EDIBLE INQUIRIES (FAQ) Print E-mail

Your Street Food Primer is endless, if I have only one day in Hanoi and need to choose wisely, what or where should I eat?

It’s really about personal taste, so we recommend that you browse our Food Primer and try to taste the foods that make your mouth water. However, if you must make us choose, here are a few ways to go.

If you want to stick to eating on the street: It’s a hard argument not to have at least one bowl of pho in Hanoi, but three other noodle dishes stand out as typically Hanoi and not easily found outside of Vietnam—bun cha, bun rieu, and bun bo nam bo. You can snack on these during the day and then have ga nuong or a seafood feast (or lau if it’s winter) for dinner.

To maximize your tasting potential of Vietnamese flavors and specialties:  Head to Quan An Ngon for lunch to sample various Vietnamese street foods gathered in one lovely courtyard. Go to Highway 4 to enjoy a dinner spread of Vietnamese classics and ethnic minority favorites (our favorite location is the one on Mai Hac De--call ahead and reserve a seat on the roof terrace).
 

If in addition to sampling some street food, but also want to experience the feel and flavors of the French colonial era, try Le Beaulieu at the Sofitel Metropole Hotel for a blend of French and Vietnamese influences in a luxurious Indochine environment.

How do I order at street food stalls?

Fortunately, most street food vendors in Hanoi serve only one dish, so all you need to do is grab a seat and indicate with your fingers how many servings you’d like. If there is more than one dish or item, simply point to what someone else if having and indicate how many (this is also a good technique in restaurants where you can’t find an English menu or English speaking server). Even the smallest stalls tend to have their one or two food items tacked on the wall with prices. At basket vendors on the sidewalks, try handing them a very small amount of VND (based on the prices we indicate in the Food Primer) and see if that nets you enough for a snack. Asking the price ahead of time can lead to higher prices.

Is it safe to eat the street food? (Alternatively, do I need to get my hep shots)?

Getting your hepatitis shots before travel to Asia is sound planning, as sanitary conditions and food hygiene standards in many countries have not reached international standards or expectations. That said, food served in street stalls in Hanoi tends to be extremely fresh. Small vendors and street stalls have limited refrigeration and capital to invest, so their practice is to buy fresh ingredients each morning and serve until they run out of supplies. Food poisoning tends to happen mainly at large hotel buffets where the food sits brewing on chafing dishes for hours.

Is it safe to use the reusable chopsticks?

Most vendors boil their bamboo chopsticks to sterilize them. However, most reuse their chopsticks for a very long time and it shows. To be safe, you might bring along travel chopsticks or a package of disposable chopsticks on your trip (though I did neither and in my three years in Hanoi, I never got sick from eating on the street). Wetnaps or Purell wipes are also a good bet to wipe down bowls and cups, and to clean your hands before you tuck into your meal.

I’m a vegetarian, what should I eat?

If you do not eat red meat but do eat chicken and/or seafood, you will still have many options available to you. If you are strict vegetarian, eating will be a bit harder to navigate, as most broths are made with chicken or beef bones and nearly all sauces are flavored with the ubiquitous fish sauce.

Some vegetarian snacks and dishes: Bun dau, banh chuoi, banh khoai, banh troi; rau xao toi (greens sautéed with garlic), dau fu ca chua (sauteed tofu and tomatoes); mien/my xao rau nam (fried noodles with veggies and mushrooms); xa lat/nom hoa chuoi (banana flower salad), xa lat/nom du du (papaya salad); xoai xanh (green mangoes); ca tim noi dat (clay pot eggplant).

What to tell your server: Khong an thit = don’t eat meat; or, an chay = vegetarian