A Long Weekend in Hanoi

Our first trip to Hanoi took place at the very beginning of Covid. That led to us not being able to experience much. In order to have the opportunity to explore more of the city we decided to go again. This time everything was open and we were able to walk around the Old Quarter and nearby areas. It was a holiday weekend so lots of people were out to celebrate.

The Food

Being a picky eater, and not speaking Vietnamese, I wasn’t sure how I would do with the food but I ended up really enjoying most of it. Kuah did a lot of research before we went to find the restaurants we wanted to hit. The first day we planned on going to a restaurant that specializes in turmeric fish. We got a bit lost getting there but finally found it. Unfortunately, we arrived an hour before it opened and we were too hungry to wait. So we went to another place Kuah had found, Mr. Bay Mien Tay, which specialized in seafood pancakes. While I love seafood I am also picky about it. This dish ended up being perfect for me as it didn’t have any of the seafood I don’t like. It not only came with dipping sauce but also rice wrappers, fresh greens and herbs to wrap around the pancake. Using different herbs for each wrap was a fun way to experiment with the flavor.

After the seafood pancake I was full but Kuah was still a bit hungry. So, we walked around and ended up going down a side street where he had bun cha. This was the same dish President Obama had with Anthony Bourdain when he visited Vietnam just not at the same restaurant.

The next day for lunch we decided to try Sente: The Flavor of Lotus, which was located in the old quarter. This restaurant specialized in dishes with lotus root. Kuah enjoyed the crab broth hotpot with fish. I enjoyed my coconut with with pandan jelly. For dinner we were able to go the the turmeric fish restaurant we had missed the day before. It was nice in that there were lots of herbs and it seemed fairly healthy. The restaurant attracted a lot of locals. It was an interesting experience but we found the food to be just OK. That being said I wouldn’t mind trying a turmeric fish recipe myself one day.

One of my favorite chocolate brands, Marou, is from Vietnam. Luckily they have shops with cafes in Hanoi. On Saturday we visited one where I was able to enjoy a treat and we brought some chocolate to take home. Out hotel also gave us a small bar of Marou chocolate everyday! To balance the chocolate we went to a vegetarian restaurant, Um Dam Chay, for lunch. This turned out to be my favorite meal. The building was earthy and calm. The menu was fun.

We each started with a kombucha to drink. Kuah had soursop and lotus while I had strawberry and olive. I wasn’t sure how the olive would be with the strawberry but it was very refreshing. Our favorite dish was crispy rice with corn sauce and fragrant basil leaves. It was a fun texture and the fresh basil balanced the richness of the corn sauce well. We also shared sa dec noodles with an giang tamarind. This dish ended up being similar to a pad Thai. The noodles were super chewy and had a nice tang. The pomelo salad, while not special, provided a nice refreshing balance to the richer dishes. If we had time we definitely would’ve gone back to this restaurant to try more.

Capella Hotel

I really enjoyed our hotel. It was a small hotel with an opera theme. It was one of the few hotels I’ve stayed at where instead of there being a charge for everything, most things were free. We got a free upgrade to a deluxe suite. The first room we stayed in was the Josephine Baker suite. While the room itself was lovely, the AC wasn’t working well and it was super loud outside of our room both at night and early morning. After a night of bad sleep we were thankfully moved to the Natacha Trouhanova suite. While this suite was a tad smaller the AC worked well and it was much quieter so we were able to sleep well. Of course, my favorite part of the room was the nice big bathtub.

I believe this hotel hopes that everyone leaves 10 pounds fatter than when they arrived. There is an abundance for free food and drinks. When you arrive you’re greeted with a refreshing welcome drink and candy. There are always some sweet and savory snacks in the lobby. In the morning there is a free buffet and ala carte breakfast. Even though it’s not listed on them menu they made me a hot matcha every morning for no additional charge. One morning I even tried their hot cocoa. The matcha was better than the cocoa.

Later in the morning they offer free hors d’oeurves and drinks in the lobby. I found that I really liked their apple cucumber kombucha. In the late afternoon they offer free sweets and bring around a cart full of delicious treats to choose from. In the evening there are some savory snacks, drinks and live jazz. Kuah and I enjoyed the live jazz one evening . Often live music is so loud it gives me anxiety. Thankfully it was at a volume that was perfect for me. It was a rare treat to be able to enjoy live music.

In the room the minibar and snacks are all free and replenished daily, except for the alcohol. This included a bar of Marou chocolate every day. There was also a slice of opera cake in the room on our first day and a plate of macaroons on our second day. The macaroons had some interesting flavors, like yuzu wasabi. A few days they gave us mango and rose apples. Kuah and I thought the rose apples we had here were the most flavorful we’ve ever had.

The hotel had a very extravagant indoor pool. You could also reserve the sauna, steam room and cold plunge pool. Kuah and I went down for a swim one day and were happy to be the only ones there. We were greeted and led to a seat with towels. Then they brought us iced tea and snacks. We enjoyed a swim and reserved the sauna area for a half hour. It was relaxing to have the pool and sauna all to ourselves. After the sauna they gave us some sports drink to re-hydrate.

One morning I went to use the gym while Kuah did some work. While small all of the equipment was clean and well maintained. They greeted me when I arrived and made sure I didn’t have any questions. I got a great leg workout in on the machines. I had to laugh because even at the gym they not only had water but also protein balls and nuts. This hotel never missed an opportunity to feed their guests!

Another thing I got to enjoy in the hotel was making a traditional silk necklace. One morning they had 2 local women that were working on making necklaces. They were happy to teach guests how to make one. I ended up starting a blue one and they finished it for me as they were much faster. Surprisingly, it wasn’t too difficult to make.

On the day we checked out they gave us a box of Sarah Bernhardt cookies to take home. It is a danish cookie that consists of a chocolate dipped macaroon. This one also had a layer of cream and jelly in the center. I ate a few on the plane but then got rid of the rest so I could go back to healthy eating in Singapore.

Walking Around the City

Most days Kuah and I walked around 7-10 miles. The weather was perfect for us. It wasn’t too hot or humid. It was great to get lots of movement in to help balance all of the eating we were doing. We always started from our hotel so mostly saw the more touristy areas. While we did go into a few malls that had a lot of expensive name brand stores we mostly walked outside. We found that Hanoi has lot of nice small lakes to walk around. As we were there for the Reunification and May day holidays the streets were lively. But it was never too busy to navigate. It was easy to tell which streets were built more around tourists and which catered towards locals. The one thing we had to pay attention to was crossing streets as were weren’t used to the local traffic flow. Now that we’re back and I’m working on this blog I realize we didn’t take any pictures of the city.

My favorite activity was the water puppets, which is definitely geared towards tourists. Although the show was narrated in Vietnamese it was still enjoyable to watch.  The show lasted about an hour and had dragons, fish and people puppets. You don’t see the people who operate the puppets till the end when they come out. I was happy to see they were selling out many of the shows so it will help keep the traditional art alive.

All in all it was a great weekend getaway!

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