There have been times recently during the Hanoi’s grey winter that one can begin to think that the glow of love and life have been put into hibernation. So we (my beautiful wife and I) have had to find ways to re-ignite that zest and energy into our daily lives. What better way to do that, than a brilliant date night after a long, exhausting week of work.
We decided to head to a highly regarded French restaurant here in Hanoi named La Badiane. The wifey had been there once for dinner with a couple of her girlfriends, but we decided to head over for dinner and romance.
Before we get to the amazing flavors, I just wanted to mention something that inspired both of us last week. Sometimes when you meet a new person you know that they are a force of positive change in the world, and it inspires you to be a better person. We have always tried to live by the motto of “Make the place better than you found it.”
It’s especially inspiring to meet like-minded people so far away from the U.S. We had the pleasure of meeting a woman who is newly arrived to Hanoi. She had just come from Japan and lived there during and after the tsunami. In the year following the disaster, she and her family would go out every weekend to a new small town outside of the city limits and deliver food, medical supplies, and whatever help they could offer to citizens. Many times, they were the only people that had come to the village with help. She told us amazing stories of how one village that was primarily inhabited by senior citizens “adopted” their family. They would light up every time they came to town not because they were delivering the essentials in order to help them get by until the next shipment. They would light up because they were generally happy to see them. Imagine a world where your smiling is not dictated by the things you have, but by relishing in the happiness of having someone there to share a smile and a laugh…no matter the language. It made both of our hearts smile and made us think about what we can do to make Hanoi brighter. We promise that ideas are in the works and we will let you know when they happen.
So now onto another form of happiness: food.
La Badiane, for those that have not been, is a quaint little French restaurant that has a couple of floors. Coincidentally, it is located right across the street from Quan An Ngon, (a bustling Times Square-like restaurant that is huge and sprawling with tourists). We walked in and were greeted by a very smiley hostess who showed us to our table.
We ordered a bottle of Cab/Zin blend from South Africa and took a peek at the menu. They have a set menu with either three or six course options. We opted for the three course option. Both of us are trying to watch our girlish figures before we head off to the tropics for holiday soon.
WARNING THE FOLLOW ENTRIES MAY REQUIRE BIBS FOR DROOL CONTROL
First Course
He Had: Beef Carpaccio with pistachio oil, with gorgonzola and fig samosas
She had: King Prawn Bisque
For the main plates-
She had: Salmon escalope, with a parmesan cracker, saffron risotto in red wine sauce and a white wine emulsion. It tasted as good as it sounds.
He had: Lamb Shank with “harissa” seasoning in a bowl of couscous with fresh jus. The lamb shank literally just fell off the bone and was amazing.
And finally for the piece de resistance- a.k.a heaven a.k.a sugarland a.k.a. dessert
She had: Hot molten chocolate with Grand Marnier, tangerine sorbet and coffee demiglace
He had: Strawberries “mille-feulles” with pistachio ice cream
Darn that bikini body to heck, I’d rather enjoy La Badiane again and again then worry about how I look in a swimsuit.
<please note that Hubs wrote this, I guess he is planning to wear a mankini in Bali next weekend!>
