Bobby Chin's

1 Ba Trieu (pronounced Ba Tiow) Hanoi


Fusion of Chinese, Vietnamese, European cuisine. Tops in ambience. Location’s great; right across Hoan Kiem Lake. And if internationally acclaimed chef Bobby Chinn’s around, he will regale you with amusing anecdotes. I particularly love the ceviches, the lamb, and the dessert sampler, but I don’t think they serve anything bad there at all. After dinner, and you’re still keen on satisfying your sweet tooth, you have 2 options. You can turn left then right at the corner and walk over to Fanny Ice Cream Place to people watch, and have ice cream of course. Or you can turn left towards Trang Tien (Chang Tien) street and go to the kem place (kem is Vietnamese for ice cream) where they serve popsicle type ice cream. The rice ice cream is yummy. I know, you wouldn’t think rice ice cream could be good. If you’ve had enough sweets, you can cross over to the Highlands Coffee place by the lake. If you want to burn calories dancing, you can walk along Trang Thi where you will find Century Disco to your right. A bit too wild and carnal for me, but it’s a place to see Hanoi’s version of the nightlife. Okay, that's more than 2 options.

Chaca La Vong

14 Cha Ca, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi

The Hanoi experience would be incomplete if you didn't try this restaurant. It claims to be the oldest restaurant in Vietnam, with a romantic history of how the dish and the restaurant came about. No language issues here, for they serve only one dish. You just sit down, and then they serve various bowls in front of you, plus a charcoal cooker with a pan of fish fried right there on your table. Make sure they serve the nam tom, which is their version of the bagoong. How to eat? Take your cue from the locals, and copy what they do. But in case you need further instructions, follow this:

1. Take some of the dill and various leaves and put them into the pan to be sautéed along with the fish. Do not include the mint and basil (served in a separate bowl); those will be used later. Let the dill cook for about 55 seconds; not overcooked, just enough for it to absorb and flavor the oil and fish.
2. In your bowl, put in the glass noodles first. Then on top of that you add the fish. Forget healthy eating. Slather the turmeric-laden oil onto the noodles.
3. Add the mint and/or basil.
4. Add the nom tam.
5. Top with nuts.
6. Goes great with cold local beer; Halida’s okay.
7. After dinner, cross over to BAGUETTE AU CHOCOLAT (11 Cha Ca), where they serve great pastries. Make sure you request a table at the 2nd floor where the lounge chairs are more comfortable. A window seat gives you a view of the hubbub on the street.

This is a five star experience from me, all based solely on the food. Don't expect five-star ambience. People just throw stuff on the floor here. And I've never dared to try the restroom.

I'm still looking for my Hanoi images. In the meantime, I stole this image from: http://photos.igougo.com/pictures-photos-s2-r1318934-p236192-Cha_Ca.html

Brother's Cafe

26 Nguyen Thai Hoc Street, Hanoi, Vietnam

The place used to be a Buddhist temple; now it’s a restaurant and a silk shop combo. A very pretty restaurant. There’s a 10-dollar buffet that combines French and continental fare. The seafood grill’s great. The roast beef’s good. The Vietnamese dishes are not the best representative of the authentic Vietnamese versions, but they’re not bad at all. Make sure you leave room for dessert; there’s a lot to choose from and they're really quite good. Their version of our chico fruit tastes so much like ours, but they seem to be bigger.

Highway 4, Hanoi, Vietnam

They have 2 branches in Hanoi, I’ve only been to the one at:5 Hang Tre, Hoan Kiem District (Hang Tre is pronounced Hang Che).

On a cool, rainless evening, request for a place on the rooftop, where you will stay inside comfortable cabanas. Make sure your socks are presentable, as you may have to remove your shoes. Order the corn-flavored water; very refreshing. The plum wine is expectedly sweet, yet even if I do not like sweet alcoholic drinks, I found this one a pleasant surprise. My favorite dishes - the catfish spring roll, the caramelized pork in claypot, and the clams with shrimp crackers - are delightful! I’ve tried the fear factor fried scorpion dish; nothing to call home about. Souvenir t-shirt’s kinda cool. They also serve exotic wines and potions there, but I steered clear. A lot of them are for virility, and I didn’t need that.

Lemon Grass Vietnamese-Thai Culinary Treasures

Level 1, Ayala Food & Entertainment Center Cebu

Memories of Hanoi dining drive me to be in constant search for authentic Vietnamese food here in the Philippines. Funny that I find some degree of satisfaction in a mall in Cebu. The truth is to enjoy the food, I had to forget the authenticity factor and just accept that the only way I can recapture all that is to get on a plane to Vietnam. With that factor gone, I was free to enjoy the food offered at Lemon Grass and judge them by their own flavors. And in all fairness, I really loved the flavors; the banh xeo is a must-try. The presentation added many points to the dining experience - the rice was fancily wrapped in banana leaf. And the sticky rice and mango ending came very close to my expectations.

I hope they would have a Metro Manila branch soon.

Zao

Serendra

In the location, location, location slogan for resto success, Zao hit the jackpot being beside Conti's since it is the most convenient detour for Conti's spillover.

I do believe, however, that it can stand on its own merits.

It was 9PM and our last meal was many hours ago, so my brain and my stomach were too hungry to wade through the menu. So in typical Icebreaker thick-faced fashion, I just asked the people on the table beside us what was good to eat. And they highly recommended the short ribs and the spring rolls. Thank you, people on other table, we had a good meal.

The seafood spring roll is the best item among our orders. Mainly because it was the only one that vaguely reminded me of Vietnamese cuisine. My bro in law said it tasted like fresh Oishi prawn crackers, but he means that in a good way. If you run out of leaves for rolling, the waiter will gladly refill.

The ribs were succulent, good to the bone, juicy, fight-for-the last piece goodness with that lovely carcinogenic charcoal flavor. But there was nothing that suggested Vietnamese gustatory delight about it. Nothing that my husband, the backyard grill king, cannot do.

If squids would ever become endangered, my sister would be one of the prime culprits. So, we had to order the calamari-type dish. At best, it was okay.

And of course, I had to have cafe da - cold Vietnamese drip coffee with condensed milk. Yum!

So, if you're looking for Vietnam in a bowl, Hanoi in a plate, Saigon this is probably not the best place to go. But if you're looking for flavorful, filling meal, friendly service, with a not-too-pricey bill, when you're famished and Conti's is full, or even when it's not, come to Zao's.