Eat Like Ushi

It's been a long time since I actually visited Boudin. In researching my food venues for the trip, Boudin and their chowder in sourdough was extremely highly regarded. The first Boudin I walked past was at Fisherman's Wharf, complete with the artistic and impressive animal designs in the shop window.

I was enroute to dinner at Ferry Plaza so didn't stop in, but managed to sample Boudin's fare the next day (at a location that I can't precisely recall).

The sourdough revolution hit Melbourne around the time of extreme brunch cafe culture circa 2009 and I was there to embrace it. It was a farcry from the supermarket sourdough I was made to eat back in the early 90s when my mum tried to take wheat out of my diet (N.B I'm aware now that sourdough is still wheat based). Of all the types I've tried around various cafes and bakeries in Australia, none has yet surpassed my experience at Boudin - the crusty bowl exterior, the soft spongy bread and the unmistakable tangy sour taste that I search for. Other than the bread, the chowder isn't bad either.

A fantastic dish and one I look forward to revisiting. Next time I'll be sure to take some bread home too. My sourdough journey continues.

Gertrude Street is perfect for strolling and shopping in a more bohemian part of Melbourne. De Clieu is the pick in the area for coffee and breakfast cafes.

Seven Seeds coffee is pure and strong - just what you want. Soy Chai Latte is thick and frothy with a nice ginger accent.

The signature breakfast I came back for is the Pork Belly on Roti. A thick slab of juicy pork sits on top of a rather atypical roti. Not particularly flaky, with crispy edges but the area underlying the pork was rendered soggy. Perhaps serving them separately would work better. Nonetheless the flavour keeps me returning.

Since poached eggs are typically overcooked in London, I had to get my Melbourne fix. A simple Poached Eggs on Quinoa & Seed Sourdough (with warm tomato chutney) reminded me how great eggs and bread can be. The sourdough toast is fantastic. The poached eggs (one slightly overcooked, one perfectly runny) soaked yolk into the toast. Wonderful. The tomato chutney was warm and simple - adequate but unnecessary in my opinion.

Next time I would order the chai or coffee - depending upon what your inclination is. Poached Eggs will keep you satisfied. For something more unique, The Pork Belly on Roti is a good selection but try requesting the roti to be separate or to the side.

I'd read about the meats at Dang Van Quyen. It was reaffirmation that the lovely hostess at the hotel independently recommended it for dinner. It was a late afternoon start and progressed into a prolonged night dinner.

The nem is expertly handed on the grill and is surprisingly a much less intense colour than what I'm used to seeing around Melbourne. Nonetheless the pork is delicious and self-wrapped in fresh rice paper with herbs, vegetables and fried rice paper.

The star was probably the chewy flattened pork which had a much more intense colour and flavour. After initially eating it in a noodle dish, the second ordering had to be on its own and also served in kebab cubes with salad.

The long walk back to the hotel was well needed under the relaxing sky and even included a walk past a small night food market (although much too full to get anything).

There's an alluring (or overwhelming) aroma of barbecued meats wafting in the streets of Hanoi. They entice you and make it difficult to escape unfed.

The trouble is that there's so many places to choose from, then it becomes a matter of sticking to principles - which ones are full (with locals), the food looks good, the food smells great. After much deliberation and walking back and forth, Nam Tung was chosen for the large seating area filled with bums (both local and foreign) and the food envy in my eyes.

All the dishes advertised on the sign were tried - well-cooked beef steak with (soft squishy) fries, delicious roasted birds and flavoursome tender pork ribs. You can't go too wrong for flavour with fish sauce-marinated barbecued meats.

On my list to visit was Nola Cafe. Unfortunately after eating so much I couldn't order any food there (most of the menu is Western and you can get cheaper local food outside). However in the interest of visiting my marked places and because in the night time the glowing red sign and moonlit atmosphere was so lovely and peaceful from the balconies, I'm glad I went in and had tea and a fruit shake.

The concierge at our hotel (the exceptional Hanoi Elegance Emerald) recommended us a topline cruiser for the Halong Bay overnight trip. The Calypso Cruiser was supposedly the best of the lot and many guests had enjoyed a stay there. Although the weather was cold and skies winter bleak, the junk was lovely and comfortable. The rocking motion didn't induce any form of nausea. At night looking out across the bay you can see other boats anchoring.

The staff assisted us in a small cooking class to make cha gio (spring rolls) which added a little fun. Otherwise dinner included a mix of prawn cocktail, salad, clams, spring rolls presented electrifyingly on a pineapple, not very good fries (for some Western familiarity), chicken, fish and fruit.

None of the food was outstanding but it was satisfying enough. It is a boat after all.

