A to Z of Hanoi

This time three years ago, I was preparing to move to Beijing for the first time. It is almost unfathomable how quickly my experience in China has gone. I am hoping for an enjoyable fourth year!

With all this reminiscing, I started to think about this time last year. My summer holiday was coming to an end, which culminated in a return visit to Hanoi. I love Vietnam and when I knew that some of my colleagues were visiting Hanoi, I decided to make them a list of information and things they could do (and eat) in the capital city.

So, I have decided to share that list on my blog for anybody else who wants to make the most out of their stay in Hanoi. It is by no means the definitive bucket list for a visitor to Vietnam, but if you are thinking "what shall I do in Hanoi?" it might give some helpful hints or ideas of things to try and some of the things listed will be available or relevant in other parts of the country:

A is for: áo dài (ow zai/ow yai). This is the national dress of Vietnam.

B is for: Bánh mì. DELICIOUS Vietnamese baguette. The baguettes were introduced to Vietnam during French colonialism. You can choose different fillings but my favourite has to be bánh mì trứng (fried egg baguette). It usually comes with cheese spread, chilli sauce, cucumber, corriander and pickled carrot. You can find stalls selling these baguettes and point at the ingredients you want to include. You can usually sample this bread when ordering the delicious steak meal, bò bít tết.

C is for: Café culture. There are plenty of cafés to have a rest and people-watch. The décor in Cong Café will give you an experience of communist Hanoi. Whichever café you find, try the following:
Cà phê sữa đá – Vietnamese iced coffee with sweet milk.
Chè – Very refreshing. The ingredients include beans, coconut milk, yoghurt, ice and jelly pieces.
Sinh tố - fruit smoothie.

D is for: Downed B-52 aeroplane. There is so much more to Vietnam than being a war-ravaged country. However, the history of Vietnam is what has shaped the people and country today. You may want to view the B-52 aeroplane and take a walk around the surrounding area, or visit the Vietnam Military History Museum.

E is for: Ethnicity museum. The Vietnam Museum of Ethnology celebrates the 54 officially recognised ethnic groups in Vietnam. You can learn so much about the architecture, clothes, history and culture of the different groups that form Vietnam.

F is for: Fish sauce. Nước mắm and other varients are served with many dishes. Nước mắm pha (mixed fish sauce) is probably one of the most common. It doesn’t really taste fishy and also has garlic and chilli added to it. You can dip nem rán (spring rolls) into the sauce or bánh xèo (crispy turmeric pancake/crepe). It is also served with bánh cuốn and phở cuốn (fresh summer rolls which are like spring rolls but not fried).

G is for: Going veggie. If you are a vegetarian or fancy a break from meat dishes, then you should check out the Cơm Chay Hà Thành restaurant, located at Số 116, Ngõ 166, Kim Mã, Ba Đình. I really like the meat dishes in Hanoi but it was interesting to taste the traditional Vietnamese meals without meat. I particularly enjoyed the vegetarian spring rolls and the vegetarian kebabs.

H is for: Hoàn Kiếm Lake. A famous landmark in Hanoi, this lake (also known as Hồ Gươm) is where you will find many locals exercising and socialising while students try to practice their English with tourists. There is a legend of a turtle in the lake. If you spot it swimming in the lake, people believe you will get good fortune.

I is for: Ice cream – Kem Tràng Tiền is a famous brand of ice cream which is sold in close proximity to Hoàn Kiếm Lake. A perfect treat after a walk around the lake. Definitely good on a hot day and still good when the weather has cooled! You could also keep a look out for the humorously named "Fanny Ice Cream" shop, which I have been reliably informed is still in existence, despite moving from the Hoan Kiem Lake area.

J is for: Jail. For another history kick, visit the Hỏa Lò Prison (also referred to as the Hanoi Hilton). It was used by the French colonists for political prisoners and later used by the North Vietnamese for American prisoners of war. It is quite interesting to view the conditions inside the prison and to learn more about the war.

K is for: Karaoke. This is a favourite pastime of many in Hanoi. You can have your own room and belt out songs with friends, beer and snacks.

L is for: Literature – the Temple of Literature (Văn Miếu) is a very famous landmark for people in Hanoi and throughout Vietnam. It was the first university in Vietnam and is a rather spiritual place.

