Hanoi Life

The Kindness of Strangers

As we prepare for whatever is next in our life, we are making the rounds of our favorite places.  We assume that we will return to Hanoi but as yet do not know when so our days are tinged with nostalgia and tears as we look back on two amazing years.

On our four visits as tourists, we heard of The Press Club but had no idea exactly what it was.  We assumed it was a private club and so never actually entered the premises, despite its proximity to the Metropole where we were staying. 

When we moved to Hanoi in 2005, we discovered that The Press Club was a restaurant, or more properly, three restaurants.  On the first floor was Le Comptoirs, a very informal space equipped with wifi where expats came for lunch or a light dinner, while banging away at their keyboards.  Also on the first floor was The Deli, another informal place with an eclectic menu, takeout food, great home-baked breads and bottle wine sales.  Recently Le Comptoirs has been closed for retail space, a much more profitable use in the current environment.

Upstairs on the third floor is an upscale clubby space with a menu featuring grilled meats and a serious wine list.  We visited The Restaurant a few times and also started coming to The Deli on occasion.  We began to be noticed by Mr. Son, the Customer Relations Manager and he would often buy us a drink or offer us something extra.  We also became acquainted with Kurt Walter, the General Manager.

The Press Club is part of a mini-empire including Exotissimo Travel, The Warehouse wine store and The Emeraude, a large cruise ship based in Halong Bay.  It was through the efforts of Mr. Son that we finally visited Halong on the Emeraude, during the annual Wine Cruise.

Since we had tickets to a symphony concert, we decided to have dinner downstairs but first to have a drink at the upstairs bar.  When Mr. Son heard of our plans, he insisted on buying us a "farewell for now" drink.

During dinner, Kurt Walter stopped by to say hello and it turns out he is a regular reader of our blog.  We hope we haven't said anything bad about Press Club or Emeraude or The Warehouse  :-)

While we were eating and talking about how wonderfully we have been treated by the management and staff of the restaurants of Hanoi, Ira's mobile rang.  It was Carl Gagnon, the F & B Manager of the Metropole.  He knew we were coming for dinner in a few days and he just called to say he would not be there that evening and that he hoped to see us before we left.  Wow!  As busy as he is and with all of the hundreds of guests, he still took the time to call!

When it came time to settle our bill, the waitress informed us the Kurt had signed for our tab.  This was very kind and it gave us a warm feeling.

Since our concert tickets were also gratis, courtesy of our dear friend Dr. Minh, of the Hanoi National Conservatory, the whole wonderful evening of dining and music was provided by some of the people we have grown so attached to here in this friendly city.

Cháu Chào Bác!!!

Vietnamese pronouns and forms of address indicate the respect one has for the person addressed as well as the differences in rank or age and the degree of intimacy between the two.

Sometimes it is very difficult to decide how to address a person, particularly when older men address younger women.

Fortunately speaking to children is, well, child's play as we simply say chào cháu, "cháu" being the universal form of address to a child.  Young people call older men either "ong" which is like "grandpa" or "bac" which is "uncle."  Ira is pleased that he is usually addressed as "bac."  It doesn't make him young but at least he is not "grandpa!"

For extra politeness, younger people often say "Chau, chao bac."  This means that chau(young person, niece etc) greets uncle.  So far as we know the older person never says "bac chao chau."

We get a 15% discount on all services at Sofitel Plaza, including laundry.  However at $3.50 per shirt, that still translates to a lot more than the 5000VND at the local laundry which equates to 30 cents.  Admittedly they don't do quite as good a job and they do not understand the concept of starch.  However, the service is good and the price is certainly right.

Every other house in Hanoi has some sort of shop at street level and laundries are everywhere.  Actually they are just pick-up points since the clothes are cleaned at some central location.  Ira has been patronizing one such shop which is right across the street from the hotel and he has struck up a friendship with the proprietor's daughter, 3 year old Quynh.  Quynh is cute and perky and always greets Ira with "Chau, chao bac!" in her sweet little voice.

We thought it might be nice to get a gift for Quynh and had decided on a Barbie doll.  When Ira went to Luong Van Can Street, aka "Toy Street," the salesgirl suggested that a bigger doll that would walk and cry would be better for such a young child.

When Ira delivered the doll, Quynh was napping but her mother went upstairs and got her.  Although she was drowsy, she still was pleased to receive the gift and greeted Ira with "Cam on bac a."  It was very gratifying and the next day Quynh was spotted playing with the doll with a couple of other children.

Another Purchase??

