Vietnamese cuisine is one of the most unique and flavoursome in the world, and food in the capital Hanoi does not disappoint.
The vibrant street cafe vendors boast some of the best dishes in Hanoi. Street cafes are similar to restaurants yet they are much smaller, open fully onto the street and often only have plastic chairs and old tables. Most have been open for decades and focus on one or two local dishes, which they do to mouth watering perfection.
Bún Chả Hàng Mành (Hàng Mành street, Old Quarter, Hanoi)
A Hanoi lunch favourite is Bún Chả, a large handful of rice noodles served in a piping hot bowl of broth and topped off with charcoal pork patties. It is served with a large plate of lettuce and mint on the side, perfect for quickly dipping into the broth so it isn’t soggy. As accompaniments, you can add either fish sauce or chillies to enhance the flavour of the soup.
One of the best places to get Bún Chả in Hanoi is Bún Chả Hàng Mành. This street cafe is double story with most of the cooking happening behind a cabinet and hot plates just off the street. A woman sits behind various vats of broth, noodles, greens and meat cooking food to order.
A waitress will come to your table, take your order and then shout it back to the woman at the front of the store. You grab chopsticks from a large communal bowl and dig in, dropping any debris into a bin under the table.
While you may have to fight the Vietnamese locals for a table, once you finally get a seat, they will be more than willing to give you advice on how to eat the dish if you get confused.
Bun Cha Nem Cua Be Dac Kim (67 Duong Thanh Street, Old Quarter, Hanoi)
Just around the corner is another popular eatery serving up a different Hanoi speciality, and a personal favourite, the delectable Bún Nem.
Bún Nem is another seemingly simple dish consisting of a bowl of broth, rice noodles, and a huge accompanying plate of lettuce, mint, morning glory and lime. The selling point of this dish is the crab spring rolls. Beautifully sized with a generous amount of crab filling, they are the perfect texture to either be eaten alone or dipped into the soup.
The best part about this dish is picking and choosing what to eat next. You may find your chopsticks take on a mind of their own as you pick up noodles, spring rolls or greens and dip them in your broth.
But a word of warning, Bún Nem is highly addictive and your rush to enjoy could lead to a burnt tongue from the blisteringly hot spring rolls.
Phở Bò (69 Hang Non, Hanoi)
While not technically a speciality of Hanoi, you can still get a delicious bowl of Phở Bò for breakfast anywhere in Hanoi. Phở is traditionally served in the morning, with some shops opening as early as 5:00am for those on the move or wanting to avoid the oncoming heat of the day.
Phở Bò, or beef noodle soup, is served with thin rice noodles, onion, fried shallots and thin strips of beef. It is often accompanied by fluffy doughnut-like sticks which are perfectly designed for dipping into the soup.
Phở street cafes are generally filled with people on their way to work or school, parking their scooters to quickly eat a bowl. Watching these professional chop stick drivers swiftly and delicately scoop a large mass of noodles into their mouth is an amazing sight in itself. But don’t worry, they are equally used to tourists fumbling their way through a bowl and flicking broth with each mouthful.
Phở is the perfect start to any day, especially if you are not feeling well. While it may take a few moments to get over the idea of eating beef soup for breakfast, put cereal out of your mind and you will soon be in soup heaven.
Miến Luon (87 Hang Dieu Street, Old Quarter, Hanoi)
When first hearing about Miến Xao Luon you may not get overly excited – ‘tiny deep fried eels’, you say. ‘Hmmmm’. But upon tasting this dish your prejudice will slide away.
Miến Xao Luon is made up of crispy mini eels, glass noodles, cucumber, peanuts, eggs and lime. This dish is a brilliant mix of textures and flavours. The crunch of the peanuts and the acidity of the lime provide a perfect mix of flavours and textures. The egg folded through the noodles adds great depth and flavour. The eels themselves are deep fried but don’t have an overly strong taste. They are probably more chewy than crispy although this may depend on the time of day.
Miến Luon is also popular with the locals and is really busy at lunch time. There are often a few free plastic stools outside otherwise there are a number of communal tables which you can join.
Xôi Kem (Corner of Hai Ba Trung Street & Ngo Quyen Street, French Quarter, Hanoi)
Sticky rice, or Xôi Kem, is hard to compare to other desserts. First of all, it sounds, and often looks, like it should be a savoury dish. But it is very sweet, often too sweet, with quite an unexpected texture.
Xôi Kem provides an interesting take on the sticky rice dessert. They serve the rice balls in a bowl topped with vanilla ice cream and toasted coconut.
The sweet rice and the coconut provide a delicious contrast which is simultaneously sticky and crunchy. The ice-cream melts into the rice and again, provides a hot-cold experience that keeps your mouth entertained with every bite.
While not everybody’s cup of tea, it is definitely a dish worth trying.
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While these are only a few of Vietnam’s specialities, Hanoi is full of great eating experiences. Often the most unassuming cafes can provide the most incredible dining experiences.
You can find a lot of these specialities in the restaurants around town, but experience tells me that they often lack the intensity of flavour and the love and care of food from the street cafes.
