Tiger Tales Cover Story on Hanoi, Sep/Oct 2010

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tiger ta les sep-oct

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happy birthday hanoi

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The MillenniuM CiTy

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Motorcyclists ride past the legend Beer Hall and

Highlands Coffee Building

on the eve of its 1,000th anniversary, Hanoi is an increasingly

cosmopolitan capital with a cultural heart,

reports Connla stokes. Photography by

aaron joel santos

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Kids maKe up Over half the pOpulatiOn – twO-thirds are under the age Of 35. hanOi is an Old sOul with a yOuthful zing

s a boomtown with a

rich and fascinating

architectural heritage,

Vietnam’s capital manages

to be both exhilarating and

enchanting. The spiritual

and geographic centrepiece of Hanoi is

Hoan Kiem Lake, the fabled body of water

where in the 15th century, Emperor Le Thai

To – in the manner of King Arthur – is said

to have returned a charmed sword after

leading his embattled troops to victory over

Chinese Ming dynasty warriors. For the

leg-weary sightseer, the lake offers a poetic

stillness amid the city’s motorbike-powered

mayhem. And it’s that incongruous mix

of serenity and gusto which seems to be

Hanoi’s trademark.

For more than a thousand years, Hanoi

has been “bending with the wind” to resist

foreign domination while at the same time

absorbing overseas influences. So says the

venerable William S.

Logan in his book,

Hanoi: A Biography

of a City. One of the

most clear-cut turning

points in the modern

urban development of

Hanoi was the arrival of the

French in 1873. As part of the

colonial administration’s mission

civilisatrice (civilising mission) French

town planners drafted a blueprint replete

with tree-lined avenues, a modern sanitation

system, gaslights and an opera house in the

style of Paris’s Palais Garnier. But there are

plenty of other competing influences across

a cityscape where socialist monuments,

ancient Buddhist temples with strong

Taoist and Confucian accents and, now,

luxury shopping and office complexes vie

for attention.

For many, battle-hardened Hanoi is the

ultimate symbol of

defiance. Naturally,

both residents

and visitors show

an interest in the

Vietnam-American

war – out of sympathy or

respect, if not admiration.

Still, most people show little

inclination to dwell on the conflict.

This is a city that’s busy embracing the

new. Kids make up over half the population

– two-thirds are under the age of 35. Hanoi

is an old soul with a youthful zing. And

there may be no better summation of the

uneasy balance between past and present

than the sight of teenage break-dancers

with backwards-baseball caps and sagging

jeans doing their thing in front of the Statue

of Lenin on Dien Bien Phu Street. Proof,

perhaps, that history does irony.

Christina Yu, the Hong Kong designer and

a it’s that

incOngruOus mix Of serenity

and gustO which seems tO be

hanOi’s trademarK

Hair stylist tran linh

nGo worker luu My lai

Fashionable youth

exterior of tan My Design

skateboarder chic

Christina Yu, founder of Ipa-nima

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a skateboarder takes to the air near the statue of lenin

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founder of Ipa-Nima, a Hanoi-based brand

known for its ultra-funky handbags and

accessories, first came here in 1995, when

the city had a sleepier disposition. “Vietnam

has moved from bicycles to Bentleys in the

past 15 years,” says Yu. “Back then, most of

the population still lived a simple life and did

not have a real sense of money’s worth.”

That’s because at the time money was

decidedly tight. A generation ago people

were queuing up for rations of rice as

the national economy floundered after a

decades-long scrap for independence.

Now, well-heeled ladies stroll into opulent

shopping malls to pick up a pair of Salvatore

Ferragamo stilettos, while high-rolling

businesspeople drive to golf courses in

BMW 4WDs. Elsewhere, there are reminders

that not all boats rise with the tide – the

huckster flogging watermelons and the

shoeshine boy pitching would-be customers

at a roadside café. But Hanoi straddles

these poles with ease. This city’s got grit as

well as glamour but

with very little tension

on the surface.

