Quan An Ngon (18 Phan Boi Chau) – The concept behind this super-popular restaurant chain in Vietnam is very interesting.  Serving up traditional home-cooked dishes and Vietnamese “street food”, this restaurant offers an extensive menu of small eats and main dishes.  My favourite was the Banh Xeo (above right).  The egg is so thin and crispy!  Servers here will teach you how to put your dish together, so ask them if you’re unsure.

This restaurant is a must try in Hanoi!  Being only about 8 min (by foot) from Hanoi train station, it’s a great stop before your overnight train ride.

Cha Ca

Cha Ca Thang Long (21-31 Duong Thanh) – This restaurant serves only 1 dish, Cha Ca, which is a Hanoi specialty. Making this dish requires cooking the fish twice. First, chunks of fish fillet are seasoned and grilled in banana leaves. Then the fish is sautéed in a pan with lots of dill, spring onion, chives, mint, and coriander. Once ready to eat, it is served with cold rice noodle, roasted peanuts and shrimp paste/fish sauce. The result is a very tender & fragrant fish. Your server will come by and show you how to put it all together. This was a tasty & fun experience 🙂

Our spread 🙂

Bun Cha Nem Cua be Dac Kim (67 Duong Thanh) – We each had an order of Bun Cha (60,000 VND) with a spring roll (15,000 VND). This tiny little shop offers a small menu, but everything is super tasty!

Pho Gia Truyen (49 Bat Dan) – Best Pho we had on our entire trip in Vietnam! The soup base was very clear and flavourful – perfection in a bowl. There are long lineups and you’ll need to squeeze in wherever you can find a stool at the table, but it’s worth the wait.