Bia Hoi Ha Noi Nguyen Chat Restaurant, Hanoi

Well we were walking aimlessly looking for dinner and not too far away from our hotel we stumbled upon a shop that looked like a restaurant.

We ventured in ever so cautiously, unable to read the signboard. Luckily the menu was in a mix of Vietnamese and English.

Sauteed eggplant with chilli sauce and minced meat. It was pretty good, with a hint of spicy-sweetness.

Grilled pork meat on a skewer, this tasted and looked alot like satay. Mom (in law) commented that it was a tad too dry, but I like my meat well done, so I've got no complaints.

This was my favourite dish, fried frog with sweet and sour sauce. The flesh was springy and fresh, and serving size was pretty generous, for two.

Inclusive of rice, the total bill came up to 100,000 Vietnamese Dong which was about RM22.00. Cheap! Cheap!

Quaint old Hanoi

Some sights from Hanoi.....

The hotel where we stayed.

The hotel by night, taken from the swimming pool area.

The Hanoi Opera House which was next to the hotel.

Bobby Chinn's restaurant! Yes the same Bobby Chinn from World Cafe Asia on Discovery Travel and Living channel.
The view inside Bobby Chinn's.

The Vietnamese version of "The Ritz Hotel".

This shop was teeming with soft toys, right up to the pavement!

The famous Dong Xuan Market facade. It was a Friday evening and the entire Dong Xuan road became a pasar malam (night market) that evening.

The very, very long pasar malam, selling mostly clothes and accessories.

We went to the Water Puppet Theatre for a show, costs just RM4.00 for an hour-long show. As its name suggests, it involved puppets on water, manipulated by humans behind a screen using retractable poles. Pretty unusual.

I saw a woman bottle-feeding these really scrawny kittens. They were mewing so pitifully that I wished I could bring them home with me!
This doggie was so cute and bored, just resting its chin under the chair, watching the world go by.

A beautiful painting of a Vietnamese lady with her hair up in a bun....kinda reminded me of Aunty Poi.

Weasel coffee....it's supposedly from the faecal deposit of a weasel. I did NOT dare to try.Typical Vietnamese way of trading.

A lady wrapping betel nut by the roadside.

The building where the company office is in.

Hoan Kiem Lake.....our main landmark when walking around. This lake is pretty scenic with willow and flame of the forest trees framing it. It is strangely always windy too, and many locals like to do their exercise around it.

Hang Be Market, Old Quarters, Hanoi

The Hang Be Market was the first market we stumbled upon the day we arrived in Hanoi and went exploring the Old Quarters. It's much like our Jalan Pasar market, except more colourful and with more "weird" produce.

The roasted pork ("siew yoke") was a sight to behold. Mom (in law) and I went mad ogling the slabs of crispy-skinned pork even as the lady behind the counter busily chopped up slices for her customers. I ended up buying about RM10.00 worth of this super-crispy-skinned-yet-still-succulent "siew yoke" to share with mom over dinner.

A shop selling spices and other dried goods....so colourful and organised!

Saw this poor lil live tortoise....destined for the cooking pot.

Lots of PRAWNS!

HUGE arm-sized PRAWNS! I want! I want!

HUGE squids.

Uncooked silk worms...for the daring.

River snails....just like the ones I used to catch from the longkang in primary school.
I didn't know that kailan grew from bulbs.

It was drizzling as we walked, and my camera got a wee bit wet and decided to malfunction (sigh!!). So that was the end of my photo-taking at this market, even though there were still so many more interesting, colourful curiosities. :o(

Old Lim Curry Puff, Jalan Hang Lekir (perpendicular to Petaling Street), Kuala Lumpur

After breakfast we wandered around the Jalan Hang Lekir/Petaling Street area a bit. At the alley just next to the Tang City Foodcourt was Old Lim Curry Puff. Mom (in law) and hubby, being big fans of curry puff, could not resist!

Before assembly. The chicken and potato mixtures for the curry puff filling. They also include hard-boiled eggs in the filling. And the dough on the top left.

The finished goods. I didn't have any as I was full, but hubby and mom ate them all....so they must have been good.

If you want to order some, call Ah Tak: 016-2228885 (his mobile # is on the banner).

Koon Kee Wantan Mee @ Tang City Foodcourt, Jalan Hang Lekir (perpendicular to Petaling Street), Kuala Lumpur

The reason why I am blogging about Koon Kee Wantan Mee is because this particular wantan mee stall holds so much sentimental value for dear mom (in law). Mom's late hubby and her used to regularly patronise this stall during their younger years, back when they were courting in KL. They would take the bus here, and wander around, eat, and fall in love.....Nowadays, every time we are in the Petaling Street vicinity, mom would always eat here. Being a hopeless romantic, this story as often told by mom, never fails to make me sigh.

Just before we went to KL Sentral to catch a train to KLIA on our trip to Hanoi, we had time in our hands. Hubby suggested we have breakfast at Petaling Street. The original Koon Kee stall was still closed the morning we went, so we ate at its branch just opposite the road, in Tang City Foodcourt.

So we had wantan mee (RM4.00) with the thin noodles that mom likes so much, which she is unable to find in Taiping. It tasted good, the charsiew could have been juicier, but the meat was very lean.

2 wantans only! We found a shop nearby in the alley which sold the raw thin wantan noodles. Hubby bought a big bunch for mom.



This is the Tang City Foodcourt where we ate at the Koon Kee branch.

Opposite the road is the original Koon Kee in a tired, old shoplot. Very Chinatown-ish!

Koon Kee Wantan Mee (branch),

Tang City Foodcourt, Jalan Hang Lekir,

Off Petaling Street, Kuala Lumpur.

I would rate it a 3-bam, but mom would probably rate it more, for sentimental reasons!

MAN UNITED: Kings of Europe

Fool!

Oh, what a miss!
Boohoo, I blew it!

Wonder sar!

CHAMPS!!

Weddings make me sigh....

Last week was exhausting, battling a bout of fever and bad health.......lost my appetite, lost any desire to cook. I am still working at regaining my "form" after going through the unwitting starvation period.

I was also a bridesmaid at my best friend's wedding last Saturday, which was fun and poignant as it was my first experience in that role, and who better to play it for. I remember as little girls growing up, we'd oh-so-often talk and dream about "the one" who would someday ride in and sweep us off our feet. Our favourite book was "Perfect" by Judith McNaught, and we had whimsical ideas about meeting someone just like Zachary Benedict. Last weekend the moment finally arrived for my best friend.

Speaking of weddings, ours is just around the corner. Hubby and I just collected our pre-bridal photos, here's one from our "Kennedy moment".


Our long road ahead......he's going to spend a lifetime with a lifelong hopeless romantic, God bless hubby!

Next week, I'll be going to Hanoi for work, and mom (in law) is coming along.....I hope we'll be able to eat our way to Hanoi and back.