Homemade Banana Flower cum Lotus Root Salad

I love Vietnamese salads. The permutations here are amazing.. lotus root salad, banana flower salad, cucumber salad, white cabbage salad, kangkong salad, pomelo salad, green papaya salad, green mango salad, etc. Sometimes I will order a portion of salad when I eat at the Vietnamese restaurants but most of the time, I will just ask my helper, H, to whip up a delicious serving for me. According to H, the correct proportion to a good salad mix is 2 spoonfuls of vinegar to 1 spoonful of sugar, with some garlic and lots of mint, coriander and basil leaves.

Knowing that I am a big fan of her cooking especially her salads, the sweet gal has been whipping up my favourite dishes the past few days as I will be leaving soon. At my request, she made my favourite banana flower cum lotus root salad last night for dinner. Seriously, I can finish the entire plate without hesitation. It's that good. Of course I was kind enough to share it with M, though the amount that I took for my own consumption was grossly disproportionate.



Being able to enjoy authentic Vietnamese food at the comfort of one's home is a luxury that I will miss back home. And I will miss H too!

House of Nem

Last Monday, S, L and I went for lunch at a local Vietnamese eatery. Amazingly, this cafe was previously owned by a Singaporean, which explained the variety of dishes there. Besides the "nem" (nem refers to rice rolls in Vietnamese and they can be fried or eaten fresh) specialty, other items offered include sushi rolls, tim sum and hot pot. I must say this is a pretty all-in-one eatery.

The cafe was quite crowded and noisy when we arrived so we headed to the second floor to grab a table. We were overwhelmed by the choices available but I decided to stick to the conventional Hanoi fresh spring rolls. Trust me, you can never go wrong with this. S ordered a beancurd skin roll (which turned out to be a pretty small serving) while L had a crab meat deep fried roll (which was HUGE).

I liked my fresh spring rolls a lot. This is probably my favourite dish in Hanoi. S didn't quite like it though as the "bun" (the green bean vermicelli used as filling in the roll) taste was too strong.

L's crab meat roll was ok but I don't fancy fried food.

The beancurd skin roll was average as it was something that we could eat quite easily in Singapore.

The bill came up to around VND 166,000 (SGD 14) for three persons, which was quite cheap. The noisy environment probably hastened our departure as we immediately headed to Highlands Cafe at Hanoi Towers for a cup of tea and chat. It's always nice talking to the two ladies. I will miss these gatherings with them when I am back in Singapore. :)

House of Nem
43 Mac Hac De
Hoan Kiem, Hanoi

What's Your Nem?

After hearing so much raving reviews about the movie "Red Cliff", M and I decided to watch it for ourselves last Wednesday evening. The movie was pretty alright but I didn't like the half-ending. Most of the Vietnamese there were not aware that this was Part 1 so when the movie ended, there was a small commotion.

We decided to head to a small eatery that sells "nem" within Vincom Towers for our dinner. "Nem" refers to rice rolls in Vietnamese. There are many different kinds of nem in Vietnam, with distinctive differences across cities. For e.g. the nems in Hanoi are more subtle while those in Hue could be more spicy. The fillings of each nem were also different. Hanoians prefer to use boiled pork and shrimps while Hue would use stir-fried vegetables and pork. So it was really interesting to have a shop selling various kinds of nem here.

The shop was pretty crowded when we arrived. After placing our orders at the counter using the computer, we took a small table by the corner and waited for our food to be served. We didn't have to wait long. I ordered a nem with escargot but it was sold out after I had placed my order. The waitress had to replace it with a Hanoi nem and in the end, she gave me an extra piece as a form of compensation. It was sweet of her but I became overwhelmed with too much nems!

Cute shop name...

Modern interior...

M's bun (pronounced as "boon")

The Hanoi nem

Chao Nem

Hoa qua sua chua (Fruit Yoghurt)

I guess the quality of the food was not bad considering this was a "fast food joint" concept but I still prefer the nem made by my helper. :p The total bill was around SGD 8 so you can't really complain. I would probably come back and try the other types of nem.

What's your Nem?
5th Floor Vincom Towers
Hanoi

Moca Cafe - A Casual Dining Experience

As part of our weekly food rendevouz, M and I wanted to go to Totoya Japanese Restaurant for lunch last Saturday. However, we found out that most Japanese restaurants in town were closed over the long holiday (30 Apr and 1 May are PH in Hanoi) so we ended up at Moca Cafe instead.

Moca!

