Candlelight dinner @ Bella Vista Restaurant, Sapa

Princess Cheryl's thought of the day:- ...finally, but with much obstacles... miracle is not easy to happen. Am damn sure about that!

Surprise? Yep this is Sapa!!



We were at Bella Vista Restaurant for dinner.



Nice environment for a candlelight dinner.



Candlelight dinner in Sapa??!!! Yes why not. =) If you think Sapa is only about villages and trekking then you're wrong.



We even received a welcome card on a specially decorated table. Ahem... "Welcom" instead of "welcome"... Special menu for us.



The temperature was only 14degC that night. Thus I bought a handmade shawl from the shop opposite my hotel to keep myself warm. No kidding, I couldn't stand the cold by wearing only my jacket and long sleeves.



What could be better than a glass of wine to fight the spring night's cold weather?



...maybe plus another cup of Vietnam coffee...



Enjoying the dripping of thick Vietnam coffee...nah I was half playing and half drinking.



Then came the soup, spicy and sour shrimp stew.



Some weird vege that I've never eaten here in Malaysia but taste darn good! Maybe it's freshly plucked in the afternoon. And I was kind of surprised that they served french fries as one of the dishes!? Maybe F-R-E-N-C-H is the key... These people were so much influenced by the French.



Beef saute with lemon grass and chili. This one is our favourite!! Can we get beef that taste this good again.. No doubt the Vietnamese are really great in cooking beef.



Grilled pork with lemon leaf. This one not bad too. But still I like the beef better.



Our second dinner served in fusion style, plus a candle to add some romantic atmosphere.



My Vietnam coffee. Taste as heavy and as thick as an Espresso. One sip enough to drive you high.



F-R-E-N-C-H again. They call this french cake.



Trying out the local wine.



Our waitress. I think she's lovely and sweet thus asked her to take a photo together.



And if you wonder what's the entertainment after dinner at Sapa, mine was online! Actually I was replying dozens of emails...still working during vacation! WORKAHOLIC..

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A cozy spring afternoon in Sapa (Part#2)

When you're surrounded by such a big group, you're in deep trouble... The Hmong tribe has very good business skills, usually you cannot run away.



Stunning and colorful Hmong handmade shawls. In shops you get to spend at least RM60-RM80 for one like this, here it's not even half of the usual price. Would you have affection for colorful shawls selling in a market place just right beside some construction area.. I guess not.



I walked along the staircase to another street where Sapa's weekend market is held. Nothing much to buy but outfits and souvenirs that symbolize the minority tribes of Sapa.



The church.



T-junction at the weekend market. Here's where we're being 'trapped'...



Trapped by the innocent eyes.. These 2 little girls followed us as far as 2 streets!



"Buy from me..." I guess nobody would say NO.



Sakura sakura sakura!!! Never thought of such a romantic picture would appear in Sapa.








I enjoyed lazing around the riverside in the cozy afternoon.



Yellow flowers blooming everywhere.



Taken by the riverside.



I then went shopping for souvenirs at the weekend market. She made those dolls all by herself! Amazing.



It's only 4pm and the weather's already so damn foggy!!! Luckily we went trekking in the morning, or els I can't imagine walking back from the village at 7pm... Creepy~

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Engineer babe...not that easy...

2pm in a Saturday afternoon... WHAT AM I DOING??!! Still working lo...
Most girls must have gone for shopping spree in the weekend, yet I'm still sitting in the living room swallowing my McD while rushing for my GB report..duh...



5 minutes of break to write this post just to release some tension. My schedule is so damn full since Jan'09. Another 4 more days then I'll be flying to Singapore for meeting, then fly back the next day. And then fly to Cambodia in another 14 days after coming back from Singapore.. Can I have 48hours a day please??

Basically this is my schedule up to Sept'09 this year... Pink = travel dates (work+meeting); Blue = special occasions; Green = tentatively travel dates...

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A cozy spring afternoon in Sapa (Part#1) - Lunch at Viet Emotion

Princess Cheryl's thought of the day:- Business trip again next week. Never a month without flying since Jan'09... 2 more weeks after next week will be the QIC Regional Semi Finals in Cambodia!! Means flying again...BUT...Angkor Wat here I come~

Sapa is a small town up on the highlands of Hanoi. My first impression on Sapa was "Hanoi's Cameron Highland". Not very alike but just the feeling. People drink coffee in the cafe there while we drink tea in Cameron Highland. Spring time is one of the best times to visit Sapa, cozy weather, blooming flowers, even when the sun shines on my skin, I don't feel the burning at all. Soon after the 5km trekking, we were then ready on the go again.

Stomachs been growling since 11am... Now it's time to hunt for food. We walked through the market to another street.





These are Tzau tribe ladies if not mistaken. I can't really differentiate the tribes. There are just too many to remember!! Interesting to see the big 'pillow' on their head. Actually that's their hair inside the 'pillow'. I wonder how heavy is the burden on their head..



The Black Hmong ladies at business.. Honestly I love their handmade stuffs very much, but they're really expensive if you buy those in the open market especially at the tourist hot spots like this.



Our lunch spot - Viet Emotion. Under the name of the restaurant it's written there "We warmly appreciate the support of Lonely Planet". Oh, I didn't check on Lonely Planet at all before the trip. This was suggested by Thinh.



Cozy window view table for a relaxing lunch. Of course we gotta treat ourselves really nice after the exhausting trek to Cat Cat Village.




So since when I've become princess alcoholic...??? I think was about a month ago when I realized that I no longer suffer from rashes after drinking beer! =P



Local beers - Halida for him.



And Hanoi for me. I know this is not the right way to pour beer..



However I still managed to keep around 2 inch bubbles on the top layer. Heheh...



One of the things that I like most about Vietnam is how they garnish the soup.



Even though I'm not fond of pumpkin soup but how could I resist such an artistic bowl of pumpkin soup! I should learn to love pumpkin a little more, pumpkin represents Halloween, and no doubt I'm named after Halloween. HALLO-WEEN. =)



While waiting for my dishes to arrive, I saw something really interesting through the window. A Black Hmong girl combing her hair! Can you see how long is that?!



I do think they never cut their hair but just twist the hair and slot a comb through their hair to support it from falling loose. She looks like only ~20 years+ yet the hair is so long. I doubt that the hair length is 2x longer for the old ladies who keep their hair in a 'pillow' like the above photo.



Interesting huh. Even attracted some people to go near and take a closer look.



Finally lunch was served. A tableful of mouth watering food for only 2 pax! Vietnam cuisine is more to fusion style, probably because they're so much influenced by the French. Chinese never serve some creamy soup when the next serving will be stir-fry dishes served with rice. I found it quite awkward to drink sweet and creamy soup with breadcrumbs and then start eating rice..



Sizzling hot. Portion was very big but we finished all! So you can imagine how good the taste was. =)



Vietnamese rice, taste like Japanese rice but the shape is longer but not as long as the Siamese frangrant rice. Is this what we call “成块饭”? Hahha...really sticky.



Cheers to the travel couple.



...and to the new alcoholic babe.

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