Hanoi Food Challenge #2 - The Recap

My Hanoi Food Challenge Number Two is finished! I visited a total of 19 new places in that week, which is two more than in Hanoi Food Challenge Number One!

So, here's my quick recap of all the places I went. As with last time, I'm separating them into places I would definitely go back to, those that are probably worth another try, and those that I'll probably only go to if dragged there for some special reason.

I'll definitely go back to:

1.  TET Décor Café (Day 1) - Beautiful, with good food. Actually I think there are already plans to go back this weekend with a faithful reader!

2. Bluebird Restaurant (Day 1) - With such delicious meals, I can't figure out why this place isn't busier. It looks crazy expensive from the outside, but is actually no more so than some other places on that street. Go!

3. Colonel Quy's (Day 2) - There aren't many places you can get a full English breakfast in Hanoi, and especially not while sitting in a quiet garden next to the lake. Totally worth it.

4. Hủ tíu noodles at 21 Hàng Điếu (Day 2) - Cheap, yummy noodles on the street. What more could you want?

5. Bud Mo (Day 3) - I'll probably go in the winter when I need some proper stodgy Ukrainian food, or whenever Jacqui drags me there to sit in the garden and drink Siberian Pine vodka!

6. Sushi Dai (Day 3) - Good value for money, decent food, and close to work. 'Nuf said.

7. The phở place on Kim Ma near work (Day 3) - Another good alternative for those days when I don't have food at home. 

8. Han Kook Kwan (Day 4) - A very promising replacement for our favourite old Korean restaurant!

9. Paolo & Chi (Day 5) - Tasty pizza, delivered to your door. So what if it costs a bit?

10. The 5th floor cafe at work (Day 5) - Not because it's that good, but because I can get food there without leaving the building on those days when it's pouring rain.

11. Thai Elephant (Day 6) - Pretty good Thai food in a city where good Thai is somewhat lacking. Yum.

12. Cutisun (Day 7) - Maybe not the best quality meat but it's cute inside, tasty, cheap and very close to home.

I'll maybe try again:

1. Chả cá on Giảng Võ (Day 4) - Fish that was yummy enough, but I probably won't go out of my way for it.

2. Cafe Nắng Sài Gòn (Day 5) - I think there's better bánh xèo to be had elsewhere, but I'll go when I have a craving at work, and I still need to try the Rock@Roll Lipton.

3. The Locals (Day 6) - Probably not to eat, but it's a cute place to sit inside and have a drink.

4. Bánh xèo Nhật Bản (Day 7) - Because I'm still not sure how I feel about okonomiyaki, so I might go try something else on the menu.

I'll skip:

1. Mỳ gà tần (Day 2) - Although the chicken in it was delicious, I didn't like the rest of it, so probably won't go there again.

2. Cafe Quang (Day 4) - A lovely setting on the lake near work, but I still prefer my bánh mì trứng lady on the other side of the lake.

3. Fresh Garden (Day 7) - Less than fresh, and I can make better cake myself. However, I did see some whole wheat bread there, which in a pinch might be worth a try.

All in all, I'd have to say that was a pretty successful week. My only regret is that I feel like I didn't hit the budget end of the scale very well, but maybe next time!

Yes, that's right, there's going to be a next time. Because out of 44 places on my list (ok, a few are question marks as to whether they are actually eligible for the challenge) I only hit nine. NINE. So I'll let you know when I do this again!

Hanoi Food Challenge #2 - Day Three

I had a little break from my Hanoi Food Challenge Number Two, because Monday was a fasting day. I picked it up again on Tuesday, with a start at a phở bò (beef noodle soup) place just a few doors down from work. This restaurant has been popular with my coworkers for a long time, but for some reason I'd never been!

 

They have a bunch of different kinds of  phở bò, and I actually don't know what the difference is. I think it has something to do with the quality and doneness of the meat, and what I got was phở tái, whatever that is!

I've eaten a fair bit of phở bò since I've been here, and this was pretty good! I'll be back!

For lunch I managed to gather a group of people and convince them that we should wander down Kim Mã street where there is a plethora of Japanese restaurants. I've only ever been to one of them, which is quite close to work, so as soon as we had passed it, all were fair game. We passed by one which we know to be expensive and flashy, and another that looked dark and uninviting, and then we found Sushi Dai, which had lunch sets advertised outside for 99,000 dong (about $5). Sold!

We went inside and they were pretty happy to see us, as the place was quite empty. I guess that's what you expect on a street full of Japanese restaurants. It also had a bit of a musty smell, which was a bit worrying, but they showed us upstairs to a private room with air conditioning and a big tree in the corner.

We ordered a bunch of iced tea, which we discovered when it arrived was actually strawberry tea. It was a bit odd, but it affected the smell more than the taste.

We ordered various sets, from sushi to grilled fish to beef to bacon to bean sprouts. All of the sets came with the usual salad, miso soup, bit of egg, random weird sausage, and most importantly, pickled onions. A lot of us were very happy with the pickled onions!

My sushi was pretty tasty, but as I think I've mentioned before, I'm not exactly a connoisseur. Christine said her beef had a nice flavour, but was a bit tough and gristly. 

It seems that they have hotpot in the winter (and maybe now too, but the sign was quite specific!)

Another plus side was the slices of melon they brought us at the end of the meal. We all agreed that while it maybe wasn't the best Japanese food in Hanoi, it was still pretty good value for money, as most places on that street would charge about 150,000 dong for a lunch set.

On Tuesday nights we go to lacquer painting class at 7, so time was limited. Because of this Jacqui and I decided to go somewhere nearby, so our choice was Bud Mo Ukrainian Restaurant. This place is set in a lovely garden, which would have been beautiful had it not been so rainy!

 

I loved all the little Ukrainian decorations, including this mural of people having a party in the countryside!

One thing I love too is the juxtaposition of cultures; these murals were right above the typical Vietnamese altar that every business here has.

Jacqui lived in Russia for a while so we pretty much let her do the ordering!

We started with some "Countryside style" Ukrainian sausage, which was filled with proper chunks of meat and came with a delicious sauce. At the same time we got some Deruny (potato fritters) with sour cream.

We then continued with some pirogis filled with cottage cheese and served with sour cream, and some Pelmeni (ravioli stuffed with meat) with cheese and mushroom sauce. We finished off our meal with a meat-stuffed red pepper.

This was all delicious and didn't feel so heavy, as you'd expect Ukrainian food to. Maybe I was just really hungry!

FYI, they also have beef testicles stewed in sour cream sauce, if you're interested. We passed.

We were on our way to lacquer class so didn't have any, but I'm told this place has excellent home-brewed beer. Jacqui was also drooling over the selection of Russian vodkas! I guess that just means we'll have to come back sometime when we aren't on our way to lacquer class.

That's Day Three! I'll post about Day Four tomorrow...and trust me, it's also a good one!