Signature Hanoi Dish - Cha Ca La Vong

We were told that this uniquely Hanoi dish - Cha Ca La Vong - was a must try and that it had to be at this one restaurant of the same name in the old quarter.  The place was a bit of a dive with communal dining tables in an upstairs dining room.  We were seated in the front lobby.  There was only one dish on the menu although it was interesting that there were different prices depending on which page the waiter flipped to - it could be a variation of a hundred thousand Vietnamese duongs (approx. $5 USD) for the same dish.  We pointed at the right page pricewise.

Curious!  Menu above says 190,000 VND, below it's 280,000 VND

Very quickly, an electric stove and a pan of morning glory were placed on our table.  The waiter came and started cooking right in front of us, adding the already grilled fish, turmeric and dill.  

We were told to add the rice noodles, fish sauce, herbs and peanuts.  The combination of tastes and textures was indeed amazing.  The fish was firm, moist and tasty.  Looking back at the picture of the food in my bowl, I could re-imagine the contrasts between the crunch of the peanuts and herbs and the soft fish and noodles, the salty fish sauce on the bland noodles - that amazing yin and yang that seems to be the key elements that made Vietnamese food so attractive.  

Hanoi Street Food

I have never seen food as cheap as it was in Vietnam.  I can understand why it is such a destination for tourists, young and old.  For a few dollars, one could get a very good nutritious meal on the streets.  It could be for this reason that the Vietnamese ate out a lot.   Street stalls could be quite elaborate with multiple choices of meat and vegetables like the one you see below.  Customers sat on little red stools behind the stall.

Or it could be a moveable feast on a street corner with a more limited choice.  But it is still obvious that beef and sea food were on the menu.

This one was off the street and the food was behind glass.  Expect to pay a little more but still very inexpensive.

Chinese style barbeque

and Doner Kebab was right at home here!

Our guide took us on an early morning breakfast tour of street food.  This stall specialized in rice rolls (Banh cuon nong).  Here  the chef was pouring the batter onto the steamer.

The batter cooked almost right away as it was spread thin like a crepe.

A long chopstick was used to roll and lift the crepe off the pan

He placed the crepe on an inverted wicker basket and filled it.

And voila - our rice rolls, the thinnest crepe ever with a filling of mushroom, pork, onion and served with mint.  The Vietnamese used mint extensively.

This is Hang Chieu alley - food stalls heaven.  Our next stop was at this woman's stall.  We had Bun Ca To - vermicelli with fish in a soup that had 20 ingredients!

These wraps looked delicious, paper thin wrappers and finely chopped ingredients

This is a dessert stall!

Specially prepared chicken for wedding

This is where the locals eat breakfast too

Right in the middle of the street motor cycle parking - a cardboard box around a portable stove with an open flame used to warm up baguettes and fry eggs and pancakes!  Can it get more dangerous!?  But no one batted an eye!

Choice selection of seafood and meat

This is where we had our early lunch - Bun Cha - BBQ pork - 

grilled on wood fire

The BBQ pork was dipped in an intensely flavoured soup - sugar, fish sauce, vinegar - in sharp contrast to the plain rice noodles that was served with it.  It was so delicious!  I had requested this particular food because I remembered my dad used to make this when we were young.  He made the bbq pork in the oven and we had a sauce to dip the pork in - but nothing like this intense soup!

It was quite a morning of street food adventure!

Cooking Class - Hanoi

While Mr. & Mrs. A. went to Japan for food, we went on a 12 day culinary tour of Vietnam which included cooking classes in three cities.  We realized when we got there that taking cooking classes in foreign cities seems to be a popular pastime for this new generation of tourists - the four of us on the tour were the oldest in the class.   Indeed, we found that it is a great way of learning, not just about cooking techniques but also about the culture.  Before the classroom part started, we were taken on a tour of a Hanoi market.  Read about this on my travel blog.

Hanoi Cooking Centre where our class was held

The classroom

Our instructor Duyen explaining the basics of Vietnamese cooking

Ginger - a key ingredient in Vietnamese cooking - toasted on a gas stove

Dyuen showed us the basic cooking technique for Beef Pho - Vietnamese do not cook the beef  (not even briefly) - they just put raw slices in the bowl and rely on the hot soup to cook the beef to just the right doneness.  What you see below is overcooked beef pho - for foreigners!

How to make lattice patterns with a green mango

Making the batter

Preparing the individual portions for deep frying

Deep frying the prawn

How to slice peppers and green papaya for decoration

Checking the green papaya for freshness - white juice should come out

Making a lattice pattern with green papaya

Here's the green papaya salad - very popular here

The technique behind wrapping spring rolls, using different kinds of rice paper - we'll learn this more than once on our trip

We had to eat our own creations, including the dipping sauce, which, in my opinion, was the best we tasted on our trip

Making banana dessert with coconut milk

And here's the eye-opener (or you may want to close it if you're squeamish) - a boiled egg with duck-embryo inside.  The keen assistant held the embryo by its neck for photos - and everyone just went wild taking shots, then he carved it up so everyone got a taste, myself included.  Looking back, I felt sick at the thought...it's amazing what crowd mentality can make one do.

Here's someething less grisly -

A Vietnamese milk fruit - it gives when ripe - very sweet inside

It was a great cultural and  culinary experience!