Hungry Bear

Go with the Greedy Bear.  And even if you don’t, the adorable man behind the counter will insist.  And you will find it impossible to say no.

With a charming smile he will tell you your burger will be ready in 8 minutes. Your stomach will grumble.  In soothing tones, tell your stomach to shut up.

When the thick slab of beef sizzles into a lovely dark shade of burnt umber, the burger artist will add a healthy slice of Comte cheese that he melts perfectly with a blow torch.  Yes, this is serious business.  Next comes a generous portion of bacon, and…wait for it…yes, ANOTHER slice of Comte cheese.  Back to it with the blow torch!  Finally, the burger is delicately placed into a supple-looking potato bun with crunchy lettuce and a plump tomato slice.  The burger monstrosity is crowned with 3 massive onion rings, and then drizzled in homemade bacon jam which may or may not be made of crack (ok fine, it's not made of crack).  I remember precariously taking the burger from this burger genius' hands.  As I gently pressed down on the top bun to close my burger, my hand sunk into the bun and some juices trickled out from the sides.

After one bite of this burger, there is no way you can put it down.  This is it.  There's no turning back.  Your stomach is finally in its happy place.  All is right with the world again.

Old Street – Red Market – Burger Bear

Bahn Mi-Oh My

Here we are in Hoi An, a cute little beach town and also a UNESCO World Heritage site. Equally exciting, it's also home to Con's absolute favorite bahn mi sandwich in Vietnam! Intrigued to see how this favorite differs from the last bahn mi I had in Hue, Rachel and I ventured out into the hectic streets with hungry bellies. After passing shoe shop after shoe shop, and attempting to ignore the aggressive saleswomen, we finally landed upon Bahn Mi Phuong, a sidewalk stand selling cold drinks, meats, breads and, of course, the Vietnamese staple, bahn mi sandwiches. Chatting with a couple Americans and an Aussie, who had read about this stand on various food blogs and magazines, we excitedly awaited our turn. Ordering 2 sandwiches, we asked for everything on it, wondering what that actually meant. Minutes later, beautifully constructed bahn mis were handed to us overflowing with meats, eggs and vegetables. With huge grins on our faces and an inability to wait another minute to find a more sanitary eating spot, we immediately sat down at the dirty sidewalk table, pulling up two tiny red, plastic stools. As I examined my bahn mi, I noticed succulent pieces of chopped pork, what looked like minced pork with sautéed onions, mayonnaise (the lady behind the counter did have to clarify though), fresh garlic chunks, scrambled eggs, scallions, fresh cucumbers, tomatoes and cilantro. Adding some spicy sauce from a generic bottle behind the counter, I eagerly went for my first bite. Between massive unladylike mouthfuls, Rachel and I grunted a few "oh my god"s and "mmm"s, making loud crunchy sounds when biting into the freshly baked baguette. The couple living in Indonesia watched as we quickly enjoyed the flavorsome masterpieces. This truly is street food at its finest.

Day 3: Halong Bay via Junk

Early rising for a long filled travel day to Halong Bay! The 4 hour bus ride was entertaining in itself, the highlight being a hot bowl of phö at a rest stop and many times wondering if the driver was trying to commit suicide by driving directly into oncoming traffic. Halong Bay, although unfortunately rainy, was gorgeously breathtaking with large limestone karst budding greenery. A few other boats sprinkled the horizon as we all speechlessly took in the scenery from our deck. At Halong Bay, we explored the dark secrets of a nearby cave and then hit the bay with kayaks in the rain! Best of all, food of course. Breakfast, lunch and dinner was fresh aboard our boat consisting of seafood (calamari, prawn and sea bass) and meats (chicken, pork, beef) in a lime, salt and pepper dressing. Ginger, lemongrass and mint adorned almost every dish. Everything was prepared beautifully and we happily ate our delicious Vietnamese food whilst chattering away about the day.

Day 2: The Streets

Day 2, I awoke fresh and well rested until my eyes landed on something scuttling near my bed. Cautiously I lifted my head from the pillow only to spot the largest cockroach I have ever seen. I let out a silent scream and quickly weighed my options. If I called a maintenance man now, who knows how far the creature will get!? Thinking quickly, I leapt for a bottle of water and karate chopped the insect as a high pitched girly shriek came out of my mouth. I ran out of my room to breakfast knowing he would not be the last little bugger I see on my vacation! I spent the day exploring Hanoi's old town, meandering down side streets and purchasing a couple paintings related to the city's street life. If you told me the easiest way to cross the road was to just close your eyes and run, I would believe you. Motor bikes and scooters own the small narrow streets of Hanoi, and they sure don't make it easy for those walking on foot. I've only managed to find one tiny bahn mi shop, but there were only 2 foreigners at the shop, and I was skeptical. The phö shops are packed, so I popped into an authentic Vietnamese place, Quán Bia Minh, for a fresh bowl outside in 90 degree weather with a fan that refused to blow on me. Finally at 6 pm, I met my G Adventures tour group and our team bonded over dinner and drinks. Drinks led us to a youth hostel which provided free shots and a bar crawl! I now feel like I'm 20 again.

Asian Ruby Hotel (a real hotel)

Views from my 9th floor hotel room!

Day 1: Hanoi

Between the wine and the long flights, I left the Hanoi Airport in a bit of a daze. Cars and scooters eagerly sped past me as I listened to the harmonious honks of passerby cars. Approaching the sleepy city just after 10 pm, only a few tall buildings still shone bright. When I finally arrived at my hotel, the Asian Ruby Hotel, I was relieved to confirm it wasn't an underground prostitution club (at least not visibly). No, it was in fact an adequately fine hotel, with AC in my room (read otherwise on Tripadvisor, one customer even complained that he had a dead rat hanging from his bathroom ceiling). Suffice it to say, expectations were low and happily exceeded. Fighting exhaustion, I chatted with the hotel receptionist and decided to venture out in search of an authentic Vietnamese bahn mi. Nearing midnight, the man at the front desk warned me from exploring too far, noting robberies on the quiet streets. After walking up and down a couple of the boisterous streets, I gave up on the bahn mi search and settled for the Kebab Haus. Casually ordering a no. 4 (Special Turkish durum) and a Tiger beer, I amused myself by quietly eavesdropping on 3 girls from the University of Calgary and 2 guys from Brooklyn debating Egyptian politics and the cheapest pubs in the area to get a beer. Oh to be 20 again. They drunkenly fought with the kind restaurant owner over 5 VND, and I couldn't help but roll my eyes. Briskly walking home clutching my bag, I was relieved I didn't venture too far. Apparently the receptionist was right, nothing good happens in Hanoi after midnight. The search for the bahn mi continues tomorrow!

Bahn Mi Attack

A week before leaving for foodie-nation Vietnam, I finally had the opportunity to try the infamous Jamie-approved short rib and Asian pear bahn mi at Myers + Chang. Was it what I expected? Absolutely not. Did Jamie completely talk this sandwich up to keep my expectations at an impossible level? Yes. Was it the most incredible bahn mi sandwich I've ever been graced by? OMG Yes. Watch out, Vietnam, I'm going to try really hard to find better, but I'm not sure it's possible. M+C's bahn mi comes with your typical pickled veggie fixins - carrots, hot peppers, daikon. The bread is toasted and hot, while the Asian pear compliments the juicy, flavorful, perfectly seasoned, melt-in-your mouth short rib. You can only get this sandwich at lunch, which is so unfortunate for all the good people of Boston.