Bánh gối (“pillow cake”) is a popular snack in Hanoi winter.
It is deep-fried to have crispy and golden brown shell, stuffed with pork, shrimps and some vegetables. It’s served with sweet and sour fish sauce.
The most famous place to enjoy Banh Goi is at 52 Ly Quoc Su Street, Hanoi
Depending upon your service provider, there are different ways to adjust the Network Settings to use 3G on smart phones in Vietnam.
Follow this instruction:
1. Settings
2. Wireless & Network
3. Mobile Network Settings
4. Access Point Names
5. Menu -> New APN.
6. Name (network name)
7. APN, Username and Password
- VinaPhone: APN: m3-world
User name for ANP: mms
Password for ANP: mms
- Mobifone: APN: m-wap
User name for ANP: mms
Password for ANP: mms
- Viettel: APN: v-internet
User name for ANP: (blank)
Password for ANP : (blank)
Beeline & Vietnammobile APN: internet
User name for ANP: (blank)
Password for ANP: (blank)
Hanoi is not the best bet for some pedestrians, but if you really want to go for a walk, there are still some choices.
The Old quarter is supposed to be on your top list with many local shops and street vendors. Old houses with French colonial architectural style dotted along streets are all worth sightseeing. A walk in “night streets” (at weekend’s night markets) is even better with wonderful light and very local feel atmosphere. You would certainly feel the lively nightlife of Hanoi by visiting the Old Quarter at night. Areas around Hoan Kiem Lake, Thanh Nien Road or Ly Thai To Park are better choices for people who want to contemplate the tranquility of Hanoi, or want to take photos. Another suitable place is Truc Bach Lakeside with wind blowing and the road lined with trees. The trail that curves around the lake has trees and water on the one side and many street vendors on the other. You can always stop for some ice cream or sweet treats along the way.
So just off your taxi or tour bus for a while and enjoy a walk for a better health!
Son Doong, a cave belongs to the Phong Nha-Ke Bang grotto system in central Quang Binh Province, has been discovered to be the biggest in the world.
Son Doong cave, discovered by a local 18 years ago, is more than 200 meters wide, 150 meters high, and at least 6.5 kilometers long, though the explorers said they were unable to explore it fully. Bristish explorers have recently discovered that Son Doong is much larger than the world’s biggest known cave.
The biggest section of Son Dong is five kilometers in length, 200 meters high and 150 meters wide, said Howard Limbirt of the British Cave Research Association team searching the area April 10-14, 2009. Son Dong is much larger than Deer Cave in Malaysia, currently considered the world’s largest, an explorer said (Deer is 90 meters wide, 100 meters high and 2 kilometers long). The Son Doong cave has replaced to take pole position as the world’s largest cave. The Son Dong is situated below another cave in Phong Nha-Ke Bang, though its entry passage is very difficult to traverse. The exploration team said they had set foot on just 6.5 kilometers along the cave, as there is a large amount of fast flowing water inside Son Dong. It takes explorers six hours of walking through a 10 kilometer long forest path from Truong Son Highway to reach the mouth of Son Dong cave. The explorer added that the Quang Binh cave has beautiful stalactites and stalagmites that are not seen anywhere else. Phong Nha-Ke Bang grotto system belongs to the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park. It is a limestone region of 2,000 square kilometers in Vietnam and borders another limestone area in Hin Nammo in Laos.
When describing the newly-discovered cave, the team’s spokesman, Haward Limbirt, said that it was a thing of overwhelming beauty and grandeur. He added that each grotto has its own beauty, but he is impressed by Ca Xai. This cave is near the Vietnam-Laos border. It is very deep and has a big lake inside. Explorers measured the depth of this lake, but they had only 200m of rope and the end didn’t reach the lake bed. The British team suggested to the local authorities not to develop Son Doong Cave as a tourism site immediately to preserve its natural beauty.
Xoi Xeo There is nowhere in Vietnam that so many types of sticky rice- or “xoi” present like they do in Hanoi. But standing out among the various kinds, “xoi xeo” is not only creative art with a sophisticated combination of ingredients and color but the sophistication even leaks out to its odd name.
Amazingly attractive with its bright yellow color, “xoi xeo” is sold in every wet market or may even be right on the street corner early in the morning. The
seller keeps “xoi xeo” warm in a bamboo basket which is carried on the shoulder or fastened behind the bicycle.
“Xoi xeo” is a special dish for breakfast, especially with students and manual laborers thanks to its rather low price, its fulfillment and palatability. “Xoi xeo” is regarded as one of the hardest-to-cook “xoi”, despite the fact that it is concocted from ingredients which are very popular and familiar with Vietnamese. The ingredients for making “xoi xeo” remain the same everywhere: glutinous rice, turmeric powder, mung bean, shallot, and some liquid fat. The turmeric powder, mixed with water and glutinous rice, will create the natural yellow for the dish. Mung bean, after being carefully chosen and peeled; is steamed, pummeled and then rolled
into small balls.Travellers often are amazed at the sight of the seller skillfully smashing those balls inside their palms, covering the base with yellow thin layers of bean. On top of the portion laysbrownish crunchy deep fried shallot. To complete the taste of “xoi xeo”, the seller will add a tablespoon of liquid fat.
The yellow of the turmeric rice and bean, the brown of shallot, the distinctive green of banana leaf mix and match perfectly, and combine to make an eye-catching “xoi xeo”. Some people, especially children, like eating “xoi xeo” with much mung bean or fried shallot while other may enjoy theirs with lot of “ruoc”- smashed and fried salted pork.
