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Food Stalls, Hanoi
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Food Stalls, Hanoi

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Dining reviews and photos of Food Stalls posted by real travelers and Hanoi locals.
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• 44 Reviews
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Food Stalls: Never judge a Pig by its tail
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  • What the bloody hell is that brown thing? - Hanoi
    What the bloody hell is that
    brown thing?
    by bpacker
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    I was just making my way to the Museum of Vietnamese Revolution when something caught my eye. It was brown, succulent-looking and if I didn't know any better, I thought it was a suckling pig. You know, a baby pig roasted whole, served normally in Chinese restaurants. Only one thing looked odd, why was the tail not in a curly twirl but sticking out like a sore thumb?

    Read on to find out more..

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  • Theme: Street Vendor
  • Directions: 216 Pho Tran Quang Khai Hoan Kiem District
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    Food Stalls: Thit Cho ! Doggoneit! Eating Dogs in Hanoi
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  • DogGoneIt! Thit Cho with a Spiny Tail - Hanoi
    DogGoneIt! Thit Cho with a
    Spiny Tail
    by bpacker
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    This is a classic case of curiosity killing the cat. Ok, so my curiousity got the better of me! Here I was, in a busy Hanoi eatery , staring at a suspicious dish and trying to snare a waiter. And when I did, i just had to ask,

    " THIT CHO?"

    The answer threw me off balance.

    Doggoneit, this was real thing! Fido roasted to a well-done crisp!

    I can't explain it dear reader but I could feel my bile rising to my throat. Perhaps, it was because I had pet dogs all my life and the thought of roasting them was akin to bloody murder. I smiled weakly, told the waiter that I didn't want any a la carte doggie and left hurriedly . Somehow, the curious cat within me was feeling queasy and I went to the nearest drain to puke.

    Note: I used to own 3 Pekingnese dogs at one time and trained them for competitions when I was younger.

    How does one even start to eat this dish, i wonder, from the spiky tail end or the drumstick?

    Where to eat this revolting thing:
    I don't advocate eating this dish but if you have stronger stomach than me, you can look for this food court is at the side of the Museum of Vietnamese Revolution. It's not too far from Hilton Hanoi where I was staying.

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  • Theme: Street Vendor
  • Directions: 216 Pho Tran Quang Khai Hoan Kiem District Hanoi
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    Food Stalls: Banh Cuon (Rice Flour Steamed Rolls)
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  • Rice Rolls with Beetle Sauce - Hanoi
    Rice Rolls with Beetle Sauce
    by bpacker
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    Note: My sincere thanks to Globe_Trekker who recommended that I should try Banh Cuon while I was here.

    Banh cuon is a popular breakfast dish for Vietnamese and it's not difficult to see why. The translucent silvers of rice flour rolled around grilled meat,shrimp, mushroom and lightly sauteed garlic and onion are delicious. Complement it with a special fish sauce flavoured with the perfume glands from a beetle and voila! You're looking at the best dish in Hanoi.

    Cost
    20,000D for two plates of Banh Cuon
    Important Note : The price has since doubled/tripled/quadrupled since I put up this recommendation for God knows what reason. It shocked me to think there are actually idiots out there who printed my little recommendation and showed it to the stall owner for proof that the price should stay the same! For crying out, pls don't do that, it's a known fact that blogs are only accurate from the time of the entry.

    This dish is a northern specialty so it's better to try it when you're in Hanoi. If you're thinking it's the Hanoian equivilent to the Chinese rice roll (Chee Chong Fun ) , you're sadly mistaken, this rice roll is softer, more fragrant and more delicious.

    Where to find this: This shop is located on the same street as Cha Ca Va Long, the famous fish hotpot shop. Give the fish a miss and eat this instead.

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  • Theme: Local
  • Price: less than US$10    » Currency Converter
  • Comparison: less expensive than average
  • Address: Cha Ca Street
  • Directions: Opposite the famed Cha Ca Va Long eatery. You can't miss it, it's crammed with locals and tourists.
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    Food Stalls: Delicious Vietnamese Street Desserts
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  • Eating from a low table, old quarters - Hanoi
    Eating from a low table,
    old quarters
    by bpacker
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    You're missing out a lot if you haven't tried the street desserts of Hanoi. Nose your way around the Old Quarters and join the locals as they munch on glutinous rice balls made with coconut, sesame seed in sweet gingery soup.

    Where to find it
    This photograph was taken at 7, Hang Giay Street, not too far from Phan Tai Hotel. A bowl costs 4000D.

    Note to Singaporeans:This is a spicier and tastier version compared to the one found at home

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  • Theme: Local
  • Price: less than US$10    » Currency Converter
  • Comparison: least expensive
  • Address: on the streets around Hoan Kiem Lake and old town
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    Food Stalls: Eating a whole roasted pigeon
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  • This pigeon had an oil bath - Hanoi
    This pigeon had an oil bath
    by bpacker
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    The next time you're in Hanoi, try eating their specialty , "Bo Cau Quay" or roasted pigeon. The Hanoians think nothing about serving the whole bird to you, beak, head, ass and all so you'll need to breathe deeply before eating this. Plus, the bird will be served in a " Don't eat me! Don't fry me!" position. Well, say a prayer at best and eat it. You won't regret it.

