Encountering The Foreign Tongue

The Age

Saturday January 6, 2007

EMMA CHAMBERLAIN

It's not fancy but dining out like a local on the streets of Hanoi offers a world of flavours, writes Emma Chamberlain.

IT ISN'T the most ladylike way to dine: within spitting distance of the gutter, one's generous Western behind sagging over the edges of a pint-size plastic stool. However, eating at the street stalls of Hanoi is where you will find the city's best food.

Street food is also the perfect traveller fare. It's cheap, it's everywhere and as each stall usually serves only one dish, a judicious point and a smile should get you what you want. As the food is prepared right in front of you, you can see - and more importantly smell - exactly what you're going to get.

To eat as the locals do, try out some of the following stalls:

Pho (noodle soup)

Pho is the breakfast food of choice for most Hanoians. To sample some of the city's best beef noodle soup, or pho bo, get to 37 Hang Ngang street in the Old Quarter between 6-7am or 35 Hang Giay, also in the Old Quarter, by noon or between 5-11pm.

Banh cuon (rice-paper pancakes)

Banh cuon are filled with ground pork and mushrooms flavoured with cinnamon, and are served with fresh mint and basil and a sprinkling of crunchy, deep-fried shallots. They are made and sold in the tiny front room of a house at 35 Hang Buom street from around 7-9.30am and between 6-9pm.

Xoi (sticky rice)

Served with chicken, egg or pork, xoi is another popular breakfast food. Try the xoi at 6 Ly Thai To street if you fancy the egg or pork variety (get there before 9.30am). For sticky rice with chicken and shredded lemon leaves, head to 2 Hang Dieu street in the evening.

Pho cuon

From about 6pm, at 18 Tran Vu street on the edge of Truc Bach lake, in one of Hanoi's more well-appointed suburbs, there is a stall serving beef and herb rice-paper rolls - and cold beer.

Lau (hot pot)

By about 7.30pm, the tables along "hot pot" street (Phung Hung in the Old Quarter) are usually jam-packed. With locally made, 17,000-dong-a-bottle vodka at their side, diners cook prawns, squid, clams, beef, tofu and vegetables - to name a few - in their own pot of stock that is full of starfruit, pineapple and ginger. The best of the bunch is the stall at 31 Phung Hung.

Bun cha (barbecue pork with noodles)

Bun cha is barbecued pork patties, cold rice noodles and fresh herbs dunked as you see fit in a bowl of dipping sauce made from fish sauce, sugar and spices. Sample this specialty of Hanoi, traditionally served only at lunchtime, on the corner of Hang Ma and Hang Dong streets, or I Hang Manh, both in the Old Quarter.

Bun dau mam tom (shrimp paste with noodles and tofu)

Mam tom looks good (it is a brilliant violet colour) and tastes great (sweet, tangy) but first-time eaters are advised not to inhale as mam tom's pungent odour is a little off-putting. Stir your bowl of mam tom until it's frothy, dip a piece of deep-fried tofu in and eat. Follow quickly with a sprig of fresh mint and a few rice noodles. Try the bun dau mam tom in Phat Loc lane, or from the elderly lady sitting next to 64 Dao Duy Tu street between 10-2pm. Both stalls are in the Old Quarter.

Banh bao chien

These little deep-fried dumplings with sweet or savoury fillings can be found at 79 Yen Phu street between about 3-8pm. Yen Phu is a lively tree-lined road full of flower and fruit sellers and is close to the city's biggest lake, West Lake, Hanoi's most exclusive suburb.

Bun rieu (crab noodle soup)

You can control the crab flavour of this tangy, tomato-based soup by the amount of crab paste you mix through. It is served with bowls of mung beans and thinly sliced lettuce and mint, which need a decent dunking before being eaten. The freshest bun rieu is served at a little stall that has now become a small restaurant at 9 Hoa Ma street, south of the city centre.

© 2007 The Age

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