Ô Mai is a perfect combination of the sour taste, saltiness, spicy and natural sweetness, which is favored by a lot of Vietnamese people, especially women.  Hanoi is famous for many types of tasty delicious sugared dry fruits, from dracontomelum, peach, and lemon to the mandarin, apricots, and plums. Each fruit represents a season, a different locality and then in every season of ripe fruits, they send to the space and the earth numerous colors and flavors. Going to Bac Kan to see yellow apricots in sunny April, to Moc Chau for plums in a June noon, the season of ripe dracontomelum fills the autumn air of Hanoi. Particularly lemon fruit is available year-round, and adaptable to many soil types and rural areas.

The variation of the flavor of Ô Mai from sour, hot, salted, to sweet has enchanted many visitors to Hanoi. Coming to Hanoi, after a visit to Hanoi Old Quarter, you should go to Hàng Đường or Hàng Ngang, Phố Huế where the most delicious and wonderful Ô Mai are sold. Interestingly, at these shops, you can feel free to taste all kinds of Ô Mai before paying for the most favorite. Ô Mai is a delicious affordable gift for your friends each time you visit Hanoi.

For the past years, Ô Mai – salted or sugared dry fruits, was still a favorite and particularly with Hanoian. Time flies and many other dishes come out, but nothing can replace the feelings of Vietnamese for this traditional nosh.

Silk Path Travel Guide: Where to buy ‘Ô Mai’
•    Ô Mai Tiến Thịnh: 21 Hàng Đường str., Hoàn Kiếm Dist., Hà Nội
•    Ô Mai Hồng Lam: 11 Hàng Đường str., Hoàn Kiếm Dist., Hà Nội
(10 mins walk from Silk Path Hotel Hanoi/ Silk Path Boutique Hanoi)
 

Located in the heart of the capital, right on the busy Hang Khay street overlooking the historic Hoan Kiem Lake, Silk Path Boutique is an interesting harmony for travel enthusiasts because of its unique Asian-European beauty and great facilities.

A street of historical imprints

Hang Khay is a short street about 170m, with only odd-numbered houses because the opposite side is the south bank of Hoan Kiem Lake. In the past, the whole street specialized in wood inlaid pearls, including trays or because all the tools of the mosaic workers from saws, chisels, files, sharpened mussels, paints… all were put in wooden trays, so the street was named “Hang Khay”.

Under the French colonial period, this was one of the first streets opened by the French, the focal point of the Western Quarter in Hanoi. There is a house built at that time that still exists today, house number 3, Hang Khay, and there is the number 1886 on the roof of the building.

After 1945, a great change took place on Hang Khay Street. The street gradually appeared many photo shops, the first one being the International Photo Studio by photographer Phan Xuan Thuy opened in 1946. This is probably due to the neighborhood’s prime location by the Hoan Kiem Lake. Over the decades, Hang Khay Street has become a “photographic street” of Hanoi. Nowadays, traditional photography is gradually giving way to convenient handheld devices, so the photography profession on Hang Khay Street has disappeared.

The transformation of the times has brought many changes, there is only one thing that Hang Khay Street will forever remain unchanged with the times, which is the wonderful scenery of the shore of Hoan Kiem Lake. This is a place where visitors can walk under the hundred-year-old tree branches, zoom in on the iconic works of Hanoi such as Turtle Tower, Ngoc Son Temple, The Huc Bridge, Hanoi Post Office.

Elegant architecture in the heart of the Old Quarters

Inspired by classical French architectural style, Silk Path Boutique Hanoi is built with a monolithic architecture, high ceilings, solemn pillars, skillfully combining luxury beauty and elegance in the balanced proportion and harmony creates an overall aesthetic and delicate vibe.

The interior details are meticulously crafted from sophisticated wooden furniture, decorative lights, imported marble floor, hand-printed wallpaper, large mirrors in a metal frame with creative dots and lacquer paintings honoring the beauty of Vietnamese traditional culture. These details do not emphasize the flashiness, but favoring the pure aesthetic beauty, creating a relaxing space full of art.

The unique cultural color is also clearly shown by the statue of 2 noble Greek gods symbolizing power and prosperity placed on the dome, right at the entrance to the hotel bearing the impression of European Renaissance, bringing idealism and deep passion for art.

Silk Path Boutique Hanoi – Welcoming all visitors with the spirit of Omotenashi

In Japanese, Omotenashi is the art of “wholehearted, selfless” hospitality. It is the care and actions that help customers feel comfortable and happy. Omotenashi has long been a feature in the culture of the land of the rising sun, known and appreciated all over the world.

Silk Path understands that Omotenashi is not easy to define in words, the core is understanding customers’ thoughts without asking, serving customers with sincerity and hospitality without asking for anything in return. At Silk Path Boutique Hanoi, the biggest reward is the joy and satisfaction of customers and bringing value to the community.

1000년 이상의 역사를 가진 하노이는 베트남의 정치, 문화, 경제의 중심지이다. 도시 구석구석 뒤에는 베트남 민족의 웅장한 역사의 일부인 하노이에 대한 이야기가 펼쳐져 있다. 여행객들은 다른 어느 곳에서도 찾아볼 수 없는 독특한 정신, 고풍스러운 고장의 분위기를 느낄 수 있다.

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The painting of the falling gold leaves

Autumn came to Hanoi quietly. Through the windy nights, the trees began to change their colors. The leaves turned yellow, falling to cover the familiar roads.
The morning is clear, the sun is no longer as harsh as the days of June, the sky of Hanoi becomes pure and poetic. Along the streets of Hang Khay, Phan Dinh Phung, Hoang Dieu… the shade of autumn is overwhelming. People going through these streets tend to slow down, take a moment to appreciate this extremely beautiful and poetic scenery.

The intoxicating scent of milkwood pine flower

The lovely moments of autumn are when heaven and earth are at peace, people’s hearts are at peace, and thousands of tiny milkwood pine flowers give off a sweet, fragrant scent to the sky.

Late September, early October is the milkwood pine flower season. This flower is small, clustered, not as gorgeous as the colorful bougainvillea or fiery red phoenix flower in the summer, but still extremely attractive by its fragile, graceful appearance and characteristic fragrant – like a character in a magical fairy tale.

The gracious gifts from the rice nuggets

When speaking of Hanoi’s autumn, you cannot ignore the rice nuggets – An elegant gift from rice plant. Rice nuggets, the green “pearl of the sky” is a familiar food of Hanoians, can be eaten as is, dipped with bananas, sautéed with sugar, cooked into a sweet soup, depending on personal preferences and tastes.

Along the familiar old streets, it is easy to see the lovely street vendors, above them are bunches of fresh rice with green lotus leaves. It is possible to even buy just one ounce of rice nuggets, because nuggets are to be enjoyed slowly and to let the nuggets tell those Hanoi’s passionate stories.

Balconies covered with flowers

Hanoi and its hundreds of years old streets are something very special, very different. On the balconies of old houses and villas, the colors of sunshine, leaves and flowers blend together under the autumn sky, creating a beautiful scene. On the yellow and gray walls lingering the old Indochinese culture, with the shadow of bricks and tiles and the moss of time, each canopy of sesame trees, sun-kissed Indian almond trees, faded from green to yellow. The drooping bougainvillea trees and ornamental persimmons were less fresh, but had a gentle, autumnal look.

The rhythm of Hanoi’s life echoes on the balconies of old houses, with the elderly getting up early to exercise, watering the plants, and taking care of the house. Moments later, there were people sitting and sipping coffee and chatting in old shops with balconies. A poetic Hanoi in mid-autumn on the corner of the balcony.