ha noi - sightseeing
first thing's first: pho
actually probably the best pho i had.
ignore my chopsticks getting ready to pound these noodles into my mouth
a very idyllic street right next to a very famous ha noi landmark
lacan once said that "the best image to sum up the unconscious is baltimore in the early morning". did he ever go to ha noi? even the trees feel like products of actively thought thoughts here.
I will spare you my photos of st. joseph's. there are many photos online which do it better justice than mine.
i highly recommend stopping into the cong ca phe right in front of the cathedral. it makes for some wonderful people watching. and the coconut coffee is very delicious, almost like a coffee float. the photos i took were from the second floor.
we walked back home to escape the heat which was already starting to seep through everything, saw some plants and picked up some great mosquito spray on the way.
does anyone know what this fruit is?
it's a king orange, also known as a terracotta orange
pre-lunch we got a massage at no where spa. it was great. the therapists were amazing and they had a "happy hour" from 9am to noon, so it only cost about 22 bucks per person for 90 minutes, not including gratuity.
lunch: bún riêu
bun rieu is a crab paste based broth with slightly thicker and rounder noodles than pho. a did the 4 topping (less snails). this spot didn't have crab topping but it wasn't necessary because the broth was so crab-y. this was a very cerebral dish. lots of flavors and ideas going on. i found this spot on instagram, but that said it doesn't seem particularly tourist-y. it was just us and another pair of diners when we went in. i wonder if part of it was because it was late and because it was quite far from the old quarter. the vibes were excellent and very well-curated.
temple of literature
the highlight of this spot for me was definitely the trees. both the bonsai and those in the courtyard. I mean check out these wild roots.
they also had some great art (ceramics and linocuts) inside one of the last temples
it's also right across the street from the museum of fine arts, we stopped for a quick bev break before tho
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i became peak tired at this point so it was time to go home for a nap
dinner: phở xào
stir fried pho it's lowk giving cheung fun in a good way. as a texture fiend i loved that it had these extra crispy bits.
poor a. i dragged him to the busiest street in ha noi so we could get roti boy. this was so huge in singapore that we got one in itaewon. my uncle took me at maybe the peak of the craze and it was lines out the door. upon each return during my trips to korea it wasn't the same and its since closed down. the key though imo is the hype because the buns are best fresh out of the oven (which doesn't happen if people aren't clamoring to buy them). this roti boy was absolutely PACKED and it was just this one man and woman against a crowd. huge shout out to them because they were killing it.
this is a rare occasion when i can't imagine adding chocolate to something will make it better. you gotta go classic. and yes, this did in fact finally scratch the itch, and yes, a did think it was worth it :)
some friends we made along the way