Along the happening street of Nha Tho

I have been to the cafe once previously but it was only for a drink with my friends. So lunch was new to me though I heard that the food was not bad. The ambience of the place is casual and nice, great for catching up with friends. Books and souveniors were also sold at a corner of the cafe so you could browse through them before your food was served.

The cafe was really crowded when we arrived. We managed to find a table near the entrance and settled down quickly before placing our orders. I decided on a Moca Special Sandwich (with grilled chicken and ham) while M decided to try a pasta dish.

My Moca Special Sandwich

M's pasta (I forgot the name though)

I was a little disappointed by my sandwich because the chicken was cold when served but I think it was meant to be that way. The sandwich also came with a huge serving of french fries which I didn't like. M's pasta turned out quite yummy.

It was a quick lunch for both of us as we were not hungry that day. The bill was about VND 168,000 so it was fairly reasonable. We had fun looking at the books though. It was rare to find English books in restaurants in Hanoi. :p

Moca Cafe
14-16 Nha Tho, Hoan Kiem District
Hanoi

Hoa Sua Training Restaurant

I have heard about this restaurant for a long time and always wanted to try it. The restaurant was set up as a training school for disadvantaged youths in Hanoi to learn a "life skill" i.e. cooking. Both While I heard that the quality of the food varies (depends on the young chef who's being trained that day), the prices are reasonable and it's all for a good cause. M has been there several times so I decided to ask S, Kat and K instead. Both Vietnamese and Western food were served there.

The ambience of the restaurant was very nice. We sat at the terrace and were served by a group of enthusiatic waitresses and waiters, eager to put into practice what they had learnt. We ordered a Vietnamese set lunch, at the recommendation of Kat and a drink. While the young students were very polite, their attention was a little overwhelming. And some of them had difficulty understanding what we were saying. But knowing that they were trainees, I felt that we owed it to them to be a little patient. After all, we could see that they were trying really hard to give us a good lunch experience.

The lunch set was quite nice, served with a variety of small Vietnamese dishes with soup and rice.

We also ordered a dessert each to try. K and S had a chocolate puff with ice cream.


Kat had a mango mousse which was a little hard. The texture of the mousse was like cheese!



I had a sticky rice ice cream. Initially I thought it was a new ice cream flavour but it turned out to be two small scoops of ice cream on a cup of sticky rice. :) The rice was a little hard but the ice cream was good, especially in a hot day.


The total bill came up to around VND 400,000 for 4 persons which translates to around SGD 38. Quite a good price, I would say. And I am definitely in favour of supporting these young students. Will visit the place again before I leave Hanoi.

Hoa Sua Training Restaurant
28 Ha Hoi
Hai Ba Trung, Hanoi
Website: http://www.hoasuaschool.com/

Cha Ca Thang Long - Vietnamese Grilled Fish

Last week, M and I decided to try a famous local Hanoi cuisine called "Cha Ca", which means grilled fish. The famous Cha Ca restaurant is along the Cha Ca Street but this restaurant, highly recommended by M's colleagues, is located along Duong Thanh Street.

The restaurant was rather crowded when we arrived but we managed to get a table pretty quickly. As only cha ca is served there, we did not have to place our orders. The moment we sat down, the condiments, bun and hot pot (with fish slices) were served on our table.

The condiments of basil and coriander leaves, thinly shred spring onions and fish sauce

A huge serving of bun (rice noodles)

The hot pot of seasoned fish and oil

Generous servings of spring onions and dill are added and stir fried

The final stir fried product

The finale: add the bun, peanuts, fish sauce and condiments to the fish. Yum!

The dish was not as oily as I expected and the loads of spring onions and dill made the fish very fragrant. I quite enjoyed the meal. The total cost came up to VND 160,000 (SGD 15) for two persons, including drinks, which was was cheap. Fairly interesting experience which I would probably bring my friends to enjoy but definitely not a healthy food to indulge in.

Cha Ca Thang Long
Unit 21 and 31, Duong Thanh Street,
Hanoi

Eating Lala @ La Restaurant

No punt intended but this was really what happened when I went out for lunch with my gal friends on Wednesday. We went to La Restaurant, located near the St. Joseph Cathedral, which served both Western and Vietnamese food. The place was really small and could probably hold 20 people max.

The daily specials!

More selection... though limited...

We got a table at a corner and sat down to chat, before placing our orders. At A's recommendation, I ordered a clam soup (aka "lala") and rice crepe with mushrooms. The latter dish sounded good but turned out to be a local Vietnamese dish called "banh cuon". I couldn't help but feel disappointed when the dish was served because I could definitely get more delicious orders at other shops.

