10th November - In Hanoi   Geoff Brock & Bruce Gamble
         
     

 
 
 
 

Hanoi: Free morning exploring city, lunchtime food tour & evening with Steve
Friday 10th November 2017

 

Our second full day in Hanoi and it wasn't raining, but it was hot and sticky. We had the morning free, so we set off on foot, with a map, to see the local sights for ourselves.
 
O Quan Chu'ung gate
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Dinh Kim Ngan Temple
 
 
 
 
 
 
Buddhist temple
 
 
Hanoi Cathedral
 
 
 
Thank you to Steve for these three photos.
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
At 12 noon we were back at our hotel to meet our food tour guide. He had two other people with him already and altogether, the five of us set off on our "street food" tour.
 
This was the first place he took us.
 
Each venue specialises in one dish and in this case it was crab pancakes...
 
...which were delicious!
 
Our guide was quite a character. Here he was helping a random tourist who was lost!
 
The next place we stopped at served sea worm pancakes... hmmm... later we concluded that the "sea worms" were actually elvers... this didn't make Bruce feel any better about having eaten them, however.
 
 
Watch them wriggle... if you can!
 
Sea worm pancakes, up close and personal!
 
En-route to our next eating experience, we passed by several vendors selling fresh produce.
 
 
 
 
 
 
Our third venue, where we ate Char Sui pork with noodles.
 
 
A short walk (or was that a waddle) to our fourth venue, where we had a baguette with shredded chicken and ham.
 
More random street scenes, as we made our way to the next eatery.
 
Chicken take-away anyone?
 
 
 
Our fifth course - fruit salad, including avocado!
 
 
Pasties being made in an area 1m x 1.5m
No we didn't - we couldn't!
 
Our sixth stop. Through a grimy looking entrance passage, up a couple of flights of even grimier looking stairs, hoping upon hope for a nice surprise at the top. It didn't happen. This photo actually makes it look better than it was. Bruce wanted to leave immediately, but Geoff wanted to try their speciality egg coffee. Bruce just hoped that his immune system was working overtime.
 
The filthiness of the tray sent even more alarm bells ringing for Bruce!
 
Egg coffee - a Hanoi speciality. It comprises beaten egg mixed into coffee.
Tasted much better than it sounds (said Geoff).
 
Bruce was very happy to be getting out of there....
 
Durian fruit
 
Emboldened by the egg coffee experience, no doubt, Geoff now wanted to try some durian and negotiated with the market trader to buy a half portion.
 
Even our guide said that he couldn't stand the smell and would never eat it.
 
Geoff liked it - he said it tasted like bananas and custard.
 
Freshly slaughtered pigs arrive here at the same time each day apparently. Within a couple of hours, they have been sold.
 
 
 
 
 
Seventh and final stop - squid and pork - we felt completely stuffed at this point!
 
In the evening, we set out again to meet Steve for drinks and, a bit later, yet another meal!
 
Many roads are closed in the evenings at weekends.
The city comes to life with throngs of people, night markets and street entertainment.
 
 
 
 
Steve's memory served him well and he found this restaurant, which he had been to previously and which was very reasonably priced.
 
The interior of the restaurant was... unusual.
 
Steve recommended the aubergine and garlic dish, heated so that it was slightly caramelised - delicious!
 
Afterwards, we walked back to our hotel with Steve. The streets were still teeming with people. At one of the market stalls, we bought a little baby grow outfit for our guide, Quan, who had told us the previous day that he had become a father (to a boy) for the first time three days before we arrived in Vietnam.
 
Close to the hotel, we came upon some street theatre.
Our last night in Hanoi and time to say goodbye to Steve. Tomorrow we'd be off to Halong Bay.
 
 
©Geoff Brock and Bruce Gamble