10 famous dishes should try when coming to Hanoi

Without a doubt, both President Barack Obama and chef Anthony Bourdain couldn't resist the mouth-watering dishes of Hanoi during their visit to Vietnam in 2016. After the Bourdain culinary journey, the popular TV show Known as the “Unknown Parts”, Vietnam has become “one of his favorite places on earth”. "Vietnam - it grabs you and won't let you go. Once you love it, you'll love it forever." - Anthony Bourdain said so. Anthony Bourdain's obsession with Vietnamese street food Pho, specifically pho, has sparked interest in the country and many international visitors couldn't wait longer to eat some pho on the street alongside locals.

Coming to Hanoi, you can retrace the footsteps of legendary gourmets anywhere. Grab a low plastic chair and embark on an adventure of authentic local culture. People here are very friendly and willing to share their way of life. You may find it interesting how heirloom recipes perfected from generation to generation make many street eateries a must-see and popular spot in the city.

The best of Hanoi's food are the delicious and cheap dishes that you can find in the narrow alleys of Hanoi's Old Quarter and bustling street markets. Compared to other cities in Vietnam, Hanoi dishes tend to be sweeter and use freshwater ingredients such as shrimp, crab, clams and mussels. You can also find familiar Vietnamese street foods such as pho, spring rolls, banh cuon, and meat skewers.

Like many dishes in Vietnam, diners are always served with plates of fresh vegetables and herbs as well as seasoned dipping sauces. A visit to Hanoi would not be complete without tasting its traditional delicacies, here is a list of the top must-try dishes in Hanoi.

Hanoi pho

When talking about street food in Vietnam, nothing can fail to mention Pho - a dish that warms diners' hearts on cold winter days and starts a great day. As the birthplace of pho, Hanoi is considered the birthplace of savory broth, fresh vermicelli, chicken or beef served with fresh herbs. The soul of pho is made by simmering meat and bones for about 24 hours along with more than 20 ingredients such as ginger, cloves, star anise, pepper, salt, seasoning powder, etc. Traditional pho is served for a meal. morning, but today you can enjoy this dish from dawn to late at night.

Bun cha

Pho may be the first choice for breakfast, but Bun Cha is the best choice for lunch in the capital. Basically, a serving of Bun Cha consists of a plate of fresh vermicelli along with a bowl of sweet and sour fish sauce, grilled pork rolls, papaya and crispy pickled carrots, seasoned with chili and garlic for a richer flavor. Bun Cha Hanoi is often served with fried spring rolls, which will be an attractive mixture of flavors. The highlight of Bun Cha is the pork rolls grilled over smoldering coals, often smoked by a simple hand fan! Visitors are really captivated by this dish when they see the image of Obama tasting Bun Cha with famous culinary expert Anthony Bourdain at a Bun Cha restaurant in Hanoi.

Hanoi sticky rice

In the morning, you can easily see the image of women wearing conical hats, waiting for baskets of sticky rice on bicycles to roam the streets of Hanoi. Sticky sticky rice is a carb-rich breakfast dish with dozens of variations wrapped in banana leaves. Some popular types of sticky rice can be named such as: Xeo sticky rice - yellow sticky rice, covered with fried onions and green beans. Chicken sticky rice - white sticky rice served with steamed chicken with soy sauce. Corn sticky rice or sticky rice-sticky rice is served with young corn and served with green beans and fried onions like sticky rice. Sticky rice with peanuts, sticky rice with gac, sliced fresh melon sticky rice. If you visit Vietnam, try “Xoi Xeo” from any of the street vendors’ baskets to enjoy the Vietnamese rice culture in a very different way.

Grilled chopped fish

Cha Ca is a river fish dish marinated with garlic, ginger, turmeric and cumin, then fried in a hot pan. The fish cake is served with vermicelli, peanuts, chopped scallions, parsley, fish sauce, red pepper, all mixed with turmeric-laced fish. Cha Ca is so popular with locals that there is a street in Hanoi's Old Quarter named after it. This street is also where the original Cha Ca restaurant is located, with the dish considered the best in Hanoi.

