Dress Care

General Guidelines for Stain Removal

1. Treat stains immediately. 2. If the stain is on a nonwashable fabric, take it to the dry cleaner as soon as possible. 3. Read and follow instructions given on a garment's care label. 4. Read and follow instruction labels on stain removal products. 5. Test stain removers on a hidden area of the garment. 6. Place stained area face down on a clean white towel. Apply stain remover to the backside of the stain. Don't rub. Blot, scrape or swipe the stain. 7. Rinse stain removers from garment and air dry before placing in the washer. 8. Wash entire garment after removing the stain. 9. Do not dry or iron the stained area until the stain is completely removed. 10. Do not mix chlorine bleach with ammonia. 11. Keep in mind, some stains cannot be removed.


Dry Cleaning

Dry cleaning your garment will extend its lifetime, help keep its color, fabric strength, shape and drape. It will help maintain that "store bought" appearance longer, allowing your purchase to become a long-lasting investment.


<span>Natural Fabrics</span>

Cotton 

Washable.Creases when washed, wrinkled when worn, requires ironing. Can be destroyed by contact with acids, even mild ones like fruit juice. You can usually use a chlorine bleach (check the garment care label first).

Linen 

Washable.Ideal to Dry Clean. Does not soil quickly. Good quality linens can be safely washed on a normal wash cycle (make sure the garment does not contain other unwashable fibers). Some linens shrink and should be dry-cleaned.

Silk 

Ideal to Dry Clean. Some silk garments can be gently washed in a neutral detergent, such as the special wool washes.

Wool

Washable. Ideal to Dry Clean. Wool is damaged by alkalis, the cleaning agents in wash powders and bar soaps. Special non-alkaline wool washing products should be used. Wool garments are best laid flat to dry away from direct heat.


Processed Natural Fibers 

Acetate and Triacetate 

Washable. Both heat sensitive. Triacetate can withstand higher ironing temperatures. Do not twist or wring while wet. These fabrics are damaged by acetone - for example, nail polish remover.


Viscose (Rayon) 

Washable. Handle gently. Becomes weak when wet. Use a gentle wash cycle. Can shrink and distort. Do not hang dry. Iron while damp.


<span>Synthetic Fabrics </span>

Acrylic 

Washable. Must wash below 50°C. Wash gently by hand or gentle machine cycle. Do not tumble dry. Do not steam iron. Dry clean tough stains.


Nylon 

Washable. Has a tendency to absorb colour and dirt from other items during washing. Wash separately if possible. Rinse thoroughly. Do not use chlorine bleach. Dry clean tough stains.


Polyester 

Washable. Can be washed warm (make sure the garment does not contain other fibers that cannot be washed warm). Dry clean tough stains.


Spandex/Elastane (Trade Name Lycra)

Washable. Wash in low/warm temperatures. Do not tumble dry. Dry clean tough stains.

Note: All synthetic fabrics are sensitive to heat and will get a glazed surface and shrink if heated too much during ironing.


Stain Removal Guide

Alcohol & Wine 

Remove new stains by sponging several times with warm water. Launder with detergent in hottest water safe for the fabric. If there is any mark left, pour glycerin on the dampened stain, rub lightly and leave for 30 minutes. Rinse in warm water.


Blood 

Rinse cold water through the stain. Sponge with cool salted water and rinse with clear water. If stain persists, soak for 15 minutes in lukewarm water, liquid hand dishwashing detergent and 1 tablespoon ammonia. If stain still persists, repeat and soak for several hours.


Candle Wax 

Harden wax by rubbing with ice or placing in freezer. Remove surface wax by carefully scraping with the dull edge of a butter knife. Place the stain between two white blotting cloths and press with a warm iron, changing the blotting cloths as they become soiled. Then sponge with dry cleaning fluid or a laundry pre-soak (spot stain remover).


Chewing Gum

Harden gum by rubbing with ice or placing in freezer. Remove surface wax by carefully scraping with the dull edge of a butter knife. If washable, soak in kerosene and wash in hot soapy water. If unwashable, use dry cleaning fluid on stain.


Coffee & Tea 

Pre-treat stain with a stain remover and rinse in warm water. Rub the stain with a liquid detergent and launder in the hottest water safe for the fabric.


Deodorants & Antiperspirants 

Sponge dry fabric stain thoroughly with a laundry pre-soak (spot stain remover) and warm water. Rinse.


Fruit Juices & Berries 

Sponge with cool water or soak in cool water with bleach that is safe for the fabric. Rinse. Use hot water for cottons and linens.


