Hanoi Food Tour (Part 1)

When talking about Hanoi, besides the beautiful landscapes and the ancient historical relics, what would you think about? It’s the food, right? …
As the wonderland for Vietnamese cuisine, Hanoi brings you a whole food heaven, and maybe the biggest food tour you can ever imagine. Come and join Free Hanoi Food Tour with us now!

 

Phở (rice noodle soup with sliced beef)

Phở is a rice noodle soup with beef stock and sliced beef. You may also have quẩy (fried dough sticks) and some fresh herbs as a side dish (often in Southern Vietnam). It has a relatively simpler chicken version as well. 

It’s unclear whether phở came from the French pot-au-feu or traditional Vietnamese cooking. However, the complex layers of flavor are the signature of Northern Vietnamese. 

Phở wowed tourists with the harmony of soft rice noodles, tender beef and perfectly balanced flavorful broth. Pick up the noodle and the beef on your spoon, dip it into the soup, and then “slurp” – voilà! The soup “hits” you with so many fragrances and flavors that you can’t even differentiate it! Your body then warms up right away, leaving you a soothing sense of comfort.

 

Bún chả (rice vermicelli with grilled pork)

Thought to be originated from Hanoi, bún chả is a dipping noodle including rice vermicelli, grilled pork and dipping fish sauce. You often see people sell bún chả at noon, although it can be eaten throughout the day.

To eat bún chả, you pick up the pork and the vermicelli, then dip them in the sauce. After that, you scoop up the dipped pork and vermicelli at the same time and enjoy. You can eat it together with some side dishes like pickled vegetables or fresh herbs as well.

Just when the food touches your mouth, you can feel the sweet-sour-salty dipping sauce binding the juicy pork and the chewy rice vermicelli so well. It’s so good that you will just keep eating and eating until you realize you’ve finished it all.

 

Nem rán (fried spring rolls)

 

Nem rán is one of the must-have dishes during the Tet holiday in northern Vietnam. It has many variations with different fillings, but the one with minced pork is the most popular.

To make the dish, you need some rice paper, minced pork, vermicelli, eggs, carrots, mung bean sprouts, wood ear mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms and spices for seasoning. After preliminary preparation, you put all ingredients into a pot for mixing. The mixture then is put onto the rice paper and wrapped into nice long rolls. After that, you need to deep fry them, and that’s all.

Nem rán can be eaten individually, or together with rice vermicelli with a dipping sauce similar to the bún chả sauce. Just have a bite to feel the crunchy wrap and the moist fillings inside to the fullest.

 

Chả cá Lã Vọng (Lã Vọng grilled fish)

Although it isn’t as well-known as the upper ones, chả cá Lã Vọng still has a special place in many hearts. It’s made from grilled cá lăng (a kind of catfish) marinated with turmeric and served in a hot pan with dill and scallions.

Chả cá Lã Vọng was derived from the Doan family restaurant in 1871, originally just a commoner’s food. “La Vong” is the Vietnamese name for Lu Wang (Jiang Ziya) – a Chinese noble who symbolized patience.

Now considered a delicacy, chả cá Lã Vọng is exclusively served in restaurants. But, the way to taste it isn’t so complicated at all. Quite the same as bún chả, you eat it with rice vermicelli and dipping sauces – like fish sauce or shrimp paste – and feel the fragrant fish gradually melting in your mouth.

 

Nộm bò khô (dried beef salad) 

A popular kind of food you can find right around Hoan Kiem lake, nộm bò khô has gradually become a familiar snack, even making its way to wedding parties.

The dish has sliced green papaya, carrot and dried beef as the main ingredients. Together with that are the dressing and some chilies, roasted peanuts and herbs for tasting. It’s a very smart arrangement of vegetables, herbs and meat. The meat is still there, but it doesn’t make you full at all. Instead, it brings a pungent, aromatic flavor and makes you feel fresh – especially during the hot summer days in Hanoi.

Quite different from the other dishes above, people almost always eat nộm bò khô individually as an appetizer or a snack. Either way, it’s still one of the must-try street food when you visit Hanoi.

 

Is all of this enough to make you hungry and eager to try out some of the most notable dishes in Hanoi? Click here to book a Hanoi street food tour with us right away!