HANOI – The 1st Day
March 4, 2009 | 18,197 viewsOK, after a whole week of hiatus from the blogosphere, let’s get back to business, shall we? 🙂


A spacious setting, with al fresco dining, and indoor seating area inside a huge bungalow, and various stalls on the outside churning out delicious spread of Vietnamese cuisine

Even while strolling around Hoan Kiem Lake, you’re ‘polluted’ by the unnecessary/incessant/nuisance honking …..


Clockwise from top left : Pepita (Coffee+Vanilla Ice Cream with Coffee liquor and whipped cream), Passion Givree (Passion Fruit filled with Passion Fruit Sherbet), Malicoco (Coconut Ice Cream+Orange Sherbet, Malibu and Chocolate sauce) and Feuille De Menthe (Chocolate and Mint Ice Cream with a mint liquor heart)
Fanny’s Ice Cream – Look for this shop on 48, Ly Thai To street facing the west side of Hoan Kiem Lake …..
Dinner @ Ladybird Restaurant, 57, Hang Buom Street, Old Quarters, Hanoi
Grilled Pork + Shrimp Rolls (45000 Dong) and Spicy Seafood Soup in Hot Pot (45000Dong)


Yum yum yum…so feel like feasting on viet goodies now. Hmm..actually my schedule still permits one more trip. Should i??
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the first shot is amazing, like it.
in order to appreciate and understand the real Vietnamese food, we need to taste it ourselves locally.
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I just love it. My favourite food. Keep it rolling.
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Good intro of the place and the food…waiting for the continuation.
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ehh..change of template?
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Viet is one of my target destination tis yr! hope i get to mk it..& no doubt ur guide wil come in handy! LOL..i read abt the incessant honkin in thestar ppr by BRENDA BENEDICT "Sambal on the Side"..
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wow….. I missed the vietnamese foods. Should plan a trip there one day and makan. lol
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Wow! Looks like you really enjoy the trip. 🙂 Anticipating for the part 2.
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So nice to see your pics of your Hanoi trip.. I am waiting for more!
Love the food in Vietnam..
I like your new template’s color 🙂
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seems that the price of food are quite reasonable….
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Looking forward to the continuation. Interesting write out on your trip to Hanoi and all the yum yum makaning 🙂 Thanks!
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Precious Pea : hahahah … when you be migrating? middle of the year? then go! or … you can embark on another HK trip. 🙂
Allie Food Talk : oh you’ve changed domain? no wonder. true, gotta eat in Viet to fully savour the real deal.
worldwindows : sure, more to come when i finally regain my composure.
ck lam : try not to wait with bated breath … hahaha. a week’s off from work got me running around now.
thenomadGourmand : yeah, i changed the template a little. still teething problems here n there. the honking will get to you very fast.
FOod Paradise : yeah! the trip was rather cheap as well.
Little Inbox : enjoyed, and suffered in one way or the other. but on the whole, the trip was rather fruitful.
Selba : really? it’s still black aint it? hahahah … tot of changing to white, but somehow darker background’s more like it.
Simple Girl : it’s indeed rather cheap. comparable to M’sia’s street food prices. but of course, we did not go fine dining in any ways.
Elinluv : thanks for the time. makaning took utmost importance to us floggers, right?
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oooo lots of things i like in this post…. the grilled pork & shrimp rolls look divine! and for some strange reason, the shrimp fried rice seems to call out to me too! and the ice creams!!!!!!
i'm also rather tickled by the 2 contrasting photos – first of the horrendously packed traffic, in contrast with the following very tranquil lake!
vietnam looks exciting! cant wait for more photos! 🙂
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Eh … How come I dun see Vietnam dripping coffee here …. they drink coffee in pub environment lo …. XD
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Lingzie : it’s indeed a very complicated city, in every sense of the word. deserving of a visit, no doubt.
email2me : drip coffee coming up in future post …. patience ya? 🙂
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What motivates you to visit Vietnam, of all the other countries out there?
And did you come back with a spare tyre? Ha ha ha…
Poor me has never set foot on a plane.
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Maybe should plan a trip there next year…. *dreaming of dry vermicelli with spring roll, lemongrass chicken, vietnamese coffee by the streets…*
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Wah.. a very loooong post, & it's only day 1, more to come eh?
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Wow, I think you took more photos in one day than I did my whole trip to Hanoi two weekends ago! 🙂
This is actually great, nice to have a different perspective to Vietnam. I dunno when I can find the time to write about my Hanoi adventures though… 😛
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What language did you use to communicate in Vietnam? The food looks delicious and reasonably priced! I wonder if the weather is cooling all year long like that? It is definitely more comfortable to sight-see with cool weather rather than scorching hot one.
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Btw, I just found out that you’re a friend of Kwai Lee’s. What a small world! She’s my very good friend and also colleague! :))
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Pls DO post in detail. I am willing to wait.:)
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great stuff! a few more parts and an air tix offer and i’ll know where to go next….this’ll be fun!
hmmm, i wonder if u went to halong bay…ok, will anticipate your next few posts!!!
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ah lock : for one, it’s cheap. =P and i’ve only been to thailand n singapore, but not the other ASEAN countries. so, Laos, Myanmar n Cambodia may be next on my list.
plus the food’s famous … 🙂 no spare tyre lah… walked/hiked them all off!
jason : come come!!! we go Ho Chi Minh instead? =)
mimid3vils : yeah, i realised that by the middle of my post. either i’m getting older and taken a liking to nag, OR it could be in-built nature. 🙂
Life for Beginners : and yet I kept wondering why not even one word on Hanoi leh … since I knew you were going before me. hmm …
