February 18, 2020
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Bánh Da Hải Sản

Wandering about looking for lunch, I saw a few Vietnamese diners enjoying a beautiful looking seafood soup with thick brownish noodles. I decided to stop for a bowl.

This little street food place appeared to be a 2 woman operation, one assembling bowls of soup and the other serving and collecting money.

The soup lady gestured to plates she had under glass and said seafood. I nodded. She added a few ingredients to the bowl. I’m guessing but I’d say they were crab, freshwater mud crab paste, small dried shrimps she had reconstituted, and a pork ball. Then in went the veggies, the noodles and finally the broth.

The server showed me with a gesture condiments to add to the soup. I squeezed in a calamansi, added a few hot chillies, some garlic with vinegar and a judicious amount of the super-charged, pungent fermented shrimp paste popular with some dishes in this town. About this ingredient, the instructor at the cooking school had commented, “usually not for tourists”.

The soup proved to be a complex, nuanced concoction with various tastes coming to the fore from mouthful to mouthful. It was simply out of this world.

I tried asking the name of the soup, but I was unable to get across what I wanted to know. Back at my hotel, I showed the staff a picture of the soup and told them where I got it and they gave me the name. The particular thick noodles are called banh da. When I looked them up I found out they are a specialty of Hai Phong. The unusual colour is attained from a certain red fruit.

February 18, 2020
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One Pillar Pagoda

I took a Grab Bike over to Ba Dinh Square this morning to see the One Pillar Pagoda, an important site in Hanoi which dates back to the founding of the city 1000+ years ago.

The pagoda sits in a huge walled in green area, in a square it shares with the Ho Chi Minh Museum and Mausoleum. The site opens early but closes daily between 11 and 2. I was not so interested in the museum and I must confess not at all keen on lining up to view the preserved remains of their revered leader. I just wanted to have a look at the pagoda. There is a fee to visit the museum but I thought you could visit the square free.

At the gate, I told a guard what I wanted to do and he pointed me to another gate, where I was pointed back to the first gate. There a guard pointed me to a ticket office where I explained I just wanted to see the pagoda. Another guard who spoke English approached me. I explained I was being sent back and forth. He let out a hint of a smile. I know, he said. Why not just buy a ticket and go through here. Defeated, I coughed up the 40,000 dong. They put my bag through an x-ray machine – they’re very serious about this site and I understand that.

In 1954, the departing French colonists destroyed the original pagoda and the new government rebuilt the wooden structure on a concrete pillar. In front of it was a lovely shrine. I walked through but out of respect did not photograph.

The garden space was serene and alive with birds. I sat on a bench for a while, enjoying the bird songs, and after a while even saw a few butterflies. The square, separated from the chaos of the city proved to be an enjoyable spot to hang out.

February 16, 2020
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A French Bakery

I found a Vietnamese-run French-style bakery not far from my hotel. It was open when I passed by at 7:30 this morning.

How could I resist? I bought this super-fresh goodie and took it over to a hole-in-the-wall cafe to enjoy with my rocket fuel.

February 16, 2020
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Bún bò Nam Bộ

Bun bo nam bo means Southern style beef and noodles, and it’s a very popular food choice here in Hanoi. There’s a restaurant of the same name a 10 minute walk from my hotel.

It’s a 2-story bricks and mortar place with bench seating, and a very efficient wok and assembly station by the front door. There are a couple other things on the menu but from what I could see everyone was there for the bun bo nam bo, and maybe a beer to go with.

The dish, which is described as beef noodle salad, is simple and delicious. Salad greens, herbs, vermicelli noodles, stir-fried beef, green mango or papaya (I’m not sure), peanuts and fish sauce. Squeeze on some calamansi and add hot sauce at the table. Yum.

February 16, 2020
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Dong Xuan Market

Dong Xuan Market, at the northern edge of Hanoi’s Old Quarter is the city’s oldest market, originally built in 1889. However, in 1994 a fire destroyed much of the original building.

The market sells everything from dried mushroom and seafood to clothing, cloth, housewares, electronics, fresh produce and more. The market area sprawls down the street from the massive market building.