Fried vermicelli with eel

The eel stir-fried domain is another delicious option for seafood lovers, including vermicelli that is stir-fried with crispy eel, bean sprouts, egg, cucumber, fried onions and perilla and served with a broth. from eel. Like many dishes in Hanoi, fried eel vermicelli is served with herbs, plantain flowers, and bean sprouts. Stir-fried vermicelli with eel is usually served at noon, is a simple dish, does not take time to wait but is very delicious.

Southern beef noodle soup

Besides the popular dish like Pho, you may want to discover a new flavor of mixed vermicelli - Bun Bo Nam Bo. The word "Bun Bo Nam Bo" itself means beef noodle soup originating from the South, but interestingly, this noodle dish is widely popular in Hanoi. It's a delicious combination of healthy ingredients including vegetables, fresh vermicelli, beef topped with fried onions, roasted peanuts, bean sprouts and herbs, all blended magically with the family sauce. taste. The dipping sauce is a combination of fish sauce, sugar, lemon, and chili, but each restaurant has its own secret to creating its own special dipping sauce. To have a bowl of Bun Bo Nam Bo, you just need to mix all the ingredients together, take a pair of wooden chopsticks and you're ready to try. In Vietnam's tropical weather, a bowl of this unsavory fresh vermicelli mannequin is sure to satisfy every palate.

Pillow cake

Shaped like miniature pillows, the pillow cake is made from a flour-based cake shell, wrapped in a filling consisting of finely chopped vermicelli, wood ear, minced pork, quail eggs and spices. Pillow cake is fried in a pan of hot oil so that the crust is crispy. Pillow cake is served with sweet and sour fish sauce made from garlic, chili, sugar, lime juice, papaya and pickled carrots. You can also combine the pillow cake with fresh lettuce and coriander leaves if you find it too greasy. Pillow cake is a popular dish for young people on cold winter afternoons.

Rolls

Banh cuon is a popular dish for breakfast or afternoon snack. Banh cuon is a combination of ground meat from chicken, shrimp or pork with minced wood ear and onions rolled in steamed rice flour. Banh cuon is often served with sweet and sour fish sauce, fried cinnamon rolls served with raw vegetables and herbs. Delicious banh cuon is a type of cake with a thin but tough rice flour crust, and the filling layer is evenly soaked with spices. The famous banh cuon shops in Hanoi's Old Quarter all have their own secret to making fish sauce and one of them is mam sauce with ca cuong essence. Banh cuon with fish sauce and ca cuong is also considered a specialty of Hanoi's old town that any visitor wants to taste once.

Bun thang

This is a typical noodle dish only available in Hanoi. You can enjoy bun thang at any time of the day. The broth of bun thang is always full of flavor and is made from 20 ingredients including dried shrimp, squid, shrimp paste, scallions, coriander, ginger, mushrooms, radish, fish sauce, alum sugar and vinegar. This is also a particularly attractive dish of Hanoi when noodles, chicken, eggs, pork slices and a shrimp paste are carefully arranged like a flower. Present in most of the old quarter of Hanoi, but the best bun thang is the bun shop on Cau Go street with more than 20 years of experience in cooking bun thang. Bun thang is often chosen to eat in the winter because of its warm, rich flavor.

Egg coffee

“Coffee Coffee”, is a specialty of Hanoi. The egg white foam is as soft as meringue cream covered in a strong black coffee without the fishy smell of eggs. While many cafes in the city serve egg coffee, Cafe Giang claims to be its creator. Hot and cold egg coffee can be enjoyed, but many people comment that hot egg coffee seems to be more delicious and popular. Egg coffee has now become one of the must-try dishes when you visit Hanoi. In fact, you can find egg coffee in many big cities of Vietnam but to be fair, egg coffee in Hanoi has a special taste that is different from other places.