We arrived in a cold and misty Hanoi at 430am. We wandered the streets finding a place to stay for the day, finally ending up at a hostel at 530am. It was a lucky moment as 8 Aussies were checking out, as we were walking by. Otherwise, we would have had to wait until at least 8am for most places to open. A nice nap was had and we were soon sipping coffee and eating croissant at yet another French patisserie. If the French did anything right in Vietnam, it was leave their stamp on the cuisine and architecture. After sorting out a few formalities for our onward travels we visited Hoa Lo prison, otherwise known as the "Hanoi Hilton." I had visited this museum on my last trip to Vietnam but a subsequent visit was worthwhile. It's always difficult to see propaganda that is negatively directed towards your own country. Not to mention, the gross inaccuracies and misrepresented events that go uncontested. I guess I enjoy learning the whole story and not just a one sided biased account. The museum is found in only part of the original structure. The rest of the building was razed at one point to make way for an ugly apartment block.
All good things must come to an end. After two weeks of travel it was time to part ways with my friends. I headed to Cambodia and they left for the States via Hong Kong. But first, we would have to deal with unexpected rush hour traffic and a taxi scam in the making. We got to the airport 20 minutes before my flight was to depart. We bailed from that taxi so fast, the guy could barely execute his scam! See, we agreed on 300,000 Vietnam Dong ($15) with another driver and then bizarrely switched to another one who would continue the drive to the airport. Fully expecting to get fleeced, we executed a grab and go maneuver that saw us escaping quickly from the taxi before he could even say "you pay me now." We said a hasty good-bye and then I was THAT guy. The crazy person running through the airport as if the world is obliged to share in the misery of my lack of planning. Thankfully, I had checked-in online, printed my boarding pass and there was nobody in line for either immigration or security. The boarding door closed behind me and I was underway to Siem Reap, Cambodia to explore the wonders of the Temples of Angkor.
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Hue, Vietnam.
We arrived in a misty and cool Hue in search of lodging. We settled, after looking and bargaining at several hotels, on a $12/night hotel that would prove sketchy. It seemed decent enough at first glance. Cafe on Thu Wheels was our "local" for Hue. They serve Hue specialties, have a great atmosphere, arrange tours of the city and DMZ and has its walls covered in travelers sentiments on their enthusiasm towards the Cafe. We signed up for a moto tour of Hue, with Minh, one of the proprietors and tour guide.
Morning arrived too soon after a chilly night with no blankets and we rolled over to the Cafe for our tour along with breakfast. The weather was a little cool so we opted for a car tour at noon instead. In the meantime explored some of the surrounding area and joined up with Minh a short time later. We visited the Japanese Bridge, near Hue which was built over 300 years ago and is still standing in its original wooden form (allegedly) despite wars, flooding and weather. Next we visited the Pagoda and adjacent monastery where one can find the actual car, a monk drove down to Saigon and then subsequently set himself on fire out of protest. That's what I call devotion to a cause! The afternoon was spent at the Citadel and forbidden Purple City, where we had a very forgettable lunch of over priced Pho. After the Citadel, we proceeded to visit several tombs of ancient Vietnamese Emperors. The last one, apparently had 104 wives, none of which bore him a child. Tough break and talk about pressure for wife #104! The evening was rounded out with a visit to the top rated restaurant in Hue, which was good, but certainly not OUR top rated restaurant. We followed that with a tasty Indian snack and ended the evening with a wild night at the Cafe. What goes on at Cafe on Thu Wheels, stays there.
We discovered a French patisserie for coffee and breakfast this morning and relaxed there all morning. The rest of the day was a slow paced day without much on the agenda. Lunch was had at Ninas, another top rated restaurant in the city. It proved elusive the previous night, but finally found it for lunch! It turns out it was very close to the Cafe and had been near it every night. We then, took a river boat cruise and wandered the city and finally got massages at a nice little spa where the locals go. I think my masseuse took pity on my gnarled leg and gave half her effort. The old ladies three times her age in Bangkok were much better! We rounded out the evening back at Ninas, for more of her good food and friendly service.
The final day in Hue found us again, at the French Patisserie. The place actually provides jobs and baking classes to Vietnamese kids in need and then helps them find a forward path in life. A great organization with great food! We'd be leaving on a night train to Hanoi this afternoon so we did a little shopping for the journey. While we were packing up, I realized that $75 was missing from my bag. It appears that our bags were pilfered at some point while we were gone. I guess it was foolish to not have taken better precaution. $20 was taken from my buddy as well. So, the $12/night rooms basically turned out to be $36/night. In the grand scheme of things, it's only money. We weren't roughed up or pillaged. It's the principle of the matter!
