Koto

When you are visiting Hanoi the Temple of Literature is a must-see. And while you're in the area you should definitely drop by the KOTO restaurant that's located in the street at the right of the entrance of the temple.

KOTO stands for 'Know One Teach One' and like the Friends restaurant in Pnohm Penh, Cambodja this is a place where street kids - of which there are about 19.00 in Hanoi - are being trained to be a cook, waiter or waitress. As such the kids are offered a future in the food service branche in Vietnam. In 18 months 70 students with ages ranging from 16 to 22 are trained. The food was great and the staff was the most professional I have seen in the whole of Vietnam. Everything was according to the book and it felt like being served in a 5 star hotel.

The bill was a bit higher than we'd become used to in Vietnam but since KOTO is a non-profit organisation all profits went into the organisation. They also sell various merchandise items, should you be willing to sponsor them a bit more.