brief posts of my recent trip to Asia: photos, food and a few thoughts.

Halong Bay, Vietnam

Tourist boats in Halong Bay

Our time in Halong Bay was spent on an organised 3-day boat tour as many do (400 tourist boats cruise the bay, apparently), before recent tragic events.

The included meals on the boat often resembled each other or something not quite so appetising so as to photograph. Our time on the boat also included a taste of the most vile white wine I've ever tasted - a local one that was more like 60% alcohol spirit, and was worthy of two sips and no more.

Cucumber salad served on the boat

Nem ran - Hanoi fried spring rolls

Crumbed shrimp

I lurve this lemon drink

Lunches and dinner often included cucumber salad; Hanoi fried spring rolls (fried in rice paper, which I thoroughly enjoyed and now sometimes crave); fish, prawns and squid in various forms; and rice and vegies. They were always gorgeously presented dishes to share among a table.

Floating houses

On the first day, there was a mecessary stop to Hang Sung Sot, where the Surprise Cave was located. Having read up a little about these caves and judging by the guide's mischevious smiles, I had a fair idea of what the impending surprise was.

Stop scrolling now if you don't want the surprise revealed.

Inside Surprise Cave

More inside Surprise Cave

Surprise! (I'm told it's a finger...)

A popular view point from outside the caves

The weather wasn't freezingly cold when we were at Halong Bay, but did make any out of doors time a bit wind chilly and the photos rather grey. The waters were almost always calm, and I imagine tempting for a swim in warmer times.

Views while bike riding all over Cat Ba Island

We spent one night on Cat Ba Island after biking around the island then kayaking in the afternoon - the former activity eventually excrutiating on the rear side while the latter sure gave the arms and shoulders a workout.

Riding a bicycle all over the island was a highlight of the tour

Kayaking in Halong Bay

Given the wintery weather, the five-star resort – lovely as it would have been in warmer weather with its private beach and beach bar – was a tad empty and spooky, evoking thoughts of teen slasher movies and other freakiness.

Cat Ba Island Resort, Halong Bay

Pretty much the strangest meal we had all trip, not just in Vietnam, was dinner which was included in our one nights’ accommodation at Cat Ba Island Resort.

Pineapple Fizz

There was a set dinner menu included with our accommodation booking, but we added cocktails from the dated-looking bar. My Pineapple Fizz cocktail was surprisingly good, gin-based with a sweet, fresh pineapple juice and egg white fizz head of foam.

Pumpkin soup

Without any options for dinner, we were presented with a western menu. The pumpkin soup was actually quite comforting. Creamy and warm, it hit the spot fine - feathered cream and all.

Tuna salad

Midway through our soup we were presented with a tinned tuna salad to share, with lots of fresh vegies (lettuce, tomato, cucumber, onion, olives) and a generic tasting dressing. The kitchen was upping the ante on the strange and unexpectedness.

Grilled chicken thigh with vegetables

And as soon as our soup bowls were taken away, as we were about to dig into the salad, the mains arrived. I was going to double check that my mum wasn’t in the kitchen since it looked so much like something that came out of the home kitchen (except the gluggy, sweet tomato/BBQ sauce gravy on top).

Beneath the sauce was a grilled chicken thigh; skin and fat still on and completely drowned in the sweet sauce. The perfect scoops of mashed potatoes had the oddest chewy texture, while the steamed vegetables were thankfully fine.

Fruit plate

We washed down the meal with the cocktails, and were most happy with the dessert of fresh fruit, including the best mango I’ve ever had: string free, perfectly ripe and taking me straight to the tropics despite the murderously grey and winy weather outside.

The next morning involved more boating around before returning to Halong City for our long minibus ride back to Hanoi.

The Halong Bay tour was definitely a highlight of my overall trip. More Asia tripping posts to come in Vietnam, Hong Kong and Malaysia.