TOP 10 HIGHLIGHT FOOD AND DRINKS IN HANOI OLD QUARTER, VIETNAM
Hanoi is not only famous for its beauty but also it attracts tourists by its rich cuisine with many mouth watering dishes which will make your stomach happily.
Food-loving globetrotters, if you have a chance to visit Hanoi, don’t miss to try Hanoi street food. The best Hanoi dishes are not expensive yet tasty treats that can be found within Hanoi Old Quarter’s narrow alleyways and bustling street markets. You should spend some days in Hanoi to enjoy Hanoi food, eating your way through the hectic, motorbike clogged streets of Hanoi Old Quarter and don’t the same meal twice to try as much as possible delicious Hanoi street food here. So where is the most famous and convenient place in Hanoi to try Vietnamese Cuisine?. It’s Hanoi Old Quarter which is a well known place for food of tourists and locals. Let’s explore what shouldn’t missed here with Vietnam Eco Travel !
1. Pho (Noodle soup)
Pho is a familiar food of Hanoians as well as tourists. It is not only a dish but also a pride of Hanoi cuisine in the eyes of domestic and foreign tourists. Pho was invented in the early 20th century. Pho is appeared anywhere from steer vendors to restaurant. Some is served with chicken and some with beef but beef noodles soup is more popular.
“Pho” consists of flat rice noodles, meat-based broth. The dish is accompanied by basil, lime, chili and other extras on the side so you can season the soup to your own taste. The balanced tastes of sweet, salty, spicy, and citrus are highly contagious. The broth is made by simmering beef bones, oxtails, flank steak, charred onion, charred ginger and spices and it takes several hours to make. Each restaurant of pho will have different recipes to make delicious broth.
Be careful when you eat “pho” because you may get addicted with it and always want to come back here again.
Where to try “Pho” in Hanoi Old Quarter:
- Pho Bat Dan: No.49 Bat Dan street
- Pho Thin: No.61 Dinh Tien Hoang street
- Pho Ly Quoc Su: No.10 Ly Quoc Su street
- Pho Suong: Trung Yen lane
- Pho Vui: No.25 Hang Giay street
2. Bun cha (Grilled pork and rice noodles)
Bun Cha is a Vietnamese dish of grilled pork (cha), rice noodles and dipping sauce, is thought to have originated from Hanoi, Vietnam. Bun cha is served with a plate of rice noodles, a bowl of grilled pork and dipping sauce and a plate of herb.
There are two kind of cha: cha vien and cha mieng. Cha vien is made from lean shoulder which is softer than ham or butt, lean shoulder will be chopped and marinated spices, then grilled. Cha Mieng is made from bacon which was sliced, marinated spices and grilled. To make best Cha Mieng, pork meat have to have both fatty meat and lean.
There are many local restaurants which served Bun cha but to make Bun cha tasty depends on experiences and secret recipes, especially the broth. The broth includes papaya, carrot, fish sauce, vinegar, sugar, etc. Bun cha will be served with herbs to reduce oily taste and raise guest’s appetite.
Where to try “Bun Cha” in Hanoi Old Quarter:
- Bun cha Dac Kim: No.1 Hang Manh street
- Bun cha Tuyet: No.34 Hang Than street
- Bun cha: No.23 Hang Quat street
- Bun cha: Dong Xuan market alley or Phat Loc lane
3. Banh Cuon (Steamed rice pancake rolls)
The ingredients to make this dish are: rice flour, pork, fried onion, minced wood ear mushroom, fish sauce and some spices.
First you should select high quality rice which is cleaned and soaked in water for several hours before being ground into batter. A thin layer of batter is poured on a cloth that is tautly stretched and placed on top of the pot which can quickly cook the rice batter.
Locally, the chief makes “Banh cuon” with wonderful colours of chives and grated vegetables in the rolls. Banh cuon can made extremily thin because it is steamed over a babric covered a pot which can quickly cook the rice flour, keeping it moist and workable. A very thin layer of batter is poured on the cloth and evenly spead and stems paper thin, and in less than a minute, a flat bamboo stick is used to lift off the delicate rice crepe. Banh cuon is served with dipping fish sauce. The sauce is heated with sugar, vinegar, etc.
Where to try “Banh cuon in Hanoi Old Quarter:
- Banh cuon Thanh Van: No.12 Hang Ga street.
4. Banh my (Vietnamese sandwich)
“Banh my” is one of the best food of Hanoi street food and is voted one of the best street food in the world. Banh my first appeared in the French colonial period. It was often put pate and butter inside the bread. Then in 1954, when France leaved Vietnam, Vietnamese made banh mi in their own way and added pork, Vietnamese ham, herbs and cucumber inside the bread.
