Located in the tree-lined diplomatic
Tran Phu Street, a stone’s throw from the Old Quarter, this hotel boasts a 360-degree panoramic view sky bar, award-winning restaurant, spa and seventh-floor infinity pool. Doubles from £94. 38A Tran Phu Street, Dien Bien Ward, Ba Dinh District, 00 84 24 3935 2485, airaboutiquehanoi.com

Classic Hang Thung traditional rattan and ceramics highlight Vietnam’s unique culture in this 70-room hotel overlooking the Red River and Long Bien Bridge. Doubles from £63. 21 Hang Thung Street, Old Quarter, Hoan Kiem District, 00 84 24 3938 0963, lasiestahotels.com

A peaceful retreat close to Hoan Kiem, making it a perfect location from which to explore. The rooftop bar and restaurant are highly rated. Doubles from £55. 32 Lo Su Street, Hoan Kiem District, 00 84 24 3201 6911, lanueva.vn

With its tranquil setting in the West Lake area, this comfortable hotel is near attractions such as Quan Thanh Temple and Hanoi Old City Gate. Doubles from £47. 46A Nguyen Truong To Street, Ba Dinh District, 00 84 24 6668 2299, lejardinhotels.com

A stand-out for its five-star urban chic, close to Dong Xuan Market in the Old Quarter. There’s also fine dining in its Olivine Restaurant, plus the glamorous Ignite Sky Bar, an outdoor infinity pool and spa. Doubles from £112. 33 Duong Thanh Street, Hoan Kiem District, 00 84 24 3828 0099, peridotgrandhotel.com

Hanoi is located in the north of Vietnam. The capital city lies along the banks of the Red River, 140km inland from the Gulf of Tonkin. Vietnamese is the official language, although Hanoi has its own distinctive dialect. Currency is the Vietnamese Dong (VND) and the city is seven hours ahead of GMT. Direct flights from the UK to Noi Bai International Airport (HAN) take around 11 hours 45 minutes.

GETTING THERE
offer a mixture of direct and layover flights from London Heathrow to Hanoi’s Noi Bai International. vietnamairlines.com
fly to Hanoi with a stopover in Dubai. emirates.com

RESOURCES
is the country’s official tourist board. Its website is full of helpful information, including places to visit and best ways to get around, to help you plan your trip. vietnam.travel

Hanoi wood-fire roasted duck from the cart of
a local roastmaster near Chau Long temple. Whole roasted duck from £7.50. Ngo Chua Chau Long, Ba Dinh

Aka Bun cha Obama, this multi-level restaurant featured on Anthony Bourdain’s No reservations. Follow the narrow staircase snaking its way up levels filled with locals, tourists and the aroma of Hanoi’s famous charred pork. Dishes from £2. 24 P Le Van Huu Street, Hai BaTrung, 00 84 24 3943 4106

Grab a kerbside egg coffee and let the acoustics of Hanoi take you away. Egg coffee from 50p. 60 P Nguyen Huu Huan Street, Hoan Kiem, 00 84 24 3824 5940

Home of the first Ha Noi egg coffee. Coffee from 50p. 39P Nguyen Huu Huan Street, Hoan Kiem, 00 84 989 892298, cafegiang.vn

Try chicken pho with the locals in this laidback street stall near Long Bien Market. Pho from £2.17 Hang Khoai Street, Hoan Kiem

A speciality sticky rice restaurant popular with the locals. If you’re overwhelmed by the choices, try the combination of Chinese sausage, fish sauce braised egg and shredded poached chicken. Dishes from £2.50. 35b P Nguyen Huu Huan Street, Hoan Kiem, 00 84 24 6259 3818

Bun cha

Pork meatballs and sliced pork belly in a savoury fish-sauce-based broth with rice noodles and herbs

Bun vermicelli

Rice noodles

Café au lait

Coffee with milk

Com

Rice

Com tam

Broken rice

Pho bo

Beef noodle soup

Pho ga

Chicken noodle soup

Mam nem

Fermented anchovy dipping sauce

Nep

Glutinous rice

Nuoc mam

Fish sauce

Nuoc mam cham

Fish sauce dipping sauce

Nem

The Northern term for spring rolls

Rau

Vietnamese leafy herbs

Rau luoc

Blanched herbs

Sau

Sour and tart fruit

Xoi

Glutinous sticky rice

After decades of recovery and rebuilding in the past century, Vietnam has finally found its feet, emerging as Southeast Asia’s fastest-growing economy. You can sense the vibrancy as you wander through Hanoi’s Old Quarter, where you’ll find tree- lined streets, historic balconies, and windows dressed with weathered shutters – signs of beauty from its colonial age. All with a dense backdrop of steel frames and skyscrapers that seem to have sprung up overnight in neighbouring districts.