A warmly large portion of “xoi
xeo”, wrapped in banana leaf and old newspaper, first thing in the morning, which runs for a mere 5000-7000vnd can keep one full until late noon. In the cold weather, the brazier is used to prevent the oil from being frozen. “Xoi xeo” is exceptionally favorite dish in winter because the bright yellow and
the liquid fat make people feel warm and cheerful. Nobody knows where “xoi xeo” came from and why it has such a weird name “xeo”; as in Vietnamese,
“xeo” is used as an impolite way when telling people to go away. Abnormal as it is, “xoi xeo” is still a unique part of Hanoi’s cuisine that is loved by many
people, both locals and foreigners.
One of the most origins of Cốm can be traced to Vòng village, 7 km west of Hanoi downtown. The legend begins with a severe starvation in the village years ago.
Since the rice crop was not ready for harvest, residents then had nothing else to eat. One hungry farmer tried roasting the unripe grains of rice as his last resort. Just like the accidental invention of Cocacola in the West, Vong villagers found that by roasting the rice in a clay jar and smashing it to remove the husks, they could produce a delicious dish, called Cốm. As the rumors about the new dish spread widely, the King sent for the head villager of Vòng to the court. The King was so delighted with this dish that thereafter, each autumn, Vòng villagers were requested to present him with their Cốm. The making of Cốm is still kept as a family secret. What most people know is that the process of making Cốm is complicated and tedious. The main ingredient is young glutinous rice, carefully selected since they are in their blossom. The grain must be manually threshed and cleaned, before being roasted with a stoneware pan over firewood. The fire is kept low and steady and the cooking process need full attention. For flavor and color preserving purpose, each batch should comprise 800 grams of rice at the maximum. The dried grains are then pounded in a mortar and stirred frequently from bottom to top. This step is repeated 7-8 times to remove all the husks from the grains. The final result is glossy green rice, soft and slightly chewy, that is nowhere to be found. Cốm is normally eaten by hand, a pinch at a time, or served with red persimmons and ripe bananas.
Green Rice with Banana
Sweetened Green Rice Paste
Chewing Cốm slowly is the way to enjoy its subtle scents, tastes and softness. One note is that Cốm should be eaten within 24 hours or its original taste will be lost. Due to the short season, Cốm is used to make many other Vietnamese specialties to relieve people’s craving in other months. Examples of derivatives from Cốm is Cốm xào (stir-fried green rice), Cốm rang (puffy green rice that resembles rice krispie), Bánh cốm (green rice cake- a must for Vietnamese engagement ceremonies), Xôi Cốm (steamed sticky Rice), Kem Cốm (ice-cream with Cốm flavor) and Chè cốm (sweetened green rice paste), etc. Many worth-trying dishes involving Cốm are chicken stewed with herbs and green rice, or fried shrimp coated in Cốm.
fried shrimp coated in Cốm.
Stirred-fried Green Rice
steamed sticky rice
Green Rice Cake
Green rice cakes are sold on Hàng Than Street. Sticky cakes stuffed with green rice are sold on Hàng Điếu street and green rice paste is sold on Hàng Bông Street. Special Cốm Vòng used to be obtained directly in Vòng village but now, thanks to modern means of transport, foreign tourists or people from many parts of Vietnam can also enjoy dried Cốm. Simply soak the grain for a few hours and more or less of the taste can still be felt over the dining table.
No matter how busy and modernized Hanoi has become, the Hanoi food and the traditional breakfast habit of the Hanoianshave been well preserved.
Their breakfast menu is quite diversified with dried food, including rice, bread or pastries, and many different types of noodles and noodle soup. The Hanoians make their breakfast at home or go to a small restaurant on the street – some prefer to buy the food on the street and eat it at home. As the Hanoi people go to work or school early in
the morning, the streets here are already crowded early in the morning with small eateries lining up and plastic stools occupied by hurried eaters. Most popular and crowded are ‘pho’ and other noodles restaurants, including snail noodle soup, crab noodle soup, noodle soup with assorted toppings, noodle soup, fish noodle soup, etc, which are the distinct traditional dishes of Hanoi and Vietnamese street food. These meals are light enough for the summer and hot enough to keep you warm in the winter.
Phở (beef noodle soup) – THE SIGNATURE OF HANOI
Phở (chicken noodle soup) – A VARIATION OF “PHO BO”, WITH A LIGHTER TASTE
People who want a heavier meal can go for sticky rice or a Vietnamese sandwich. There is a varied choice of toppings or side dishes to go with them – different kinds of Vietnamese sausages, Vietnamese pate, fried eggs, shredded pork, butter, sauces, fried spring onions…
Fresh rolls, fried rice or fried noodles are also among the favorite breakfast dishes.
Sticky rice – WITH A VARIETY OF TOPPINGS TO CHOOSE FROM
Bánh cuốn
The Hanoi people prefer to eat their breakfast and sometimes other meals at street restaurants and the street vendors’ than classy, air-con restaurants. Most of them say traditional food tastes best in the street – the expensive restaurants only copy it in a
clumsy way. That is why Vietnamese street food is popular not only among Vietnamese people but also foreign tourists.
To a real Hanoian, a decent breakfast has to be followed by a cup of Vietnamese coffee or bitter tea in one of the tiny, laid-back places in the Old
Quarter where they get updated on daily news or get their shoes shined. Only after then does a new day really begin.
