Where in the world is Pho Chien Phong? Part II

...continued

Some hours later back at the hotel, our friend Thanh arrives and Stray expresses his desire to find Pho Chien Phong. Thanh was with us the first and only time we'd eaten it, but isn't sure where we can find it close by. He reassures us that what we're having for dinner is just as appetising.

And it is, but it's not PCP. We break up the evening of eating with a trip to the cinemas to watch Transformers III in 3D. Just the thing one does in Hanoi ;)

Boys will be boys.

The view from the cinema.

Barely giving our stomachs a chance to digest the last gastronomical delight, we head back to our hotel area and pull up at a roadside cafe for yet another bite to eat.

Similar to a pastie, but deep fried and sliced accompanied by a cold, sweet cabbage soup, for dipping...and spring rolls. Vietnamese spring rolls, in my humble opinion, are the best. Especially if they're made with vermicelli noodle like wrappers...or net spring roll rice paper...or bánh tráng rế, or whatever they're called.

The smile behind our supper

Anyway...that evening, Pho Chien Phong was still nowhere to be found. The following afternoon we visit Thanh at his family home in a quiet neighbourhood which surrounds a park, where his Mum tutors students privately and where he presents us with sushi rolls he'd prepared earlier, having to rush home in his lunch hour to do so.

Stray persists with his desire to hunt down the elusive PCP and time is running out before we need to meet up with more friends. We're left with no choice but to return to West Lake where we'd first tried it and where the cafe hawkers just stop short of coathangering potential customers as they ride past on bikes.

Stray and Thanh...what a trooper.

Could anyone look any happier!

A humongous thank you to Thanh for his gracious and enthusiastic hospitality, tour guiding and capture of Pho Chien Phong.

Bloody Pho Chien Phong

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