Hanoi

Hanoi wasn’t exactly my first choice for a holiday but on hindsight it was a pretty interesting trip - maybe because it turned out to be rather gastronomical.

Restaurant Bobby Chinn
There are a few restaurants that I like and one of which is Bobby Chinn’s.

I know it is rather silly ordering a burger in a restaurant but it was excellent. It was cooked perfectly to my specifications (medium-rare yummy…), the meat was juicy, tender and fatty, i.e. perfect.

The menu...

and décor shout Bobby Chinn.


It was a nice way to wind down afer a long day in busy Hanoi.



Brothers’ Café
Lunch here was never quite about the food. What!?!! I did spend a good 5 minutes soaking in the French colonial styled villa before ploughing into my pho bo,…salad, vermicelli and erhem...more pho bo.



Housed in an colonial villa in the heart of Hanoi, Brothers Cafe combines French colonial architectural influences with traditional Vietnamese style.


Brothers’ Café was surrounded by lush, tropical gardens and tastefully furnished with antiques provides guests with a peaceful oasis, away from the hustle and bustle of the city.


Traditional Vietnamese dishes were prepared by ladies clad in traditional costumes in an al fresco setting. It was an a sweet escape from a hot afternoon in the hustle of the city.

Hoa Sua
Dinner at Hoa Sua was special. In fact, Hoa Sua was pretty special itself; it has a privately-run school for disadvantaged children like orphans and street children. The work-study program at Hoa Sua makes it the first restaurant of its kind in Vietnam, the trainees are picked from local orphanages and charities.

It was started in April 1995 by Bideaux Ngyen Sang Thu who was struck by the large numbers of street children in Vietnam and wanted to help them. The school originally received funds from the United Nations' One Percent For Development program and two French non-governmental organizations. Hoa Sua is just starting to be self sufficient and supported entirely by their own earnings.

There are approximately sixty students, aged seventeen to twenty-five, and each one stays for three to six months. They study French and English conversation and work in the restaurant where they learn to cook French and Vietnamese cuisine. The school provides each student with tuition, room, board and an allowance. When they are sick, the school provides medical care.

I am not sure about Hoa Sua being the "in" restaurant because between the Japanese couple and us, I swore the staff/patron ratio was about a zillion to 4. The young trainees were at times (understandably) over zealous but it was sweet seeing them trying (although to little success…) to balance between staying out of our sight and within hearing range in case they were beckoned for. Hoa Sua has apparently attracted the attention of diplomats, foreign correspondents and businesspeople (and deservedly so) so make sure you call in advance for reservation.

Hoa Sua is located in an old French villa across from the Hanoi opera house tucked away from the busy streets of Hanoi.
The menu at Hoa Sua, written in French, Vietnamese and English, is a blend of French and Vietnamese dishes.

The service at both the restaurant and the bakery was eager and pleasant. It was easy to forget that the young staff - chefs, waiters and waitresses, were all in fact trainees who were not too long ago street children.


Hoa Sua Restaurant
6C Phan Chu Trinh, Hanoi Tel 8240448
Pastry Shop: 8am-7pm daily
Lunch: 11am-2pm daily
Dinner by private arrangement.

Well, for the time being bon appetite…