After returning from the trip, I commented to the concierge that the stay was nice, however there were some cockroaches in the rooms (not mine but others) and that other guests had managed to get a discounted fare of about USD20 less from a travel agent. The concierge took this on board - later that day the manager of the junk company came to the hotel in person. He greeted me and apologised for the cockroach issue. I was reimbursed the difference in the discount fare and offered a free hotel transfer at the expense of the junk company.

This service is impeccable. I think given that you can't completely immune any cruise from the issues I noted, I can't recommend the hotel or junk enough.

Other than a steaming bowl of bun bo hue, the only specific thing on my list to eat in Hue was to sample the royal cuisine. There's two places that seem to specialise in this - Hoang Vien and Tien Gia Vien. Tien Gia Vien seemed to have reviews that seemed more favourable to me and so it was on my list. Funnily enough during a private tour of the city, our driver decided to take us somewhere for lunch - which happened to be Hoang Vien. I was a little skeptical at first as the first table I saw were an all middle-aged European tourist group. As the next 5 tour buses of the same arrived, it was decided this was not the place for lunch. The surprised driver couldn't understand why we didn't want to eat here, but after some negotiation took us to a little cafe in a side street behind a petrol station, the place he eats lunch. That was a great meal.

The next evening dinner was booked at Tien Gia Vien. The neighbourhood was quiet and the place is in a little side alley. During a January night, the place was relatively empty with only a few couples there. I can imagine this wouldn't be the place, the type or food nor the price for any kind of locals, but there was refreshingly no tour groups.

The staff spoke English well enough to explain the dishes to me.

- Bunch of carrot & papaya flowers
- Dance of the Phoenix
- Pineapple Lantern of Assorted Appetisers
- Surprise Soup of Hue
- Vietnamese Spring Roll in the form Peacock
- Big Steamed Prawn
- Sweet & Sour Papaya in the form Dragon
- Meat, Pork with Potatoes in the form Elephant
- Cantonese Rice in the form Tortoise
- Dessert: Dragon Boat includes Fruit

The setting is lovely, the food artistry is beautiful and the flavours themselves are fine. I prefer the street tastes generally but this is something a little more refined, a little less heavily flavoured and nice as a change. And you get to play with the food to create new hybrid beasts!!

I can't quite remember how I heard about Bobby Chinn's restaurant in Hanoi, it may well have been seeing his name attached to a TV food show and researching from there. A couple of blog reviews made the place sound interesting in its quirkiness and good in flavour.

The restaurant setting is beautiful, a quiet area in north Hanoi accessible by taxi. The entrance and the downstairs bar are very warm and welcoming, and it would have been nice to have more time to rest here and enjoy the hookah and a few cocktails.

The quirks start with the illuminated magnifying glasses to read the menu. The menus themselves are written with hilarious banter and make for good entertainment. The next quirk (should you choose to accept it) is the "you are beautiful" sidedish, that comes as menus to take home and the staff regularly telling you (or your partner should you order it for them) that they are beautiful, right up until the written form with dessert and the final goodbye gesture at the door on leaving.

The food itself is delicious, and I had no faults. If you want something special to end your trip in Vietnam/Hanoi, I recommend this place very highly.

12-2016

In cleaning up very old collections of travel documents, I came across the menu...

It's a shame this Hanoi restaurant is closed in favour of a (not well rated) London version.

The Ferry Building in San Francisco seems to be where all the city's best food congregates under one roof. In only a few days, I spent time at the regular store inside (think bakery, mushrooms & truffles, fruit & vegetables, meat, coffee), the restaurants (Hog Island Oysters, The Slanted Door), and also excitedly the Ferry Plaza Farmer's Market.

Occurring every Tuesday & Thursday (1000-1400) and Saturday (0800-1400). Tuesday is supposedly quite limited, Thursday has the addition of hot street food vendors, Saturday is the biggest with restaurants also attending to serve food.

A lucky Thursday allowed us to sample Korean tacos, pizza and the most wonderful food van called RoliRoti. After a short queue, a RoliRoti sandwich with rotisserie chicken or pork with cooking meat juices soaking into the bread was incredible. The rich strong flavours enticed us to consider joining the now-immense queue of about 45mins just to have another one... maybe next time.

Before hitting San Francisco, I carefully read through the recommended 100 food items to try. Obviously getting to all of them was never going to be a goal, but picking the select ones that had the most promise gave me something to look forward to.

Gott's Roadside is a roadside diner-designed place, expertly located at the Ferry Building, where all good food in San Francisco seems to be.

The Ahi Tuna burger was the item on my prowl list. It ended up being a lovely fat slab of seared sashimi-grade tuna, served with coleslaw in a soft bun. It looks sensational and tastes very good. I felt it was missing something (unsure what, perhaps something to kick the flavour up) to make it great, but I'd happily go back for it.