Cafe Anh

I have been going to this cute cafe for the last 7 years but not regularly. Last week with my friend's son, I went back to Anh Cafe and enjoyed the experience and very much.

Right opposite Thien Quang Lake, this is a great place for people-watching. The big trees in front provide shade for the customers and a nice breeze from the lake blows across, which is a blessing in the heat of the Hanoi summer. The coffee isn't the best in town but it passes the test on a morning when I am a bit slow to get going. I take my coffee with a slightly bigger pour of condensed milk and ice. Of course, in summer, hot coffee is out of the question - though sometimes my street food tour customers still prefer that.

Perhaps the best featyre of this cafe is the owner, a skinny old man who wanders up and own the line of customers sweeping up the discarded sunflower seed husks and collecting the money. His cafe is really a part of old Hanoi, I guess and that's reason enough to come back again and again.
Cafe Anh
70 Nguyen Du - Hanoi

Steamed Rice with Salt and Sesame/ Com Nam Muoi Vung

I always go to my favorite Cafe Nang for coffee after lunch or sometimes after breakfast with my good friends. Last week, I saw a woman carrying her baskets past the shop. Some women inside the cafe called her in and bought some small packages wrapped in paper. I wondered what was inside the paper.

The owner of the Cafe Nang told me it was called Com Nam Muoi Vung / Steamed Rice with salt and sesame. I've actually eaten these before but most of the time my friends put them on plates and also my mother used to put them into a bowl for me to take to school.

I love this rice cake very much and I ate them all in one go. The lady in the shop told me that this dish was eaten by poor people in the past and that it's also a popular snack to pack on day trips to pagodas in the countryside. I'll definitely be up for another serve at only 4000 dong/serve.

Handy Man

Yesterday, it was raining and I was checking my emails. I heard a very deep voice from an old man riding past my door on his bicycle. I finally recognised the call of the handy man who sharpens knives. I've frequently seen him riding by along with lots of other people riding bicycles who shine shoes, collect recyclable waste and even collect kitchen slosh to feed pigs.

I called him back to my door and asked him to sharpen some knives. He was a funny man and he did a great job. But in the end he was a bit cheeky asking for more money even though we made the deal at the beginning. Anyway, I think most people doing these jobs don't earn lots of money and I usually give some extra.

As he sharpened, he told me he's from the countryside just out of Hanoi and he leaves his home early in the morning, rides around west lake looking for customers and finishes the day at about 6pm. His average income for a day is about 70,000Vnd which is not so bad, considering it takes only 5 minutes to finish a knife. I paid 30,000Vnd for 4 knives and it took him less than 15 minutes work. Unfortunately for him, though, most Vietnamese families have their own whetstones to sharpen their own knives.

Flowers 1

I love being at the night flower market in Quang An as it's like another small world. I can just sit there looking at young couples hand in hand looking at flowers or people shopping for their retail florists with torches checking out the quality of the flowers. The bargaining also amazes me: recently I saw a person pay $1 for a 100 roses. I do love bargaining not beause I'm stingy but I love playing the game with them and I usually give them a little bit more at the end and see their big smiles. That makes my day.

The many street vendors who come to this market to get flowers then spend another few hours to re organize them before selling them along Hanoi's streets. Watching them is also a highlight as I can see they use their talents to make some ruined flowers look beautiful. They take all the bad leaves and petals off and put plastic or paper around the remaining bud or flower pretending that it's great. They do look good until the paper's been taken off. It's a cheeky practice and I've been caught myself. I've learned my lesson though.

Besides heavy rain which can put a temporary stop to their business in our area, there is another reason that will stop their business. Whenever a dignitary like the president of the US comes to Hanoi they normally stay at the Intercontinental or the Sheraton hotel, which means most commercial street activity has to stop until the visit is over. In fact, when Bush visited a couple of years ago, there was a tank positioned near where the florists normally trade. Recently during the ASEAN conference, the flower vendors went missing for a few days. Of all the street vendors, I hope these street florists remain as long as possible as they add a touch of colour and charm to Hanoi.

Flowers

The weather in Hanoi seems to change like most young girls change their minds these days. But we actually need some more steady warm weather with lots more sun after a really damn cold winter. But after half a day of beautiful sunshine here and there, a dry cold comes back which is not very nice.

For those who love flowers, this is the second best time of the year as the cool weather helps to keep the flowers longer than usual. In summer, I often have to change the flowers at my house every week, sometimes twice. But at this time of the year they last over a week. I also need to remind you that flowers in Hanoi are very cheap. I usually spend about $2 for 2 vases of big roses and maybe a little bit more for other flowers. It's always nice to have some flowers in the house to come home to.

I love wandering around the night flower market near my house after midnight. I remember 8 years ago, my friends and I would go there for a look and drink some beer plus eat noodles.... Thankfully, every thing is still much the same. I remember the family who run the noodle and tea shop, particularly their great fried noodles. In those days, for 100 beautiful long stem roses it cost only $1. I wonder how much profit there could be? I talked to many of the traders and they all grow different flowers in their own gardens and according to what they say, they still can earn some daily income and save a bit which is good to hear.

