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Monday, October 12, 2015

Friday afternoon in Hanoi

Before our big trip to central Vietnam and the orphanage, Libby and I got to hang out with Viet while the kids were in school.  We headeded into Hanoi for lunch so Viet could introduce us to more traditional Vietnamese dishes throughout the country.

While walking to the restaurant we saw the massive construction project that is the Hanoi subway/trains.  There will also be a line that runs by Libby's school, but that track is no where near completed and won't be for another 5 - 10 years.  At least this line looks like they are making real progress.



The restaurant we were going to was actually in a giant and extravagent mall.  It was a little surreal.  They even had a string quartet:


Who says Skyline isn't in Vietnam?!?  Oh wait...


 The restaurant we went to was called Quán Ăn Ngon -- there are a few in Hanoi and at least one in Ho Chi Minh City.  The restaurant has a lot of traditional dishes, nice atmosphere, and good service.  It was like having some of the best of all of Vietnam's street food under one roof:





The whole reason we came to this restaurant was because Libby had wanted to try something called bánh xèo, like a savory fried pancake stuffed with yummy herbs and greens and shrimp or anything else you want to put in, then dipped in a fish sauce.  The one that came out when we ordered it did not look like the ones we had a few nights later in central Vietnam, but they were excellent.





And I tried one more kind of coffee.  This was yoghurt coffee, which was chopped ice, a healthy dallop of Vietnamese coffee, and sweetened yoghurt.  Mixed all together, it was excellent.


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