Culinary comfort at Madame Hien

Madame Hien

15 Chan Cam
Hoan Kiem
Hanoi
Vietnam
verticale-hanoi.com

Northern style Vietnamese cuisine in a beautifully restored French colonial era building. The food is prepared in such a comforting way, akin to French farmstyle cooking. The pork belly, braised in a silky dark red chili sauce, keeps you sinking further and further into your chair. The parade of food and elegant surroundings ensures you'll stick around for a few hours. (Picture by http://www.tripadvisor.com/members/atodmccarthy.)

Curator Dietrich Ayala

Dietrich was an espresso jerk in Seattle, a catering chef in New Orleans, a dinner chef in Seattle, and finally hit rock bottom after buying a computer, which saddled him with an addiction to technology as well as food. He and his family live in Chiang Mai, Thailand, where he eats unreasonably well during the day, and makes Firefox better at night.

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