Hanoi is considered to be one of the most attractive places to many tourists due to its breathtaking scenery and unique antiquity throughout a long history of more than a millennium. Nevertheless, you can never get bored when having a chance to try the best local food in this city, which is considered to be authentic and stupendous. This article, Go Viet Trip will provide you with lots of useful information about Hanoi’s cuisine and where to eat.
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Overall
Hanoi is famous for its prolonged history of culture. This place offers examples of both contemporary and classical architecture right in the city center. Boasting the finest mix of a fascinating, troubled history and thriving metropolis vibes, Hanoi is definitely among the most fascinating cities in Asia. Besides famous destinations such as Hanoi Old Quarter, West Lake, or Temple of Literature, you can also enjoy the prosperity and variety of local food here. Nightlife is the exact moment that you can fill up your empty stomach with some of the dishes below and explore day trip from Hanoi
Pho (also called Vietnamese Rice Noodles)
This well–known dish was created by the people who lived in Northern Vietnam in the past. It is a combination of meat, rice noodles, green onion, and especially the heavy beef broth. Many different types of herbs and a slice of lime with some black or chili sauce can create the most outstanding, refreshing, and mouth–watering flavors that boost up all of your senses. It is only in Hanoi that Pho has the most iconic and traditional style of making any other place in Vietnam.
A bowl of Pho can be made and seen all over the sidewalks or corners of Hanoi at an affordable price, which is between 40,000 – 50,000 VND each (about 2.25 or 2.5 USD for each bowl). Along with Banh mi, this delicious dish is a notable feature of Vietnamese cuisine for any gourmet to enjoy and taste. Pho can be served and eaten whenever you feel hungry.
Cha Ca
This dish is so popular that it has been named after a street in Hanoi, Cha Ca Street. It is also known for the name Cha Ca La Vong, one of the most flavorful and tasty foods in this city. Cha Ca is made completely from minced fish mixed with some other ingredients such as salt, green onion, pepper, garlic, etc. Each store has its own recipe to make the unique type of Cha Ca, and you should give it a try when visiting streets of Hanoi like Ta Hien Night Street or Hanoi Old Quarter at night. Quality is guaranteed if you can find the right place among hundreds of Cha Ca stores or restaurants.
The outstanding and unbearable smell of Cha Ca shall make you want to have a bite of it without hesitating. Also, you can find out that Cha Ca is a special ingredient of Banh mi in some places.
Banh Mi
You might have been familiar with egg bacon sandwiches in the US or cheese sandwiches. Nevertheless, in Vietnam, we have a fancy name for this dish, which is called Banh Mi. Banh Mi originated from French baguette, but it had some modifications to fit in with Vietnamese people’s tastes.
Thus, do not be so surprised to find out that this Vietnamese sandwich has a lot of different versions throughout the country. In Hanoi, Banh Mi is filled with grilled pork, liver paste, slices of carrot with some herbs, or slices of cucumber. The taste of one bite is considerably memorable for some tourists after their first try of this dish. This dish also made it to the Oxford Dictionary as a valid word.
Crunchy, full of flavors, and mouth–watering are all the adjectives that you can use to describe your own feelings after trying this savory dish. If you are not a spicy food lover, then you can ask the seller to put out the chili cause it is quite a nightmare for your stomach and the entire digestive system of your body.
Bun Cha
It is considered to be the least famous only to Pho in Hanoi. You can almost find a restaurant or vendor that sells Bun Cha everywhere along the street, so it is not hard to find a place to eat when you are hungry. Moreover, the intolerable and iconic smell of grilled pork shall make you feel unforgettable once you taste it for the first time. One of the notable features of Bun Cha is the combination of sweet and sour flavors that you can’t find anywhere else.
Affordable price and easy to find, Bun Cha has become one of the most noticeable features that tourists can decide to enjoy everywhere and whenever they want.
Nem
Nem is another special dish of Hanoi’s cuisine. It is also one of the most famous dishes in Vietnam. This unique kind of spring roll is a great combination of different ingredients. Almost any common spices of Vietnamese cuisine can be found in this fabulous dish, from herbs to ginger, chili, pepper, and so on, with some garnishes. Rice noodles are the core factor that cannot be replaced, and you can taste both salty, sweet, and sour in just one bite of Nem. This dish is served in many restaurants and vendors along the street of Hanoi, so it is not hard to find a place to try and enjoy it in no time.
Additionally, Nem is quite cheap and crispy food if you want to have a Vietnamese-style snack for your brunch. This dish can be found on the menu of almost any restaurant in Hanoi. Eating Nem with a cup of beer would be a satisfying experience for tourists.
Summary
During your stay in Hanoi, you can have a walk through places and find the most suitable food that fits your own taste cause there are many more on the list waiting for you to discover. Vietnam is not just recognizable for its warm hospitality but also for the distinctive and exceptional cuisine that we have through thousands of years. When you have a bite of these dishes above, you have actually dive into the local culture of Hanoi itself.
Let’s taste them with respect and wake up all of your senses when sipping a spoon of beef broth or crunchiness when eating a loaf of Banh Mi on the sidewalks.
Hope you can enjoy your trip to the capital of Vietnam fully and most desirably.
