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guadalquivir's Posts
37 reviews or comments posted; 1 questions asked; 15 answers given.
Reviews / Comments (37) see all
This cafe actually has a lot of interesting history to it. It has been open forever and is part of the famous "7 cafes" in Hanoi.
The place is relatively small and unassuming but is adorn with nice paintings on the wall. It used to be a favourite hangout for famous artists and painters, many of which were poor at the time and didn't have the money to pay for their coffees. Over time they just paid for their tabs with their paintings and as a result Cafe Lam has these pieces of arts on their wall now.
That said, I don't think the paintings on the wall are original, as that would be very risky, but it's a nice anecdote to tell your friends from out of town. This cafe is definitely a must-visit for anyone who has been to Hanoi. It would be the equivalent of La Rotonde in Paris.
Be aware though, for there is a copycat on the same street nearby. But I think anyone with a bit of common sense will figure out which one is the real one pretty easily.
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This restaurant is a nice alternative if you are bored of going to Ky Y or Sushi Tokyo for your Japanese food fix. The décor is a bit gloomy, and one of the private rooms we sat in didn’t smell so nice, but overall it’s a nice spot where you can find good food at a reasonable price.
I also didn’t like how the private rooms had paper-thin walls and you could actually hear people in other rooms very clearly as if they were not… private rooms at all. When we sat down in the room three girls stormed in and tried to persuade us to order the more expensive stuff by using the century-old technique of serenading us with “anh dep trai qua”. At first I thought they had problems with their eyesight but later realized what they were doing after hearing what they said next door. I ordered the bento box with cooked salmon that looked like it had been magnified with the most high-tech equipment in the menu. It was nonetheless very tasty, as was everything else.
The lunch set menus here range from $6 - $10 while the dinner menus are a tad more expensive at $15 - $20. A la carte items are of the same price as similar Japanese restaurants in Hanoi. Service was quick and efficient during lunch.
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Kiraku is one of many Japanese restaurants in an area fast becoming the Little Japan of Hanoi that encompasses Nguyen Du, Trieu Viet Vuong, Mai Hac De, and Bui Thi Xuan streets. I was enticed by the nice sign and decided to walk in, which turned out to be a very good decision.
Kiraku has your regular range of sushi, sashimi, and other typical dishes like ginger pork and stewed pork, but it also has very exotic stuff like Japanese whale and horse sashimis. Personally I'm not attracted to that kind of food but it definitely adds a novel factor to this restaurant.
I tried the sashimi set lunch - the salmon, tuna, and octopus were quite good, while the squid was a bit off. I think it's a better place for sushi and sashimi than other dishes.
The prices were reasonable for a Japanese restaurant, and even though they were quoted in U.S. dollars, the conversion rate was 16,500/dollar, which is actually lower than the current official rate. Service was quick and very pleasant. I will definitely come back here for a sushi dinner.
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The first thing that comes to my mind when I see a restaurant in a commercial center like Vincom, Trang Tien Plaza, Viet Tower, or Ruby Plaza is: They pay a sh*tload of money on rents. Naturally, these restaurants tend to charge higher prices, but still need to make sure they generate a customer base large enough to support their business. Your typical Vincom restaurant usually relies on visitors that only eat there on their occasional visit to the shopping centre. Some do a decent job, some are terrible but people still come there because they haven’t eaten there before and they don’t know.
I first saw Long Monaco when they were fitting out the space, and quite liked the vibrant colors that they choose. It seemed very apt for Vincom, though in retrospect it’s probably a strange combination of Pizza Hut, Lotteria, and What’s your nem.
I’ve eaten at Long Monaco several times, the first time being on their opening day. That was a bad experience: orders were messed up and the place was a total zoo. To their credit they gave us a free lunch, but perhaps they should have done a soft opening. I came back a couple of weeks later to give them a second chance. And third.
But quite simply put this restaurant just fails to impress me. I appreciate the cleanliness and decent service but the food quality is seriously lacking and in terms of value for your money it is definitely one of the worst in Hanoi.
First of all Long Monaco has the terrible fate of securing the last spot available on the 6th floor food court of Vincom. This means they are sandwiched between Chiem Restaurant and the Thai Snack Restaurant, which between them generate so much smoke that you can barely see your chopsticks and are guaranteed to smell terrible for the rest of the day. Their dishes are mediocre and unimaginative at best (see the photos attached) and most Vietnamese would agree that the portions are simply too small to fill you up. If they’re charging 50-60 thousand a lunch set they can’t just have a bit of rice and literally several small pieces of meat. But that’s the price you pay for not getting out of the building and exploring the delightful selection of restaurants around the Bui Thi Xuan-Mai Hac De-Trieu Viet Vuong-Ba Trieu area.
This restaurant puts up a good effort, and I like the friendly owner/manager, but unless you really do not know your ways around Hanoi there is no reason why you should be eating here, except for breakfast. Their Bun bo Hue at 25 thousand is quite tasty and is a good option for an early morning snack.