M is for: Mosaic. The Hanoi Ceramic Mosaic Mural (Con đường Gốm sứ) was created to celebrate the millennial anniversary of Hanoi being the capital. It spans about 4km and many parts of the mural tell the stories of Vietnamese history. It was completed in 2010 and was listed in the Guinness World Records for being the world’s largest ceramic mosaic. The mosaic pieces were produced in the nearby Bát Tràng Pottery Village, which is famous for porcelain (and also worth a visit).

N is for: Noodles. There are of oodles of noodles in Hanoi. Some dishes you could try are:
Phở (noodle soup). This is probably the most famous traditional dish from Vietnam. Most commonly a beef dish (phở bò) or chicken dish (phở gà). On the subject of phở, I would recommend that you try phở chiên phồng, which is fried square noodles with beef – super tasty!
Bún bò Huế - rice vermicelli noodle soup with beef.
Bún chả - One of my favourite dishes. It is grilled pork and noodles served with a dipping sauce and fresh herbs. Some restaurants offer it with spring rolls.
Mì Xào – fried egg noodles.

O is for: One Pillar Pagoda (Chùa Một Cột) so called for being on top of a single pillar, it is an iconic Buddhist temple in Hanoi and located near to the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, so if you are in the area, it is definitely worth a look.

P is for: Puppets. The Water Puppet Show (Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre) tells historical and traditional tales. Even though the stories are told in Vietnamese, I would still recommend a viewing if you have time.

Q is for: Quẩy. This is fried dough and can be added to phở. I didn’t know that phở could get any better – but when I discovered this fried treat I was proved wrong!

R is for: Rice paddies. When I think about Vietnam, I often picture the green rice paddies being tended by workers in conical hats. I have seen some beautiful rice paddies in Vietnam and would recommend viewing the tiered rice paddies in Sapa, or venturing out of Hanoi to the nearby countryside in Bắc Ninh Province.

S is for: Streets – The Old Quarter. The street layout and architecture of old Hanoi has been preserved in this area. Each street was named to reflect the specialised items that were sold there. You can find many souvenirs in these streets and even visit the night market near Đồng Xuân Market. It is a great experience to walk around and imagine how life was on these streets many years ago. There are small restaurants and cafés to take in the atmosphere. In the past, I have got lost, so I would advise that you take your hotel card (with the Vietnamese address) at all times.

T is for: Travel – visiting other places from Hanoi is not too difficult. There are plenty of tours to the limestone karsts of Halong Bay and picturesque mountains in Sapa. You could also arrange a trip to Ninh Bình and view Tam Cốc-Bích Động which shares similarities to Guilin and Yangshuo in China. There are many other places in Vietnam to see, so if you have time, you would find plenty of historical and beautiful sites in Huế, Hội An, Nha Trang, Mũi Né, Ho Chi Minh City (Sài Gòn), Đà Lạt and Đà Nẵng.

U is for: Uncle Ho – Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum (Lăng Chủ tịch Hồ Chí Minh). Ho Chi Minh is revered by many in Vietnam, especially in the capital city. He image features on the currency and his photographs are displayed in many public buildings. You can visit his mausoleum to pay your respects and view his embalmed body.

V is for: Visa. If you want the visa stamped in your passport before arriving, you will have to go to the Vietnamese embassy. In the past, I have used the Visa On Arrival system. View the following website for more details: http://www.myvietnamvisa.com/

W is for: West Lake (Hồ Tây). The largest lake in the capital city. There are plenty of restaurants, hotels and recreational activities available in this area.

X is for: Xe ôm. Ôm is the Vietnamese word for hug and a xe ôm is a motorbike taxi (where the passenger would “hug” or hold on to the driver). Xe ôms can be a fun method of transport as long as you settle the price first. Some of these motorbike taxis now have a meter so the price will be determined when you get to the destination. I really like travelling by motorbike in the evening, feeling the breeze and taking in the sights and sounds of Hanoi.

Y is for: Yo! Bia hơi is a cheap draft beer and very popular in Hanoi. You can “cheers” with locals and chant “Một, hai, ba, Yo!” (1,2,3 yo!).

Z is for: Zebra crossings. Crossing the road in Hanoi can be a scary and dangerous business! Even if there is a designated crossing, you will still need your wits about you! Walk slowly and purposefully to the other side while keeping an eye on oncoming traffic. The many motorbikes will (or should) avoid you!

I hope this A to Z could be of some use. You can also search "Vietnam" on this blog for some other posts which include information about things I have done while in Hanoi.

