If you have ever heard about Vietnam, what do you firstly think about?
“The Vietnam War with the US”?
“The tropical country with exotic delicious fruit”?
“A thousand-year rich history”
…
Or something simple like its amazing cuisine?
I was born and raised in Ho Chi Minh city, formerly known as Saigon, where you can find any type of food around the world. Despite the fact that my city is famous for its diverse food, the food here is often mixed and matched, sometimes combined with Western techniques, to serve a wide range of tastes satisfying people of all ages and from different walks of life.
Vietnamese cuisine differs by region. Each town owns its unique local specialties. Taking the privilege of my gap months, I revisited Hanoi after nearly 2 years of lockdown to meet my friends and experience its truly culinary arts.
Hanoi, like any other parts of Vietnam, is famous for street food culture. With its characteristic 4 seasons and fresh ingredients, the food in Hanoi possesses delicate and distinct flavors. Wonder what to eat in Hanoi? Let’s follow me in this blog to explore some most famous food (also my top 5) and where to get them.
1. Pho (Beef noodle soup)
Pho is considered a traditional dish of Vietnam and is also the most well-known cuisine of the country globally. While Nam Dinh, a city in the Red River Delta of northen Vietnam, is believed to be the birthplace of Pho, many people would say its spiritual home is Hanoi where the flavor of Pho is enhanced to another level.
Pho is everywhere in Hanoi. People traditionally eat Pho for breakfast, but now you can enjoy it throughout the day. Each Hanoi family has their own secret recipe for their Pho’s flavor, but a typical bowl of Pho consists of rice noodles, beef broth, thinly sliced beef, chopped ginger, and fresh spring onions. We can also customize our bowl by squeezing some lime, adding some slices of red chili, and putting some basil sprigs. If you ask me the flavor of Pho, I would say “sophisticated” and “harmonized”. Pho is a must-try when you visit Hanoi.
You can find some delicious Pho restaurants (some have even sold Pho for 100 years!) at:
- Pho Bat Dan: 49 Bat Dan Street, Hoan Kiem District
- Pho Ly Quoc Su: 10 Ly Quoc Su Street, Thanh Xuan District
- Pho Thin: 13 Lo Duc Street, Hai Ba Trung District
**2. Bun cha (Grilled pork noodle) **
Originated in Hanoi, Bun cha has simple ingredients while provokes its best flavor when combine them together. Wherever you eat Bun cha, no matter it’s an elegant restaurant or a small food stall in narrow street, you will be served a bowl of sweet-sour dipping sauce with grilled pork (minced pork and sliced pork) inside, a basket of fresh vegetable and herbs and a plate of fresh white rice vermicelli. What differentiates the dish, for me, is its warm dipping sauce which is made of fish sauce, sugar, and vinegar. It also contains crunchy pickled papaya and carrots, along with some chili and garlic to strengthen the taste.
Hanoian eat Bun cha for all meals in a day, yet it’s the top choice for lunch time. It’s so irresistible when you pass a street pervaded with aromatic grilled pork smell. By the way, please don’t forget to order Nem cua be (crab spring roll) to eat along with Bun cha. You will be delightfully surprised by the joint flavors.
Some recommended places for you to find good Bun cha in Hanoi:
- Bun cha Dac Kim: 1 Hang Manh Street
- Bun cha Huong Lien: 24 Le Van Huu Street
- Bun cha 74: 74 Hang Quat Street
**3. Bun thang (Chicken vermicelli soup) **
Bun thang, one of Hanoi's most complicated yet subtle noodle soups, is one of my most favorite Hanoi dishes, but it may seem strange to foreigners or even people from other cities in Vietnam. Bun thang is made with vermicelli noodles, chicken broth, and thin shredded chicken, as well as dedicated cuts of Vietnamese ham, scrambled eggs, salted shrimp, and shiitake mushrooms. To add flavor, the soup is topped with green onion, coriander, a few slices of red chili pepper, and, of course, shrimp paste.
When you combine all those things together (well, don’t forget to add some lime), Bun thang could bring you to heaven with its tasty mixed savor, light at first taste but then becomes mouth-watering and sweet at the same time. The mushroom, ham and egg strips are so tender, while shredded chicken is so juicy. Such an interesting experience!
Bun thang is most suitable for breakfast, especially on colder day. You can give a try at:
- 48 Cau Go, Hoan Kiem District
- 29 Hang Hanh, Hoan Kiem District
4. Banh cuon (steamed rice rolls)
Banh cuon is unquestionably a Hanoi specialty that should not be missed. Banh cuon is typically eaten for breakfast due to its light and intricate flavor. It's made of a thin, wide rice sheet that's been filled with cooked, seasoned ground pork meat, minced mushroom, and minced shallot. Fried shallot and fresh cilantro herbs adorn the dish. Banh cuon is eaten by dipping it in a special sauce made of fish sauce and a drop of essence of "ca cuong" (giant water bug). Furthermore, Banh cuon is served with Vietnamese pork ham (in my case, I also included some grilled pork), which is usually mixed into the dipping sauce.
It’s also highly recommended to watch the fascinating process of making Banh cuon ;)
You can find this simple yet subtle dish at:
- Banh cuon Ba Hoanh: 66 To Hien Thanh, Hoan Kiem District
- Banh cuon Ba Hanh: 16B Tho Xuong Street, Hoan Kiem District
- Banh cuon Thuy Khe: 29 Thuy Khue Street, Tay Ho District
5. Egg coffee
I’m a coffee-holic. I drink 2 cups of coffee everyday so when I arrived Hanoi, what I do very firstly was to look for some good coffee shop. You may know about Vietnamese coffee (as Vietnam is the second largest coffee exporter) but it maybe something totally new for you to know about egg coffee, a special Hanoi coffee in which a creamy soft egg foam (made of egg yolk) is put on top of dense Vietnamese white coffee.
There are two versions of this coffee – hot and cold but I prefer the hot one. The strong coffee at the bottom when mixing/filtering through light yellow egg foam suddenly becomes sweeter and thicker. Sipping a cup of hot egg coffee in a beautiful cool autumn or chilly early winter could be one of the best feelings ever!
Recommended place to find egg coffee in Hanoi:
- Giang café: 39 Nguyen Huu Huan, Hoan Kiem District
- Dinh café: 13 Dinh Tien Hoang, Hoan Kiem District
- Loading T: 8 Chan Cam, Hoan Kiem District
6. And many many other super delicious dishes
It could take many days to talk about the culinary art in Hanoi. I will attach some more pictures below for your reference.
[Pho chien – Fried noodle]
[Bun moc - vermicelli sprouting]
[Nom kho bo - Vietnamese green papaya with beef jerky salad]
[Chao suon - pork bone congee]
[Xoi com – Green sticky rice]
[Che – Vietnamese sweet soup]
If you could have chance to visit Hanoi, it’s better to come in autumn or early winter. This cooler weather will surely make your food experience more meaningful.
Ah, if you ask me about the flavor of Hanoi, I would be undoubtedly saying “simple” yet “delicate”. Come and try yourself to understand why I said so. Hanoi is now open for travelers around the world post Covid-19 Hope you will have great time there!
Thank you for reading.
Follow me to read the next blog :)
Leo