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| By Thanh Tam |
Thứ Hai, 17 tháng 12, 2007
Tourists Want Adventure in Vietnam
Pan-fried foie gras
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| Pan-fried foie gras |
Pan-fried foie gras with apple relish and balsamic vinegar. Chef Theodor Rudiferia from Chez Manon Restaurant at Hilton Hanoi Opera
Ingredients: Serves 4
Foie Gras, 240g
Butter: 10g
Salt: 1/3 tea spoon
White pepper powder: 1g
Apple red: 1 Sugar: 130g
Cinnamon powder: 1 pinch
Balsamic vinegar: 100ml
Preparation:
Peel apples and cut into ½ cm cubes. Caramelise one tablespoon of sugar and add the apples and a pinch of cinnamon powder. Braise for 10 minutes and keep warm.
For the Balsamic reduction caramelise 100g sugar and add 100ml of Balsamic vinegar. Reduce until slightly thickened.
Season the goose liver to taste with salt and white pepper and sear in butter for a few seconds, turn and place in the oven at 170oC. Turn after 1 ½ minutes and leave in the oven for another minute.
With a spoon drizzle the Balsamic on a plate, sprinkle the apple relish over the Balsamic reduction and place the foie gras on
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Catba Island
The conquest of Vietnam by France began in 1858 and was completed by 1884. It became part of French Indochina in 1887. Independence was declared after World War II, but the French continued to rule until 1954 when they were defeated by Communist forces under Ho Chi Minh, who took control of the North. US economic and military aid to South Vietnam grew through the 1960s in an attempt to bolster the government, but US armed forces were withdrawn following a cease-fire agreement in 1973. Two years later, North Vietnamese forces overran the South. Despite the return of peace, for over two decades the country experienced little economic growth because of conservative leadership policies. Since 2001, Vietnamese authorities have committed to economic liberalization and enacted structural reforms needed to modernize the economy and to produce more competitive, export-driven industries. The country continues to experience protests from the Montagnard ethnic minority population of the Central Highlands over loss of land to Vietnamese settlers and religious persecution.
Coffee Culture Week
After successfully organizing the 2005 Buon Ma Thuot Coffee Festival, Dak Lak province people's committee decided to hold its 2007 Coffee Culture Week in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.
Ly Thanh Tung, the head of the Dak Lak Province Department of Trade and Tourism and the deputy head of Coffee Culture Week organizing committee, said that this event will help introduce Dak Lak's socioeconomic development potentials and be an opportunity for businesses/organizations and individuals nationwide to exchange information about trade, investment and tourism promotion. It will also help advertise Buon Ma Thuot coffee brands and other Vietnamese coffee brands, he said. The Coffee Culture Week is actually aimed at honoring Vietnamese coffee. It will help promote coffee sales inside Vietnam. The Coffee Culture Week organizing committee will be creating a 300-500 meters long road along which different coffee brands of Dak Lak and other provinces/cities across Vietnam will be displayed. The organizing committee will also be forming a simulative coffee farm where visitors can try different coffee products and learn about how coffee is processed and prepared. Held in Vietnam's two biggest cities, the Coffee Culture Week is expected to attract a large number of visitors, both domestic and foreign. More with Trafest Michael Cherito - + 84.903454427. Email : trafest@trafest.com www.trafest.com |
Vietnam intro
Background: The conquest of Vietnam by France began in 1858 and was completed by 1884. It became part of French Indochina in 1887. Independence was declared after World War II, but the French continued to rule until 1954 when they were defeated by Communist forces under Ho Chi Minh, who took control of the North. US economic and military aid to South Vietnam grew through the 1960s in an attempt to bolster the government, but US armed forces were withdrawn following a cease-fire agreement in 1973. Two years later, North Vietnamese forces overran the South. Despite the return of peace, for over two decades the country experienced little economic growth because of conservative leadership policies. Since 2001, Vietnamese authorities have committed to economic liberalization and enacted structural reforms needed to modernize the economy and to produce more competitive, export-driven industries. The country continues to experience protests from the Montagnard ethnic minority population of the Central Highlands over loss of land to Vietnamese settlers and religious persecution.
