What to eat in Hanoi? Which famous specialties do you definitely have to try once? What culinary experience will definitely make you fall in love? Let’s explore delicious dishes here with VietnamTravelIO like a genuine Ha Thanh locality.
Hanoi Pho conquers diners with its simplicity combined with many spices to create a unique flavor. The broth is the “soul” of the dish, simmered with beef bones for many hours and has a naturally sweet taste. The highlight of Hanoi pho is the sophistication in seasoning. Fish sauce with fish sauce creates a salty, mild taste mixed with the mild sourness of lemon, the spicy taste of kumquat, and the strong aroma of onions, creating a wonderful symphony of flavors. Enjoying authentic Hanoi pho, you cannot ignore the fresh green herbs such as spring onions, coriander, and perilla that bring a cool taste and awaken the senses.
Banana snail noodle soup is the next name that you cannot miss when traveling to Hanoi. This is a rustic dish, familiar to Hanoi people. The broth of vermicelli with banana and tofu is simmered from pork bones, clear, sweet, and has a gentle sour taste. The noodles are small, soft, and easy to eat. A variety of raw vegetables are served, including chopped water spinach, lettuce, perilla, and marjoram, bringing a feeling of freshness and balanced flavor. With each chopstick of vermicelli, diners experience the harmony between the sweetness of the broth, the fatty taste of the meat, the mild sourness of the batch, and the crunch of green bananas.
The next dish in the suggestions for what to eat in Hanoi certainly cannot miss bun cha. This is a dish that bears the mark of ancient Hanoi people. Pork belly is marinated with rich spices and grilled over charcoal, giving off a fragrant aroma. The meatballs are made from pounded lean shoulder meat, marinated with spices, fried until golden brown and have an attractive crunchy texture. Bun cha dipping sauce is the perfect combination of fish sauce, palm sugar, vinegar, garlic, and chili. The salty taste of fish sauce mixed with the sweetness of palm sugar and vinegar suddenly creates a rich, sweet and sour flavor, stimulating the taste buds.
You don’t know what to eat in Hanoi? Beef salad will be an ideal suggestion that VietnamTravelIO believes you will not want to miss. Every time you enjoy beef salad, diners feel like they experience a variety of unique flavors with sour, spicy, sweet and fatty flavors blending together, awakening all senses. Beef salad is an indispensable dish in family feasts and friends’ gatherings, bringing a happy and warm atmosphere.
Hanoi spring rolls are often sold on small carts, weaving throughout the streets of Hanoi. Just a few spring rolls, a little spicy chili sauce, and a cool glass of iced tea is enough for you to feel the sophistication and richness of Hanoi street cuisine. After being fried, spring rolls are golden brown and give off a complex aroma. When enjoying, you will feel the crispy, lightly split outer layer, inside is the soft meat mixed with elegant sour taste, fragrant with the characteristic aroma of spices and wrapping leaves. This is an attractive delicious dish that you should consider trying once when you are wondering what to eat in Hanoi.
Bun thang is a harmonious combination of fresh ingredients and meticulousness in processing. The broth is simmered from pork bones, chicken, and dried shrimp for many hours, bringing a sweet, elegant taste with a faint aroma of spices. Bun thang is often sold at long-standing restaurants with ancient styles. Enjoying bun thang, you not only feel the essence of Hanoi cuisine but also “touch” the cultural and historical beauty of this land.
Bun with tofu and shrimp paste is a rustic dish, familiar to Hanoians, bringing you to the rustic, rich culinary spirit of the capital. Shrimp paste is the deciding factor in the success or failure of the dish. The delicious fish sauce is carefully selected and has a characteristic purple-pink color. However, this scent does not cause discomfort but stimulates taste buds, urging diners to explore. For unfamiliar diners, the taste of shrimp paste can be a bit picky. However, if you overcome this challenge, you will enjoy a very special and unforgettable flavor.
Trang Tien ice cream has become a part of the childhood memories of many generations of Hanoi people. Pretty little ice cream cones, crispy sponge cake shell, soft and cool ice cream inside with traditional flavors such as green rice, green beans, chocolate, vanilla… always bring a feeling of enjoyment when enjoying. The ice cream is made from natural ingredients with a cool, mild flavor, not too sweet. The fatty taste of milk mixed with the aromatic taste of nuts dispels the hot summer sun in Hanoi. If you don’t know what to eat in Hanoi, fill your stomach with a portion of Trang Tien ice cream first.
Hanoi Pho rolls are often sold at small shops on the sidewalk, but the taste is not inferior to sophisticated dishes. The advantages of pho rolls are convenience, ease of eating, and suitable for light meals. Each lovely little pho roll encapsulates the quintessence of Hanoi cuisine, bringing you an enjoyable experience. This is also a dish that is very popular with diners from all over and is suggested by many people in the guide “What to eat in Hanoi?”.
Enjoying street coffee is a way to feel the slow, simple pace of life of Hanoi people. Sitting and sipping a hot cup of coffee, watching the street gradually become bustling, listening to the chatty stories of local people gives you an incredibly relaxing feeling. Coffee powder is roasted and ground by hand to produce a thick cup of coffee, a rich brown color, and a rich aroma. The mild bitterness of coffee mixed with the fatty taste of condensed milk awakens the senses, dispelling drowsiness.
Above are the top 10 dishes to help you get rid of the worry of what to eat in Hanoi in the coming days of discovery. Hanoi cuisine with dishes imbued with its own identity is an indispensable part of the journey to explore this ancient land. Each dish is a story, a warm greeting that attracts visitors and makes them forever remember the capital of thousands of years of civilization. Don’t forget to save it in the Vietnamtravelio.com travel guide before leaving to have the most complete culinary discovery journey.
