A week of gobbling & gratitude...

It's been awhile....brace yourself brave readers...

Sunday morning after the Marine Ball, we did a lot of nothing. We spent the morning watching Mad Men(which is not conducive to blog writing, I learned that this week, but we finished Season 5 so here I am) SO we decided to get out of the house for lunch at Bobby Chinn's. 

We both had the three course lunch menu--It was an ornate experience....

Little men marching into the entrance

Ten stages of drunkenness by Bobby Chinn

The entire menu is full of puns

$2400 USD pieces of art

(no, we didn't purchase any)

Amuse bouche

Lotus and prawn salad

Pumpkin soup

Teriyaki burger and fries

Filet Bun Bo Nam Bo

Coconut rice pudding

Itty-bitty Lemon creme brulee

The exterior of Bobby Chinn's

Everything was good, but a bit pricey. We decided to walk up and down Xuan Dieu afterwards. This is the street that Bobby Chinn's restaurant as well as a lot of other ex-pat good are on. 

Vietnamese power lines; when I first saw them in Ha Noi I thought "wow, look at those VINES!" Then I soon realized they were power lines, and they are EVERYWHERE. One must be very careful when walking down the street.

Later that evening, we joined a friend at a nearby Vietnamese restaurant Seasons of Ha Noi. It was really good, however we felt underdressed with the white tablecloths until a bus full of Japanese tourists joined us.

Fried spring rolls

Amazing fish soup--I forgot the name:(

Chili lemongrass shrimp with white rice in a coconut shell

Another picture of the fish soup. SO GOOD.

After dinner we went to a nearby Bia Hoi on the lake. 

 Many times we go to these little places and we are the only westerners there....I wonder if I will ever get used to people staring at us.

50 cent beers, they taste like 3.2 beer :)

This week was pretty mellow. A lot of people were traveling or had holiday-itis, which is a lot like senioritis. Nevertheless, both of us had a productive week at work as well as a lot of delicious food.

Our housekeeper's best meal: tofu & pork, beef and vegetables and spiced rice. YUMMM.

Mysterious Vietnamese fruit! I had to google the one on top; it's called Star Apple or Vu Sua, which translates to "Milk from the Breast", rightfully so it's a milky sweet fruit with the consistency of a melon.  The fruit on the bottom is Mangosteen.

In the midst of our productive week I had breakfast at our Annex Cafe; yogurt, honey and the BEST granola EVER. Thank you Commune for your brilliant culinary creations!

We are really blessed to live in a city where dining out is very affordable. This week we tried Ola de Tapas, by the recommendation of our friends. Their specialty is Spanish tapas.

The Sangria was amazing!

White bean and chorizo soup, I could have just eaten this. YUM.

Fried calamari, pancetta bread, potatoes bravas and baked chorizo. Mm-mm!

The following day I had lunch in our other Mission cafe Papa joe's. The special was Bun Bo Nam Bo:

YUM. Bun Bo Nam Bo: beef, peanuts, grilled scallions, rice noodles, herbs, lettuce and a little fish sauce concoction on the bottom. 

THIS dish is SO much better than Pho: to all our friends in the US: go get this the next time you order Vietnamese food! Now, I'm not knocking Pho. I had some the following evening before a few of us girls went to see Breaking Dawn II:

Pho ga: chicken noodle soup

I am going to predict that I get sick of spring rolls by the Spring...

On Thanksgiving morning, we slept in and decided to go run errands. It was pretty surreal. The rest of the world was out and about, there was nothing different than any other day. Hubs got a haircut and we passed some time at a local coffeeshop.

My new favorite thing from Joma: London Fog; Earl Grey Tea with steamed milk and vanilla syrup

We opted for a light lunch; our housekeeper prepped DIY spring rolls the night before:

Me making spring rolls. This week my Language teacher told me that the peace sign means victory but it also means "HI" because the #2 in Vietnamese is "Hai" So; HAI EVERYONE!

My spring roll, not so pretty, but so tasty

My office; the Community Liaison Office, planned to host a Thanksgiving potluck at the American Club, but the RSVP list was low so I decided to host it at our house:

Happy Thanksgiving!

We realized that we only have eight of everything, so we improvised a few things--I think it turned out pretty well.

The Hubs carving the bird. We ordered it from Donkey Bakery; a socially responsible company that employs people with disabilities. The bird was PERFECT: so moist, so perfect.

I made mushroom and leek stuffing from scratch--YUM. I have fought the stove again and this time: I WON. I was cooking it at the wrong setting. Now all is well in the world again.

Success #2: Pumpkin bars!

I had to find a substitute for evaporated milk, but thanks to the internet--they were great

Pumpkin bars with whipped cream topping

I am very thankful for leftovers:)

After dinner our Chief Health Affairs Attache serenaded us

It was a great Thanksgiving week. We had a traditional meal that was better than I could have imagined. We are surrounded by amazing people in our community. While we miss our friends and families in the States, we are very grateful to be where we are. 

I hope you had a great Thanksgiving week with your loved ones!

There is so much to be thankful for.