Travelog - A travel guide to Vietnam

“Right as I was getting on the plane to leave for Ha Noi my mom handed me a small, wrapped present, which I opened as soon as I sat down in my seat. It was the book 1000 Places to See Before You Die by Patricia Schultz and on the card accompanying the book she wrote, “A little inspiration for your trip. Love, Mom”…. Schultz chose the Old Quarter as of one her picks, and intriguingly devoted another coveted spot to Cha Ca La Vong, a restaurant that is famous for just one dish, grilled fish or cha ca. As a seasoned chowhound who spent the last two years obsessively trying new restaurants in New York City, I knew Cha Ca La Vong would have to be one of my first destinations upon arriving in Ha Noi… What the book said was true: Cha Ca La Vong is a veritable Ha Noi institution, “writes Sara Schapiro in The Vietnam News. NB: For my money, you’re better off ignoring everything you’ve ever read about this place and have the same thing down south. Here are my reasons.

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At the Vietnamese bistro Bambuza, in the Washington State Convention and Trade Center, the banh xeo are called Turmeric Crêpes and come with slivers of asparagus — demonstrating that any sort of fresh vegetable could find its way into these quick-to-fix creations.

AT MANY RESTAURANTS, an order of crêpes brings to the table a flambéed dessert with orange sauce or a thin pancake full of ham and cheese and served with hard cider. Crêpes at a Vietnamese restaurant, however, are something quite different: crisp, golden crescents filled with all sorts of savory morsels and called banh xeo (pronounced BUN-sow).

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