Tim Hangs in Hanoi, Part 2

More photos from Tim's time in Hanoi.

 

Unlike Ho Cho Minh City, Hanoi is not really known for its nightlife.  However, Tim said that this ice cream joint was hoppin' later in the evening.  While other streets in the area were relatively deserted, this street was jam packed with people riding motorbikes up to the storefront and them walking them inside.  Random.

This guy was making sugarcane juice on the street- running pieces of sugarcane through a press (in the second photo the sugarcane solids are shooting out the back):

Tim said these kids were all sitting around on tiny plastic stools, not drinking beer or playing cards, but drinking tea and eating sunflower seeds:  

These kids were staging a photo shoot with their motorbikes, lining them all up artfully in a row:

Tim ate a lot of pho while he was in Hanoi;  he hit up this popular spot, made famous by a visit from Anthony Bourdain.  The line was literally out the door:

Tim says this version was the northern style pho, with richer, more meaty flavor and a ton of green onion:

Tim says you could order smoked brisket to be sliced off these big slabs hanging in the middle of the restaurant (in addition to the regular raw beef that gets cooked in the broth).  He also said this guy with the long hair was drunkenly cutting in line and yelling at the store owners: