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HANOI STREET FOOD TOUR
Smell Taste Enjoy
Brief History of Hanoi’s Street Food Culture `
The first equivalent word for “street food” in Vietnamese was hàng rong or food that is carried around for sale. Originally most street food was brought into the urban centres by people from villages surrounding the big city. Unlike today, there were no sit-down places on the street. Another word for eating street food in Vietnamese is ăn quà which translates literally as “eating snacks” because of the availability of diverse kinds of street food during the day, much of which is not suitable for a full meal. It was only during the French era, from the late 19th century when roads and street systems were built in the big cities, that people started settling down to live in an urban environment. That’s when the demand for street food started and food stalls began to open. In the beginning, these stalls only sold breakfast. But after the French brought electricity to Vietnam — precipitating the appearance of cinemas, theatres and dancing clubs — did a demand appear for street food after dark.
After Vietnam’s reunification in 1975, private businesses were strictly banned and food vendors weren’t allowed. The economic reforms of the mid-1980s saw yet another change as individuals once again began to invest in entrepreneurial ventures. The change brought about a gradual recovery of street food. Now many of those food stalls or mobile vendors of the late 1980s have transformed their mobile vending into properly seated restaurants or sometimes the hybrid restaurants that have both seats inside and outside on the street. Despite the increasing number of restaurants selling dishes off the street, street food served in its original form remains popular — people still long for the taste that they have long been used to. And for the younger generation, it’s the socialising and busy daily life on the street that adds special flavour to the dishes they eat.
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Hanoi Traditional Market
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Phở (Noodle Soup)
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Ô Mai (Dried Fruits)
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Miến Lươn (Eel Vermicelli Salad)
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Chả Cá (Grilled Fish)
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Bún Chả (Grilled Pork Vermicelli)
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Bánh Cuốn (Steamed Rice Pancake)
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Vietnamese Iced Black Coffee
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HANOI MARKET
With its history of establishment and special and unique culture, Hanoi was in the past named Kẻ Chợ. The heat, the smells, the wet floor (from rain or fish buckets), the shoppers on motorbikes squeezing through the aisles… that’s what really makes a market an experience. There's no doubt visitors to Hanoi - especially the food-centric ones - notice the constant presence of edible stuff on their strolls around the Old Quarter and further afield. Street-side meat, bicycles laden with fruit and vegetables, simmering pots of stock on doorsteps, boiling kettles, tipping teapots, sacks overflowing with rice - the streets are where the food action is at, not hidden indoors in gigantic supermarket halls nor protected behind glass windows or cabinetry.
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O MAI
Ô Mai (Salted or sugared dry fruits) has always been recognized as a famous Vietnamese snack. It is a perfect combination of the sour taste of apricot, the saltiness of sour, the spicy of ginger and the natural sweetness of liquorices. The oldest and most famous type of Ô Mai ever known may be apricots, following dracontomelum, star, tamarind, kumquat, pineaple, canari, lemon, mango. Nowadays, coming to Hanoi, you should get the Hàng Đường street where the most delicious and wonderful ô mai are sold. Interestingly, at these shops, you can feel free to tast all kinds of ô mai before paying for the most favorite. Ô Mai is a delicious affordable gift for your friends each time you came to Hanoi.
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CHA CA LA VONG
Chả Cá simply means “grilled fish” in the local language. Fillets of freshwater fish are first marinated for hours in a delicious blend of pepper, fish sauce, tumeric and ginger, and left to chill. When the flavours have seeped in, the generous chunks of fish are served to you, together with a heap of spring onions, ginger, dill, and fresh herbs – raw. Part of the fun is watching the dish cook right in front of you. The server places a small stove on your table and a large pan on top. In goes the fish first, sizzling in the fragrant oil. Heaps of greens and the rest of the condiments are then stirred in. When the fish is perfectly browned, enjoy it over your own mix of pho (rice noodles), herbs, fish sauce, and shrimp paste. Garnish with peanuts extra crunch and texture!
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BANH CUON
Bánh Cuốn is a definitive Hanoi street food dish of silky-soft steamed rice pancakes stuffed with pork mince and pungent black mushrooms and topped with crunchy fried shallots, a squeeze of lime and a handful of fragrant herbs. It's a dish that exemplifies perfectly the Vietnamese concept of flavour and texture balance – savoury, sour, soft, crisp and herbal – and you'd be hard pushed to find it fresher or better made than at this humble canteen. Only a small batch of rice is grinded each time to make enough rolls for consuming in a day. That tradition ensures no leftover rice flour is being used for the next batch to keep every roll is freshly steamed.
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PHO
One can get 32,000 results in Google after some milliseconds with the keyword “Hanoi pho noodle”. Life has changed a lot after the country’s liberation but Hanoi pho noodle has remained as an everlasting value in the hearts and minds of both the elders and the youth. Phở is served everywhere in Hanoi, at all times of the day, mainly because it's so easy to make: all you need are rice noodles, herbs, vegetables, and a choice of beef or chicken, all scalded in a meaty broth. The name reportedly comes from feu , the French word for fire, and a legacy of the wood-fired stoves still used across the city. The best of Hanoi’s pho vendors will visit markets several times a day to stock up on freshly made ingredients.
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MIEN LUON
Eel vermicelli salad, a mixture of stir-fried eels, fried vermicelli and chicken eggs layered over sliced cucumber and traditional herbs. To round it off, the dish is topped with fried spring onions, peanuts, black pepper and then soaked with sweet and sour sauce. The eels are excellent and very crunchy. It's certainly not what you'd find at a sushi restaurant -- they're very small. Eel-based dishes have been a favorite among local Vietnamese for decades. The slithering creatures are caught wild in Nghe An province, 300 kilometers south of Hanoi, and around 100 kilograms of eels are transported to the restaurant every day.
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BUN CHA
Bún Chả is the quintessential Vietnamese dish – simple, quick to eat and mouth wateringly tasty. The plump nugget like patties are shaped from a mixture of pork mince, shallots, garlic, sugar and fish sauce and the pork belly strips resemble thick cuts of streaky bacon. If you are out and about mid morning then you are guaranteed to smell the smokey scent of pork BBQ’ing over coals on the footpaths prior to a roaring lunch trade. The cuts of pork are jammed in between wire mesh grilles and continually rotated until they are caramelized. Bun cha is generally eaten at lunchtime, and popular restaurants or stalls get filled up pretty fast.
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VIETNAMESE COFFEE
Taking over a legacy from bygone years with the involvement of an irresistible French factor, the Vietnamese have embraced café culture in a great way. The Hanoians drink a lot of the dark, caffeinated beverage and prefer sipping their stronger blends outside in front of a small shop with some sweet milk and a spoonful of sugar. Every morning, on hot days of summer and cold and dull days of winter, you can easily see some here with a cup of coffee in one hand and a newspaper in the other. Strong Vietnamese coffee is made with a filter that sits atop your cup. It's most often served with sweetened condensed milk.
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