To be continued...

Extra Extra

The streets of Hanoi are full of interesting characters, people not known to me personally but people I notice time and time again.

I have been intrigued by this boy for a few years but the other morning was the first time I was able to talk to him. He normally doesn't want to talk to outsiders about himself, his predicament or his family. He is a disabled boy who can't walk at all. He sits on a tricycle, using his hands to pedal and control the bike. He started selling newspapers from his bike about 8 years ago when he was 10. He really is one of Hanoi’s child entrepreneurs and even today he barely looks 18 with his baby face and contented smile.

He starts his day at 6am and sometimes ends up at about 10pm, though most days he has sold his papers before then. In the old quarter of Hanoi, that represents a really hard day’s work. The traffic chaos, the dust and pollution, the motorbikes parked every which way and the general hectic activity that he encounters there would seem like a pretty stressful way to make a living. He says he has a loyal group of customers along his regular morning route, mostly those having their morning noodles or coffee. A day’s pedaling – with his hands – brings in the rather meagre sum of 50,000VND. His custom-designed tricycle might require the occasional repair to a puncture or some grease on the chain so his operating expenses are low, thankfully. Even so, the profits of such hard labour wouldn’t leave much for the average 18 year-olds entertainment expenses.

Then, again, this boy is not the average 18 year old. I see lots of boys and girls the same age, who hang around, do nothing, constantly putting their hands out to their parents for money. This young man is the opposite. In fact, part of his earnings probably gets contributed to the family kitty to buy food and pay the bills.
Local identities like him exist throughout this city but few are as inspirational.

Flowers Business

The flower business is really hot now in Vietnam, especially in Hanoi. I love wandering around to see how florists are arranging their flowers. Most regular florists in Hanoi use heaps of paper and decoration around their bunches of flowers. In some Hanoi streets, the florists sell to a more specific consumer.

In Phung Hung Street, most businesses sell flowers and anything relating to funerals. I talked to some girls who work sticking flowers into round boards for funerals. Each takes them around one hour to finish and it lasts a few days. They use mostly old flowers and plastic flowers for the outer rounds and they use good flowers for the big centre piece to attract the customer's attention.

Toys to Eat

I remember very well these flour toys because they belong to my childhood. When I was a little boy and I used to see many old people making these beautifully shaped toys to sell in front of my school and in the market. During my years at elementary school and maybe secondary school, the sellers were always around but they seemed to disappear when I went to high school. Maybe I grew too old to notice them?

I hadn't seen them for such a long time until last week in front of the Ethnology museum. I was really nicely surprised, and it brought back a lot of fond memories from my school days. Because I took quite a few photos, I bought several toys from the seller above but I didn't eat them like I used to do when I was a little boy. I remembered when we finished our classes, we usually bought at least one everyday and asked our mothers to put them on the top of the cooked rice for about 15 minutes then we used to eat them. They didn't have much flavour but that's the way we did at that time.

The man told me he spends less than 10 minutes making each one. They all look gorgeous, colorful and only 5000Vnd. If you ever see this man, buy some to help him out. Nice thing to keep even though it's another dust collector :)

Street Vendors

Street businesses are a unique part of Vietnamese culture. In the past, street businesses were a common way for poor people to earn an income and this is the same today. However, the local authorities in Hanoi are making it hard for street vendors to trade these days.

I think one of the reasons is there are too many people who come to Hanoi to do the same thing and sell the same stuff. Lots of people are selling hats, books, fruits, flowers, postcards and t-shirt on the streets, following tourists from one place to another to sell their things. It's not always pleasant and tourists can't enjoy their walking tour because they constantly have to refuse politely from these aggressive sellers. Lots of sellers I've talked said that if they don't hassle people they don't sell anything and they go home empty handed.

Two weeks ago, while I was eating duck eggs from a girl on the street, she suddenly ran away with her basket. A xe om called out that the police were on their way. If these sellers get caught, they lose their stuff and receive a fine. It's funny to watch the vendors rush away quickly when the police arrive. But everything's back to normal when the police men are gone. Eventually, the duck egg lady comes back and I finished my snack :) These sellers could be really good 100m athletes.

Street vendors are a part of our culture and, even though they are a nuisance sometimes, they should be allowed to remain trading in the streets. Maybe the government should introduce a license to restrict their numbers though?

Craft Toys

Walking between Truc Bach Lake and West Lake in today's freezing weather of Hanoi was a bit of a shock. It's a bit early for winter! The weather was only around 17 degrees, drizzly and high in humidity that makes you feel really cold. I walked down to the Truc Bach supermarket to buy some stuff for my dinner and I also stopped by the man at the corner who makes craft toys.

After I bought a toy grasshopper, I asked if I could take some photos of his products. He told me that it takes five minutes to finish a grasshopper and about ten minutes for a heart, and a bit more than that for a phoenix. He makes them look amazing with just a few coconut leaves. This is quite a popular business between the two lakes. Lots of guys but them for their girlfriends and parnets also for their children.

Almost every single person looked at me on the way home because I was holding a toy coconut grass hopper. Maybe I am too old to play with these things? :)