(2013-Aug) 越南从北到南9日游: Hanoi - Hue - Hoi An - Saigon

第一次去越南，9天从北到南走了一圈, 感觉就是人好，风景美，食物又美味。我要说，越南真是一个让人喜欢的国家！我一定还会再回来的。
9天时间很短，行程如下：
Hanoi 河内(2 nights) --> 搭乘过夜火车(14hrs)去Hue 顺化 (1 night) -->搭Sinh Tourist 的bus (4hrs)去 Hoi An 会安 (2 nights) --> Airport shuttle bus 到 Danang 岘港 机场，飞到 Ho Chi Minh City 胡志明市(2 nights)。

1. 货币的换算：100k VND ~ 6 SGD or 5 USD. 路边摊或计程车司机都接受USD.不过找钱基本上用Dong, rate in 20k ： 1.
2. SIM card: MobiFone's SIM card 不要在机场买，机场卖的SIM card里面价值太高，对于游客来讲太多了。 新的SIM card上面写着这张卡里面有多少钱，但是SIM卡本身也有价值。我用70k买了一张没有data的calling card with 50k value on it, 用了9天都没有充值，足够用。又用100k买了一张data SIM，with50k value on it, 一天就用完了，后来再充值了200k一直用到离开越南。
3. 对于外国游客来讲，路边摊的价格可能和餐厅的价格相当。因为餐厅明码标价，可是路边摊会被砍菜头。但是，有些路边美食被砍也值得。比如 Bun Cha Hanoi~

Hanoi 首都-河内

 St. Joseph's Cathedral

St. Joseph's Cathedral

Bún Chả - a Must eat street food in Hanoi!

 Bun Cha (60k VND)
It is originated from Hanoi, served with grilled fatty pork (chả) over a plate of white rice noodle (bún) and herbs and green papaya with a side dish of dipping soup which I believe contains fish sauce & white vinegar

 Residential area near train station

Hanoi train station

Took overnight train from Hanoi - Hue, about S$70 per ticket. train speed is around 60km/hr, very clean air-conditioned train.

Huế 古老皇城-顺化
Hue was the imperial capital of the Nguyễn Dynasty between 1802 - 1945, listed in UNESCO's World Heritage Sites.

Did not see any fast food chains like McDonald's or KFCs, but Lotteria is more commonly seen in Vietnam

Bún bò Huế (30k VND)
A typical Hue dish, rice noodle with beef slices and crab cake in yellow color soup

From Hue, we took bus to Hoi An, which is about 100km+ distance, but the bus was driving so slow which took 4 hours to reach, without traffic jam or road blocking, this is just the pace in Vietnam.

Hội An 会安
Hội An Ancient Town is another UNESCO World Heritage Site. This is an exceptionally well-preserved example of a South-East Asian trading port dating from the 15th to the 19th century. Its buildings and its street plan reflect the influences, both indigenous and foreign, that have combined to produce this unique heritage site.

Street breakfast, Banh Beo (5,000 VND), steamed rice cakes in a bowl, served with toppings

 Banh Beo

  

 Cao lầu, (30k VND) is a regional Vietnamese dish made with noodles and pork, the texture of noodle is thick and springy, I like this dish very much.

 Student having breakfast in the morning

 Hoi An Ancient town, near market place

某会馆的后面发现了教授华文的课室，but when I tried to talk to the kids in Mandarin, they could not understand at all

 Rented a scooter and ride to the beach area

放水牛的村民

在会安城外，有我所见过的最美丽的稻田

Saigon 胡志明市

 Phạm Ngũ Lão Street (范五老街) street with most tourists and backpacker hostels

Ly Club
A very high-end French restaurant, I walked pass their first original outlet in Hanoi French quarter as well, but did not have space to try in Hanoi. In HCMC, we had a super good seafood set lunch at 38USD/pax, with great environment + very attentive service.

This place is highly recommended, for cheap yet high end French dining!

