Another Welcome Party Again

My good friend's mother came back to Vietnam for the fourth time and we decided to make a very simple BBQ party with a few friends. It was the mid- Autumn festival evening but without a full moon, unfortunately. It had been raining for 2 days due to a storm in China but it stopped just before the party. Somebody up there loves Vietnamese God!

I had put up some lines of lanterns outside the house which had been taken in and out a few times so they wouldn't get wet and ruined. I remember the last time I had a BBQ party and the rain ruined all my paper lanterns which I spent a whole day making but I was lucky this time.

I asked my ex-colleages to prepare some food for the party and it was really good. We had tiger draught beer, two different kinds of fresh spring rolls, lotus salad, mango with duck salad, together with beef and chicken on the BBQ. Some of my friends came with some desserts, fresh fruit and wine which was nice.

It was great to catch up with friends and everyone seemed to have a great time. It was quite a late night but nobody seemed to be too drunk, probably because it was a Tuesday night and there was work the next day. Sometimes a mid-week party is good and it's nice not to wake up with a hangover!

Tourism in Ha Long Bay

Ha Long Bay is such a beautiful place, a tourist spot visited by everyone who makes it to the north of Viet Nam . Tourism here has created tons of jobs and business opportunities for the locals. The unique landscape which is probably taken for granted by them, is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. I often wonder what it means for Halong Bay to be on this list, if anything. I’ve been reading some of the documents on their website and it states that Halong Bay has “geological and geomorphologic value” and that it “requires protection for all of humanity.” On my latest trip, I’ve been convinced that tourism is having a deep impact on the environment there.

Most people visit Halong Bay to see the rock formations and caves as well as to have a relaxing holiday after a year or period of work. I some times go to Ha Long Bay with friends for one night, two days and just love it. I love kayaking around the beautiful calm water, through the caves, and onto little beaches. It’s awesome but of course, the only way to get out onto the bay is by motorised boat. On my trip recently, I noticed fifty or more boats. Each of them is carrying a dozen or so tourists on most days of the year. The bay is being polluted by petrol and oil which can be clearly seen on the surface of the water in parts. Nowadays, there are so many tour operators working in Ha Long Bay with the same itineraries, meaning hundreds of people are stopping and travelling through the same waters and caves. I’ve seen people flicking cigarette butts into the water and leave plastic bags and bottles lying around. It makes me sad and angry.

The other problem is over-fishing, another industry which provides employment and a livelihood for the families who actually live floating on the water. A seafood meal aboard one of the boats is a highlight for visitors, of course.

There are lots of problems to solve but the decisions have effects that will be far-reaching. Someone needs to do something about the pollution and the amount of tourism even though it provides work for the local labor force. Tourists numbers rose from 200,000 in 1995 to 1,700,000 in 2002. This year the number is higher. It will only grow more in the future.

If Halong Bay is still worth visiting.

Mid-Autumn Festival

I have fond memories of the Mid Autumn festival. It was such a great time for me when I was a little boy. After class, there was a big car waiting for me in front of my school to pick me up to for the yearly party for kids at my dad's company. If we studied well then we got some books, notebooks and a beautiful star lantern. It's one of the best parts of my childhood that I remember.

About 20 years ago, we celebrated our festival in a very simple way as life was not really as good as it is now. We usually made our own bamboo lanterns of different shapes like stars, long and round or maybe sometimes animal and car shapes. I used to really look forward making and wandering around with our lanterns, singing. At the end, we always stopped at one of the neighborhood houses to have some candy and cake and keep singing together. It was really cool.

Nowadays, people seem to buy lanterns for their children. There are also all kinds of electrical things with horrible happy birthday songs or some other crazy songs playing when they're turned on. In the past, some families did buy lanterns for their children but the percentage was not very high. Also at that time we had to use candles to light the lanterns and we have to re-light them many many times if it was a windy night. This was also a part of the fun and kids used to tease each other about how good their lanterns were.

This time of year is a very good time to go to the old quarter to take photos of moon cake shops and lantern shops particularly in the evening, if you can stand the crowds. The old quarter is always packed in the days leading up to the festival because everyone takes their kids out for shopping and having a good time.

Flower Market

When talking about Hanoi, people think about food, particularly noodle soup, but they forget about the amazing flowers in Hanoi. I've been in love with Quang Ba flower market right since the first time I went there with my friends who lived nearby. This is the wholesale flower market which operates from 12am to 6am the next day. There are hundreds of growers around Hanoi coming here to trade flowers, selling to florists in the city and street sellers, the rest to couples and people like me who love flowers.

The best time to visit the market is from 1 am because that's the time the growers bring their flowers by motorbikes and trucks. They display their flowers on the ground and on the back of their motorbikes. The buyers check the flowers by torch and start bargaining. Do you know how much I paid recently for 100 beautiful roses? ONE dollar! Can you believe it? I don't think you do but that's the truth.

