Missing the Cold

It's such a contradiction.

Now that spring is here and the cold spell in Hanoi is over, I find myself missing those days when I would wrap myself up with thick clothes. I have always enjoyed cold weather (except the times when I was sick). It made me feel more alert and refreshed. During winter, walking outside the house was a bliss. The cold air breeze felt like soft waves of vapour hitting gently against your skin. Definitely pleasant.

Spring in Hanoi is quite different from other temperate countries. When I was in Pennsylvannia, spring time was the best season I have ever encountered. Flowers bloomed in full sight.. forming a wonderful picture against the lush green grass and warm sunshine. The weather was cool yet dry. One can really say "no sweat!". In Hanoi, the picture you see is slightly different. The weather remains warm (not devastating like summer but not cool) and very humid. Every day, the sky is dimmed by grey clouds, making a depressing sight. You know how people always say waking up to sunshine puts a smile on your face? Well, I wake up to gloomy spartan sunshine. Am I supposed to frown or what? :)

For now, I should enjoy this weather as much as I can. Summer will be approaching soon and so far, the weather forecasts have painted a really HOT picture when summer hits this year. It is predicted to be one of the hottest years in Hanoi.

Just thinking about this makes me break out in sweat already.

Yummy Quiche Lunch

Y invited a few of us over for "quiche" lunch today. I had wanted to go over earlier and learn from her as she's a wonderful cook but by the time I arrived, it was 11.30am and most of the work was done. Still I managed to catch the final action of pouring the cream over the pastry sheet so I guess that was a nice "finishing touch". :)

Fresh from the oven!

I just couldn't wait!

K bought two baguettes from Press Club, recommended by Y, and they were very nice and cheap. While the local baguettes are nice, they lack the chewy texture so I have been on a "baguette search" for a while. Now I know where to get them. :p

Nicely sliced baguette from Press Club

Besides quiche and baguette, Y also made a plate of steamed vegetables. It sounds really simple but Y has the magical ability of making simple dishes look welcoming. She also made a dip mixing sour cream with mayonnaise. I never knew that this combination would taste so good! Now I have another idea when eating my boiled vegetables. :)

Steamed vegetables

Dessert was soft brownie with chocolate fudge. Y humbly said that there was not much effort put in as she bought the easy-to-bake pre-packed fudge mixture. But it's really not as easy and it tasted good too. I wasn't able to finish my serving coz' I was already too full from gobbling down all the vegetables earlier.

A simple yet delicious and satisfying meal, thanks to Y. Yumz.

Cafe Tigon @ Hanoi Club

I finally had my first golf practice today after more than 2 months of break due to my flu. The weather was a little warm but that didn't affect our moods. We took a short cab ride to Hanoi Club and began swinging away. I was pleased to note that M has improved a lot since I last watched him play. Luckily, I wasn't doing too badly myself. Definitely lots of room for improvement but at least the ball flew up the air instead of rolling into the lake which it used to do.

After 1.5 hours of practising, we had lunch at a cafe in the club, called Cafe Tigon. As the chef is a Malaysian, authentic Singaporean and Malaysian dishes can be enjoyed here. I ordered a wan ton soup with pho which was good as there were real pieces of char siew (unlike other stalls which used pork slices) while M had a seafood horfun. The horfun was quite a small serving and overwhelmed by the gravy. It was not as good as we expected. :( We also had a small plate of tim sum (har kow and siew mai) which tasted really delicious. I concluded it's because shrimp filling was used instead of the usual pork meat. But the taste was just right! Couldn't help but make a special mention of the tim sum in my entry here.

Wan Ton Pho - yummy!

Seafood Horfun - a little too much gravy

As we were about to leave, I remembered that E once mentioned the bread in Hanoi Club is yummy so I bought a wholemeal loaf to try. Took a little bite when I came back and the texture was good. The crust was crisp but the inside was soft yet chewy. Gosh, I think I will get hooked to it pretty soon!

It was quite an enjoyable Sunday for me. :)

Cafe Tigon @ Hanoi Club
76 Yen Phu (1st Floor, next to the pool)
Tay Ho, Hanoi

Kamon Japanese Restaurant

M and I decided to try a new Japanese restaurant today, recommended by our friends. It's located directly opposite the Japanese Embassy in Hanoi and I was impressed by the sheer size of the embassy compound. For a moment, I felt like I was in Japan...

The restaurant was pretty small and a little untidy looking but the service was good. We were greeted by a series of "irashaimase" from the staff as we entered the restaurant, before being shown to a small, warm room. Despite the fan and air-con, I made a conscious mental note not to come here during summer as I will be baked then.

A small restaurant with a cozy feel from outside

We ordered a portion of the Hiroshima okonomiyaki to share as it was one of M's favourite dishes. I had a vegetable salad and steamed clams with sake while M had a unagi-tamago don (eel with eggs and rice).

From Top Left: vegetable salad; Top Right: steamed clams;
Bottom Left: Hiroshima pancake; Bottom Right: Unagi don

I was a little disappointed with the okonomiyaki as it didn't turn out as well as I had expected. The noodles were slightly overcooked and the wrap was a tad tough, unlike those that we had in Japan. But I might be a little biased here as this I didn't like this dish that much even in Japan.

My salad was alright though I had wanted wafu dressing instead of mayonaise. The clams were good but it's something that I could prepare at home too. :) M's rice bowl was nice, according to him, though he has eaten better ones at other Japanese restaurants.

I guess we should have tried the teppanyaki which was highly recommended instead of the usual fare which turned out to be "normal". Maybe our expectations were too high. But it will be a while before I go back to this restaurant again. Till now, Masuda and Sushi Tokyo still remain my top 2 favourites. :)

Kamon Japanese Restaurant
104 Van Phuc Street,
Ba Dinh District, Hanoi
Tel: 04-7624428

I WON!

I finally won a Domination Victory and according to the game, displayed the qualities of "Augustus Caesar"!

Introduced by M, I am currently hooked to a game called "Civilisation". It's a strategy game where you take on the role of a warlord and start your own civilisation. You begin building your empire by learning technologies such as agriculture, mining and animal husbandry; finding a religion e.g. Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Christianity; and establishing diplomatic relations with your neighbours.

There are several ways of winning this game:
1. Diplomatic victory i.e. gaining points through building close ties with other warlords;
2. Domination victory i.e. conquering or eliminating other civilisations;
3. Cultural victory i.e. having strong cultural influence through religion or arts; and
4. Space victory i.e. being the first to launch the space shuttle in your time!

The game is quite tricky because it simulates real life scenarios. For instance, when I was engaged in pursuing a domination victory, I worked my civilians hard in increasing the military buildup. As I neglected the other aspects of their health and education, they became very unhappy and went on strike! Also, if you have business trading with another civilisation, you will be financially impacted when you wage a war on them, thus causing you to slow down in the churn of war equipment.

For this victorious game, I chose to be "Kublai Khan" and my Mongolian empire expanded till it took up 64% of the total land population. I can't believe I am so proud for nothing!