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Exploring Hanoi – Restaurants and Bars

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Hanoi marks one of the largest parts of our love story and helps define us as the crazed couple that we are today :-). Of course there were sunny days and then days when the sun could not poke through. But in the end, this city of 9 millions will always be our home, where we would head back in search for comfort.

Our guests often ask us for recommendations for Hanoi and it always takes us a long time and much energy to select what we love most about the city. There were just so much that we miss, especially for the restaurant and bar scene, in this town. And even though we always head separate ways for food whenever we are back in Hanoi these days (me straight to the familiar street food joints and Loic for the Vietnamese fusion picks in a nicer setting), we have finally settled on a list of our top choices for the city. And granted you would need to stay for a month to enjoy everything we love to the fullest, this would hopefully give you an idea for an introductory trip here.

LUNCH PICKS:

– Quan An Ngon – 18 Phan Boi Chau: Vietnamese street food in a French colonial courtyard. Very good Vietnamese noodles and snacks at a very good price, you can try everything in one place!

– Pho – 10 Ly Quoc Su St.: You cannot go to Vietnam without eating a bowl of pho, and there is no better place to do it than in Hanoi. We come here for breakfast sometimes and always have a good experience (good broth, quick service, clean setting)

– Bun cha – 34 Hang Than St.: Popular bun cha (Vietnamese meatballs and noodle) place for the locals
– Moose and Roo Smokehouse – 21 Hai Ba Trung St. (inside the American Club courtyard): A popular choice for the expats in Hanoi if you are craving for some great BBQ in a massive garden where the kids can run wild
– Green Tangerine – 48 Hang Be St.: We love this French Vietnamese fusion restaurant in a beautiful colonial house tucked away in the Old Quarter. The set lunch menu is very reasonable if you want something different
– Koto – 59 Van Mieu St.: Stop by Koto for a lovely Vietnamese lunch after you visit the Temple of Literature. This NGO-run teaching restaurant helps train many street youth for a career in Hospitality
DINNER CHOICES:
– La Badiane – 10 Nam Ngu St.: By far the best fine dining restaurant in the city with beautiful settings. We often come here for anniversary or special occasions!
– Cau Go Restaurant – 73 Cau Go St.: Great Vietnamese restaurant with great view of Hoan Kiem Lake, you would have to make reservation in advance through their website to enjoy at this Vietnamese fine dining restaurant
– Cua hang an uong Mau dich so 37 (State-Run Food Shop No. 37) – 37 Nam Trang, Tay Ho District – A hidden restaurant that offers a sneak peak into the government’s economic reform ‘doi moi’ period. Think whitewashed walls hung with battered enamel lunch pails and a transistor radio emitting crackly period tunes, the restaurant is Van Anh’s favorite for northern home-style dishes that cannot be found much outside of Vietnamese homes
– Le Jardin French Bistro – 54 Quang An, Tay Ho District: One of the best French, European restaurants in Hanoi with great view of the West Lake. Don’t forget to leave room for the delicious lavender creme brulee!
– The Fat Pig – 74 Quang An, Tay Ho District: For those of you who are craving some taste of home, this craft brews and awesome BBQ has great view of West lake and delicious food to match the view
– Cousins – 3 Quang Ba, Tay Ho District: Voted best restaurant in Hanoi within the expat community, this hidden treasure offers a nice escape from the intensity of downtown with delicious homemade international food
– Pepe La Poule – 22 Quang Khanh St., Tay Ho District: An awesome rooftop expat restaurant with Japanese French fusion dishes that will not disappoint you. Our favorite place for a romantic date night for sure
COCKTAIL HOURS:
– Metropole Hotel – French Quarter: A great place for people watching and amazing cocktails. Take a table on the verandah facing the street and enjoy the view of Vietnamese brides and grooms queuing in line for their wedding pictures. Don’t forget to take a tour of the hotel afterward and see which celebrities have been here in the past. The Metropole’s famous Sunday brunch is also a treat for you and the family for sure
– Barbetta – 34C Cao Ba Quat St.: This funky bar near the Temple of Literature offers a combination of retro-chic decor, cheap drinks and food, and a rustic rooftop bar. Try Loic’s favorite: the Russian green tea martini and let us know what you think
– 88 Lounge: 88 Xuan Dieu St.: This well-designed wine bar is where we spent 3 nights out of every week drinking with our expat friends. That should tell you enough about the place
CHIC CAFES:
– Vui Studio – 3C Tong Duy Tan: An open cafe dedicated to showcasing the contemporary aesthetics and craftsmanship of Vietnam with lovely music and nice drinks. Check out some of their creative Gin Tonic if you happen to be there during happy hours!
– La Place – 6 Au Trieu St.: With undoubtedly the best view of Hanoi’s iconic cathedral, this little hidden cafe offers fresh juices and drinks for you to enjoy some great people-watching
LATE-NIGHT PARTIES:
– 1900 Le Theatre – 8B Ta Hien St.: Nestled at the heart of the Old Quarter on bia hoi street, the hottest club in town was converted from an old theater. Nice design, good vibe, dope clientele and civilized music are the things to be expected here.
Let us know if you have any other favorites and we will make sure to check it out and add it to our list! Enjoy Hanoi!!

