If you drive north along Hanoi’s Duong Thanh Nien, which passes between Truc Bach Lake and West Lake, on a sunny weekend afternoon, be prepared to swerve around the crowds gathered outside of Kem Ho Tay: West Lake Ice Cream. While there’s plenty of seating inside by the lake, it seems most customers prefer the … read the full post

One could argue that all of Hanoi’s streets are food streets, in that it’s hard to find any that don’t have at least one vendor selling pho or banh my or any of the other delicious street foods on offer here. But two things make so-called “food street” different and worthy of its name: firstly, … read the full post

Restaurant Cha Ca La Vong recently featured in the New York Times in an article that talked about how variants of the same-named dish — a mixture of fish, turmeric, dill, shrimp paste, fish sauce, chillies, noodles and other herbs — are appearing on menus in the United States. Author Florence Fabricant notes that, despite … read the full post

Delicious Wines opened a few months ago on Tong Duy Tan, alternatively known as food street, and is run by the same people who own Matchbox by the Fine Arts Museum. As a brand consultant, when someone names their new wine shop/wine bar something like “Delicious Wines”, I immediately doubt their promise; after all, if … read the full post

About two kilometres south of Hoan Kiem Lake on Bui Thi Xuan – one of the small streets that runs parallel to Pho Hue and Ba Trieu – sits Hanoi’s latest must-go restaurant, Pots n Pans. Somewhat tucked away among the bright lights of karaoke bars, its subtle and stylish exterior is easy to miss, but … read the full post

Bun Bo Nam Bo on Hang Dieu (number 67) was my first real eating-with-the-locals experience in Hanoi. It’s not just that the main dish served here of bun bo nam bo is quintessentially street food, but the environment and atmosphere of the restaurant are typical of a local lunch-time venue: it’s loud, it’s crowded, there’s … read the full post

It’s been a favourite of mine since I first came to Hanoi, so goodness knows why it’s taken me so long to write about bo bittet. It’s true that I don’t eat it too often — it’s hardly the healthiest of options — but having had a recent relapse at the weekend I was reminded … read the full post

Lau — pronounced something like ‘low’ — is perhaps one of the most popular dishes in Hanoi, particularly in the cooler months. It’s a similar set up to that seen in other countries in the region (I recall a particularly good experience in the Perhentians): a pan of simmering stock is put on a gas … read the full post

Given I eat it at least once a week I thought a post about Indian food in Hanoi was due. Also, perhaps surprisingly, there are plenty of Indian restaurants in Hanoi – perfect for when you’re after a change of cuisine. My regular is Foodshop 45. Not because the food is the most authentic or … read the full post

I’ve recently moved to a new office next to West Lake and near to the Tay Ho temple. Whereas I was previously eating pho cuon for lunch, the local Hanoi dishes here are bun ca, bun oc and banh tom. Bun ca is prepared with bun noodles, the same round white rice noodles served with bun cha, but … read the full post