Hanoi’s Best Street Food
Hanoi is considered to be one of Asia’s street food capitals. The best Vietnamese dining thrill is experienced on a tiny plastic chair at a stainless-steel table. Steaming broths, delectable morsels, and complex noodle dishes are sampled on Hanoi’s sidewalks, at hole-in-the-wall eateries, and in open-air markets. Yes, Hanoi’s street food is time-honored and legendary —that’s why when you’re there, you must try the best.
12-14 Hàng Gà, Hàng Bồ, Hoàn Kiếm, Hà Nội, Vietnam
This is a reliable place to sample one of Hanoi‘s indigenous classics: banh cuon, or steamed rice rolls stuffed with minced pork and chopped wood-ear mushrooms. Less a restaurant, more a hole-in-the-wall with a few tables and chairs strewn around, this venue makes up for its lack of sophistication with giant-sized portions of the delicate rolls.
13 Bạc Xỉu
While pho bo might be the king of Hanoian street food and bun cha the cult hero, for less carnivorous types this simple yet vastly popular hit is one of the city’s unsung favorites. For the uninitiated, the popularity of the dish might be slightly surprising. Its components include fried tofu, vermicelli noodles, a few herbs and—most contentiously—mam tom dipping sauce, a stinky purple paste made from fermented shrimp. The various strands are combined to make a lunchtime dish that is particularly popular for its relative lightness.
4 Trung Hòa, Trung Hoà, Cầu Giấy, Hà Nội, Vietnam
Pho Ga (chicken pho) is traditional to northern Vietnam and is served all day. The best time to get it from a local vendor is early in the morning because it’s SO fresh and makes for a perfect breakfast. As a side note about this photo, I love spicy food so I thought that this was the perfect amount of chili peppers. As they warmed up however they spread a layer of hot chili oil over the soup making it very very spicy. While the colors make for a pretty picture, I had a stomach ache later. Stick to about 3 slices and then see how it tastes in 10 min.
Lý Văn Phúc
Some of the most delicious grilled fowl in Hanoi can be found on Ly Van Phuc, colloquially known as “chicken street.” The meat here is marinated in buckets before being thrown onto the grill. Although it possibly wouldn’t pass many modern standards of hygiene, there’s no denying the deliciousness of the finished product.
1 Thanh Niên, Trúc Bạch, Ba Đình, Hà Nội, Vietnam
Another dish that originates in Hanoi, banh tom is made from battered and deep fried shrimp and sweet potato. The distinctive orange/gold colour comes from the flesh of the potato and turmeric powder in the batter. Wrap the morsels in leaves and herbs and dip into nuoc cham (fish sauce with chilli).