We have been thinking for quite a while about buying a rattan hamper to use for our clothes.  When we visited rattan village, we thought we had found one, but when the seller refused to bargain, we left without it.

Ira found an area of the city where stores selling rattan are located and he had seen several samples tha seemed suitable.  Finally it was time to buy.  He tried to get the shop to deliver the hamper, but the next thing he knew, it was tied to the seat of the motorbike and riding along behind him like a very light passenger.

The hamper forced him a bit forward so he had to re-adjust the mirrors but fortunately he was able to see and the trip to Sofitel Plaza was uneventful except for the approving nods and stares from other riders that went his way.  "Yes!  That's what you do on the xe may!"

We have purchased the book of photographs titled "Bikes of Burden."  This shows the many things that Hanoians carry on their motorbikes.  We have seen families of five, chickens in coops, as many as twenty cases of bottled water and all manner of other items.  A lightweight rattan hamper is nothing in comparison although Ira's 105 kg accounts for a good deal of extra weight.

Tall and tan and young and lovely

No, we have not taken a trip in a time machine, nor have we suddenly misinterpreted what we see in the mirror!

This is of course the opening line of the song "The Girl From Ipanema," which was so popular back in the 1960's.  In Hanoi, Ipa-Nima is a shop that features custom designed handbags in a signature style.  The founder is a very rich lawyer from Hong Kong whose husband is an even richer Australian corporate executive. 

The rich do truly get richer!  Much like the family from Coach who sold the handbag business for a few hundred million then made a second fortune in artisanal cheese, Christina Yu is raking it in from her shop in Han Tuyen Street.

We have visited a few times over the years but Carol felt that the price, even though much lower than Kate Spade or Alfred Brendel bags, was still quite a bit more than she usually spends for a purse, so all we did was browse.

Finally, Carol figured that she needed a classy bag to carry when she wears her designer outfits from Vu Thu Giang.  We are not nor have we ever been shoppers, yet it gets easier and easier to buy beautiful things.  Since the prices are still not so high by Western standards, the more you buy, the more you save!

After eating brunch at the Melia, neither of us would have been able to fit into any clothing, so handbag shopping was all we could do.

Carol ran into several UNIS parents at brunch and also saw one at the Ipa-Nema shop.  Ira chatted  merrily with the sales staff while Carol narrowed the field down to two bags.  Finally she picked a lovely gray number with red trim and flashy designs.  It should go well with her other recent purchases.

The price was quite reasonable plus we get the 10% AmCham discount so actually the more we buy....Well you get the idea.

Serendipity

Back in the Dark Ages, when we were growing up, there was a folk group called the Serendipity Singers. Serendipity is the unexpected finding of something fortunate, especially when seeking something else.  Much like Koko the Lord High Executioner in The Mikado, Carol has "got a little list."  Actually she often has several lists and other scraps of paper designed to make certain that important things are not forgotten.  Ira tends to put reminders on his mobile phone so that it warns him to go to an appointment, run a certain errand or listen to a sporting event.

One of Carol's lists involved shopping for certain items.  Ira's life is sometimes like a huge scavenger hunt as he runs around town trying to locate rattan place mats, nasal spray or water puppet videos.  His mind, like his prose, is rather stream of consciousness and in the midst of shopping for fruit he might all of a sudden remember a shop that had something from one of the lists.  Little by little, items get crossed off although sometimes others are added.

Years ago we used to carry a huge bag of camera equipment.  We had two bodies, each with different speed film, so that we could take outdoor and indoor photos without using a whole roll of film.  Film?  what is that anyway?  For those of you born in the digital age, cameras used to be loaded with a celluloid roll that got exposed to the light when you snapped the shutter.  This was then taken for expensive processing and picked up so that you could view the blurry results.  Our bag also contained three lenses, a couple of flash attachments and other assorted paraphernalia.

Now we have a small digital camera that fits in a Lancome makeup case for easy carrying.  This is very useful both for souvenir photos and for shopping.  When Carol requests an item, Ira can locate it and take a photo so that Carol can see if that is indeed the item sought.  The shopkeepers are invariably amused when Ira explains to them "Nha toi tin toi mua sam nhung khong mua!"  meaning "My wife trusts me to shop, but not to buy."

One of the items on our list was a tote bag.  We have several large canvas totes, like the kind that roofers use to carry their tools, etc.  We also have some small ones, including one Ira found at Dong Xuan Market.  It has images of elephants which he can't resist.  If you ever want to sell Ira anything, just paste some pictures of elephants on it and he is helpless! 

The tote bag proved elusive as it had to be large enough but not too large, sturdy but lightweight, and attractive while not being prohibitively expensive. 

