Places to eat in Shanghai :)

Below are some of the good food to eat in Shanghai, if you happen have a chance to visit Shanghai one day :)

Shanghai food:

 1. Lai Lai Xiao Long - 莱莱小笼 (Michelin)

Lailai Xiao Long - Must eat the crab and meat xiao long bao :)

Address: Huangpu, Tianjin Road No.504

Recommended food: crab and meat xiao long bao (soup dumpling) 8 pcs/basket - CNY46, ginger with vinegar (to enhance the depth of the xiao long bao flavor - CNY1 per small plate), fried pork cutlet - CNY25, crab and shrimp Wonton soup 8 pcs/bowl - CNY55. 

Open 8am-9.30pm. I was second in queue around 7.40am. Before, there was nobody. But once the queue was formed, it was getting longer, longer, and longer. You need to come early (slightly around or before 7.30am) to avoid longer waiting time. 

2. Xiao Shao Xing - 小绍兴

Xiao Shao Xing - Sliced boiled chicken or baizhanji :)

Address: Huangpu, Yunnan South Rd No. 69

Recommended food: sliced boiled cold chicken or baizhanji - CNY55 per500g or CNY77 for half chicken, scallion oil noodle - CNY8/bowl, and chicken congee - CNY3. 

The chicken dish may look simple but it is prepared with superior quality compared to ordinary poultry. It is served with dipping sauce.

It is a traditional brand food street shop (government owned) and has been there for a long time. If you prefer something to eat that is simpler and healthier, this is the place to go. My local Shanghai friend brought me here. It was perfect to have it with Qingdao beer :D

3. Da Hu Chun - 大壶春

Address: Huangpu, 11 Sichuan Rd (South) and many other branches.

Recommended food: pan fried pork buns - CNY11 for 4 pcs or small pans one - CNY39 for 10 pcs.

4. Xiao Yang's Sheng Jian or pan fried bun - 小杨生煎

Address: Hongyi Plaza 299 Nanjing Rd E or 178 Ningbo Rd and many other branches.

Recommended food: Xiao Yang pan fried pork buns - CNY13 for 4 pcs. If you want to try more choices, you can choose the 3 flavor in 1 plate (pork meat, prawn mala, and vegetables) - CNY24.50 for 6pcs. 

Personally, I like both the pork bun and prawn mala fillings. It is very juicy and tasty. Bite a little hole on the soft part of the skin, and slurp the juice before biting the big flesh, otherwise you will burst the whole juice out and become a waste :D I did not have a chance to visit Da Hu Chun and managed to try the 3 flavor pan fried bun here at Xiao Yang. It was good. You can add some sauce and chili oil provided by the restaurant.

Xiao Yang's and Xiesanbao combo - Must eat both :)

5. Xie San Bao - 蟹叁宝上海 

Address: Huangpu, Tianjin Road No.513 and many other branches

Recommended food: crab roe noodle, crab roe rice, crab roe porridge. I paid CNY103 for takeaway the crab roe noodle (inclusive of the warmer bag, plastic container and cutlery). It was better to eat it at the restaurant. They give two small side dishes (black fungus - really nice! and very salty beans - not to my liking) plus vinegar to be eaten with the noodle. 

I bought takeaway because my hotel is very near from this restaurant (only 3 minutes walk) so the noodle was still warm and the crab roe was still hot when I had it. It was not cheap but I really love the taste. The noodle was thin type, portion was just nice for me as I also takeaway 6 pieces of the Xiao Yang pan fried bun back to hotel. If I just had to eat it alone, perhaps I would order rice to make my stomach fuller. 

There are plenty of restaurants in Shanghai that sell the crab roe noodle. I chose this because it was the nearest from my hotel and it ended up good enough. Plus the staff who took my order was very good and friendly. She asked me not to go anywhere after ordering because it would be ready very fast (since I ordered noodle and had to be eaten fast to prevent soggy). The order really came in about 5 minutes time.

6. Shucaiji Sheng Jian - 舒菜记 生煎菜饭 

Address: Huangpu, 49 Yunnan Rd (Middle) and many other branches

Recommended food: pan fried pork buns - CNY10 for 4 pcs and vegetarian fried rice - CNY15 per plate.

7. Xian De Lai Chop Nian Gao -  鲜得来

Xian De Lai Pork Chop and Nian Gao or rice cake :)

Address: Huangpu, Yunnan South Rd No. 36

Recommended food: fried pork cutlet with 4 pieces of nian gao (rice cake) and soup (with 2 pieces of kind of yong dou fu items) - CNY23 per set.

This is also government operated and owned restaurant. That is why it sells the food with a very affordable prices. According to my local Shanghai friend, this local food was not that popular until one of the Chinese TV drama was taken at this restaurant. Since then, the sales was boosting up and everyone wanted to try the food.

