For a city that has faced the brunt of a long-drawn war just some decades ago, Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, has done a great job of reinventing itself as a bustling metropolis where the past goes hand in hand with the present. As one explores the winding alleys of the city, strolls around the Hoàn Kiếm Lake or enjoys a water puppet show, Hanoi reveals itself in multiple layers – authentic, quaint and overflowing with joyous life.
But nowhere does it feel as authentic as when one savours the ever-delicious Vietnamese cuisine in Hanoi. In fact, thanks to its sheer variety of cuisine, it is well worth visiting Hanoi for its food alone.
Any food trip to Hanoi should start with pho – traditional Vietnamese beef noodles served during breakfast. While most establishments from street vendors to upscale restaurants have pho listed on their menus, our personal favourite was the rendition served at Pho Thin, a 30-year-old eatery that is located right in the middle of the Old Quarter. Besides being amazingly consistent, the pho here stands out because they use stir-fried beef instead of raw beef unlike other restaurants. Reach there early though, as the pho at Pho Thin tends to get sold out very soon.
For lunch, though, you must try bun cha, another authentic Vietnamese dish that originated right here in Hanoi. Featuring succulent grilled pork in a bowl of aromatic soup with rice vermicelli and veggies on the side, it’s a dish that even ex-US President Barack Obama couldn’t resist when he visited Hanoi. Of course, the eatery he went to – a bustling little joint called Bun Cha Huong Lien – now serves an Obama Combo, consisting of bun cha, nem (Vietnamese spring roll) and beer to locals and gawking tourists alike.
Well-sated, your food trip to Hanoi should next take you to the banks of the Hoan Kiem Lake where hordes of street vendors have set up stalls selling everything from ice cream and smoothies to banh mi. This latter is a Vietnamese version of a French baguette stuffed with pork, coriander leaves, cucumbers, etc. It’s an easy snack to munch on while you explore the area around the lake, which still retains touches of the French colonial era.
The lingering effect of French colonial architecture is, of course, nowhere more apparent than at the nearby Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi Hotel, the oldest hotel in Hanoi (built in 1901) and an institution in itself, having hosted dignitaries such as Charlie Chaplin, W. Somerset Maugham and more recently a meeting between US President Trump and North Korean leader Chairman Kim Jong-un. It is within these hallowed quarters that your food journey should lead you, more specifically to Le Beaulieu, its French cuisinary, and indeed the first-ever French restaurant in Hanoi. Here, you could indulge in an evening of leisurely dining, courtesy of the five-course degustation menu that they have just launched. But be sure to make a reservation first, as Le Beaulieu happens to be as popular with the locals as it is with visitors.
Guests staying at the Metropole Hotel can, however, take a brief detour from their food voyage, with the History Path tour that the hotel organises. The highlight of this tour is indubitably the underground bunkers that have been kept preserved underneath the hotel – a relic from the war era of Vietnam and a reminder of a dark, dismal past.
Those who would rather go in pursuit of something less grim should however head to Ta Hien Beer Street, a place where Hanoi truly comes to life as the night progresses. Filled to the brim with street food and drinks stalls, it’s definitely not an experience for the fainthearted. But if you can manage to wade through the sea of plastic chairs, most of them occupied, and secure yourself a seat, you will be rewarded with a mug of ice-cold locally brewed beer, which is just the thing you need to end your food trip to Hanoi.
Text: Suchetana Mukhopadhyay