Hanoi Day Two: Update (Jess)

After organising ourselves for the next few days we head off to Highway 4 ( 3 Hang Tre Hanoi) for dinner.

Shoes off, we perch on floor cushions in a well worn wooden room. After ordering a couple of stubbie holder clad Hanoi beers, we weigh up the menu. Crickets? Snails? Snake? Frogs legs? Stomach? We order spicy squid, crunchy fried veggie spring rolls and chicken hot pot.

All the food is gorgeous and yummy, until we attempt the hot pot. My new found cooking skills lull me into a false sense of cooking security. Our waiter brings out the large silver pot, to be heated by the little gas cooker on our table. We add raw chicken, tofu, green veggies and rice noodles to the bubbling broth. It has all the potential of being delicious - except I am in charge of the "cooking" - Anthony's job is to hold the hot lid open and remind me about raw chicken utensil contamination!

I may have over cooked it all - think grey instead of green! Hot pot fail! We enjoy picking out the tofu and noodles and sipping on the broth. I even eat (sucked? chewed? gnawed?) the bony chicken pieces, feeling thoroughly local.

As I do I try not to think about this chicken's cousin, who greets us each morning with loud "cockle doodle dos" and who we've come to enjoy waking up to.

Boney chicken love,
Jess x