FYI, pour the Xian De Lai soy sauce into your pork cutlet before eating to add the flavor. Not many people know this. Only local Shanghai people know about it :D

8. Wei Xiang Zhai Noodle Restaurant - 味香斋面点 (Michelin)

Address: Huangbu, Hubei Rd No. 151

Recommended food: sesame sauce noodle with scallion  - CNY14 per portion and beef broth - CNY10 per bowl.

Too bad my days were too short in Shanghai. The food here looks so delicious. Maybe one day when I visit Shanghai again, I will drop by and dine here.

9. Jia Jia Tang Bao - 佳家汤包

Address: Huangpu, Huanghe Rd No. 127

Recommended food: pork meat xiao long bao (soup dumpling) 12 pcs/basket - CNY23, scallion oil noddle - CNY12, dry crab roe noodle with soup set - CNY89, 

10. Huxi Lao Nong Tang Pork Liver Noodle - 沪西老弄堂面馆 

Address: Guang dong Rd, No. 500

Recommended food: clam and pig liver noodle - CNY38, large intestine noodle - CNY34, fried pork cutlet - CNY18.

If I have a chance to visit Shanghai again, I will definitely visit this shop!!! A must visit spot for pork liver noodle lover :)

Shanghai snacks/sweets:

1.Shen Dacheng - 沈大成

Shen Dacheng - tasty and sweet green red bean rice ball qingtuan :)

Address: 636 Nanjing Rd (East) - the only Branch that make the fresh one.

Recommended food: shuang niang tuan (双酿团) - CNY5, jin tuan (金团) - CNY5, tiaotou gao (条头糕) - CNY4 and red bean qingtuan (青团) - CNY5 or egg yolk with pork floss qingtuan- CNY8. All is made of glutinous rice. 

2. Shanghai Hongkou Gaotuan Foodstuff Factory - 虹口糕团 

Address: Jingan Nanjing West Rd No. 969 (Tongli Commercial Building F B1)

Recommended food: glutinous rice cakes wrapped with sesame and youtiao 全家福 - CNY10

3. Park Hotel Deli - 国际饭店西饼屋

Park Hotel Deli - famous butterfly (sweet and savory) cookies. Perfect for gifts back home :)

Address: Huangpu, Huanghe Rd No. 28

Recommended food: the original sweet - CNY32 and cheese savory butterfly cookies - CNY35

Got to know about this from my local Shanghai friend. He was the one who recommended me to buy this when I mentioned about the butterfly pastry. The queue was crazy. It took him 70 minutes starting from the + Junction traffic light until the ordering place. He was kindly queueing on my behalf as I had to go back to hotel to pack and check out :D Both flavor are delicious. Each has its unique strength. Worth queueing for!!! :) Fyi, you can smell the fragrant butter while queueing from a far :D

4. Panyongxing Cake - 潘甬兴糕点

Address: Jingan Wujiang Rd No. 269

Recommended food: Tiaotou cake, peppermint cake, mugwort rice cake, citrus cake or juhonggao, Handmade糍毛球 (sticky rice balls), 酒酿糕 osmanthus (fermented rice cake);小米糕 (millet cake) and黑米糕 (black rice cake).

Western Bakery in Shanghai:

It has been a trend these days with the upcoming western bakeries in Shanghai. People post at TikTok bringing awareness of these bakeries that not only having wide variety of breads and cakes, but also have Instragammable outlook. Brands like Butterful and Cremorous, Amamlon Bakery Town, Fascino or Fengshengli, the Bakehouse Grand Liz, Pompi Tiramisu, etc. like what you can see at the photo below. All these can be found near West Nanjing Rd metro.

You can also found good cafes and beverage shops like Birdie Cup Coffee or Xiaoniaobei, Manner Coffee, Chagee Bawang Chaji, Goolden, Tims Tianhao Coffee, and so on.

Birdie cup coffee - Nice one :)

And you can find many at other places too, good place to take a break after walking or shopping too much. Hahahaha.... :P Also the best place to chit chat with old friends :)

Manner Coffee

Since I only had 3 days 2 nights stay in Shanghai, I tried those that I could not find in Singapore. So I had to miss Luckin coffee and Chagee although it was much cheaper than in Singapore :D 

There are many more food establishments that you can visit during your stay in Shanghai. I only covered a few here since I had a short visit this time. But I hope, it could help you for your next visit there. Hope you can enjoy the Shanghai delicacies as I did. Happy eating!!! :)

Just another day

Dark clouds

It was just like another weekday afternoon. The weather was hot outside, and yet, dark clouds were seen from afar. Melancholy feeling came and overwhelmed me once again.

Kiss 92 played one of my historical favourite songs by Boyzone, oh really historic, indeed!!! Some of the good memories was suddenly playing at the back of my mind. 

I decided to make myself a cup of coffee using the atas Starbucks origami coffee bag. As I poured the hot water into it, hmmmm..... the smell was awaking me up, reminding me a little bit that I was sitting at the office working table, and not on vacation at the bar on top of five-star hotel with amazing view! Ha!

