CLICK&GO Beta Issue 2014 December | Page 13

ca ish! The proper way to love your spring roll is by first laying a thin layer of rice paper to hug the peanuts, carrots, cat fish, celery and leaves, plunge it to some vinegar then enjoy! Wraping them is an art in itself. Part of what makes it more delicious is taste of pride that comes a er overcoming the challenge of wrapping with an unbelievably thin, rice paper roll. The challenge is part of apprecia ng this wonderful dish that is truly Hanoi. True street food has no name! Don’t bother asking the name of the Pho shops opposite of Country side restaurant. Pho is a tradi onal Vietnamese soup of vermicelli, herbs and chicken. Its significance in our i nerary is to grab the opportunity to experience Pho through locals’ taste buds: al fresco, si ng on ny chairs and short tables while laughing with a friend as you watch the chaos of people and motorbikes pass by. Vietnamese women pu ng on a show! Street side, a pair of women gives you cooking lessons on how to make Banh Cuon, Vietnamese spring rolled rice pancake. A milky paste is poured into a flat cloth, a er seconds it is peeled off with a giant bamboo chops ck. The steaming thin rice paper is placed on a flat dish, rolled with minced pork, fried onion and wood ear mush‐ rooms. Adding a pinch of fried onions, salted, shredded shrimp and corianders onto the rolls completes the famous dish. The result, is like mee ng a new friend from a foreign place, he’s weird with a different texture, you don’t know quite sure how to describe him with the garlic