I walked up there this morning to have a look around and to buy some rice paper for fresh rolls to bring home.

I was amazed st the size of the sticks of cinnamon – close to 3 feet high – being sold. The odor was remarkable when I passed heaps of dried wood-ear mushrooms, and dried shrimp.

The aisles are tight and the whole place is a little overwhelming. If you shop here, negotiation is expected and the vendors are experts.

February 15, 2020
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Playing Go in Hanoi

Go, also called Baduk or Weiqi, is not a big deal in Vietnam the way it is in Korea, Japan or China. When I asked a few people about the game, they were unfamiliar with it. A search online revealed there were Go clubs in town, though I found figuring out details was challenging, as it seemed most useful information was in Vietnamese. I turned to my hotel’s manager, who was unfamiliar with the game but promised to look into it. Off I went for dinner and upon my return, he handed me a piece of paper with the name and location of a cafe and some times. The club was meeting last evening, so I made the 20 minute walk sorh and looked for the cafe.

There was indeed a cafe there, but with a different name than the one I was given. It was up a flight of stairs. I asked the fellow working there if this was where people played Go. He clearly did not understand me, but I heard a voice chime YES from a room in the back.

There were some very strong players there who could eat me for breakfast, as the saying goes. Although I lost both games I played, the players kindly reviewed the games for me, playing them back from memory. They went through alternative lines of play with me, suggesting alternatives to some of the moves I made which would have improved my game.

The group was happy to have a foreigner visit and said I was welcome to return back on Tuesday evening, which is the night before I fly out. I hope to be there!

February 14, 2020
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Long Bien Bridge and Surroundings

Early this morning I began walking in the direction of the Long Bien Bridge. I’m staying on the west edge of the Old Quarter of Hanoi, and the bridge, which spans the Red River, is on the north-east edge. It’s more or less a half hour walk; however I planned to find a place for breakfast along the way.

I found a promising banh my place and stopped in for a sandwich, with pate, mixed meats ans veggies. The baguette at this place was particularly good and very fresh.

A little further down the road, I came upon Dong Xuan Market, which I will explore on another day.

At the foot of the bridge is the Long Bien train station.

The Long Bien Bridge is a turn of the (20th) century engineering marvel which withstood considerable bombing during the American war. I read on the Rusty Compass blog that there were plans to demolish the bridge in 2014, which were abandoned after an outcry from Hanoians.

As I began crossing the bridge I was treated to a great view of the longest mosaic wall in the world. The wall, which runs for 6.5 km, was completed in 2010 to celebrate the 1000th birthday of this town. Two years ago, Sheila and I walked a considerable portion of this amazing work of art.

I was fortunate to have a train come through while I was crossing. Cars are not allowed on the bridge, just pedestrians, motorbikes and trains.

The walkway consists of concrete slabs fit between steel rails.You can see below between the slabs, some of which have seen better days. I could not help but imagining one of these crumbling as I walked over it and so I tried to stay close to the roadway, with much of my weight supported by the rail underneath. The bridge is 1.7 km across, and some parts of it are in better repair than other parts.

It’s possible to descend to an area under the bridge, some of which appears to be farmed.

I noticed as I neared the centre of the bridge, vibrations from the motorbikes became more pronounced.

I’m told the views from this historic bridge are especially great on days with a fabulous sunrise or sunset. While the forecast called for a clear day, I haven’t seen more than a few minutes of sun since I arrived.

Atfer returning to the old quarter, I sought out additional views of the mosaic wall.

I cooled down and relaxed at a cafe with an iced coffee, then zig-zagged my way back to the lake and across to my hotel.

February 14, 2020
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A Laid-back Day

I’ve developed a pretty good blister from all the walking I’ve been doing, so after applying a bandaid this morning I decided to enjoy a laid-back day. I cobbled together some notes and set up an Agency Podcast recording session with Candy Minx in Chicago, recording from my hotel room.

I did walk down the road towards the lake to do a little shopping, and sought out a local favourite spot for cha ca for lunch. There is a more well-known place on the street named for this Hanoi fish specialty but instead I visited the one suggested by the chef at the Hanoi Cooking Centre, Cha Ca Thang Long.

