Four Things in Hanoi

This was a trip to climb Mt. Fansipan, near Sapa in Vietnam. Has been labelled amongst others:-
- Highest mountain in Vietnam
- Highest mountain in IndoChina
- Highest mountain in mainland ( see how it's qualified heh heh ) South East Asia

At 3,143m, its still 952m below Mt Kinabalu 4,095m. That's story for another day.
As in every trip, there are new discoveries. Highlight 4 below.

1) Drip Coffee With a Twist
Is it my imagination or the trend to enjoy drip-coffee in Hanoi is waning. On my first trip to Hanoi in 2008, drip coffee was fairly common. On 2 recent trips, coffee is pre-dripped and served in a glass. Of course, I appreciate the economic benefit of serving pre-dripped coffee. Coffee shop owners with their limited floor space can enjoy a higher turnover of customers. The time taken for a full brew of coffee to drip through does take time.

Making sure we did not miss any drop

Warm bowl of water to hold coffee

After our celebratory Fansipan lunch at the Nature Bar & Grill in Sapa, we ordered the usual Vietnamese coffee. It was served traditionally in drip form but with a twist. The glass for coffee was placed in a bowl of warm water. What a wonderful idea to keep coffee warm while waiting for the last drop of goodness to flow through. This, perhaps, was to counter Sapa's cool climate and the tradition of drinking strong brews hot rather than cold.

2) Pho at Cafe Truyen at Bat Dan Street

This is the best pho that I have had in Vietnam. Recommended by our hotel bell hop, we walked from Ma May Street to Bat Dan Street, about 15 minutes away. The queue was there and we knew we were on to something good.

Sure sign of good food

At 49 Bat Dan street

Large crowd but respectful queue

Cafe Nguyen serves great coffee

My friend noticed that pho was being served to patrons at Cafe 47 next door. He sign-languaged, while we queued. Upon confirmation that we could order pho from within Cafe 47, we dashed indoors. Note price could be a shade higher. Another visit when Typhoon Haiyan's was buffeting Vietnam, the price charged was a bit lower. 

Best eaten on a rainy day with Chinese crullers, yu tiao

Notice the froth ...

What stood out with this pho was the generous dash of aromatic Chinese parsley and spring onions.

3) Morning Glory served with Beef at Ly Quoc Su Street

The dish does not look impressive but the texture, crunch and taste was really good. The morning glory looked like thin angel hair spinach pasta. Garnished on top were crushed peanuts and stir fried beef. Actually, the dish is a textural play of vegetable, legume and meat, highlighted by some tangy citrus sauce. Simple but highly recommended. Shop located on Ly Quoc Su Street.

Morning glory dish in all its simplicity

Shop on little black caption LyQuocSu

4) Mung Beans Dessert & Cold Grass Jelly

After our pho brunch, it was street desserts. This one we had was mung beans with sweetened red beans. It was served warm. Other combinations looked like corn, black glutinous and glutinous rice balls. Best to share as it was quite filling if eaten by one person. The grass jelly with lotus seeds drink was served cold. A good thirst quencher after a long day's walk around the Old Quarters.

Common desserts found along Old Quarters

End product

Options and add-ons

Quick Penang Eats during CNY

Udon with condiments

Seafood pasta

The gang

Summer Garden
Chinese New Year, a time to catch up on Penang food. 2013 was no different. Usually we start off  with a western meal. This time it was fusion food at Summer Garden. Last year was American at Chicago Rib House.

This year's outing was not my taste as the dishes did not come through in terms of taste, robustness and authencity. Nevertheless, we did not waste and managed to clean out everything we ordered in typical Penang fashion. " Meanne sai " - "don't waste" as they say here.

Seafood marinara

Tempura udon

The portions were moderate and destined to the mamak later that night. To be fair, it was not overpriced but I felt it was more suited for a young couple out on a date. Not suitable for a family with ravaging teenage children with ravenous appetite.  

Chicken chop

Garden salad was in sprigs

Lamb shank with pasta

Pork ribs

Trinity ribs

Sri Ananda

Supper was immediate and we adjourned to Sri Ananda Bhagwan Restaurant at Tanjung Bungah. Located near Flamingo Hotel and  This place served pretty good and wide range of tea. We had masala, halia and other

Chicken looking fried cauliflower - delicious

Roti tissue

Masquerading as a cowboy hat

Kedai Ho Ping at Penang Road

Went to Kedai Ho Ping at Penang Road for our fried rice and kuey teow fix. My cousins who ate here 20 years ago remember this place fondly. 