iamthewitch : you found out through genuiness?! hahaha .. what a small world. yeah, Kwai Lee’s my ex-tuition mate. we conversed in English mostly. and sign languages, obviously!
cariso : ok ok … i’ll try my best. i’ve yet to regain the usual momentum. like a dead fish in office today!
Nic : gotta wait for that …. 😉
i’m not being overly-ambitious and plan to travel neighbouring countries (of sorts) 1st.
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whoa what can i say, nice picture, comprehensive write up, me likeeee!! u can compile a motormouth travelogue dy..
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actually, i didn’t thought of going to Hanoi.. but your write-up has changed my mind. Really. 🙂
Waiting for ur next post!
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The wiring man must have had a BAD day …..The wiring man must have had a BAD day …..
So funny la you! I put up a pic something liddat too for my HCMC post! I guess the messed up wires run through the whole of Vietnam!
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A very interesting and informative update on Hanoi. Well done! BTW its easier to cross the road in Hanoi or HCMC because the bikes will know how to avoid you. Just keep walking and don’t hesitate. Its much safer than over here esp. with our Mat Rempit.
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kampungboycitygal : hey glad you like it. hmm … maybe a travel blog may suit the bill. does that mean no more food posts?! =O
Christine : yeah, seriously! in fact most in my office were wondering, HANOI of all places?! but it’s always been in my to-visit list.
Lyrical Lemongrass : yeahloh! hahaha… HCMC also that messed up and entangled huh? geez. it must be the pho bo. stress-inducer?!!
The Travelling Foodie : partly true. we did not witness any incident throughout our stay, bar one minor slip n fell bike. though knowing they wont bump into you, don’t you feel the tension arising from crossing the roads?!
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i’ve been to hanoi b4, but never try that much of food like you^^
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I think we made a right choice by choosing Hanoi Guesthouse although we didn’t even spend a night there. Mrs Linh is very nice and the handsome brother also…haha, too bad we didn’t take photo with them.
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Shell : that was many? we missed a lot, in fact. if only the time spent in Hanoi was a tad longer!
Min : yeahloh … can ask them to send over a photo of them. then post the pic over in our blogs. hahahaha …
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What do you mean through genuiness? what’s that? *scratches head*
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wa… so detail ar, Motormouth… Good job… 🙂
yeah.. i missed Quan An Ngon’s food very much.. too bad cant make our 2nd visit there.. hmmm…ask KYT tapao those food for us?? =P
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YEA, i rmbr that photo LL put up on ho chi minh city .. and yours is really cool too!
eh, ever considered writing for travel guides.. ;D
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iamthewitch : erm, i tot you read genuiness' blog pulak. =P nvm … but how come u know i know kwai lee?
KCA : ask him eat for us and review better. hahahah … bet he's having a tough time deciding on where to go now …
CUmi & Ciki : writing for travel guides?!!! hahahah … that's rather too ambitious i'd say. 🙂
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Finally, I can blog hop in peace.. haha. Troubleshooting a bug in the system can cause weeks of headaches on top of a serious PC virus attack!! Haiz!! Well, if you are unaware, you can view the latest 5 posts on my site now with iphone/mobile. Do check it out when you are free…
p/s: Still envy how you could travel so much all the time.. LOL! Anyway, those great information you have here are really helpful. 🙂
http://crizfood.com/
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hi Criz.glad to see you’re back. viewing site with mobile? i’d rather on my pc, no worries. 🙂
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Haha, no I didn’t read that genuiness blog. I found out from Kwai Lee herself, when she saw I listed you in my blogroll! 🙂
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hei,did u book hanoi guesthouse thru hostelworld?cos i booked for shenzhen thru hostelworld and they r charging me booking fees and another ‘additional charges upon arrival’.hv really no idea wats dat and how much.any idea?
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[…] from Day One in Hanoi ….. The train station in Lao Cai, a town to the northwest of Vietnam …. A recap of […]
I am now browsing on the web to check for my coming Hanoi trip in Nov and I saw your post, a nice one!
I love to try the Quan An Ngon Restaurant suggested by you, but when i further google it at tripadvisor, luckily it stated that the restaurant has moved to 28B Tran Hung Dao with the name “Nha Hang Ngon”, just to update if anyone wan to try the real good food.
Cheers,
Winnie
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Hi,
Just wonder can we get any free map at Airports or elsewhere at Vietnam? Since you mention that there are 36 streets around the Old Quarters area. Thanks.
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J2Kfm Reply:
April 13th, 2013 at 10:22 am
Hi Mandy!
Yup, we got our Map but I forgot was it from guesthouse or from airport.
Nevertheless, there are maps and easily accessible. The 36 streets are not that scary in reality.
Just benchmark your directions towards the lake and you’ll do fine.
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woww! what can i say, the picture very nice!
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Great! nice photos and interesting guide
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This is an excellent article that help travelers easily finding good local restarants .
Street food hanoi a must be eaten if you are on Hanoi vacation.
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Hi, I would like to ask, do you still remember from which site you booked the Hanoi to Sapa trip?? I’m travelling there next month and saw this blog which is similar to my plan but I’m not sure whether to find the tour package there or book online now before I go. Need serious help here..
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Great informative article. love the photos! I wonder if all or most attractions in hanoi are near and can be walked?
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Really great post about Hanoi city. Thanks.
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