All part of Hanoi

We live in a part of Hanoi euphemistically called the Old French Quarter and we of ten see bewildered westerners, maps in hand, searching for vestiges of colonial grandeur. Many old villas remain but a lot are hidden behind tacked-on shop fronts. Some have been turned into glitzy restaurants, and there are crumbling gems that need skilled restoration.

It is an area where middle-class Vietnamese are hastily remodeling their houses to suit western tenants, where swathes of homes are erased to make way for high rise luxury apartments.

It’s also an area of culinary delights. If you have the money you can dine in places that have menus in English and where knives and forks are as ubiquitous as chopsticks – but it’s also an epicurean cornucopia if you want to eat with the locals.

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