At the end of our first day in Hanoi, we headed out to explore a bit of the Old Town neighborhood where we were staying at the Silk Path Hotel. We turned right and headed up Hang Bong Street toward Hoan Kiem Lake.
We hadn't gone very far when we noticed a Circle K convenience store. If you forgot to bring something along on the trip like shaving cream, toothpaste, etc., the Circle K stores here are just like home. There are over 500 of them in Vietnam including three on Hang Bong Street near our hotel - and they all seemed busy.
There are lots of "travel stores" on the street selling the same tours along with telephone sim cards, changing money and some even offer laundry service.
We soon came to a few fast food and restaurant operations. Dee offers the popular Banh Mi sandwich. This is the equivalent of a Philly Cheesecake in Philadelphia - you must eat one while you're here. The ones we bought came from Lila, not Dee, but that's a story for another day.
There are plenty of street food vendors anywhere you venture in Vietnam. This barbecue operation was the most elaborate one we encountered. You choose the meat or fish you want and while the chef grills it for you (shown on the left photo) you pick out the vegetables or other sides for your meal.
A food operation doesn't need much space because tables and chairs can be set out on the sidewalk or around the corner in the alley.
Sidewalks along the narrow streets of Old Town serve multiple purposes. They are parking places for the motorcycles, serve as display areas for the local merchants and, of course, provide seating for the food patrons. With some difficulty, a pedestrian can also walk on them.
We had noticed earlier in the day the large number of sidewalk restaurants, coffee shops and food stall operations that line much of the middle of the city. Large and small groups gather on tiny stools for coffee, breakfast, lunch and dinner. The variety of offerings is large. (Ten minute video on small stools and street vendors here.)
Hang Bong Street eventually reaches Hoan Kiem Lake. A large square there is surrounded by shops on three sides with the lake offering a nice view of city lights in the distance. The square had a large video display playing a New Years greeting on this night.
The Coffee Club Cafe on one side of the square looked like a nice spot for desert which was all we were looking for so we ventured up to the 4th floor.
This is a modern up to date operation with menus and service available via QR code scans from your mobile phone. We ordered beverages, ice cream and cashews; we were surprised when the cashews came in a shrink wrapped package - Vietnam is the leading exporter of cashews.
We didn't discover our favorite Vietnamese street food until late in our trip: Chuoi Chien - fried banannas! While we were on the road with one of guides near Saigon, she pointed these out to Linda; they are delicious. Recipe and instructions on YouTube here.
On the way back to the hotel after our dessert by the lake, we came upon a store selling pottery. Walking inside I couldn't believe my luck at finding so many choices for a Vietnam souvenir for my basement mug wall. We soon discovered that Bat Trang pottery is the top of the line in ceramics in Vietnam.
More photos at this Flickr album.
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