Ink (Ballpoint Pen) 

Sponge the area with alcohol. Place the stain face down on clean white paper towels. Apply alcohol to the back of the stain. Repeat until the stain is removed. Rinse thoroughly. Rub with liquid detergent and launder in the hottest water safe for the fabric.


Lipstick & Other Cosmetics 

Pre-treat the dry fabric stain with a laundry pre-soak (spot stain remover). Dampen the stain with warm water and rub in the laundry pre-soak (spot stain remover) until stain is gone. Launder in hottest water safest for the fabric. On unwashable fabric, try dry cleaning fluid.


Nail Polish

Apply acetone or polish remover to the back of stain. Rinse. Launder as usual. Never use nail polish remover on synthetic materials like acetate, triacetate or modacrylic, they will dissolve. Take these fabrics to the dry cleaner.


Perspiration Stains

New perspiration stains may be removed by regular laundering. Heavy stains may be pre-treated with a laundry pre-soak (spot stain remover) for 10 minutes. Older perspiration stains may be removed by sponging with white vinegar and water.


Unknown If a stain cannot be identified, treat with cool water, then sponge with liquid laundry detergent or laundry pre-soak (spot stain remover).


Water Spots Hold the water spot above steam from a boiling kettle (far away enough that there is no moisture drops on the fabric). Allow the fabric to become damp, but not wet. Shake and press while still \ damp, rubbing, if possible, with a piece of the same or a similar material.
Khanh Ha Colours & Accessories

Orchidees -  Les Beaux Accessoires

 

“Chè” - Vietnamese Sweetened Porridge

“Chè” is a Vietnamese term that refers to any traditional Vietnamese thick, sweet dessert soup or sweetened porridge. Sweetened porridge is a kind of sugary flavored beverage which is protein-rich.

As such, it may, with the addition of qualifying adjectives, refer to a wide variety of distinct soups or puddings, which may be served either hot or cold. Some varieties, such as “che xoi nuoc”, may also include dumplings

Chè are often prepared with one of a number of varieties of beans and/or glutinous rice, cooked in water and sweetened with sugar. Other ingredients may include tapioca starch, salt, and pandan leaf extract. Each variety of chè is designated by a descriptive word or phrase that follows the word chè, such as che dau do (red bean sweetened porridge), che dau den (black bean sweetened porridge) and so on.

In southern Vietnam, chè are often garnished with coconut milk. Chè may be made at home, but are also commonly available freshly made in plastic containers, in Vietnamese grocery stores. If you would like to prepare yourself, you could use the following recipe to cook Taro Sweetened Porridge, a kind of very delicious one.

Ingredients:
- 0.4 kg taro.
- 0.25 kg sticky rice.
- 0.5 kg caster sugar.
- 0.3 kg grated coconut flesh.
- 1/2 liter water.
- 1/2 teaspoon salt.
- vanilla.
Equipment:
- Bowl, plate and spoon.
- Pot and stove.
- Filter.
- Grater.
Preparation Steps:
1. Wash and drain sticky rice.
2. Wash and cook taro until well done. Peel and dice taro.
3. Grate coconut flesh into a bowl to extract coconut milk with water (0.5liter). Add 0.5 liters of water to extract coconut flesh for the second time.
4. Boil the second coconut juice and add the sticky rice. Continue to cook until well done. Allow water to evaporate.

5. Add diced taro and sugar to the mixture. Simmer for about 20 minutes then stir the mixture constantly to avoid sticking to the bottom of the pan. Stop cooking and add vanilla. Stir regularly for about 10 minutes. Remove from heat when the water has evaporated. Taro sweetened porridge should be thick and consistent.
6. Serve hot or cold with the first coconut juice.

Recommendations: When sweetened porridge is cooked, make sure the grains do not lose their shape.

Then, you together with your family members can enjoy bowls of Taro Sweetened Porridge. So delicious!

“Banh Phu The”– Vietnamese conjugal cake

In Vietnam, “Banh Phu The” is a special cake, which symbolises the loyalty of a husband and wife…



The conjugal cake is normally served at Vietnamese weddings and used as a wedding invitation or taken by the man’s family to the woman’s family on engagement day. The stickiness of the cake is said to signify the stickiness of the marriage ties. Traditionally, a guy would offer these to the girl he wants to marry. Now these cakes are still an essential part of a wedding banquet, or the gift packages that the groom’s family send over to the bride’s.

