Reviews by Khumbu
posted about 4 months ago by Khumbu
about the event: FREE Acting Workshop by Hanoi International Theatre Society @ Green Mango
I agree with Boothby. I came along not expecting all that much, however I was blown away. Very well facilitated, actually very productive. Gentle start to engage even the most shy of us, ultimately ending with some script readings that were great fun.
Another workshop was mooted as a possibility: yes please!
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Update:
Downgraded to two stars after bad experience yesterday (would have been three stars if I wasn't still so upset at my expectations being so cruelly dashed). Different skin technician, very different facial - still an OK technician, however the routine they used for the facial was only just passable. Not worth paying for, as far as I'm concerned. Will revert to doing my own at home.
Pretty decent deep tissue / pressure point massage - however what I was told I was paying for was a massage by a physiotherapist. I've had many massages by a physiotherapist before, and the Yin Yang massage was not one of them.
Plus, major issues with privacy. As I lay only in boxer shorts on the massage table, I had a number of staff wander into the room, look at me for while, chat amongst themselves, sit in the corner of the room and pick their noses (OK, I only saw this bit once, but it was enough), and then wander out again (repeat several times). Including a mid-20s male which, call me a prude, makes me extremely uncomfortable.
Then there were the three other clients who came in to the room I was in, chatting loudly, and had half hour fully-clothed massages, again including a male. Not exactly a tranquility inducing experience.
Last time another client's mates decided to come watch her have a massage - they sat in the corner of the room, 1 meter away from where I was having a massage and chatted and played on phones. When I raised an objection, the staff asked the male to leave the room, however allowed the female to stay. I thought this transgression was a once off event - it appears not. Perhaps this is the Vietnamese way - that would be fine if they weren't trying to capture the expat market. I don't attend massages to be part of a spectator event.
Yes, the management are very aware that I was unhappy with their services. They have offered me a free massage, to make up for it. However, they've lost my trust and respect now, so I will not be going back.
Nevertheless, for someone who does not have the same privacy needs as I do, perhaps worth a shot? It is a lovely new premises and I think they genuinely try to please.
I will be emailing the link to this review to to Yin Yang, so they have a chance to comment publicly. And with any luck, the next person who attend Yin Yang will not have the same disappointments that I did.
+++++++++++++
Just brilliant!
They do facials and massages (including by a physiotherapist apparently - I'm booked in for one of these 'professional ones' later in the week), and I think also haircuts (not the service I got).
More of a review later, however let me say quickly that this is the best facial I've ever had and I've been to some quite swanky places in Australia. And the swedish massage was pretty decent too.
Going back again in a few days time - will reconsider my review then, and post updated info. I'm fairly confident my adoration will not be shattered, however I guess one never knows.
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The new digs of Mr Vu, Executive Stylist. Very pretty - both the place and the staff.
Not the cheapest place in town - at the beginning of June, a short hair cut by Vu for a female was US$25 / 400,000 VND - however I was happy with it. If you don't want the man himself, I understand that rates are cheaper.
It's not that it's an exceptional salon, it's more that it's a western standards salon - it was like being back in Melbourne, without the stylist directing all that annoying gossiping at me. Plus they give the best head massage I've had to date in a hair salon. Will be going back in time to try a colour as well.
They also have waxing (not by Mr Vu himself). Rates when I asked were:
Full leg - US$20;
Underarms - US$5;
Eyebrows - US$5;
Bikini - US$8.
No idea of the quality - I was not denuded.
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I just had my bike serviced and repaired here. I found Andrew (& crew) to be thorough and honest. And the service is great - they picked up my bike from home (and are going to drop it back when it's convenient for me), and took the time to go through in detail with me the necessary repairs, explaining what each widget did and why it should be repaired, in a way that I (not a mechanically minded person) could understand. Can they really be mechanics?!
Am even tempted to dump my (old) bike and rent one of their very pretty, shiny new ones... especially because the idea of having the equivalent of emergency roadside assistance, as well as free monthly safety checks and bike washes, really appeals to me!
And, sure, it's also for a good cause. However, given the (unrivalled, as far as I can determine) quality of the service, I don't think this really needs to be factored in as a selling point...
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posted about 6 months ago by Khumbu
about the event: Wizard of Oz (4th Showing) by Hanoi International Theatre Society @ Nha Hat Kich Theatre
Right from the start, let me point out that I'm biased - I've just become involved as crew on this production.
Having said that, I'm confident I'm being fair in saying the following:
* the cast have amazing voices - just brilliant to hear them singing (unaccompanied by music);
* the show is short and broken up by an interval - perfect for kids' short attention spans. And the popcorn is delicious;
* the audience at all three performances (to date) has seemed to enjoy the production - the kids in particular seem to get a massive buzz out of the show. I've seen a few enthusiastic re-enactments of various scenes - the "I'm melting" wicked witch scene being especially popular - and many people seem to be humming one of the songs as they leave.
Not to mention the cast being swamped with requests for autographs and photo opportunities!
I don't know if tickets are still available for the last performance. Either way, I reckon plays by the Hanoi International Theatre Society may well be worth keeping an eye on in the future.
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Despite a positive sounding rap in the latest lonely planet , I have to say Whole Earth was dismal in my book.
The setting was grotty western and the staff appeared to resent my very presence, with completely surly service.
Apparently the speciality of this place is the mock meat. I had the mock satay chicken. It resembled nothing so much as tough, dried up, thin bits of tofu with a vaguely peanut like garlic sauce. Not a winner.
Chicken satay plus rice plus mango fruit shake cost 50,000 VND. Save your money.
What appealed to me most about this place, quite perversely given the hygiene implications, was the mildly manky cat seeming quite content curled up on a chair in the 'restaurant'.