This market is a popular place for couples, to give each other flowers and propose. This is such a good idea for romantics. My western friends and I usually come here to buy flowers for parties and also sit down at the small shop in the middle of the market, talking and having a drink with the locals who are really friendly. Most of them are men from rural areas around Hanoi who transport flowers from their villages up to Quang Ba for their family business.

Seventeen Saloon

We went to Seventeen Saloon in Hanoi in Tran Hung Dao street a few weeks ago and I think this is the worst bar I've ever been to. I went to Seventeen Saloon bar in Saigon last year and it's fine but their brand in Hanoi is so bad. The music is bad imitations of old pop songs from the west and so loud you can hardly hear what each other is saying.

The staff were really pushy and the prices way out expensive for very small drinks. We had to wait for almost 30 minutes for our drinks which ended up being the wrong order and that meant we had to wait for another 15 minutes for them to come back. We played pool and I took heaps of photos of our friends drinking and being silly. I think that was the best part of the night and we left at about 12 as the waitress arrived with the outrageous bills.

When we left, to make the experience even worse, the parking attendants tried to make us pay for watching our motorbikes. Unbelievable!

Highway 4 Restaurant

Highway 4 Restaurant is one of the popular mid- class restaurants for expats in Hanoi. I've been there several times with my friends and I was impressed the first two times. The third time I wasn't happy because the food and the service was missing something at the Highway 4 in Hang Tre street.

I went there a few weeks ago with some friends and we had trouble getting menus. The staff gave us 2 menus, and I asked her for one more so that we could choose our food quicker and easier than having to pass the menu around many times. The waitress told me that they had three floors here and couldn't waste so many menus at our table. After 5 minutes, she came back and wanted to take our menus even though we hadn't ordered. She was incredibly rude to me and I wondered if she would ever be so rude to a foreigner. I also wondered why a successful restaurant wouldn't just print a few more menus. It is not expensive in Hanoi to get printing done.

Finally, we ordered our dinner and, after the menu problem, I wasn't surprised when our main courses - mixed vegetable, squid and chicken dishes - came first. As we finished our main courses, the spring roll and salad starters arrived. It wasn't my night. But then the beers we ordered weren't cold and it all became a bit much to put up with. This is normally a fun restaurant where the food and service is great.

I'm not sure what's going on there but I think my last visit will stay in my memory for a while and I would think a long time before recommending Highway Four again.

Young Sticky Rice “Che”

It's taken such a long time for me to post any food recipes from my last work place even though I'd saved lots of them draft form. I will restart sharing food recipes with everyone and hope you guys can make it at home as good as in the restaurant. Today I want to share one of the most popular northern sweet dishes which is called young sticky rice “Che”. "Che" in Vietnamese means tea but in English it's like a sweet consomme.

People also use young sticky rice to make cakes and candy, to eat fresh or stir fried with seafood or meat as a main dish or mixed with flour to make a deep fried cake which is also really popular in Hanoi. Anyway, here is the recipe and hope you can follow it.

Ingredients:
Dry or fresh young sticky rice: 100g
White sugar: 150g
Vanilla: 5g
Starch: 50g

Method:
Put 500 ml of water into a pot; bring it to the boil then put dry young sticky rice in; simmer until dry young sticky rice is soft. Add sugar then stir lightly until sugar turns into liquid. Put starch in and stir until the mixture is thick. Turn off the gas and sprinkle vanilla on, then mix thoroughly.

This is such a great sweet for the winter because it's served hot, but you also can eat it with ice in hot weather. I prefer to eat it when it's hot then you can smell the great flavour from the young sticky rice. Enjoy!

Amazing Experience In Ha Long Bay

After a long morning filming with Tom and Rob, the boat stopped at Ti Top island for us to climb up the hill for the an amazing view of Ha Long Bay. Even though it had started raining, we decided to stop nearby the island for swimming. We swam for a while and the rain was getting heavier and heavier but we wanted to go kayaking. We were the only four people kayaking in the whole wide area under the heavy rain, thunder and lightning. It was really scary for me at the beginning but the others were so excited. We returned to the boat after 30 minutes paddling around before the two tour guides told us that they wanted to show us some amazing caves that not many people go through.

We kayaked behind them for about 20 minutes to two really deep and low caves with tiny entrances that you have to lay in the boat to get into. Bats were flying around and luckily the guides gave us the torches so we could see. We were scared but we wanted to go through and we did. We missed the last cave because too many bats were flying around and Tom was a bit nervous.

When I'm at home and I hear a storm I always close the doors and sit inside. But I loved swimming in the rain, seeing the lightning and hearing the thunder right on top of my head. Kayaking on Halong Bay is a great experience.

