I love Vietnamese food, but this statement is not without bias. My family is from Vietnam so I've grown up with this food, and have always enjoyed it. My family is from Saigon, and has never been to Hanoi until this trip, so we were super excited for the visit and to try the food from the north. We weren't here for very many days, but here are some of dishes we ate.
BUN CHA
Our first meal on our first day in Hanoi. After dropping our bags at the hotel, we made our way to Bun Cha Dac Kim for some bun cha! Bun cha is grilled pork patty served in a bowl of sweet and sour dipping sauce (made with fish sauce, sugar and vinegar), with a side of vermicelli rice noodles and a generous helping of mixed Vietnamese herbs. We also got a plate of crab spring rolls, which is a recommended addition. To eat, mix everything in a bowl and have it like a noodle soup.
Bun Cha Dac Kim
67 Duong Thanh St
Hoan Kiem
PHO
This is an obvious one. How can you go to Vietnam and not have pho? This delicious bowl of beef noodle soup was from Pho 10, a very well known restaurant located in the Hoan Kiem area. The menu is simple - it's all pho. All you have to decide on is the cut of beef that you want. We had ours with Tai, which is rare beef. Once you get your pho, all you have to do is submerge the strips of beef into the broth, to cook it. Add a squeeze of lime and some fresh chilli, and it's ready for consumption!
Pho 10
10 Ly Quoc Su St
Hang Trong, Hoan Kiem
CHA CA
Cha ca is fried fish in turmeric and dill, and the fun thing about eating this dish is that it's prepared in right in front of you, at the table. In a pan, they cook the fish first, and then add in the bowl of dill, shallots and some other fragrant herbs and cook further. Once done, you'll have it with vermicelli noodles and fish sauce which can be topped with some extra mint leaves and peanuts.
Cha Ca Thang Long
19-21-31 Duong Thanh
Cua Dong, Hoan Kiem
EGG COFFEE
The Vietnamese love coffee. Walk down a street and you'd see people sitting on low plastic chairs, enjoying a cuppa. There is however, a type of coffee that's unique to Hanoi, and that's cà phê trúng, or egg coffee. Sounds super strange, but what you'd eat is a super creamy and dense Vietnamese coffee. We had ours at Giang Cafe and it was so delicious. When your coffee arrives, give it a good stir and then drink away.
Giang Cafe
39 Nguyen Huu Huan
Hang Bac, Hoan Kiem
NOM THIT BO KHO
This actually wasn't on our hit list initially, but when we saw how busy this place was every night, we'd thought we'd give it a try. We had the Nom Thit Bo Kho which is dried beef salad. This one had green papaya, sliced beef, dried beef, mixed herbs and peanuts, served with a fish dipping sauce. The meat was a little tough to eat, but the flavours of the salad was quite nice. We also gave the Banh Bot Loc a try, which are transparent chewy tapioca dumplings with a shrimp and mince meat filling. Overall, the food here wasn't something we thoroughly enjoyed, but it was still a fun snack to try.
Long Vi Dung - Nom Thit Bo Kho
23 Ho Hoan Kiem
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