The Art of Dining in Hanoi

If one were to be asked, "Where can you find the best art in Hanoi"?, I don't think I would name any of the "Hangs" in which one might find the many art galleries filled with contemporary or traditional Vietnamese paintings that are increasingly attracting Western and Asian tourists bringing with them the promise of deep pockets.

The most beautiful art in my mind that you could find in Hanoi is first in its architecture, and then second in the small details surrounding that architecture- the way they let ivy grow and hang from their balconies, an old banyan tree in the courtyard, a deep alizarin-coloured gate, a yellow-ochre door. In this aspect of Vietnamese life, the people there are naturally artistic, tasteful...and they don't copy the neighbour's decor.

More thoughts on the arts scene there in the other blog. Here, I am just glad to say that we dined in very fine art at the Green Tangerine Restaurant at Hang Be last month.

The Green Tangerine French restaurant is a well-known spot for both locals and tourists. It's part of the trio of "must-go" restaurants in Hanoi, together with Bobby Chinn's and The Emperor. Our time in Hanoi was short, and there were not enough nights to try out all the restaurants. We would have missed going to the Green Tangerine if one of our dinner companions had not fortuitously worn a pair of shorts and the whole company got politely turned away at The Emperor restaurant (we did go back there the next night, for the supposedly "fine" Vietnamese cuisine).

The restaurant is housed in a lovingly restored building dated 1928 in the Old Quarters. Restored in a way that is not overly self-conscious, it still blends with, but stands out from the adjacent buildings. The magnolia and rich green exterior has a slightly aged look, in part due to the plant creepers and trees growing in the compound. There is a small courtyard which looks to be perfect for an afternoon tea session.

Inside, I was delighted with the decor. It is exactly that blend of traditional and modern furnishings that makes any living space so interesting. The choice is towards wooden furniture with clean simple modern lines. But there were little interesting artifacts peppered all over the restaurant that tell so much of the history, and the both Western and Oriental influences that have shaped the city. They have real antique books on the shelves and mantlepieces, a touch in any place that sure impresses me.

The food was likewise presented in a beautiful artistic way, as with most French cuisine. But it is hard to look at it for too long, because the food is really quite quite amazing, and after I made everyone wait for five minutes to do my photo shoots of the food, we were all chomping it down with relish. There was a wide variety of European cuisine - from traditional French to Spanish to Italian, but each dish that we tried had a slight Oriental twist to it, but so imperceptible that you would fall short of calling it fusion. There was a thoughtful menu for vegetarians, and a good selection of fish dishes. The beef and lamb dishes must be their best offerings. I had beef cheeks with beets and roasted potatoes. It was by far the best thing I have ever tried in a French place. We had quite a large company of 7 old and new friends dining that night. All of us were wow-ed by the creative and generous menu.

Well, I won't really write too much more about the food, since I have decided at the beginning that this is not going to be a food review blog. Made the exception here only because it was such a good dining experience. The food is really quite excellent too.

Please do go try it if you have not been there. Maybe we could have afternoon tea together in the courtyard and imagine how it was like to be living there as an artist or a French Tai-tai in 1928. :)

Cooking by Hoan Kiem Lake

So we finally went on our trip to Hanoi last week. The trip was full of surprises - good ones as well as not so good ones. I was a little disappointed with the things I expected to be good - the art, food and shopping, in some respects, they turned out to be quite average. The good surprises were the fantastic historical architecture, the old and wonderful trees growing in the streets, and the interesting people we met there, both foreign and local. The trip has given one much food for thought indeed, which I hope to have time to write down in the other blog. But for now, let's talk just about the food.

I mentioned that the food scene was a little disappointing. I should really qualify that to mean the local food scene. We had a sampling of the French cuisine there, thanks to friends living there, which was just absolutely fabulous. It was really the local dining that was less than spectacular. Even though we all like the simplicity and freshness of the herbs and meat there, there was way too much MSG being used. Also, they didn't seem to be too creative with their use of ingredients and culinary ideas.

Still, we went for a cooking class organized by a restaurant there called Highway4 Restaurant, which was right by Hoan Kiem Lake. It was a pleasant enough experience, and we had fun donning chefs' costumes while a light spring rain drizzled outside over the lake. I cannot say all the dishes we learnt were too memorable though. The seafood fried rice dish was totally forgettable - my mom certainly makes a meaner fried rice dish at home.

The most fun part of the trip was visiting the wet market before the class - we each sat in a cyclo which transported us from the restaurant to the market. It was a most exciting experience being cyclo-ed around by a bike, dodging all the crazy scooters coming in all directions!! :)

I will only post one recipe here for now. We were told that this is served at every business and political function in Hanoi....

Ingredients

Catfish fillet 180g
Rice Paper
Fresh Dill
Oyster Sauce
Mayonnaise
Wasabi
Salt
Chilli Powder
Wheat Flour
Tapioca Starch

Cut the catfish into rectangular shaped strips 2-3 cm wide, around 8 cm long. Squeeze out water to prevent splattering in the oil later. Chop dill finely. Place together in a bowl with flour and spices and mix well by hand. Make cylindrical catfish patties by rolling the fillet between the palm of your hands.

Heat up an inch deep cooking oil in a frying pan. Fry catfish until golden brown. Remove from heat and dip into a little mayonnaise before rolling onto rice paper with a sprig of unchopped dill.

