Last night we went on a street food tour. There were four of us on this walking tour along with our guide, Moon, a young woman from Hanoi eager to share her cities flavors.
Our first stop was Bun Rieu Cua, rice noodles in tamarind broth with tofu, pork,and rice paddy crab. Moon showed us which condiments to use and how to eat it with both chopsticks and spoon. Delicious.
Next, she stopped a woman on a bicycle so we could taste mangosteens. You cut the fruit open and eat the white sections inside.
A little further walk to Banh Cuon Nong, transparently thin rice powder pancakes filled with chicken, beef, pork, and mushrooms. Delectable.
After that we had a snack. Shaved coconut, fried sugar cane and black sesame seeds rolled into rice paper.
That was followed by pillow cakes and fried spring rolls at Quan Goc Da which has been turning out these delights for over 100 years. Filled with various meats, you dipped these in fish sauce doctored with garlic and chiles before popping in your mouth.
The main event was the best Bun Cha in Hanoi. Bun Cha is bbq pork, rice noodles, and greens in a heavenly kumquat and honey broth. This was so good that the little outdoor kitchen had a four story seating area behind it.
We continued our walk with beer hoi, fresh beer, in hand. This beer is brewed and served daily for as little as 25 cents a glass.
We finished with Bahn Mi (Vietnamese pork sandwich) and egg coffee. Egg coffee is drip coffee topped with a egg yolk sweetened with honey and a whipped up with a splash of beer. A curiously good after dinner drink.
Moon did an excellent job explaining the dishes and the history of the food stands. All in all well worth the $20 per person. Although the food only cost probably $9 at most, we never would have stopped at most of the places.
Luci and I continued our walk into the night market. We ran into the university students we had spoken to before our trip to Sapa so we feel we went full circle.
Thanks for reading!