HANOI'S COFFEE STREET( 2 )
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| HOAN KIEM LAKE |
I usually avoid rodents or anything with a long tail and a furtive look. Yet, there I was cruising Hanoi’s Old Quarter, hot on the trail of a weasel. Or, to be more specific, his droppings.
In a country where items like snake blood and dog tails are occasional menu choices, ca phe chon, or weasel coffee, is in a class all its own. Coffee growers feed coffee beans to weasels, and after the beans pass through the animal, they are collected, ground and brewed. The process gives the coffee a musky, smooth flavor.
Derisively dismissed by some Westerners as “rodent roast” or even “crappuccino,” the expensive brew is a winner in the upmarket cafes that are fast replacing Vietnam’s traditional streetside tea stalls.
Eager to experiment, I figured there was no better place to track down the traditional brew than among the narrow streets of Hanoi’s Old Quarter. The area has been bustling since the 13th century, when Hanoi’s guilds established a commercial section near the Red River and Hoan Kiem Lake in central Hanoi.
Each street begins with the word hang (merchandise), followed by the name of the item traditionally sold on that street. There is everything from Tin Street to Ghost Money Street to Coffin Street. Some streets are former shells of themselves: Hang Vai (Bamboo Street) has only a few stacks of bamboo to distinguish itself, while other streets have created new identities in response to the changing needs of shoppers.
Hang Hanh, or Coffee Street, formerly called Onion Street, has undergone an aromatic transformation, becoming a favorite stop for those craving a jolt of caffeine. Businessmen heading to work, backpackers consulting Lonely Planet guides and hip motorbiking locals all head to this narrow street where onion stalls have become coffeehouses.
Derisively dismissed by some Westerners as “rodent roast” or even “crappuccino,” the expensive brew is a winner in the upmarket cafes that are fast replacing Vietnam’s traditional streetside tea stalls.
Eager to experiment, I figured there was no better place to track down the traditional brew than among the narrow streets of Hanoi’s Old Quarter. The area has been bustling since the 13th century, when Hanoi’s guilds established a commercial section near the Red River and Hoan Kiem Lake in central Hanoi.
Each street begins with the word hang (merchandise), followed by the name of the item traditionally sold on that street. There is everything from Tin Street to Ghost Money Street to Coffin Street. Some streets are former shells of themselves: Hang Vai (Bamboo Street) has only a few stacks of bamboo to distinguish itself, while other streets have created new identities in response to the changing needs of shoppers.
Hang Hanh, or Coffee Street, formerly called Onion Street, has undergone an aromatic transformation, becoming a favorite stop for those craving a jolt of caffeine. Businessmen heading to work, backpackers consulting Lonely Planet guides and hip motorbiking locals all head to this narrow street where onion stalls have become coffeehouses.
Author: BY MICHELE PETERSON
Hanoi's Coffee Street
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| A xiclo, or rickshaw driver, can take you to the hidden alleyways and quiet side streets of traditio |
As I made my way across Hang Gai (Silk Street), young women perched on Honda Dream motorbikes wove through traffic, their white silk ao dai tunics tucked safely beneath them, while bells clanged incessantly from rickshaws that veered past bicycles laden with live chickens.
For over 50 years, Hanoi, the capital of French Indochina, shimmered as one of the jewels of the French colonial empire. Thousands of French administrators, merchants and artists lived on Hanoi’s shaded streets, and traces of their legacy can still be felt in the faded colonial architecture and, of course, strong French coffee.
Today, women with conical hats still carry produce in baskets borne on shoulder poles past street vendors serving bowls of pho soup from boiling vats on the sidewalk. And yet cell phones compete with roadside barbers for attention. This modern influence reflects the changes sweeping the country.
