Night Market Revisted

Yesterday afternoon my friend Chi and I decided to head back downtown for dinner and another tour of the Night Market.  Chi is an exceptionally sweet co-worker in Air Mekong's Revenue Management Department and spent most of her childhood in Poland.  Not only does she speak perfect Vietnamese and perfect English, but also perfect Polish (and she's learning both Chinese and Korean - see commentary on Day 1 Post!). 

Because she spent ten years growing up in Poland and went to college in London, she also has a strong western sense and appreciates my (poor) sense of humor.  She's been invaluable to me at work, helping translate and, most importantly, helping me to understand exactly whats going on sometimes (not just a re-telling of events, but the "essence" of that event which is often lacking and just as often, most critical).

So I was happy to accept her invitation to hang out last night.  She originally offered to pick me up at the Syrena (the work and hotel complex I call home) and drive me into town.  I suggested instead that since I need to get more comfortable motoring around on my own that she come to the Syrena as planned and I would follow her on my own Scooter (Air Mekong's COO, Les, offered to let me borrow his).



My ride.  Post-detail.

As it turns out, Les' scooter was filthy, having been sitting in the parking garage unused for the last several weeks.  Chi was appalled, so insisted we get it cleaned up.  Of course, it wasn't like we could pull the scooter around to the front yard and hose it down, so I wasn't sure what she had in mind.

She told me to follow her and off we went!  Just a few miles down the road, we pulled into what would be my first Vietnamese Scooter Wash and Detailing Center!  Ten minutes later we both had shiny wheels and were ready for our night on the town!


Scooter Wash and Detail.  Cost: $1

 

They even check under the "hood"

  

We motored another 20 minutes into downtown Hanoi.  When we arrived at the Old Quarter, we were ensnared by one of the Scooter valets who work the streets furiously to roundup potential parkers, then walked down the street for a quick appetizer before walking around Hoan Kiem Lake. 

It was probably 6:15pm at this point and Chi pointed to a busy street corner where dozens of Hanoians were sitting on their ubiquitous foot stools eating.  Street vendors like this are everywhere in Hanoi and they literally cook on the street; pots, pans and all, right on the sidewalk (where there is one).  If you need reservations for dinner in town, it's for the street food, not at any of the fine restaurants you'll find here.

Given the circumstances, it's tough to know which ones are best and "safe".  Fortunately, Chi was about to treat me to Nom Bo Kho and this was her favorite spot for it.  Without her, it's not a place I'd have likely considered.  So we sat. Or squated. 

She ordered and a few minutes later, the waitress brought our meals, served up on little plastic plates. 

Nom Bo Kho tastes better than it looks!  Cost: $2.50

Nom Bo Kho is dried beef, green papaya, fish sauce, herb leaves of some kind (they looked like mint, but not sure what they were) and peanuts....and it was delicious.

After walking around the lake and eating at "Thai Express" (which was a good but unremarkable Thai restaurant), we made our way to the Night Market.  This time I made it the entire length of the market and am sad to report that all I saw was more underwear, sunglasses and belts for the most part.  We did stop at the candy store on the way and tried one of many dried fruit offerings they had available. 

The apricots we sampled had been salted before being dried, then covered in one of several different seasonings.  Ours were covered with "Chinese licorice" which gave them a kinda cayenne pepper taste.  Not bad!

As if we hadn't eaten enough at this point, we walked around the block to yet another street vendor for a dessert of hoa qua dam! 

Just add ice and stir!

Chi with our 75 cent desert!

Knowing my love of ca phe sua da, Chi thought I'd like this, since it consists of fresh fruit, ice and...sweetened condensed milk!  You know, for years I've seen cans of that stuff sitting in my mom's pantry and wondered what it was for.  Apparently, it's for every tasty Vietnamese dish known to man and Yum!

Afterward, we made our way to a popular square just west of Hoan Kiem Lake for some time at a Vietnamese variation of Starbacks, yet another street vendor, just off the square where St Joseph's Cathedral is located.  Of course, being Easter, the Square and Cathedral were both packed.  Fortunately we found a seat, squatted and enjoyed some sunflower seeds and delicious tra chanh, green tea with ice and lime, while we listened to the church service next door.

Tra Chanh and sunflower seeds.  30 cents and YUM!

View from my squatting spot while drinking Tra Chanh.

It was a perfect way to enjoy a nice, breezy night in Hanoi and is, to me, exactly what I had hoped to find and experience here in Vietnam.  It's such a privilege to travel the world and even moreso when you can befriend someone "local" and see the country as a resident instead of as an outsider.

I'm so fortunate to be here.  Thanks, Chi, for a great night!