happ y b i r t h day ha no i
The nium n e l l i M City On the eve of its 1,000th anniversary, Hanoi is an increasingly cosmopolitan capital with a cultural heart, reports Connla Stokes. Photography by Aaron Joel Santos
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photography aaron joel santos
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Motorcyclists ride past the Legend Beer Hall and Highlands Coffee Building
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happ y b i r t h day ha n o i
happ y b i r t h day ha no i NGO worker Luu My Lai
A skateboarder takes to the air near the Statue of Lenin
Hair stylist Tran Linh
Kids make up Over half the population – two-thirds are under the age of 35. Hanoi is an old soul with a youthful zing
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s a boomtown with a
venerable William S.
rich and fascinating
Logan in his book,
architectural heritage,
Hanoi: A Biography of a City. One of the most clear-cut turning points in the modern urban development of Hanoi was the arrival of the French in 1873. As part of the colonial administration’s mission civilisatrice (civilising mission) French town planners drafted a blueprint replete with tree-lined avenues, a modern sanitation system, gaslights and an opera house in the style of Paris’s Palais Garnier. But there are plenty of other competing influences across a cityscape where socialist monuments, ancient Buddhist temples with strong Taoist and Confucian accents and, now, luxury shopping and office complexes vie for attention. For many, battle-hardened Hanoi is the
Vietnam’s capital manages to be both exhilarating and enchanting. The spiritual
and geographic centrepiece of Hanoi is Hoan Kiem Lake, the fabled body of water where in the 15th century, Emperor Le Thai To – in the manner of King Arthur – is said to have returned a charmed sword after leading his embattled troops to victory over Chinese Ming dynasty warriors. For the leg-weary sightseer, the lake offers a poetic stillness amid the city’s motorbike-powered mayhem. And it’s that incongruous mix of serenity and gusto which seems to be Hanoi’s trademark. For more than a thousand years, Hanoi has been “bending with the wind” to resist foreign domination while at the same time absorbing overseas influences. So says the
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ultimate symbol of defiance. Naturally, Fashionable youth
both residents and visitors show an interest in the Vietnam-American war – out of sympathy or respect, if not admiration.
Exterior of Tan My Design
Still, most people show little inclination to dwell on the conflict. This is a city that’s busy embracing the new. Kids make up over half the population – two-thirds are under the age of 35. Hanoi is an old soul with a youthful zing. And there may be no better summation of the uneasy balance between past and present than the sight of teenage break-dancers with backwards-baseball caps and sagging jeans doing their thing in front of the Statue of Lenin on Dien Bien Phu Street. Proof, perhaps, that history does irony. Christina Yu, the Hong Kong designer and
photography aaron joel santos
A
It’s that incongruous mix of serenity and gusto which seems to be Hanoi’s trademark
Skateboarder chic
Christina Yu, founder of Ipa-Nima
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Downtown Hanoi intersection
Server at Verticale restaurant
Street vendor shouldering her wares
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Chillies and spices in the Old Quarter Clothing display at designer Ha Truong’s showroom
This city’s got grit as well as glamour but with little tension on the surface
founder of Ipa-Nima, a Hanoi-based brand
well as glamour but
known for its ultra-funky handbags and
with very little tension
accessories, first came here in 1995, when
on the surface.
the city had a sleepier disposition. “Vietnam
have taken a financial
past 15 years,” says Yu. “Back then, most of
quantum leap, much of
the population still lived a simple life and did
the city’s population lives far
not have a real sense of money’s worth.”
more humbly. These extremes
Morning ritual on Nha Tho Street
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photography aaron joel santos
That’s because at the time money was
Cyclo driver near Dong Xuan Market
While Hanoi’s elite
has moved from bicycles to Bentleys in the
“Hanoi is one of the most unique cities in Asia, but like it or not it is driving forward at a rapid pace”
mean visitors can enjoy gratifyingly
always better to sit closer to the gutter on a plastic stool. Even the owners of the town’s swankier eateries seem to agree. The host of World Café
Asia on Discovery Travel and Living, Hanoi-based restaurateur
decidedly tight. A generation ago people
diverse experiences. You can lose
were queuing up for rations of rice as
yourself in the clamour of Dong Xuan
as “intimate and true. There’s no bullshit
the national economy floundered after a
Market before slurping down a bowl
‘foo foo’ food,” says Bobby. “From the
decades-long scrap for independence.
of noodles while perched on a plastic
street stall that has perfected one dish
Now, well-heeled ladies stroll into opulent
stool. Or you can browse through
for generations to the street merchant
shopping malls to pick up a pair of Salvatore
the latest collections from the city’s
who walks miles from a country village
Ferragamo stilettos, while high-rolling
trendiest designers at Tan My Design
with her goods across a pole – selling on
businesspeople drive to golf courses in
on Hang Gai Street before enjoying
the streets until she sells out.”
BMW 4WDs. Elsewhere, there are reminders
afternoon tea or apéritifs at the iconic
that not all boats rise with the tide – the
Sofitel Legend Metropole.
huckster flogging watermelons and the
You can find plenty of high-end
Bobby Chinn, describes the local food
It’s worth doing some research on street food before setting off with an empty stomach. No less an authority
shoeshine boy pitching would-be customers
establishments serving ultra-refined
than author and chef Anthony Bourdain
at a roadside café. But Hanoi straddles
versions of what family-run restaurants or
once said, “You don’t have to go looking for
these poles with ease. This city’s got grit as
street vendors sell. But for the best food, it’s
great food in Vietnam. Great food finds you”.
