Happy Hanoi.
That's what I heard from Riza as I embarked on my first trip ever to Vietnam, and I am of course excited as can be upon deplaning at Ho Chi Minh City's Tan So Nhat International Airport, so eager that I stupidly clambered up an escalator going down and instantly became a star of sorts to all those queuing at immigration as I kind of somersaulted in an awkward way.
But I made it to the domestic with only a light limp and bruised knuckles, and that's how I arrived in Hanoi, picked up by Trung's favorite airport shuttle service, and advised by the hotel front desk to walk to Ta Hien Street in the Old Quarter to quench my thirst for a cold Vietnamese beer.
Walk I did, in the middle of a scorching and humid afternoon sun, all 2.7 kilometers and more as I search for Ta Hien in a jumble of souvenir shops, cafes and a horde of scooters, finding it, going back and forth as I let instinct decide for me which is the best place to sit and enjoy a beer.
That's how I found the Pasteur Street Brewing Company, advertised to be the makers of Vietnam's finest craft beer, right on happy hour [two beers for the price of one] and fully airconditioned too!
So I pretended to be a connoisseur, swirling samples in a glass to rouse the beer spirit, slowly inhaling the aroma set off by breaking beer bubbles, and then taking a long sip to fully discern the flavor, the way I saw wine tasters do their stuff on TV, before asking the bar tender to "give me your bestseller".
The lager was good and complemented the local cheese platter that I ordered with it, and cold which is the most important thing to me, but the dark ale is simply overwhelmed by the laced coffee flavor, and I don't like mixing my drink with my coffee.
That was cool and refreshing but I came for the local beer, and I mean those that are readily available in any ordinary store, so I walked more of Ta Hien Street before settling on a sidewalk restobar where I ordered my first Pho Bo [Vienamese beef noodles] asked for a local beer.
And I was so extremely disappointed when I was served with a bottle of Danish Tuborg which, except for the color of the bottle [Vietnam military fatigue-green], does not have anything to do with Vietnam.
Perhaps Trung sensed my disappointment and asked me after our meetings if I want to sample a really local brew which is an offer I can't refuse, so off we rode on his scooter to a popular watering hole for the locals, as zero tourists, where I was introduced to the Bia Hao, the "soft beer for hard times" that was created in war-time conditions, brewed daily, supplied by the barrel to local joints, and served draft-style.
It is how fresh a beer can be, lesser alcohol but yeah, refreshing indeed.
I consulted Trip Advisor for dinner the next day and that was how I came to Cong Caphe which is just literally behind the Oxfam office and in front of my hotel along Thai Phien, right on happy hour [two bottles and get a third one free], and finally got introduced to Hanoi Beer and the petite Saigon Special, both from the pale lager family and perhaps appropriate representations of Vietnam's beer culture from the North and South.
For my free beer, I opted for another local brew, the Truc Bach, also a pale lager which I found leading the Hanoi and Saigon brands by a bit in terms of that "happy feeling" factor, perhaps because it was my third bottle in an hour and it's free, but interestingly as light and fresh like the lowly Bia Hao.
But in deference to Hanoi where I am being hosted, I raise a tall glass to its beloved brew and declare Hanoi Beer as my official poison for the duration of my stay which rightfully culminated in a dinner of the equally beloved Bun Cha right where Anthony Bourdain and Barack Obama had theirs, the now [in]famous Bun Cha Huong Lien which has lost its name to Obama Bun Cha.
That's what I heard from Riza as I embarked on my first trip ever to Vietnam, and I am of course excited as can be upon deplaning at Ho Chi Minh City's Tan So Nhat International Airport, so eager that I stupidly clambered up an escalator going down and instantly became a star of sorts to all those queuing at immigration as I kind of somersaulted in an awkward way.
But I made it to the domestic with only a light limp and bruised knuckles, and that's how I arrived in Hanoi, picked up by Trung's favorite airport shuttle service, and advised by the hotel front desk to walk to Ta Hien Street in the Old Quarter to quench my thirst for a cold Vietnamese beer.
Walk I did, in the middle of a scorching and humid afternoon sun, all 2.7 kilometers and more as I search for Ta Hien in a jumble of souvenir shops, cafes and a horde of scooters, finding it, going back and forth as I let instinct decide for me which is the best place to sit and enjoy a beer.
That's how I found the Pasteur Street Brewing Company, advertised to be the makers of Vietnam's finest craft beer, right on happy hour [two beers for the price of one] and fully airconditioned too!
So I pretended to be a connoisseur, swirling samples in a glass to rouse the beer spirit, slowly inhaling the aroma set off by breaking beer bubbles, and then taking a long sip to fully discern the flavor, the way I saw wine tasters do their stuff on TV, before asking the bar tender to "give me your bestseller".
The lager was good and complemented the local cheese platter that I ordered with it, and cold which is the most important thing to me, but the dark ale is simply overwhelmed by the laced coffee flavor, and I don't like mixing my drink with my coffee.
That was cool and refreshing but I came for the local beer, and I mean those that are readily available in any ordinary store, so I walked more of Ta Hien Street before settling on a sidewalk restobar where I ordered my first Pho Bo [Vienamese beef noodles] asked for a local beer.
And I was so extremely disappointed when I was served with a bottle of Danish Tuborg which, except for the color of the bottle [Vietnam military fatigue-green], does not have anything to do with Vietnam.
Perhaps Trung sensed my disappointment and asked me after our meetings if I want to sample a really local brew which is an offer I can't refuse, so off we rode on his scooter to a popular watering hole for the locals, as zero tourists, where I was introduced to the Bia Hao, the "soft beer for hard times" that was created in war-time conditions, brewed daily, supplied by the barrel to local joints, and served draft-style.
It is how fresh a beer can be, lesser alcohol but yeah, refreshing indeed.
I consulted Trip Advisor for dinner the next day and that was how I came to Cong Caphe which is just literally behind the Oxfam office and in front of my hotel along Thai Phien, right on happy hour [two bottles and get a third one free], and finally got introduced to Hanoi Beer and the petite Saigon Special, both from the pale lager family and perhaps appropriate representations of Vietnam's beer culture from the North and South.
For my free beer, I opted for another local brew, the Truc Bach, also a pale lager which I found leading the Hanoi and Saigon brands by a bit in terms of that "happy feeling" factor, perhaps because it was my third bottle in an hour and it's free, but interestingly as light and fresh like the lowly Bia Hao.
But in deference to Hanoi where I am being hosted, I raise a tall glass to its beloved brew and declare Hanoi Beer as my official poison for the duration of my stay which rightfully culminated in a dinner of the equally beloved Bun Cha right where Anthony Bourdain and Barack Obama had theirs, the now [in]famous Bun Cha Huong Lien which has lost its name to Obama Bun Cha.
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