Eating in Hanoi

When I last visited the Motherland, I stayed in the south to bask in its warmth. It's been several years since I've been to Hanoi. Katie, a food stylist who assisted on the photos for Into the Vietnamese Kitchen, will be visiting Hanoi soon. She wrote asking about where and what to eat.

Here's were my suggestions:

Don't miss these Hanoi specialties:

• beef pho noodle soup
• bun cha rice noodles with grilled pork
• bun thang noodle soup
• banh cuon steamed rice rolls
• cha ca thanh long -- people say to go the restaurant in the old quarter, but I think it's overrated. My homemade version is better, though it's always interesting to see the dolled up version.

Cheap or moderately priced places to eat:

• In the old quarter in the evening, there's usually street food vendors who set up shop offering things like green papaya salad near where the water puppet theater is.
• Near the Hilton Opera, we breakfasted daily on great coffee, croissants and pate chauds at a bakery/cafe. Walk out of the Hilton, go right and then left and you'll see it across the street. It's charmingly French looking.
• Hoa Sua (81 Tho Nhuom) is a cooking school for disadvantaged youth that's great for lunch. It's in an old French villa.
• At night, the Metropole Hotel has live music in their charming bar.

High-end restaurants:

• Bobby Chinn's eponymous restaurant is very swank, should you want to experience Cal-Med-Vietnamese fusion.
• Verticale  is new this year and opened by Didier Corlou,  whom the Vietnamese consider their foreign ambassador for Vietnamese food. It's suppose to be beautiful, and offer Corlou's French-Vietnamese hybrid cuisine.

Other sources to check include:

• Penn State University faculty member Rukmalie Jayakody's  short list of Hanoi eateries (The person lived and conducted research there. This link leads to lots of helpful information.)
• Noodlepie's 2001 PDF document of Hanoi eats and his 2007 notes on food places in Hanoi
• Savour Asia's tips and notes on eating in Hanoi

Health and safety:

• Safe eating in Vietnam is a posting on this blog has tips on traveling and eating in Vietnam.
• Vietnamese food in the time of cholera is another posting that has links to info on the current health concerns there.

If you have a tip for Katie, add to this list!

Comments

[anh]

May i ask some more?

1. Chao Trai - clam congee. It's a popular snack for the Hanoian. Only in the afternoon after 2 or 3pm at 26 Tran Xuan Soan Street.

2. Pho Sot Vang - another version of Pho but with Beef Stewed in Red Wine Sauce. My favorite is Pho Bien in Le Van Huu St. I think...

3. My fav pho is Pho Thin in Lo Duc Street. The broth has stronger garlic aroma. Some like it, some don't but it's worth checking out.

4. Bun Oc & Bun Rieu & Bun/Mien Ngan - defenitely my fav breakfast.

5. Mien Luon near Hang gia Market

[Graham]

Funnily enough I was just asked to put a list like this together for a big US magazine - I couldn't put in as many as you though Andrea.

I'll go along with the Cha Ca choice. I recommend the one at 31 Duong Thanh. There are probably other good ones, but the food and service have always been good here. They used to have a place on Hang Ma street. Plus, when I mentioned them in a feature once the daughter took the time out to write and say thanks.

I'll go along with Anh's Mien luon suggestion opposite Hang Da market at 87 Hang Dieu street. Alos, the Lo Duc Pho is the best choice I found, but for a real god Pho you'll have to travel south the Saigon :) Sticky Rice has a great long Pho review section

http://stickyrice.typepad.com/my_weblog/hanoi_pho_swoop/index.html

For Bun Cha, I keep going back to 20 Ta Hien int he old quarter - BEFORE mid-day...

I'd also suggest the deep fried glass noodle and mushroom stuffed savoury, Banh goi on Nha Tho street for a mid afternoon snack.

Bittet at 70 Hoa Ma street for a greasy beef an eggs fill.

Thuy Sinh at 3A To Hien Thanh does good tamarind and/or salted crabs, eel and the like.

Lastly, a trip up to west lake (Tay Ho) for medicinal snails, a snakehead fish rice paper wrap dish and a nice cold beer. Phuong Nguyen Quan is the one I used to frequent.

[Mike]

You have to go to Highway 4. It's a great Vietnamese restaurant with a fun menu; both food and traditional rice wines.
http://www.highway4.com/en/whats_on.html

Go drinking at a bia hoi, a must. Grab some bar food there too; usually decent food and always a great atmosphere.

Bittet is a good suggestion for a greasy morning, topped with a Tiger Beer.

I wish I knew the exact address but there is a night outdoor restaurant on Tran Hung Dao, about 2 blocks away from the train station. Go down Tran Hung Dao at night and look for a busy outdoor restaurant. Most food comes from the grill and the ribs are perhaps one of the best things I've eaten. Chicken feet are good too.

[Andrea Nguyen]

Excellent additions, everyone.

Graham, you're so Viet -- favoring Saigon pho over Hanoi's! It's a perennial point of contention among the Vietnamese food cognoscenti. Thanks for the Sticky Rice link.

Oh yes, don't forget the beer. Fresh bia hoi is like adult soda.

[Graham]

Mike - "chicken alley" - possibly the filthiest eatery I have ever visited anywhere is no more. Sad, I know, but it's gone. The grilled chicken livers, chicken wings and even the Mi xao were all fabulous.

[Robyn]

I'd like to add KOTO, across from the Temple of Literature. The food is great - Viet and Western - and you couldn't find a better cause.

http://www.streetvoices.com.au/koto_hanoi.asp

Also - and I've no particular place for this - but in the early mornings we've had some wonderful herb omelettes made by ladies perched on tiny stools with a single burner and fry pan. So full of finely chopped herbs and veggies that the omelettes are mostly green (green eggs but no ham); eaten with salt-pepper-kalamansi dip and, if you wish, baguette.

[Andrea Nguyen]

The Temple of Literature is one of the most beautiful respites in Hanoi, even on a drizzly winter day. Thanks for the eating tip.

[RaoulD]

Wow, all good suggestions. There's another chicken street though, Ly Hang Phuc I think it is. Also, there's another rib place up in the old quarter. I don't remember the exact addresses, but www.savourasia.com has obviously spent WAY too much time eating street food.

Don't forget Cam Chi, the seafood along there is great. Also the hotpot.

[HanoiMark]

Here are some of my favourite Hanoi dishes (other than the ones mentioned so far):
Pho cuon (beef and herb rolls using sheets of fresh pho noodles - on Truc Bach Lake)
Bun ngan (Muscovy duck with noodles and bamboo shoots)
Clams in lemongrass and young ginger (on Truc Bach Lake)
Bun oc (snail noodle soup)
Grilled goat
Banh troi tau (Sesame dumplings in ginger syrup) near Cho Hang Da - on Hang Dieu?)
Bun ca (fried fish with noodles)
Trai cay dam (fresh fruit salad with sweetened condensed milk and crushed ice - on To Thich St.)
Ca Phe Trung (coffee with raw egg white whipped into it - at Ca Phe Giang near north end of Hoan Kiem Lake)

I agree about Hwy. 4 Restaurant. For a great rice lunch, try Com Ly on Le Van Huu. There are many others like it.

[Andrea Nguyen]

Hanoi Mark, Thanks so much. Those are all such wonderful dishes. One of my favorite sweets are the banh troi nuoc (tau). The sticky rice dumplings filled with mung beans and caramelized shallot are terrific any time, but particularly in winter. Yum....