Hanoi Life

Khong gi Dac Biet

Or "nothing special," but its been over two weeks since we blogged last so just to let you all know what we have been up to.  We are sure that you have all been holding your breaths so here goes.

School began again after the holidays and Carol still has her two after-school activities:  violin class and chorus.  She uses plastic straws to help the beginning violinists keep their bows straight, but she had trouble located them, at least the sort that do not have a flexy part.  Ira was actually able to find out where they might be obtained.  Most cities in the world do have areas in which certain types of shops are located, but Hanoi seems much more specialized than most.  All he had to do was locate "Plastic straws without flexy parts" street and the rest was easy.  Since he was then within walking distance of the best bun cha(noodles with grilled meat and salad) in Hanoi, he wandered over to number 1 Hang Manh and enjoyed a tasty lunch and some Vietnamese conversation.

Ira is still teaching his group of lawyers every afternoon and he can report that the class is improving.  They are not shy about speaking up and especially about asking questions.  "Ira oi!" rings out about every five minutes and he must explain some point or other.  In addition to general English, American legal system and the US Constitution, he has sections called "grill and drill" and "Culture Shock," both of which serve to provoke thought and discussion.  Vietnamese words are occasionally tossed into the mix, although the students proposed that Ira pay a fine of 5000VND every time he used the language since it is, after all, an English class.

Winter has definitely arrived and it gets down into the 40's nearly every day.  The locals are always bundled up as they feel the cold more than we do.  Actually, Carol also feels it and is prone to wearing sweaters and coats.  Many days the temperature here dipped well below what was reported in the US.

We have been to a few concerts, including a nice Baroque event at L'Espace, a French language venue that has a fine small auditorium.  We then saw four of the string players the next night performing at Le Beaulieu's Cheese Promotion.  Over 70(!) types of cheese from all over the world are out on the buffet, from crumbly goat to creamy blue.  They even had a hot raclette that goes under a burner and is then scraped on to your plate.  As if this wasn't enough, you also get a main course, like sirloin steak topped with Camembert and then there is a lavish selection of desserts as well.  The string quartet makes a fine addition as we feel that vocals of any sort are not appropriate during dinner nor is loud rock.  Give us soft jazz or chamber music every time and we are happy.

Saturday night was the AmCham(American Chamber of Commerce) gala dinner at the Sheraton.  It was quite well attended and the dinner and wines were excellent.  Unfortunately, though there were many lucky draw prizes awarded, neither of us was fortunate enough to win.  We participated in the Silent Auction but dropped out once the bidding got higher than we liked.

Tonight we will be visiting Carol's Swedish colleague, Gun-Marie Larsson, who has invited us to dinner.  We hear that her Vietnamese maid will be cooking so are hardly expecting herring or reindeer.

We know that the Super Bowl is coming up in a couple of weeks and, while it is no big deal here, it will be on live TV around 7 am Monday February 5th.  Unfortunately the award-winning commercials are not broadcast overseas.

For now we go to the gym most days, swim about a little on weekends,eat out a lot and at home two or three nights, depending on the schedule of events and Ira's night classes.  TV is horrible so its usually DVD's.  Our friends Ralph and Lea gave us "Curb Your Enthusiasm" and we also have the entire show of "The West Wing."  WTO membership has not yet raised the prices of DVD's so we can get a few films whenever we need them to fill some time.

There are no holidays until Tet, so we will be around town and will report on people, places and things as we meet them.

Not Just Dinner

On this, our second New Year's Eve in Hanoi, we decided to enjoy the multi-course meal at Le Beaulieu, the French restaurant of record in Hanoi, located in the Hotel Metropole.  On our tourist visits to Hanoi we were privileged to stay in this building which dates to 1901.

Le Beaulieu's chef Didier Courlou had a long and distinguished career, but his successor, Boris Cuzon is having no trouble keeping up the tradition of fine French food.  While all of this luxury comes at a price, it is certainly a good value and far less than one would pay in Paris or New York or other world capitals.

