Hanoi, Vietnam: Turtle as Myth

The Famous Lake Turtle, as photographed by Alice.

Vietnamese men LOVE this game.

Calligraphy for tourists, just for a small fee.

Elderly woman praying to Buddha, outside of the temple where people pray to the general.
Not so many people praying to Buddha in Hanoi, as in more Central and Southern Vietnam.

December 31, 2010

At the center of Hanoi is Hoan Kiem Lake, just a couple blocks from our hotel. I’d jog there every morning in Hanoi. Our guide took us there to walk over the red bridge to an island with Ngoc Son Temple on it. Since it’s Hanoi, where they revere military leaders as much as Buddha, the temple was dedicated to worshipping a famous general, who saved Vietnam from the French, as it’s told. Many Vietnamese were praying to this general in the temple.

While the guide gave an unmemorable description of the general, he downright glowed when he passionately described the HUGE turtle said to live in the lake. Turtles are one of 5 sacred legendary animals in Vietnam including: Phoenix, Unicorn (Looks like a bird/lion/dragon mix without much of a horn), fish, dragon, and the turtle. Just because it’s sacred doesn’t mean they don’t heartlessly kill it live then eat it on the streets of Hanoi, though. But, it is said that there is a huge old turtle in the lake and he comes out rarely, but when he does he blesses everyone, bringing good luck. See the picture above of the legendary turtle in gold. At a recent celebration of the turtle next to the lake, the old turtle is said to have emerged from the lake, still putting a smile on the face of all in Hanoi.

And, people in Hanoi deserve to feel lucky, but it’s really through their grit, determination, efficiency, and incredible hard work that their town and country is just plain BOOMING!

You can see New Year’s Eve was the busiest day of our trip. We did EVERYTHING. Hence it wasn’t a disappointment to be blogging in my cozy Hanoi hotel room, with Ken and the kids asleep, when the clock turned midnite on New Year’s Eve. What a 2010 it’s been for us. We feel like the turtle’s given a special blessing on us this year. Happy New Year, everyone!

Hanoi, Vietnam: Upscale Hawker Food Dinner

December 31, 2010

We hit the local hawker stall courtyard, a phenomenon we’ve grown to love in Asia. A bunch of small restauranteurs set up a little stall or table, selling one or two key items, all in a square around a courtyard. You order at various stalls, then they bring you your food.

Our guides on this trip seem uncomfortable sending us to local food, or slummy hawker stalls for meals. They inevitably steer us towards the touristy, high-end but “local” food eateries, that always have pizza and spaghetti, just in case. But, this time we insisted, even had to insist a couple times, that our guide take us to a hawker stall, that seemed a guarantee of a local food experience.

The hawker stall he sent us to was named Quan An Ngon, and it was downright posh compared to the one we loved in Penang, Malaysia. A real waiter took your order from a menu that was offered with foods from all the stalls inside. But, taking a harder look at the stalls, I even doubted that these were real hawker stalls, with each stall representing a unique entrepreneur, usually a family with a child helping serve. Rather than having all the tables and chairs being miniature tables and chairs, as is loved in Hanoi as if all Hanoi-ans were midgets, they automatically seated the Western tourists at separate BIG tables and chairs, with locals happily squinched into their mini chairs. No, I think it was a high-scale restaurant masquerading as down-low hawker stalls, hoping to attract tourists looking for an “authentic dining experience,” like us.

Still, we happily ate our way through the ruse, smiling while eating rice pancakes wrapped up in shrimp, a huge pile of herbs, and pork. Click here for a video of the hawker stall.

Ken = Confucius

Hanoi, Vietnam: Lunch at Gold Medal-winning restaurant

December 31, 2010

Selling, the Vietnamese are always selling, aggressively. Just a day in Hanoi showed us why we lost the war here. Our guide aggressively sold us this lunch place, as gold medal-winning, with famous American and French chefs having visited. The guide (who is an excellent guide) sold us his guide services (even after we’d already bought them) by telling us all the famous people he’d toured and brought to this restaurant. And, he said this was NOT a restaurant but we were eating in this famous chef’s home.

Let’s be clear. This was a restaurant, no matter what our guide says. Maybe the chef or someone lived downstairs but it was a restaurant we dined in upstairs. Still, the food did deserve a medal. Even the kids loved pretty much everything served. Even ALICE! And, she’s the queen of picky.

There was a noodle soup with a rich broth to die for and fried spring rolls that melted in your mouth. Then, the piece de resistance, the dish she’s famous for, was the chicken. But, it was really the sauce that made it amazing – lemon, pepper, salt, red hot pepper, and lime leaves. Sounds simple but it was phenomenal. I have an automatic drool that kicks in just looking at the picture above of the sauce and chicken that made her famous.

At the end, they washed our hands in leaves and lemon water. They scrubbed each of our hands with the leaves, leaving our hands scented and us feeling pampered. The chef’s great grandfather used to have his hands scrubbed with leaves by a servant. Now, she just has her waiters wash tourists’ hands.