I took out Cannolo Cioccolato from my shopping bag (as usual, I grabbed something during my after lunch walk that would be a perfect company of my coffee or tea), and hmmmm...... perfecto!!! Just ignored the calories that it contained in that piece of sweet pastry, and as I bit the top part, the Cioccolato burst inside my mouth, I closed my both eyes and focused more on the intense flavour that filled my whole mouth!!! Yum!!!

Next song was sung by Firehouse. What a nostalgia feeling they tried to lead us into! 

Outside the leaves were moving along with the wind. And the rain seemed like coming in soon. I turned the radio volume up after both coffee and cannoli filled my belly.

It was time to work again!!! Focus, and concentrate!!! Read and reread! Understand and remember! Yeah... three more hours to go. Let the time fly and enjoy the ride before it was over!!!

With every kiss, our love is like brand-new
And every star up in the sky was made for me and you
Still we both know that the road is long
We know that we will be together
Because our love is strong

I finally found the love of a lifetime
A love to last my whole life through
I finally found the love of a lifetime
Forever in my heart
I finally found the love of a lifetime

Pluviophile

Pluviophile

I reached the station ten minutes before 9am. As I ascended the escalator from the underground MRT station, I could see the sky had turned dark and the wind blew chillingly touching my skin. 

"Wow!!! Looks like rain is coming!!!" I talked to myself. "Lucky both ways to the office building had the underpass so that I would not get wet in the event of rain," my mind was speaking again. 

Upon reaching the office door, I could see the office had turned dark, unlike many other mornings when the sun rays pierced through the both side windows, illuminating my working table and chair. 

"Wow!!! I like this!!!" exclaimed my own self. It was dark but feeling cozy instead of depressing.

I turned on the office light and walked towards my seat. I put down my bags, turned on the PC and office mobile, and set myself down into the chair. 

The morning would not be complete without coffee. I was supposed to cut the caffeine down, but the office would not be complete without coffee smell, especially in a weather like this!!! Hahaha... *my usual excuse :P

I opened the fridge and took the bottle of water out. I filled the kettle half and turned it on. As I looked up, rain had started heavily. 

"Wah, lucky I have reached here without getting wet!!!"

The sound of water boiling soothed me. I turned the Youtube on from the computer. I loved quietness when working, but sometimes, I would love to listen to some music too, especially on raining day like this. 

I typed 'raining day song' and many choices appeared. I clicked on a playlist and let it run themselves.

I cut the top part of the coffee sachet, filled it inside my rooster cup and poured the hot boiling water inside. I stirred it and brought it to my desk. Hmmmmm..... just loved the smell :) The taste was good too. I sipped it slowly and checked out my office email.

I opened the yesterday 'to do list' note and completed it one by one.

Raining day... 

Loved it because of the mood it brought, the ambience, the cozy dark feelings, the chill, the coffee smell, the me-alone time, but mostly because my Boss would usually come late, sometimes did not even come to office.

So, that was why.... I am pluviophile, one who loves rain; one who finds joy and peace of mind during rainy days and everything else I mentioned above :D

Vietnam Trip - Day 2 at Ha Long Bay and Hanoi

Morning rainbow at Ha Long Bay, Vietnam :)

 

I woke up early at 5 am as I wanted to catch the sunrise. I went up to the highest floor but it was drizzling and cloudy. I thought I wanted to go back to catch some sleep, but then, the impermanent thing came. The cloud had started to change its color. It had become reddish and the sky turned to clearer view. Woahhhh..... and soon after that, I caught a glimpse of rainbow!!! Wasn't it amazing??? 

I never thought that I could catch a rainbow in Ha Long Bay. I had no expectation or whatsoever about what would come actually. So when it appeared, I could never stop feeling blessed and grateful for that moment. The rainbow kept changing too. From just a bit, it could slowly turn to longer curve. It changed as the cloud, wind, and sun were moving around. Our cruise kept moving around and changed its direction too. Those things were what made the situation beautiful. The beauty of nature and its surrounding :)

After it was no longer drizzling, Mr. Tam came up. He asked my friend, me and Indian group if they would like to join Tai Chi - the Chinese shadowboxing. He taught us the simple and basic one, as form of exercising in such early day. We agreed to it almost immediately and joined him. We followed the movement shown by him and ended it by series of back and shoulder massage while standing up. Hahaha... not bad, especially when the person did it wholeheartedly and with full of energy :D

Kayaking and boating at Luon Cave - Ha Long Bay, Vietnam

We had a simple and quick breakfast before heading to Luon Cave. We could choose between kayaking or taking a bamboo boat with many people in it. Aileen and I chose kayaking without hesitation. I just had it when I went to Sweden and I enjoyed it so much. This time, I would love to do it again, at different place. So there we were...

