This morning is the last morning at our very nice Orchids Hotel. I am so sad.. We are sleeping at our aunt’s house tonight so that we can go to the airport together early tomorrow morning 5am for our Ha Noi tour..

I had a bowl of pho ga and pho bo as one last hurrah since it is much more enjoyable to eat pho in an AC room than outside in the hot and humid weather.

They had a few of new dishes in the hot foods section. I know the siu mai didn’t look good but I wanted to try one little piece anyway!! It wasn’t that good.. Very dry.

The mapo tofu with mushrooms was decent. The sauce wasn’t as thick as I hoped but the flavor was light yet mostly spicy. The tofu was very soft and silky. Mushrooms are a nice added touch.

Then for some last two mini cream puffs and cafe sua nom. I love custard cream so much. This is more of a nostalgia good for me because my dad used to buy it for me all the time.

We finally checked out.. it was bittersweet.. Sweet because the local food markets in my mom’s hometown is plentiful and cultural. Bitter because I’m going to miss the luxurious and clean amenities of this hotel. The staff has treated us so well!!

We got to Bac Huong’s house and followed her around the Phu Tho Market. She needed to buy some chicken, potatoes and dessert for her altar. The local market isn’t like ours in America. Theirs is locales on a street and the vendors are all outside on the street. People walking and on scooters zoom back and forth, collecting their groceries. It is only open in the morning.

She showed us a local lady who makes very good soy milk. We each got a bottle to drink and it was just very tasty. Tasty and sweet.

I noticed she also sold chocolate soy milk and black sesame drink. My mom also got me a bottle of black sesame to try later. It looks viscous and good. I can’t wait to try it after I finish my soy milk.

Bac Huong also bought us xoi cuc (or soy khuc). My mom used to always tell me this was grandma’s favorite thing to eat. It is mung bean and minced pork wrapped in a sticky green cudweed leaf glutinous rice flour covered in sticky rice.

What’s different from this than in America is that they also provide black sesame seeds to sprinkle on top. The xoi cuc also has very little onions in the mix. It was very good! The sticky rice is still warm and soft. I’m so used to it being hard after buying it at a bakery in America.

Bac Huong also got us herbal tea drinks to drink to cool down our bodies. I notice they’re always drinking something to cook down the body.

I quickly got bored at Bac Huong’s house because everyone was busy doing chores. I convinced my mom to walk over to Bac Thanh’s house to pack some of our checked boxes with more souvenirs and snacks.

Then Chi Trang got us rau ma sau rieng (pennywort durian) drinks! YASSSS! I’ve been wanting to try this ever since I heard it was such a thing in Vietnam.

It was so good!!! I think it’s even better than rau ma dau xanh, but both still very good. It’s just different smells and flavors. It’s real durian too! There is a strong durian smell and mild durian taste that complements the refreshing rau ma.

This is fried banh bao, which is the fried version of a steamed pork bun. It was pretty good. There is a little quail egg and there is a slight sweetness from the fried dough.

Chi Trang also gave me a piece of fresh durian. It was so good! And very stringy! Strong durian flavor.

For dinner Chi Nghiep took us out to dinner because my mom told her she was craving snails. We went to a restaurant called Bun Dau Mam Tom or Day Homemade. I’m not sure which is the restaurant title or it’s both.

Oc Nhoi Thit Hap La Gung. This was really good. It’s basticallt like fish paste ball with snail bits inside. Very tasty. You pull the two sticks out that are like leaves and the whole meatball pops out and you eat it!

Bun Dau Homemade Dac Biet. So I think this is what my mom wanted. It’s a platter of assorted toppings that you eat with the rice noodles. The special part of it is this fish paste sauce that you dip it in. It’s very salty and potent (usually reserved to season a broth) and you create your sauce with it and other added ingredients like lemon, sugar, chili. The toppings include fried tofu, pork organs like liver, intestine, heart, pork belly, pork organ sausage, etc. this dish was actually really good but can quickly become very salty.

Nem Chua Ran. This is actually really good. It’s kind of like a pork ham croquette. Very juicy.

Nem Tai Tron Thit. This is kind of like bi. You make your own spring roll with it. Bi is thinly sliced pork skin.

Banh Tom Ho Tay. This is like a potato fritter with a shrimp on top. A lot of people like this. I think it tasted good but not something I fawn over. The fritter was crispy. The shrimp was also crunchy. You dip this in fish sauce dip.

Lau Rieu Cua Bap Bo Suon Sun. So I think that this is the equivalent of Vietnamese hot pot. The broth reminds me of sour catfish soup. The toppings are beef, pork, Vietnamese ham, Vietnamese snail fish ball, fried tofu. The stuff in the middle is delicious. It’s like crab eggs. You put some of that in the hot pot broth and some on your own rice noodles.

It’s hard to explain everything in English and I’m not well versed in this specific food. I know it’s from the North!! Hopefully I’ll learn more about northern Vietnamese food from the tour that starts tomorrow!