Soon we boarded our night train for Hanoi which was actually quite pleasant. The 11 hour journey seemed to pass quickly. Good company, good music, new train friends and a 6 hour slumber made the ride effortless.
Morning arrived too soon after a chilly night with no blankets and we rolled over to the Cafe for our tour along with breakfast. The weather was a little cool so we opted for a car tour at noon instead. In the meantime explored some of the surrounding area and joined up with Minh a short time later. We visited the Japanese Bridge, near Hue which was built over 300 years ago and is still standing in its original wooden form (allegedly) despite wars, flooding and weather. Next we visited the Pagoda and adjacent monastery where one can find the actual car, a monk drove down to Saigon and then subsequently set himself on fire out of protest. That's what I call devotion to a cause! The afternoon was spent at the Citadel and forbidden Purple City, where we had a very forgettable lunch of over priced Pho. After the Citadel, we proceeded to visit several tombs of ancient Vietnamese Emperors. The last one, apparently had 104 wives, none of which bore him a child. Tough break and talk about pressure for wife #104! The evening was rounded out with a visit to the top rated restaurant in Hue, which was good, but certainly not OUR top rated restaurant. We followed that with a tasty Indian snack and ended the evening with a wild night at the Cafe. What goes on at Cafe on Thu Wheels, stays there.
We discovered a French patisserie for coffee and breakfast this morning and relaxed there all morning. The rest of the day was a slow paced day without much on the agenda. Lunch was had at Ninas, another top rated restaurant in the city. It proved elusive the previous night, but finally found it for lunch! It turns out it was very close to the Cafe and had been near it every night. We then, took a river boat cruise and wandered the city and finally got massages at a nice little spa where the locals go. I think my masseuse took pity on my gnarled leg and gave half her effort. The old ladies three times her age in Bangkok were much better! We rounded out the evening back at Ninas, for more of her good food and friendly service.
The final day in Hue found us again, at the French Patisserie. The place actually provides jobs and baking classes to Vietnamese kids in need and then helps them find a forward path in life. A great organization with great food! We'd be leaving on a night train to Hanoi this afternoon so we did a little shopping for the journey. While we were packing up, I realized that $75 was missing from my bag. It appears that our bags were pilfered at some point while we were gone. I guess it was foolish to not have taken better precaution. $20 was taken from my buddy as well. So, the $12/night rooms basically turned out to be $36/night. In the grand scheme of things, it's only money. We weren't roughed up or pillaged. It's the principle of the matter!
Soon we boarded our night train for Hanoi which was actually quite pleasant. The 11 hour journey seemed to pass quickly. Good company, good music, new train friends and a 6 hour slumber made the ride effortless.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Hoi An, Vietnam.
We left at 715am and arrived at 500pm. We traveled from Cat Ba to Hoi An via Haiphong and Hanoi. The prolonged journey time was well worth the wait, as we were to discover the jewel that Hoi An is in Vietnam's crown.
Since I'm so far behind in my day by day entries, I'll just cover our time in Hoi An in one entry. Hands down, this was my favorite place to have seen in now, two visits to Vietnam. We experienced the nicest people and the best food during our two weeks in Vietnam.
Our first night was spent finding a place to stay and exploring the nightlife of the city. Hoi An is known for its cuisine and on the must eat list was Cao Lao and White Rose. Cao lao is a noodle dish with a special sauce, vegetables and rice paper chips. White rose reminded me of a shrimp siu mai with a sweet and tangy sauce drizzled over it. Our introduction to these Hoi An specialties proved great and then so did our new friends at the restaurant that we had this meal. The Vietnamese are very social, despite the typical language barrier. Our new friend "Bi" and her colleagues at the restaurant were great hosts. We enjoyed attempting to learn Vietnamese from them and I think they also got a kick out of chatting with us and sharing their local treats of dried watermelon seeds and corn in hot sauce.
