Sorry, Saigon. When it comes to street food, Hanoi takes the cake.
The Old Quarter, Hanoi’s centuries-old trading precinct, has provided the space for ideas to marinate and recipes to develop. Street food is a competitive business in Hanoi, and those eateries that don’t hit the mark don’t last long. Those who have survived and thrived have passed countless taste tests from the notoriously picky locals.
The street life in Hanoi. (© Shutterstock)
It goes without saying, then, that the Old Quarter is the best place for foodies to stay. Not only does it have the best street food, but the neighbourhood is also packed with temples, pagodas, churches, lakes, parks and cafes. In other words, this is the ideal place to kill time before your next meal.
Just on the edge of the Old Quarter is the Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi, a legacy hotel with more than a century of stories to tell. Just around the corner is Hotel de l’Opera Hanoi, a more contemporary affair and closer to Hoan Kiem Lake, always a good place to start a Hanoian adventure.
Address book:
- Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi: 15 Ngo Quyen, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi
- Hotel de l’Opera Hanoi: 29 Trang Tien, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi
RELATED: 2 Days in Hanoi
Visit St. Joseph Cathedral and enjoy a meal at Mien Luon Dong Thinh and Cha Ca Thang Long. (© Shutterstock, Michelin)
Day 1
Morning
Work up your appetite with a brisk loop of Hoan Kiem Lake before ducking into the Old Quarter and seeking out beef noodle soup at Phở Bò Ấu Triệu, a MICHELIN Guide 2024 Bib Gourmand restaurant on a street that runs parallel to St. Joseph Cathedral. The one-room eatery is difficult to identify as there’s no sign, but if you find somewhere packed with locals and seats that spill onto the street, you know you’re in the right place. This joint leans into the style of pho from Nam Dinh, one of the possible birthplaces of the dish. In Phở Bò Ấu Triệu, the beef bone stock cooks for 10 hours, resulting in a rich broth that is topped with beef flank and tendon. They don’t usually run out until just before lunchtime but get here before 9.30 AM to be safe.Lunch
After breakfast you can admire the 19th-century cathedral; it’s usually possible to enter it through a raised side door on the southern side of the building. Then settle into a café that overlooks the cathedral’s weatherworn façade. When the hunger pangs return, wander up the road for a lesser-known Vietnamese noodle dish. Miến Lươn Đông Thịnh, another MICHELIN Guide 2024 Bib Gourmand hole-in-the-wall eatery, has been serving glass noodles with eel, greens, crushed peanuts and deep-fried shallots for more than four decades. You can ask for the dish with or without soup, or if you need a break from noodles, try the rice porridge version instead. You may also wish to indulge in a side of crispy deep-fried eel to power you through the afternoon, which is best spent wandering around the Old Quarter. On your travels, look out for Bach Ma Temple, one of Hanoi’s oldest places of worship, and Thuoc Bac Street, where you can find decades-old shops selling traditional medicine.Dinner
Lat century, cha ca (pan-fried fish with turmeric, noodles and greens cooked right at the table) was probably served on the street, but these days you’ll need to try the dish – which originated in Hanoi – in restaurants. One of the best spots in the city is Chả Cá Thăng Long (6B Duong Thanh Street), which has three establishments on the same street! Put your trust in our MICHELIN inspectors, who prefer the location at 6B Duong Thanh Street, a townhouse built over a century ago.Address book:
- Pho Bo Au Trieu: 34 Au Trieu, Hang Trong, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi
- Mien Luon Dong Thinh: 87 Hang Dieu, Cua Dong, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi
- Cha Ca Thang Long: 6B Duong Thanh, Cua Dong, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi
They say life unfolds on the streets in Vietnam. Pay a visit to Banh Cuon Ba Xuan and Oc Di Tu if you're in the mood for excellent street food recommended by our inspectors. (© Shutterstock, Michelin)
Day 2
Morning
It’s a common misconception that the Vietnamese eat pho for breakfast every day, but this is very far from the truth. One breakfast alternative to noodles is banh cuon, steamed wet rice paper rolls with minced pork, cat ear mushrooms and an optional poached egg on the side. Operating the huge steaming machines requires skill, which Ms. Xuan at Bánh Cuốn Bà Xuân has in spades. After watching her dextrously prepare the rolls, dip them in a fish sauce-based dipping sauce that you’ve seasoned with lime, garlic, chilli and fresh herbs. This place is in an arty corner of Hanoi, with the independent bookshop Bookworm, anthropological artefact gallery 54 Traditions and Manzi art space just around the corner. Spend the morning perusing these spots; Manzi and Bookworm also serve coffee.Lunch
Lunch like a Hanoian on bun cha, one of the city’s favourite dishes. Tuyết Bún Chả 34, a MICHELIN Guide 2024 Bib Gourmand street food joint, serves extraordinarily generous portions of rice vermicelli noodles, grilled pork and fresh green herbs. They only have a tiny space inside, so the tables and chairs snake up the street when the place gets busy (which it always does). This bustling eatery is close to Truc Bach Lake, Tran Quoc Pagoda and Quan Su Temple, all important sights with long histories. Spend the afternoon exploring, and don’t forget to have a drink by the water at sunset.Dinner
Keeping to the neighbourhood, loosen the purse strings just a little for dinner at Ốc Di Tú. Oc means snails in Vietnamese, and this place serves a dizzying variety of high-quality molluscs in basic surroundings, along with prawns, clams and cockles. MICHELIN inspectors were particularly impressed with the huge melo melo sea snails grilled with scallions and fried garlic and Venus clams with lemongrass, chilli and pineapple.
Address book:
- Banh Cuon Ba Xuan: 16 Doc Hoe Nhai, Nguyen Trung Truc, Ba Dinh, Hanoi
- Tuyet Bun Cha 34: 34 Hang Than, Nguyen Trung Truc, Ba Dinh, Hanoi
- Oc Di Tu: 144C Quan Thanh, Quan Thanh, Ba Dinh, Hanoi
