Hanoi is food paradise buzzing with colours, flavours and smells. The streets of Old quarter are packed with makeshift and mobile food stalls. The streets have the best food in Hanoi and people are thronging them night and day. Here is my list for simple fresh and absolutely delicious street food in Hanoi.
This is an iconic dish and on top of my list of favourites. In a little dining room packed with tables set up with burners get ready for a little tabletop cooking and do it yourself plating.T urmeric, dill, fish sauce, shrimp paste, ginger coriander, fresh rice noodles, greens and herbs combine with chunks of fresh white fish topped with some crunchy peanuts. Delicious, washed done with Hanoi beer.
Pho which is fragrant noodle soup served here is fragrant, fresh and lip-smackingly delicious. Hot broth served with rice noodles and with either chicken or beef. Eaten with chili vinegar, sprouts, a dash of kumquat….
They have all the ingredients neatly arranged in a small square space.And the spring-rolls are wrapped in rice paper and fried fresh and handed out crisp and tasty.
Basically a thick rice soup which is comfort food anytime of day or night. Topped with chicken strips and garnished with poached eggs if you like and spring onion.
Big bowls of boiled snail boiled with lemongrass and lime leaves served with chilli sauce and fresh ginger.Sitting on the pavement intermingled with the bustling crowd on the streets eating the snails and drinking the boiled sauce with curious passers by looking at you is an unforgettable experience.
Sit on small stools centimetres off the ground around a food heater on the table. You then choose the vegetables, meat or fish that you would like on the skewers and order the drinks. They par cook what you chose and then you continue cooking them on your table top barbeque. Served with honey glazed bread.
This is an institution in Hanoi and has been around fo a long time. The local flavours are delicious. Coconut, vanilla and green rice ice cream are great. Have them in the cones…
Star apple, mandarins, bananas, sweet potato fritters, weasel coffee…..the food is endless in the streets of Old Quarter Hanoi.
I have found time to travel to many countries and live in 2 countries (3 if Scotland ever does becomes one!) and 6 cities during my career in finance. I was a diplomat first and started in the Indian Foreign Service with my first posting being Paris – The City of Light. And began my lifelong love of travel and coffee there! An MBA followed and I’ve been in finance since.