Morning greeted us with sleeping in, sunshine and the best chocolate croissant I've ever had outside of Paris. This particular day we rented bikes and rode up and down the coast looking at the beach before finding a great recommended "locals" restaurant perched on the beach. Wow... another incredible meal! We feasted on fresh spring rolls with shrimp, clams stewed in lemon grass chili broth as well as steamed prawns in banana leaf. My Mom is right... food tastes extra good at the beach! We watched the afternoon fade away as the sun sank lower on the horizon as we luxuriated on the beach, beer in hand. The evening meal was had at "Cafe 43" a highly recommended dining option by guide books and travelers alike. We were actually a little leery, since we were trying to go for a more local and less touristy experience. We dined on their version of Cao Lao, Stuffed Squid with pork and chicken with chili and lemon grass. The squid was the star of the night. 30 Bia Hoi's later, we left with the feeling the place lived up to the hype. Friendly atmosphere, gracious hosts and cheap great food. Cafe 43 is a stop worth making.
The following day was a leisurely day. Well, more leisurely than all our other leisurely days. We slept in, had another nice breakfast by the pool and set out for the day around noon. This time, we traveled by foot and explored the old city of Hoi An. We dined on some good Ban My Thit (pork sandwiches). So good in fact, we had seconds. We wandered the market, had fun bargaining and continued to explore the old city. Cafe 43 was so good, we had dinner again on this night. But first, we stopped at a street restaurant for some Bun Thit (cold grilled pork noodle salad.) It seems as though we closed down Cafe 43 in the wee hours of the morning. I think the hint was the owner falling asleep in his PJs at a nearby table.
Road rash. That was the theme of the day. Another first for me on this trip was riding a moped. We intended on riding them out to My Son, to look at the ruins, but instead rode them up and down the beach, thanks to me. Why? Because in the first five minutes of riding the bike, I crashed it. In a busy intersection. With an audience. Yeah me! Okay... so I'm not a complete idiot. I was cut off by a dude on another moped who was making a left turn, from my right! So, there I went, crashing to the pavement for all to see. All I could think about was that there better not be a bus or truck behind me! Thank goodness, it was one of my buddies and I was not run over by an overloaded goods truck or a family on a moto. I did however, jump right back up, got out of the intersection and swallowed my pride. A witness in the cafe across the street came to my aid and helped me clean my wounds as we laughed and sipped on Cafe Fin. My knee down to the top of my foot was awash in road rash and minor gashes and scrapes. Thankfully, nothing worse. Though, as I write this, several days after the incident, I have some colorful bruising all over my leg! Oh well, it adds color. After a proper clean up and change of clothes, we set out, undaunted to explore the coast. We were also able to meet up with a buddy of mine who flies as a pilot at Vietnam Airlines who was in Danang for the day. We returned to our new favorite beach-side restaurant and had more great food. Not as great as the previous time, but cheap and good none the less.
That evening we dined at "Morning Glory" which is the restaurant owned by the same woman that owns the hotel we stayed at. It was our "splurge" meal for the trip, which included a bottle of wine and several dishes and it totaled $40 for three people. We feasted on shrimp mousse on sugar cane sticks, clay pot fish, spring rolls Hoi An style, fried tofu with chili jam, caramelized pork, Hoi An style Pho, duck breast and banana flower salad. Hands down, the best meal in Vietnam!
The next day found us leisurely waking to more breakfast by the pool, sorting out the details of our departure and the best Ban My ever! I think Anthony Bourdain dined at this food stall at the Hoi An market. It was incredible. Crunchy French bread, perfectly seasoned pork, fresh herbs, chili and pate make for an east meets west concoction that was out of this world! We bid adieu to Hoi An as we made our way to Danang where we boarded our train to Hue.
Since I'm so far behind in my day by day entries, I'll just cover our time in Hoi An in one entry. Hands down, this was my favorite place to have seen in now, two visits to Vietnam. We experienced the nicest people and the best food during our two weeks in Vietnam.
Our first night was spent finding a place to stay and exploring the nightlife of the city. Hoi An is known for its cuisine and on the must eat list was Cao Lao and White Rose. Cao lao is a noodle dish with a special sauce, vegetables and rice paper chips. White rose reminded me of a shrimp siu mai with a sweet and tangy sauce drizzled over it. Our introduction to these Hoi An specialties proved great and then so did our new friends at the restaurant that we had this meal. The Vietnamese are very social, despite the typical language barrier. Our new friend "Bi" and her colleagues at the restaurant were great hosts. We enjoyed attempting to learn Vietnamese from them and I think they also got a kick out of chatting with us and sharing their local treats of dried watermelon seeds and corn in hot sauce.
