Mud Crab Soup with Glass Noodles

IT’S MY FIFTH DAY STAYING AT THIS MINI HOTEL IN THE DARK LANES OF HANOI. IM HUNGRY SO I MAKE MY WAY DOWN THE EIGHT FLIGHTS OF STAIRS TO GO AND SEARCH FOR SOMETHING TO EAT. THE FRONT DESK PERSON, PROBABLY NO OLDER THAN FIFTEEN, SAYS, ‘MR NGUYEN, I’VE JUST COOKED DINNER; DO YOU WANT TO JOIN ME?’ HE HAD PREPARED THE MOST AMAZING, DELICATE CRAB SOUP AND I REMEMBER IT BEING SO CLEAR AND CLEAN, THE CRAB COOKED TO PERF