Trung Nguyen café capitalizes on the Vietnamese’s nostalgia for their romantic past. Since it opened in 1996, the country’s first franchise has expanded to more than 1,000 locations by marketing a chic Vietnamese identity. It’s an image that combines the sensuous colonial past of French Indochina with traditional Vietnamese flavors, such as that of its signature blend, weasel coffee. With expansion underway to Tokyo and overseas markets, this company hopes to redefine consumer tastes.
But the taste may be too unusual for some.
Earlier, Bao, the young desk clerk at my hotel, had looked shocked at my intended coffee plans, and disclosed that, historically, villagers followed the little carnivores, gathering their droppings by hand.
A far cry from the barista serving staff at Starbucks back home, I thought.
“The digestion and excretion process enhances the taste of the beans,” he explained. He added that nowadays, the beans never see a rodent’s innards, and instead go through a synthetic process that simulates the effects of a journey through the weasel’s digestive tract. Or perhaps so proponents of the brew say, I mused.
“Perhaps Madame might prefer a cappuccino?” Bao suggested helpfully, as I headed out.
Later, reflecting on Bao’s words as I scanned the menu at the cafe, I found doubts about the evacuation process tiptoeing through my mind.
“How do I know if it is authentic?” I asked the server, hoping for the synthetic non-droplet version. The server just shrugged.
Deciding that perhaps I didn’t really want a coffee after all, I settled for juice and a croissant.
I guess you could say that I weaseled out.
If You Go
Dak-Linh Café, Hoan Kiem Lake. This outdoor café is nestled among the trees on the southwest shore of the lake. The tables offer a view of badminton matches, tai chi exercisers and, after nightfall, young Vietnamese couples whispering softly to each other over candlelight.
Trung Nguyen Café, 61 Pho Dinh Tien Hoang. Get your weasel coffee at Vietnam’s answer to Starbucks. Its flagship Hanoi location is beside Hoan Kiem Lake. Among its nine "creative" varieties you can be guaranteed a taste of some of Vietnam’s best coffee.
Café Nhan, 23 Pho Bao Khanh. Situated on Hanoi's main nightlife strip and popular with young Hanoians, Café Nhan offers quiet rooms for large groups, private nooks for courting couples and breezy balconies for people-watchers.
Au Lac, 57 Pho Ly Thai To. Located near the prestigious Sofitel Metropole hotel in the French quarter, Au Lac is the sort of place where guests can imagine themselves circa 1954 or as an extra in the film The Quiet American.
Win Hotel, 34 Hang Hanh. This mini-hotel right on Coffee Street can help you keep the caffeine buzz going night and day. Rooms start at $20 a night, and include breakfast with a view of the street action and, of course, strong coffee
Vietnam train
- Ground rail system is the only one that connects Ha Noi, Saigon and other cities. Please find fares and schedules in table below.
| ROUTES | SOFT SEAT | SOFT SLEEPER | AC SOFT SLEEPER |
HANOI - SAIGON | 45 | 67 | 75 |
| HANOI - HUE | 25 | 35 | 37 |
| HANOI - DANANG | 25 | 35 | 39 |
| HANOI - NHA TRANG | 37 | 56 | 62 |
| SAIGON - HUE | 29 | 43 | 39 |
| SAIGON - DANANG | 26 | 45 | 45 |
| SAIGON - NHA TRANG | 12 | 17 | 20 |
| DANANG - HUE | 5 | 7 | 8 |
| DA NANG - NHA TRANG | 19 | 26 | 30 |
biking in Hanoi
On this amazing Vietnam Bike trip, you will develop a deep appreciation for this fascinating country. Starting in the capital Hanoi, your journey by bike and train will take in all the highlights before arriving in the bustling Ho Chi Minh City.
On the way you’ll cycle back roads through some of the country’s most beautiful scenery. You will go cruising on Halong Bay, ride the Reunification Express, swim on China Beach and breathe the cool air of Dalat. The cycling is moderate and there is full support by van, allowing tired cyclists to rest.
More with Trafest
Michael Cherito - + 84.903454427. Email : trafest@trafest.com
www.trafest.com
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