Before the trip we have made numerous searches on food blogs on the internet and got even more confused and excited....so many types and so much to eat !
We only have 2 nights in each town, meaning 2 main meals and a breakfast a day....so gotta plan our our eating patterns and make sure we eat the "right thing" and dont waste our tummy space !
So top on the list , of course, is the world famous " PHO " which is pronounced " fir "
But in HoiAn, DaNang and Hue (pronounced "Hway" ) they have their own local specialities which vary slightly from the Hanoi local foods. Even their Pho is slightly different.
Hoi An
Vietnamese Coffee is a must-have item everyday. Must only go the the typical old fashioned coffee shops, where they brew their own local vietnamese coffee beans, called 'ca phe" - Rich and thick with a bit of condensed milk and with a cube of ice - yummy yummy!
 |
| found our favorite little corner coffeeshop with no name. |
 |
| feeling weird !?? |
 |
| looking for higher chairs , Ida ? |
 |
| ahhhhh ! finally , comfortable...i need 2 chairs !! haha |
  |
| vietnamese coffee served with refreshing chilled tea |
 |
| very satisfied customers |
Morning Glory Restaurant - An outstanding restaurant in historic premises that concentrates on street food and traditionally prepared dishes ( primarily from central Vietnam ).
All the dishes here are super delicious and authentically Vietnamese/French. The building also is within the UNESCO Heritage zone with beautiful Vietnamese tiles and walls.
The highlights include the pork stuffed squid and shrimp mousse on sugar cane skewers.
The prices are very reasonable given its ambience, surroundings and flavours.
 |
| special - pork stuffed squid |
 |
| inside our dining area with courtyard |
 |
| beautiful facade |
BaLe Well. @ Tran Hung Dao Street ( no menu. BBQ style ).
Its admittedly not a secret place anymore. Its listed in almost every foodblog's write-ups. Located in an alleyway, just off the main tourist streets of HoiAn's old city, hidden enough to attract locals and tourists in the know.
There is no real menu in Bale Well, just a set offerings of fixings to make your own t astiest spring roll. Ask for a set dish and you will get a buffet of grilled pork, rice paper wrappers, rice pancakes ( called Banh Xeo ), a basket of fresh herbs and dipping sauce.
Even the name is a homage to the traditional Vietnamese street food.
"BaLe Well" also refers to the ancient well, that dates back to the 10th Century of the Cham Dynasty and is part of the culinary legend. It is said that the well was the traditional water source for HoiAn's speciality of Cao Lau, a thick noodle soup of pork or seafood.
 |
making our way out, we couldnt resist trying another HoiAn's speciality Cao Lau and Vietnamese Chicken Rice
Pho - at Pho Tung and Pho Lien are both delicious !!
We were told to go to "Pho Lien" for their famous-with-the-locals Vietnamese noodle pork soup, but when we walked there from our Hotel ( 15min walk) we found out that the shop was closed. A friendly neighbour girl then showed us to a nearby shop behind hidden in a back lane that serves a similar noodle soup. We were not disappointted at all ! It was good.
- 
 |
| Pho Lien |
 |
| very,very happy satisfied customers here. |
the ubiquitious Vietnamese baguette sandwich that fuses French ( bread, mayonnaise, pate, cold cuts ) with Vietnamese ( barbeque pork, cilantro, herbs, pickled vege, chilli sauce ). You can find this all over the country, but the Banh Mi Phuong is supposedly the best !
 |
| ordering at the counter can be a bit noisy and disorganised, but eventually we still get our food. |
 |
 |
| "white rose " |
Its easy to see how white rose dumplings got their name. Known as "Bahn Vac" in Vietnamese, a white rose is a steamed rice flour dumpling with a center of ground shrimp meat and its delicate folds do make it look like a flower. This Chinese influenced dish is usually served in a flat plate with sliced shallots and a vinegary dressing.
 |
| Is Paul going back for more Banh Mi ? |
DaNang
We arrived in Danang quite late. Checked into hotel and we walked around looking for food....15min walk from our Grand Sunrise Hotel, we stumbled into this brightly lit eating place .... it was a huge triple floor restaurant, Be Anh Restaurant with so many locals eating mainly seafood...and of course with our little or total lack of Vietnamese language, we somehow manage to order some delicious seafood...
 |
| steamed gigantic squid |
 |
| steamed clams |
 |
| steamed fish |
 |
| Be Anh Restaurant |
 |
| Be Anh Restaurant |
and the next day Victor, our safe & slow driver, dropped us off at the popular Mi Quang noodle shop, near to the Dragon Bridge.
