Two more 'must come here again' places

Today was fun. First, Van Teddy picked me up and took me to Do Market to find some of the rice paper wrappers Katie wanted for the rolls we made in Hoi An. I looked Do Market up on the net and came across this delightful description... (unedited!)

Do Market or Tam Bac Market is located in Phan Boi Chau street. Its establishment and development stick together with Hai Phong history. Do Market was established in 8th, May 1985. Due to the war in 1972, American invader boomed and ruined this. After repaired serveral times, the architecture’s still be kept till now. Inside the market, there is stone stele craved bloody crime of American invader in 1972. Besides, there is a house which was used by Ton Trung Son during the war. In the past, Do market was taken place very crowded. Their trading was busily held along river side and on board that charactorised for this market. The main goods for their trading was fresh sea food and dried up ones.

Do market in the past

Nowadays, upon visiting here, you can find unlimited goods. The Do market was re-built based on ancient architecture with 2 spacious floors which has thousands of different kiots. Some recent years, Hai Phong has been celebrating the Tam Bac night market. This’s really an attraction to tourists coming to Hai Phong.
http://haiphongtours.net/do-market/

Just another vibrant, busy market to my way of thinking!  

Van Teddy was looking for some pants...now here's an eye-opener... Have a look at the pants on this about size 8 frame....now look closely at the size on the ticket!!!!

 

She found the perforated wrappers we were looking for and some other treats as well...  These two sweet-spicy dishes are served hot...absolute comfort food. We watched the lady prepare the dumpling balls. totally delicious.

I'm recording this blog months after the event and I'm sad to admit, I don't remember which dish is which...only that they were both gingery and amazing.

After that enjoyable outing, Van Teddy took me to another place I can't believe I didn't know about yet.... Universal Cafe has recently opened it's doors on the top floor of the tower building across the road from Cầu Rào bus station, right near our Hotel.

 

It enjoys 360 degree views...an even better panorama than H-Tower for this has floor to ceiling windows

It is owned by an Aussie who also is establishing an English Centre on one of the lower floors. He has some great ideas to build up business. For the Cafe, his plan is to make it an English only zone, where students are encouraged to come and practice their English. He offers free karaoke and is keen to employ students from NPCEC.

 

Just a short walk from the hotel, I can imagine using this lovely place as my 'lounge-room' in the future!