The Real Hanoi

Been away for the past couple of weeks. Busy with work again...as much as I'd like to write but just couldn't find the time and energy to. Wish I could write more as it eases my mind and make me happy while looking at the photos on my blog. Yeah, although the photos are of lousy quality, I'd like to think more of it as remembrance rather than art.

I've manage to capture a few pictures of Hanoi during my work session in Hanoi. It's a pretty decent place to visit should you like french buildings and would like to know more about the
Vietnamese culture.

Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi. I've always thought that Ho Chi Minh was the capital. But no, Hanoi being not only the capital is a major tourist attraction.





























The hotel was good although just a budget one at about USD35/night.















The people are friendly and accommodating but only a few speak and understand English. Instead, we had to learn a few Vietnamese language to be able to move around and order some food. The hotel of course is the best place to ask for help when you are in need.



























No, food is not cheap. A bowl of rice noodle (like koay tiao soup here) cost as much as USD1.5 minus the comfort of sitting in a proper restaurant. Yes, these plastic/wooden chairs or tables and kind of hygiene are what you'll get. But definitely the local taste, which is light and healthy. The better restaurants cost whey more without the actual Vietnamese feel.

This was called Brittle Fried Noodle. I was expecting a plate of noodles and it turned out I got some crunchy fried flour (taste a little like 'taupok') with lots of 'choi sam' and some beef. Taste was good no doubt but it was more like a snack rather than a meal.

'Siu Chow'

There's this food court close to my office where we have our lunch. The variety is not that good and most stalls tend to come and go. This particular 'siu chow' stall however, is a big hit....they provide decent dishes for a reasonable price of RM 5.50. Everyone seems to be ordering from them even though they know that they'll have to wait.

I, on the other hand did not favour this stall. Not because they are no good. But rather because they don't have an English menu. I can't read Chinese, duh.....I could only order 'kung po har ko' and 'pai kuat wong' from what I hear others order. If someone could translate what they have here, or at least give me some suggestions on what else I could order : )

Dining Set

Finally got our dining set....no more meals on the floor! ....except for the occasional snack in front of our TV, erm...I mean PC.

Table from red apple and chairs, IKEA.


Matches our wall, eh? Check out the bottom interior of the table, stainless steel bars to support the tempered glass top or was it just design? Anyway, we love it!

The Tie That Binds - Kent Haruf

Bought this book on a warehouse sale, I think it was Popular, or was it Times? Wasn't looking for a specific title or author. Just love books. Anyway, did not expect it to be such an encouraging book (very much worth the price I paid).

The book really does explains the title. Ties. If you're one of those who thinks that you have a lousy family or that your parents and siblings are unlike family to you at all, then this is a good book to read.

I would think that most parents or more specifically fathers are not like one in this fiction. But what matters is that how his daugther could endure her entire life with such a father, sacrifying her own life and yet provides love and happiness for others.

Definitely a recommended read!

No Bake Granny Apple Cheesecake

Had 3 small Granny Apples left in my fridge and did not know else what to do with them. Been drinking apple juice for the past 2 weeks...yeah, they were too sour to eat, had to mix with some carrot juice.

Mum's birthday was around the corner and I've always wanted to make her a non-bake cheesecake. Just didn't know what flavour to do, already made blueberry, strawberry and Oreos....wanted to try something new. Found a recipe online but it was with eggs and ground cinnamon....didn't want any of these in the cake so I omitted them and modified the recipe a little...Granny Apple Cheesecake

Crust:
6 pieces Digestive biscuits
1/4 cup peanut butter, melted

In a small bowl, combine all ingredients. Mix well. Press firmly into a 8-inch springform pan( I used loose bottom type). Chill for 1 hour.

Apple-Cheese Filling:
1 tbsp gelatine
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tbsp icing sugar
1/2 cup low fat milk
1 tablespoon lemon juice
500 gms Philly cream cheese
100 gms non diary whipped cream
2 large Granny Smith apples, pared, cored
and chopped into cubes (2 cups)

In a medium saucepan, combine gelatine with 1/2 cup sugar. Stir in milk and lemon juice. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly with a wire whisk, until gelatine dissolves. Remove from heat.

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Gradually beat in gelatine mixture. Stir in apple cubes. Chill, stirring occasionally, until mixture mounds slightly when dropped from a spoon.

In a small bowl, whip non diary cream with icing sugar until stiff peaks form. Fold into apple-cheese mixture. Pour into prepared pan. Chill overnight or 8 to 12 hours until firm.

The cake turned out to be a bit wobbly, tasted weird at first (first time tasting chilled apple cheesecake, not sure what to compare to) but the recipe's definitely a keeper.

More Rice Cooker Cake - Lemon Poppy Seed

Felt like eating cake the whole week and since I had a lemon in the fridge, decided to make a lemon poppy seed one. The recipe was from Panasonic's Orange Butter Cake (list of recipes from Happyhomemaker88's). I substituted the orange juice with lemon. Added 1 tbsp poppy seeds just before transferring into the cooker to bake.


It tasted rather sour the first bite but after that it was pretty appetizing. As seen, the cake is a little flat...didn't exactly rise properly but tasted just fine and moist.

L-shaped Sofa

We got this L-shape settee set for a reasonable price from Lorenzo...well, there are other cheaper ones around but we've already search for a long while before finally settling for this. We weren't looking for an L-shaped one but it turns out to fit in our living nicely. Of course the one on display was much better looking in white (see photo below), but the cost was a few hundred more. We figured, we didn't need the white as it could get dirty easily.

White

Vs.
Kuih Lapis

But, we didn't expect the colour we picked to turn out this way either. My brother said that it looked like a gigantic kuih lapis (layered cake) : ( Oh well, as long as it's comfortable and our visitors liked sitting on it....hehe..they had to sit on the floor before this...

Best of all, it was a gift from sis....though she just contributed the cash and left us to select our own : )

Our next target...a dining set, yep, we're still having our meals on the floor.