Fin and Tim's Guide to Hanoi Street Food

When in Hanoi you just have to try the all the delicious street food available. Vietnamese street food is available on every street corner, smelling and sounding so fresh that it is often too good to resist. Once you have picked your favourite stall you are seated on a small plastic stool around a small table, often shared with other diners. The food is always cooked fresh and served fast, and you will usually find condiments on the table to include, fish sauce, dried chills, picked garlic, vinegar, lime and a chilli sauce. This is to ensure you can make your dish exactly how you want it and how spicy it is! I would also recommend that each meal is washed down by either a Bia Hanoi or a Bia Hoi. Bia Hanoi is the local lager and is very good and comes by the bottle whilst Bia Hoi is drawn straight out of the barrel and is much cheaper. I have included the cost of each dish so you can see how affordable it is to eat out whilst in Hanoi. We didn't use the stove once!
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This is a short guide to our best five dishes in Hanoi.

Off to get some street food!

• No.5-Bun Nem-Cost 7000vnd/20p

Springs rolls! Delicious crispy fried spring rolls which are traditionally cooked in rice paper. We opted for the vegetarian ones but you could choose crab rolls as well. 

• No.4-Pho Bo-Cost 30000vnd/85p

Pho Bo is the mainstay of Vietnamese street food and is the most popular and traditional dish of all on this list. Pho Bo is a noodle soup dish with beef, and can be found on every street in the old quarter of Hanoi. The soup tastes simple and clean using rice noodles and small strips of sliced beef. Often served with bean sprouts, mint, lime and chilli and makes for a light and delicious lunch.

• No.3-Bun Bo Nam Bo-Cost 50000vnd/£1.35

Bun Bo Nam Bo is almost half a soup and half a dry noodle dish since the broth is more of a small sauce in the bottom of the bowl. We found the noodles were of the larger rice noodle variety and the dish is made with fried onion and peanut topping alongside mint, coriander and lemongrass. This makes a more elegant noodle dish than compared to Pho Bo since the flavours combine with the noodles themselves meaning none are lost in the soup. 

• No. 2-Bun Cha-Cost 35000vnd/£1.00

Bun Cha is commonly eaten by the locals for their lunch but the portion size is massive so go hungry before trying. Bun Cha consists of noodles alongside beautifully cooked slices of pork belly and BBQ pork. The two types of pork are then cooked in vinegar, fish sauce, lime and sugar and the result is a tangy and sweet dish which fills you up and also leaves you wanting more. The dish is then served with fresh herbs alongside extra chilli. Cheap and super tasty this is the perfect dish to prepare yourself for a long day cycling.

• No.1-Bahn Mi Sandwich-Cost 20000VND/50p

Commonly referred to as the worlds best sandwich this winning combination of french bread and pate alongside Vietnamese flavours is my number one street food in Hanoi. Freshly baked bread is used which is then buttered before adding pate, BBQ pork, picked carrot and cucumber, coriander finished with a layer of spicy sauce for an added punch. This was my go to street food throughout Vietnam any time of the day and can be found all over Hanoi as well all over northern Vietnam. My favorite Bahn Mi Sandwich was from Bahn Mi 25 on Hang Ca street. During our 3 day stay in Hanoi I think I ate 6 sandwichs so the number one spot must go to the Bahn Mi. 

Winner! Finola outside Bahn Mi 25