Morning greeted us with sleeping in, sunshine and the best chocolate croissant I've ever had outside of Paris. This particular day we rented bikes and rode up and down the coast looking at the beach before finding a great recommended "locals" restaurant perched on the beach. Wow... another incredible meal! We feasted on fresh spring rolls with shrimp, clams stewed in lemon grass chili broth as well as steamed prawns in banana leaf. My Mom is right... food tastes extra good at the beach! We watched the afternoon fade away as the sun sank lower on the horizon as we luxuriated on the beach, beer in hand. The evening meal was had at "Cafe 43" a highly recommended dining option by guide books and travelers alike. We were actually a little leery, since we were trying to go for a more local and less touristy experience. We dined on their version of Cao Lao, Stuffed Squid with pork and chicken with chili and lemon grass. The squid was the star of the night. 30 Bia Hoi's later, we left with the feeling the place lived up to the hype. Friendly atmosphere, gracious hosts and cheap great food. Cafe 43 is a stop worth making.
The following day was a leisurely day. Well, more leisurely than all our other leisurely days. We slept in, had another nice breakfast by the pool and set out for the day around noon. This time, we traveled by foot and explored the old city of Hoi An. We dined on some good Ban My Thit (pork sandwiches). So good in fact, we had seconds. We wandered the market, had fun bargaining and continued to explore the old city. Cafe 43 was so good, we had dinner again on this night. But first, we stopped at a street restaurant for some Bun Thit (cold grilled pork noodle salad.) It seems as though we closed down Cafe 43 in the wee hours of the morning. I think the hint was the owner falling asleep in his PJs at a nearby table.
Road rash. That was the theme of the day. Another first for me on this trip was riding a moped. We intended on riding them out to My Son, to look at the ruins, but instead rode them up and down the beach, thanks to me. Why? Because in the first five minutes of riding the bike, I crashed it. In a busy intersection. With an audience. Yeah me! Okay... so I'm not a complete idiot. I was cut off by a dude on another moped who was making a left turn, from my right! So, there I went, crashing to the pavement for all to see. All I could think about was that there better not be a bus or truck behind me! Thank goodness, it was one of my buddies and I was not run over by an overloaded goods truck or a family on a moto. I did however, jump right back up, got out of the intersection and swallowed my pride. A witness in the cafe across the street came to my aid and helped me clean my wounds as we laughed and sipped on Cafe Fin. My knee down to the top of my foot was awash in road rash and minor gashes and scrapes. Thankfully, nothing worse. Though, as I write this, several days after the incident, I have some colorful bruising all over my leg! Oh well, it adds color. After a proper clean up and change of clothes, we set out, undaunted to explore the coast. We were also able to meet up with a buddy of mine who flies as a pilot at Vietnam Airlines who was in Danang for the day. We returned to our new favorite beach-side restaurant and had more great food. Not as great as the previous time, but cheap and good none the less.
That evening we dined at "Morning Glory" which is the restaurant owned by the same woman that owns the hotel we stayed at. It was our "splurge" meal for the trip, which included a bottle of wine and several dishes and it totaled $40 for three people. We feasted on shrimp mousse on sugar cane sticks, clay pot fish, spring rolls Hoi An style, fried tofu with chili jam, caramelized pork, Hoi An style Pho, duck breast and banana flower salad. Hands down, the best meal in Vietnam!
The next day found us leisurely waking to more breakfast by the pool, sorting out the details of our departure and the best Ban My ever! I think Anthony Bourdain dined at this food stall at the Hoi An market. It was incredible. Crunchy French bread, perfectly seasoned pork, fresh herbs, chili and pate make for an east meets west concoction that was out of this world! We bid adieu to Hoi An as we made our way to Danang where we boarded our train to Hue.
How long to Ha long?
The morning started out with our now familiar and ever so gentle wake up call by Mrs. Propoganda. No longer as jarring as she once was, we managed to sleep through most of her screeching, but still awoke in time to arrange our day tour of Ha Long bay. We pile onto our "junk" boat and after a stop for fuel at the floating fuel station, we were underway. It was about the 45 minute mark, freezing cold getting wind blown when I wondered to myself what the heck we were doing and how long it would be to get to Ha Long! But, for $17 for the entire day including lunch we soldiered on.