    Note: The head is supposedly the best part but the beak was bloody hard. Prefered the drumsticks... Pity the bird is so darn small, it was delicious!

    You can find roasted in a street stall not too far from Phan Tai Hotel at Hang Giay St. It's the one crowded with loads of well-dressed teenagers. Yes, you need to sit on those darn small stools while you're eating.

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  • Theme: Local
  • Price: less than US$10    » Currency Converter
  • Comparison: less expensive than average
  • Address: on the streets around Hoan Kiem Lake and old town
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    Food Stalls: Of Crabs and Scorpions
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  • Have you ever read Jerry Hopkin's "Extreme Cuisine" ?If so, then you would have seen the gorgeous pictures of the fried scopions and other creepy crawlies. Well, I was inspired by Hopkins as well as another VTer, Kimmov, to try go on a dastardly binge on these things. Along the way, I also had a safer dish, "Cua Rang Muoi" or crabs sauteed in salt. Afterall, aren't crabs a distant cousin of the scorpion? They look somewhat the same with those legs and all.

    Well, the crab of course. The scorpion tasted like musty version of a crab and the black shell was too hard to crunch.Also, the beady orange eye took some getting used to. Sigh, should have taken Kimmov's advice to eat them in HCMC. He mentioned that it tasted like popcorn over there.

    Where to try this revolting thing:
    At the side of the Museum of Revolution. They have an English Menu, thank God.
    216 Pho Tran Quang Khai
    Hoan Kiem District
    Hanoi

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  • Theme: Seafood
  • Price: less than US$10    » Currency Converter
  • Comparison: less expensive than average
  • Address: on the streets around Hoan Kiem Lake and old town
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    Food Stalls: Steaming hot bowl of noodles on a cold morning
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  • This is an eye opener for me. In Hanoi, food sellers carry their entire cooking utensils and food stuff with them. Even little tables and chairs ! They will pick a spot somewhere in the streetside and cook there and then. And if you want to eat the food, you just sit on the little stool and can eat together with them. Here, eating is more communal.

    This is a bowl of hot steaming noodles with chicken meat, minced pork with mushrooms, cooked with lots of green vege (alot of scallions). There is also fresh sweet & sour chillie sauce to accompany the meal.

    That meal cost me 3000 vietnamese dong or 20 cents USD.

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  • Theme: Local
  • Price: less than US$10    » Currency Converter
  • Comparison: less expensive than average
  • Address: on the streets around Hoan Kiem Lake and old town
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    Food Stalls: Eerie floating worlds
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  • Welcome to the eerie floating worlds of Hanoi. Earlier, you saw a floating gecko. Now you'll see a bear's paw floating in a mixture of wolfberries. Reputedly, drinking this paw wine will enhance a man's sexual powess and make him as powerful as a bear in bed.

    Do you believe that crap? Well, here's some news for you if you buy that bull ****.

    Asian Sun Bears are endangered creatures and in my opinion, the person who did this to him should suffer the same fate. Same goes for those idiots who force a bear into a tiny cage, and use the bear as a ketchup-bile dispensar.

    Anything else that does not belong to a bear or any endangered creature.

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  • Theme: Local
  • Address: on the streets around Hoan Kiem Lake and old town
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    Food Stalls: Reptilian Viagra
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  • Reptilian Viagra, Gecko Wine! - Hanoi
    Reptilian Viagra, Gecko
    Wine!
    by bpacker
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    Iif you're thinking that might be a gecko staring at you from the bottle, you're right. This is an honest-to-God true photograph and not a Jerry Hopkins infused nightmare. That small ginny in the bottle has been bottled for being an Aphrodisiac.
    And I'll repeat what I mentioned in my HCMC instalment. Vietnamese men drink this for a little ooh-la-la and no, this reptilian Viagra is not patented by Pfizer yet.

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  • Theme: Street Vendor
  • Address: on the streets around Hoan Kiem Lake and old town
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    Food Stalls: Essence from a Bug
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  • Mr Belostomatid Beetle - Hanoi
    Mr Belostomatid Beetle
    by bpacker
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    If you are a big fan of Mr Extreme Cuisine aka Jerry Hopkins, you would eaten a lot of things you wouldn't dream of eating in Vietnam.

    Now, take a good look at the bug, would you eat him? Probably not .

    But I am quite sure you would eaten juice squeezed from this particular fella. And unknowingly too. Most Vietnamese are fond of nýớc_mắm cà_cuống which means fish sauce seasoned with belostomatid essence. Yes, they take this little fella, squeeze its perfume gland for the said essence to perfume the sauce to be served to you.

    You're probably dying to know whether I have taken the sauce. I did and unknowingly too! But reader, it is the most fragrant sauce I've ever tasted in my life! When I first tasted it, I couldn't quite place it, it was a cross between saffron and cinammon but a hundred times more fragrant.

    Sauce is commonly found in Bun Thang, a noodle dish and Banh Cuon (Rice Flour Steamed Rolls)

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  • Theme: Local
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