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Having read the reviews on New Sake I came in the restaurant with relatively high expectations. Upon arrival you are given a small plate of snacks to nibble on, much like many other Japanese restaurants. The set lunch menu was all in Japanese so it’s rather difficult to navigate, but I trust that means they have a loyal base of Japanese customers.
I was a bit skeptical of the sashimi here so I played it safe and ordered a grilled chicken with green pepper set lunch. It was very good, though by no means amazing. The other set lunches that I saw were also not terribly impressive – the saba fish set, in particular, looked very lacklustre. Their miso soups had corn in them, which was definitely a first for me. In terms of set lunches I think Ky Y and even Café Mot are head and shoulders above this place.
I ought to try the sushi here some time, but for now I think it’s only a 3 – 3.5 stars for me…
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Questions (1)
Does anyone know where you can buy skim milk in Hanoi? I've been looking around but haven't been able to find any.
Thanks
Answers (15)
Posted Wednesday July 4th, 2007.
This gym has been in Hanoi for a long time and as a result the equipment is pretty worn out. It's even more crowded than the Olympia gym on Tran Hung Dao, plus there's much less space.
I wouldn't recommend this gym, especially if you want to lift weights. The aerobic part (2nd floor) seems to be fine though.
In response to the question: Has anyone been to the Khuc Hao Gym on Le Hong Phong (1B)? I drove by there today -- it looked like there may be two parts to it: 1) a gym w/a weight...
Posted Wednesday July 4th, 2007.
Granteralus - go to Sao Mai or Thang Loi swimming pools and you'll see vietnamese ladies in bikinis. It's a sight to behold.
In response to the question: Where can I buy a decent bikini? I've found a few shops but everything I've seen is too small or hideous!...
Posted Monday October 15th, 2007.
Use MaiLinh Taxi (04 8222666). If that happens you can write down the taxi number (on the front of the taxi) and report the problem. You can also get a receipt from him for the record. If he refuses to issue it, he's sure to be fired if you report him.
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 Tuesday October 30th, 2007.
byron - he conocido a bastante hispanohablantes en Hanoi, pero la mayoria de ellos es de espana. Me gustaria conocer mas a la gente latinoamericana. En el edificio de mi oficina esta situada la embajada de Chile. Debemos formar un grupo de hispanohablantes dentro del Newhanoian.
Outra pergunta e': tem alguem aqui que fale portugue^s?
In response to the question: Usually expats living abroad use English as their lingua franca, but I’m also sure some of them are native to other languages. I’m really curious ...
Posted Wednesday November 7th, 2007.
I'll check these places out. Thank you!
In response to the question: Does anyone know where you can buy skim milk in Hanoi? I've been looking around but haven't been able to find any. Thanks...
Posted Sunday April 20th, 2008.
I was in the same situation a few years ago - I really wanted to have a Vietnamese beer mug just for keepsake. I guess you need to have some luck because they dont usually sell them.
I got one Tiger beer mug cos my cousin owns a cafe and they get free beer mugs there (to advertise Tiger of course). If you know someone who works for these breweries I'm sure it would be easy to get one.
Also one time in Halong Bay when I was drunk I managed to steal an Anchor beer mug from a bar - wouldn't recommend this though...
In response to the question: I am looking for various beer mugs with Vietnamese beer logos on them...like a Hanoi Beer mug, a Saigon beer mug, etc. It's for my old boss back home...
Posted Thursday May 29th, 2008.
Panasonic is the brand you wanna go with. Try to buy it at one of the bigger stores like Best Carings or Media Mart cos it'll be that much more reliable. It is common for Vietnamese electronic stores to sell Chinese air cons that say they are made in Thailand or Malaysia and these tend to break down after one season.
In response to the question: I'm finally caving this year and not going to tough it out any more. I am in the market for an air conditioner and I'd like to ask the community if th...
Posted Tuesday June 24th, 2008.
You can buy them at a really nice man's store on Hai Ba Trung (almost opposite of Media Mart and near the intersection with Trang Tien)
Personally I find Arrow shirts very overpriced here and not very nice. But to each his own...
In response to the question: Does someone know where to find Arrow shirts in Hanoi ? There used to be a store in Vincom Towers dedicated to them but it has disappeared......
Posted Thursday July 24th, 2008.
Try going here
http://www.aleale.com.vn/
Otherwise you can buy tickets on the day of the match outside the stadium, but be prepared to pay twice as much, or more.
I wouldn't put too much hope into it because it's really tight this time...
In response to the question: I understand that tickets for the Vietnam vs Brazil friendly football match go on sale tomorrow (Firday) morning. Could anybody point me in the r...
Posted Wednesday August 6th, 2008.
