Hanoi is famous for having a sophisticated and long-standing cuisine that can satisfy even the most demanding diners. Food in Hanoi's Old Quarter is one of the things that any visitor to Hanoi wants to taste once.
Let Easygo introduce you to a list of must-try old town dishes when coming to Hanoi!
Beef noodle soup
This is one of the dishes that represent the whole Vietnamese cuisine and is the old town dish you should try first when traveling to Hanoi.
You can find beef pho on every street corner of the capital and sometimes even in small alleys. However, beef noodle soup in the old town area is still an experience that everyone should have.
The most famous old town dish is Pho Ganh. Enjoy a bowl of beef noodle soup still steaming on a small plastic chair on the street corner. You can't forget a few hot, crispy pancakes soaked in the broth made from sweet bones. Each spoonful of broth evokes the aroma of anise, cinnamon, and cardamom mixed with the pungent aroma of fresh chili, which is seasoned to taste. While slurping each piece of pho while watching the busy flow of people.
This will be an unforgettable memory when coming to Hanoi. You can experience this at the noodle shop at the corner of Hang Trong and in the afternoon or at the intersection of Hang Chieu at night.
Bun cha
Regardless of domestic or foreign tourists, no one is unfamiliar with bun cha anymore. This is the old town dish that US President Barack Obama and famous chef Anthony Bourdain enjoyed during their next visit to Hanoi.
This is a traditional dish of Hanoians. Bun Cha is famous for its meticulous processing. There are 2 types of grilled pork rolls in bun cha. One is bacon and the other is minced pork.
Minced pork chop is made from minced lean pieces and marinated with spices to infuse. Minced meat is then molded into evenly round pieces. Cha is grilled on a metal griddle or bamboo tongs and then placed over the red fire.
The type of vermicelli used in vermicelli is microfiber. Many people think that only small noodles can be mixed with the sophisticated sweet and sour dipping sauce served with papaya salad.
When coming to Hanoi, you can visit the following addresses to enjoy authentic bun cha:
Bun Cha Huong Lien: 24 Le Van Huu, Hai Ba Trung, Hanoi. (This is where President Obama and chef Anthony Bourdain dined)
Bun Cha Hang Manh: 1 Hang Manh, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi.
Buncha with bamboo sticks: Nguyen Du - Ba Trieu intersection.
Cha Ca La Vong
La Vong grilled fish is another famous old town dish. The dish also has the honor of being on the menu for US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at the recent US-North Korea Summit in Hanoi.
La Vong grilled fish is a dish that has both street breath and elegance. The dish is an extremely harmonious combination of fish that is both sweet and greasy with the freshness that herbs bring.
Easygo would like to recommend you to enjoy this old town dish at restaurants on Cha Ca street and especially the restaurant located at 14 Cha Ca street. Because according to gourmets in Hanoi, this is the first restaurant specializing in La Vong Cha Ca.
Bun thang
There is no dish more worthy of representing Hanoi's sophisticated cuisine than bun thang.
Bun thang includes many complicated ingredients such as shredded chicken, golden fried egg yolk, shredded pork sausage, and dried radish that have been stirred over the fire to infuse spices.
The broth of bun thang has a sweet taste thanks to simmering the bones and shrimp for many hours. To enjoy the full and true taste of bun thang, Easygo advises you to go to the following addresses:
Bun Thang Ba Duc - No. 48 Cau Go
Thuan Ly Bun Thang – No. 33 Hang Hom
Tu Lun Restaurant - No. 22 Hang Trong
Noodles with fried tofu with shrimp paste
Fresh Noodles with shrimp paste is an old town dish that not everyone who comes to Hanoi dares to enjoy. However, once you taste it, you will never forget the taste of this dish.
The handfuls of loose-leaf fresh noodles served with pieces of fried apricot tofu, crispy and golden. If it's fuller, the fresh noodle soup will have pork leg meat, young sticky rice nuggets, and even fried pork belly or tail. All the ingredients are mixed with shrimp paste that makes even this fastidious diner have to praise it.
There are many delicious dishes in the Old Quarter ^^, if you have time, come and enjoy it on the weekend!
