Exploring Hanoi in August

As the taxi pulled up in front of a really nice kind of small hotel that did not seem to fit into the neighborhood, I found myself at the Sunway Hotel. Having had a nightmare experience with getting a hotel in Hanoi last year, I went online and found a hotel this year before arriving. I chose the Sunway Hotel because of its price - not really knowing anything about it.  The location of the hotel was really good, with it being a short cab ride to about everywhere that you might want to go to. There are several small cafes that offer some good Hanoi style food as well as nearby street vendor places.

Now that I have stayed there, there is no doubt in my mind why it has consistently won awards as being the top boutique business hotel in Hanoi! The rooms were nice sized and very clean, and the double paned windows blocked the noise of Hanoi under construction out. I had a room that gave me a good view over the local neighborhood and some interesting architecture nearby. The top floors of the hotel are under construction, but the work crews did not start in till later in the morning, so noise never was a problem. You will find the business center and gym are now on the 2nd floor instead of up top. It is also one of the very few hotels in Vietnam that has drinkable water from the taps. Many of the hotel staff were fluent in both English and French. Many of the guests there were French tourists, and it is a good sign of a great hotel when their have the employees that are able to cater to guests in more than one foreign language. I really appreciated the help and assistance the front desk and the doormen offered on where I should visit during this trip to Hanoi (having seen many of the tourist sights last year already).

The hotel offers a breakfast spread that includes pho (Hanoi style of course) and Vietnamese, European, and Japanese specialties and eggs to order.

The staff at the Sunway Hotel tipped me off that I should walk over to the Emperor Restaurant and try the Hue style food there. They also recommended it because there is live traditional Vietnamese music played there each night.

I arrived late in the evening, around 8:30pm, and was given a table in the villa courtyard near the girls playing the traditional music. The two open floors of the restaurant gaze down upon the villa courtyard—and it is just one fantastic place! The music and the layout of the restaurant as a whole got two thumbs up for an incredible experience.

But neither the layout nor the music could hold a candle to the food at the Emperor Restaurant-which served some of the best Vietnamese food I have ever had anywhere. I highly recommend the Hue style spring rolls, which are brought out attached by toothpicks to a small hollowed pineapple with a candle in it. They alone are worth a trip back to the Emperor on my next trip to Hanoi! I also had the chicken and corn soup—which was excellent.

My main course was something had not seen before, chicken in lime sauce. Lime leaves are often used in Viet cooking, and they had a great flavor to any poultry dish. But it was a mystery to me what lime sauce might be. When the dish arrived - I found the sauce to be sweet and tangy and very much different than a lemon style sauce. It was not just good - it was excellent! This is a dish that you definitely want to try!!!!

If it is Hue style cooking that you want to try - the Emperor Restaurant should be where you go in Hanoi.

Located on the second floor off the busy Hang Buon Street, the LadyBird Restaurant offers a great place to take a lunch or a stop for a bit to beat the heat. With a balcony that holds a couple of tables, and several tables indoors, it proved to be a great spot for people-watch as well.
Try not to guess a place by its prices, because though they are pretty cheap at the Ladybird - the food is very good. Though they offer Vietnamese dishes, pasta, burgers, and sandwiches - it is the Saigon spring rolls that you do not want to miss out on ordering. They were good enough to order a second round of them during my stop there!
The restaurant owner and staff were super friendly and helpful. When you leave the restraint, there is a mooncake shop next door that worth a stop in to pickup any one of the many different types of mooncakes they offer.

No trip to Hanoi is complete without a visit to The Spotted Cow Pub. Most evenings you will find Thuy Saxon behind the bar talking with a small fun crowd of regulars and keeping the beers flowing. The Cow is your typical European pub—transported to Hanoi of course, with the walls covered with messages and signatures of those who have passed there before. The whole pub is full of décor that has everything you can think of with a spotted cow, and well worth a few minutes just examining so many items itself—and the walls are full of them. The Cow is heavily patronized by various expats and travelers of many types, especially those patrons that love darts.

The menu at The Spotted Cow features some western and Vietnamese favorites. Check out the board in back for what the specials of the day are. Don’t miss out on ordering a plate of potato wedges or an Aussie meat pie or maybe the fish and chips. They also have soup, sandwiches, and good burgers that go well with a cold mug of Tiger beer.

Open daily from 11:30, The Cow stocks a wide range of mixed drinks and beers. Weekday Happy hour is all drinks half price from 6-7pm. Come in before 6pm, and Thuy will take VND 5,00 off the price of your beer.