These hills that greet visitors on Melbourne’s northern approaches once were dotted with sheep and rocks. Now they are blanketed with houses and huge shopping centres.
For lunch, a taste of Japanese tonkatsu at Plenty Valley.
Not fancy, just crumbed pork with udon noodles, vege and egg in a curry, heated by a cute, gimmicky blue gel tealight.
A filling lunch for $16.80 at Fukutontei.
Carrots add character: this colorful combo is fried egg, fried rice, salad and a chicken leg with a slightly spicy salsa of tomato, onion and carrot cubes.
It’s served in a “hot pot”, I presume for looks, as it’s all fried in the wok (except for the salad, derrr) at the restaurant”s streetfront kitchen.
Big serve, big taste, big value at USD3.40. I’ll be back again …
Happy in Hanoi, GREG HACKETT hits the road to Vung Tau. Literally.
I came. I saw. I broke a big toe. (Apologies to Julius Caesar.) However, Vung Tau might just be my lucky break. I’ve been on the hunt for an “easily do-able” South-East Asian seaside destination to replace Cambodia’s diabolically destroyed Sihannoukville, and this south Vietnamese pearl is looking perfect. Even an aching toe (I don’t suppose you can sue a municipal council for an uneven footpath injury in this part of the world, eh? Haha) doesn’t seem so bad, with the aid of osteo-paracetemol, Saigon Green beer, a beach, and a thousand smiling faces.
Pullman Perfection
Variety is the essence of this Vietnam journey: imagine French Versailles one day, Ancient Sparta the next; from a Hanoi Pullman luxury suite to a standard room at Vung Tau’s Hoang Cam guesthouse. This is how I travel. And I love it.
My first time in Hanoi, and the Pullman makes it easy. An optician across the street from the hotel’s entrance is handy – I have my eyes checked with the hi-tech gadgetry, and order (with same day delivery) several new spectacles of the same or superior quality, and half the price, of those I bought in Melbourne. The Pullman is located on the edge of the Vietnam capital’s “embassies precinct”, with the Temple of Literature, Uncle Ho’s Museum and all the other bits and pieces that tourists seek. The Pullman’s concierge provides a map for a casual 40-minute “cultural walk”.
Embassy “Spy” tail
Now with good vision (and a full stomach from the breakfast buffet) I gladly put the map to use. As I strolled (or semi-hobbled, with a crook back) past the Ukraine embassy’s gated entrance, a 30-something, hair shortly cropped, blue eyed blond bloke, dressed all in trendy black, emerged with a beautiful Vietnamese girl. He nodded “hello” to me, and I nodded in acknowledgement and let them pass, as I further studied my “cultural walk” route. By pure coincidence, we headed in the same direction – him chatting to his young companion and darting glances back at me, and me schlepping along about 30 metres behind, happily absorbed in trying to decipher street directions. Ten minutes later, we passed the Chinese embassy and crossed the intersection, to Lenin Park. With a quick frown in my direction, he ducked out onto the street, stopped a taxi, hurriedly bundled his lady acquaintance into the back seat, jumped in himself, and off they sped to their … afternoon assignation.
The silly bloke. If he thought I was tailing him, Putin’s spies must now be half the height and twice the age!
Choice accommodation
Smaller, “no-frills” guesthouses and hotels (the ubiquitous sign Nhà Nghi in Vietnamese) suit a solo traveller such as myself, and the Hoang Cam guesthouse, at US$7 a night, ticks the boxes: fan and aircon, WiFi, mini fridge, cleanliness, location and a bonus balcony. However, for a traveller, a couple or a family wanting quality/price comfort, I can’t speak (or write) highly enough of the Hanoi Pullman. My many friends and contacts who have followed my travel writings over the years are familiar with my praise for the Accor accommodation properties Pullman/Sofitel/Novotel – because I’ve simply never had a problem with them. And I can be blunt in my assessment.
Travel Tip: Always tip the hotel/guesthouse manager the day you arrive, not the day you depart. It makes sense.
At Vung Tau’s Hoang Cam hotel, The reception lady mistakenly overcharged me when I prepaid my bill. The following day, the manager informed me and reimbursed the cash. Most Vietnamese and Cambodians are good like that …
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We may come in different shapes and colours, but inside all are nourishing and nice.
– Vung Tau, Vietnam
Why are the Food Gods so mean to us?
I put leftover street-food noodles in my guesthouse room’s little fridge overnight for ants-proofing, and what you now see is … congealed fat; the stuff that clings to your waistline and won’t budge.
Yes, this is the juice on the delicious street food that we scoff down with a passion; this is the cheap and simple but so satisfying cuisine that brings us to South-East Asia; this is why we painfully learn to use chop sticks; this requires urgent action: a reduction in my nightly cold beer quota? Nope. It looks like an extra 2km on my daily walk, and an extra 10 minutes of daily sea swimming …
The little lunch date soon becomes a seafood feast: that’s me when I see FRESH from the sea.
Two crabs steamed (my fav), a lobster grilled, a whole fish (I mistakenly pointed to the cobia, I meant grouper. Oh well) in that SEAsian tomato sauce that makes any fish delish, and a large seafood noodles.
Add an iced tea (trà dá, I relish it), a little Red Bull and a small water: USD100/AUD150 (I’m glad our politicians are paid in AUD, not USD)
Bread rolls (banh) are for the birds: noodles and rice laid out beside the road to dry in the sun.
The bread distracts the birds … but not so the ants and flies. (Maybe the insects are gluten intolerant?)
I still haven’t worked out what this is … or, more importantly, what it was.
I give most #streetfood a crack but I’m hanging off on trying this one until further research.
*update: these are tapioca dumplings with shrimp (thanks, guesthouse staff & Google translate)
A roast chicken USD10, average live lobster USD50, airport taxi USD30: The huge Chinese “spend” in South-East Asia is causing a rapid inflation of prices.
Expect enormous inflationary pressure to soon weigh on the smaller economies as locals struggle to cope with rocketing property/food/transport costs.
It’ll be much worst if tourism turns away from “once cheap” Asia…
Clarification: roast chooks in SE Asia haven’t yet undergone the Ingham/Steggles “miniaturisation” program and are a decent size, and come with claws and head cooked and intact – woo hoo, a bonus locals love!
Rice to the Rescue: Russian tourists in Asia tend to buy up in supermarket and prepare/eat in their room. OK, let’s see: This canned Danish pork luncheon (US$6.70) is a tube of salty sorrow but add freshly steamed rice (US40c-80c), chilli sauce, leftover ginger sauce – and a squirt of Japanese mayo – and the result is alright. Verdict: No. It’s cheaper, tastier and healthier to buy fresh at a local eatery. But hey, if you don’t give it a go, you’ll never know …
Haxtrax 