After dinner the other night, we called a taxi and he began to take us by some circuitous route.  Ira chose not to correct him and we found ourselves weaving through some ancient streets in the Old   Quarter.  All of a sudden Carol called out "Totes!  I see them!  Do you see them hanging there?"  We were going slowly and Ira asked the driver to stop.  Since it would have been difficult to park the cab on the narrow street, we just paid him and walked back to the shop.  They had straw totes of every shape and kind and after examining them we found one that should be quite suitable. 

Had our driver not gone the wrong way, we should never have found ourselves at this shop and the tote would still be on one of our many lists.

What will be on our next list?  Health, money, job?!  Peace, an end to world hunger and global warming? These are probably not so easily found as a tote bag.  Still, we are not without hope, esperance, speranza, hi vong. 

Exceeds Expectations

We need not have worried about the failure to respond to our confirming email.  Tonight's tasting menu was unbelievably first class in presentation, taste and value.  When we arrived there was not a reservation in the book, but we explained our purpose and were promptly escorted to a fine private table.  One of the servers came by and recited the menu in what was supposed to be English and off we went.

We began with an oyster trio:  one with tomato salsa with creme fraiche, one brulee (sort of Rockefeller) and the best of all with sushi and black caviar. This was followed by foie gras terrine and foie gras wrapped in rice paper with ginger soy reduction.  We had glasses of Moet and Chandon with the oysters and the foie gras.  there are conflicting opinions of what goes with foie gras:  champagne, Sauternes or whatever.  the only thing that always goes with foie gras is MORE foie gras.

Grilled quail with quail egg ravioli mad a wonderful third course and it meshed perfectly with our Hochar(2d wine of Chateau Musar, Lebanon's finest wine producer).  The charred quail brought out the earth tones in the wine and the richness of the ravioli only added to the mix.

We somehow still had room for perfectly done rack of lamb with truffled mashed potatoes and vegetable terrine topped with black caviar.  If we are junkies for foie gras, we are equally attracted to the eggs of various fish.  Caviar pops in your mouth and has a briny taste that makes life seem worth living.

Our dessert assortment included Bobby's signature chocolate ravioli, creme brulee, a rich chocolate pudding and Ira's all-time fave, rice pudding!  A brace of espressos finished off a memorable meal. 

Bobby stopped by and posed for pictures.  We promised to return at our earliest opportunity and hoped that it would not be too long before we found ourselves in Bobby Chinn once again.

A Special Dinner

As does any large city, Hanoi has its share of celebrities and characters.  One of Hanoi's notables is celebrity chef Bobby Chinn.  Bobby is Asian-American sort of, having been born in Auckland to an American-Chinese father and Egyptian mother.  The Internet gave us the information that his maternal grandfather was Ambassador to the Court of St. James so, despite his unpretentious manner, he is no stranger to the good life. 

We first met Bobby very early in our stay in Hanoi and enjoyed his wit and humor, his Western-style food with Asian overtones, and his well trained staff.  While his prices are steadily rising, there can be no complaint about the quality.  As for decor, let's just say it is "interesting."

This year we have not gone to Bobby Chinn so often, but we are always greeted warmly and Ira is known by many of the staff.  We have nothing against either Bobby or the restaurant but it just happens that we have spent most special occasions at Le Beaulieu and we feel that Bobby's prices make it more of a special occasion place.

Not long ago, we went to a very fine wine dinner at Bobby Chinn and had a friendly chat with him.  Later Ira ran into him at a wine tasting and talked about a possible special meal that could be created for us.

We gave him a few parameters but when we do this sort of thing, we prefer to leave most of the details to the chef.  After all, he is the creative person and we wouldn't have come to him if we didn't trust his judgment. 

The menu looked terrific and Bobby was kind enough to waive the corkage fee on a bottle of wine from Lebanon that we wanted to bring.  This is not Lebanon, PA, where Carol grew up, but the Lebanon in the Middle East where there is actually one particular producer of red wine who has an international reputation.

We set a date and tonight's the night!  One small question has arisen though.  Ira sent a confirming email yesterday and it was not returned.  This piece will be continued after we see whether or not the lack of confirmation means that we will arrive and no one will have any idea who we are.  we are holding our breaths and will report in detail in a few hours.

Fear of Paintings

Paintings don't really scare us, but when we decided we might like to purchase one of the lacquer paintings of Quang, the husband of Ms Hai, we thought that Ira might visit Quang's studio and see what he had that was the size and subject that we were seeking.  Quang does a number of still lifes but we feel that fruit could be anywhere and we wanted something evocative of our experiences here in Vietnam. 