Cha ca is a fish dish, usually made with freshwater snakehead. It features tumeric and dill. Each table has a burner. They bring out a pan of partially fried fish, and at the table, add loads of dill and spring onion, which cooks up in front of you. After a couple minutes, you add some of the fish, dill and onions to a small bowl, pile on some herbs, chillies, noodles and peanuts, add a spoon of fish sauce, mix it all together with chopsticks and enjoy.

Lunch was delicate and tasty and all around some of the best fish you can imagine. I’d recommend Cha Ca Thang Long as a must-stop for anyone visiting Hanoi.

After more of the usual morning rain today, the afternoon was very pleasant and a cool breeze has taken away the humidity. If tomorrow is nice, I’m planning to head to the Long Bien Bridge.

February 13, 2020
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Beer Street

My neighbor Chris, realizing he had 2 friends in Hanoi at the same time, connected me up with Zak, his buddy going back to highschool. We decided to go check out an area of Hanoi known as Beer St.

Beer Street is not my jam. The place is a high-pressure nightmare all about extracting money from partying tourists. Imagine a narrow street lined with bars, clubs, restaurants, with plastic stools into the street. Guys on motorbikes hang on its edges. “You want massage?” “You want marijuana?”

Touts pushed menu boards in our faces as we walked through, blocking our path. “Here, here! Food! Best menu. You sit here. Sir, Sir, shisha here sir. Best beer.” They were super aggreesive, sometimes 2 at once trying to get us to sit down.

When we finally sat down we were converged on by Miss Tuborg and Miss Tiger, dressed in beer label outfits, thrusting menus at us, talking at the same time. You want Tiger Beer? you want Tuborg? It was a competition for our dollar, in which you only ordered one company’s beer from the appropriately dressed server.

Then along came the lady selling stale donuts, followed by the lady selling t-shirts, followed by the girls dressed in gold coats to match the brands of cigarettes they’re selling on the street. “Only a dollar”.

It wasn’t a busy night – Miss Tuborg told us Sunday nights are when the place gets packed.

We stayed for a beer and watched the circus for a while. Miss Tiger and Miss Tuborg realized we weren’t big spenders and moved on to other victims. By the time we decided to move out, lines of backpackers were moving in, whooping and laughing and ready to keep that party happening.

We wandered through the Old Quarter, passed the old city gate, an 18th century landmark, and zig-zagged in the general direction of our hotels.

We stopped at a cafe for a smoothie. The relaxed vibe was a relief to me, in sharp contrast to the aggressive sales pitch characterizing Beer Street.

I’m happy to have experienced Beer Street, and I suppose it’s fun for the backpacker crowd looking to party with young travelers from around the world. I think there are many better places to drink beer in Hanoi, in particular the little sidewalk bia hoi joints all around the city, where the beer is cheaper, the vibe is friendly, and the snacks are better.

February 12, 2020
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More humid and it would be rain

It must have rained much of the night, from the size of the puddles on the streets this morning. It started during the evening. I had connected with a good friend of my neighbour Chris back home – a fellow named Zak – and we walked out to Bbq Chicken Street for a bite to eat and a couple beers. Our walk back to the Old Quarter was accompaied by a gentle mist. Later, I could hear the mist change to a hard downpour.

By this morning, the rain had given way to some serious humidity, which I’m hoping will end in the next few hours. I ventured out in search of bún riêu cua for breakfast. I found it in a little plastic stool place located in a small alley not far from the cathedral.

Description

Bún riêu cua features a tomato based broth, vermicelli noodles meats, tofu and a paste made from freshwater paddy field mud crabs.

The picture shows some of these mud crabs at a market. As I understand it, these crabs are made into a paste, shell and all. In broth, the shell drops to the bottom and the meat floats to the top.

Today’s soup came with kumquats to squeeze in, and the lady showed me how to reserve the seeds with a spoon as I did this. There was also chilie oil, fresh chilies and garlic in vinegar available, as well as a plate of fresh herbs to mix into the soup. What a great breakfast!