Our internet went out this week, my first thought was "Oh NO! The blog!" My second thought was "Maybe I should just stop...." But alas, I opted to document my weekend in a word document. It's much easier to give up than it is to keep going.
This friday my assistant V took me out for Nem aka spring rolls. We went to a place near the Embassy, a place that has been rated by CNN.
What it is rated for exactly, I am not sure.
This is what lunchtime in Ha Noi looks like.
This is on the sidewalk, which is where everyone parks their scooters.
This place only had three things on the menu, which is pretty normal at most places. We ordered the specialty: crab spring rolls. As you can see, there are MUCH larger than the average spring rolls that I am used to. They came served with sauce, vermicelli noodles, and a plate or herbs. I also ordered a coconut water, which comes served in a baby coconut. YUM!
V taught me the "correct" way to eat a spring roll. Put some sauce in the cup, some noodles and a load of herbs(basil, mint and a few more herbs that I didn't recognize). Then place a piece of nem in the bowl, mix and enjoy.....And I did. We definitely over-ordered, but we couldn't waste it.
On friday night we joined some of our new friends for street food. As expected; it was delicious.
Cucumber salad with fresh cilantro and garlic.
Grilled baby squid.
Nonna was the only one who enjoyed these. They were decent.
Vietnamese fried chicken.
Yes, that is a chicken head. I accidentally ate the chicken neck. It was ok. Chicken here is prepared by chopping it up whole, without any real reason. Any bite can contain bone, gristle, skin, etc.
One has to be very careful when eating chicken here.
When you are done eating, you just throw the bones on the ground.
This was my favorite thing, yet I have no idea what it was called. It was spicy and sweet and delicious. You roll it in rice paper or banana leaves. My assistant V says that I am very brave because I eat raw vegetables from the street. I was a bit nervous to eat it again, but it was just too good to pass up!
Friday night feast with twenty of our new friends, so fun! We called it an early night because another new friend had jet lag and needed to go to sleep.
Saturday morning we woke up to a truly beautiful day in Ha Noi. As you can see below, it was just a smidge less smoggy than most days have been, but it was lovely.
Above you can actually see most of the other lake.
Most days, the smog is pretty bad and you cannot see the other lake. This is because the rice farmers are burning their stalks after the harvest, so the pollution is bad. Most people do not wear contacts here because their eyes are irritated. It's not the worst in the world, but it's definitely been surprising.
We had book club in the morning, then I met up with some girlfriends to go see a tailor about our Marine Ball dresses. My girlfriends lucked out, but the tailor ladies told me that the dress that I wanted what too expensive, I tried to haggle, but they weren't having it.
Therefore, the hunt continues this week....
We met at the local "expat" coffee house. They have bagels and lattes and everything is in english. Their chai tea lattes are the happiest lattes in all the land, mostly because they are the only ones, but they are ok.
Saturday night was an embassy event. We call them Wine and Cheeses, which frankly, sound way more pretentious than they are. It was really just a casual Halloween party with kids and families. Near the end I got "kidnapped" by the wives and went out for some bubbly. It was a lot of fun. We have met so many fun and interesting people, I think Ha Noi is definitely exceeding our expectations.
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