While Hanoi’s elite

have taken a financial

quantum leap, much of

the city’s population lives far

more humbly. These extremes

mean visitors can enjoy gratifyingly

diverse experiences. You can lose

yourself in the clamour of Dong Xuan

Market before slurping down a bowl

of noodles while perched on a plastic

stool. Or you can browse through

the latest collections from the city’s

trendiest designers at Tan My Design

on Hang Gai Street before enjoying

afternoon tea or apéritifs at the iconic

Sofitel Legend Metropole.

You can find plenty of high-end

establishments serving ultra-refined

versions of what family-run restaurants or

street vendors sell. But for the best food, it’s

always better to sit

closer to the gutter

on a plastic stool.

Even the owners of

the town’s swankier

eateries seem to agree.

The host of World Café

Asia on Discovery Travel and

Living, Hanoi-based restaurateur

Bobby Chinn, describes the local food

as “intimate and true. There’s no bullshit

‘foo foo’ food,” says Bobby. “From the

street stall that has perfected one dish

for generations to the street merchant

who walks miles from a country village

with her goods across a pole – selling on

the streets until she sells out.”

It’s worth doing some research on

street food before setting off with an

empty stomach. No less an authority

than author and chef Anthony Bourdain

once said, “You don’t have to go looking for

great food in Vietnam. Great food finds you”.

“hanOi is One Of the mOst

unique cities in asia, but liKe it Or nOt it is driving

fOrward at a rapid pace”

this city’s gOt grit as well as glamOur but with little

tensiOn On the surface

Morning ritual on nha tho street

street vendor shouldering her wares

Chillies and spices in the old Quarter

Cyclo driver near Dong Xuan Market

server at Verticale restaurant

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Clothing display at designer Ha truong’s showroom

Downtown Hanoi intersection

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However, in a city as heaving as Hanoi, there

are still mediocre versions of local classics.

If you’re lacking inside information, stick to

the seasoned traveller’s rule of thumb and

make a beeline for the busiest restaurant.

Acutely aware of Vietnam’s rich culinary

heritage, the French chef and owner

of La Verticale restaurant,

Didier Corlou, has conjured

up his own brand of

French-Vietnamese

haute cuisine. He did

so on the strength

of his encyclopaedic

knowledge of

indigenous ingredients

and his natural flair for

combinations both subtle

and spectacular – or just

plain playful, like, say pho

(noodle soup) served with foie gras.

Vibrant amalgams of the Vietnamese and

French cuisines have become something

of a sub-genre. On a similar wavelength are

Green Tangerine and La Badiane – both

housed in restored colonial-era villas, which

are coveted universally, sometimes not for

the purpose of restoration.

Just this year, a plan to sell off hundreds

of state-owned villas – which would have

left their fate in the hands of capricious

developers – was rescinded in the face of a

public outcry. Australia’s leading authority

on Vietnam, Professor David Marr, who first

came to Hanoi in 1974, remains sceptical

that Hanoi can preserve its heritage amid

runaway development. “I much prefer Hanoi

to Saigon, but fear it’s heading in the same

commercial, glitzy, high-rise direction,”

he says. “There is an informal coalition

dedicated to preserving `inner’ Hanoi, which

has scored a few victories, but no one knows

what to do with the Old Quarter.”

The Old Quarter has a street plan that

harks back to Medieval times. It is one

of the most congested urban

zones on the planet, with

833 people per hectare.

It’s a thrilling place to

eat, drink, shop or

observe the teeming

street life. But behind

the shopfronts, many

of the inhabitants

are living in squalor. A

plan has been mooted

to cajole residents away

by offering them land on the

other side of the Red River. The

only problem? Nobody seems keen to go.

Elsewhere, many of the city’s pagodas

and temples are being engulfed amid a

flurry of construction projects in suburban

residential areas. It’s also not unusual to see

a street-side restaurant operating by the

gates of a pagoda.