There is certainly a market for this kind of products, but there is a Vietnamese company that imports from the US and sells to the different gyms around Hanoi (mainly Olympia). They get stuff from Optimum Nutrition (http://www.optimumnutrition.com/)including Whey protein, creatine, and amino acid tabs, among other products.
I find the stuff they sell pretty expensive - $40 for 900 grams of whey protein, but Optimum Nutrition is kinda expensive in general and coupled with shipping costs it's definitely not cheap. If you have stuff that is of the same quality (24 grams of protein for one serving of 31 grams) that sells for a cheaper price I'd definitely be interested.
You might need to ascertain how you can import this stuff cos it's still not clearly classified for customs purpose.
In response to the question: I had a business back in the UK selling all kinds of sports supplements (protein,creatine etc)when i come to move to Hanoi at the end of the month do ...
Posted Tuesday August 12th, 2008.
I actually think that in most cases it's pretty obvious why a particular review was given a Utter Rubbish.
The examples are many, and I can think of the recent Green Mango posts or the fake reviews that people associated with the establishments post. I once posted a bad review on X5 Club because I honestly thought it was a terrible place. It happened to be the venue for a Noizee party so obviously I got a few Utter Rubbish, which I actually found amusing because a venue would be very different with a Noizee party so they shouldn't care so much.
Some other times someone has an agenda and people don't like it so they click on Utter Rubbish, innit?
In response to the question: Can we do something about the utter rubbish section. It seems that there are some people who are playing with this click. I agree with all the others ...
Posted Monday September 15th, 2008.
Hey Agent004,
Try this website
http://www.thucphambosung.com/Default.php?nn=en
Go to the About Us section. They should have an address there.
I don't trust the products they have here though. I like the stuff at Olympia cos it's a reputable brand (Optimum Nutrition)
Hope that helps,
In response to the question: Does anyone know where I can buy protein powder and creatine for a workout other than the Olympia gym. Maybe an actual store that sells sports supple...
Posted Wednesday September 24th, 2008.
If they don't have it at victory they will probably have it at Fox on Bao Khanh. They seem to keep an even larger collection there, though the quality is pretty much hit or miss since they are burnt DVDs.
On a different note, does anyone know where I can buy Rio Bravo? I've been looking through most of the major DVD stores in Hanoi without much luck...
In response to the question: I am searching for THE DEER HUNTER DVD. If someone helps,i should be very grateful....
Posted Wednesday November 12th, 2008.
TangoLA, I think that all the researches that you cited study "trust" among Vietnamese and not between Vietnamese and foreigners. This is an important distinction.
A lot of people here will do business that involves lots of money just on a handshake basis. That is because they trust each other, and more importantly they know that if the other person cheats, everybody will know about it. That person will be frowned upon by society (or at least the circle of people that he belongs to). This social phenomenon and many other social values and norms in Vietnam stem from the "village culture", where everybody knows one another and what the other person is up to. Having lived in South America, I definitely think that people here trust each other more than the South Americans do.
The relationship between Vietnamese and foreigners is more complicated and much harder to decipher. We are a very homogeneous nation so there is sort of an "us vs them" mentality to a certain extent. I think most Vietnamese are quite friendly to foreigners and are curious to learn about the differences in culture etc. However, there are also many people who try to take advantage of foreigners thinking "Oh thang Tay kia is new to the country so he must not know anything". But this happens in many countries, even developed ones. How I got back the deposit from my landlord in Spain could be made into a thrilling action movie. Even in France and England you'd definitely lose your belongings in touristy places if you're not careful (I lost my camera in London).
Many Vietnamese friends tell me they don't understand Americans because they can be very nice and friendly one day and the next day they won't even remember who you are. As far as I know, most Vietnamese who study abroad in England, Australia, and France find it difficult to make friends with the locals there. Actually while I'm at it, how many of you Aussie or British folks have a close Vietnamese friend (from Vietnam) while you were back home? I think when given a choice, most of us tend to hang out with people whom we're most comfortable with and can relate to easily.
Living abroad can be frustrating and difficult, even for the most seasoned globetrotters. When I live abroad, I tend to make friends with the locals and this "tactic" has served me quite well. After all, if you are friends with the locals you might just know all the common scams and tricks that happen in the country and avoid them accordingly. And when that happens, you might actually have a very different opinion about Vietnamese (or other nationals for that matter).
P.S. Tango LA, I think that the economic growth here has more to do with political stability and investment than anything else.
In response to the question: A person I know complained that she cannot trust ANY local people because she has enough bad experiences about Vietnamese people during her 2 years st...
Posted Monday December 1st, 2008.
Pagoda, you're paying 3 or 4 dollars a month for CNN,BBC, Australia Network and HBO, among other channels.
What do you really expect?
In response to the question: Wonder if anyone is as p..d! as we are .... for sometime now the cable TV channels switch to silly Vietnamese adds right in the middle of a programme ...
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Gia Duc
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New Hanoian Member SinceWednesday June 6th, 2007
