Yes, the title is a bit click baity and maybe even slightly controversial but after visiting here twice, we feel pretty damn confident calling it one of the best- if not the best- street food cities in the world. From the second you arrive in Hanoi with its sea of activity, the buzz of thousands of scooters- its the smell of amazing food cooking everywhere that seduces your senses and beckons you closer. It’s here you’ll find flavors you never knew you loved and ingredients you’ve never heard of. This is a place that changed our perspective on Vietnamese food- and food in general- 4 years ago and we’re happy to say that magic hasn’t faded.
Tiffany: Hanoi is one of my favorite cities in Asia. From the first time I laid eyes on this magnificent place four years ago to my current visit to Hanoi, I can say without a doubt in mind that I am truly in love with this city and it will always have a special place in my heart. Let’s start with the obvious attractions of Hanoi (street food, Halong Bay, and of course and vibe of the city), but the true hidden beauty of Hanoi is its people. Some of my best friends are born and raised in Hanoi. They are the most passionate, dedicated, fun, talented and loving people I have ever known in my life. If you are lucky enough to visit this city; I highly encourage you to get to know the locals. I hope their passion for love and thirst for life will inspire you. If you are really lucky, you will build lifetime friendships.
Tim: Like many cities in Southeast Asia, Hanoi has an “old town” and “the rest of hanoi”. Most of the action happens in old town but it also…has all the action happening. We stayed in several places during our time in Hanoi. While staying in the Old Town is super convenient, staying just outside of it affords you some peace and quiet while still making it easy to get to where the action is.
While the list of “must visit” big ticket attractions is somewhat thin (the closest thing is probably Turtle Tower), what really steals the show is the food. Specifically the street food. Why is that? Because everywhere you go, there’s people selling amazing food on the street. While this might seem sketchy to western palates, this is very normal in most of the world. What makes Hanoi so special is that the people selling these amazing foods usually make just 1 thing, and since they’ve been doing it for their whole lives they’re the best person at cooking it on the planet. Seriously. Regardless if its Bun Cha – a rice noodle based dish that has healthy amounts of fresh herbs, fish sauce, pork meatballs and an imperial roll- or pha (traditional beef or chicken noodle soup) or Cha Ka – marinated grilled fish- the best you can find is somewhere on the streets in Hanoi. We’ve tried to find better versions in white napkin restaurants but they pale in comparison- and value- to their street based brethren.
Bún Riêu in action 
THE place to get Bún Riêu
Some of our favorites you HAVE to try include Bun Cha (noted above) but there are some lesser known delicacies. For example, Bún Riêu- a crab and tamarind based noodle soup. It’s made from tiny crabs that scurry around rice paddies. They’re pounded out of their shells and strained. Together with tomato that makes the base of the soup. The crab meat is then used for mini crab cakes that you find in the soup along with vermicelli noodles, roasted tomatoes and fresh herbs. Its tangy, savory and utterly delicious. It’s one of my favorite soups of all time, I just wish I could get it back home! Our friend Kim helped show us the best place to go to enjoy this amazing concoction- it is in a tiny storefront at 11 Hàng Bạc.
Tiffany: If you are a seafood lover then you must try one of Hanoi’s oldest and most famous of dishes – Cha Ca. There’s an entire street dedicated to this signature dish. Cha Ca La Vong is one of the oldest restaurants in Hanoi and one of the first places you will see on Cha Ca street. Cha Ca dates back more than 130 years and it was first created by the local Doan family. People in Hanoi celebrate and enjoys food with enthusiasm and passion. Food is the glue that connects and brings family and friends together. This crispy turmeric marinated fish is fried tableside in a pan with herbs and is one of the best ways to bring your love ones together.
If you have a more adventurous palate I would recommend trying Bun Oc- aka escargot noodle soup. This is a rice noodle soup with a tomato-based broth made from slowly simmering chicken or pork bones. The soup is topped with escargot, seafood, fried tofu, and a platter of fragrant herbs. This was also one of Anthony Bourdain’s go to dishes when he visited Hanoi. I was extremely fortunate to be invited to a new friend’s house for a home-cooked escargot fest. She made one of the best Bun Ocs I have ever tasted in my life. It was like an explosion of flavors in my mouth. I was VERY suspicious at first- eating snails isn’t exactly on the “safe food” category for visitors but the experience was so unique- sharing a delicious home cooked meal with new friends and family- I had to do it. Obviously, the secret indigents were love and laughter (seriously!). If you want to try a specialty restaurant for snails I would recommend Oc Suong. They have plenty of delicious dishes to choose from at a very reasonable price.