The culinary scene in this new urban landscape is attracting global attention. Food has always been a part of Hanoi’s cityscape, with established food outlets and street vendors dotted along its main roads and residential enclaves. The middle class is expanding, with a young population enjoying more disposable income than ever. Most evenings, the city’s squares and sidewalks are filled with locals meeting to experience the next new dish or street food.

Yet, although novelty has its place, Hanoi is not letting go of the influences of its traditional roots. After all, one of the most popular phrases in Vietnamese is mon ngon nhat la mon me nau – the tastiest dish is the dish cooked by Mother. So, whether you’re pulling up a plastic chair kerbside or dining at one of the award-winning restaurants, this dynamic city is best understood through its gastronomy.

If you’re visiting Hanoi for the first time, you’ll quickly notice the city’s main areas, Tay Ho and Hoan Kiem, which are sprawled around two prominent lakes: Ho Tay to the north and Hoan Kiem to the south. Ho Tay is Hanoi’s largest freshwater lake and home to the Tran Quoc Pagoda, bordered by parks, walking trails, luxury hotels, cafés and restaurants. Hoan Kiem is the more popular, but much smaller, natural lake, with a temple and islet at its centre housing the iconic Turtle Tower.

Hoan Kiem Lake is sometimes called Ho Guom, with both names translating to ‘sword lake’. It is said to be where the 15th-century emperor Le Loi returned an enchanted sword – yielding its bearer the strength of 10,000 men – gifted to him by a local god. Once Le Loi had liberated Vietnam from Chinese occupation, a golden turtle appeared on the lake’s surface to return the sword to the god.

Hoan Kiem is home to the Old Quarter, which is adorned with colonial architecture along Hang Dao, Luong Van Can and Hang Ngang Streets. At the weekend, Hoan Kiem Walking Street lights up with street performers, night markets, food vendors and youths playing traditional games such as jump rope, tug-of-war and shuttlecock. This area is also the best place to try some of Hanoi’s most inventive dishes, including the famous bun cha: a bowl of umami pork meatballs and thin slices of charcoal-grilled pork belly drenched in a sweet and savoury broth and served with rice noodles and Vietnamese herbs. A favourite with locals, the dish was further popularised by former US President Barack Obama in an episode of No Reservations with the late Anthony Bourdain. At restaurant Bun Cha Huong Lien, the table at which they sat is now enshrined in a glass case. Don’t let its popularity deter you; it’s still one of the best and most authentic places for bun cha in Hanoi.

When you’re finished, stop nearby at Xoi Yen on Nguyen Huu Quan Street for some speciality sticky rice, xoi. This versatile dish dates back thousands of years to the Tay-Thai and Mon-Khmer ancestors of the Vietnamese people today. Glutinous rice was the first grain produced in the area, making sticky rice the main dish of Vietnam in ancient times. Its long history means there’s a xoi for every occasion. For a simple snack, xoi vung lac (sticky rice with ground sesame and peanuts) or xoi ngo (corn sticky rice) are popular choices, with the option to add toppings such as braised pork, liver pâté, fried eggs or shredded chicken. Lovers of mango sticky rice will delight in the many variations of desserts (xoi che).

On this same strip is a cluster of cafés that offer another Hanoi speciality: egg coffee. Along with pho ga soup, banh mi sandwiches and Vietnamese iced coffee, egg coffee is another serendipitous collision between Vietnamese cuisine and French gastronomy that has left a lasting influence on Vietnam’s foodscape. It’s the brainchild of Nguyen Van Giang, a bartender at the Metropole Hanoi during the First Indochina War (1946-1954). Responding to a milk shortage, he whisked eggs into a café au lait to the delight of patrons and staff. Before long, he had established Cafe Giang, which is now run by his son and the second generation of the Nguyen family.

To prepare egg coffee, yolks are hand-whipped with milk and sugar and then boiled. This results in a delightful soufflé-like egg mousse that sits on top of the coffee, offering a unique mouth sensation with every sip. These days, it can be found in many cafés in Hanoi and Central and South Vietnam, but for one of the best versions, stop by Ca Fe Lam on bustling Nguyen Huu Huan Street in Hoan Keim. The café has both inside and outdoor seating, making it a perfect spot for people-watching over your brew.

Although only 5km apart, the much larger Ho Tay is a world away from eclectic Hoan Kiem. The surrounding area, Tay Ho, is characterised by large manicured parks and gardens, luxury hotels and apartment buildings. As you stroll along and admire the French provincial mansions, wide and spacious streets such as Tran Phu Street offer a shady reprieve. Take a turn-off at Hoang Dieu Street and follow the procession of villas to the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long, a long-standing citadel from the 11th century and a Unesco World Heritage Site. You’ll arrive at Phan Dinh Phung Street at the end of Hoang Dieu. Considered one of the most beautiful roads in Hanoi, Phan Dinh Phung is lined with century-old sau (dracontomelon) trees that form a 1.5km stretch of lush green towering canopy. Local street vendors offer sau candy made from its small fruit.