 One corner in Ly Club

Fresh Oysters

Braised Mussels

Very good glass noodle salad

转： 人生不是做菜，要等所有的材料都准备好才下锅

我把去奥地利的机票订好了，往返，不可退，不可改签。
至于很多人问我：你的签证搞定了吗？路线定了吗？火车票呢？酒店呢？旅伴呢？
对于此，我只能不好意思地回答：不知道，八字还没一撇呢。
就是靠着这种近乎于白痴的旅游安排，我去过中国所有省份、北美、以及欧洲。

我第一次做这种决定是在大学，因为接到一个足以恶心得毁灭地球的电话，我拿着手机和钱包从寝室里冲出去，直奔北京站，去买了一张到上海的车票。噢，那时候，动车上还可以吸烟。
我在早上七点到达上海，天灰蒙蒙的，空气湿漉漉的，很有我老家的感觉，于是我瞬间被治愈了。从此以后我就爱上了这种头脑发热的旅行计划──了解那么多干嘛，给自己留点惊喜多好啊。

一开始，我觉得我会有这种想法，这种冲动，只是因为我太年轻，不够成熟，总打无准备之仗。
然而慢慢地，我发现在自己和一波又一波的黑车司机、坑爹导游、小偷扒手们的贴身肉搏之后，我已经变成了一个勇士，只要给我一包炸药，我就敢去炸碉堡。
如果我打有准备之仗，立誓要在成为烈士以后才勇敢地出门旅游，那大概最终只能老死在家里。

又到七月了，一大批毕业生将脱去制服，告别校园，成为社会新鲜人。
说到这四年啊，在懵懵懂懂间，一晃眼就过去了。
英语六级过了吗？托福考了吗？驾照呢？会计师呢？律师资格证呢？
大概你的简历还跟卫生纸一样干净吧。
但时间的手在背后推着你走呢，就算还是只菜鸟，也要开始学着去捕虫了。

人生可以像吃饭，但不能像做菜。
这就是，我们可以给自己立定一个大目标，就好像早上醒来，对自己说“中午想吃鱼香肉丝”。
至于是自己做，去朋友家蹭，还是花钱上饭店，则要视天时地利人和而定。
生活不会留人过多考虑和准备时间，机遇也不是常常青睐于你，这就需要与时俱进，顺势而为。该抓住的机遇要紧紧抓住，该处理的困难要积极应对。如果太过理想化、太过执迷，优柔寡断，当断不断，犹豫不决，就会失去机遇，甚至反受其乱。

朱德庸在漫画《准备》里说：

“我还没准备好出生就出生了
我还没准备好上学就上学了
我还没准备好毕业就毕业了
我还没准备好上班就上班了
我还没准备好恋爱就恋爱了
我还没准备好结婚就结婚了
我还没准备好做爸爸就做爸爸了
我还没准备好老就已经老了”

你没有准备好，但生活不可能象做菜一样，让你从容准备好作料，等你全部准备好了，时空早已变化，昨天的河流不再是今天的河流，昨天的黄山也不再是今天的黄山。特别是在世界光速变化的今天，你从图片上看到的一处迷人古迹，可能在下个月就已经被拆迁。

想到了什么，就马上去做吧，不管够不够资格。
宁愿为做过的事后悔，也不要为来不及做的遗憾。

转自：剪客 ，by 清华南都

Kah Kah Loke 佳佳乐苦瓜汤 @ bukit Indah

Kah Kah Loke is a Chinese Zi Char restaurant which had opened 5 branches in Malaysia, their signature dish is of course the bitter gourd soup.
Ingredients were simple, bitter gourd, lean meat, and patrons may choose to add pig intestines or not. We chose not to have, because we already ordered another pig liver dish. This soup had a very homely taste, a bit sweet with a strong fragrant of bitter gourd, and yet the thinly sliced bitter gourd were still crunchy with only a slight hint of bitterness, even for people who are scared of bitter gourd could take it. The lean pork slices were well marinated, tender and tasty. Another good thing is, kah kah loke offers free refill of soup, really love this service =)

 佳佳乐苦瓜汤, RM9.00 (4.5/5)

姜葱猪肝 was very very nicely done, the pig liver was cooked to medium, soft and tender inside, the thickness of sauce was just right, very tasty, But it was not hot, warm only. I think the chef cooked in big  portion and they keep it warm, serve upon order. I feel it's a good way to cut labor cost and save time, as long as the food is nice, patrons will go for it.

 姜葱猪肝(Small), RM6.00 (4.5/5)

Another promising dish is Hakka Deep Fried Pork, it was highlighted in the menu, and seems popular on other tables. Will return to try next time~

Ambiance: 3/5
Service: 4.5/5
Address: Beside Giant @ Bukit Indah
17 Jalan Bestari 8/2,
Taman Nusa Bestari,
81300 Skudai, Johor, Malaysia

Huong Viet @ Joo Chiat Rd (Closed)

I walked pass Huong Viet many times and thought that I should give it a chance some day, which was today. I ordered Pho Tai (Medium-rare Beef Kway Teoh Soup) and House brand Viet coffee, both were good.
The pho was served in 3 minutes after I placed order, broth was very tasty, a bit sweet, beef came with a beautiful pink color, meat was tender and soft.