Banh cuon - served with a fish sauce dip and lots of veggies!

The clam soup was great though, cooked in white wine, coriander, garlic and onions. Perfectly yummy for the cool weather. I forgot to take a picture then as I was starving! Feeling unsatisfied with my picture conquests, I decided to snap the orders of K and L. K ordered a lunch set comprising of salmon, grilled vegetables and fried rice while L ordered cha ca, which means grilled fish. This is a very famous dish in Hanoi which I have yet to try.

The salmon set with veggies and fried rice

Cha ca or grilled fish with bun (vietnamese noodle)

The prices of the food were fairly reasonable. My clam soup was VND 55,000 and the banh cuon was VND 50,000. Total would be around SGD 10. The service was average though as they got L's order wrong. It's a nice place to go but I probably won't be going there anytime soon yet. :p

La Restaurant and Bar
25 Ly Quoc Su
Hoan Kiem, Hanoi
Tel: 9288933 or 0913221971

Season BBQ - Perfect in Cold Hanoi

A group of us decided to try out a newly opened restaurant called Season BBQ last Thursday, after we heard it from L, who gave it a very good review.

The place was relatively easy to find as it was near Hanoi Towers. When I went into the restaurant, I found the ambience very nice, with a little Japanese influence on the interior decor. We had a private room to ourselves on the third floor and an allocated waiter to help us with the grilling and serving. Perfect for guests who would like to chit-chat and enjoy BBQ food at the same time as you do not need to scramble around with the tongs and hot plate!

Quite a welcoming feel into the restaurant...

We ordered quite a number of dishes: mushrooms, vegetables, fish, beef rolls, chicken, duck, squid, tiger prawns, fried rice and porridge. A vegetable salad was served to each of us as appetiser, probably to whet our appetite so that we will order more. :p The servings were not huge but sufficient for the 8 of us. L jokingly commented that K and I had the worse seats because we were very near the grill plate and most likely to be choked with fumes. Well, she was right! But I had fun watching the waiter barbeque though, especially when the sizzling flame leapt up!

Top left: The salad bowl; Top right: Grilled taro, zucchini and brinjal
Bottom left: The mushroom selection; Bottom right: The end products

Top left: Grilled duck; Top right: BIG prawns
Bottom left: Squids and prawns; Bottom right: Grilled Sanma fish

The servings were not huge but sufficient for the 8 of us. I would say the food was nice but a tad greasy. I was expecting the teppanyaki style of grilling where little oil was added but the waiter (mucht to my disappointed) poured quite a significant amount of oil when cooking each dish. The porridge was a little bland but I guess after an overdose of oil, it was refreshing.

The dessert (it was complimentary due to the new opening of the restaurant) was two small scoops of ice cream. I ordered the ginger flavour and shared with K, who ordered the matcha one. Both were nice but I found the ginger ice cream more unique. Yummy...


I guess BBQ is really not my cup of tea but as I was telling M, meat lovers who don't mind extra oil would probably think it's a good place. The price came up to around VND 940,000 for 8 persons but meat lovers can expect to spend more.

P.S. I have labelled this blog entry "Vietnamese Food" as I wasn't sure how to classify BBQ. It's not really Korean style since there is no kimchi and not Japanese as it is definitely not teppanyaki. So Vietnamese it shall be. :)

Season BBQ
54 Ly Thuong Kiet
Hanoi
Website: http://www.seasonbbq.vn/ (still under construction as of today)
Tel: 9367629

Tan Tan Eel Restaurant

My idea of a nice eel dish is probably how it is served in Japanese restaurants: stewed till it is just right and drizzled with a thin layer of sweet sauce. In Hanoi, eel dishes are quite famous too. The eel meat is often deep fried before being placed in soup dishes or porridge.

M and I went to one of the eel restaurants today called "Tan Tan Eel". "Tan Tan" was the name of the owner's grandmother who used to sell eel dishes. Through diversification into the eatery business (the owner currently runs a travel agency), the owner hopes to make eel dishes more popular in Hanoi.

Quite a snazzy decor for a two storeyed restaurant...

The juice bar on the first floor

We both ordered the eel porridge as it was nice to have something warm during winter, and a pomelo salad to share. We also had a side order of "quay" or souffle batter, which is known as "you tiao" or fried dough fritters in Singapore. I liked the pomelo salad (the salads in Hanoi are really quite nice) for its crunchy texture and unique blend of sweet and sour sauce. The porridge was filled with herbs but the fried eel meat tasted only average. I guess my dislike for fried food affected my liking for the dish.

