Life Eaters

Day 3

We spent our morning within close reach of Wi-Fi so we could constantly check the internet on our phones to get updated election results. It was sort of surreal checking in on such an important event when we were eating breakfast on Thursday when halfway across the world our friends were wart bing results on Tuesday night.

We took a cab to the edge of town where we did a Vietnamese cooking class through hiddenHanoi.com. We were first given aarket tour, where we learned the difference between the legal marker, the moving market (bicycles loaded with produce or women carrying baskets), and the frog market. The frog market got it’s name because all os the vendors set up on the street or sidewalk, and if the police come by they quickly grab their stuff and hop away. They then set back up when the coast is clear.

At the market we saw we saw pretty much every item imaginable, and some things you would never imagine. Lets just say I will never look at dogs the same again! We also sew mountains of fresh her s hand harvester that morning, fresh made rice noodles, live eels and worms and lots I’d tables of fresh cuts of meat.

Our cooking class had a theme of “street food”, and our instructor taught us how to make fried spring rolls and Bun Cha, which is a type of grilled meat, along with a dipping sauce for everything. They were really great and I would say this is a must do for anybody going to Hanoi. E finished the class by sitting in their patio garden, sipping tea and eating mango, jackfruit and pommel with chili and salt.

The remainder of the day held more walking around, more egg coffee on a rooftop, massage for the girls and a second fitting for our suits.

For dinner, we went to a place that has been noted by many people, including Anthony Bordain, as having the best Pho in town. The name escapes me, but it’s better known by it’s address, 49 Bat Dan. It was a tiny street-side hole-in-the-wall packed with people at shared tables inside, flowing out to the sidewalk with tiny plastic stools and tables. It was a painstaking process trying to order because I didn’t see a menu (I later saw it on the wall, with a whopping three items), and only had a few dollars left. We ended up getting bowls of some of the best Pho around for a whopping $1.50 each. One person behind the counter took our money, while another laded in broth that has been cooking the past 24 hours from a 5 gallon kettle, a handful of fresh rice noodles and a handful of thinly sliced beef. No bells and whistles here, just simple and properly executed hot soup.

Market tour and street food themed cooking class.