Mike's Chomping Cheesy Chinese Chow Challenge #6 – Shou Zhua Bing

Do not be alarmed. My cartoon picture for this blog post does make the Shou Zhua Bing (手抓饼) look like a deranged, evil clown with a skin problem. But I can assure you that the delectable shou zhua bing is one of my favourite street food snacks. Originally from Taiwan, the shou zhua bing is a soft and chewy pancake yet also crispy and flaky in all the right places.

There is usually a shou zhua bing vendor loitering outside my local subway station, making it a tasty and convenient pit stop before getting home. It should not be confused with the Ji Dan Guan Bing (鸡蛋灌饼) which is more commonly eaten as a breakfast wrap. Perhaps that will be a cheesy challenge for the future.

Once the shou zhua bing is heated and grilled, there are a number of ingredients that can be added before it gets wrapped and handed to you (inside a small handy bag in a vain attempt to stop the oil and other ingredients coating your hands). I decided to have an egg, chicken, lettuce and a ketchup-like sauce added to my bing (my Chinese teacher later explained to me that I should avoid choosing cheap meat in the future as it’s probably not a healthy option, so from now on it will probably be a vegetarian snack in the future).

On this particular momentously cutting-edge day I decided to embrace my inner-Blumenthal and add a new culinary masterpiece to my trailblazing cheesy challenge. I could have taken the easy route of grating cheese in my wrap. But grated cheese was already a successful pairing with my jian bing experiment. This time I wanted to be radical and revolutionise my shou zhua bing experience. I added actual slices of cheddar to my bing, before returning it to it’s rightful tortilla-esque wrap shape. Yes you read that correctly. I ADDED SLICED CHEDDAR.

It is difficult to express in words how wonderful this cheesy pancake encounter was. I suddenly felt overwhelmed by the taste sensation yet devastatingly desolate for people that will forever be eating cheese-less shou zhua bings. I almost ran back to the street vendor and slapped him with the remaining block of mature cheddar in the futile hope that he would see the future: cheesy bings.  Luckily, I calmed down and decided to get my priorities in check – I had to finish this cheesy shou zhua bing immediately before discussing it with others.

For now, I will keep this amazing discovery to myself (and anyone else lucky enough to stumble across this blog post. You’re welcome).

Gần đây tôi đã ăn shǒu zhuā bǐng và phô mai dày. Nó rất đậm đà! Nó có vị ngon đấy~

Learning Mandarin Chinese

Learning Chinese is not easy. Sometimes you might find yourself hitting a (great) wall. I have been studying Mandarin Chinese for about two and a half years. I remember when I first moved to China, barely being able to utter “ni hao!” and trying to eavesdrop on conversations that locals were having. It honestly seemed like endless unintelligible sounds and I felt frustrated that I couldn’t decipher the general meaning of their exchanges. At that time I thought that understanding Mandarin would be an unattainable skill. 

There have been a number of people and resources that have helped me to build on my ability in all aspects of Chinese language; reading, writing, speaking and listening. I know there is still a long way to travel on my Mandarin journey but I wanted to share the things that I have found useful.

Chinese lessons

After six months of adjusting to life in Beijing, I decided that it was time to expand on my basic Mandarin skills. After doing some research online, I came across the website for the Hutong School. I contacted them via email and they invited me to visit the school. The Beijing school is located in the Sanlitun area, which is perfect for when you need to have a post-lesson beverage. The staff spoke to me about the types of classes they offered and spoke to me in basic Chinese to gauge my ability. The school has both group and individual classes. I decided to go for one-to-one lessons because I knew that asking lots of questions would probably irritate my classmates if I chose the group sessions. 

I have been lucky to keep the same teacher since I first started having lessons. Maggie is a very enthusiastic and encouraging teacher. To begin with, I focused on speaking and using pinyin. Maggie always comes to class with a lesson prepared but is happy to go off topic if I ask her about learning different vocabulary. After a while, Maggie convinced me to study Chinese characters. It is a great feeling to recognise Chinese characters, so I really appreciate her invaluable help in learning Mandarin. Now, she is not only my teacher but also a great friend. In 2014, she invited me to spend Chinese New Year with her family. The Hutong School offers classes in Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Brussels, London, Milan, Paris and Sydney.

Books

I have used a few books since starting to learn Chinese. Here is a list of some of them:

“Easy Peasy Chinese-Mandarin Chinese For Beginners” by Dorling Kindersley.

I used this book when I first started learning (before having formal lessons). This is good for learning the basics of Chinese and it came with a CD. If you aren’t having lessons with a teacher, it is quite helpful to listen to the correct pronunciation of new vocabulary.

