NickS's Posts

2 reviews or comments posted; 2 questions asked; 3 answers given.

Reviews / Comments (2)

posted about 4 weeks ago by NickS
about the venue: Green Mango

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If you have a hot date then Green Mango is definitely a good place to go, but don't expect to find any money left in your wallet afterwards.

I've never been at the weekend, so I can only comment on weeknights when it's not very busy but has a really nice atmosphere. The food is exquisite, and both times I've been they had excellent musicians (a guitar/violin duet) playing beautiful romantic music - don't sit too close though or you won't be able to hear a word your date says!

As mentioned, it's not cheap. Expect to kiss goodbye to at least 500,000 (for 2) if you're on lager or soft-drinks and more than 1m if you're having wine. Also, don't order Kingfisher. It's a fairly nice lager which reminds me of my travels in India, but it is never worth 90,000 a bottle!

The free, freshly baked, extremely more-ish bread they bring you while you wait is also worth a mention, but try to save room for your delicious, generous-portioned (if slightly over-priced) main course.

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posted about 4 weeks ago by NickS
about the venue: BBQ Chicken Street

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To echo the comments in some of the previous reviews - visiting "chicken street" is a must, but it can be a very hit/miss experience.

I go there regularly to pick up take-away chicken, honey-bread and sweet potato, and I would recommend the place furthest away from Nguyen Thai Hoc, on the right-hand-side. There's usually a kind of mini marquee there, where they have a huge barbecue and you can watch them cook your food.

It's not too expensive either - last time I paid 40k for 3 pieces of chicken and 3 honey-breads (enough to seriously fill me up!) and it comes with a huge portion of their spicy sauce which I love! I'm not sure how they came to that price, since 40 doesn't divide by 3, and I'm sure if I spoke Vietnamese better I could get a better deal from them. Even if I AM paying 'white-tax' it's still much cheaper than KFC, and INFINITELY nicer (no idea what planet that previous critic is from, or why he's in SE Asia if he likes KFC so much!)

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Questions (2)

• I am currently trying to find work teaching English in Hanoi. I have a couple of interviews arranged already, but I'm a little worried about the work permit/business visa regulations...

  Which do I need?

  How do I get one? (and how do I get a Criminal Record certificate from the UK, if needed, when I'm already in Hanoi?)

  How long does it take?

  Can I legally work whilst the application is in process?

  So many questions, sorry!

  Thanks,

  Nick

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• Hi all,

  I recently got a second job here, proof-reading and editing the results of endearing (but essentially rubbish) Vietnamese-English translations of web-pages, documents and letters. The great thing about this is I can do it from home - or I could, if I had a laptop... This would be easy, if the cleaner hadn't thrown my credit card in the bin, and then the postal service hadn't managed to 'lose' my new card...

  Does anyone know a good place to get a new (or nearly-new) laptop in Hanoi, preferably somewhere with a website that I can plug my (new, new) card details into, rather than having to wait weeks for take-two of trying to get my card sent here from England... ??

  A bit of a long-winded, not proof-read, and certainly un-edited question, but I hope it's readable. If I had a laptop I'd have the time to check it, see! :S

  Thanks,

  Nick

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Answers (3)

• Posted Sunday June 1st, 2008.

  Hell yeah!

  Why wait until August? :)

  I just arrived in Hanoi on a 15 day tourist visa, but if all goes well I'll find a job, get a work permit and be here until October/November. I was wondering what the club/party scene here had in terms of hip-hop, so was delighted to see your post. I'd be well up for helping out, too - I have over 5GB of hip hop on my mp3 player (including a fair bit of quality UK stuff that Hanoi might just about be ready for) that i'd be more than happy to share, or possibly even 'DJ' with.

  Nick

  In response to the question: Hi, a friend and I are thinking about throwing a hip hop party and we're just trying to get an idea of how many people would be interested in coming. ...

• Posted Wednesday June 4th, 2008.

  Thanks guys.

  This all sounds like a nightmare process. I don't have my original degree certificate here in Vietnam, just a colour scan of it... I read on another thread that a lot of teachers work here without a work permit, do you know the implications of this if the authorities find out. It sounds like it would save me a lot of time, money and stress to do likewise!

  In response to the question: I am currently trying to find work teaching English in Hanoi. I have a couple of interviews arranged already, but I'm a little worried about the work ...

• Posted Saturday June 7th, 2008.

  Thanks for your help guys!

  In response to the question: I am currently trying to find work teaching English in Hanoi. I have a couple of interviews arranged already, but I'm a little worried about the work ...

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