Live life to the fullest, always :)

Although it was only a short one (half an hour), but I enjoyed it so so much!!! I did not stir it well and often bumped into other boats, hahahaha... but I just loved doing it! And it gave me chance to learn and do better. So when I had another series of kayaking with my sister earlier this month in Australia, I had that confidence to lead the kayak for both of us :) Just loving it! :)

As you could see at the photos, we passed through under the cave, then we were free to roam around it until time was up. The water was calm and it was safe. The next time you go there, make sure you try it as well and enjoy the beauty of the cave underneath :)

We went back to our boat after that. Got ourselves ready for checking out the room, and heading to dining room to have our last meal on the cruise. We settled our bill on our way back to the port. We reached the port quite early at 10.30 am so we had to wait until the van came and picked us up. I felt a bit sad with the separation with our cruise mates. Although we spent only short time, we enjoyed our time together. Well, that was another thing about traveling. It just reminded me of the quote below. 

Life is like a journey on a train quote (Pic: Google.com)

Interesting, wasn't it? :)

We took around 3 hours to reach Hanoi, back to the Golden Rooster Hotel, felt like going back home. Hahaha.... We spent the rest of our day surrounding the Old Quarter in Hanoi, because that was the only time we had left to spend there. 

We were starving, so after putting our back into the room, we started our own food tour. We first walked to Banh Mi Hoi An. We wanted to eat banh mi - Vietnamese baguette with pate - at the shop other than Banh Mi 25, since we had already tried it before. Unfortunately when we reached there, the seller was running out of baguette. It would only be delivered in a while. So we decided to leave the shop and move on to another place. I looked at the Google map and decided to go to try the Banh Xeo - Vietnam savoury fried pancake at Bánh xèo, Nem cuốn. 

Must eat Banh Xeo in Hanoi!!!

Never underestimate the simplicity of the food. The shop, the owner, and food looked so simple, but let me tell you, the taste was unforgettable!!! You ate it with rice paper, vegetable, the pancake, and dipped it with the sauce and ate it with the chopped chili. It tasted heavenly!!! I would definitely go there again if I visited Hanoi again next time! And I would eat at least two portion for myself alone. Hahahahaha....

Must try local dessert in Hanoi :)

My stomach was warmth and happy. Next, we headed to Hoa Quả Dầm Hoa Béo to taste the local dessert. I chose something light and simple - Jackfruit caramen (jackfruit with pudding caramel), while Aileen chose Kem Soi (sticky rice with ice cream and coconut flakes). We sat at low stool and low table, commonly used by Vietnamese. I really loved and enjoyed my dessert :) Pour the crushed ice onto it and it just tasted so delicious :) 

After that we walked towards a convenience store that selling local snacks and coffee. Aileen wanted to buy some for her friends and colleagues. There, we browsed around and bought what we wanted (after asking around the local staff, which brands they found it good or usually chosen by them). 

Local snacks you might want to try or bring home :D

You could find these at van resting stops

On our way to Cafe Giang, we passed by the Banh Mi Hoi An shop again. This time, the customer was there buying. So we decided to give another chance to taste their banh mi. We ordered one, divided into two and had it there while resting our feet after walking for some time. The taste was okay, and we ticked one of our food list to try :)

Banh mi at Banh Mi Hoi An - Hanoi, Vietnam

Did Cafe Giang sound familiar? Hehehe.... Cafe Giang was where you could find the original taste of the egg coffee. I was not the fans of egg coffee, but trying only one would not be fair for me to judge whether I liked it or not. So I wanted to visit this one, and tried the egg coffee again. 

Egg coffee at Cafe Giang - Hanoi, Vietnam

We sat at lower level of the shop since Aileen's knee was in pain. We ordered one hot and one cold egg coffee again.  Aileen chose the hot one. It was so sweet (maybe too much condensed milk). But the egg yolk taste was not as strong as Cafe Dinh. For coffee flavor wise, I still preferred Cafe Dinh one, much  more strong and flavorful. Here the coffee taste was not that strong. Maybe the next time I go to Hanoi, I would visit Cafe Dinh and order ice coffee with milk instead of egg coffee since I liked the coffee but not the egg yolk taste hahahaha... :P We went back to our hotel by Grab and had some rest.

Yummy chicken noodle in Hanoi, Vietnam

At 8pm we went out for dinner. We visited one local stall selling chicken noodle. It was located not far from our hotel. Jacky recommended us that place. We were asked to sit inside the small alley instead of sitting outdoor because the outside space had been occupied with other customers. Both of us shared a bowl since the portion was quite big and we were not very hungry after series of eating in the afternoon. It was simple, yet delicious. I loved it :)

Hang Dao Street night market during full moon - Hanoi, Vietnam

It was Friday night, a night before the Full moon festival. In Hanoi, there was a night weekend market located at Hang Dao Street, opened every weekend from 8 to 10 pm. So right after dinner, we walked there. Here, they were selling clothes, accessories, artisanal or handmade crafts, wooden crafts, food, snacks, and so on. 

Miss this kind of lifestyle - like back to the good old time :)

We walked all the way until nearby the Hoan Kiem Lake, the prominent building behind me - Jacky called it MBS Marina Bay Sands of Hanoi (the photo above) :D There was tent and performance (mostly singing and dancing). The road was closed for any vehicles, purely only for walking path.

