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Mayochup

A London based food, parenting and travel blog. Follow us on our travels

Ho Chi Minh (or Saigon as it is still known to the locals) is a very bright and vibrant city with more scooters than people! The traffic system there can be described as organised chaos as scooters come from all directions with no accidents or minor incidents to be seen. Quite incredible really. However, when it comes to crossing the road, it's simply a case of 'just go'and the scooters will swerve round you. If you don't, you'll remain on the pavement for quite some time.


We arrived at the hotel Alagon Saigon Hotel & Spa around 3am and immediately, the front desk was trying to get us to give them $50 for security which was not listed anywhere on their site nor did we give it. Eventually, the front desk backed down and we finally got to the room. We were upgraded to a superior room and it was small, extremely dated and dirty so we swapped back to the original room we booked the following morning. 

Breakfast was not spectacular but there's plenty of options to suit all tastes but what the hotel did have (and in my view where they spent all their money) was the roof top bar and spa. This offered great views of the city and a place to relax. Oh,and the cocktails! Once again, the alcohol strength was eye watering and very soon we were very very relaxed.



We booked to go to the Chu Chi Tunnels which is about a 90 minute ride from Ho Chi Minh and this is where they showcase the tunnels dug by the Vietnamese to outwit and surprise the Americans in the bloody Vietnam war. 



As the Americans dropped their bombs, the Vietnamese recycled the metal and constructed traps hidden in the jungle which looked like below.


We spent the rest of the days just touring the city and we found a food market which was very much to our liking. We tried crocodile and ostrich and I have to say ostrich is lovely. It's a rich dark meat full of flavour and crocodile tastes like chicken.







Walking around the city is thirsty work and there are a number of juice bars and cafes to choose from and we found a really nice place where we got iced teas and some dessert. 



Overall, Ho Chi Minh is a great city and I would recommend no longer than a 3 night stay as the constant noise will tire you out. Having said that, there's plenty to do and see and there's not a dull moment. The final stop is the beautiful and quiet Phu Quoc which will be the last post in this series. 
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After a trip to the National Science Museum where it didn't really feature or concentrate on any of the famous scientists (no Newton, Faraday, Bell, Edison, Bohr and only a very very small area dedicated to Einstein) we hopped over to High Street Kensington to go to Balans. An old favourite of mine.

Or so I thought.

You see, Balans has gone through a major re-branding since the last time I visited, and admittedly, it's been a few years. Out went the comfortable sofas, the smart looking interior and in went uncomfortable chairs, smaller tables, and a very random naked tree.




The menu has also changed out of all recognition and we honestly struggled in what to order. Nothing really stood out and it was also priced in the mid to top end.

We eventually went for mushroom croquettes and squid with chorizo and potato. The mushroom croquettes were really nice however, the squid was (I presume) boiled to oblivion as it tasted of nothing. The chorizo was well, chorizo and the potato was errr, potato. That starter was pretty bland.



We both went for the duck breast for the main which came with carrot puree, baby carrots, apple pieces, duck bon bon with a cider sauce. Sounds nice? Well, the duck was not seasoned at all, the cider sauce was far too watery to be of any use and the apple pieces were too sharp. The carrot puree was nice and the bon bons was excellent. 


The cocktails were varied and interesting. I went for the Blueberry Banger and Mrs Mayochup ordered the Baltic Breeze. 



The bill came and it was a little on the pricey side, far too much for what we had but let's chalk that up to experience. All in all, with all the changes to the menu and the refurb, we won't be back. Bring back the old Balans!

Score: 3/10

Balans Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato
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I'm going to put it out there that Hanoi is a bustling, vibrant and charming city which is clouded by smog. The people are warm and welcoming and it's quite surprising the effort and amount of English they know. It is not a rich city by any stretch of the imagination with poverty all around you but everyone has a smile on their face and gets on with it. There is no begging and their work ethic to be commended. You don't see a fat Vietnamese.

We arrived at our hotel very early in the morning and crashed after our long journey. The favourite part is the breakfast and La Siesta Trendy did not disappoint.

A mixture of meats, pastries, eggs, fruit and juices were on offer but the specialty here is the egg coffee. This is amazing. It is coffee with whipped up egg yolk which is sweetened topped off with chocolate sprinkles. It shouldn't sound nice but it is simply fantastic. And this is coming from someone who rarely drinks coffee. 


The morning was spent wandering around the city before we head back to the hotel for our cookery class.
It was just the two of us booked in so we had an exclusive tour of the market from one of the senior chefs where we bought ingredients for what we were about to cook later. The market was huge however, you could barely move as it was busy and the walkways extremely narrow. And motorbikes everywhere. Things are done differently when it comes to selecting fish. At home, we are used to seeing the fish laying on a bed of ice and you ask for what you want over the counter. Over here, the fish are alive in a bowl, picked up and beheaded before our eyes. No nonsense.




Back at the hotel it was cooking time! Our demonstration chef was this tiny lady but she clearly has a passion for her job. We were told she arrives for work at 5am and leaves at 7pm which shows true dedication. We were shown knife skills as ours were severely lacking however, we managed to prepare some truly awesome food as you can see.




After our big meal, we went down to the bar where we had cocktails. Two were free courtesy of the hotel as part of our Honeymoon gift. The Vietnamese, unlike the British, do not seem to care for measures so our cocktails were very very strong!



The next part of our trip is to Halong Bay which will be covered in the next chapter.
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