La Verticale Restaurant, Hanoi

Chopsticks resting on cinnamon stick curls. Star anise and nutmeg decorating the white-clothed table. Individual stone dishes holding a perfect rectangle of butter sprinkled with sea salt to spread on our warm crusty rolls. I am in foodie heaven! The chef is Didier Corlou who came to Hanoi years ago from France. An amuse bouche to whet our appetites of two mini bowls, one holding pumpkin soup and the other tomato soup. An appetizer of artichoke petals arranged in the shape of a flower holding the tiniest doll sized clams basking in a rich curry sauce. We have fun figuring out how to suck the clam out of the shell and scoop the sauce up on the artichoke petal and scrap the scant "meat" off with our teeth. A sensual experience. The chef is a master of flavor combinations. A delicate moist fillet of sea bass cooked in a banana leaf and flavored with 5 spices of which I distinctly and appreciatively identify two as vanilla and passion fruit. It is divine! The dessert, of course, is my favorite course. Passion fruit clafouti topped with a scoop of curry, yes CURRY!, ice cream surrounded by a rainbow mixture of diced tropical fruit. The spicy and the sweet, the crunchy and the silky smooth. It is bliss! I devour my own and eat the Adolescent's too!