Day 4 - Street Food Tour

Ready to go?

We met our guide in front of the Market we went to yesterday.  

We didn't realize a few things...that this included a history lesson
of HaNoi and we would be walking ~3 hrs around the old quarters

Our guide's name was Thanh ("Tang") - which means "honest." 

He was 27 and is married and has a son. We almost had

a "private party" except one older gentleman also joined us.

Our first "stop" was at a street vendor selling baguettes 

stuffed with chopped pork liver, cucumber, and a few

other toppings.  It was actually really very good!

The baguettes are from the French influence.  

 

Walking along the side of the market, we saw parking (by day) that

changes to No Parking at night and food vendors fill the spaces instead. 

 Dried mushroom vendor along side of market

 Mother & son on moped

Along the back of the market...

 These are women from the country-side who bring in produce from the farm. They ride their bikes in and sell right from their bicycles. It is actually illegal to "park" here since the market is right here, so they come at 5pm when the market closes.  Then, they are watchful for the police.  If one comes, they quickly disperse & ride away.  Then, a couple minutes later, they return and keep selling their produce.

Shopping along the back of the market after it closes.

Thanh took us back here to buy some foods and try them.

 All different types of dried fish & the like

 Cooking BBQ meat

Close up of the dried fish/squid/shrimp

 Huge bags of dried seafood

 And...just piled on the ground!

Thanh showed us how they make special treats for weddings.

Old ladies also like to eat these because it colors their teeth.

Next, we went along some fruit & veggie stands

 Tasteful, tempting food arrangements

 Next tasting was of red dragonfruit and white 

pomegranate...yum and double yum!  Both were very good!

Next we passed the raw meat section...chicken, pork, 

beef, frogs, duck--all parts of their anatomy.

We watched a lady behead, skin, & gut a batch of frogs for a customer.

 ...and...the dried insect section.....!!!

 These are dried silk worms...

 ...which we DID try!! (or at least Grandma, Dad, Mom, & Joy did)

We don't actually have a picture of us eating it because we were too

busy not thinking about what we were eating and just getting them 

down the hatch!  But it was cool to say we met our goal of eating

a silk worm this trip!  We all chickened out in Korea when we lived

there.  They weren't too bad...if I hadn't known what I was eating,

I probably would have said it tasted good, actually.  It was crunchy

on the outside and chewy on the inside.  It was the texture that got

me more than the taste.  I was very glad afterwards I'd just grabbed

one and popped it in my mouth without a second thought because

otherwise I'm not sure if I could have gone through with it...!

Eating along the street on the short blue stools

Woman grating/shredding coconut

This is a small door to the left of the large gate (below).  An old woman lived in a very small space behind these doors for 40 years.  No bathroom, no running water.  She sold goods on the streets during the day and came here each evening to sleep.  The local people supported her and let her use their bathrooms.  The police tried to kick her out repeatedly, but she always came back.  Four years ago at HaNoi's 1,000th birthday, there was a large celebration, and the government offered the old woman a house to live in if she would move out.  She accepted the house and it was like a "fairy tale" come true!

 This gate is the only gate left to the old quarter of the inner city.

Our Appetizer--Rice Pancake

Rice flour is soaked in water, then a thin layer steamed 

over hot water for 1 min, making a thin "pancake."  The pancake

is then filled with meat & veggies and rolled up.

 We all really liked this dish...there was 

dipping sauce and coriander to eat with it.

The Hidden City within HaNoi

We walked up steps to the train tracks, which are along the edge of the city.  It is very noisy when the train goes by at any time of day/night, so this part of town is very cheap.  The owners also would build on the opposite side of the tracks where there is very little room and then rent the space out to women from out-of-town who came to live in the city to work and send money back to their families on the farm.  They rented here because it was cheap and they could send more money back home this way.

 Thanh said that they could reach out of the house and touch 

the train when it goes by.  Babies & children live along these tracks!

 The homes are on the right...the added rentals are on the left.  

The homes were in bad condition...the rentals in deplorable condition.

There was a horribly dirty public "bath"room for renters to share.

 Here we are walking along the tracks...we had to make

room when a motorbike squeezed by.

 Glancing inside one of the homes

(on the right side of the tracks)

 Leaving the hidden city...just beyond this point,

the "normal" town-life resumes.

Our entree!  --BBQ

 Fill up a tray of food to BBQ...

 Waiter brings food to our table (Thanh is on the right)

The pans are on a burner that keep the food hot.

First to arrive were buns and a type of asparagus.

 The bread was slightly sugared and delicious.

 Enjoying our meal gathered around tiny tables on tiny stools.

 The older gentleman with us was Paul, from Australia.

Duck tongue--yes we all tried it!--and frog legs!!!

 Duck tongue was more fat & bones than meaty.

Waiting for dessert--fruit bowls

 We each got a bowl of mixed fruit with coconut milk...

Asian pear, guava, strawberry, avocado, mango, watermelon

as well as some jello made out of tapioca. Served with ice.

 Instructions were to add some ice and mix & stir very 

well in order to have a well-balanced dessert with

wonderful flavor in each bite!  It was very good!!

Last stop--after dinner drinks

 But!  Before we could drink them, we had to climb four flights

of stairs to reach the top of the building that overlooked the lake.

Picture below is looking over the steps we climbed.

John & I tried the egg coffee which was really good!

Mom had pineapple juice, James had watermelon juice,

and Jesse & Joy each had orange juice.  All the juices

had coconut milk mixed with them.  The egg coffee 

tasted like a mocha meringue...so sooo good!

 Overlooking the lake and city from the roof top.

The climb was worth the gentle breeze and view at the top. 

 A big, HUGE cat!  We couldn't believe our eyes!

It was big enough to eat the dogs around here in one bite!

Our food & history tour took 4 hours to complete!!  

None of us had expected that long of walking and sightseeing,

but it was well worth the money, time, sweat & sore legs.

On our way home from the food tour, we walked by the

Night Market, where they shut down the entire 2km of street

and it is designated walking only...Fri, Sat, & Sun nights

from 6pm-?  Booths are set up in the middle of the street.

 Almost a carnival-type atmosphere.

 Some pictures of the wares for sale:

 More pop-up greeting cards...

 Hand needle-work wall hangings

 Cute glasses, Joy!  Meow!

 And...I guess they spell how it sounds!

The End!

We went back to the hotel & fell into our beds for a good night's sleep!