maliusmaximus's profile
maliusmaximus's Posts
9 reviews or comments posted; 6 questions asked; 12 answers given.
Reviews / Comments (9) see all
A bitter sweet symphony.
The food is very good, but at the price, you would expect it to be. I think there is nicer food available at the same price at places like say Green Tangerine.
The service is excellent and attentive. Have been there a few times, and the staff have always been nice.
However, I hear SO MANY stories from friends and other people relating to Bobby Chinn himself and his quality of character (not good)that you feel bad giving him so much money.
Recently had a Gin Martini there, cost $14. Ouch.
A mixed bag in my opinion. Won't go there again unless I feel like posing or smoking a Shisha.
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I love this place.
I've eaten here a few times. The food was excellent, but what really made it for me was the staff and the ambience. Everybody has huge smiles all the time and staff are clearly content with their jobs. I'm sure this is due in no small part to the owner, Mr Hai. We recently performed here for a charity gig, and the staff and the owner pulled out all stops. The staff stayed up until 2am even though they were meant to go home much earlier. As for the owner, he is an excellent person, and this shows in the quality of the restaurant, the great food and the general atmosphere.
The resident band, the Green Mango Guitars, are two very tight flamenco guitarists.The most recent time I've seen them play they were joined by a violinist who was also top notch.
The food here gets the first four stars, but it's the decor, the music, the vibe and above all the staff and owner that get the fifth star.
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A very pretty cafe with a lovely outdoor setting, Au Lac has that certain something that makes passers by stop for a look at the menu.
The menu is a mix of French and Vietnamese cuisine. They are used to catering to the business crowd from the Metropole and the Hilton, so standards are generally high.
The food in my experience ranges between quite good and very ordinary. It seems to be a bit of a pot luck sometimes.
Definitely worth a visit. Their salads and pastas tend to be good.
| Was this review ... |
Very good food. At the moment, the pizza oven hasn't been installed so it's pasta only. Should change pretty soon.
The owner was a very friendly Italian man who gave us some complimentary drinks and a few tips on making vodka infusions!
The staff were excellent and very attentive. Fresh bread came out immediately and was replaced whenever eaten.
The street was a bit noisy when sitting outside so you may want to come here during lunch time or after 7pm when the traffic has died down a bit. Alternatively the inside area is very nice.
This place is bound to explode being so close to the Mausoleum so it will be interesting to see how they handle it.
| Was this review ... |
Where would we be without Mao's?
The tunes are excellent, the drinks are well priced and the vibe is awesome.
Mao (the owner) is one of the best people you'll ever meet, and deeply interested in his music. There is a strong showing of war-era rock, but its intermingled with some real surprises.
My only gripe: Why are the Halidas always finished so early (forcing us to buy the Larue.. still decently priced but hey it happens every week)
| Was this review ... |
Questions (6)
Hey does anybody know the phone number and adress for the laser tag place in Hoan Kiem. I think it's Hang Cot, but I can't remember. Haven't had any lucck searching for it on the internet. Cheers.
Hi. A look through Google and ANH hasn't yielded any results.
Does anybody know where I can get a shisha and flavoured tobacco in Hanoi?
I'd even be happy to get one shipped from HCMC but I think If I got it internationally it would never arrive...
Hi there. I'm seeking some advice from people who have been here a while and may have had dealings with the police and crooked landlords.
The day after signing the contract to our house, a new sign went up advising of demolition and construction of the house adjoining ours.
Our landlords claim they knew nothing of it, and additionally there is nothing they can do about it. Our Vietnamese friend knows the adjoining owners and people in our alley, and advises us that our landlords did indeed definitely know about it, and are probably receiving payments to allow the construction to occur out of hours on the weekend.
We negotiated with the landlords and succeeded in getting $200 per month knocked off our rent (Total $600).
So now our next 3 months of rent is due, and the landlords are now saying it was only $200 in total they are going to knock off. It's pretty obvious that these guys are a pack of lying thieves and they're trying to take us for a ride, so we're going to move out.
So the situation is that they have our bond. I figure we can "get that back" by just stalling and not paying rent for the next month, thus getting at least the value of it back in some way.
I'm also thinking about going to the police and showing them the rental contract for $700 that we have (the landlord made us sign a dodgy one). This will make the government aware that they're not paying enough tax.
Finally, if these methods don't work, I'm thinking about selling some of the furniture to recoup our money.
What are your thoughts?
So there is currently a gap between the black market buy/sell rate and the bank buy/sell rate for USD and Dong.
I'm just curious, what's to stop me from taking $1000USD to the black market, selling it for 17200 Dong/dollar, then going the bank, buying back my dollars at 16200, and doing it all again?
What am I missing?
Hi there. I'm seeking a skilled Tabla player for tuition. I currently play Congas in a Hanoian band, but I'm looking to expand my percussive horizons. Please feel free to contact me if you can help or provide any info. On the off chance that there are any Hang drummers out there too, I would love to get in touch.
Hi there. I'm looking at getting a new laptop shipped in from America.
Dooes anybody know what the latest is on the taxes if I do this? I know a similar question was asked about 11 months ago, but recently a lot of legislation has been changing to free up the economy and trade. I can only buy this laptop from the States too (Vietnam doesn't have one with the specs I need yet). Thanks
Answers (12)
Posted Thursday March 8th, 2007.
Additionally, its possible that the neighbours are leeching your electricity. Again, this depends on whether you are on a separate meter. We know several people who have discovered the neighbours running wires from their electricity boxes. Another problem could be the Aircon if you use it. We started using it at night time and the bill jumped from 178 000 to 700 000 per month. We are still shocked at this and investigating if this is legit, but we have been told that it is....
