Contents
Delicious healthy cheap foods is how they describes about food of Hanoi, Vietnam
Hanoi is a city with a big heart and an even bigger appetite and its burgeoning dining scene is growing to rival that of its sophisticated southern brother, Ho Chi Minh. But great food in the capital isn’t just five-star luxury or stuffy fine dining, it’s about local specialities served fresh and simple and – more often than not – on the streets. Improvised living room eateries offer everything from crispy deep fried nem (pork spring rolls) wrapped in herbs and dipped in fish sauce, to the city’s most famous export, pho (beef noodle soup).
And right at the heart of Hanoi’s food and drink scene is coffee, taken strong, sweet and buttery and poured across the city in its wealth of charming cafes. Don’t miss the famous weasel coffee (made with beans digested by weasels).
Pho 
A visit to Hanoi wouldn’t be complete without sampling the city’s most famous dish: pho (pronounced fuh). This fragrant and filling beef noodle soup is traditionally eaten first thing in the morning or late at night and is a much-loved, though nonetheless prosaic, dish for the Vietnamese, who eat it on a daily basis. Pho 10, in Hanoi’s old quarter is a well-respected purveyor, its kitchen’s windows fogged-up by the steam from the huge vats of bubbling stock. A bowl of the good stuff will set you back $1-2, about 70p – eat it with handfuls of chilli, bean sprouts and a good squeeze of lime.
Cafe Loc Tai
The French occupation (from the mid-19th century to the second world war) left Hanoi with a bustling bakery scene and the tempting smell of pastries and cakes frequently pervades the streets. Cafe Loc Tai on Hang Dieu is a fun and exuberant fusion of Western patisserie and Vietnamese dessert shop – offering everything from sesame Madeleines, croissants and deep-fried sausage rolls to candied fruits and yoghurt-based soups dotted with floral fruit jellies and tapioca pearls. Try the che choui – a moreish, sticky-sweet soup of hot coconut milk with fried peanuts and chunks of banana that have been grilled in rice and banana leaf until gooey.
• 53 Hang Dieu
Highway Four
Situated on bustling Hang Tre, bar/restaurant Highway Four is one of the best places in Hanoi to sample authentically produced Vietnamese rice wine. Enjoy a fruit basket of flavours – ranging from mulberry to rose apple – of the restaurant’s Son Tinh liquor, which is made with sticky rice, traditional yeast and herbs grown in the La Chi Gia district. Head upstairs – past the kitchen where Vietnamese delicacies like roasted crickets and jellyfish salad are being busily cooked – to the roof terrace with low lighting and kneeling mats for a cosy atmosphere in which to get merry.
• 5 Hang Tre, highway4.com
Xoi Yen
A favourite among the young people of Hanoi, xoi is a street food dish that has grown in popularity in the past few years. Basically consisting of sticky rice with buttery shaved bean curd, crunchy shallots and a selection of toppings from pâté to fried eggs, it’s a rich and filling snack and a great way to line the stomach before embarking on a beer hoi crawl. Xoi Yen comes alive at night, when crowds of people gather to eat the rice with a rich, thin caramelised pork dipping sauce and enjoy the sounds of passing street karaoke.
• 35B Nguyen Huu Huan
Cafe Nha Tho
Cafe Nha Tho sits in the shadow of Hanoi’s most imposing Catholic Church. In a somewhat bizarre but quintessentially Vietnamese juxtaposition, gown-draped painted angels stare down from the building’s frontage at the hoards of young, hip Hanoians who crowd the pavement on tiny stools. The close social proximity that is the norm here may take some getting used to (the diminutive plastic seats are barely big enough for one Western buttock), but it’s all part of the conviviality of the city, and you’ll start to feel every bit the local as you chew on pumpkin seeds and drink sua chua thach – glasses of ice, yoghurt and candied fruit.
• 2 Nha Chung
