WHERE TO EAT?

Hanoi is an exceptional city for eating. An entire book could be written about the street food alone. Much of it is offered by vendors who set up on the footpaths wherever they can and keep whatever hours they please, so all we can say is follow your nose, pull up a plastic kid's chair, point at what the people next to you are eating and enjoy. 

At the other end of the spectrum, you'll find a great variety of fine, authentic international cuisine cooked by some top chefs. It's pretty much standard for a restaurant to have a charming atmosphere with balcony seating overlooking the road, along with great service, and reasonable prices, at least by Western standards. 

A good introduction to the Hanoi food scene can be found at the blog Sticky Rice. Their coverage of Hanoi is well-written, and the photos alone will have you drooling for a bowl of bun cha or a sizzling dish of cha ca.

PHỞ

Pho 10 is a great place to try Vietnam's signature dish, if you haven't already done so at one of the myriad places on the street. The advantage here is that the pho is just as good or better than what you might just happen across elsewhere, and the hygienic standards are decidedly better.

You'll pass by the kitchen and get a look for yourself on your way to the tables, which are on four floors. It's very popular for a quick bowl of noodles, so don't plan on lingering too long after you're done, as someone will likely be waiting for your table. Service is brisk and no-nonsense. Prices range from 30 to 50,000 dong, which isn't much more than on the street. In Hanoi, there are plenty of delicious pho: Pho Suong - Dinh Liet Street, pho Gia truyền - Bat Dan, Pho Thin - Lo Duc, Pho Cuong - Hang Muoi, pho burden - Hang Trong Street sidewalk ...

BÚN CHẢ

Bun cha is the signature dish of Hanoi. At lunchtime you'll find just about all of Hanoi sitting on kid-sized stools and slurping down this combination of grilled pork, salty-sweet broth, slices of green papaya, rice noodles, and fresh herbs. Every neighbourhood in Hanoi has a bun cha place -- just follow your nose to the smoky streetside grill.

One place that offers dependably good bun cha is found in an alley just off the north side of Hang Bac St between Ma May and Ngo Pha Loc, 81 Lac Long Quan. But really, you can't walk far without stumbling on bun cha anywhere in Hanoi. 

BÚN THANG

With nearly 20 ingredients, is the bun bun thang with the processing demands meticulous, careful, the period from the cook, and also is one of the typical dishes containing numerous quintessences Hanoi's culinary success. Location: The Wood Bun thang, 11 Hang Hom, ….