Must Go for the Prawn Crackers at Quán Gốc Đa (also known as Cửa Hàng Bánh Gối Lý Quốc Sư) @ Hanoi Old Quarters in Vietnam

My third visit to Hanoi and I am once again staying around the old quarters surrounding the legendary Hoan Kiem Lake. As with every visit, I would stroll along the road leading to the century-old Saint Joseph Cathedral, counting every step to the place I had been anticipating.

Nope, not to the always crowded Banh My Mama; which befuddles me as their banh mi isn't the Vietnamese banh mi I know, and I am a huge banh mi fan! Nevertheless, the store I needed to go to was less than ten steps away.

Quán Gốc Đa, also known as Cửa Hàng Bánh Gối Lý Quốc Sư on Google Maps. Don't be fooled by its lack of queue; many customers would actually order for takeaway and return afterwards for their freshly fried purchases!

Back in 2023, I was attracted to the sizzling sound of boiling hot oil as it worked hard on cooking the food, ensuring they were all fried to a crisp! And it just felt perfect to be digging into something hot and crispy on a cold winter night! 

In 2025, I found myself back again to the same store, this time with my dad as other family members were enjoying themselves in the massage parlour. The wide variety captivated me but as I was still full, I had to order only one item, and it's the one I didn't manage to try in 2023.  

The prawn crackers! 

Memorable enough for me to return in 2026 with my mom, where we decided to make a meal out of what appeared to be just deep fried snacks! Menu as above for your reference.   

Much persuasion was required to coax my Asian mom (who believes a proper meal requires rice / noodles) and it helped that a big basket of vegetables was placed on our table. Now I can argue it's a healthy salad alike meal. 

Forgot I had this deep fried spring roll before in 2023 but I didn't remember there was prawn meat within! Now that I am older, I realized I actually quite enjoyed black fungus. 

Anyway, my mom enjoyed the "meal" with the exception of the sweet donut. It was, simply put, the sesame balls we can find in Singapore, albeit much oilier with a thicker skin. What really impressed my mom, however, were the prawn crackers; the best we have not had for the longest time! 

Good enough for me to surprise my mom before we left for the airport; by going back to the store and purchase six pieces of the prawn crackers (only S$0.75 each)! My intention was to share and have them for snacks in the airplane.

But she quickly downed three before we checked out from the hotel. And before we even boarded our Singapore Airlines flight back to our little red dot, we had cleaned out the other three! Next time I am back in Hanoi, I shall buy a box of ten and haul them back, resisting any temptation along the way! 

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Address

52 P. Lý Quốc Sư, 

Hoàn Kiếm, Hà Nội, Vietnam

Map

As above. 

Coreless or Tubeless Toilet Paper Roll @ Vietnam

Back at Em's House Homestay in Hoi An, I chanced upon my very first toilet paper roll with no hole in the middle; I was intrigued and wondered whether it was just a one-time occurence. 

In my most recent trip to Hanoi, I encountered it again right at Bonsella Hotel; now, I stayed there back in 2023 but I don't remember they were offering coreless / tubeless toilet paper roll! 

One of the main reasons could be because they were all housed in the metal holder as above. I don't usually open up the holder for toilet paper, unless no paper was coming out of it, and I happened to have completed my dumping routine. 

Even if I did open it up, I doubt it would run in my brain that there's no stick for the core right in the middle, which is typical for most, if not all toilets in Singapore! 

It's literally a toilet paper, faced outward, moment. 

And I didn't have to grapple with the core put in place.

Plus, it's a lot more sustainable without the cardboard core.

And again, I do get a lot more paper for one roll.  

Trok Mor Morning Market @ Bangkok in Thailand

As one gets older, and older, the objective for travelling shifts. I am only a few more years to half a century and one of the things I like doing nowadays when overseas would be a visit to the local markets.

For my Bangkok trip in September 2026, I made a visit to Trok Mor Morning Market, within walking distance from Sam Yot MRT station at about 700 meters. 

How do you know you have reached the start of the market, which was said to be more than 70 years old? The existence of makeshift stalls, many of which were selling food like churros, moo ping, fried bananas etc. 

What are the features of a true blue local market? The sale of raw meat and uncooked seafood; bringing the unmistakable "aroma" of the wet market I remember as a kid, when fridges and freezers were not a requirement.

And of course, the sale of vegetables! Should my mom be with me, she would likely go over the different kinds of vegetables and wonder what they would be used for. I would be most curious of the original look of the malindjo leaves, which I first had at Tookpak! 

One of the things I like to do would be to compare the prices between overseas local and singapore! Problem was, I would not ask since I don't think it's polite when I have no intention to buy; however, it always help when prices were displayed.

Eggs were about 50% cheaper; for Thai rice, it's a bit harder. Not because there's no price that was on display. Reason being I don't really have rice at home and I don't even know the standard pricing! I only know Thai jasmine rice is said to be the best! 

Cooked food would be the main draw for most tourists as I doubt many of us have a kitchen in our accommodation to whip up delicious dishes using local ingredients! Not to mention we had to also buy condiments and sauces.

Another favorite would be fruits! 

Imagine Thai durians at just 150 Thai baht, even though I am unsure how many pieces we are looking at, or would it be a whole fruit? Anyway, I prefer Malaysian durians. 

I am absolutely not resisting this bag of Thai mangosteens for just 30 baht, about S$1.50. Looking like it's about a kilogram heavy, the same bag would have cost about S$3 to S$5.

Hot Thai weather means we need something thirst quenching.

How about the juice from a head of freshly chopped Thai coconut!?

Check out the moves from the owner! 

So precise! For me, sure chop off my fingers.

Naturally sweet at just 30 baht! 

Another must-eat for me would be the freshly made Thai pandan pancakes from the above stall! Do you know this specific Thai dessert had a Singapore spin? It's also called khanom krok Singapore as one of the main ingredients is tapioca flour, which was called Singapore flour in the past.

At just 30 baht a box, this had that addictive pandan and coconut fragrance with a texture that was thinly crisp with a chewy yet bouncy inside that was so yummy! Irresistibly good! 

Since Trok Mor Morning Market is a local market, be expected to see alms-giving; a common practice in Thailand where locals would line up and give alms to monks early in the morning. We were actually a bit late at about 9am, but no way am I getting up so early... 

While it covers a street of only about 200 meters, this market was good enough for overseas travellers as a much larger market like Khlong Toei Market would have been too large to explore. 

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Address

Soi Thesa, Ratchabophit Rd, Wat Ratchabophit, 

Phra Nakhon, Bangkok 10200, Thailand

Map

As above.

Operating Hours

5.00 am till 10.00 am