Hanoi food, part 2

Instead of going to Bobby Chinn we decided to give Mediterraneo, an Italian place a try instead. Situated directed in front of the cathedral in the middle of downtown, it's a little cosy place with candles on the tables.

We had antipasto to share. Everything on that board was delicious. It sure beat spring rolls.
My husband's pizza, freshly made and baked. We saw a calzone on the next table and wished we had ordered that. The pastry on top was bubbling even!
My penne with Italian sausages. Loved the slightly tangy sauce but could use a bit more cheese. I was getting excited when I saw the garnish. How cute!
Mediterraneo

23 Nha Tho Street, Hanoi. Tel: +84 4 826 6288

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Beef pho (US$0.80) my husband had at a truck stop en route to Halong Bay. Didn't expect much to begin with but it was very good. The dollop of chili sauce was fierce.
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Our last meal in Hanoi and we picked the always-busy Little Hanoi. The decoration has a French bistro feel to it but the menu is multi-national from Vietnamese to sandwiches to pastas. I picked Vietnamese prawn cakes to share. They looked very interesting - the things sticking out were solid potato chips and the batter surrounding the prawn tasted similar to fritti. Very delicious.
I wanted beef pho but it wasn't available for some reason. Instead I went for a salad nicoise and it was OK, like a regular nicoise with canned tuna. Nothing spectacular.
My husband had a carbonara but I didn't take a picture. He said it was average and it curdled. We enjoyed the 2-for-1 wine happy hour deal the most and it's a nice oasis amongst the chaos of tooting mopeds in the Old Quarter.

Little Hanoi

21 Pho Hang Gai, Hanoi. Tel: +84 4 928 5333