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| food from Hanoi, Vietnam |
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About a year ago, I moved to Vietnam for three months. During my time there, I spent one month in Hanoi, one month in the central region, and one month in the south in Saigon. I had an amazing experience, and my lovely girlfriend and I learned so much about Vietnamese history and culture. One of our favorite parts of our time there, however, was the food. I've written before about the amazing Vietnamese coffee, but now, I would like to share some of the incredible dishes that I ate while exploring Vietnam from north to south.I've also included a few links to Word of Street Food, the food blog that Pinky and I wrote when we were traveling in Vietnam
Banh Mi
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| a banh mi sandwich in Hanoi, Vietnam |
I ate more Banh Mi in Vietnam than probably anything else. A banh mi is a foot-long baguette sandwich stuffed with delicious ingredients. This popular lunch dish has an influence from the French, as Vietnam used to be a part of French Indochina from the 19th to 20th century. These hot, freshly-baked, and super crispy baguettes can be stuffed with any filling that you choose, such as pork, chicken, egg, cheese, veggie, etc.
You can also find vegetarian varieties too. The most common and popular filling, though, is pate! These baguettes are served warm, so that you when you bite down, you will enjoy the crispy outside and the soft inside. The best part is, it's cheap, delicious, and filling! Banh mi is one of the cheapest street foods you can find in Hanoi. You can find one for as low as 15,000d.
- Pate, Egg, and Cheese + Vegetarian Option Banh Mi
- Pork Banh Mi
- Duck Pate and Egg Banh Mi
- Banh Mi Pate
Pho
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| chicken Pho noodle soup |
Pho is probably the most famous Vietnamese dish! It's a soup of thinly sliced meat (usually chicken), rice noodles, and a savory and salty broth. It's perfect on a cold Hanoi evening, but equally good served on a hot Vietnamese afternoon with a cold beer.
Pho is the number one food that everyone would think of when it comes to Vietnamam. I found a local shop that makes an excellent and cheap bowl of hearty chicken pho. It's a healthy dish that contains rice noodles, chicken, and lots of veggies. I like it best with a bit of lime and chili. Soft chicken with rich warm soup are always good, for any meal of the day.
Bun Cha
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| very special Bun Cha Combo Obama |
If it's good enough for the President of the United States, it's good enough for me! Bun Cha was President Obama's favorite dish when he toured Vietnam. The late, great food writer Anthony Bourdain took Mr. Obama to a very special Bun Cha restaurant in Hanoi, and Pinky and I loved it so much that we went back there again and again.
In fact, Bun Cha was one of our very favorite dishes during our entire three months spent in Vietnam!
What is Bun Cha? It's barbecued pork served with noodles in a sweet and savory soup. It's best served with lots and lots of herbs and veggies, and washed down with a Bia Hanoi or Bia Saigon!
The Combo Obama also comes with a seafood spring roll and an ice-cold beer.
Soups
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| sweet and savory crab cake noodles |
A lot of the dishes that are popular in Hanoi cuisine are soups. Vietnam is a long, skinny country, and the cuisine - as well as the culture - between the north and south is vastly different. Hanoi can get a little chilly in the winter. On a cold, rainy, Vietnamese evening, there's nothing that will warm you up like a bowl of hot soup.
- Dry noodles
- Sweet and savory crab cake noodles
- Chinese-style ravioli soup
- Fish noodle soup
- Chinese bbq pork noodles
- Rice noodles with egg and pork pie
Rice Dishes
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| tofu and tomato with rice |
Rice dishes became more prevalent as we worked our way south, but there were plenty of rice dishes to be found in Hanoi as well. One that we really loved was xoi ga! We came back again and again for that particular Hanoi delicacy!
Our very favorite dishes in Hanoi can be found HERE!
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