Culinary art is one of the most interesting things to discover in Hanoi. Following is the list of the most popular local foods that should not be missed in your trip to this beautiful city. The finest local dishes can be found at small one-dish restaurants or food stall, usually just open-air joints at street sides, where you might wonder why there’s a line out the door.
Vietnamese noodle
“Pho” has been universally famous food and it is also best enjoyed in Hanoi. Some are served with chicken and some with beef. Each type of meat entails a variety of sub-dish, using from beef tenderloin to beef brisket, chicken wing to chicken thigh. The soup includes noodles made from rice flour and is often served with Asian basil, herbs, cilantro, thinly sliced green onion, lime juice, and bean sprouts that are added to the soup by the person who is dining.
There are many famous pho restaurants in Hanoi, such as Pho Co Cu on Lieu Giai Road, Thin restaurant on Lo Duc Street, Suong restaurant on Dinh Liet Street, etc. The price for a bowl of pho is from VND25,000 ($1.2).
Bun oc (Noodles with snails)
This is a special cuisine of Hanoi. In Ha Noi, people usually eat bún ốc (round rice noodle soup with snails) for breakfast or lunch rather than dinner. It has a sourish flavour of thickened vinegar, moreish and brittle snails, dried tofu, raw vegetables…It is quite easy to process this cuisine but it needs secrets to have a delicious bowl of bun oc. The snails must be fast enough, medium-sized and have a yellow coloured shell. To prepare the best snails, one should not cook them immediately after they are bought. Rather, they should be soaked in the water derived from rice washing for 1-2 days so that the moss and mud in their stomach is released, making them clean to eat. Some even put in that water a couple of eggs to further feed the snails in order to get a better quality ingredient for the cooking.
You can enjoy this food at Ms Sau’ bun oc restaurant at 73A Mai Hac De, Ms Luong’s bun oc restaurant in Khuong Thuong Street, Co Beo restaurant at No. 1 Hoe Nhai or at Nguyen Cao market, No. 5 Dong Mac, Hai Ba Trung district. A bowl of bun oc is from VND20,000 ($1).
Nom bo kho (Sweet and sour grated salad with dried beef)
Nom bo kho is also one of the favourite food to the local teenagers. The main materials to process this cuisine include green papaya, dried beef, raw vegetables and sweet and sour fish sauce. Nom bo kho is sold everywhere, but to enjoy the best Nom bo kho, you should visit the Hue nom restaurant on Ham Long Street and Long Vi On restaurant at No. 23 Ho Hoan Kiem Street. The price for a dish of nom bo kho is from VND20,000 ($1).
Nem tai
This is a folk cuisine of Vietnam. It is processed from steamed pig ears, which are sliced and mixed with roast rice powder. Nem tai is accompanied with girdle cakes, fig leaves and salted fig, raw vegetables and sweet and sour sauce.
Coming to Hanoi, visitors should remember to enjoy this cuisine at Ms Hong’s nem tai restaurant at No. 35 Hang Thung Street. The restaurant opens from 6.00 AM to 11.00 PM. The dish is served at 80.000 VND for an order for two.
Grilled chicken feet
It is authentic food, very simple but tasty. The famous address to eat the dish is to come to Ly Van Phuc street. The feet and wings were grilled and served with chips or bread with jams. You only need to pay 50,000VND for one serving to enjoy this delicious street food.
Oc luoc (boiled snails)
There is not much difference in the main ingredients. However, Hanoi’s oc luoc is the post special for its sauce. Some boiled snail restaurants are famous for their sauces, which have special flavours. Boiled snails are taken with minced ginger, lemon leaves and sometimes with cucumber and pachyrrhizus.
To taste the best-boiled snails, visitors should go to a boiled snail restaurant on Luong Dinh Cua street, No. 1 Dinh Liet, Lan Binh restaurant at 18 Hang Ba and Trai Gang market. This dish is usually available from late afternoon to midnight.
Bun cha (Vermicelli and grilled chopped meat)
Hanoi’s bun cha is now available in many provinces and cities in Vietnam. Among Hanoi’s juice cuisines, bun cha fits the taste of visitors from everywhere. Slices of pork are soaked with spices and grilled on coals, then put in sweet and sour sauce and be tasted with vermicelli and raw vegetables. It is completely delicious. However, Hanoi’s bun cha is more special because it has hung lang, a special herb of Lang village, Hanoi. You can enjoy bun cha at No. 34 Hang Than Street.
Trang Tien ice-cream
The ice cream shop that was established in the subsidized period has become a symbol of Hanoi. Located on Trang Tien Street, Hanoi’s centre, the shop is crowded all the time, even in winter days. The Trang Tien ice-cream shop is at No. 35 Trang Tien Street.
Cha ca La Vong (Tumeric Fish with Dill)
Cha ca La Vong is a unique speciality of Hanoi. It is listed as one of the top 100 things you should try before you die by many cuisine experts. Cha ca is made from mud-fish, snake-headed fish, but the best one is Hemibagrus (Ca lang). The fish is carefully chosen so that there are not too many bones and fishy smells. Fishbone is left away to keep fish meat only, then seasoning, clipping by pieces of bamboo, and frying by coal heat. It is served with vermicelli, peanut, green onions, dills and shrimp paste. Cha ca is served with roasted peanuts, dry pancakes, soft noodle soup, spice herbs and shrimp paste with lemon and chilly.
The Cha ca La Vong Restaurant on No.14 Cha Ca Street is the “ancestor restaurant” of the dish. It is much more expensive than other local food but the fact that you are sitting in one of the oldest houses in Hanoi, served by the most traditionally styled chef is all that matters.
Duck recipe
Duck is popular poultry in the north of Vietnam. Staying in Hanoi, you find no difficulty to find a variety of dishes from duck available at the restaurants along Kim Ma street. If you want to taste a sour hotpot in which the main ingredients are ducks overcooked, visit No. 217 Kim Ma Str. The hotpot is served at 150.000 VND. The sour soup is 20.000 VND a bowl.
Fiona