Vietnam visiting - we recently returned from a fabulous trip around the mysterious country of Vietnam, in the UK most people think of Vietnam as a war torn country filled with poverty and unexploded bombs. How very wrong we are.
Over the centuries the French have occupied the country twice and their influences are everywhere, as indeed are the nearby Chinese who also occupied the country. In the north of the country the Communist effect is palpable, but in the south like the weather things are more laid back and relaxed. We travelled in January and so Hanoi was indeed cloaked in a grey mist and not altogether warm, but it was very atmospheric and filled with fabulous sights unique to the country.
We were lucky enough to meet a wonderful French Chef Didier Corliou who has lived in Hanoi for over 20 years and has the most amazing restaurant and spice shop, along with a new restaurant which is run together with his wife. http://verticale-hanoi.com/
We spent a brilliant morning at the local market smelling, feeling and tasting many new things including morning glory leaves and Vietnamese basil which is very different to the British basil and can be found in almost every Vietnamese dish. We then took our purchases back to the restaurant and got hands on making our lunch.
We had both expected that the flavours of Vietnam would be heavily spiced with Chilli and we couldn't have been more wrong really, the flavours that really hit us , were the fresh herbs and vegetables, the use of fish sauce is prevalent in most dishes and you soon become accustomed to its piquant flavour, usually added sparingly with a touch of sugar, oh and in Vietnam everything is really sweet so if you are following a recipe beware and add a little sugar if required you can always add more if needed but you can't take it out later.
Travelling around the islands of Ha Long Bay was a huge highlight of the trip and one that will remain with us for a long time to come. As will the ancient capital in Hue with so many wonderful Pagodas and ruins of the ancient citadel. The scenery of the Perfume river as you sail along in a Dragon boat is just perfect. Rice Paddies line the river with the brightest green background that almost looks unreal it is so vivid. The main Market in Hue is a thriving hubbub of activity with people pushing and pulling but always good naturedly.
From Hue we took the road to Danang and Hoi An over the Ocean Cloud Pass, a drive through valleys and mountain passes and always with a spectacular view to enjoy, stopping en-route to take pictures and stretch our legs and to have a massive bowl of fresh clams, cooked with ginger and fresh lemon-grass, the clams fresh from the tanks and as big as I've ever seen. I can taste them now (not in a bad way in case you wondered) In fact after a few days we soon realised that all the food was so fresh and well prepared that we did not need to worry that Delhi Belly or rather Vietnam Vom would attack - so long as you are sensible using bottled water and choosing where and when to eat it is incredibly safe - not once did we have the twinges that we have come to know and (not) love from our India travels.
Onwards to Hoi -An a beautifully picturesque town set on the banks of a river, almost so pretty that it feels like a Disney version of itself, clean and vibrant with clothes shops everywhere, that is shops making clothes to whatever design, shape, size or colour you would like. The best place in town seems to be Yaly Couture, although we used several others as well and everything was well made and not at all expensive, you will pay more at Yaly but if you go you will see why and it was definitely worth it.
The food in Hoi-An was extraordinary and several of the restaurants had tasting menus which are definitely worth a try if you have the stamina, they run to quite a few courses but not a huge amount and plenty of time to amble your way through them whilst watching the world wander past along the riverside. And maybe buy a few trinkets from the kids who are sent off to sell little pot whistles and the like to tourists, I had a pocket of lollipops so that once we had bought all our trinkets we could decline them with a smile and a lollipop which seemed to go down well.
Reluctant to leave the joyous Hoi-An (where we had also spent a day at the Red Bridge Cookery School- another wildly fun experience) we travelled onto Saigon, before we left we thought of it as Ho Chi Minh City or HCMC but once there we found most people still refer to it as Saigon, in fact the main centre is indeed called Saigon and the river is the Saigon River. Hot, steamy and very noisy with at least a hundred thousand motorbikes on the streets at any one time, crossing the road is an art form. Basically you look the oncoming traffic in the eye and head off, don't deviate slow down or stop and somehow they will avoid you and you them and you'll find yourself on the opposite side miraculously in one piece - hopefully.
We had a wonderful meal at Vietnam House in the centre of Saigon a real era of colonial past with live piano music and very traditional food all sublimely fresh and tasty. I so wish there was one of these in the UK . I would travel far and wide for that meal over again. Whilst in Saigon we took a trip out to see the Chu Chi tunnels created by the Vietcong to appreciate the vastness of the complex of tunnels, the sight of the awful traps and methods used to trap and maim the enemy was extremely harrowing and by no means unbiased but it was also extremely powerful to see the opposite view of the war as it had affected those on the ground on both sides. Not a day that either of us would easily forget nor want to.
We spent our final few days on the Mekong river, well next to it to be honest, the whole area is swathed in water with tributaries all heading into the mighty Mekong from far and wide, this is a river that starts out way up in Tibet and meanders through several countries on its long journey to the South China sea.
Mark enjoyed (not sure that is the right term!) some snake for dinner - a slightly rubbery not too exiting version of yes you guessed it "chicken" we did see some roast dog, but never on a menu and quickly hidden from view, it is apparently only eaten by men on the full moon who believe it is the next best thing to Viagra. Happy to say we did not give it a try.
We did spend an interesting afternoon at a Fish Sauce Factory however - the temperature outside was around 30 degrees once inside it was heading on for 45-50, the smell was unbelieveable, with big open stone baths filled with fish layered with salt and left to rot for three months, the whole lot is then transferred in a swampy sweam to huge stone tanks where more salt is added and then the liquid that is created is drained off. It comes out surprisingly clear and a light colour, which were given a glass of to try, amazingly it actually tastes really good, very salty and fishy but you have great difficulty is accepting that it won't immediately strike you down having taken the slightest of sips. This is like the first pressing of the olive oil and the first fish sauce is most prized as the rest is squished and water is added the colour becomes darker and the flavour slightly more putrid, this can take over a year for it to all be processed and the final dregs are then put back into the river for fish meal - so no waste. After a while we became slightly more accustomed to the smell. Until we headed back out and got into the car, where we soon realised that all our clothes had become impregnated with the odour and we spent the next three hours with the windows wound down and the air blowing through the car.
On our return Mark has set about (not making Fish sauce you and I will be pleased to know) but he has come up with a couple of jellies which are truely evocative of the flavours we encountered we have Chilli, Lime & Ginger Jelly and a Coriander and Lemon-grass Jelly. Both are fabulous and for summer will no doubt be perfect with BBQS, fish, chicken, salads and in stir fries. If you are in Hawkshead pop in and have yourself a free taste.
