Drawn by the prospect of delicious food, friendly people and beautiful scenery, Vietnam exceeded our expectations in all three areas. Our trip began in the northern part of Vietnam in its capital, Hanoi, where we stayed in the Old Quarter.
First, lunch. We sat down with locals at Banh Cuon Gia Truyen and feasted on banh cuon, steamed rice rolls filled with minced pork or shrimp and mushrooms topped with fried shallots and the freshest assortment of green herbs ever. The fresh herbs — crisp sprigs of lemon balm, Thai basil, cilantro, perilla and mint– are highlights of the cuisine here. I’m pretty sure Philip got tired of hearing how much I loved those banh cuon the rest of the trip. We also ordered a bowl of pho ga (chicken pho) and bun ca (fried fish noodle soup). The clarity of the pho broth defied the resulting richness and depth of its flavor, and it was definitely a moment of food revelation.
Forcing ourselves out of our food reverie, we double timed it to get to ‘train street.’ Unbelievably, a train track runs right through the middle of a narrow residential street in Hanoi where trains pass through several times a day. Despite our best efforts, we caught a glimpse of the last carriage of the train as it passed through the street. Man, were we bummed. Thanks to some rudimentary Vietnamese and Google translate, though, we found out that another train would pass by in 20 minutes! Taking our cue from the locals casually gathering their wares and children off the track, we pressed ourselves against the walls waiting for the coming train. Nothing can really prepare you for the rush and sound of a xxx ton locomotive barreling past inches away (video clip below). Oooeee, what an experience!
To keep our adrenaline rush going, we hailed a ‘pedicab of death’ to our next destination. OK, so it’s not that dramatic, but Jules coined it the ‘pedicab of death’ once we hopped in and our cyclist/driver navigated us through the infamously busy streets of Hanoi towards oncoming and sideways traffic (video clip below). My attempt at a family selfie failed, since Jules kept his eyes closed most of the way.
The ride was totally worth it, though. Imagine Jules’ face when we arrived at the Always Cafe, serving coffee and butterbeer!! It was hard to contain his excitement when he walked in and saw that the cafe was decked out like one of the common rooms in the Hogwarts Castle. There were beautifully made wooden wands for sale and the entire Harry Potter series in Vietnamese. But, how was the butterbeer? Jules was in seventh heaven with this version of butterbeer, which tasted like a Coca Cola float, while I blissed out on the tasty, slushy-like coconut coffee. Our only regret was not ordering the Polyjuice Potion as well.
Next stop, Cafe Dinh. A beautiful little cafe hidden away on the second floor, which can only be accessed by a narrow, dark staircase at the back of a tiny store selling knock off handbags, it offers a lovely view of the Hoan Kiem Lake and a delicious version of Hanoi’s famous egg coffee — a silky, rich blend of strong, dark coffee, sweetened condensed milk and whipped egg yolk. Hold up, did I just say raw egg yolk in coffee??
Me: Ooohh, this place is supposed to have some of Hanoi’s best egg coffee.
Philip: You get a cup, I’ll order something else.
Me: Yeah, but, this is one of Hanoi’s specialty. Don’t you want to at least try it?
Philip: You know how I feel about eggs. Stop being such a food fascist. You’re not going to change my mind.
Me (unable to hide my disappointment): OK, what do you want then?
Philip: Fine, just get me the egg coffee.
Philip (after trying the first sip): Mmm, I can’t believe I’m saying this, but this is really good.
Me (trying to contain myself and not saying, ‘I told you so.’): Mmm, hmm…
This decadent beverage tasted of melted vanilla coffee ice cream and a Cadbury creme egg without the cloyingly sweet taste. I wouldn’t call it refreshing, since it was more like a dessert, thick enough to eat/drink with a spoon. The three of us enjoyed it down to the last drop while sitting on little stools next to locals and tourists.
After a relaxing stroll around the northern part of Hoan Kiem Lake, we headed to our dinner reservation at Home Restaurant. The restaurant is set inside a renovated French colonial mansion, and the decor is stunning. If only we could say the same about the food. Despite its rave reviews, we found ourselves eating so so food at Western prices, pining for the banh cuon we had for lunch at the local joint.
Back at the hotel, we set our alarms for an early start to the next day’s cruise to Bai Tu Long Bay, and our heads hit those pillows hard.