It gets two stars only because it doesn't appear to have given me food poisoning and the cat looked happy.
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Let me say from the outset that Ms Nancy is a lovely and very honourable woman. She really helped me out when I was desperate to find accommodation, by letting me sign an one month contract when her normal minimum term is either three or six months (can't remember which, I'm afraid). She gave me flowers when I moved in, and she always answered the phone when I called her to ask about issues related to the house. And when I moved out after one week, she refunded me the complete amount of the unused rent for the rest of the month, although I believe she was under no legal obligation to do so. I feel very fortunate in relation to how Ms Nancy treated me in this situation.
Having said this, the reason I moved out was because the guest house was not up to my hygiene or noise standards. However, I think I experienced an alignment of bad factors, and I'm willing to believe this is not how other people may find the guest house in the future. Other residents seem to have stayed for quite a long time - it may just be I have different expectations in relation to accommodation.
Ms Nancy has two guest houses - I stayed in the one in 12 / 12 Nguyen Phuc Lai, Dong Da. I managed to get a (admittedly spacious) room that both faced the street and had a frosted glass door and window connecting my room to the shared bathroom. The facing neighbours, with lounge rooms of all of 8 meters away from my bed, played music / the TV extremely loudly until 11pm at night. The frosted glass provided no sound insulation and very little light insulation from the shared bathroom: for the entire time I was there I was woken up at random hours each night, as another resident used the bathroom. Suffering from sleep deprivation due to no fun cause makes me very cranky indeed.
From what Ms Nancy said, I think there was a bit of a problem with the cleaner - in any case, from the Wed morning I moved in until the Mon lunchtime I moved out, the place was not cleaned (although I think it was due to be cleaned on Monday afternoon). By this stage the bathroom was in quite an unappealing state, the ground floor displayed the corpses of numerous cockroaches (actually, some were still alive) and the smell of mould emitting from the laundry was almost enough to make me dry gag. My room didn't suffer these indignities, but when I walked on the floor barefoot, I did end up with black soles. Not a selling point.
Further, as a completely Vietnamese neighbourhood, the only food supply in walking distance was street vendors. I'm still wary of street stalls and I don't like catching Xe Oms at night, so this really didn't work well for me. There was a functional kitchen, but I was not yet up to cooking for myself here.
Ms Nancy's may be worth checking out if you're looking for a cheap mid-term stay (was US$10 / day, US$280 / month, all appliance bills included), but be sure you understand fully what you're getting in a room (many of them don't have the connecting door) and how often the cleaning will occur.
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Hmmm, when I had lunch here a few days ago I was distracted by reading the Viet Nam News and didn't really notice the speed of service ... I did have the chance to read the entire newspaper, so perhaps it was on the slow side. I've always found a loud "xin loi" gets me attention when I want it though... perhaps this is me being boarish?? But I digress.
The thing I loved most about Luna d'Autunno was being able to get San Pellegrino mineral water. In 1.5 litre bottles. I lived on this nectar at home, so almost cried (I actually got tears in my eyes) when I saw it here. And it was not obscenely expensive. Not if you're as desperate as I was.
I also enjoyed my main course - eggplant and walnut ravioli with some kind of cheese, bathed in dill infused oil. Not one for the calorie conscious, and a little more al dente than I prefer, but very tasty, and a portion size significant enough that I couldn't finish it all.
The table bread included a focaccia like bread that was scrumptious. Best bread I've had here to date. And the affordable glass of red wine was also quite decent.
I'll certainly be visiting again but it's not my highest priority.
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Had lunch here today and was quite impressed. This is one of the places I'll be bringing business guests when they visit Hanoi.
As other reviews have mentioned, the setting is wonderfully atmospheric - four separate eating areas (breezeway outside, shaded outside, inside, and inside upstairs where there's no smoking); lovely cast iron lamp post in the breezeway entrance as well as cast iron shelves decoratively displaying wine bottles throughout the restaurant; abundant vegetation in the outside setting as well as a fish pond (although some of the gold fish are looking worse for their sharing of the pond with a large cat fish); lead light stained glass lampshades inside; etc, etc.
I had the lunch special - cost 128,000 VND for a choice of one of several mains plus dessert (and a free 'cocktail' ... not entirely sure what was in that but it was bright red and tasted of alcohol and cherries). Was extremely disappointed (and this is why Green Tangerine has lost one star in my rating) that the lunch special did not include a vegetarian option (no, salmon is _not_ a vegetarian option!) and the staff member was not willing to add one despite a decent attempt at negotiation by me. Being on a budget these days, I chose to betray my principles and eat a meat dish (white bean and duck and tomato, wrapped up in pastry parcels. ) rather than pay a few extra dollars to order off the menu. And let me say that it's meals like these that can make it so very hard to abstain from meat eating. Would have preferred not to have been pushed into being tempted though.
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Interesting mix of past reviews for Tandoor - seems like it's been a bit hit and miss. For the one time I attended (yesterday), it was a hit.
I turned up quite late for lunch (2pm), and ordered a 'mini meal' - one vegetarian curry with naan, plus sides of mint chutney, mango pickle and a papadum, all for 55,000 VND. I also ordered samosas.
Was impressed with their extremely wide range of menu choices - both meat & vegetarian.
Samosas arrived within 10 minutes, main course within 20 mins, both hot and delicious. And the portion sizes were the same as is normal for any Indian lunch deal in the numerous places I've ever eaten at.
I very much liked their authentic serving dishes. The quality of the food was nigh on as good as I used to get in Melbourne, Australia (where I lived until recently). I reckon even my Indian-born father would happily eat here (will find out when he visits later in the year).
So can't really comment about the problems others have experienced, but I enjoyed Tandoor & will be heading back there in the not too distant future.
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