Nowadays, Banh mi is served as any meals during the day. Depends on eater’s preference, the seller will offer a lot of different types shuc as pate which is made from pork liver, egg, pork bacon, Vietnamese ham, shredded dried pork, etc; herbs such as coriander, basil, etc; and cucumber. If you like spicy, you can add chili sauce. From the north to the south of Vietnam, Banh mi can have different ingredients or taste.
Where to try Banh mi in Hanoi Old Quarter:
- Banh mi 25: No.25 Hang Ca street
- Banh mi P: No.12 Hang Buom street
- Banh mi Pho Co: No.38 Dinh Liet street
- Banh mi Ba Dan: No.34 Lo Su street
- Banh mi Nguyen Sinh: No.19 Ly Quoc Su street
5. Cha Ca (Fried fish with dill)
Cha ca is listed by a few books and TV programs to be one of the things you have to try before you die.
To make this dish, they use the meat of snake-head, catfish, ling, etc, slice and marinate with turmeric powder, galangal, shrimp paste, chili, etc for about 2 hours and then bake in a preheated oven. It is served with a gas stove and a pan. You will put cooking oil, grilled fish, dill, etc inside the pan. This dish will be eat with a plate of rice vermicelli and shrimp paste and herbs.
Where to try in Hanoi Old Quarter:
- Cha ca La Vong: No.14 Cha Ca street
- Cha ca Thang Long: No.31 Duong Thanh street
6. Xoi (Sticky rice)
There are a lot of kind of sticky rices in Hanoi such as sticky rice with peanuts; sticky rice with bean; sticky rice with corn, etc or chicken, pork, shredded dried pork, Vietnamese ham, etc. You can eat sticky rice for every meal, from breakfast to dinner. Sticky rice is served with pickled cucumber to reduce the fatty taste.
This dish is the combination of a lots of flavours. Eating Xoi to have unforgettable experience!
Where to try in Hanoi Old Quarter:
Xoi Yen: No.35b Nguyen Huu Huan street
7. Goc Da restaurant
Goc Da restaurant is a small restaurant in No.52 Ly Quoc Su street. It is well known with mouth – watering dishes of Hanoi street food such as fried crab spring rolls, pillow cake, salty donut and “nem chua”. Main ingredients of those dishes are rice flour, pork, mushroom, glass noodles, egg, etc. They are deep fried so they’re very crispy and delicious. It is served with dipping sauce and herbs. The sauce here is taste, made from fish sauce, sugar, vinegar, etc. Put one of those dishes into the sauce, add some herb to reduce the oily taste and try it. You will definitely like them.
8. Nom bo kho (Dried beef with salad)
“Nom no kho” is one the most favorite of young people in Hanoi. It includes dried beef, peanuts, papaya, some herbs, spices and a special sauce. The sauce is delicious, made from soya or fish sauce. This dish is the perfect combination with ingredients and the sauce. Don’t miss to write down this dish in your must – try food list when you visit Hanoi Old Quarter!
Where to try in Hanoi Old Quarter:
- Long Vi Dung in No.23 Hoan Kiem street
9. Che (Sweet gruel)
Che is one of Vietnamese dessert. It is made from mung beans, black – eyed peas, kidney beans, tapioca, jelly (clear or grass), lotus seeds, fruit (litchi, longan, mango, durian, jackfruit) and coconut milk, etc.
Che are often prepared with one of a number of varieties of beans, tubers, and/or glutinous rice, cooked in water and sweetened with sugar. It is eaten more in the summer for locals as a dessert. The sellers will put different “che” and ice into a glass. You can choose your favorite “che” and the seller will served them for you.
Where to try in Hanoi Old Quarter:
Che Bon Mua: No. 4 Hang Can street
Che Huong Hai: No.93 Hang Bac street
10. Cafe Trung (Egg coffee)
You will immediately feel weird when you hear egg coffee. Egg coffee is a unique drink in Hanoi and you can’t find it anywhere.
Egg coffee was made in 1946 by a men who was a bartender for a 5 star hotel. At that time it was lack of milk so he tried to find another ingredient instead of milk, then he recognized that egg could make different taste when it was mixed with coffee. After that he quitted his job and opened his own coffee shop for egg coffee. It became famous until now.
Egg coffee is traditionally prepared with egg yolks, sugar, condensed milk and robust coffee. The drink is made by beating egg yolks with sugar and coffee, then extracting the coffee into he half of the cup followed by a similar amount of egg scream which is prepared by heating and beating the yolks. You won’t feel regret when you visit Hanoi and try egg coffee.
Where to try in Hanoi Old Quarter:
- Cafe Giang: No.39 Nguyen Huu Huan street
- Cafe Pho Co: No.11 Hang Gai street
There are a lot of another dishes of Hanoi cuisine which you should try in Hanoi Old Quarter as well as Hanoi. Those are top 10 highlight food and drinks in Hanoi Old Quarter. I hope you will love Vietnamese cuisine and have wonderful time in Vietnam.
