Hanoi is a great land for those who want to discover Vietnamese food. Below are the dishes you should not miss when come to Hanoi.
1. Bun Cha
Bun cha is a well-known local food in Hanoi. It is made of grilled pork and noodle, often thought to have been originated from Hanoi, Vietnam. This dish is served with grilled fatty pork (cha) over a plate of white rice noodle (bun) and herbs with a side dish of dipping sauce/broth. Listed in top 7 specialties of Hanoi street food, the available density of Bun cha Hanoi is so great that you can easily find a Bun cha everywhere, from big restaurants to street vendors, but only gourmets of Hanoi can advise you the best ones.
2. Pho
Pho (Noodle soup) is one of the traditional food of Hanoi, closely associated with the people daily life and history of this old city. Pho is a Vietnamese noodle soup consisting of broth, linguine-shaped rice noodles called banh pho, a few herbs, and meat. It is primarily served with either beef or chicken.
Pho is a popular street food in Vietnam and the specialty of a number of restaurant chains around the world. International travelers also said that it was the food that they wanted to enjoy the first when they went to Vietnam. Pho is Vietnam’s national dish, usually served with beef noodle (pho bo) or chicken (pho ga), combined with herbs such as asian basil, mint leaves, lime.
3. “Cốm” - Autumn’s special gift
"Cốm" (green sticky rice) is a delicacy that is made only in autumn and cherished by all Vietnamese. For Hanoians, nothing evokes autumn like the taste of young rice from Vong village, the grain so sweetly scented that they left a lasting impression...
Served with red persimmons or ripe bananas, "Cốm" is truly delicious. Vong village, on the outskirts of Hanoi, is said to produce the best "Cốm" in northern Vietnam. When autumn comes, Hanoians everywhere always remember the special taste of "Cốm" which is a special gift from the soil made by hard-working peasants, holding a simple and fresh fragrance.
Every autumn, when the cool north-westerly wind brings a cold dew, the sticky rice ears bend themselves into arches waiting for ripe grains because these rice grains are at their fullest and the rice-milk is already concentrated in the grains, and the local farmers will know it is time to make “Cốm” – a specialty made from young green sticky rice.
"Cốm" is often eaten by hand, directly from the lotus leaves, a pinch at a time. When eating “Cốm”, you must enjoy slowly and chew very deliberately in order to appreciate all the scents, tastes, and plasticity of the young rice which is sweet, nutty and buttery.
4. Fresh Beer Ta Hien
Drinking beer, chatting with friend in the corner street in Hanoi is the most greatest feeling when you out of your work. We can not remember when did we fall into this habit, but we know it is the same nature: hot summer, cold winter and Hanoi’s people flock in Ta Hien street, drink beer at weekend. Fresh beer is the cheapest drinking in Vietnam. We drink beer with some local snack such as: roasted peanuts¸ many kind of local spring rolls, grilled squid. That’s delicious for hot summer day.
Only fresh beer doesn’t make Hanoi’s culture. You can find fresh beer in every Beer’s restaurant in Vietnam. However, sitting in the corner in Ta Hien street, drinking beer, chatting and feeling the colorfull atmostphere that local people and foreign tourists wall along street. All of these things make Ta Hien’s beer culture in Hanoi.
5. Spare rib porridge
Hardly anyone really knows when the tradition of cooking this dish began. It has just been widely known for its usefulness in Vietnamese people’s daily life. If you are sick, a bowl of spare rib porridge would be the sweetest drug. Or if the cold weather sets in, spare rib porridge, with its warmth and scent, would be a wise choice to save you from the coldness.
Spare rib porridge is made of two main ingredients: white rice and spare ribs. The ribs are first stewed for one hour. The cook then takes them out, put the rice in the broth and cook until it turns into porridge. Next, the ribs are deboned before being put back into the porridge pot. A perfect bowl of spare rib porridge is the combination between the sweetness of the broth, thanks to ribs stewed for hours, and the tenderness of the pork and porridge. Enjoy it, and see if you can feel the same as what I mention above.
