Quan Com Pho is a Vietnamese restaurant in Hanoi. Found this place via a travel guidebook during my Hanoi visit in July 2008, and the restaurant seemed pretty promising on some online reviews… thus giving it a try.
Their menu was quite different from what I had at other Hanoi restaurants; their food was kinda like a fusion of traditional Vietnamese cuisine with some new cooking ideas.
Halong Bay (Vịnh Hạ Long, lit. Bay of the Descending Dragons) is a UNESCO World Heritage site in Quang Ninh province of northern Vietnam, famous for its scenic landscape with thousands of limestone isles in various sizes and shapes.
Halong Bay has become an international travel hotspot in recent years; there must be more than 200-300 junks and cruises that depart daily from the port, with thousands of travellers visiting the destination each day.
The weather was perfect during my July 2008 visit. My guide told me that the clear blue sky are normally seen only for two-three weeks in one whole year. Sounds exaggerated, but my Hanoi friends later reaffirmed the statement… one of them had been to Halong for five times and had never seen such a clear weather. Lucky me :)
Some photos from the seaport and first glimpse of Halong Bay…
Hue Food is a restaurant that sells Hue cuisine in Hanoi, Vietnam. The restaurant is located at 6, Lý Thường Kiệt Street; found this via a local newspaper’s food column during my Hanoi visit in July 2008.
Hue is a historic city in central Vietnam and was the imperial capital of Nguyễn Dynasty (1802-1945). Vietnamese food in general can be divided into three categories… the northern food, southern food and central food (which is often referred as Hue food).
One of the distinctive difference between Hue food and other Vietnamese food is the popularity of roundish vermicelli (bún) instead of the flat rice noodle (phở) in other Vietnamese region. Hue food also tends to be a bit spicier, but still mild in relative to Malaysian or Indian food.
There is a popular Hue dish called the bún bò Huế (Hue beef soup noodle), but I am not quite sure if the noodle soup I had at the restaurant was what I hope it was…
One of the most bizarre things in I learned of Hanoi during my July 2008 visit was the complexity of the wires and cables which hang around every corner of the streets; which actually looks kinda cool…
Bahnar Rong (Ba Na Rông) are communal houses of the Bahnar tribe from Central Highlands (Tây Nguyên) region in Vietnam.
The distinctive features of traditional Bahnar Rong are its tall and steep roof, and also its lifted platform which are built to adapt to the (often rainy) tropical weather. The houses are traditionally used for cultural, religion and gathering purposes for men.
These traditional Bahnar Rong are almost obsolete nowadays, as the people are replacing their communal houses with iron and cement instead.
Photos below were taken at Museum of Ethnology in Hanoi where the Bahnar Rong, along with other traditional houses of various ethnic minorities, were built as an effort to preserve the fading Vietnamese traditions and heritage.
Quán Ăn Ngon is a popular restaurant in Hanoi (18, Phan Boi Chau Street), Vietnam, which offers a variety of traditional Vietnamese dishes and street food.
The restaurant was quite cozy, and the food decent. Not my favourite Hanoi restaurant, but if you can only have one meal in the city… this is probably the place you want to be because of the great varieties.
Lunch at Cay Cau Restaurant at De Syloia Hotel in Hanoi during my July trip. A bit pricey, but great food, lovely place, and I was in good mood for photos…
The Museum of Ethonology in Hanoi is a great place to have a glance at the traditional culture of Vietnam’s 54 ethnic groups. The museum is located the Cầu Giấy District, about 8km from city centre… took a bit of travelling time but worth a visit.
Sharing some photos below, taken inside the museum building…