“Banh Phu The” is a Vietnamese sweet with a jelly-like texture made of tapioca flour, pandan, mung bean paste, sugar, sesame seeds and coconut milk. It is very unique with a leaf covering that looks like a tiny square box, made from coconut leaves. The reason it is called Banh “Phu The” is because of how it is wrapped: a box on the top fits perfectly with the box on the bottom. If you would like ton know how to make this special cake, you can visit Dinh Bang - a famous Vietnamese village in Bac Ninh Province, then you can view the method to prepare this husband and wife cake, as follows:
Ingredients:
- 1kg kudzu powder, refined
- 800g refined sugar
- 200g coconut flesh, scraped in thin threads
- 300g green beans
- 50 coconut leaves
- 15 pineapple leaves
To prepare:

Filling

Cut green beans in halves, soak in warm water for five hours. Strain and remove skin of green beans. Rinse.
Steam green beans and grind into a paste.
Mix green bean paste with 200g sugar, then cook over a low flame and stir until the mixture loses its sticky texture.
Spread the mixture 3cm thick on a large tray, cool and cut into 6×6cm square pieces.
Cover
Wash and clean pineapple leaves and cut into 60cm strips so that only the middle remains.
Arrange the coconut leaves into a square or hexagonal shape to form a box roughly 25×30 cm wide and place a pineapple leaf on top.
Dissolve the kudzu powder and remaining sugar in water. Use two and a half times as much water to the amount of powder.
Cook over a low flame, stirring until the mixture becomes a paste. Extinguish flame, add threads of coconut flesh and mix well.
Fill the coconut leaf boxes with the coconut flesh mixture and place the green bean filling in the centre.
Put the boxes in the steamer and cook for 20 minutes, until the cake becomes clear.
“Banh phu the” is a lot more interesting in texture and flavor. In the real one, the cake has it green color and flavor by being steamed inside its box…

Banh Khuc Vietnam tradition cake

Banh khuc is a traditional cake of Vietnam and so delicious!

The cake is a rice ball made of glutinous rice mixed with cudweed (khuc) - most important ingredient and filled with green bean paste, pork, and spices.

Cudweed grows during lunar January and February, when the drizzling rain lasts all day, and it can be found along the edges of rice fields. There are two kinds: “nep” and “te”. The latter is more flexible and fragrant and is preferred for making the cake.

First, the cudweed is washed, ground and then mixed with husked glutinous rice. Green beans, that are flayed and turned into paste after being cooked, are then added to the mixture. Finally, the cakes are sprinkled with grains of glutinous steamed rice.

As time goes by it is increasingly difficult to find cudweed as fields are eaten up by development. For now, you still can find “banh khuc” in Hanoi. However, some bakers may not be using cudweed and may substitute it with cabbage or water morning glory.

Wishing to have the chance to satisfy your hunger for “banh khuc”, you can visit cake stall at 69 Nguyen Cong Tru Street, that has been churning out “banh khuc” for years. Ms. Nguyen Thi Lan, the seller, has to hire locals in rural areas in Hanoi or in neighbouring provinces to seek out the elusive cudweed. In winter, it grows in abundance so enough has to be collected to last the summer. The surplus will be dried and stored.



If you are in the old quarter of Hanoi, you might hear someone cry “Ai banh khuc nong day?” (who wants hot “banh khuc”?). You can stop them and ask if the “banh khuc” is from Ngoai Hoang village in Ha Noi, a place that is famous for having the most delicious and tasty “banh khuc”. Then, you can buy one for tasting. The cake should be served hot and dipped into a mixture of roasted and crushed sesame seeds and salt

A unique '' Banh Xeo'' in Vietnam

“Banh xeo” is Vietnamese style crepe with whole shrimp, thinly sliced pork and bean sprouts.
Like the salad roll, the “banh xeo” is a do-it-yourself dish that involves the messy but delicious process of wrapping the crepe in lettuce with cilantro and basil. Though the filling might fall out on your table, you will be completely lost in the crispy, warm combination of lettuce and crepe, and the attentive staff will happily clean up after you.
Different styles of “banh xeo”
“Banh xeo” is prepared differently throughout the country. Tourists traveling about in Vietnam are sure to encounter a different recipe, and sometimes even a different name, for “banh xeo” depending on which region and province they are visiting.
These are a pale yellow spicey Vietnamese style crepe. One piece on the bottom, and another on top encase what is usually a salad consisting of been sprouts, prawns, boiled pork, taro and carrot. Drenched in fish sauce, and you have a deliciously messy slice of fine pleasure. The dish is round, and you cut it into slices, like a pizza, so it resembles a triangle on the main platter, but usually by the time it arrives on your plate, it could resemble anything really.