The weather warmed up and so did our junk mates and the prospects of having a great day started looking up. We kayaked again and took in more of the limestone karste formations. The scenery of course, didn't disapoint and before we knew it, lunch was being served. It is absolutely incredible what kind of spread can be turned out of a tiny postage stamp sized boat galley. And here we are whining on HGTV about double vanities, granite counter tops and stainless steel restaurant quality deep freezes when they're not available during a home search. I digress. This meal, of squid and pineapple, fried fish, spring rolls, stir fried cabbage and rice was terrific. It went on to prove our theory that we were only destined for great food if we were apart of a tour. We got to know our junk mates and fellow travelers. The French, Vietnamese, Swiss, American, Mexican, German and Brits were represented. Some kept to themselves, others socialized. We soon began to swap travel stories and got more comfortable with our new friends.
After lunch we continued into Ha Long bay and were joined by larger junk boats that set sail earlier that morning from Ha Long City. Part of the reason why we spent our time in Cat Ba, was to avoid the major tourist crush and in retrospect, we made the right move. Our experience was more personalized, unique and only slightly touristy. We made the obligatory visit to the "Surprise Cave" and I was indeed surprised. Not by the "surprise" that was waiting for the visitor, but by how it was actually kind of neat and not nearly as cheesy as I first anticipated. Shame of me to prejudge.
The cruise back included a stop on Monkey Island, where we had lunch the day before. This time, we disembarked and enjoyed the view. Some thought it would be fun to taunt the monkeys by engaging them and dangling things to get them to scamper towards them. After my brush with a monkeys fangs in India, I'm not exactly a huge fan. I did however, get some great pictures and found a little enjoyment in watching the others get too close.
The final leg of the journey seemed to take forever and the temperatures started to drop. As the sun started to set on La Han bay, so did a fantastic day that had a questionable beginning. A predictably bad meal was had, once again, but at least the company was good, which included some new friends from our junk cruise we dubbed the Carnies. The next day would find us on an all day journey to central Vietnam.
-
The weather warmed up and so did our junk mates and the prospects of having a great day started looking up. We kayaked again and took in more of the limestone karste formations. The scenery of course, didn't disapoint and before we knew it, lunch was being served. It is absolutely incredible what kind of spread can be turned out of a tiny postage stamp sized boat galley. And here we are whining on HGTV about double vanities, granite counter tops and stainless steel restaurant quality deep freezes when they're not available during a home search. I digress. This meal, of squid and pineapple, fried fish, spring rolls, stir fried cabbage and rice was terrific. It went on to prove our theory that we were only destined for great food if we were apart of a tour. We got to know our junk mates and fellow travelers. The French, Vietnamese, Swiss, American, Mexican, German and Brits were represented. Some kept to themselves, others socialized. We soon began to swap travel stories and got more comfortable with our new friends.
After lunch we continued into Ha Long bay and were joined by larger junk boats that set sail earlier that morning from Ha Long City. Part of the reason why we spent our time in Cat Ba, was to avoid the major tourist crush and in retrospect, we made the right move. Our experience was more personalized, unique and only slightly touristy. We made the obligatory visit to the "Surprise Cave" and I was indeed surprised. Not by the "surprise" that was waiting for the visitor, but by how it was actually kind of neat and not nearly as cheesy as I first anticipated. Shame of me to prejudge.
The cruise back included a stop on Monkey Island, where we had lunch the day before. This time, we disembarked and enjoyed the view. Some thought it would be fun to taunt the monkeys by engaging them and dangling things to get them to scamper towards them. After my brush with a monkeys fangs in India, I'm not exactly a huge fan. I did however, get some great pictures and found a little enjoyment in watching the others get too close.
The final leg of the journey seemed to take forever and the temperatures started to drop. As the sun started to set on La Han bay, so did a fantastic day that had a questionable beginning. A predictably bad meal was had, once again, but at least the company was good, which included some new friends from our junk cruise we dubbed the Carnies. The next day would find us on an all day journey to central Vietnam.
-
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Bus, bus, boat, bus.
Oh, by the way... it was fried pork skin.
Today we had anticipated an 1120am bus to start our journey to Cat Ba Island. False alarm. "Happy New Year, Tet, 1120 bus no more." Okay, so we kill two hours by eating the best street Pho thus far in the trip. Finally, at 120pm,. we were on our way. Bus, bus, boat and bus later we arrve at Cat Ba island at 530pm. The night was spent looking for a hotel and food.
