maihanoi's profile
maihanoi's Posts
23 reviews or comments posted; 3 questions asked; 12 answers given.
Reviews / Comments (23) see all
Had a large pizza with parma ham (the long Italian name for the pizza eludes me)-- it was delicious and decently priced. (~100k)
Perhaps it is because I am more used to pizzas that piled over with ingredients, hence, the pizza did look a little spare on the toppings. So, minus half a star.
My dinner companion also ordered a sorbet (~40k) and had trouble finishing it, as she thought it was too sour. So, minus another half star.
That makes it four stars. Highly recommended for Italian food cravings nevertheless.
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My only experience with Belgian food is Belgian fries-- copious amounts of it.
What was served up during the set lunch today did not taste like Belgian fries, but they were still decent fries by Vietnamese standards. My only gripe about my chicken breast and fries set was that the chicken meat looked like it came from an anorexic chicken. However, the rather small portion did save me from falling asleep after lunch.
Taste-wise, it is not fabulous, but it was not horrible either.
However, despite the relatively small portion, and the slightly above-average taste, the set lunch is pretty good value for money.
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Came here several weeks ago, and left a satisfied customer.
Service was great even before we entered the restaurant. One of the staff spotted our cab across the street, and ushered us in-- a welcome gesture on a rainy day.
Had a pesto pasta and while I would not say that it was outstanding, it was a wholesome and hearty meal, without causing a real dent in my wallet. Also had a chocolate pudding, which oozed warm chocolate sauce when pried open.
All in all, it is a place with good food and great service.
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As someone who has watched it 2.5 times, thanks to various visiting friends (so, I slept through half of one of the performances), surprisingly, it is somewhat worthy of repeat visits, as that will give you the chance to figure out how some of the acts are done.
However, what does get on my nerves are people with SLRs who seem to be snapping up the whole performance-- I practically watched one of the performances through someone else's camera.
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Happened to be in the area, and happened to see a banner saying "buffet". Looked at watch, happened to be 5 mins before the buffet starts and happened to like the price (about 45,000 dong for one person, price goes down for bigger groups, think it was something like 2-3 people: 43,000d, 4 and above: 42,000d)
The buffet was okay. At 45,000 dong, it expectedly involved a lot of carbohydrates (fries, spaghetti, rice), with one curry chicken dish, a salad bar, and a dessert bar. It was good for the purpose of loading up on carbohydrates without busting the budget, but if you belong to the category of people who don't believe in wasting calories on less-than-good food, don't bother about this buffet.
Nevertheless, this is a nice chill-out spot, as it overlooks the tranquil Truc Bach lake.
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Questions (3)
Hi,
Does anyone know where can I repair my external hard disk?
And if there is a place that provides the service, how much would it cost?
Dear all,
Just a quick question-- what is the current black market rate for VND-USD? Has it risen above 18500 to even higher rates? Or has it stabilized?
Hi,
Does anyone know if foreigners are allowed to read in the National Library, and if yes, what is required for registration, if any?
Thanks in advance.
Answers (12)
Posted Monday May 12th, 2008.
I think I saw a shop in one of the streets around Hoan Kiem lake that was selling unblocked iphones. But I am not quite sure if they will unblock it for you. Hope this helps.
In response to the question: Hi, I have just restored my iphone and I think its locked now as it can only make emergency calls... Does anyone knows anyone who can help me to un...
Posted Tuesday May 13th, 2008.
Okay, thanks, will go check it out.:)
In response to the question: Hi, Does anyone know where can I repair my external hard disk? And if there is a place that provides the service, how much would it cost? ...
Posted Sunday May 25th, 2008.
Ditto... Am a rather new Mac convert at less than a year though. :)
In response to the question: Is there any any apple mac community in Hanoi ? Been looking for info on where mac enthusiasts get their hardware from and at a reasonable price....
Posted Thursday June 26th, 2008.
Thanks-- just needed to know the rate such that I can decide to pay in USD or VND for my guesthouse, that's all. :)
In response to the question: Dear all, Just a quick question-- what is the current black market rate for VND-USD? Has it risen above 18500 to even higher rates? Or has it sta...
Posted Friday June 27th, 2008.
Well, tough luck for me-- the place I am staying at has been trying to up the rents, if I pay in VND, time and time again. I am quite tired of haggling, so I think I am just going to ask someone to bring USD for me.
In response to the question: Dear all, Just a quick question-- what is the current black market rate for VND-USD? Has it risen above 18500 to even higher rates? Or has it sta...
Posted Friday July 4th, 2008.
Hmm... Lemme jump onto the bandwagon:
Vietnamese does not help all the time-- One year ago, I wanted to take a cab from Hoan Kiem lake to Van Mieu, my friend and I hopped into one of those cute little cabs, and I told him where we wanted to go. Idiot went round Hoan Kiem district three times-- he couldn't be clueless about where it was, given that he was going round and round the same places three times. He must really think we're dumb or blind. And though I repeatedly told him the destination, he just nodded and pretended that he was indeed bringing us to our destination in the shortest way possible. It took superhuman effort for me not to start cursing at him. Total bill? 75k. To top things off, the clown then decided to ask for 8USD for the price, instead of VND. I declined, whipped out 100k dong, and he tried the "no change" tactic. Totally furious at being already ripped off, and refusing to be ripped off a second time, I just sat in his car until he produced change.