In the Southern region, the “banh xeo” is the size of a large dish and yellow in color due to the employment of turmeric powder. The Southern people always add coconut milk to the rice flour to make the crepe extra delicious. The crepe is stuffed with bean sprouts, mung beans, shrimp and pork. A sweet and sour fish sauce and fresh vegetables are used as accompaniments.
In the Central region, “banh xeo” cooks make a smaller crepe that is white in color. In Hue, the crepes are called “banh khoai”, which is similar to “banh xeo”, but smaller in size and stuffed with fennel, sour star fruit, green banana and a thick soy sauce.
In addition to selling the crepes to patrons, vendors also prepare them en masse for birthday parties and festivals. Northern preparations of “banh xeo” are similar to the ones down south, but include special fillings like slices of Indian taro and manioc. In some regions, “banh xeo” is prepared thick, but Southern crepes are characteristically thin, crispy and served fresh out of the frying pan. The secret to extra-thin crepes is a deep frying pan and a quick wrist to coat the frying pan with the batter before it starts to set.
Where to enjoy “banh xeo”?
In Hanoi, there are a lot of addresses for you to enjoy “banh xeo”, such as 22 Hang Bo Street, “Quan Ngon” restaurant at 12 Phan Boi Chau Street or “Chin Tham” restaurant on Thai Ha Street.
In HCMC, southern-style “banh xeo” can be found at Banh Xeo 46A on Dinh Cong Trang Street, District 1 or An la ghien Restaurant at 54A Nguyen Van Troi Street, Ward 15, Phu Nhuan District. Those seeking a meatless version of “banh xeo” can find them at vegetarian restaurants on An Lac Restaurant, 175/15 Pham Ngu Lao Street, District 1, and Thien Nguyen Restaurant, 174 Calmete street, District 1.


Hue beef noodle

In Hue city, the former citadel of Vietnam, it doesn’t take you a lot of money to dine like a King!
Hue beef noodle takes its origin from the Royal Hue City of Central Vietnam. The broth is from cooking beef bones for a long period of time as well as a variety of different spices including lemongrass.
How does it taste? Well, having a bowl of Hue beef noodle, you will easily recognize that it is completely different from Pho since the former’s beef broth is much more spicy.
How to make it? Learning how to make a clear broth from bone and meat is quite a difficult task. After being selected from the market, the fresh beef will be shredded, boiled and taken out of the water to obtain a delicious clear broth. A typical version of Hue beef noodle must include pork, roast beef, pig’s blood, Vietnamese salami, Hue’s style salami, shrimp sauce and chopped lettuce.

The interesting thing is that, the amount of salt put in the beef noodle recipe varies between seasons. For example, during summer, Hue beef noodle soup is served with soy bean, mint and different kinds of lettuce while in the winter, the recipe is saltier added with lemongrass and fish.
The best Hue beef noodle comes from the street vendors who work from dawn to early morning. In Hue, when night lights are on, you can enjoy a good bowl of this noodle soup at restaurants in front of No. 84 Mai Thuc Loan Street. This hot dish represents just a few of the treasures of Hue’s traditional cuisine. Clam-rice and the flour pies like beo (streamed flour cupcakes), nam (wrapped shrimp pies) and loc (tapioca and shrimp pies), for examples, are part of the ancient capital’s culinary heritage.

My Tho noodle soup

Hu Tieu (My Tho noodle soup) is a traditional dish, so specific to Southern Vietnam. As a Chinese long-aged dish, this food was reciped to taste My Tho delta people to become well-known nationwide.


Back in the 1960s, a shop in My Tho, 70 km from Ho Chi Minh City started serving this dish. Ever since then, its reputation has grown to become a very well known meal in Vietnam. It is said that the most delicious noodle soup is made with Co Cat rice, from the most famous rice growing area of My Phong village, a suburb of My Tho City.
My Tho seafood noodle soup is different from Chinese noodle soup, Nam Vang soup, as well as Hue beef noodle soup. The intersting thing is its secret recipe. In stead of herbs and lettuce, you will be tried the flavour of soy bean, lemon, chili, and soy sauce.
How does it taste?
The sweet aroma of the broth comes from the meat, dried squid, and special condiments. Not less important is the broth to cook from shinbone, pork, squids, additives and seasonings to taste subject to family secret as revealed by Chef Ba Chau to a well-selling shop in Trung Trac Street, My Tho City.
Taken as a national dish and something to recollect the delta land of My Tho, this noodle soup reciped in the Southern cuisine is second to none in meeting with various appetites of both oriental and western diners.

Can you find a bowl of Hu Tieu in Ha Noi?
You are in Hanoi, and wondering if such a My Tho’s specialty appears in Hanoi or not. Of course, My Tho noodle soup comes up quite often in many streets of Hanoi. It is better to ask your hotel receptionist to recommend a place nearby or you can refer to the following reliable address: Arab Kebab, 9B Thai Van Lung Street, Ha Noi.