Each course was a marvel with a variety of flavors, textures and colors.  We won't go into total detail, but some of the highlights included langoustines inside a  torchon of foie gras, venison medallions and eight exquisite cheeses presented in a box like so many fine chocolates.

The citrus granita intermezzo was served in a shot glass which was in a block of ice, together with a mini-shot of vodka.  The ice sparkled with colored lights that were somehow embedded inside.  A remarkable experience! 

We were a bit amazed by the number of young people who were there.  A Russian couple and a British pair were at the adjacent tables and they had been all around the world and in a style to which we would love to become accustomed!

Carol had her first bus ride in Hanoi after the new year as we rode up to Veggy's, an upscale emporium that has salmon, rack of lamb and French cheeses.  We also got bagels and cream cheese  and, in a big departure from the New Year's menu, DODGER DOGS!!!!

While there are still some things that are difficult to obtain, Hanoi has quite a few surprises in the world of food.

He's The Other One

Jose Carreras, a/k/a "The Third Tenor," or the one who isn't Pavarotti or Domingo, was giving a concert in Hong Kong, so we decided to use a bit of our vacation to hear him and to explore a bit of Hong Kong food and shopping.

Hanoi-Hong Kong is about as far as Hanoi-Saigon, but the fares are much higher and of course Hong Kong is a very expensive place.  Fortunately Cathay Pacific has packages that include airport transfer and hotel which enabled us to stay at the beautiful Ritz-Carlton.  On all of our previous visits to Hong Kong, we stayed in Kowloon, on the mainland, so this was our first time staying on Hong Kong Island.

Hong Kong is one of the most amazing cities in the world.  There is enough neon signage to light most countries and a skyline that even eclipses New York.  One disadvantage to staying on Hong Kong Island is that the views are not as spectacular as those from Kowloon across the harbor.

The Ritz-Carlton is not only a hotel with great service and amenities, but also with clout.  When the concierge was unable to get us a reservation at the restaurant we had chosen, he got us into a private club instead.  The China Club is decorated like an old Shanghai supper club, with eclectic pictures on the walls, ceiling fans and many period artifacts.  A jazz orchestra provided music while two different singers entertained us with standards.  During the band's break, chefs  twirled teapots with extra long spouts and made noodles after skipping rope with the dough.  The food was excellent and the tab not outrageous.  All in all it was an experience we could not have had on our own.

We did some wandering and shopping on the next day, climbing the "ladder streets" in old Hong Kong and then taking a nostalgic trip across the harbor on the Star Ferry.  They have moved and upgraded the piers but the ride(at only about a quarter) is still the best deal in town.

We can never resist one of our old favorites, Spring Deer.  This restaurant serves Pekingese food and has been around for nearly forty years.  We first stumbled upon it in 1992 and have gone back many times since.  After a big steamer full of dumplings, the lightest and finest we have had, we tackled the Peking(why not Beijing?) duck which is only available in the whole duck size.  Somehow, we had no trouble finishing it, the sweet flesh and delicious crispy skin disappearing in no time.

Jose Carreras is a Spanish tenor with an international reputation whom we have heard several times at the Met.  His serious illness prompted Domingo and Pavarotti to launch the "Three Tenors" concerts to raise money.  Happily, Senor Carreras beat leukemia and established a foundation to fight the disease and he continues his career. 

The concert was definitely on the lighter side with Neapolitan songs, zarzuela and some crossover numbers with a soprano whose name escapes mention.  Actually she is called Georgia Fumante which we suggest you promptly forget.  Carreras still has a lot of presence and a few top notes so the evening was definitely  worthwhile.  The Hong Kong Cultural Centre is quite a modern space and the small hall in which the concert was held had excellent sight-lines and acoustics.

It is fun to be able to hop across to Hong Kong, a modern city but on which has more of the past than say, Singapore.  You can ride the Star Ferry or a fast  subway, see old buildings or huge skyscrapers and eat some of the best Chinese food in the world.

While there are not a ton of tourist attractions, we still get a rush every time we visit Hong Kong and we highly recommend it, at least as a stopover.  This is one of those places that is like no other!