Hanoi - Street food

Started with the ever-famous Pho Bo along Hang Quat, a couple of hundred metres from Green Mango.. got us off to a start and also a first practice session with the small plastic stools..




Tips for seeking out street food to sample on Hanoi's streets -
1. Wide and alert eyes
2. Sensitive nose
3. Unabashed curiousity

Top tip - follow the crowds.. this led us to this Banh Khuc stall - very very tasty indeed!

Bokkie - still not liking those tiny stools!!

Next up - sticking to the winning combination of fab smells and great crowds, we headed for some Bo Nuong (Grilled beef).. Yum!

See above two pics for name, addy and contact number of stall!

It was a tough fight but my personal fav Bun Mang Vit (Bamboo shoots and duck noodle soup).. along Ma May too..

Recommendations from Mr Hai:
1. My Van Than (Vietnamese wonton noodle soup) - on Hang Bo, at end where Hang Bo intersects Hang Can

2. Bun Cha (pork patties with vermicelli) - on Hang Manh, at end where Hang Manh intersects Hang Non

3. Kem (Vietnamese ice-cream) - on Trang Tien, at end where Trang Tien intersects Ngo Quyen

Vietnam

You avid readers, we are back by popular demand!

First Stop - Hanoi

Intro - let's start with the Green Mango Hotel & Restaurant..!!

Had the loveliest time shacked up at the Top View room, a real bargain at US$55 per night - you get free brekkie for two, 2 bottles of mineral water and a bottle of Chianti for every night of stay.. Although the website was undergoing maintenance during my accommodation search, having read great reviews on it (you can find a large number of them at Tripadvisor), I persevered to contact the owner Mr Hai directly for piccies and inquiries. Good job I did.





Our Top View room - great workout everyday.. 5 flights of steps!





Breakfast Menu











The courtyard - the hotel building used to be a primary school, this is where the kids ran around during playtime

Other quirks of the hotel - shisha, helpful receptionist-turned-personal-shopper, and an owner who gives great banter and chomps on cilantro as a bar snack. Piccies of these experiences below..



Bokkie having a go at Shisha - S$8 for a fruity flavour




Check out my shopping of traditional H'Mong gear - my bib, beaded coat and headdress!! Thanks to helpful personal shopper (pictured) for the great bargains..

By the way, my H'Mong name is La, please call me La from now on!! :)

No piccies on cilantro chomping, included a link instead on the wiki page Bokkie found confirming that Cilantro (known to the Vietnamese) is the same as Coriander (known to the Brits) which is also the same as Chinese Parsley (known to the Chinese - duh!).. Big debate of the night!

Cool, I'm adding this to my list of veggies-with-many-different-names-according-to-many-different-countries/ regions:

1. Eggplant - Brinjal - Aubergine
2. Bhindi - Lady's Fingers - Okra
3. Cilantro - Coriander - Chinese Parsley
4. Kang Kong - Water Convolvulus - Water Morning-Glory*
* new contribution from the Girls on 16-12-2008

Our banter with Mr Hai on our last night included an in-depth discussion of Vietnamese cooking, an intense debate on cilantro vs coriander vs chinese parsley (which led to cilantro chomping as we had to fetch 'evidence' from the kitchen) and an insider review of must-try Hanoi street foods (complete with markings on our well-worn map)...