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Eating fresh, affordable, live seafood is one of the great perks of living in Hanoi. While fresh seafood is widely available in the markets and can be found in most parts of town, two streets in particular are know as Seafood Street, with clusters of stalls and shops displaying tanks and tubs full of wriggling, squirting seafood. In the winter time, these places specialize in Lẩu Hải sản, or seafood hot pot. Grab a stool and order your choice of fare—clams of many varieties, squid, giant prawns, crabs—by the kilo and choose a style of preparation. Steamed clams with ginger (ngao hấp gừng)? Grilled squid (mực nướng)? Giant prawns steamed with beer (tôm hấp bia)? Crabmeat sautéed with vermicelli/glass noodles (miến xào cua)? It’s your pleasure.
A kilo of meaty, succulent tôm (shrimp) goes down easy dipped in the accompanying chanh muối, or salt, chili and lime mix, and chased with a sip of cold beer. While some may protest the harmful environmental effects of farmed shrimp, and U.S. trade protectionists cry foul because they are so delightfully inexpensive, even overseas, I quote Esther: “These make the shrimp back home taste like dirty dish rags.” Don’t pass them up because you can buy frozen Vietnamese shrimp at your market at home. That they are cooked live makes all the difference in their taste and texture. They do, however, require those of you who are accustomed to buying sanitized shrimp back home to confront the beast you are eating. They arrive at the table, heads, legs and all so you have to earn your meal. And they are piping hot so there is always a struggle between not wanting to burn your fingertips and needing to get at another fat shrimp. Some places, feeling sorry for the foreigners who drop the shrimp like hot potatoes and pluck feebly at the heads, the wait staff will actually give you a conspiratorial smirk and start peeling the shrimp for you.
_resize.jpg) Where to find it?
The two most popular seafood streets in Hanoi are Tống Duy Tân and Tô Hiến Thành.
To find Tống Duy Tân, head west from Hoàn Kiếm Lake on either Hàng Gai or Tràng Thi. Both eventually run into Điện Biên Phủ, at which point Tống Duy Tân will be on your right side immediately before you cross the train tracks. This alley runs parallel to the train tracks, diagonally between Trần Phú and Điện Biên Phủ. Tống Duy Tân is a pedestrian and motorbike only alley with food stalls lining both sides. The northern end caters more to seafood and lẩu, while the lower end serves up more unconventional specialties like stewed medicinal chicken (gà tần) or grilled horse penis (ngẩu pín).
We have a favorite shop front who we simply call The Seafood Lady. The owner, a lovely woman named Hòa Bình, is kind, helpful and honest, and she doesn’t have annoying young touts out front trying to grab and seat you. Coordinates: No. 6 Tống Duy Tân, about half way down the alley, on the northern side of the street above the small spur out to Hàng Bông street. The largest size prawns here should run you about 220-250,000 dong for a kilo, though prices sometime fluctuated unpredictably with gas prices and international events hosted in Hanoi. She does a great job with clams steamed with ginger and glass noodles sautéed with vegetables and crab meat. Open all day but best in the evening when the alley is bustling. In the winter, stop at the same spot for some lẩu hải sản (seafood hot pot).
 To find the numerous seafood restaurants on Tô Hiến Thành, head south from Hoàn Kiếm Lake. This street runs east to west between Reunification Park (Bảy Mẫu Lake) and Phố Huế. Although their prices tend to be higher than Tống Duy Tân, there is more indoor seating and these are the folks that will peel your shrimp! Coordinates: Try Thu Trang restaurant at no. 12 Tô Hiến Thành or Thanh Hoá restaurant at no. 4 Tô Hiến Thành.
If you out exploring the area north of Hoàn Kiếm Lake during the evening, there are two more adventurous possibilities to investigate. Coordinates: Wander over to Hàng Thùng Street, the eastern continuation of Cầu Gỗ Street, which is one street north of the lake. Below the sign at #39 Hàng Thùng, you’ll find a crazy sidewalk seafood adventure. Look for the low tables and stools and the seafood shells and debris on the ground. Try the ngao (clams) which have a slightly spicy kick- the ghẹ (crabs) like elsewhere, are pricey at 280,000 dong/kilo. Or, go hunting for this hidden location in the alley behind Bít tết Lợi (Lợi steak restaurant), at 51 Hàng Buồm. This is a great place, but you have to go into a very small alley, keep straight, until you see the restaurant at the very end. Open after 4PM.
For a fresh seafood experience in a restaurant setting, try Hà Hồi Restaurant, at no. 4 Hà Hồi. They have meat dishes as well here, but the seafood in this restaurant is fresh and well prepared and to fill your belly with seafood it will cost less than 200,000 dong per person. Highly recommended dishes: Cá trình nướng lá lốt (Grilled eel fish wrapped by lá lốt leave), steamed shrimp, and shrimp sautéed with tangerine.
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Snails, boiled and infused with the essence of ginger, lemongrass and lemon leaf, is an utterly simple yet delicious treat. Order bowls of small, large or mixed snails, which will arrive with a bowl of dipping sauce and a small green kumquat (to brighten the sauce) speared with a sliver of metal (to dig out the tasty snails). More than your usual nước chấm, or dipping sauce, the sauce for ốc starts with the same base of water, fish sauce, vinegar, sugar and lime juice, but is boosted in fragrance and flavor from generous additions of lemongrass, ginger, chili and lemon/lime leaves. Once you are finished with your bowl (or two) of ốc, you can call for a bowl of nước ốc or cooking broth. Dump your remaining dipping sauce in this to create a delicious soup that will chase away all ills, physical and spiritual.