I loved the atmosphere, the ambience. I felt safe walking there despite the crowd surrounding me. Many families were there walking together (husband and wife with their children), some hand in hand, some carried their child on their shoulder, and so on. Even late at night, people were still traveling with their motorbike with their friend, family. I really missed this kind of lifestyle. As if I was traveling back to the past when mobile phone was not existing yet. So everyone would just want to go out and enjoy what the market had to offer :) If I had to go back to Hanoi again, I would make sure I would be there on weekend again, so that I could experience this all over again :)

We walked until we could not walk anymore. Hahaha... I bought some snacks, beer, and headed back to our hotel to rest. I enjoyed walking in Hanoi now, and really wish to go back there again, at least once, in my life :)

Vietnam Trip - Hanoi in September 2022

Hanoi, Vietnam

I went to some parts of Vietnam before, but I had not been into Hanoi (the capital and second largest city in Vietnam), Sapa Village and Ha Long Bay before. I had heard a lot about it from my close friends. One had been there before and shared with me how lovely the places were and why it was worth visiting. Another had not been there, but really wanted to go.

It was in the middle of August and I had already some plans made for the month of September to travel to other countries. Nevertheless, Sapa was famous for its beautiful and pristine rice terraces, cool and fresh mountain air, plus the living place of many ethnic minorities, such as: Hmong (52%), Dao (25%), Tay (5%), and so on. And one of the best time to visit Sapa was in September (before the farmers harvested their paddy fields, so the fields were in yellowish color).

I was looking at my timetables and there was a small gap in between of my planned trips but I did not have accompany as my friend who was interested to go there, was unable to take leave from office. But fortunately, in few days time, I managed to find another friend, who could make time and also take leave from her office. I had to convince her to take six days trip there instead of five days though, since she had also another long-trip planned in the next following month.

Yeah, if you asked me, how many days would be enough to visit Hanoi and the area, I would say 7 days would be ideal. With 6 days planned, I could visit places I wanted to go, but there was one place I missed visiting - Ninh Binh - and that was why seven days would be perfect. Some people could complete all the places within 6 days but they would not stay a night on a cruise in Ha Long Bay, instead, they could only visit on a day trip, but they would miss lots of thing (in my opinion, since I loved a relaxing trip instead of the hurried one).

So, I got accompany, I got 6 days to spare in between of my two trips, then, what was next? I asked my friend a local travel agent contact that she knew from her previous trip. She gave me the contact and I messaged Jacky through Whats App right away asking him for the quotation based on places I wanted to visit. He sent me few itineraries to choose and I forwarded it to my friend. 

I was quite occupied with so many things regarding my other trips. Therefore, I wanted to take this trip easy, with lesser planning, lesser research, and left all the hotels and van transfers booking into the hand of this local agent. I left the choice of the recommended hotel in their hands too, because I believed that they also wanted to give us the best with the budget offered and wanted to make their customers happy with their services. 

So I replied him within few days and confirmed to take their services in the next one month. He trusted me so much just like friends did, that he did not even collect deposit until we reached there (even when there was a local bank account available for transfer). However, in case I had to cancel my trip due to any unexpected circumstances, I had to still follow their procedures to pay for the cancellation fee as mentioned in the itinerary (to be fair, right?)

Thank Buddha that both of us were blessed with good health and could proceed with our trip there accordingly :)

Noi Bai Hanoi International Airport

There were many airlines available from Singapore to Hanoi, especially for direct flight. There were SQ, Vietnam Airlines, Vietjet Air, Bamboo Airways, Scoot, etc. I picked up Scoot since it offered free 10 kg hand carry luggage at the budget rate, and the flight time was perfect for our itinerary too. We flew at 10 am and reached there at around 12.30pm. 

Our guide, owner, cum friend, Jacky, had personally picked us up from the Noi Bai International Airport. He was our food and city guide of the day since we were introduced by my close friend, who had also introduced him to many of her friends who were travelling to Vietnam. He had other group who also came from Singapore that day, but because of this connection, he took his time to accompany me and my friend instead of bringing the other group around.

Upon arrival, I was surprised and happy when seeing many Vietnamese not wearing masks. I thought, wearing mask was still a requirement for Vietnamese there. Many were still wearing for their own health protection instead of a must-do-thing or requirement by the government. So, I was loosen my guard up too while travelling there - only wore it when I was surrounded by the heavy crowd or indoor.

Golden Rooster Hotel, Hanoi - Vietnam

We were dropped first to our hotel, Golden Rooster Hotel, located in the heart of Hanoi Old Quarter. It was designed modernly. We stayed there for total of 3 nights and overall, we really had a good and comfortable stay in the room, and even made friend with most of the staffs there. They were all polite, friendly, professional. We checked in, kept our luggage inside the room, and refreshed ourselves for a while before we started our food tour. It was just nice, time for lunch and we both were hungry!

