Hello again, blogosphere! It’s been awhile
since my first last post, partly because I was on a 3-day cruise with no
internet, partly because it’s been a whirlwind trip, but here I am again!
I missed you too. :)
Some (benevolent dictator of) fun facts:
Hanoi is the capital of Vietnam, with a population of approximately 2.6 million
people. It is located in north Vietnam, on the banks of the Red
River. Hanoi is Vietnam’s second largest city, after Ho Chi Minh City
(Saigon). In September, the average day temperature in Hanoi is in the
upper 80’s, with an average of approximately 14 rainy days. (It did rain
one of the two days that we were in Hanoi.) Hanoi is a very picturesque
city with many tree-lined streets. In 2015, Hanoi ranked #4 in
TripAdvisor's list of the World's Best Destinations (Travellers' Choice).
Please feel free to peruse the Hanoi Wiki entry here.
Hanoi has more street food than I have ever
seen. Hanoi also has more scooters than I’ve ever seen. You know
how you just read that there are 2,600,000 people in Hanoi? I think there
are at least 2,600,001 scooters in Hanoi.
So obviously, what better way to experience both
than together??
On Monday, Christine and I went on a 3-hour
guided tour of the street food in Hanoi’s Old Quarter ON A SCOOTER. Before
you get too excited, we rode on the back of the scooter. Still a ride to
remember, and one I highly recommend!
Using TripAdvisor, and corroborated by
independent research (thanks, blogosphere), we used Hanoi
Street Food Tours, which offers several different kinds of tours
(day, night, food, sights, scooter, no scooter). Our 3-hour scooter tour cost $45 per person, and
included 9 stops and 15 different types of food. Some light sightseeing was also thrown in. We
definitely could have skipped breakfast and we also did not need to eat dinner. Christine and I split everything and there
were still things left uneaten.
Lily and Mia, #bestfriends, were our trusted chauffeurs guides. Both spoke very good English.
Lily
Mia
Mia, my guide, 22, graduated from university
about three months ago with a degree in international business. She loves
dessert and singing karaoke in her free time and Bora Bora is at the top of her
list of places to visit. I’m trying to convince her to join okvietnamesecupid.
I offered to help with her profile and everything.
I digress. What did we eat, you ask? A
Street Feast! Behold!
*Forgive
my use of the Latin alphabet rather than the Vietnamese alphabet.
#blameMicrosoft
Bun thang (Vermicelli with chicken soup) – very
delicate but full of flavor, perfect on both cold winter nights and sweltering
summer days. #firsthandexperience
Nom bo (Green papaya salad) – hard to see the green
papaya but it’s there! Not at all like the Thai version; this version has
a slightly sweeter dressing and came with a mix of meats, including sliced
beef, beef tendon, dried beef (the triangle-shaped pieces), and
dried liver. Lily told us this was also called the “single
woman’s snack,” presumably because it’s a salad, has lots of protein and is
career-focused.
Tra chanh (Iced lemon tea) – light and
refreshing on this hot day.
Banh ga (Pillow cake, lower right) – deep-fried
dumpling filled with minced pork, mushrooms and carrots. Nem chua be
(Crab spring roll, center) – I think this also had pork in it. Nem chua
ran (Fried “sour” roll, upper right) – made with cured “sour” pork. Banh
ran ngot (Sweet donut, upper left) – very similar to the Chinese sesame ball
but made with mung bean in the middle rather than red bean. Mia and Lily
told us that these were called the “married woman’s snack,” presumably because
they are the smartest of all the snacks. I think my favorite was the nem
chua be (the crab spring roll).
Hot vit lon (Fertilized duck egg) – also known
as balut. I am usually super curious about new foods but had never really
had a desire to try balut. Mia loves balut and was excited for us to try
it (we had told her we were balut virgins) so she snuck off to buy a hot vit
lon when the rest of us were enjoying the married woman’s snack. It was
surprisingly better than I expected. I will be sparse with details for
those that are squeamish. The overwhelming taste was chicken-like.
#shockeriknow The yellow part tasted like a really really hard hard-boiled egg
yolk. It was also served warm (which surprised me). I’d eat it
again if I had to (for example, in order to free someone who had been kidnapped or to win Fear Factor) but I probably would not seek it out.
Bun cha (Kebab rice noodle) – a Hanoi
specialty! This is a noodle soup made with grilled pork. Rice
noodles and Vietnamese herbs are served on the side and you add noodles and
herbs to the soup a bite at a time. Delicious! Those sliced pieces are green papaya. Great addition.
Banh xeo (Sizzling cake) – Vietnamese crepe,
kind of like a very thin omelet, with bean sprouts and minced pork, rolled with
Vietnamese herbs in rice paper. This particular one was a bit greasy but
Christine and I had another one the day after that was DELICIOUS.
Nem liu (Pork stick) – pork kebab, eaten with
Vietnamese herbs and rolled in rice paper like the banh xeo. This was
quite tasty. You roll everything up, including the stick, and then when it's all nice and tight, you just pull out the stick and the meat comes clean off. #likemagic
Bo bia (Coconut roll) – a sweet snack consisting
of shredded coconut, sugar cane, and black sesame seeds rolled in a
crepe. The sugar cane gave it some juiciness—so good!
Banh my (Sandwich) – Same as the Vietnamese
sandwiches you can find in SF, except here they just call them “sandwiches.” This one was grilled panini-style. It
had an interesting sauce, which we learned was made of mayo and ketchup. High bread-to-insides ratio. Maybe
my least favorite thing we tried.
Ca phe trung (Egg coffee) – Vietnamese black
coffee topped with a frothy whisked egg yolk and sweetened condensed
milk. Very popular in Hanoi. I
like the concept but prefer the regular Vietnamese coffee (black coffee with
sweetened condensed milk).
Sua chua hoa qua (Mixed fruit with yogurt) –
this had watermelon, papaya, jackfruit, dragon fruit, lychee, coconut jelly,
avocado and little coffee-flavored candies. I'm sure I'm leaving something out. Served with a bowl of crushed ice for you to periodically stir in to
keep the entire thing cool.
The standouts for me were the bun thang
(vermicelli noodle soup with chicken) and the bun cha (noodle soup with grilled
pork). #noodlesoverrice Who’s with me?
Christine’s highlights were the bun cha and the
bo bia (coconut roll).
We didn't eat again until Thursday.
Next stop, Halong Bay!
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