World Vietnam Hanoi

David and Natalya's Around the World Tours David and Natalya's One Year Trip Through Asia

Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh, and the best restaurant in Vietnam May 12, 2005

May 11-12th

Dave

The past few days in Hanoi have been spent waiting for our Vietnam visas to be renewed. As in any communist country this has been a long tedious process, which involved spending several more days in Hanoi than would have been our choice.

We stayed in a great hotel we discovered called Quoc Hoa, in the older quarter of downtown Hanoi, went to a great Jazz club with Latin Jazz music, and went to what has to be one of the best restaurants in Vietnam.

Bobby Chin Restaurant in downtown Hanoi is a world away from most food that can be found in the city. The owner Chin is a young celebrity chef in town, who used to work at some of San Francisco's best restaurants, prior to opening spots of his own in Saigon and now Hanoi. After the other food one experiences here in Hanoi, this place is an oasis. The atmosphere is elegant but hip, with ambient techno music playing throughout the evening. Dishes are outstanding representations of Asian fusion cuisine, using the best available local ingredients (no pigeon or dog to be found on this menu). Dinner for two was about $50 US making it about 5 times more expensive than most restaurants here, but it was well worth it. Also at this price it was really an outstanding bargain when one considers what comparable meals would costs in any other capital city around the world.

We are excited to finally be on our way South. Our next stop will be in Hue. After Hue we plan to stay at a beach resort just outside of Hoi An and spend a few days visiting tailor shops. Keep checking for more updates and post us messages, we love reading them!