Loïc’s awesome smoked beef

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For us, the holidays are usually all about eating and drinking (and complaining about eating too much and then starting it all over again the following day). We are quite lucky that most of our guests are also food fanatics like us so we can spend hours upon hours talking about restaurants and recipes. This year, one of Loïc’s most popular holiday creations was the giant smoked beef we served on Christmas eve. Marinated for 24 hours with rock salt, Greek rosemary, zinfandel wine,  worcestershire sauce and a lot of love, this recipe was so rich in flavors thanks not only to the new recipe, but also thanks to all the little local ingredients such as coconut shells, sugar cane husks, banana leaves (and also apple wood chips hand carried from America…airport customs agents must have thought that we were nuts). Anyway, no more rambling, here is the recipe for you!

Ingredients:

2-4 kilos of Beef (Cube Roll if available)
Rock Sea Salt
Rosemary
1 bottle of Zinfandel wine
120-140 ml of Worcestershire sauce
 

Directions:

1) Gradually start massaging the rock salt and rosemary into the beef after cutting off any excess fat.  Depending on the size of the meat, this may take around 30 minutes to really work in the spices.

2) After the massage experience, place the beef in an airtight container and submerge the meat in Zinfandel wine and Worcestershire sauce. Be sure to use enough of both liquids to ensure that no part of the beef is exposed to air.  Seal off the container and place in the refrigerator for between 18-30 hours.

3) Remove the beef from the liquids but be sure to save all the marinade as it will be used during the smoking process

4) Light up your smoker and burn the charcoal for about 30 minutes or until the charcoal is hot enough.  After this (if you have access to it) begin adding coconut shells, sugar cane husks, banana leaves, and/or apple wood chips on top of the coals continually as you go along and add more charcoal as needed to ensure the temperature is sufficiently hot and smoky.

5) Once the fire is hot enough, place your beef in the smoker and let it slowly cook. The beef should have the remaining marinade brushed over it once after an hour and then re-brush the marinade over the beef every 45 minutes afterwards.

-depending on the size of the meat, total cooking time can vary between 3-4 hours on average but it can be useful to use a meat thermometer if available to ensure you don’t overcook the beef.

6) Remove beef from the BBQ, serve, and ENJOY!

 

Oh, you Glorious beef!

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The moment of truth…dsc_0510

When you can see the smoke oozing out of the beefdsc_0517

Our guests ask for a more well done version but you can also have to medium rare toodsc_0520

Holiday Season ’16

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We often joke how funny it is that we hospitality people only start our holiday once our guests have gone back to work. This year, our holiday feels so much different though. As we hugged our new year groups good bye and slowly took down the holiday decorations, we all felt a slight holiday hangover. As if our holiday has been over too. As if we are sending our friends off after such a fun party and not really sure when would be the next time we meet.

For us here at Heron House, this holiday season was truly about reunions. It was a father and daughter visiting his other beloved daughter and son-in-law in Vietnam from Africa and Europe. It was a high school reunion of three friends with their wives and kids who were living all over the world. It was a long-overdue family vacation with a lot of board games and laughter. It was exploring new places and making new friends for a pilot’s family. And for us as well, we got to welcome our two Greek friends into our home after meeting them at their home in Leros in our last summer vacation.

It was a special time for all of us. We hugged and drank and laughed and shared stories. I know Loic felt quite sad for not being with his family and friends for yet another Christmas so it was comforting to realize the number of friends we have made over the holiday.

The weather was not so kind to us over the holiday and we apologize for any hiccups you might feel during your time in Hoi An. We would like to thank you again for being a part of our holiday season and spreading the laughter and love. 2016 was a year full of challenges and difficulties but it marked a special chapter in our lives and we are happy we got to welcome the exciting new 2017 with you!

And here are some photos from our Christmas BBQ in the villa. Sorry we were so busy cooking and drinking and laughing that we did not have time for more pictures with the other groups. And thank you Quyen for stepping in and capturing these precious moments.

Our little Christmas tree with decorations from our little guests

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Delicious mulled wine to start off the nightdsc_0449

 

Clara is making special cookies for Santa Clausdsc_0464

Loic’s signature mushroom soup with truffle saucedsc_0507

Slicing open the present, our 4-kilo smoked beefdsc_0509

Our lovely guestsdsc_0529

… with Santa’s little helpersdsc_0532

Happy Holiday!

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Dear friends,

Happy happy holidays from the Heron House team! Thank you for being a part of our journey in 2016. The year might have been rough and full of unexpected surprises, but now looking back, we are very grateful for all the new friendships we have gained, all the laughter we have shared, and all the memories we have made together. Heron House is a special chapter in our lives and we are glad we got to share this experience with the best group of friends we could ask for.

Wishing you a Joyous Holiday Season and A Very Happy and Peaceful New Years ahead, wherever you are in the world!

Best regards,

Loic, Van Anh and the whole Heron House team.

P/S: Van Anh tried to put real Santa hats on mama and baby buffalo but was getting really dirty looks from the mama so this is the best we can get, please excuse our poor Photoshop skill!)