ha noi - hoàn kiếm
walking around in early morning, we found beer street
same tree, different angles. I believe one of these is an a pic and the other is an h pic. which is which?
breakfast: banh mis
yes, plural. the side-by-side:
| banh mi pate co ha | banh mi 25 |
|---|---|
 |
 |
a and i both preferred the white and red wrapped one. it's more dank and honestly, feels a little less touristy.
the view from our stools at banh mi pate
a quick snack: bánh trưng rán cháo sườn
a kindly stopped for me because i got stopped by this woman selling banh trung from a cart on the street. she said it tasted good so who was i to deny her? she was indeed correct. it did taste very good, so we're both very glad we stopped. beyond steaming them, she also was frying them on this big flat wok so the glutinous rice got really crispy, developing a 누룽지 like texture at parts.
coffee break
except jk i got an egg matcha instead because i was physically unprepared for vietnamese coffee due to jet lag and not being a regular caffeine drinker.
lake hoàn kiếm aka sword lake
shark jaw: closing soon
train street
lunch: bun cha
another bang bang. first stop: bún chả hàng quạt. it's tucked in a quiet alley and to get to the seating you get to pass all the women cooking over the charcoal. i didn't take many photos because honestly, it felt like i had entered a temple of grilled meats and to take photos would have been extremely disrespectful.
wowza.
ah! i did take photos of the operation. blurry tho because it did feel like i was doing something sacrilege
second stop: bún chả mai anh
we thought this place was dac kim. it was not, but that's alright! it was good anyways.
especially the nem cua bể (crab spring rolls)
it was nap time after this. the jet lag was absolutely crushing me.
dinner: chả cá
or breakfast depending on how you look at it. turmeric cat fish with lots of dill and herbs. instantly became one of my favorite fish preparations.
drinks and jazz
night cap
