After an action packed three days, our fourth day provided a much needed break from a strict schedule. As luck would have it, an old acquaintance was in town so we decided to have an impromptu meet-up for lunch. 

Before our lunch date, we quickly dashed into Cafe Giang for some much needed jolt of caffeine.

The cafe was busting at the seams. It didn’t appear there was one available table but one cleared out shortly after we arrived. There was one server/busboy in our area and he was taking everybody’s orders at once without writing any of it down.

A few minutes later our egg cream coffees arrived. Although the cafe is one of the original shops, the egg cream coffee we had earlier in the week tasted very similar. Both were equally rich, creamy and silky with a bit of bitterness from the coffee, balancing out the two textures and opposing flavors.

After our coffee break, we met up with our friends for lunch at Porte D’Amman. The restaurant was in a beautiful French style building and had split level dining. We were seated upstairs as we had a larger party.

Our group started with two orders of sampler platters. It had a nice mix of spring rolls, ribs, toasted sesame shrimp, grapefruit salad and a few other tasty treats we couldn’t quite identify. Then we ordered a few items from the set lunch menu.

My husband ordered a crab soup and seafood platter while I ordered an egg roll starter and beef kabob.

All the food was delicious and the presentation was exceptional.

After we parted ways, we headed to a massage appointment at Spas Hanoi which was followed by a shopping trip to Hanoi’s Silk Street. Our lunch companion Jackie had mentioned a store called Airashi which was one of the first silk stores we came upon on Hang Gai.

I hadn’t done any preliminary research on the store, but I quickly found a sleeveless dress that had an A-line cut that was flattering. I also found a beautiful blouse so after a little less than thirty minutes, I walked out with $88 worth of silk clothing which was an incredible bargain compared to U.S. prices.

We turned in early as we had to pack for our next adventure which was a three day, two night cruise over Halong Bay.
More to come!