Bánh cuốn ( Steamed rice flour pancakes)
Banh cuon is a Northern Vietnamese dish that migrated to Hanoi. Thin steamed rice flour pancakes filled with minced pork and cloud ear mushrooms are served with “nuoc cham”. Nuoc cham is a fish-sauce-based dipping sauce, fried shallots and fresh herbs. Slightly goopy in texture, banh cuon are often eaten for breakfast or as an evening pick-me-up.
Where to try:
Thanh Van Bánh Cuốn at 14 Hàng Gà, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi serves the Best Banh Cuon in Hanoi.
Bún riêu
Freshwater crabs flavor this tangy tomato soup that’s made with rice vermicelli and topped with pounded crab meat, deep-fried tofu and, often, congealed blood. An odoriferous purple shrimp paste on the side — it tastes delicious.
Chilies and fresh herbs are the finishing touches for a complete one-dish meal.
Where to try: There are many Bun Rieu adress that you can try, for Example:
Bun Rieu at 11 Hàng Bạc, a tiny unmarked restaurant where customers gather in a busy, crowded front room.
Bun Rieu Hang Thùng.
Hanoi Coffee & Special Egg Coffee
Coffee came into Vietnam in the late 19th century. Vietnam quickly became a strong exporter of coffee with many plantations in the central highlands. Because of limitations on the availability of fresh milk, the Vietnamese began to use sweetened condensed milk with a dark roast coffee. Today, Hanoians like to drink coffee in the morning time. Travelers may tenderly recognize that nothing better than a cup of coffee at a modern and luxury or pavement cafes to soak up the rhythms of the street and embrace Hanoi from all of its sides, from old to new ones, and from traditional to modern & quirky ones. Beside a cum of coffee with sweet milk and/or a spoonful of sugar, Hanoians create new ways to enjoy coffee, for example: Egg coffee and yogurt coffee which you coffee lovers may want to try.
Where to try:
There are many coffee shops, such as: Lam (60, 91 Nguyen Huu Huan – to be known as one of the oldest coffee shop in Hanoi), Nhi (2 Hang Ca), Nhan (39D1 Hang Hanh), Nang (6 Hang Bac), Ca Phe Pho Co (11 ward – Hang Gai street). The last two, Giang and Ca Phe Pho Co, are recommended for egg coffee.
Nước mía (Sugar Cane Juice)
Not as sickly sweet as you’d expect, sugar cane juice is another drink that’s considered “cooling”. It’s usually sold by street vendors, who use electric squashing machines, not unlike an old-fashioned wringer, to squeeze the juice from stalks of sugar cane. It’s usually then mixed with juice from the cranberry mheasan, a tiny sour citrus fruit that smells like a mandarin. On the contrary, the finished product has a crisp grassy flavor that’s very refreshing on a sweltering hot day. Sugar cane vendors advertise their wares openly, with a bucket of sugar cane stalks in front of their stall. They can also be identified by what looks like a ship’s wheel on the side of the stall, part of the electric wringer mechanism that juices the cane before your eyes
Where to try: You can easily buy a glass of sugar cane juice in the Old Quarter
