It is my last day in Hue. Yesterday was busy so I take it easy today.
I return to Hahn restaurant since my last experience was so good.
Banh Beo chen
These are steamed rice cakes, about the size of a silver dollar, that come five to eight pieces to an order, topped with dried shrimp, pork cracklings, shallots and herbs and served with a dipping sauce, steamed and served in small ceramic saucers.
Banh Nam
Yet another delicious steamed rice savory cake, this time flat, with a mixture of fried ground shrimp, pork and scallions pressed into the surface before it’s wrapped in banana leaves then steamed. I guess this dish is kind of similar to the other dish I order.
As part of my junk boat cruise package they offer an optional Vietnamese home-stay experience. Because my travel taste tends to favor local experience I decide to take advantage of the package. After I am picked up from my cruise I am taken to the Yen Duc village to experience Vietnamese life for a short while.
Many cruise vans stop by the village I am visiting for a water puppet show only. I ride with the group to the village but I am watching the puppet show the next day before I get picked up to return to Hanoi.
Instead I am taken to my room by electric cart. Usually there are more guests but tonight I am the only one. It is awkward because all the attention is on me but also I can cater the experience to exactly what I want.
My host takes me to my huge room. I relax there a bit after some welcome tea.
Sleeping quarters
Dining area
I am visiting during rainy season so we wait for the showers to end before going out for a bike ride around the village. I don’t bring my phone or camera on the ride for fear of rain so I get no pictures of that experience.
First stop is a local lady who has a 190 year old house. She lives mostly alone due to losing her husband years ago and her kids live out of town. She tells me of the family reunions that happen every ten years. She also explains the alters and offerings and how they worship a dead patriarch of many generations ago. She shows me her amazing family tree that now numbers more than 200 from a single ancestor , even going back when multiple wives were common. We talk about her garden and her house. Some of the plants in her garden I have grown in Florida in the past (my home). She is very nice.
Rice Harvesting
Next I learn how to produce rice. After harvesting rice has 2 layers to remove (brown rice just has one, the hull, removed). White rice is the same grain but has the hull, bran layer, and cereal germ removed.
A circular machine is used remove the outer layer shell, or hull.
Then rice is put into baskets to shake to remove the shell. It is an art. You shake and twirl to separate and use a jerk motion to knock the shell pieces out of the basket.
Then remove the second layer by bashing using a large mallet thing. It is a workout.
Finally I shake again to remove the rest of the bran and germ. It is an art. It is also hard work. I didn’t realize how much went into producing rice (and I didn’t even get to see it harvested). Rice is sold so cheaply all over the world and it takes so much manual labor to produce it.
Farm Fishing
After learning about rice we take bike ride to go fishing. In the village they do farm fishing in ponds. They grow the fish in ponds and use a basket method to catch the fish when it is time to cook it. I get a demonstration by the local fisherman. He plunges a wicker basket into the water in different areas in order to try to entrap a fish. This motion is done quickly all over the pond. Now it is my turn I walk into the muddy pond with water pants. I try and try and try but I couldn’t catch a fish of my own with the basket. I am assisted with catching one but I do have to stick my hand in and grab it put it in the basket. I hope this is something I would be able to master in time because right now my survival skills are lacking.
After fishing we ride back, there is finally great weather and I have great views of the rice fields.
When we return I get to roll my own dessert. Sugar cube, mung beans, dough and sesame. I can’t wait to try it later. I make a note to research all the cooking of mung beans. I forgot that I used to like them.
I go back to my room and cleanup but notice a huge spider chilling on my shower curtain. I am from Florida and we have a fair share of spiders but I am still scared of it. When I arrive at the dinner table later I tell my host about my fear of the spider. A staff member (who is small and petite) happily goes into my room and removes the huge spider with her hands. I am in awe. It is probably no big deal to her but I am impressed.
Soon I am served dinner like a queen (sorry forgot photos). One of the highlights is the morning glory at that like sautéed spinach.
Breakfast
Soup
Persimmons
I mean to go for a bike ride on my own in the morning but decide to relax instead. I always try to take my downtime when I can because things can always feel so fast-paced when traveling.
