Foodshop 45

     Night number 2 was Indian food, drinks, and meeting with some fine folks! After hours of wandering, kicking it, and planning Ani and I wandered to Foodshop 45, a local Indian place for some dinner!

blurry picture of Foodshp 45's face (photo taken by VeganBeats)

     The street that Foodshop 45 is on is densely packed with independent restaurants and people eating by the lake. It's a bit scary because shop owners run in front of your car nearly getting hit waving you to their place. I kept thinking about how this may be a strange way to gain customers, give me a heart attack, get my anxiety up...oh yea, I think I'm hungry!
     Anyways, Foodshop 45 was stock full of smiling nommers when we went, and was pretty cute. We went to the second floor where there are seated tables and floor seating...we went for the floor and the room was beautiful.

floor seating room! (photo taken by VeganBeats)

     Romantically lit and deep reds and browns complimented this room really well. Instant relaxation was surrounded by the dramatic draping fabric clinging to the ceiling. I kept thinking this could be the set of a fabulous date...fiber filled date...eeek!

lovely! (photo taken by VeganBeats)

     Everyone was starving and most of everyone knew what they wanted right off the bat...ghee is in a LOT of Indian food so, I had to be the stickler. First ordered was some naan and samosas...the plates of sauces and dips were cute, and all but one was vegan!

top left and clockwise: creamed mint chutney, tamarind sauce, and pickled limes, cucumber, and carrots! (photo taken by VeganBeats)

butter naan (photo taken by VeganBeats)

     I'm the only one that went vegan (no worries!) but I can't lie and say that some of the other orders didn't look nice!

I think chicken biryani and a yogurt sauce (photo taken by VeganBeats)

     The biryani had a wonderful smell to it, I'm thinking lots of graham masala and cumin!

mutton (photo taken by VeganBeats)

a saag dish (photo taken by VeganBeats)

     I went with a simple vegetable salad (25,000dong= $1.25), Indian food tends to make me feel really weighed down. I'll just say it, all that fiber man~ throws me through a loop. After Indian cuisine all this lady wants to do is lay down and digest...or nap.
     The salad was simple and clean, sliced cucumber (yum), fresh sweet tomatoes, pickled onions and sliced carrots. It was drizzled in a simple rice vinegar and lime juice sauce.

vegetable salad (photo taken by VeganBeats)

     I also ordered a kadhu curry (50,000 dong= $2.50) which is just curried pumpkin. It was this or an okra and eggplant dish. I wanted something light and naturally creamy so..natural choice.

kadhu curry (photo taken by VeganBeats)

     Everyone else got their dishes and the servers forgot my pumpkin dish. We reminded them and while everyone was finishing up I got it. It was alright, not out of this world by any means and lacking in spices. I made a dish similar to this a couple years ago. Halloween jack-o-lantern guts and a homemade curry powder...those large pumpkins are minor is flavor and...well this curry mirrored that. The curry was more a soup and the pumpkin was shredded...I was hoping for some chunks. The dishes were inexpensive and you get what you pay for!

Address: 59 Truc Bach street, Ba Dinh, Hanoi
phone number: +84-4-3716-2959

After dinner, more motorbiking! We went to a bar nearby and enjoyed some cocktails on West lake while a live singer crooned some sad depressing songs. Everyone left for a show while Ani and I strolled around West lake homewards.

We had a plane in the morning...was Ho Chi Minh city ready for these two Fabulous ladies?