“The First 100 Chinese Characters: Simplified Character Edition” by Alison Matthews and Laurence Matthews.

This book is useful for learning common Chinese characters. It explains the stroke order for each character and provides boxes for writing practice. Currently, I am not learning how to write Chinese characters by hand, instead I often type on the computer or mobile phone. However, I think this book is good for character recognition and I will probably use this more if I decide to advance to handwritten Chinese.

“Short-term Spoken Chinese” by Beijing Language And Culture University Press

There are a number of books in this series. They definitely help build and expand Chinese vocabulary and the earlier books come with pinyin. The later editions become more challenging as there is less pinyin offered, so I often require help from my teacher to access some of the activities.

“Learning Chinese Characters From Ms. Zhang” by Beijing Language And Culture University Press

Like the previous book in the list, this book helps to build on vocabulary and has lists of new characters accompanied by the pinyin and English translation. However, when it comes to the reading activities there is no pinyin offered. 
I have a love/hate relationship with pinyin now. If pinyin is included, I will focus too much on it and not learn the character, but without pinyin I can often struggle. I use this book in my lessons with my teacher as she can support me when there are characters that I don’t recognise.

“Graded Chinese Reader – Contemporary Short Stories” by Sinolingua

This is a series of leveled books that can help people to prepare for HSK (Chinese proficiency) tests. I have recently bought the 2000 words edition, which will definitely challenge me. What I like about this book is that it comes with a CD and optional pinyin. “How is the pinyin optional?!” I hear you ask. Well, it comes with a “pinyin-invisible card” which you can place over each page. When the card is placed over a page, it can conceal the pinyin so that only Chinese characters are visible. This is great for a learner like me who can become distracted by the pinyin, but also likes the option to check the correct word or tone is being used.

Mandarin Companion

I have also recently bought Level 1 books by Mandarin Companion. These books are designed for people with a basic grasp of common Chinese characters while introducing the reader to some new vocabulary. Each book is originally an English story that has been changed to a Chinese setting. I have just finished reading “Sherlock Holmes And The Case Of The Curly Haired Company”. It was a great feeling to recognise the majority of the characters on the pages and many of the unfamiliar vocabulary is translated with pinyin in the footnote of each page. I had such a feeling of accomplishment to complete a whole storybook by myself without the support of a teacher and very little pinyin being offered. These books have definitely encouraged me to continue learning Chinese characters and helped to reignite my enthusiasm for studying Mandarin.

Apps

Wechat

Wechat (微信) is an instant messenger app and one of the most popular social media tools in China. Users can send messages but also post statuses and photographs. This is a great tool for Chinese learners to communicate and practice reading different statuses. Updated versions of Wechat also also users to translate statuses and messages from Chinese into English. 
In addition to adding friends as contacts, you can also follow official accounts. I have found the following accounts helpful in studying Chinese: sinologyinstitute, go_mandarin and imandarin.

Youdao Dictionary (有道词典)

My Huawei mobile phone already had this application installed. I was impressed by it so also downloaded it from the app store to my Macboook. It offers users translations of words and it can often provide sample sentences, which has definitely helped me to gain an understanding of how to correctly use new vocabulary.

Internet

The Chairman’s Bao

I first saw an advertisement for this website on Facebook. It offers users the chance to read news stories in simplified or traditional Chinese characters. Users of this website can read articles, click on words they are not familiar with and also listen to an audio recording of a native speaker reading the same article. This is definitely a useful tool for anyone wanting to improve on his or her reading and listening skills. I often try reading an article with my Chinese teacher during our lessons.

Chinesereadingpractice.com
This website hasn't been updated for a few months, but there are quite a few blog entries to keep Chinese learners busy. As the name of the website suggests, it is aimed at helping people to practice reading Chinese.

Youtube

There are so many videos available on Youtube that help support Chinese learning. In particular, I have enjoyed videos made by the following users:

YangYang Cheng

Yang Yang makes short and informative videos.

Fiona Tian

Fiona uploads humorous videos and often includes slang or expressions used by young people. She also makes videos for ChinesePodTV.

Peggyteacheschinese

Peggy is another Youtuber who uploads Mandarin lessons that cover a wide variety of subjects.

Facebook

Two of the users mentioned above also have Facebook pages, so their posts and videos can be included in your news feed. You can find Fiona at Mandarin Made Easy, and Yang Yang at Yoyo Chinese.