Rice Cooker

You might wonder why the title of this article has the title of Rice Cooker? It's actually slang for motorbike helmet in Viet Nam. From December people all over Vietnam have to wear helmets. It sounds weird that the government has to force people to take care of their own safety.

In Vietnam a few years ago, we had a rule for wearing helmets but only for those driving motorbikes on the highways but still not many people followed it, including me. I don't really feel comfortable wearing a helmut but I bought one today. For western people, wearing a helmet is something that they more than happy to do to protect their lives but for Asian people, especially Vietnamese, it isn't a habit even though they know it's good for them. I felt like I had to buy one because I have seen quite a few accidents recently between my home and the old quarter. I think it's worth spending 165,000Vnd just in case I do fall off and hit my head.

Since the policy was announced, the helmet business has been doing extremely well. I went to the Honda shop and they said they sold out a few days ago, then I went to the Protec shop, which was crowded with customers selecting a helmut to suit them. Luckily I got one for myself at a good price. I also tried to buy 2 more for my friends but the staff told me that I have to go back in a few days when the next stock arrived. The most popular brand for helmets are Amoro, Honda, Lucky Star, Protect. You can buy copies of these helmets which are made in China cheaply from 30,000Vnd instead of buying an original from 165,000Vnd. Most stuff from China is really cheap but I'm not sure about the quality.

Food In Ha Long Bay

During my work with the crew filming about food in Viet Nam I had the chance to meet some interesting people in the fishing villages and talk to them. Yes, they are very friendly and very sweet. I met the mayor of Cua Van fishing village and we filmed him fishing in the bay. I also met his and his relatives and talked to them about why they're living here and what's the main reason to keep them here in the middle of nowhere for generations. They told me they just love being here in Ha Long Bay, they love the ocean and they love fishing. Fishing also is the only skill that they have to bring in income and daily food.

The fishermen cook their fish broth in a different way with lots of herbs, a bit of stir fried and lots of water. My mother and my sister cook fish broth alot and I just love their cooking , especially their broth which is a bit sweet from the fish, a bit sour from the herbs and a little bit salty from the fish sauce. It's a really great combination, a simple dish eaten with rice dipping the fish in fish sauce with some chilli, garlic and maybe some MSG. It's quite easy to do at home.

Kids In Ha Long Bay

Kids in Ha Long Bay are so beautiful, they look really healthy with dark skin and a ready smile. Lots of kids in Ha Long Bay actually do business during the day and I wonder when they go to school. They paddle small floating baskets toward the big tourist boats trying to sell some snail shells, food and drink and also use their small baskets to take tourists around into the villages and visiting caves.

I talked to a few kids in my most recent trip back there and the number of kids who go to school is only a small percentage. Their living standards are so low that they have to help their parents earn money. Don't be surprised if you see lots of very young kids controlling their basket-boats very well or swimming very fast because they've really got used to it. This is what they do almost everyday and it's also a part of their life.

Some kids are really agressive if you don't buy from them and they will keep asking you to buy from them. It's a bit like Hoi An and Sapa when you take photos of then they expect you to buy something from them or give them some money. I usually take photos, talk to them a bit then give them some small money or get in their baskets for a ride around the bay.

Anyway, personaly I think kids should be at home, and going to school, not hanging around trying to earn money while they are still so young. They are the future of the country and I wonder if they see their own future floating around in a basket.

Back To Ha Long Bay

I went back to Halong Bay for one night and two days as I was invited to be involved in some filming for an American TV show called Diary of a Foodie. I had such a great time working and relaxing, meeting new people, and enjoying the great bay view.

We arrived in Ha Long City at about 11 am after picking up the crew at Noi Bai airport. Rob and Tom, the producers and cameramen for the show, seemed very happy to be here in the north after almost a week in the south filming about Vietnamese food. I spent lots of time taking hundreds of photos of people, boats and scenery.

I just love this gorgous place plus the great seafood that the tour company supplied on the boat. We had huge fish, big prawns, lots of big crabs, yummy scollops, fresh and tasty squid and of course some over-priced Chilean and Australian wines. Sorry but I love white wine and I can drink lots of it especially when I am on holiday :).

Laying on the roof of the boat with a glass of chilled wine, talking to friends about life, about the beauty of Ha Long Bay is a great way to release stress, don't you think? You can't expect anything more than that.

To be continued

Bale Well Restaurant

I dropped into BALE Well restaurant following a recommendation from a friend and I ended up really satisfied with a full stomach and a head full of information after a great chat with the very friendly owner, Mai. BALE Well gets its name from an ancient well famous in the Hoi An area. Many of Hoi An’s people use the water from this well because apparently there is no aluminium in it.