Hue
Bun bo - Hue Noodle Shop
When we asked Victor, our slow & steady driver , from Hoiantransfer.com about the local speciality in Hue, he immediately recommended us to this Bun Bo Hue shop for the special noodle soup which is only served in Hue. It is a popular Vietnamese soup containing rice vermicelli and beef. This dish is greatly admired for its balance of spicy, sour , salty, and sweet flavors and the predominant flavor is that of lemon grass. Compared to Pho, the noodle is thicker and more cylindrical.
 |
| Bun Bo Hue |
 |
| ok,ok dont touch the food...take picture first |
the broth is prepared by simmering beef bones and beef shank with lemongrass and then seasoned with fermented shrimp sauce and sugar for taste. Very spicy chilli oil is added later during the cooking process. |
Hanoi
In Hanoi there are so many variety of local street foods... our friend who lives in Hanoi past few years was so kind to take us out of the normal tourist Hoan Kiem Lake area to try something a little bit different, even though it is still noodle soup based. Its called "Bun Rieu". It is very tasty indeed and a bit more spicy than the normal vietnamese noodle soup ( which we are by then, craving for some spicy food ).
"Bun Rieu" is a crab noodle based soup. The soup is crab paste made from paddy crabs, which gives the broth its main flavor, along with stewed tomatoes,that contributes a slightly tart and natural sweetness to the dish. The complex mixture of ingredients and flavors in the broth paired with rice vermicilli noodles, pieces of meat and crab paste,chillis and limes and a pile of fresh vege, is what makes the dish so delicious .
 |
| Bun Rieu |
Banh Cuon
and we stumbled upon this place somewhere near Hoem Kiem Lake in Hanoi, with a full-house customers eating ...and so it must be good. Yes, indeed... it is so good.
"Banh Cuon" literally rolled cake is a dish from northern Vietnam. It is steamed rice cake - very soft and delicate. It is a very light crepe, often with ground pork and minced mushrooms, and topped with chopped shrimps and scallions,crispy fried shallots and fish sauce.
 |
| making the soft light super thin rice crepe |
as we strolled along the streets and back lanes of old city of Hanoi, we came across a line of people waiting to buy this street food....
 |
| deep fried sticky cake with meat filling |
we like it so much, had to go back to find this lane the next day
As we were walking to get our caffiene fix at Cafe Giang along Huu Huan Street, we passed this very crowded shop, to our surprised it is a eating place. The dish looks so inviting and delicious we had to try. And so, we never made it to our Cafe Giang.....
This is Xoi Yen. Xoi is a vietnamese dish made from glutinous rice and mung beans and comes with all sorts of different toppings. So many to choose from ie ham, chinese home made sausage, chicken, grilled pork, minced pork, fat pork belly etc etc...and top up with fried shallots and spring onions, and served with pickled cucumber as well.
I wish I could go back again to have another one......
 |
| super delicious |
 |
| very satisfied customers |
Green Tangerine
 |
| located along Hang Be |
the restaurant architectural design and decor is attractively french and heritage. It has an indoor courtyard pave walkway into the inner restaurant area. |
Quan An Ngon - another eating venue listed on food blogs for Hanoi, also turned out to be very overpriced. You can get the same or even more tasty food outside along the streets for half the price ! But because we are tourists, we had to try it once.....and as usual, the place is nice with beautiful vietnamese old floor tiles and very colonial house setting.....
Of course Vietnamese coffee is a must !
- Cafe Giang @ 39, Nguyen Huru Huan St
- Cafe Lam
- Cafe Hanh
- Cafe Tho
A quaint little cafe, probably unknown to tourist, if not for our friend who is a Vietnam resident, we would have missed out one of the best coffee in the world.
 |
| coconut coffee - yummy |
 |
| egg coffee |
Halong Bay Cruise
at the Cristina Diamond Cruise, we were served with full meals (3 times a day ), well decorated dishes but taste wise.... so so only.
 |
 |
| 12 noon Vietnamese lunch jz before we disembark the Cristina cruiseboat |
No comments:
Post a Comment