In no time at all it is lunchtime. Squid is on the menu but I am able to “swallow them down”. Again it is not that I don’t like squid, I actually do, I just don’t want to eat it all the time. I wish I had written down everything else I consumed, because it is all cooked well.
squid
meat patties
My lunch view
Yam like fritters
chicken dish
Dragonfruit
Soon it is time for me to watch the water puppet show. While I wait for the puppet show I take one last walk around the area.
Water Puppet Show
The puppet show starts with some singers. They sing a lovely song while they float around.
Soon the performance begins. The puppeters are behind the screen and are very skilled at acting out scenes with the puppets. A band plays music beside the stage.
After the show ends I head back to Hanoi for a second visit. More on that later.
There is no way I am going to visit Vietnam without doing a food tour. We have a good selection of Vietnamese restaurants where I live but I would like to know which dishes I have been overlooking.
First stop is for Bún Chả (Rice Noodles with BBQ Pork). There is a vegetarian version of the soup if needed but I did not come all this way to not try the dish in its original form. It is delicious and well balanced. The pork meatball and soup is served separately from the rice vermicelli and herbs. You assemble it all together at the table. Cozy tells us about how this dish is different depending on if you order it in the north or south Vietnam (It tends to be more spicy in the north and sweeter in the south). I have another new favorite.
No.21, Nguyễn Hữu Huân Street
2. Egg Coffee, happy water and Vietnamese Baguette at Hanoi Egg Coffee
No.10, Hàng Muối Street
We go to the egg coffee shop to try a few things.
Egg coffee is made from egg yolks, sugar, condensed milk and coffee. It is delicious but very rich. I would probably drink it as a once in a while treat.
cafe trứng – egg coffee
Bánh mì is pretty familiar to me because we have them back home. The one served here is pretty tasty.
bánh mì – Vietnamese sandwich, ingredients vary
We learn a Vietnamese cheer and then try happy water (rice wine) or rượu và.
rượu và or happy water
3. Dried Beef Salad “Sexy Salad” (Nộm Bò Khô) at Long Vi Dung
No.23, Hồ Hòan Kiếm Street
At a small outdoor restaurant where we sit on little chairs Cozy introduces us to what she calls “sexy salad” (Nộm Bò Khô). It is a dried beef salad made with shredded green papaya. The papaya is not sweet so it all makes sense. I am eating raw street vegetables (a big gastrointestinal no-no) but I don’t care. The salad is good. It does not seem to give me problems later on so I would not be opposed to coming back to order this salad again.
Nộm Bò Khô – dried beef salad
4. Steamed rice Pancake or Bánh cuon at Quán Bánh Cuốn Bảo Khánh
No.14B, Báo Khánh Street
First we watch Bánh cuon made by the women outside then we go inside to have the pancakes served with dipping sauce. Main ingredients of the pancake are rice batter, ground pork, wood ear mushroom, and shallots. They are a nice snack.
Bánh cuốn steamed pancake
5. Vietnamese Fried Cakes (Pillow cake, salty donut, sweet donut, fermented pork)- Đồ rán at Bánh Gối Lý Quốc Sư
No.52, Lý Quốc Sư Street
Some are savory, some are sweet but all are good. I would like to come back sometime and order a whole plate of this for myself.
Picture of owner
Đồ rán
6. Fried rice and Spring roll (Cơm rang & Nem rán)
No.65A Bát Đàn Street
Viet Spring Rolls to try their spring rolls. The wrapper is flakier that what we typical get in the USA. The rice is a nice accompaniment.
Cơm rang (rice) & Nem rán (spring rolls)
7. Sticky rice with coconut ice-cream – Kem xôi dừa
No.95 Hàng Bạc Street
We end it all with Kem xôi dừa or sticky rice with coconut ice-cream. The rice is colored green from the pandan leaves. It is a very nice treat. What a perfect way to end the evening.
Kem xôi dừa
I contemplate a night cap at beer street but my belly is too full so I start walking back to the hotel via the walking streets by the lake. The streets come alive at night. People are selling things, groups are dancing, people are singing; it is very entertaining.
Growing With Leala 