Viet Nam ... and its reigonal delights

HANOI
Starting from the North i didn't i really didn't know what to expect. Word was northern cuisine.. was lets say... bland and somewhat boring. After venturing around the old quarter and sampling the food i sadly have to agree. So to conquer that we opted to eat at a restaurant called Quan An Ngon... (delicious restaurant) i know i know what a name right.. but hey it was a pretty decent restaurant.If street food is a bit intimidating and your not keen on sitting on a toilet because of it.. this is the place for you. Street food from around Viet Nam minus the sore tummy. With dishes ranging from:papaya salad with dry beef, bun rieu, pho, bun bo hue, com tam, goi cuon.. the all star favorites at a tight wad price.. need you eat anywhere else?

NINH BINH, PU LUONG NATIONAL PARK (MAI CHAU)
Not only is this place breath taking with the luscious rice fields, mountains,waterfalls the kindness of the locals here matches its beauty. You wont find this place in any guide/ tourist books making it rarely touched by us tourists. Its a rare sight to see in this quickly developing country this region hasn't been bastardized by Americana burgers, spaghetti and sushi. The ethnic minorities that reside there live off the land, and dinner was whatever that was growing/walking in the garden.
We got to this hidden gem by motorbike as there were no roads, otherwise this place would of been flocked with hand sanitizing tourists. Every child who sees you squeals with delight as you pass them screaming "hello!" and waving to you. The electricity that they do have is generated by turbines powered by the rushing waterfall.
Once a week there would be a local market, so Sunday dinners would be a treat for the locals here. Our first dinner was, free range chicken sauteed with noodles and morning glory, free range egg omlette, and pumkin soup (straight out of the garden) The eggs were bright yellow and rich as butter, these chickens were more than happy before they hit the pot. Living in Australia and eating generic chicken.. you forget what it actually tastes like. It was a real treat to us expats but just another meal for our host family.

HUE
Land of the ancient Kings and Queens the food was really starting to get good, before the revolution the Citadel (Viet Nam's equivalent of Versailles back in its hayday) was home for the royal family and the food in this region was well.. pardon the pun fit for a king. Till this very day the Hue residents take their food seriously and try to preserve their culture as much as possible. Now the one dish that pops into your mind when your here is bun bo hue.. well when in Rome. Being a bun bo fiend myself it drove me insane that i was only there for one day. The bun bo hue was sex in a bowl, the broth fiery hot and aromatic as it should be. The pork and beef that was floating in the broth was tender and flaky, again no animal here is couped up neck to neck, it was served with a Hue cha (peppered pork loaf) wrapped in a pretty parcel of banana leaf.