So I'm here in Northern Vietnam, where they don't mess around when it comes to food. So it was time to go Bourdain on the streets of Hanoi. No fear, just good eats. Well maybe a little fear. I did come prepare with Pepto and imodium just in case, and i took it a step further and took a zithro everyday as prophylaxis! (Not taking any chances)
My first evening I wanted to hit up a restaurant that would serve up some good classic Vietnamese food. On several rec's i went to Quan An Ngon. Only a 5 min walk from my hotel, its pretty much an open air restaurant with a canopy up top. The place was pretty packed on Thursday evening, with tourists, locals, students, large groups and solo eaters. Most of the tables are long shared tables where you get elbow to elbow with your neighbors. I took a seat and was offered this vast menu of options representing the local favorites from different parts of Vietnam. Suddenly I realized I don't know that much about Vietnamese food - at least not the terminology. So I did the next best thing: look at what all the Vietnamese people are eating around me. I noticed a few popular items, and a few things i recognized eating in the past, and with a little pointing and some guidance, I was able to formulate an order with the waiter.
One thing I saw many eating which I have had in the past was the various ground and grilled meats they serve with thin rice paper, or "Banh Trang". They serve the meat, rice paper, and some fresh mint and other condiments, and you create your own roll and dip into a tangy sauce (which Im guessing is fish sauce base). I went with the Chao Tom which is ground shrimp grilled on a sugar cane. Very tasty! I also just like putting together my own eats at the table. I also love how vietnamese dishes involve a lot of garnish with fresh mint and cilantro giving it that extra fresh herbal zing to the dishes. My second dish was the Bo Luk Lak. Which is tender cubes of beef that are marinated and stir fried into tender glazed little cubes served with potatoes, and a side of some fried rice. For dessert I had what everyone seemed to be having, which was a glass of tapioca balls with some jelly strands topped with coconut milk and ice. (I probably shouldn't have had the ice but I had it anyway... ) All in all a tasty meal with authentic food in a clean and comfortable environment, especially if you desire those classic street type dishes but are a tad weary of the cleanliness.
The next day it was time to get down to the nitty gritty. I was now on the hunt for the best bowl of Pho I could find. Since this was my last day in Vietnam, I had only one shot at this. After doing some reading and talking to the hotel concierge, both sources led me to one name: Pho Gia Truyen. Which was again only a few blocks from my hotel. When I found it, it looked like just another one of the many shoddy little pho stalls offered in Hanoi, if not among the more ordinary looking hole in the walls. I went for "brunch" I suppose, around 10:30am, so the line wasn't long which it apparently always is. They serve only two variations of Pho, one with beef and one without (which I doubt is truly a "vegetarian" option as the broth is made with fish sauce and I'm sure beef stock. I simply held out one finger and requested "pho bo" , or beef pho. It was a small counter with a two person operation. One guy had two different hunks of beef that had been cooked (Im guessing it was baked or poached or something), and he was slicing thin pieces of fatty meat from each of the two slabs for each dish, with his bare hands that were soaked in juices and getting right up in there. I thought to myself I really hope he kept them clean, I hope he doesn't nick himself, and was also glad of my natural hepatitis A immunity at that moment. The woman next to him was manning a pot of broth in a giant pot, just brewing bellowing smoke. She would scoop out the broth with a large ladle into a bowl of noodles, the guy would toss the meat right on top, and it would all be garnished with some
fresh greens and some spices, and you were good to go. The beauty was that each ingredient is made separately, but when put together, the delicious flavorful broth just locks everything together like its been cooking in the same pot all day. And again the broth appeared so light yet with a perfect intensity of flavor - not too dark or overpowering - so you could still taste those thin tender fatty beef strips and perfect noodles with each bite. I opted to spice mine up with some of the chilis at each spot on the tables (the term table used loosely here as with my little plastic stool and low plastic tray, I might as well have squatted and eaten old school Asian style). It was definitely some of the best noodle soup - let alone pho - that I've had, ever! I remember thinking if I got sick, it was probably worth it.... Unless I get shigella or something, that would suck.
After my breakfast I did some walking, shopping, and touring of the city as I built up a little more of an appetite. Round 2 was lunchtime a few hours later, and my next stop was to chow down some Ban Bo. Ban Bo is also a noodle dish of room temperature rice noodles that is topped with this crispy stir fried beef right on top, some juices and a little broth with again some fresh herbal garnish. I found the spot, Ban Bo Nam Bo, which looked just as shabby of a hole in the wall as Pho Gia Truyen was. This time one lady sat in the station in front, with rows of bowls with already cooked noodles ready. As an order came in, the beef would be fired up in her wok at high heat, sizzled, and thrown into the bowl with a touch of crispy garlic and some spices. Thats it. I walked in and the aroma of the sizzling beef was enough to make me salivate. The dish did not disappoint. Each bite offered a crispy flavorful shreds of beef with a herbal garlicky tinge with a strands of noodle and a slurp of broth - it was heaven in my mouth!! I downed my dish in about 5 minutes, and probably could have had a second bowl!
Unfortunately by then I had to hit the airport. I was intrigued by the option of going to one of the many places that serve snake, usually cobra. Apparently you'll see the guy slice and dice the sneak in front of you, after which a multiple course meal of that snake is to follow. The first of which includes drinking of the fresh cobra blood and eating the still beating heart! Alas for better or worse, I skipped out on that one!
Although Hanoi left me only with enough time for 3 real places to eat, they did not disappoint. The Pho and the Ban Bo were amazing. Perhaps I am biased because I like beef, and I love noodles (especially a noodle soup), but those were two of my favorite dishes of my trip. Please check them out if you are ever in Hanoi!
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