Hello Ha Noi....Vestiges of Vietnam Part 2

Ha Noi, apparently means city at the river bend. Now, lest you think me some food snob, who only eats in aircond places, I would like to clarify that we did partake, with no ill effects, of the roadside PHO, sitting on very low stools and tables, and it was EXCELLENT. I am quite surprised by the pricing though, it was VD15,000. (= RM3.75). I mean, we can get a bowl of noodles here at that price without having to squat by the road. And like it or not, Ha Noi is light years behind us in terms of developed status. So, I dunno if we kena ketuked royally, OR, the cost of a bowl of PHO IS really that expensive.

Anyway, one of our travelling companions, who is accustomed to the life of royalty, (speaking of royalty, I bumped into Sultan Azlan Shah and Tunku Bainun at a Silk Shop in Han Gai, the shopping area of Ha Noi....it was the row of S classes parked on the street that made me peer in with nose pressed up against the glass), was getting very "3rd world out", so insisted I followed him to the Sofitel Metropole, while the ladies continued their shopping spree of lacquer and stuff. So, we entered the Sofitel, me a tad sloppy, having just spilt my fruit smoothie all over my shirt... where we were veered away from the ladida French restaurant, and directed to the Vietnamese Restaurant. To my pleasant surprise, I didn't have to sell my soul, and whatever other sellable commodity on me, to afford a meal there. Anyway, the King (my friend) was paying. It was USD 15 for a Sudu KL Hilton like buffet. Buffet starters and dessert, and a choice of mains.

These handcrafted spring rolls were absolutely deevine. Its a bit like making hong kong chee cheong fun....the covers freshly made from a batter, over a steamer. The meat filling was yummy.

A scent of green papaya? Funny how I used to think such titles of movies or books sounded so exotic. Now, I am inclined to think that the gwai lows seem to be so gullible, that everything with a dash of coriander, lemongrass, basil, fish sauce, ...sounds exotic. Probably explains the proliferation of fusion cuisines abroad, and its dismal failure here.

Dainty little starters, wrapped in exotic sounding leaves.... rather delicious though, I have to say.


For the mains, I opted for the traditional vietnamese fish balls with rice and vegetables...which was a mistake...they accidentally brought another main, prawns with noodles, which looked a whole lot more delectable.


Sponsor had the bamboo chicken....which was very good. They are very generous with their greens.


Desserts were pretty interesting. The thing in the urine sample bottle is creme caramel. Lovely mangoes they have. The opera cake was like a local musical, ie, forgettable.


Our next culinary treat was dinner at BOBBY CHINN'S. I've honestly never heard of him, though all my western educated friends did. A trendy restaurant located at one corner of the something something lake, the interior is lavishly decorated with spools of red cloth, and rose petals that makes wedding confetti look like a balding man.

The restaurant itself is very dark, and for old folk like us, they even provided illuminated magnifying glasses to read the menu. I kid you not. It did help though. Without it, I read the foie gras terrine as POLE GRASS URINE in the dark light...



Honestly, I can find NO FAULT at all, at this place, from the service, to the ambience, to the quality of food and to the fabulous owner, Bobby Chinn himself. No airs, this man has.

Seared scallops on edamame beans.

Seafood Salad with White Bean and Truffle Oil - mine, and absolutely fabulous.

Wifey's crabmeat salad on green papaya. Absolutely divine.

Fish cakes? My memory (and lips) is like a goldfish these days. Anything longer than 10 seconds, I go, "huh?"

My meat craving, after all that Pho, resulted in me ordering this piece of cow, Fillet Mignon. Excellent stuff. Creamy mash that slid down the throat like lubricants down a engine.

Seared Salmon on wasabi mash. Perfect.

Lamb shank with apple risotto

Seared prawns with a semi glutinous rice which was absolutely sublime. The rice was a bit sweetish, and went together like rama rama lap dingie ga dingie dong...

Wife's platter of signature dishes. Okay, prize for whoever can guess what that thing is at 3 oclock. I actually blogged earlier, but the autosave didnt seem to be working at the time, and I lost half my post.

The inimitable Bobby Chinn himself. Half Chinese, Half Egyptian, and credentials long enough to reach the moon. Great fella. One of our party was throwing herself shamelessly on him.

Complimentary glutinous rice pudding dessert from the man himself.

A La Carte Lemongrass Creme Brulee.

Here are a few more shots of Hanoi. At the bottom is the opera house and Hanoi Hilton, where my friend was looking to recreate the scene from the Quiet American, but couldnt locate the spot where Michael Caine had his daily drink.

And you wont be getting anymore food reviews from me from awhile, as my colleague just walked in and said, "wah, sudah tembam la".

Hello Hoi An.... Part 1 of Vestiges of Vietnam

In case anyone did miss me, (I seem to have missed out on numerous gatherings, ie, Ninja Jones, impromptu meetings with Unkaleong and the rest of the gang), I was in Vietnam, celebrating a dear friend's 40th birthday. The birthday itself was in Hoi An, supposedly a UNESCO world heritage site, though why that is, I'm not entirely sure. I recall it was one of the wish list places that Rasa Malaysia wants to visit. Well, dear, don't do it in May, coz it's hot as hell. Makes our KL weather feel like we're on perpetual airconditioning.

Hoi An is supposed to be the guormand paradise of Vietnam. (again, I am not entirely sure why that is). But just to highlight some of the stuff we had there, that was kinda memorable:

Squid with Lemon Grass

1 litre mojitos

Fish in banana leaf, the house specialty. Rather good, lots of lemon grass. Excuse my ineloquence in the description, as my memory had been erased by the litre bucket of mojitos, and half a bucket of snowball that followed.

Chicken with Sesame Seed.

This rather palatable meal was had at Hong Phuc, one of the restaurants by the Hoi An riverside. Of course, for me the highlight was the 1 litre cocktails served in buckets. Careful not to kick it, (the bucket), I tried to stick to my mojito. I forget now the price of the poison, but it was something absurdly cheap, which begs the question, was it rum FLAVOURED alcohol that went into that mojito, OR, real rum. The Long Island Tea that one of the guests had looked positively toxic, and well, if you're using bootleg booze, or generic booze, LIT is NOT an advisable drink to have.

The birthday dinner itself will warrant a separate post, in the other blog, as I need to update the absent friends on the goings on (what little I can remember), at the birthday party.

Another rather delectable item we had was this WHITE ROSE thingie. It's like a gow chi, but lighter, and sprinkled with something similar to dried shallots.



These spring rolls (not spring pocket)... were nice, but a tad oily.


This was our resort, the Life Resort with its Wellness Spa. Apparently the Wellness Spa treatments were not up to scratch.


A view of Hoi An waterfront from the river. I think if you fell in, you'd have to disinfect your entire body with the strongest disinfectants, as there was raw sewerage in its full glory floating around.

One of the charming little streets of Hoi An.

One of Hoi An's attractions is My Son, (Mee Sohn), relics of an ancient Champa civilisation. Discovered and suppressed by the French in the 1800s, it was rediscovered during the war and partially destroyed by the american bombs. Hailed as a "mini angkor wat", those who had seen the real AW rolled their eyes in scorn. Well, if it wasn't so hot, I might have enjoyed it more.


And yes, that is a LINGAM, on the first picture on the left.