Our first meal in Hanoi - Banh Mi and Hanoi Beer at Banh Mi 25

We started our food tour by having banh mi (Vietnamese baguette with pate) at Banh Mi 25. The owner had extended their shop to 30 Hang Ca Street to meet the seating demand from its Hanoians and travelers customers who fond of seating longer and enjoying the old Hanoi quarter ambience (check out the above photo and you can see what I mean by that). Since both of us would try few different food during our tour, we decided to order only 1 portion of each food and shared it into half. 

It was such a hot afternoon and I was craving for something cold. It was when I was Jacky what Vietnam beer he would recommend, hahahaha......, and he recommended me the Hanoi Beer that I was holding, and Saigon Beer. I tried only one first though as I wanted to save more space in my stomach for more delicious Vietnam food :)

Second stop, Bún Chả Đắc Kim, to taste the Bun Cha (Vietnamese noodles with grilled pork). Apparently, Vietnam was famous for copycat. Other than the famous branded goods, it was also famous at copycat-ing the famous local street food brands. The copycat shop (decorated also in red and yellow banner) was opened very near from the original one, resulting many visitors had mistakenly gone into the copy cat shop instead of the original one.

Take note on how the original Bún Chả Đắc Kim looks like!!! :)

Luckily we had Jacky with us, so we were able to avoid such a big mistake. Because it turned up that I loved this Bun Cha very much!!! I was even willing to fly there once again just to taste this "Obama noodle". Hahaha... But, why Obama??? You can read the story here.

In the photo, you could see the noodle portion. It was for only 1 pax. We both shared it together. Vietnamese ate a lot of rice and noodles, according to Jacky. They could even eat triple share of it. If I was very hungry, maybe I could finish the whole portion for my self, but not more than that. And yet, most Vietnamese were mostly slim built, not chubby like me ^^"

Train Street in Hanoi

We walked a little bit after these 2 meals. Jacky brought us to visit the train street in Hanoi. I think I saw the clip somewhere online before without knowing where the place was. So I was surprised and very happy when finding this place out, really did not expect to see it there in Hanoi :)

St Joseph's Cathedral, Hanoi

We visited the St Joseph's Cathedral or also called Nhà Thờ Lớn Hà Nội. This church was built resembling the Notre Dame de Paris. It was the oldest church in Hanoi but was not opened when we were there. It opened usually for Sunday mass at 6pm. 

Next, we went to Pho 10 Ly Quoc Su to taste the must eat food in Hanoi - beef noodle soup or Pho. We ordered one bowl well done beef noodle soup to share.

Pho 10 Ly Quoc Su - Hanoi, Vietnam

The ingredients inside the bowl looked so simple. It contained sliced beef, noodles, spring onion, sliced onion, coriander, and clear broth. At the side, they provided fish sauce, slice garlic soaked in vinegar and chili sauce. Usually when eating Pho in Ho Chi Minh, the restaurant would provide additional various vegetables for us to eat together with the beef noodle. But here, they did not provide any. It was simply as it was. Sometimes, simplicity is the best, don't you agree? The next time I go, I will try the half done beef and soak the fried dough into the soup :P

We continued walking to let the stomach digesting the food inside the stomach. Jacky brought us to view the Hoan Kiem Lake, which was known as the lake of the returned sword. There was a legend behind the name which you can read it here. 

Ngoc Son Temple or the Temple of the Jade Mountain - Hanoi, Vietnam

I was curious with what was inside the Ngoc Son Temple (the Temple of the Jade mountain), which was located in the Jade islet of the Hoan Kiem Lake. So we went inside there for a short visit. The temple was built, dedicated to Confucian and Taoist philosophers and also the national hero, Trần Hưng Đạo. It was slightly different from the usual Chinese or Buddhist temple. There was also a huge specimen of Hu Guom tortoise being displayed inside. You had to pay a small fee to enter the temple. It was not included in the tour, but Jacky had kindly treated both of us for the entry. Cảm ơn bạn hiền ;)

Cafe Dinh - where 

And now, it was time for the famous Hanoi specialty coffee - "egg coffee". Jacky brought us to Cafe Dinh, named after the road where it was located (Dinh Tien Hoang Street) - near the Hoan Kiem Lake, instead of Bich Cafe (named after the daughter of Mr Giang who was the founder of the famous Giang Cafe), to try this specialty coffee.

The cafe was located at second floor and a little bit hard to find since the signboard was put above the other shophouses' names. So make sure you turn "your location" in the Google map on to locate this place. This cafe was opened in 1990s. It looked old but many local and tourists loved visiting. 

Egg coffee from Cafe Dinh, Hanoi - Vietnam

Both of us ordered one hot and one cold egg coffee to taste the difference between both types. We could see bottles of coffee being filtered. We could also see how the egg coffee was being made. The history said that the egg coffee was first created back in 1946, during French war (or first Indo China war). There was a pressure of milk shortage. So, Nguyen Giang, who was at that time bartending at the Sofitel Legend Metropole Hotel, whisked in the egg yolk to substitute the milk for the coffee.