Two other Facebook pages that I have found useful are TouchChinese and Digmandarin, as both pages often post pictures with new phrases and vocabulary (usually with pinyin provided).

I am sure to continue adding to the resources that help me to study Chinese. I hope that this list can help others to build on their skills too!

The Designer Monologues: Idioms and expressions

On smoggy days, when I am searching for things to do, I often use online painting applications to create images. You could say I am the "designer in China"...sorry, I just like things that rhyme. 
I have never really displayed strong artistic skills but I did enjoy making cartoons and comics as a child. Now I tend to focus on creating images and text that display idioms, vocabulary and slang that I have learned when studying Vietnamese or Chinese. Drawing and displaying interesting language is fun and helps me to remember the things I have experienced in Hanoi and Beijing. Some of the images I make have been used on this blog. Others I have printed onto T-shirts or mugs. I wanted to explain some of those images in this blog post:

This design is based on the Vietnamese expression "Không Sao Đâu" which means "never mind" or "no problem". But when you translate each word individually; "Không" means no, "Sao" means star and "Đâu" means where. Some of the younger generation of Vietnamese therefore use this translated version. So for example, if you arrived late to a meeting with your friend and you apologised profusely, they could reply with "no star where".

"Buồn Như Con Chuồn Chuồn" is an expression that means to be "as sad as a dragonfly". I don't think dragonflies are a particularly miserable insect, however the word "buồn" meaning sad does kind of rhyme with "Chuồn Chuồn" which means dragonfly, so I guess that's the basis of this idiom. 

"Chán như con gián" means to be as "bored as a cockroach". Again, the Vietnamese language uses an insect for an idiom to describe a negative feeling - poor minibeasts! I have seen some of my friends on Facebook using this expression as a status. I got this design printed on a T-Shirt and took it to Vietnam on my last visit. It definitely got some smiles from the people in Hanoi and some locals even came up to me and asked about where I bought it.

"Khỏe như trâu" means to be as strong or as healthy as a buffalo. So if you are feeling on top of your game then you can use this expression!

"Biết Chết Liền" translated literally means "Know die immediately". It's true meaning is: if I knew that, I would drop down dead. I guess it's not too dissimilar from the English expression "I'll be damned if I know!". So for example, if you were visiting Vietnam and were met with the usual barrage of questions:

"When will you get married?"
"When will you come to Vietnam again?"

"What is the meaning of life?" (Actually I haven't been asked that yet unfortunately).

You could choose to answer with "Biết chết liền".

This is the first Chinese design that I made. It translates to "Did you know this is how rainbows are made?"
The sentence includes a character that was introduced to me by a friend. The character “造” (zào )is used in place of “知道” (zhīdào) which means "to know". When spoken quickly, zhīdào can sound similar to zào. Apparently it is common in Taiwan to substitute “知道” with “造”.

For a while, I was joking with my friend Liz that I would open up my own café in Beijing and sell tasty treats that I missed from back home, like Welsh cakes and scones. Liz absolutely loves pugs and so for a Christmas gift, I decided to draw a pug and create a "pug mug". I decided that I would add "Crimmy's Café" as it's only a matter of time before I create a rival for Mr. Starbucks.  I was quite pleased with the result and so I ordered one for myself too. I will only need a couple more before I can open up that café!

This is the first design I did in both Vietnamese and Chinese. It is based on the game of "Paper Scissors Stone" or "Rock Paper Scissors" (depending on where you're from!). 

I really like how it is a universal game - I remember travelling to Guilin and playing this game with some of the local children. They were amazed that a foreigner could interact with them. So I came up with this design which translates to "The real story of paper scissors stone". The smug stone would clearly always come away unscathed if such a battle were to really happen, so in the drawing the stone suggests "Let's play one more round" resulting in an awkward silence coming from his battered opponents. 

There are two ways to say pig in Vietnamese. One is "lợn", the other is "heo". I first noticed this expression back in the days when Myspace and Yahoo360 were used as popular social media networks. It is a take on the phrase "What the hell?!". The word hell is replaced with heo as they sound rather similar. This expression is used in similar instances of surprise or shock. So when you are feeling astonished by something, you can utter the words "What the heo?!"

I will definitely continue to create different designs as I find it relaxing and a fun activity - particularly if I am stuck indoors due to high pollution. The designs that I have made can be printed on T-Shirts or mugs and found at the following website:

http://vinamike.spreadshirt.co.uk