Eating in Hanoi

I like to think of myself as an adventurous dinosaur but in reality I’m a bit of a chicken when it comes to spicy food. Luckily, Vietnam has many different delicacies which are unique to certain areas of the country. So I was hoping I would find an area where the food wasn’t too spicy.

Northern Vietnam was my first introduction to Vietnamese food and I was surprised to find it so different to what I expected. I was expecting to find very spicy food which was similar to Chinese dishes given the close proximity to China, but I was wrong. The food is a delicate balance of sour, salty, spicey and sweet flavours. Vietnam is the country to be vegetarian, I have never eaten so many delicious things in such a small space of time. I found that by avoiding meat and fish dishes, I was given enough food to feed a small village for a month.

5spice Restaurant

Feeling nervous about picking a dish from a menu, I opted to go for a 5 course tasting menu because I would see lots of different dishes and steal some of my photographer’s food. To my delight, spring rolls are a staple in Vietnamese cuisine but sadly all dipping sauces are made with fish sauce.

The curries were delicious and flavourful, built from a stock base. Completely different from the Indian and Japanese style I am used to. I often avoid curries because I find them either too bland or too spicy. Being vegetarian has it’s perks because the curries are filled to the brim with veggies.

Tofu in vietnam is compelety different to what I am used to, it was perfectly soft and delicate. The dish was covered in sweet chilli sauce and I was pleasantly surprised at how well it paired with sticky jasmine rice.

Hairy ice cream is a thing in Vietnam, not just a special dish which was made for me. It isn’t as furry as it sounds, it is basically coconut ice cream covered in shaved coconut. The best part of the meal was discovering the cubes of drgonfruit hidden under the hairy ice cream.

Street Food

I was both really excited and really apprehensive to try street food. Street food is a foreign concept to me because in the UK, the closest thing to street food is McDonald’s or a bag of fish and chips. I did cheat a little bit and go to a street food restaurant because I was worried about eating at the side of the road.

Bun cha ta was my destination to try Bun Cha, a staple in the Vietnamese diet. It is essentially cold noodle soup with pork, and you are correct to think that I didn’t eat it. The restaurant offered me a dish of broth and noodles but I couldn’t eat it because it was made from broth.

I did try the glutinous rice cakes which were a gift for the mid autumn festival. The green one was my favourite, however I find asian deserts a bit weird because they aren’t sweet at all.

Bahn Mi

I stopped at a small place to get a sandwich after being unable to eat lunch. Bahn mi combines the French and Vietnamese cultures, in a warm submarine sandwich. I really enjoyed the combination of omelette, salad, chilli and coriander.

It was the perfect lunchtime pick-me-up because it was the perfect balance of spicy, savoury and comfort food.

Downtown restaurant

I chose once again to go for the tasting menu because I couldn’t decide what to eat at all. I had 8 courses in total and couldn’t fault a thing. Both of the starters were delicious, although I found pea soup a strange choice to pair with an Asian salad.

Tofu was a big part of this meal, prepared in many different ways (there is a theme here). Both the curried tofu and spicy stir friend tofu were delicious. The best part of Vietnamese food is the way each dish is perfectly balanced to match the five elements.

The only downside of the meal was the dessert, banana fritters covered in chocolate are not my thing. Though I will never get sick of coconut ice cream, it’s just delicious.

Vietnamese coffee culture

Egg coffee is a must try in Vietnam to say the least. I’ll not tell you what I was expecting but I was pleasantly surprised by the taste. It is the perfect combination of creamy and strong coffee.

I visited Vi Anh, an unassuming cafe on a busy street in Hanoi’s old quarter. Initially I wasn’t impressed but the staff led me to a courtyard and up a flight of stairs to the most beautiful room. Lanterns covered the ceiling, turning it into a rainbow of beautiful designs. Visiting this old building made me so excited to visit Hoi An to see the lanterns floating along the river.