I heard about egg coffee just before I planned for my trip to Hanoi. There was a Vietnamese restaurant who was selling it here in Singapore. However, I did not try it as I wanted to taste the original egg coffee directly from Hanoi, where it came from. Other ingredients included sweetened condensed milk, butter, and maybe cheese. 

I finally tasted it for the first time. Before having it, Jacky asked us to stir the coffee wholeheartedly, to ensure that the whisked egg yolk mixing well together with the filtered coffee. Perhaps I did not mix it well enough. I felt that the egg yolk taste was very strong, and at the same time, the filtered coffee was very strong too. Just too bad, I felt both separately, not as a mixed drink. Lol!!! So, it was not my favorite but at least I tried :)

We were all full from all the food that we had (two bowls of shared noodles, one baguette, half bottle of beer, and one glass of egg coffee were all consumed within 2.5 hours). I think our stomach had to rest. It was time for us to go back to our hotel. 

I loved staying in Hanoi Old Quarter because the distance was all reachable on foot. The traffic situation was very challenging though. Human, cars, motorcycles, bikes were sharing the two-way street. There were traffic lights in some areas, however, many ignored its existence. Jacky was very calm walking on the street, as if he owned the road. Hahaha... But funnily, no car or motorcycle blast its horn on him despite walking very slow, and sometimes blocking their way. The car and motorcycle just slowed down and let us walk on the road.

There was a time when I felt like giving up to cross that busy road. Cars and motorcycles were crossing from many directions and I felt I was sweating, thinking when would I be able to stop them to cross that road. Hahahaha.... It was not the road for elderly who walked very slow. I could not imagine myself bringing my parents to walk around Hanoi on foot, might as well bringing them to other parts of Vietnam :D But after some time, I got used to with the traffic. And until now, I often miss crossing those busy roads. Can you believe it???

Chả Cá Thăng Long - Hanoi, Vietnam

We had our free time after the food tour was over. Both of us took a rest inside our room. Before 7pm, we went out to have a dinner not far from where we stayed, called Chả Cá Thăng Long. The restaurant sold fried fish (you could mix it with pork intestines if you liked), a popular dine in place for locals and these days, foreigners like me. The fish was stir fried together with lots of spring onion and dills. After that, you could mix the noodle with the fried fish and veg, raw spring onion, coriander, peanuts, chilli, and dollops of fish sauce. Wow!!! I loved it!!! If I go back to Hanoi, I would have this again too!!! :)

Full Moon or Lantern Festival Street Night Market - Hanoi, Vietnam

Since we were full, it was time for a walk. We decided to walk to the street night market where Vietnamese celebrating the upcoming Full Moon or Lantern Festival (as a result of Chinese culture influence - the intertwined history with China from the past). There, they sold various lanterns (with music and lights) and things related to the festival (although the items sold would mostly attract children - see picture above). 

Train Street in Hanoi, Vietnam

After that we walked back to the train street. The train passed by at around 8.45pm and 9.13pm Hanoi time. We sat and ordered another Hanoi Beer at Hao Hao Cafe while waiting for the train to pass by. It was a cooling night and it was good to just relax at their second floor. We saw two trains passing by then walked back to our hotel to rest.

As I did some research just now, I found out that the train street was no longer opened for public starting September 18th, 2022. You could read the article here. Woahhh.... I thought it was fake news so I checked with Jacky about it, and he confirmed that it was no longer opened for tourists anymore as it was dangerous with the still operating railways and trains. Lucky Aileen and I had our chance to enjoy it when we were there :)

So, that would finalize my post for our first day in Hanoi. Hope it could help you in case you have any plan to visit the capital one day :) Will continue with second day soon :)

Today is the day...

Wherever and whatever you wanna be (IG: rimareyka.writes)

It is one of the days that many people might have been dreaming of... Where I sit at the bench, in the middle of the busy town, the CBD (Central Business District) area, in one of the costliest countries in the world. 

Instead of getting myself busy like the rest of the honey bees, I am sitting down here sipping my Iced Coffee (bought from local business shop - actually my colleague's shop).

Dressing casually, I am sitting with legs akimbo, occasionally lift down my mask, so that I can sip my coffee. 

Support local business (IG: localcoffeepeople)

Today the weather is really nice. It is a sunny day, but the wind blow constantly messing my hair, from time to time blocking my sight from typing this blog from the convenience of my mobile phone. 

It is one of the me-alone times, among many others. It is almost 12pm. I see more and more people walking in a group - at least in two - discussing what to eat for lunch, or talking about what happened in their working place earlier, or otherwise, their personal lives' matters. 

They are dressing smartly, with the shoes polished shiningly. Hair combed with gel or sprayed and looked tough. Ladies are walking with high heel, with the working pass card hung onto their neck. It is not as crowded as before (before Covid-19), but still, the crowd is slowly back (with 50% of the manpower is allowed to be back to work at the working place).