My eel porridge, looking pale in the dim lights

The pomelo salad and "you tiao"

The total meal (inclusive of 2 bowls of porridge, a salad, a side dish and 2 drinks) came up to VND 110,000 (we had a 20% discount) which is around SGD 10. Quite a good value meal but nothing spectacular in my opinion. But I admit I am a rather picky porridge eater and still very much miss the fish slice porridge in Singapore.

Tan Tan Eel
63A Hai Ba Trung
Hoan Kiem District
Open from 6am to 2pm; 5pm to 11pm
Tel: 04-242 3847

Sen Ha Thanh Restaurant

I went to Sen Restaurant for lunch with my friends today as one of them wanted to test the "authencity" of its Vietnamese cuisine before bringing her guests there. (Coincidentally, this was the same restaurant that M recommended when I asked him for suggestions the night before.) The restaurant is 3 storey high, with buffet served as levels 1 and 3. It was very crowded when we arrived so we could only get seats at level 2.

There was a queue outside the restaurant!

I like the signboard a lot...

This is what I call a GRAND entrance...

I was quite impressed by the interior decor and spaciousness of the restaurant. There were a couple of fairly nice paintings that brought a cheerful atmosphere to the eatery.

The picture here doesn't reflect it too well...
but this couplet stood out as we walked down the stairs

The variety of food is fairly wide with grilled items, small selection of Japanese cuisine, salad bar, Vietnamese selection of bun, mien (noodes) and banh (pies), dessert bar with fruits, cakes and Vietnamese che (sweet soups) and some stir-fried items like vegetables, rice and meat. I thought the Vietnamese selection was fairly good while stir-fried and Japanese items were so-so. I didn't try the grill selection though as I felt more herbivorous today but my friends agreed that it was nice. To me, the desserts were the most "beckoning". I was drooling over the yam soup and glutinous rice soup, and trying out the different variations of "mochis". Yums!

I like the Bun Oc here...

The desserts were yummy!

However, the service was not as good as we expected. K ordered a cup of earl grey tea and the waitress wrongly served her with mint tea, followed by Lipton tea. Eventually, she was told that they had run out of Earl Grey and she had to settle for Ginger tea. I was thinking, how can you run out of teas when the restaurant has just opened for lunch?

The cost of the buffet per pax came up to VND 198,000 (around SGD 19), which I consider to be expensive in Hanoi since most of the items were Vietnamese dishes. But it does seem to be a fairly popular place amongst the locals which surprised me. Personally, I thought the buffet at Brother's Cafe was more value-for-money but the ambience here is definitely better if you have guests coming by.

P.S. In case you are wondering, I took the above pictures after lunch which explained why the selection looked quite pathetic. The real selection was much more than shown.

Sen Ha Thanh
177 Bui Thi Xuan
Hai Ba Trung, Hanoi
Tel: 9744 192/93

Ha Hoi Restaurant @ Ha Hoi

Tucked away in a small quiet corner is an exquisite Vietnamese restaurant that L and I went to try yesterday. When we arrived, the restaurant was pretty quiet and we got a corner seat on the first floor. The interior decor of the restaurant was nicely done, and even the plates and cutlery used were beautiful. I was fairly impressed.

A welcoming atmosphere

A snapshot of the interior decor

Since there were only two of us, we ordered 3 dishes: stir-fried chicken in lemongrass (which turned out to be deep fried), grilled eggplant and clam soup.

From left: Clam and vegetables soup
Top right: Fried chicken with lemon grass
Bottom right: Grilled eggplant - Yummy!

The eggplant was my favourite! Grilled till slightly soft, it was coated with a layer of stir fried garlic, chilli and herbs like basil leaves. It was a little bit oily though. The soup was clear broth of clam soup with vegetables. Tasted so-so to me. The chicken was a disappointment. I don't fancy fried stuff and the chicken meat was a tad too hard - perhaps due to over-frying. The fragrant taste of lemon grass didn't save the dish too.

Overall, I would rate the food as average but the ambience is nice. Perfect for friends who want to catch up over long conversations while enjoying local Vietnamese food. The service of the staff was excellent. Our waitress was friendly and even spoke to us in Mandarin when she realised that we could speak the language. Thumbs up for her effort!

Ha Hoi Restaurant
4 Ha Hoi, Hoan Kiem District
Open for lunch and dinner only