Tim: Hanoi- never content to let just one type of street food dominate the limelight- has many, many others to choose from. The second you think Vietnamese food is just soups, BOOM! Enter the bánh cuốn! Bánh cuốn is basically a thin rice crepe with insane-o-tasty pork and mushrooms all rolled up and cut into sumptuous bite sized morsels. You can even get it with a side of pork sausage. We’ve never seen it before Hanoi so definitely go and grab some! Our favorite place was at 12 Hàng Gà street. We could go on, on and and on about more street food (like the delicious as hell “pillow cakes” which are deep fried Vietnamese empanadas) or the Egg Coffee which is….exactly what it sounds like- but we’ll leave that for another time. We had a lot more fun in Hanoi than just eating. Our friend Tra My helped show us her Hanoi by night.
Hanoi’s nightlife is mostly centered around the Old Quarter where some of the narrow streets turn into bustling beer gardens complete with Smurf-sized plastic stools to sit on. A staple of Vietnam, you’ll be sitting on these things from Saigon all the way up to Sapa. There’s no graceful way to sit on it- you’ve just got to accept that it’s your lot in life and go with the flow. Through this ever shifting maze of people and tiny plastic chairs, Tra My led us through the streets to one of the amazing bars she owns- the Tet bars. Set in the heart of the Old Quarter, its an awesome place to get a strong drink and listen to epic DJ’s spin. The bar became our home base for the next few nights before launching into all sorts of fun adventures ranging from checking out San Francisco class speakeasies like The Mad Botanist and Polite and Co to after hours dance clubs like Savage. Regardless if you’re looking for cold beer Chang or a cocktail to power you onto the dance floor, Hanoi has you covered.
My birthday ended up happening here in Hanoi and Tra My got together her friends and community to surprise me and celebrate the big event. Somehow she even found a baker to make me a cake! Since we’ve been travelling, it’s been hard to be away from so many of our friends, family and community. The party really helped remind us that we’re grateful to have this time to travel, we’re also grateful to be able to keep in touch with all of you and meet new people in places as special as Hanoi.
Tiffany: Speaking about keeping in touch with friends and trying to check out the local fashion scene, we visited our dear friend Ngoc Anh’s boutique (La Pham) where her line of stylish and modern Ao Dai dresses was on display. Ao Dai is a traditional Vietnamese dress. I already loved Ngoc’s work from Ha and Anh Design (they made two of my wedding dresses) but seeing the greater range of her fashions for Ao Dai was truly special. Ngoc Anh is extremely passionate about her creations and she takes a lot of pride in her work. She will pay attention to the smallest details of the garment to how it fit on her clients. You will feel truly special when you put on one of her designs because it was made with your style, comfort, and fit in mind. She’s a true creator and can take inspiration and beauty from the world around her. If you are in Hanoi, I highly recommend visiting La Pham and meeting this amazing designer in person.
While we keep up with old friends, meeting new people and getting to experience their lives is one of my favorite things to do while traveling. Since we were spending more time in Hanoi than our usual stops, it gave me the perfect opportunity to connect with my friends Tra My and Thanh at a deeper level. We talked about about the meaning of life, what does happiness mean to us, and what are our aspirations going forward- y’know, the easy questions 😉 We laughed, ate, and made future travel plans together. I’m truly grateful that I had the opportunity to connect with them at a deeper level build a stronger friendships. I really got a great sense of their perspective of living in Hanoi and why they love this city so much.
Tim: After staying in hanoi for almost 2 weeks it was time to go head off to our next destination- even though it feels like we still barely scratched the surface of this amazing dynamic city. I know we’ll be back again to savor the food, laugh with the amazing people here and enjoy one more delicious meal while precariously perched on a teeny plastic stool. 🙂
Places we loved in Hanoi
To help you with your visit to Hanoi, here are a few places we highly recommend checking out all handily organized into a Google map view of our favorite places.
Favorite street food in Hanoi
Bun Rieu Hang Bac. Hands down a MUST TRY. Located at 11 Hàng Bạc
Giang Cafe. Another must go to for their egg coffee. located at 39 Nguyễn Hữu Huân
Cha Ca Thang Long. Is it cliche to add another “must go to”? Well do so for cha ca. located at 19 – 21 – 31, Dương Thành
Banh Cuon Gia Truyen Thanh Van located at 4 Hàng Gà
Banh Mi 25 located at 25 Hàng Cá
Banh Goi located at 52 Lý Quốc Sư
Pho Thin. Best Pho Bo ever. located at 13 Lò Đúc
Favorite bars in Hanoi
Tet Bar– 3 locations, 3 different themes! They’re all on Ta Hien street
Mad Botanist – The Gin Specialist. Seriously! The best gin selection i’ve seen outside of San Francisco. Located on 45 Lý Quốc Sư
Polite & Co. Amazing craft cocktails with a Vietnamese twist. located on 5b Ngõ Hàng Hành