Photos of the wedding cake for Lucy...

I have been sent some great photos of the cupcake wedding cake I did for the lovely Lucy back in October and I thought I would share them with you.

Lucy had a selection of standard and mini cupcakes, chocolate mud and vanilla bean with berry

Lucy's gorgeous daughter in her bridesmaid frock

The happy couple

First day at work....

I spent the first day at the restaurant today, taking alook at the process and making notes.  Mr Doan and I also spent some time playing with chcolate after the restaurant shift was over...he's a very astute young man and a quick learner.  I keep meaning to take photo's while I'm working but it get's so frantic that I forget, but I will tape the camera to my forehead tomorrow so I don't forget.
I did take some short video of our trip to work..the scenic route...

I've been spending so much time on motorbikes here that I thought I should 'go native' and buy myself one of the local crash helmets...as yo can see they are not really made to actually protect anything.  Despite it now being law to wear a helmet the people tend to see it as either a 'suggestion' or a fashion statement than a serious protective device, and since the traffic seldom gets to go faster than about 35km it's not a big problem.  I got myself  a cute green one with a hibiscus on it.... and the face mask (you can see in the second video) is a necessity ...otherwise you end up with a mouthful of nasty stinging crap! I hate to think what's I swallowed the first day, so I wear this pretty one  now.

Off to bed now...but I promise to take a slew of photo's at KOTO tomorrow...

Traditional Vietnamese dinner

        My lovely colleagues took me for a traditional Vietnamese meal tonight and they did all the ordering.

  To begin we enjoyed tofu, greens with garlic, green mango and some really yummy rice and pork rolls.  Then came the chicken and mushroom hot pot. 

Mr Doan, Ms Xam, Ms Thu and yours truly...

Shopping Hanoi style...

Poor Mr Doan had to ferry me around today again, we spent some time taste testing the various bakeries in the old quarter.  Vietnamese cakes look spectacular but as far as I'm concerned they taste foul. 

The piped decoration is made of a aerated fat and sugar emulsion, it's not even butter cream.  To the western palate it's just awful, but their skills are undeniable.  We did find one shop that sold clear cellophane bags of a titbit...small mouthfuls of a confection with a truffle peanut centre coated in green rice crispies.  Sounds awful but tasted very moreish...I gave them to Mr Doan to take home to his skinny Mum...I've decided to try to lose some weight while I'm over here and away from the dreaded Natural Confectionary Company lollies...my downfall!

The ever patient young Mr Doan having a break from carting me all over Hanoi.

After the cakes I felt the need for some fruit so we hit the markets, with Mr Doan's help I managed to identify and buy a lovely selection of fruits for a reasonable price...between the two of us we managed to get a compromise between the 'long nose price' and the 'short nose price'.  Sadly I don't have any spare cash this time and need to watch my pennies or I wouldn't mind paying over the odds. 

Longans, passionfruit, dragonfruit, mandarins and something red and beautiful that I still don't know...if anyone knows what it's called in English please tell me...:-)

 

 

 

Now I'm back in my room, listening to the traffic, waiting to be collected and taken for a nice Vietnamese meal with Mr Doan, Ms Thu, Jonny (another volunteer)...it should be good...I'll take some photos.

In the meantime...take a look at the mobile food vendors here....bit more precarious than Harry's Cafe de Wheels....

How to drive in Vietnam....

   It looks totally chaotic but for some reason most of the time it really works.  People drive to avoid each other rather than take each other out as is my experience in Western countries...it looks like a wierd mechanical ballet to me...I often lose touch with time watchng from the balcony of my room.  I'll try to get a shot of someone crossing this road...it's nerve wracking to watch and even more nerve wracking to undertake.

Vietnam at last....

After what was beginning to seem like a neverending year I finally boarded the Vietnam Airlines plane to Hanoi via Ho Chi Min City.  In a spooky nod from the universe when I introduced myself to my seat mates I discovered that they were returning from attending a course in New Plymouth (where my family live in New Zealand) and that they knew of and admired the work of KOTO.  In fact they all worked at a hotel situated about 500yards from the KOTO restuarant.  A good start.

In the melee that is transferring from international to domestic in Ho Chi Min the universe not only nodded it practically poked me when I met John and Roz Oliver, a delightful couple from Sydney.  John was worked for many years as a major fundraiser for KOTO.  He is now works on behalf of a program called Blue Dragon which rescues children from trafficers.  He and Roz told me proudly that two children they had sponsored from the program have gone on and passed through KOTO...a fabulous outcome all round.

After what seemed like an interminable time in the air I was met at Hanoi by 5 smiling faces of some of the KOTO teaching faculty and alumni. These wonderful young people fussed round me like I was made of priceless ming china.  By the time they delivered me to my home for the next three months I was no longer feeling nervous...I was feeling re-energised and full of hope and determination to do whatever I can.

One thing though...I will need to acclimatise to the traffic noise out side the hotel...these are some photo's taken from my balcony! 

6 am in the morning...starting the day

9am...getting busy....

and 9pm at night...still busy...and very, very noisy!

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Three more sleeps...

My last exam is tomorrow, then all my pent up excitment about going will bubble up and create chaos in my psyche I'm sure.  My suitcase is packed and the three boxes of donated equipment (thanks again Frazer and Hughes) will be sent via DHL.  It almost seems unreal that after a year of scrimping and saving, badgering people for money and goods, painting squiggles on wriggling kids, juggling pets and houses and pestering friends to sell raffle tickets I will finally be in the air and on my way.
The good people at KOTO have plans that encompass some teaching, some menu refurbishment, some master classes and I'm guessing a lot of playing around with flour and sugar and butter...bring it on!
I didn't end up getting a video camera, I realised that it would be too hard to video a class at the same time as I'm teaching it, but I will be taking a plethora of photos and updating this blog on a much more regular basis....methinks the kids will be a lot more interesting than me!
So bear with me, buckle up and lets take off for culinary adventure....Hanoi here we come!