However, Matthew Powell, Hanoi

branch director of the UK-owned property

group Savills Vietnam, is optimistic that

development can work its way around the

city’s precious heritage. “Hanoi is one of

the most unique cities in Asia, but like it or

not it is driving forward at a rapid pace,” he

says. “But with good planning and control

systems in place, this should increase its

capacity to serve its growing population

“vietnam has mOved frOm bicycles tO bentleys in the past 15 years”

hanoi’s MusT-sees

Kinh Do Café, 1 Nha tho, hoan Kiem

District a hole-in-the-wall coffee shop beside St Joseph’s Cathedral with wonderful, strong, chocolaty coffee – order ca phe den da (iced black) or ca phe sua da (coffee with condensed milk).

sofitel legend Metropole, 15 Ngo

Quyen, hoan Kiem District, +84 (0)4 3826 6919, www.sofitel.comFor a splurge, come for

lunch or dinner or enjoy drinks on the terrace, and bask in the post-colonial Indochina chic. Built in 1901, this is one of hanoi’s most iconic buildings.

la Verticale, 19 Ngo Van So, hai Ba trung District,

tel: +84 (0)4 3944 6317, www.laverticale-hanoi.com For a culinary odyssey, order the tasting menu. possibly the only restaurant in hanoi that could plausibly pick up a Michelin star.

Highway4, 25 Bat Su or 3 hang tre, hoan Kiem

District, www.highway4.com top-notch traditional Vietnamese food and delicious fruit-flavoured, rice-based liquors as well some more potent drams.

Green tangerine, 48 hang Be, hoan Kiem

District, tel: +84 (0)4 3825 1286 Set in a wonderful old villa in the heart of the old Quarter, with an array of dishes that play Vietnamese and French recipes, ingredients and flavours off each other.

la Badiane, 10 Nam Ngu, hoan Kiem

District, tel: +84 (4) 3942 4509refined French-owned restaurant that also specialises in mixing and matching Vietnamese and French flavours.

Bia Hoi restaurants: 1 Duong thanh, hoan

Kiem District; 19c Ngoc ha, Ba Dinh District; 1 Quan Su, hai Ba trung District; 22 tang Bat ho, hai Ba trung district

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without losing its underlying charm.“

Nightlife is one industry that hasn’t

kept pace. It’s hard to argue that Hanoi’s

fragmented bar-and-nightclub scene is in

the same league as those in other cities in

the region – it’s not even on the same

planet as Bangkok. Not that everyone

is “early to bed, early to rise”, as some

guidebooks suggest.

“After midnight you might think Hanoi is

sound asleep but in the Old Quarter bars

stay open,” says 25-year old Luu Mai Ly,

who before taking a job with a Spanish NGO

managed several of Hanoi’s most prominent

breakdancing crews. “You might be

standing outside and not know it but behind

the shutters there’s a party going on!”

Certainly no-one is shy about getting

an early start to the evening. Throughout

the city you will find locals enjoying bia hoi

(fresh beer), a sort of home-brew style lager

that’s light on alcohol and sold for pocket

change. It’s not uncommon to see hordes of

young men stand in unison shouting, “Mot,

hai, ba, dzo!” (One, two, three – in!) before

swilling the beer back in one gulp. Curious

foreigners may be invited to join. And it’s

tricky to politely refuse or slip away after

just one. Elsewhere, an old man sitting by

himself may timidly enquire, “Vous êtes

français (You are French)?” before shuffling

off into the night. That’s Hanoi to a tee – in

your face one minute, elegant and charming

the next.

there is an infOrmal cOalitiOn

dedicated tO preserving

‘inner’ hanOi

tiger airways flies to Hanoi three times per week from singapore. www.tigerairways.com

streetside bia hoi drinkers

a streetside eatery

Display windows at Vincom towers

Christina Yu

art works at Bui Gallery

offerings at Verticale


a floral display at Hoan Kiem lake

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Documents

Tiger Tales Cover Story on Hanoi, Sep/Oct 2010