In Tay Ho, food vendors mainly cater to the tastes of locals in the residential districts nearby. Visiting a night market is the best way to glimpse the lively local life. Cho Dong Xuan (Dong Xuan Market) is Hanoi’s largest indoor market and a bustling hub for wholesale and retail goods, including clothing and souvenirs. A short walk from Dong Xuan is Hanoi’s oldest and busiest market and the logistical backbone of Hanoi’s food supply chain, Cho Long Bien (Long Bien Market). This is open all day but really comes alive at midnight with freshly delivered produce at wholesale prices. The large food courts at these markets and the surrounding areas are laden with food vendors offering traditional snacks and dishes such as banh cuon (steamed rice rolls) and pho (beef noodle soup).

A mainstay and crowd-pleaser of Vietnamese cuisine, these days, pho can be found in most major cities worldwide. Although it originated in North Vietnam, the version known in the west was introduced by the South Vietnamese diaspora. Northern-style pho retains much of the same profile but typically contains a smaller quantity of the pho spices cinnamon, star anise and cloves, and sugar. When travelling to North Vietnam, it’s essential to try Hanoi- style pho ga (chicken pho), a lesser-known variation but equally deserving of the attention received by its counterpart. For your first foray into pho ga, there’s no better place to start than in its city of origin. No need for a dab of hoisin sauce in this clear broth; the gaminess of Vietnamese free-range chicken packs a mass of flavour.

In Vietnam, a lot of the time you can expect to stumble on good eats by chance and Hanoi is no exception.

On the pavement bordering Dong Xuan Market, for instance, there’s a small pho ga vendor, Pho Ga Nam Minh Lieu, that has only around 15 seats, mainly servicing those working at the market and passersby. If you’re among them and manage to secure one of the coveted rotating seats you’ll know you’re in for something special as soon as the fragrant bowl is served: topped with fresh shiitake mushrooms and chicken offal braised in rendered chicken fat, it’s an unusual combination. You’re unlikely to leave a drop of broth.

With its proximity to China, historical periods of Chinese occupation and a large diaspora of migrants, visitors will also notice Chinese influences in the local cuisine and dishes such as mi vit tiem (duck egg noodle soup) and roasted duck. Despite being unmarked on maps, finding Anh Phong’s roast duck stand in a laneway near Chau Long temple is not hard: the aroma of his signature wood- fired roasted duck always attracts a long line of locals.

‘You’ll regret not buying some,’ exclaims a loyal customer close to the stand. This catches the attention of Anh (‘brother’) Phong, who is talkative, happy to exchange childhood stories and differing life experiences for the next 20 minutes as the order cooks. Like most street vendors in Vietnam, he established his corner stall out of necessity. That was three years ago and he has never looked back.

Now in his late thirties and a father of two young children, he recalls not knowing what to do with himself once his first-born arrived but, having always had a knack for cooking over fire, he and his wife took a chance and opened a roast duck cart to see how it would go (in his words, ‘Neu minh khong lam thu, thi khong biet’ – if we don’t try, then we won’t know). Their popularity quickly grew and soon crispy roast pork, roasted duck feet and marinated pork neck skewers were added to the menu, which is now the talk of the town. Some customers even visit daily to purchase rendered duck fat for their home cooking.

Anh Phong’s duck is marinated with lemongrass, five spice powder, garlic, salt, sugar, and MSG and stuffed with a large handful of la mac mat leaves, a green plant popular in the Northern Highlands of Vietnam. Traditionally, this leaf was used in Eastern medicine to protect the liver and treat stomach-related diseases. It has a mild, sour profile that blends well with flavours such as garlic, chilli and fish sauce. It takes just one bite to reveal this roast duck is unlike any other: like most culinary experiences in Hanoi, it is simultaneously familiar and unique.

If you feel uneasy about raw vegetables, politely
ask for them to be blanched (rau luoc) when ordering. It’s a common request among locals, and your vendor or chef will be more than happy to accommodate you

Eat like a local No matter what the dish, you can guarantee a local will claim to know the best spot in town to grab a pho, banh mi or com tam – and, most of the time, they’ll be right

Get there early Street vendors can sell out by mid-morning as a typical day in Vietnam can start as early as 4am, with some vendors catering exclusively to this crowd. You’ll be rewarded: a 9am street-side bowl
of bun cha or pho will be one of the best breakfasts you’ll have

Look for the queues A general rule for finding good eats in Vietnam: when in doubt, if there’s a line, join it