posted about 8 hours ago by mackyhernandez
about the venue: An Viet

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It was already late, and we were on our way home. On impulse, we stopped at what appeared to be a massage parlor to relax and lower the cortisol levels a little bit.
We thought that we already closed off all avenues for overpricing and swindling when we clearly asked for the price of a massage, and were told that it only costs 150,000 VND for one hour for each person. And not having experienced a massage in hanoi yet, we decided to give it a try.
We should have heeded the signs. I was only given a used pair of shorts, and she was just given a towel. There was no shower room, they wore no uniforms and more importantly, they didn't know how to give a massage. We were just rubbed and poked uncomfortably. And it was all done in a room where drunken men openly entered in the middle of our massage sessions.
After enduring one hour of the lousiest and most unhygienic massage that i ever experienced, the young woman and the young man who acted as our alleged therapists aggressively insisted that we give a tip of 250,000 VND each, or a total of 500,000 VND. A forced tip more expensive than the actual service. We then realized that we had walked into a tourist trap masquerading as a massage parlor called An Viet. It was so surreal it was almost funny. But it was no longer amusing when the atmosphere became menacing, and the quest for relaxation became an encounter with extortion. And after a pointless argument hampered by a language barrier, where we were menacingly surrounded, we decided to buy peace and the lowering of our cortisol levels by paying only the agreed upon rate and a tip of 50,000 VND each. Discretion was the better part of valour in that encounter. And as we were leaving the tourist trap, we just had to laugh and shake our heads at the ingenuity of the wheedle, and resolved to include the matter of the tip when inquiring about the price of services. So be forewarned and avoid it like the plague.

posted about 2 weeks ago by mackyhernandez
about the venue: Tam Tu

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A Hanoian blogger, Stickyrice, called this place a find. But to me, it was a big disappointment.

It was far from being a Thai restaurant. Aside from not being hot enough, at least in the dishes that I ordered, the coconut milk that they claim to use in their curry tasted more like coconut water.

And for the quality of the cooking (which was as prosaic as they come), the price was steep. 231K for 3 insipid dishes. The mathematical equation sign was way out of balance. It did not compute. I would even dare to say that I can whip up better thai food than the cook in this joint, even if I buy the ingredients myself with only half the amount that I paid.

Maybe it's because I spent some time in Thailand and regularly gorged myself on Thai food, or because I come from a country where cooking with coconut milk is as regular as a daily shower, but I think that the Thai cooking in this place deserves only 3 stars at the most, and that's being generous.

posted about 3 weeks ago by mackyhernandez
about the venue: Le Petit Bruxelles

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This is the kind of restaurant where the imported ingredients, not the preparation, do all the talking. It seems to me that the participation of the cook is to prepare and present the imported ingredients with the least possible effort, but in the best possible way within the said parameter, so that they would be more appetizing to the eye (The generic plate garnishings and decorations is a giveaway). The dining setting, with its subdued lighting and European feel, then takes care of the rest. You could say that I'm impressed with the ingredients, not the cooking.

But hey, I'm not complaining. If you miss the taste of European food, this is one of the places to go to. But if you want to save on money, and ambiance is not that important to you, then buy the imported ingredients from a European deli and prepare the food yourself.