While Mai’s restaurant is not as old as this well left over from the Cham period, it has been operating for over 14 years, first in a tiny shed, and now in a modern two storey house. She started the business herself with four popular dishes that belong to the Hoi An region served with a very special dipping sauce made from soya beans and lots of different herbs and vegetables. She decided to maintain the simple setting she had at the beginning, of low plastic tables and chairs. During our chat, Mai told me that the reason she hasn’t changed the décor and style of her restaurant is because her customers (mostly locals) prefer it like it is. Also, it allows her to keep the price below many of the other restaurants in town, something her customers also appreciate, I’m sure.

On both my visits, Bale Well was full with a mixture of a few knowledgeable westerners and local customers. I realized that part of the attraction is the simple menu of four dishes: Banh Xeo(Rice pan cake), Thit nuong(grilled pork), Ram cuon(spring rolls), Nem nuong(grilled pork with sate). The other attraction is that prices are under 10,000Vnd per dish. It’s also possible to choose a set menu for only 50,000Vnd which is more than enough for one person and includes a bit of everything. My mate and I couldn’t finish it and we tried hard!

At the end of our meal, Mai showed me many messages from regular and former customers. That’s a good sign for her and shows that she runs the restaurant really well. Her staff is very friendly and helpful; the food is cheap and easy to order as well. In fact, you can let Mai do the ordering for you!

Set menu includes all 4 dishes: 50,000Vnd Thit Nuong - One stick grilled meat : 3000vnd Banh Xeo - Rice Pan Cake : 3000Vnd Ram Nuong - Spring rolls : 2000Vnd Nem nuong - Grilled pork with sate : 10,000Vnd for three sticks.

Open from 9.30am to 9.30pm
BALE Well Restaurant
45/51 Tran Hung Dao Street
Hoi An Town
(84)(510)864443

Noodle Soup In Saigon

Because I live In Hanoi, where pho comes from, eating noodles in Saigon is always an interesting experience. In Saigon nowadays, there are so many modern noodle shops which are nothing special but way out expensive, such as Pho 5 Sao , Pho 24 and Pho 2000. It's better to go to normal noodle soup stalls on the street or in the market where the atmosphere is from the past and the noodles are cheap. Real Vietnamese food is always found on the street even though it is sometimes not very comfortable to sit down on a low chair. But you can clearly see how the sellers prepare your bowl of noodles.

My breakfast of noodles was 5000Vnd noodle on the street near my hotel in Bui Vien street. It was super and the owner is a friendly lady who charges the same price for everyone, regardless of where the come from, foreigner or local.

If you want to try some other noodle soup, then go to Ben Thanh market where all types of great southern food is sold. It may a little bit expensive than on the street but there's no doubt about the quality. I always go to the Ben Thanh market whenever I am in Saigon.

Nam Giao Restaurant

Going to Saigon to eat Hue food is a bit weird for but I love Hue food and Nam Giao Restaurant is my favorite place to eat traditional Hue cuisine. I took my mother and my nephew there. We ordered quite a few different dishes which in the end added up to only 135,000Vnd, such a cheap place.

The restaurant is located in a small alley which is really busy especially both at lunch and dinner. The soups like bun bo Hue and cakes like banh khoai are amongst the most popular. If you're in Ho Chi Minh, it's worth stopping here for a cheap meal.

Nam Giao Restaurant
136/15 Le Thanh Ton District 1
26/B13+14 Su Van Hanh District 10
Telephone: 08. 8250261 / 8621203

Shopping In Kuala Lumpur

Shopping in KL is great and cheaper in some areas compared to Hanoi. I love shopping in shopping centres and in local markets because I can see the difference in the prices and the quality as well.

I went to one of the local markets called Central Market and actually loved it. I feel shopping here is very easy and I can play bargaining games as well :). I was really lucky that I found a clearance shop and they sold all their things with a fantastic discount and I of course spent lots of time (and money!) there. I bought quite a few items like masks and wall hangings from them and I am very happy with the quality as well. I also stopped at an Indian shop called Little Kashmir which sells stuff made in Kashmir and other parts of India. This is a great shop with all beautiful hand-made stuff reasonably priced. I feel regret now because I should have bought another wall hanging or another blanket. Their stuff is carefully made with so much detail. Check this shop out if you have a chance.

Shopping centers in KL look like other shopping centers around the world but they are all located in huge tall buildings. The difference is that they have a variety of stuff at great prices and the salespeople are really friendly. Clothes and cosmetics are cheaper and better quality than some other countries and I've also seen many Vietnamese in those shopping centers. I talked to some of them and they also feel a bit cold walking around these places, with the airconditioning turned down really low? Shopping in Malaysia is a very pleasant and cheap experience.