 Pho Tai (Medium-rare Beef Kway Teoh Soup), S$7.50 (4.2/5)

 Huong Viet House Brand Vietnamese Coffee (Hot), S$3.50 (4/5)

Ambiance: 3/5
Service: 4/5
Address: 333 Joo Chiat Road, Singapore 427588

Huang Kee Noodle 黄记云吞面 @ Bukit Indah, Johor

Huang Kee Traditional Wanton Noodle & Beef Noodle, 黄记传统云吞面&牛腩面.
The noodle was orange in color because it was made with tomato juice, (they also serve traditional and spinach noodle), the mee pok was very springy, generous amount of beef, but the beef was a bit lean, I would prefer 牛腩. Beef broth was thick but not the starchy type, with a slightly sweet taste, a perfect match, yummy~

 Tomato Beef Noodle 番茄牛腩面, RM8.50 (4.5/5)

HK Wanton Mee was surved in a very professional Hongkong way, which the spoon was below the noodle to separate the noodle from sauce. It did not disappoint us as well, noodle was very 爽口, ,sauce, char siew was sweet and tender, wantons were very nice also, with 2 shrimps in each wanton.

Hong Kong Wanton Noodle 港式云吞面, RM5.50 (4.5/5)

 

Hong Kong Wanton Noodle 港式云吞面, RM5.50 (4.5/5)

Dumpling soup, dumpling skin was made by their spinach dough and tomato dough. beautiful yet healthy color, I couldn't taste the difference from the 2 to be frank. the soup was clear and sweet, dumplings were big with juicy fillings.

 Dumpling Soup 水饺汤, RM5.00 (4/5)

Ambiance: 3/5
Service: 3.5/5
Address: 
28-50 Jalan Indah 8/15
Taman Bukit Indah, 81200, Johor, Malaysia

Lim Joo Hin Teochew Porridge @ Havelock Road

I was in Havelock Road again for Teochew porridge @ Lim Joo Hin Eating House.

We had Pig skin, 大肠，粉肠，braised pork belly, chicken feet, Minced pork with salted fish, Lala, fish cake, salted cai xin. The photo below did not capture all dishes.
Their pig skin was quite different from others, which was braised with 梅干菜，very soft texture which will melt in the mouth. yummy~ We had second helpings of pig skin and braised pork belly. Next time should try their assam fish.

11 plates all together, S$45 (4.5/5)

Ambiance: 3.5/5 (Air-conditioned)
Service: 4/5
Address: 715 Havelock Rd

Mu Liang Zai Liang Kee Teochew Restaurant @ Havelock Rd

There are a number of Liang Kee Teochew Restaurants along Havelock rd, not sure if this Mu Liang Zai Liang Kee 木亮仔亮记潮州餐馆 is the original one, but as long as there are copycats, means the food should be good enough to generate demand. A bit pricy but food was good.
潮州卤水鸭做的中规中矩，味道相对清淡，但是很入味，个人偏好卤到再软烂点的鸭肉，这家的算刚好不软不硬的. 豆干味道和口感都刚刚好。

 Teochew braised duck 潮州卤水鸭

Small - S$14, (4/5)

不确定从前有没有吃过竹仔鱼, 也许是第一次吃。鱼很小只，肉比较薄，骨头很细可是排列的很整齐也不易断，所以还蛮容易吃。苦瓜和豉汁真的是绝配，加上姜丝提味，好好吃，整盘都被吃得干干净净。

Trigger Fish (Ti Kia) with Bean Sauce and Bitter Gourd 豉汁苦瓜竹仔鱼

Small - S$28, (4.2/5)

Ambiance: 4/5
Service: 4/5
Address: 719 Havelock Road

Long Poh Seafood 泰国白蒸鱼 @ Muar

Long poh seafood is a Thai-Chinese zichar restaurant located in Muar. No menu booklet, all dishes are presented in photos hanging on the wall. and I like this idea.

Thai Steam Fish 泰国白蒸鱼 is their signature dish. The fish was fresh, soup was typical Thai style clear soup, sour and spicy. good quality and value for money.

 

泰国白蒸鱼Thai Steam Fish, RM31, (4/5)

Ambiance: 3/5, Restaurant, no air-con
Service: 4/5
Address: TS 26，Jalan Junid, 84000 Muar, Johor, Malaysia