Lost in Hanoi...

I'd like to think I am good at following maps, but sheesh Hanoi kicked my bum!  The hostel map showed fairly grid like European designed city, but the streets are nothing like that...there are crazy 4-5 street intersections and just plain old streets that are no where on a map!  But about the 2nd day we learnt to recognize enough to make our way back to the hostel.  We spent a day in Hanoi, did a day trip to Halong bay (gorgeous!) and one more full day visiting Hanoi cultural sights - Ho Chi Minh mausoleum, his house, palace etc.  Check out Michelle's blog for details.

Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum was a bit sad for me as he wished to be cremated and vetoed a mausoleum rather wanting the money to go towards schools.  But upon his death the incoming party changed his will, embalmed the man and built a mausoleum anyway.  It's done up very elegantly, the body is well preserved, there are tons of guards in white but this is all against what he wanted.

Anyway to change gears to food (and people) we met Neil on the Halong bay tour.  On his recommendation we searched for street food bbq.  I am guessing this was a restaurant as well, all the guys were wearing yellow t-shirts with 47 on it, but all the people were sitting in mini stools on the side walk.  At one point I was sitting on the street pretty much in the gutter!  Kind of like Korean bbq they give you a hot grill with a heat source.  Then you drizzle a generous amount of oil and throw beef and veg. (pic below) and season with a lemon and spice mixture.

It was delicious!!  An experienced we would have missed had we not met Neil!  So thanks Neil, for the brilliant company and for being such an adventurous foodie!

Following the meal we stopped at a bar where again you sit on the streets on mini stools.  Can you spot the foreigners?!  I keep saying this reminds me of the after work bars over spilling with people in London...well sans the suits and wine of course.

Next morning we decided to be like the locals, walked down the alley from our hostel for beef noodle pho.

 

All this for one dollar!  The pho was so much better than the restaurant we ate at during our first day in Hanoi!

 

 This is a bit of a weird story but follow me...after all the cultural sights, we followed Neil's guide book to a restaurant that only serves one dish and has been for years, maybe centuries (I said maybe!)

 

 We asked for the menu, this is what we got....

The dish is monkfish marinated in galangal & saffron, stir-fried right at your table with a bowl of rice noodles, peanuts, sauce and some herbs. 

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Was it good?  That's a big yes!  The sauce (cooked oil really!) tasted like a better version of butter (if there is such a thing!)  The fish was moist, and the vegetable perfect though I am not sure what everything was.

But here's the weird part...following the meal we got the bill and we were very slow (some might even say dumb) in trying to figure out to split the bill 3 ways.  Not quite true, we figured out how much each had to pay but making the proper change was an issue.  At one point we told the owner what each of us owed and asked to pay individually.  She shook her head at us and a few minutes later dropped some money at our table.  No idea why.

Eventually we left a pile of money BUT the owner refused our payment!  She gave us back our money plus the money she gave us!   I am still confused as to what happened.  It was beyond a free meal....she gave us money to eat at her place, or maybe gave us money to leave the restaurant. I don't know.  Either way it's weird and at random times I am still trying to figure out what happened!!!