Six weeks ago, going by the philosophy of "small cabs bad, big cabs good", I flagged down a big SUV cab on the southern edge of the West Lake, with the company name "Thanh _____" (can't remember the second word). After entering, I stated the destination, and even pointed it out on a map, just to be sure. Dude pretended not to know where it was... Okay... Bad news... Then, my eyes started scanning for a meter, only to notice that no meter was visible. Okay, worse news... So, about 10m into the journey, I asked him where was the meter. And he opened the GLOVE COMPARTMENT, and viola! There was the meter. Seriously, which taxi meter is kept IN THE GLOVE COMPARTMENT? Extremely disturbed, my friend and I tried to get him to stop, and it took some shouting on our part, before he would let us alight. 20m journey worked out to 20k dong. Although I can't remember the name of the company, I am avoiding all taxi companies that start with "Thanh"
In response to the question: I've noticed two "strategies" used by taxi drivers: The fairly obvious one is when they take a long, roundabout route to inflate the meter. T...
Posted Friday July 4th, 2008.
Hmm... Can I add in a request? I am currently doing research on late 19th-early 20th century Vietnamese history, and would appreciate addresses of any bookshops selling books on Vietnamese history...
In response to the question: Does anyone know where I could find ancient books for sale in Hanoi ? If yes, please contact me....
Posted Friday July 4th, 2008.
Forgot to add: Vietnamese, Chinese and English books are all welcome
In response to the question: Does anyone know where I could find ancient books for sale in Hanoi ? If yes, please contact me....
Posted Saturday July 5th, 2008.
Randomly, I have a suggestion for those who are still house-hunting, inspired by Mike's encounter. Given that they have their 'other customers", why don't the house-hunting ones also try the same trick by saying, "many interested landlords"? :P
In response to the question: My rent contract is in USD but I pay in VND, I think this is pretty standard and wasnt a problem at all until last month. At that time my landlord...
Posted Friday July 11th, 2008.
Just went to the library today.
Apparently, passports/library cards are required to take the book out of the shelf to the reading area.
However, it is highly hassle-free to make a library card. The library card issuing room is just to the left, after you enter the main gate. (Card issue room, I think that's what it's called)
You'll be given a form to fill in after you show your passport (in Vietnamese, unfortunately), after which, pay 30k, take a photo, and you can collect your card a couple of days later.
In response to the question: Hi, Does anyone know if foreigners are allowed to read in the National Library, and if yes, what is required for registration, if any? Thank...
Posted Thursday September 25th, 2008.
Hmm, I don't have a direct answer to your question, but I can share some of my experiences.
What I liked about Tam Coc was that it was a shortened version of Halong Bay (about 1 hour, sampan ride), with karst landforms in a smaller scale. Also, it had considerably less tourists, making it relatively more enjoyable. On the down side, of course, you don't get the full-scale of Halong Bay, and of course, the touts never leave you alone, not even here. (more on that later)
I went there twice this summer, once on the (maybe not so) cheap-ass, squeeze in back of mini-van one. At US22, we were brought to Hoa Lu and Tam Coc, with a carbo-heavy buffet lunch thrown in. Of course, it also involved the mandatory stop at the souvenir shop with trinkets at cut-throat prices.
The second time, I hired a minivan for my family, which costs around 75 USD for the trip to and fro (minivan could pack in about 12 people) and the entrance fee to Tam Coc, along with boat ride, was about 5-10 USD per head. [okay, I can't remember] We were about 8 people.
A few notes about Tam Coc. When you are on the rowboat ride, towards the end of the journey, there will be a lot of peddlers on rowboats, trying to sell stuff like drinks and snacks to you. Whether you want to buy it, it is entirely up to you. However, there is some amount of emotional blackmail involved, i.e. the peddler might say, "Why don't you buy this drink for the person who rowed the boat for you?" As you make the return journey after you reach the end of the long river/stream, one of the rowers will ask you if you are interested to buy embroidery. And lastly, as you alight at the point that you boarded, you'll also be asked to give a tip.
In response to the question: Has anyone been to Tam Coc on a day trip? Is there something available that is in between a private tour (too expensive) and a "stuffed into the back...
Posted Saturday October 18th, 2008.
A few places that you can hit are: 1) KLCC (KLCC train station); 2) Bukit Bintang area and; 3) Berjaya Times Square. Both KLCC and Berjaya Times Square are one-stop malls that sell everything and anything under the sun, but they are more on the high-end side of things. Bukit Bintang is generally the shopping area of KL, with a variety of malls that suits most budgets, and there is some leeway for bargaining (I think). All three are served by the KL subway/skyrail, but I can't quite remember which are the stops for Bukit Bintang area and Berjaya Times Square. Just ask at the train station, and someone should be able to give you instructions on how to get there.
In response to the question: Am headed on a short (1 week) vacation to KL in a couple of weeks and unfor will need to do some shopping while there. I am a rare woman, I HATE shopp...
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In Hanoi SinceFriday May 9th, 2008
Here UntilSaturday July 26th, 2008
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