Three firsts for me on this day. First, an unsolicited alarm clock, far too early, by a ridiculously loud recording of what seemed to be propoganda. It blared, screechingly from the speakers right infront of our hotel. Second and third, a motor-bike ride and kayaking. We hailed Xe Om's and sat on the back of the bike to get taken to our adventure store office, Blue Swimmer. Upon deliberation over some more Pho, this time, Pho Ga, we decided on a day kayaking trip around La Han bay. What an experience! I had never kayaked before and now have discovered something really fun. We kayaked with our guide, Den who guided us through the rock formations in the bay. His whistling and singing Vietnamese folk tunes echoed off the rocks. It was one of the most serene and tranquil experiences I have ever had. 4 guys, calm emerald green water and clean air. Not another tourist in sight. Just the occasional oyster farmer or grouper fisherman.
We had lunch, quite a feast I might add on "Monkey Island." Our post lunch resumption of our kayaking adventure was a little bit slower due to our post feast mini comas. We continued to navigate throughout the bay and floating fishing villages complete with sattelite TV, guard dogs and floating grocery stores. Alas, all good things must come to an end and we paddled back into the little city, Bun Beo where we started our adventure earlier in the day.
The evening was spent attempting to find acceptable food for dinner consumption in Cat Ba city. Fail, again! Fatigued from our kayaking and being woken early by Mrs. Propaganda, we called it an early evening. On the agenda for the next day is another early start and a day cruise back through Lan Ha bay up into Ha Long bay to see more of this World Heritage sight.
Today we had anticipated an 1120am bus to start our journey to Cat Ba Island. False alarm. "Happy New Year, Tet, 1120 bus no more." Okay, so we kill two hours by eating the best street Pho thus far in the trip. Finally, at 120pm,. we were on our way. Bus, bus, boat and bus later we arrve at Cat Ba island at 530pm. The night was spent looking for a hotel and food.
Three firsts for me on this day. First, an unsolicited alarm clock, far too early, by a ridiculously loud recording of what seemed to be propoganda. It blared, screechingly from the speakers right infront of our hotel. Second and third, a motor-bike ride and kayaking. We hailed Xe Om's and sat on the back of the bike to get taken to our adventure store office, Blue Swimmer. Upon deliberation over some more Pho, this time, Pho Ga, we decided on a day kayaking trip around La Han bay. What an experience! I had never kayaked before and now have discovered something really fun. We kayaked with our guide, Den who guided us through the rock formations in the bay. His whistling and singing Vietnamese folk tunes echoed off the rocks. It was one of the most serene and tranquil experiences I have ever had. 4 guys, calm emerald green water and clean air. Not another tourist in sight. Just the occasional oyster farmer or grouper fisherman.
We had lunch, quite a feast I might add on "Monkey Island." Our post lunch resumption of our kayaking adventure was a little bit slower due to our post feast mini comas. We continued to navigate throughout the bay and floating fishing villages complete with sattelite TV, guard dogs and floating grocery stores. Alas, all good things must come to an end and we paddled back into the little city, Bun Beo where we started our adventure earlier in the day.
The evening was spent attempting to find acceptable food for dinner consumption in Cat Ba city. Fail, again! Fatigued from our kayaking and being woken early by Mrs. Propaganda, we called it an early evening. On the agenda for the next day is another early start and a day cruise back through Lan Ha bay up into Ha Long bay to see more of this World Heritage sight.
Are we eating rat?
Due to the Tet holiday, which is the celebration of the lunar new year, many things have been closed in Hanoi. We had planed on leaving Hanoi yesterday and taking a bus/boat/bus to Cat Ba island via Haiphong. It seems as though the busses and boats weren't running as anticipated, so we ended up with an extra day in Hanoi. Much of it was spent wandering the city and relaxing on the street corners with other travelers and locals.
Most eating venues were closed for Tet and finding lunch proved to be a difficult feat. We ended up at a dirty street side restaurant for some pho. It was on the disappointing side, but the experience and atmospehere was worth the sacrifice in food quality. Satiated, we continued to explore the old quarter.
For dinner, we ended up at a street restauarant that was crawling with locals. That's a great sign indeed. We pulled up our foot tall stools and sat down amongst the locals and ordered what they were having. It looked good from the street. Something fried, dipped in a sauce with cucumber garnishings. It arrived and we dug in. The more we ate the more we liked it, but we had no clue what we were eating. It tasted like chicken, but was spongy. I'm pretty sure chicken isn't supposed to be spongy. When we asked the proprieter what we were eating, she only spoke to us in Vietnamese which didn't help. Finally, we resorted to animal noises and she described what we were eating by making this "eee, eee, eee" sound. Hmmmm, we thought. What animal makes that sound? Rat? some other rodent? We were now even more confused. As the rest of the meal was consumed we contemplated what we were actually eating. Dinner was rounded out with some street food for desert hot from the oven and some great green tea ice cream from "Fanny."
