Who better to launch Old Hanoi?

If we had sat down and drawn up a fantasy list of who we’d most like to open Old Hanoi – then the person we ended up with would have been pretty much of the top of the list.

Think fine-dining, think international chef, think more Michelin Stars than you could shake a stick at.  Not to mention a TV career that spans every continent across a number of shows.

Yes, we had Gordon Ramsay visit us right here at Old Hanoi. Better still he filmed an episode of the upcoming series of Gordon’s Great Escape in the restaurant.  Earlier Quan, our boss, was filmed with him as the pair went out to eat, and learn how to cook, duck.

Later, it was Gordon’s idea to officially pronounce Old Hanoi open and we were honoured.

And while his culinary challenge may not have impressed everyone (look here for The Word’s take on the evening) our customers have since been very impressed with the ribs he created and we’ve even decided to name them after the great man.

Thank you Gordon for doing us the honour and being a complete gentleman despite suffering from heat and dehydration on what was just about Hanoi’s hottest day of the year.  If an F-word slipped from your lips then we didn’t catch it.

It may have just been another TV show, in yet another location, for you but for us it was a very special day that we will never forget.

Finally – welcome not only to the restaurant but also to the blog.  Here we’ll share a little more about what goes on

behind the scenes at Old Hanoi as well as a wider look at related topics include what’s happening in the capital and Vietnamese cuisine in general.