Dip: Mix wasabi with oyster sauce and lemon and sugar to taste.

I think the wasabi makes the world of difference. Ok, it's confirmed I am a Japanese food nut.

Cooking in Barcelona!

Nibbler went to the Iberia Peninsula for two weeks and had a very good time indeed. Got back yesterday afternoon, and since Jetlag is Queen, we will start posting food memories here (the fabulous art and other memories go to the other blog).

On the last day in Barcelona, we did what all of us had been looking forward to throughout - a Spanish cooking class! It was conducted by Cookandtaste which we read about in the BT. For 50 Euros each, we learnt to cook a four-course meal and of course had the meal for lunch. It was an excellent experience all round.

This was our chef instructor, Paul, who was quite hilarious in a deadpan way.
















This was the menu:

Chupito de Sopa de Tomate Al Aroma de Idiazabal de Peio Garcia Amiano (Gazpacho with a twist!)

Tortilla de Patatas y pan con Tomate (aka a very thick omelette)

Paella de Marisco (you cook this, you can cook anything, says Paul)

Crema Catalan (like Creme Brulee)

The cooking school has just emailed the recipes, yay, which are now posted for
future reference. :)

Chupito de Sopa de Tomate al Aroma de Idiazábal

(tomato soup flavoured with idiazábal smoked cheese)

Ingredients (4 servings)

4 tomatoes, peeled and seeded

20 gr idiazábal (sheep) cheese, grated (parmesan may be used as substitute)

20 gr of allioli sauce

2 spoons of balsamic vinegar

2 cloves of garlic, peeled

25 gr of walnuts

25 gr of hazelnuts

parsley

olive oil

salt

Method

Peel the tomatoes, seed and blend them together in a blender with the vinegar and a pinch of salt.

In a mortar, pound the garlic cloves, the parsley and all the nuts. Emulsify with a little of olive oil.

Serve in a cup and decorate with a teaspoon of what you’ve got from the mortar, a teaspoon of allioli and some grated cheese.

Paella de Marisco

(seafood paella)

Ingredients (4 serves)

8 prawns

2 squids (or cuttlefish), in rings

500 gr of clams and / or mussels (1.1 pound / 17.5 oz)

2 or 3 cloves of garlic, peeled, crushed

1 tomato, peeled, minced

6 tablespoons of olive oil

400 gr of rice (1 pound / 14 oz)

1,1 l of fish stock (4.4 cups)

8-10 saffron threads or colouring

Method

Heat the oil in the pan and fry the prawns until slightly browned. Transfer to a plate and set aside.

Add the tomato in the same hot oil and fry slightly. After some minutes, add chopped garlic and fry over medium heat.

When the tomato starts to burn, stir in the squid and the clams and mussels.

Stir in the stock and the saffron and bring it to a boil.

Add the rice and distribute it evenly. Rice can’t be touched beyond this point!

After some minutes add the prawns in a decorative pattern.

Increase the heat to medium-high and cook for (+/-) 8 minutes, rotating and swirling the pan to distribute the heat evenly. Reduce heat to minimum and cook (+/-) 10 more minutes.

Let it stand for about 5 minutes before serving.

Tortilla de Patatas y pan con Tomate

Ingredients (4 serves)

Tortilla de patatas

300 gr of potatoes, peeled, chopped (10 oz)

1 onion, peeled, in half rings

3 eggs

olive oil

salt

Pan con tomate

4 slices of farmhouse bread

2 red tomatoes

1 garlic clove (optional)

olive oil

salt

Method

Tortilla de patatas

Peel and rinse the potatoes; dice them thinly.

Peel the onion and cut it in half rings.

Fry the potatoes in plenty of hot olive oil. Add the onion into the frying pan when the potatoes are half done.

Leave over medium heat until both the potatoes and the onion are well done. Set aside over absorbent paper.

Beat the eggs in a separate bowl and season with salt. Pour the drained potatoes and onion in the bowl and mix.

Remove excess of oil from the pan. Pour the mixture over the heated pan and cook until the bottom starts to brown. Add other ingredients like mushrooms, artichokes, fish, meat as desired at this point.

Flip it over, and gently slide the tortilla into the pan again so the uncooked part is face down and finish cooking.

Pan con tomate

Peel a clove of garlic and cut it in halves. Cut the tomatoes also in halves cross wide.

First rub the bread with the garlic with the cut side, and then with the tomato, squeezing gently. Sprinkle it with salt and drizzle it with olive oil.

Crema Catalan

Ingredients (6 serves)

6 egg yolks

200 gr of sugar (0.5 pound / 7 oz)

1 l of milk (4 cups)

40 gr of starch (1.75 oz / 0.11 pounds)

peel of one lemon

1 stick of cinnamon

vanilla (optional)

Method

Blend the egg yolks and the sugar until it becomes a fine cream. Add 750 ml of milk and stir to get a good mixture. Add the lemon peel and the cinnamon.

Heat it over medium-high heat in a saucepan.

Meanwhile, dissolve the starch in the remaining milk and stir the mixture into the saucepan.

Bring to the boil, stirring all the time and set aside at first bubble.

Let it cool for a while, still stirring, and distribute it in little earthenware dishesº before it cools down completely.