It was difficult for Ira to actually make an appointment.  Quang would call and ask if Ira could come to the studio immediately and the time was never convenient.  Finally Ira got Quang to set a specific time but the artist insisted on picking Ira up at the hotel rather than having Ira meet him at the studio.

Ira was not totally sanguine about riding on the back of a motorbike, feeling that at least when driving you are in control.  However, since Quang had made the effort, Ira, first putting on his safety helmet, hopped on the back.  The ride was not exactly smooth as Quang's artistic nature carried over to his driving!  The bike wove in and out, scraping other vehicles as they went.  It did not add to Ira's sense of equanimity when Quang answered his mobile phone and chatted away as he drove one handed!

Finally, after traversing the big highway and some side and back streets, the pair reached the studio safely.  Quang apologized for the untidy state of the place, but Ira felt that it represented the creative process and that a studio with everything lined up neatly would not contain great art.

Ira drank tea and chatted with Quang while looking at all of the finished work.  He snapped photos to bring home so that Carol could help in the selection process.  There were three paintings that seemed to fill the bill and so Ira and Quang finished their tea and then set out for home.

Having already survived the trip to the studio, Ira had a brainstorm.  If Quang were to drop him near Hoan Kiem Lake, the route would be over safer streets and the trip would be considerably shorter.  This proved to be correct as the journey passed without incident.

After looking at the photos for some time, we finally selected one titled "Lonely" as it depicts a young girl awaiting the return of her parents in a typical Vietnamese village.

We look forward to hanging this painting wherever we live for the rest of our lives, helping us to remember Quang and our two years here in Hanoi. 

Quang and Hai brought the painting on the motorbike.  It is as well we didn't have to watch it!  Quang drove while Hai hung on the back with the painting in her hands.  Fortunately it arrived safe and sound and beautiful, waiting for us to have a wall on which to hang it.

End of an Era

We first visited Hanoi in 1994 when there was only one five star hotel in town, Sofitel Metropole.  The Metropole has a glorious history and is certainly the hotel of record in the capital of Vietnam.  It is a classic building of French architecture and when we first stayed there we were in awe, not only of the building and service, but of the high prices!  Still it beat living with vermin and the service is sublime as was the restaurant, Le Beaulieu where we were amazed by the cuisine, the service and the fact that we could have wine, bread and even French cheese.  The hotel also had a very classy bar that served pricey drinks.

On our second visit, in 1998, the prices had come down and a new F&B outlet, the Met Pub was open.  It was sort of a sports bar with televised games and many promotions.  During the World Cup, a game was on tv every night ad there was a special drink representing the competing countries, even Cameroon!  Ira got into the spirit(and the spirits) each night and helped the bartenders figure out how to make these concoctions which were anything but standard.  At the end of our week-long stay, Carol asked one bartender if they sold many of the "drink of the day."  The young man just smiled, shook his head and pointed to Ira.

On our ensuing visits in 2000 and 2003 we of course stayed at the Metropole and made it a habit to enjoy the Happy Hour in the Met Pub regardless of where we were dining. 

When we moved to Hanoi, we stopped in for a drink one night and found that the place was still thriving and maintained the Happy Hour as well.  From 5 to 7 pm it was half price drinks, even better than "buy one get one" since you didn't have to consume too much alcohol to get the price break.  Throughout the past two years we have stopped in at least once a week.  The bartenders now know us and what we like to drink and they chat with Ira in Vietnamese.  We also know a group of regulars, headed by Douglas, a Scottish economist who is there every night.  Well, half-price drinks and you know what they say about Scotsmen!

Sometime last year we heard that the Met Pub would soon be closed to make room for an upscale Italian restaurant.  We knew that the rumor was true because Chef Boris came from Bangkok to open the place as a copy of the restaurant in the Sofitel Bangkok.

Days and months passed and nothing happened.  The happy drinkers kept bellying up to the bar and there were no changes.  Finally on Thursday night we decided to eat at Tara and stop at the Met Pub for a pre-prandial libation.  As we were leaving, Douglas told us that Saturday was the last night.  We reminisced a bit, said goodbye to the  staff and walked out the door as another piece of history faded into oblivion.  Met Pub, we hardly knew ye!

Passion for Fashion

While we have always liked to dress nicely and have a good appearance, neither of us has ever been accused of being a fashionista.  Ira's mother always liked to dress him in Little Lord Fauntleroy style(just kidding but he did have a bar mitzvah suit and some nice blazers with everything tailored to fit.  Carol had church clothes and school clothes and, as the oldest of four children, got first crack at everything.  Let's just say that we were both brought up to look respectable and in an era when torn and faded items were thrown out, not worn with pride!