Most eating venues were closed for Tet and finding lunch proved to be a difficult feat. We ended up at a dirty street side restaurant for some pho. It was on the disappointing side, but the experience and atmospehere was worth the sacrifice in food quality. Satiated, we continued to explore the old quarter.
For dinner, we ended up at a street restauarant that was crawling with locals. That's a great sign indeed. We pulled up our foot tall stools and sat down amongst the locals and ordered what they were having. It looked good from the street. Something fried, dipped in a sauce with cucumber garnishings. It arrived and we dug in. The more we ate the more we liked it, but we had no clue what we were eating. It tasted like chicken, but was spongy. I'm pretty sure chicken isn't supposed to be spongy. When we asked the proprieter what we were eating, she only spoke to us in Vietnamese which didn't help. Finally, we resorted to animal noises and she described what we were eating by making this "eee, eee, eee" sound. Hmmmm, we thought. What animal makes that sound? Rat? some other rodent? We were now even more confused. As the rest of the meal was consumed we contemplated what we were actually eating. Dinner was rounded out with some street food for desert hot from the oven and some great green tea ice cream from "Fanny."
Friday, February 4, 2011
Dim Sum fail.
Bear with me as I write this from my iPhone while sitting in the lobby of the W hotel. There's no telling what sort of iPhone auto fill gaffes I'll make. Anyhow, so after a 20 hour journey,I made it safely to Hong Kong last night. Thankfully, I was able to travel the entire way via Tokyo in business class. The former Northwest crews were fantastic and made the journey pleasurable.
I decided to switch it up a little and stay somewhere a little different this time to Hong Kong. Let's just say Starwoods W hotel brand is amazing. If I could, I would move in and take up residence.
So other than a transit point, I came to Hong Kong pretty much to eat at the Michelin Star rated dim sum restaurant called Tim Ho Wan, in the Mong Kok area. I hadn't considered that many merchants would be closing their doors today. I was wrong. I was all proud of navigating myself to be there when the doors opened. Only, they didn't and they won't for an undetermined amount of time. Well, the owners know, but since I couldn't read their sign, for all I know they could have opened at noon!
I walked around getting solicited for suits and watches and dubious electronic wares. Soon, I found myself fighting the hordes of eager Chinese New Year revelers jostling for a prime fireworks viewing spot at the harbors edge. It was 1130! I'm pretty sure the show isn't going to start until dark. Just a hunch.
Determined to eat dim sum I found a mall food court that had made to order dim sum. Char siu bao and shrimp shaomai please! Yes, it was dim sum. No, it wasn't that great. Dim sum fail.
Tonight I'm flying to Hanoi, Vietnam to meet some friends who I'll be traveling Vietnam with. Let's just hope I dint have Pho fail!
Kung hei fat choy!
I decided to switch it up a little and stay somewhere a little different this time to Hong Kong. Let's just say Starwoods W hotel brand is amazing. If I could, I would move in and take up residence.
So other than a transit point, I came to Hong Kong pretty much to eat at the Michelin Star rated dim sum restaurant called Tim Ho Wan, in the Mong Kok area. I hadn't considered that many merchants would be closing their doors today. I was wrong. I was all proud of navigating myself to be there when the doors opened. Only, they didn't and they won't for an undetermined amount of time. Well, the owners know, but since I couldn't read their sign, for all I know they could have opened at noon!
I walked around getting solicited for suits and watches and dubious electronic wares. Soon, I found myself fighting the hordes of eager Chinese New Year revelers jostling for a prime fireworks viewing spot at the harbors edge. It was 1130! I'm pretty sure the show isn't going to start until dark. Just a hunch.
Determined to eat dim sum I found a mall food court that had made to order dim sum. Char siu bao and shrimp shaomai please! Yes, it was dim sum. No, it wasn't that great. Dim sum fail.
Tonight I'm flying to Hanoi, Vietnam to meet some friends who I'll be traveling Vietnam with. Let's just hope I dint have Pho fail!
Kung hei fat choy!
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