Fried kuey teow 

Yummy

It was gooood

Our 2nd helping

Teochew Chendul Penang Road
After that, as lemmings marching to the tune, we went for our chendul stop. No introduction needed. Crowd as usual and parking was difficult to find.

Our preferred stall on the right of the one way street

Looking at magic performed

Gula melaka must be it's secret.

Owners had no time to look at the competition

Dogs of Dali And Lijiang

Chow chow or mastiff?

We christened this dog Simba with its great and grand mane. Was walking without its master around the streets of Dali. Will definitely be dog-napped if it was running around my neighbourhood.

Was it a Chow Chow or Tibetan Mastiff? The latter, currently the most expensive dog in the world. One named Hong Dong was sold for GBP$945,000!

Real mastiff from net to compare

Was confident and ignored its surrounding

The bark was more a yelp

This little guy can really yelp. Sometimes I think they do not know respect. They tend to bark / yelp at the big dogs as thought they are the top dog. This was near Lake Erhai in Dali.

Look like huskey

Owner was nowhere to be seen

Looked like a Siberian Husky. Very confident with its strut and ignored us gawking it. Dog in deep thought I guess.

Mr Bean's pet ... this time a poodle instead of bear

Looked like Mr Bean's little teddy bear but doggy version. This one looked like a brown curly poodle. When I google for 'brown curly poodle' the picture below popped up! Definitely can't keep this as pet in my house. Photo taken in Lijiang Gu Cheng or old town. Near the main entrance with the water wheel.

Look what I got when I googled brown curly poodle :-)

At the restaurant entrance eyeing 

Still looking some more.

This was one of the few dogs that look like mongrels from Malaysia. We call it hunting dog for want of a better name. Very alert and was looking left and right for kind patrons to feed it.

Fresh meat was lying just a few feet in front of the mongrel.

Actually these chunks of fresh pork was just lying a few feet from the entrance. Obviously this dog knows the limits of its trespass. Picture taken in front of San-Wan Naxi Food House, Lijiang.

Good temperament and at ease with strangers

Tiger Leaping gorge denizens

Three dogs surrounded our lunch table at Tiger Leaping Gorge. Surprisingly good temperament and waited for some scraps of food. Alas, ours was vegetarian that day.

Got a hot date tonight

Personal grooming so very important. Weather in Lijiang was between -4C to 0C at the time we were there late in December. Photo taken along Lijiang - Tiger Leaping Gorge - Shangrila route.

Look more like a bedroom pooch

Toy poodle peering out from its home in Shuhe. Must be a peaceful place as small dogs were seemingly left unattended by its owner. Alternatively, the charge for kidnapping dogs must be pretty severe in communist China.

Impressive see through garden which was above road table

Streets of Shuhe

The street of Shuhe were narrow and free from cars. A pair of these puppies seen through the glass pane of the garden fence. They were equally curious and playful.

St Bernard without the miniature wine barrel

Looked like a St Bernard without the miniature barrel of warm liquor around its neck. Originally from Italy & Switzerland, this huge dog is certainly an attention grabber.

Majestic looking dude

The white of it eyes were light blue in colour. In chain it looked docile. Once the owner unleashed it, this guy was very sprightly.

Crying for attention

Peeking through the living room in the narrow streets of Shuhe. This pair looked like large stuff toys on sale.

Marching ahead

Very well behaved even though it was unleashed. Of course, it helps with the owner walking closely behind.

I stayed clear of this guy!

This Rottweiler was not chained. We made sure that we are far from this guy! Noticed that dog owners in Shuhe do take time to walk their canines in the morning.

Shaggy

Another shaggy being taken out for a walk.

Poodle foreground Lassie famed background

Foreground Brown poodle with Lassie in the background. These guys will be dog-napped back home! All doors in Lijiang were usually opened wide.

Waiting for master

Another well groomed beauty. The white were flurry and majestic looking.

Hippie

Can't see you bro.







Back home, my dog in its favourite pose.

My Fierce guard dog