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However, in a city as heaving as Hanoi, there
commercial, glitzy, high-rise direction,”
are still mediocre versions of local classics.
he says. “There is an informal coalition
If you’re lacking inside information, stick to
dedicated to preserving `inner’ Hanoi, which
kept pace. It’s hard to argue that Hanoi’s
the seasoned traveller’s rule of thumb and
has scored a few victories, but no one knows
fragmented bar-and-nightclub scene is in
make a beeline for the busiest restaurant.
what to do with the Old Quarter.”
the same league as those in other cities in
Acutely aware of Vietnam’s rich culinary
The Old Quarter has a street plan that harks back to Medieval times. It is one
heritage, the French chef and owner
of the most congested urban
of La Verticale restaurant,
zones on the planet, with
Didier Corlou, has conjured up his own brand of French-Vietnamese haute cuisine. He did so on the strength of his encyclopaedic knowledge of indigenous ingredients and his natural flair for
833 people per hectare.
There is an informal coalition dedicated to preserving ‘inner’ hanoi
who before taking a job with a Spanish NGO managed several of Hanoi’s most prominent
the shopfronts, many
breakdancing crews. “You might be
of the inhabitants
standing outside and not know it but behind
Elsewhere, many of the city’s pagodas
of a sub-genre. On a similar wavelength are
and temples are being engulfed amid a
Green Tangerine and La Badiane – both
flurry of construction projects in suburban
housed in restored colonial-era villas, which
residential areas. It’s also not unusual to see
are coveted universally, sometimes not for
a street-side restaurant operating by the
the purpose of restoration.
gates of a pagoda.
Just this year, a plan to sell off hundreds
However, Matthew Powell, Hanoi
of state-owned villas – which would have
branch director of the UK-owned property
left their fate in the hands of capricious
group Savills Vietnam, is optimistic that
developers – was rescinded in the face of a
development can work its way around the
public outcry. Australia’s leading authority
city’s precious heritage. “Hanoi is one of
on Vietnam, Professor David Marr, who first
the most unique cities in Asia, but like it or
came to Hanoi in 1974, remains sceptical
not it is driving forward at a rapid pace,” he
that Hanoi can preserve its heritage amid
says. “But with good planning and control
runaway development. “I much prefer Hanoi
systems in place, this should increase its
to Saigon, but fear it’s heading in the same
capacity to serve its growing population
A floral display at Hoan Kiem Lake
the shutters there’s a party going on!” Certainly no-one is shy about getting an early start to the evening. Throughout the city you will find locals enjoying bia hoi
Streetside bia hoi drinkers
(fresh beer), a sort of home-brew style lager that’s light on alcohol and sold for pocket change. It’s not uncommon to see hordes of young men stand in unison shouting, “Mot, hai, ba, dzo!” (One, two, three – in!) before swilling the beer back in one gulp. Curious foreigners may be invited to join. And it’s tricky to politely refuse or slip away after just one. Elsewhere, an old man sitting by himself may timidly enquire, “Vous êtes français (You are French)?” before shuffling off into the night. That’s Hanoi to a tee – in your face one minute, elegant and charming the next.
“Vietnam has moved from bicycles to Bentleys in the past 15 years”
Tiger Airways flies to Hanoi three times per week from Singapore. www.tigerairways.com
Hanoi’s Must-Sees Kinh Do Café, 1 Nha Tho, Hoan Kiem District A hole-in-the-wall coffee shop beside St Joseph’s Cathedral with wonderful, strong, chocolaty coffee – order ca phe den da (iced black) or ca phe sua da (coffee with condensed milk).
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Sofitel Legend Metropole, 15 Ngo Quyen, Hoan Kiem District, +84 (0)4 3826 6919, www. sofitel.com For a splurge, come for
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lunch or dinner or enjoy drinks on the terrace, and bask in the post-colonial Indochina chic. Built in 1901, this is one of Hanoi’s most iconic buildings. La Verticale, 19 Ngo Van So, Hai Ba Trung District, tel: +84 (0)4 3944 6317, www. laverticale-hanoi.com For a culinary odyssey, order the tasting menu. Possibly the only restaurant in Hanoi that could plausibly pick up a Michelin star.
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Highway4, 25 Bat Su or 3 Hang Tre, Hoan Kiem
Christina Yu
District, www.highway4.com Top-notch traditional Vietnamese food and delicious fruit-flavoured, ricebased liquors as well some more potent drams. Green Tangerine, 48 Hang Be, Hoan Kiem District, tel: +84 (0)4 3825 1286 Set in a wonderful old villa in the heart of the Old Quarter, with an array of dishes that play Vietnamese and French recipes, ingredients and flavours off each other.
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Art works at Bui Gallery
La Badiane, 10 Nam Ngu, Hoan Kiem District, tel: +84 (4) 3942 4509 Refined French-owned restaurant that also specialises in mixing and matching Vietnamese and French flavours.
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Bia Hoi restaurants: 1 Duong Thanh, Hoan Kiem District; 19c Ngoc Ha, Ba Dinh District; 1 Quan Su, Hai Ba Trung District; 22 Tang Bat Ho, Hai Ba Trung district
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Display windows at Vincom Towers
Offerings at Verticale A streetside eatery
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“After midnight you might think Hanoi is
street life. But behind
only problem? Nobody seems keen to go.
French cuisines have become something
guidebooks suggest.
stay open,” says 25-year old Luu Mai Ly,
other side of the Red River. The
Vibrant amalgams of the Vietnamese and
is “early to bed, early to rise”, as some
observe the teeming
by offering them land on the
(noodle soup) served with foie gras.
planet as Bangkok. Not that everyone
eat, drink, shop or
to cajole residents away
plain playful, like, say pho
the region – it’s not even on the same
sound asleep but in the Old Quarter bars
plan has been mooted
and spectacular – or just
Nightlife is one industry that hasn’t
It’s a thrilling place to
are living in squalor. A
combinations both subtle
without losing its underlying charm.“
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