Hanoi Eats: Bun Cha Dac Kim

If you're ever in Hanoi and looking for somewhere local and authentic to eat, I highly recommend Bun Cha Dac Kim! Crammed, cramped and crazy, the small but multi-storied eatery packs in hungry hordes all there for one reason - their fantastic bun cha!

What is bun cha you're wondering? Think a clear yet tasty soup, to which you add rice noodles, piles of fresh green herbs, succulent pieces of grilled pork and flavoursome pork mince patties, plus chilli, garlic and other condiments galore, should it not be a tasty enough concoction. Together, the flavours and textures are simply amazing. A side of spring rolls are served with the bun cha, with the casing around Dac Kim's version akin to pastry - think an Aussie sausage roll...but better!

Bun Cha Dac Kim's open air kitchen

For more on bun cha, here's a gushy ode to the delicious dish I just came across: The Bun Cha Obsession. I can see why all the fuss - it really is that good!

Bun Cha Dac Kim, 1 Hang Manh Street, Old Quarter, Hanoi

A couple of cool blogs

My Google Reader subscriptions are getting out of hand... I now have so many great blogs I subscribe to that I spend way too much time reading them all! I follow blogs on fashion, writing, design, food, media and travel, including some others of the 'girl in Asia' genre, like 'Bali Beach Bunny' and 'Lost in Translation' - two cool blogs I've recently become acquainted with.

Bali Beach Bunny is written by a girl in her mid-20s who is embarking on a very jealousy-inducing venture - opening her own cafe in Bali with her boss-turned-boyfriend (sounds like a novel in the making!). Her blog is a window into her new life and setting up a business in Bali from scratch. I'm looking forward to seeing how it all comes to be and following her adventures along the way.

Lost in Translation is by a girl named Viv from Montreal. She recently spent a year living in Seoul but is now living back in Montreal - remembering all the quirks and cool things about living in Asia, but also posting on her new life at home and pop culture bits and pieces. Lost in Translation is her favourite movie (one of mine too!) and her experiences in Seoul are very Scarlett Johansson's Charlotte!

I wonder what else is out there I'm yet to discover?!

Barfly: QD Bar & Lounge

I'm sorry, Qing, but I think I have a new favourite wine bar!

On a night that involved a raucous dinner at 3T (or Quan Nuong - the BBQ place above Temple Club) feasting on bbq-your-own beef with 5 spice, marinated squid, still kicking prawns, wild boar(!) with lemongrass and chilli and much much more, we also checked out new wine bar QD.

From a loud and local venue to one that's stylish and serene, entering QD Bar & Lounge post-bbq fun provided something of a shock to our overseas visitors. And to us Saigon residents, first glance at QD's interior suggested the stylish Saigon bar stakes have definitely been upped. There are floor-to-ceiling glass windows looking out onto Ton That Thiep's trees, a display of backlit green glass winebottles behind the bar, velvet lounges, floorboards and moody lighting. Apparently the bar is owned by a famous Vietnamese pop star named Quang Dung.

In case you're wondering about the prices - there are wines (from here, there and everywhere) by the glass from around 100,000 to 180,000 dong (that's about US$6 to $10) and bottles from around 500,000 to 1,000,000 dong (about US$30 to $60). It's definitely the kind of place you'd want to go on a Saigon date night (which gives me an idea for a future post....!).

*NB: Actually I still love Qing (red and white striped walled winey bolthole on Pasteur) - both bars offer distinctly different atmospheres with Qing cute, cosy and chatty; QD dark, mysterious and sophisticated...

QD Bar & Lounge, 138 Ton That Dam, D1, Saigon

Qing, 110 Pasteur, D1, Saigon

Cafe Crush (Hanoi): Sohot

Sohot's dark, luxuriously decadent interior

Ice-cream sundaes featuring Fanny's ice-cream

- unfortunate name but delicious all the same

Sohot is one of those places smack bang in the middle of touristville yet obscured enough from the street that only locals (and intrepid cafe seekers like moi) seem to know about, with nary a tourist in sight. It's located right next to the cathedral on boutique-filled, could-be-in-Europe Nha Tho street - on the left hand side if facing the cathedral, down a narrow path, in a door and up some stairs.

The interior is gorgeous - decadent velvet lounges, patterned wallpapers and chandeliers give it a luxe Victorian theme. Head up one more level and the top floor is even more amazing than the first with its moody red walls. They serve the usual array of drinks (and then some - like 'Italian' style sodas), Vietnamese dishes and cafe fare, and my favourite - suitably decadent (and heat-busting) sundaes by local ice-cream brand Fanny's. Try the one with Bailey's but swap the vanilla ice-cream for coffee flavoured - delicious!

Sohot, 2 Nha Tho Street, Old Quarter, Hanoi

More love...this time it's all of Saigon!

So now you that know why I love my neighbourhood, find out why I 'heart' my whole city - my contribution to National Geographic Traveler's Intelligent Travel blogs' I Heart My City series has just been published!

Own city aside, I love the sound of Portland, after reading the other profiles - farmers markets, cool cafes, independent shops...sounds perfect (except for all the rain). If your city has yet to be featured and you think it should, here is the questionnaire...