Vietnamese Cooking Class

Let’s catch up.

I got back from the Ha Giang Loop and was getting ready to fly out of Vietnam. And then I didn’t.

While there were lots of other places of interest, like Ninh Binh, Hoi An, Sapa, and Ha Long Bay in particular, I decided to settle for one more stop and move on then. For both monetary reasons and because of travel fatigue. To travel more. Just trust me. It makes sense. 😁

First, I had one full day in Hanoi at my disposal.

I decided to go for another cooking class, being particularly interested in pho - a bone broth made with a variety of spices, including cilantro seeds, aniseed, cinnamon, and a few more. It’s quite good!

Only 5 people had signed up for the class - but I liked a quieter atmosphere.

First, we prepared the pho soup, which tends to take quite a while as it has to simmer for at least 5 hours, sometimes even longer, for the ingredients to become richer.

Then a salad, spring rolls, and for dessert, egg coffee.

I kept the amount of coffee especially low - not being a coffee-drinker for most of the time.

The cook was positively delighted to see how happy I was spooning off the thick foam from the top and had a genius idea - all credit to her - to supply me with the mixing bowl with a decent portion of the whipped egg and condensed milk foam.

I adorably nibbled away on it like a savage. A happy savage.

After the cooking class had concluded, I was keen to explore a little more, always being full on adrenaline because of how dangerous a life you have as a pedestrian in Vietnam, considering you have to walk on the road and not the sidewalk. Why? Because the sidewalk is almost exclusively used as a parking space for motorbikes. I promise I’m not exaggerating.

While we’re on the topic of traffic, I recently talked to a guy who told me that there is an unwritten rule for drivers of any vehicle: you’re solely responsible for about a 45-degree angle of your vision straight in front of you. Mirrors? Purely decorative.

I don’t know this to be a fact, of course, but yes, from observation, this is spot on - in theory. Because the way they drive, they don’t really care about pedestrians in the slightest. Maybe the rule only applies to objects that could actually pose harm to their vehicles. Like a brick wall.

In the evening, I went to a random, very well-rated restaurant. Lots of those in Vietnam.
One look at the prices made me research it a little more. Aha! It was a Michelin-approved restaurant. And this one looked fancier than what I’d come to expect from the crammed, tiny, red-plastic-chair kind of places with Michelin approval. Still quite some room for improvement, I’d say, but it’s a great start.

I had a pumpkin soup - they seem to be moderately popular in Laos and Vietnam, I had them quite a lot.

Mostly, I love them because they taste like a warm hug.

This one was okay. While it was remarkably velvety, it seemed so smoothed out that it seemed to be sifted of some necessary spices to make it a tight, comforting hug and not a lacklustre greeting between acquaintances.

For dessert, I had yoghurt with black rice. The latter - meh. The yoghurt? Now, that was some good stuff. Perfectly balanced tartness and sweetness. I savoured every spoon.Read more