For them, time is money. For me, time is something I am splurging with right now, as there is no limit, as I have nothing planned inside my head. I just want to be, be here, enjoying my solitary within the busy life that many people have. 

Because it is time for me to rest now. So I am here focusing myself to just be, be here, be alone, be mindful, breath, write, express everything I feel right now. 

No one bothers me too. They walk and treat me as transparent, as if they do not see me, as if I do not exist here. It feels good, really!!! 

Some people came and went sitting at the empty seats beside me. But all was only sitting for a while. No one sit as long as I do, because they have things to do, they have agenda in their day.

Have you ever done thing like this before? Have you ever had the luxury to do this kind of thing before? To do nothing, and not to worry about anything else. 

Because I believe in one thing, that there is always time for every thing. 

There is always time for everything (IG: rimareyka.writes)

And everything happens for a good reason!!! Try it sometimes and you will feel better.

Amateur cook - Cook simply and from the heart :)

Sweet potato ball - coffee break  :)

Due to Covid-19 many people were forced to stay at home. Some was due to jobless, some work from home, some study from home, and some was like me, a housewife cum cannot-fly-traveller. Hahaha.... :P

I think many of you who knew me well enough, might hear before, that since young, I aimed to be a housewife who stayed at home and cooked nice food to my families, instead of becoming a successful career woman who aimed to hold multiple degrees, live a rich and luxury life.

As long I have a roof to stay, clothes to wear, food to eat every day, I am content enough and happy with my life. To live with my loved ones in harmony and peaceful environment are added points and I am truly grateful for all things that happened to me.

I chose to study Hotel Management was because of that simple dream. I knew, my parents and fellow teachers might feel disappointed with what I have become but this is my life, and I know what I want, and that is enough. 

As long as I love it (IG: rimareyka.writes)

Starting from Circuit breaker to current phase 2, I had to spend most of my time staying at home. Usually on weekdays my mother-in-law would prepare dinner for all of us. But at this period, hubby and I would take turn preparing food too.

Each of us specialises in cooking different food. Mother-in-law is good in preparing Chinese dishes and soup to be eaten with rice. Hubby specialises in cooking hawker style food, such as: minced meat / fish ball / wonton noodle, fried oysters, etc.

Today is always a special day (IG: rimareyka.writes)

As for me, I am specialise in cooking the food that I love eating. Hahaha...... :P It varies from pasta salad, potato salad, burger, tortilla wraps, pasta Bolognese or cream pasta, stir fried noodle / vermicelli / kway teow, fried rice, vegetable fritter, Tahu isi (tofu filled with vegetable fritter), Indonesian style Soto chicken soup, Lontong, Korean pancakes, muesli, Bhutanese dishes (ema datshi, kewa datshi, dhall), and so on. 

Indonesian Tahu Isi (Tofu filled with veg fritter)

I do not intend to brag here but like I mentioned earlier, I cook things that I love eating, and I have too many food that I love hahaha.... :D

Homecooked Swiss Rosti :)

You might have heard too that Singapore was the world's most expensive country in 2019, and therefore, to eat in restaurant, you would need to get ready to pay a lot of money.

Homecooked Korean veg pancake - perfect with Soju :)

In order to taste the similar food but paying less, many times I decided to prepare it myself at home. 

Healthy chicken wrap with Salsa and fries :)

Usually first, I would find how to make it from YouTube videos. I would usually watch at least 3 different posts before deciding which one to follow and to find better tips in more crispy results, or simpler way and ingredients used. 

Homemade green bean popsicles :)

Many food I tried it first time, like the first photo you see in this blog post - Sweet potato balls. And yes, I love making easy dessert too to be eaten after meal or during tea / coffee break :)

Pancake with banana and ice cream :)

The above pancake was made based on my mother's recipe. I modified it by adding banana and Milo powder inside, and topped it with ice cream. It was perfect to have it during tea break. 

Korean noodle for cooling days :D

Recently it rains almost daily. The weather makes Singapore so cool and nice. The Korean drama made me wanting to eat something hot and spicy, and the above was simply perfect!!! Kimchi and dumplings were extra ingredients!!! Hahaha.... :P

My friend already warned me of gaining weight. Lol!!! Thank you for your reminder :D I shall bear it in  mind. 

Dalgona coffee with brown sugar and sea salt flavoured milk

Last but not the least, finally I made the trendy Dalgona coffee too :) The ingredients are simple: coffee powder, sugar and milk. Mixed 2 Tsp of coffee powder, 2 Tsp of sugar, and 2 Tsp of hot water. Mixed it in a bowl using whisk. Stir it non-stop until it is thicken and colour changed to light brown colour (approximately 8 mins). Prepare 2 glass of milk (either cold or hot - to your liking). Fill in the coffee foam on top of the milk and voila!!! Enjoy your Dalgona coffee!!! :)

I may only an amateur cook, but I enjoy cooking because I know my loved ones will enjoy eating it and I just do my best to make it edible and nice. Do not forget to put in the most ingredients in every thing you prepare, which is LOVE :)