We have always been amazed when seeing celebrities in designer outfits and even more so when we heard about the prices.  Many designer gowns cost about what we pay for a car!

Over the years, we have sometimes bought sale merchandise at Nordstroms or some other such upscale department store, but didn't frequent boutiques and never dreamed of visiting a designer's studio, much less having anything made to order.

Once we began visiting Asia we discovered that made to order clothing could be had cheap, but the results were often said to be laughable.  When we found Mr. Kyi in Bangkok, we realized that even the high end Asian tailors were much more reasonable than their counterparts in the US.  However, most of our duds were off the rack from Today's Man, the Big and Tall Man's shop or department stores.

Here in Hanoi we did attend some fashion shows that were held here at Sofitel Plaza and we marveled at the creations of the various designers, but we never thought of having designer outfits of our very own.

When we attended the wedding lunch of Ira's former colleague, Ms Hai, we learned that her sister, Vu Thu Giang, is one of the best known fashion designers in Hanoi.  Somehow we got the idea to see if we could meet her and perhaps have her design something for Carol.  Ira would just have to share the moment vicariously as Giang doesn't make men's clothing and besides would have had to bring in a lot of extra fabric.

Ira asked Hai if she thought her sister would be open to meeting us and discussing the possibilities and she said that Giang would be pleased to do so.  Since Giang's English is not strong, the request had to be made in Vietnamese. 

Appointments are sometimes difficult to come by in Hanoi.  The Vietnamese way seems to be to just call you on the spur of the moment rather than say "See you a week from Wednesday" or "How is 5 o'clock for you?" We thought that with a designer of artistic temperament it might be much the same.  So it was rather surprising when Ms Giang's text message asked if Monday would be OK and since we already had plans, she settled on Tuesday.  We took a taxi to her shop and, after some slight confusion on the address(#115 BUILDING K-1 Giang Vo, not plain 115 Giang Vo) we arrived at the appointed time for our meeting with Vu Thu Giang.

We didn't know if we would recognize her but we went in and were greeted and Carol began examining the clothing.  Much of it was a bit young but a lot of it was quite suitable for une femme d'age certaine. The phone rang and we were told that Ms Giang was in a traffic jam and would meet us shortly.  She  soon arrived and swept into the shop, resplendent in fitted jeans, a flouncy cream colored top and red shoes.  We discussed the sort of outfit that Carol was seeking:  something suitable for evening(dinner or a concert), mid-length with 3/4 or longer sleeves and most of all NOT TOO TIGHT.  Carol also bought a couple of items right off the rack and a top that would have to be altered.  This seemed to be going quite well although we realized that Ira's listening skills are not yet up to his speaking so perhaps some of Giang's responses might not have been totally understood.  Regardless, after Carol thought she had picked out a fine blue silk and a basic design, we arranged to return on the following Monday, after Carol's acupuncture treatment, since Dr. Huong's office is only a five minute walk from the shop.  We were quite surprised at how reasonable the clothing was although we had not yet been given a price for the made to order outfit.

Although it was quite hot and muggy, we walked to the shop after the visit to Dr. Huong and were  pleased to find that we were expected.  Ms Giang was with another customer but one of the other girls brought out the blue top that had been altered.  It fit perfectly!!!

After Carol tried on the finished top, there were some awkward moments as we paged through the racks, waiting for some sign of what was to come next.  Carol was a bit anxious as we wondered what was to become of the outfit to be designed.  Finally Giang came over and Carol asked if she was going to make something and Ira chimed in in Vietnamese "For evening.  dinner or a concert."  Giang acknowledged this and asked what fabric was desired!  So the blue silk conversation was forgotten or at least put aside!  Carol did see a creamy dreamy sort of thing on a mannequin and it was now to be the model for the evening outfit.  Carol mentioned the sleeves and the length and the NOT TOO TIGHT.  Nodding as if she understood everything, Giang got her tape, took some measurements which she called out to her assistant and then got out her sketchpad.  Carol really loved the design and is looking forward to wearing it to a concert at the Opera House. 

Giang told us it would be ready in ten days and that she would work on it personally!  Ira did ask if she could manage nine days as there is a concert on the 10th day and she said that was likely.  When she told us how much the outfit would cost, we were again shocked!  It was way less than something off the rack at a department store in the US and it will fit like a glove!  At least since Carol emphasized "not too tight" complete with pantomime gestures mimicking flowing robes, she won't have to lose too much weight to squeeze into it.