In response to the question: I was wondering if anyone could offer me some advice. We have been living in Hanoi for 4 months now. And it seems to us that we are being taken advan...
Posted Thursday March 8th, 2007.
I found the place and got the number for anyone interested...
Address is 46 Hang Cot, Hoan Kiem. Ph: 049274059
In response to the question: Hey does anybody know the phone number and adress for the laser tag place in Hoan Kiem. I think it's Hang Cot, but I can't remember. Haven't had an...
Posted Wednesday June 4th, 2008.
I'm staying at House 2, Lane 108 Ngoc Ha street. The landlords were as nice as pie, and had us fooled. We've been here for a year, so we're not complete fools, but we let our guard down for a moment and weren't tyrannical psychopaths as we should have been when negotiating the terms of the contract. I guess the key is to get something in writing guaranteeing that there is no construction that they are aware of. I hear that often a house becomes available because the owners know something is about to occur, as was the case with us.
In any event, I think I will at least show the police the rental agreement. Hopefully that will sting the landlords in the wallet. It's not even the money. It's the dishonesty and inconvenience and being taken for a fool that pisses me off.
In response to the question: Hi there. I'm seeking some advice from people who have been here a while and may have had dealings with the police and crooked landlords. The day aft...
Posted Thursday June 5th, 2008.
Its a hard one... I think we'll bow out gracefully and hopefully piss them off in the process without sticking our necks out too far. And good advice on befriending a police officer letsgoeverywhere.. I'm gonna do just that.
I find it hard to live with the fact though. If we give in with no fight, it just makes it easier for them to do it to the next person. We're gonna make life as hard for them as possible to show their actions aren't moral.
On that note, can anybody recommend a good agent to look for houses in the inner city area (Ba Dinh, Chuc bac lake, Hoan Kiem, Hai Ba Trung etc..)
Thanks
In response to the question: Hi there. I'm seeking some advice from people who have been here a while and may have had dealings with the police and crooked landlords. The day aft...
Posted Friday June 6th, 2008.
Actually I'm about to open a USD account as that is what I am paid in (by cheque). I've read though that the banks are experiencing USD shortages. Perhaps I should check if there is going to be problems accessing (withdrawing) the money in the future.
How are you dealing with the upcoming Dong devaluation? I guess the key is to get the money converted.. But are dollars the answer? I hear that some people are converting to Euro since the Dollar is also weakening.
In response to the question: So there is currently a gap between the black market buy/sell rate and the bank buy/sell rate for USD and Dong. I'm just curious, what's to stop me f...
Posted Friday June 6th, 2008.
Antwerpman yep I can see what your saying, but what I'm thinking is why not just do a cash exchange at a bank (exchange dong for dollar, no bank accounts involved).
Essentially you'd be selling your existing USD dollars at a high price on the black market, then taking your dong and buying your dollars back again at a cheaper price from say a bank.
But yeah again the issue arises of whether the banks would be willing to actually sell USD at the moment.
In response to the question: So there is currently a gap between the black market buy/sell rate and the bank buy/sell rate for USD and Dong. I'm just curious, what's to stop me f...
Posted Friday June 6th, 2008.
Well if I do more than $1000 then it's worth it, plus if the jewellry shops are doing 18000 then it's even better!
Thanks for the advice.
In response to the question: So there is currently a gap between the black market buy/sell rate and the bank buy/sell rate for USD and Dong. I'm just curious, what's to stop me f...
Posted Sunday June 8th, 2008.
Well the agents who helped us find the place were awesome! We've got them looking for us again. It's just the owners of this house that are doing us over. But yeah I'll put the address on the map.
In response to the question: Hi there. I'm seeking some advice from people who have been here a while and may have had dealings with the police and crooked landlords. The day aft...
Posted Sunday June 15th, 2008.
Hey there. I know it's a little late for you, but just answering if it is still a problem. Let me know if you still need any help.
One problem with FPT is that they record the MAC address (a unique identifier for any modem/wifi card etc..)and only allow that particular modem/wifi card to connect. Every time you buy a new modem, FPT won't allow it to connect until you call them and tell them to reset the MAC address to the new modem.
can be a problem that stumps loads of tecs here since the problem is at the other end, not in your house.
If you have any wifi issues, feel free to contact me
In response to the question: Hi there. We have a new linksys wireless router, a PC and Mac laptop that need to be setup to use our FPT cable broadband connection. The guy from FPT...
Posted Friday August 22nd, 2008.
Fin, I'm buying a Sager Np8660 Laptop. It's the only 15.4" laptop in the world with a Geforce 9800GT (at the moment). It's based on the Clevo chassis and it's rebadged and sold by brands like Sager and Eurocom. So far I haven't found any laptops approaching those specs in Vietnam but if you know of any let me know. Other requirements are a 300GB+ 7200 rpm hard drive, 2.5Ghz p9500 Core 2 duo processor and all the bells and whistles you'd expect for $3000.
Thanks for the advice!
In response to the question: Hi there. I'm looking at getting a new laptop shipped in from America. Dooes anybody know what the latest is on the taxes if I do this? I know a simi...
Posted Tuesday September 2nd, 2008.
Thats gotta be the best question I have ever read on TNH. What sort of bubbles do you want? Like plastic bubbles or soap bubbles?
In response to the question: Ok, here's a right question for ye, does anyone know where we can get a bubble machine for our house? Fair play to anyone that can help us with this ...
Posted Thursday September 18th, 2008.
Her email address is currently dameclemence@gmail.com
according to her website (under construction)
In response to the question: Does anyone know where I can get natural/organic skin care and/or hair care products? I hate using products with chemicals, and need to continue wi...
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