Dining & Entertainment

Dining in Hanoi


Hanoi food and Dining

Most of Hanoi international restaurant are found in the Hoan Kiem District , as are many places serving Vietnamese cuisine . Local specialties, such as banh cuon ( a rice pancake with savory stuffing ) and mi xao( Xhinese egg noodles), can be found on Ngo Cam Chi Street ( off Hang Bong Street) in the Old Quarter . Goat meat is the specialty of Lang Ha Street , south of the U.S embassy , and dog meat ( if you’re really adventurous eater) is served in restaurants on Nghi Tam Road between West Lake and the Red River
Tong Duy Tan Street, where the king’s food was cooked in ancient times , and the junction of Dien Bien Phu and Hang Bong streets is busy with noodle shops serving  seafood dishes and ga tan, a chicken soup cooked with eight Chinese herbs ,including lotus seed ; it is considered especially good for women’s health. Men may want to try pin tan, the same soup made with bull parts, instead. Toasted bread soaked in honey is served with the soup- you are charged by the slice. Make sure to avoid dishes with “ scallops” ; they are actually tough , bitter view of the street – and the inside of someone’s house.
Another excellent food street, known as “ Xoi Alley”, tees off Tong Duy Tan Street towards Trang Thi Street. Xoi, or sticky rice, is a glutinous grain served with sausage , boiled egg ,dried shredded pork , or cucumbers and fish sauce . Here you can find sticky rice, fried noodles , or pho any time of day and late into the night . The “ fast food” advertised in café windows actually means cheap rice, omelettes, and noodle dishes.
Keep in mind that Hanoi’s dining scene is in constant flux . Though the establishments listed below have staying power , it is recommended you call before heading out to a particular restaurant, as places may close as suddenly as they open . In addition, it’s not uncommon for owners and managers to change , transforming the whole restaurant for better or worse

Test Food

Banh Chung and banh Tet (Boiled rice and pork cakes)

Boiled rice and pork cakes are usually cooked 2-3 days before Tet. Both can be kept for about two weeks in cool temperature. However, after this time they become hard and must be re-boiled.

Soak some green beans overnight in water to soften. Drain, rub and clean to remove the skin, and leave to dry. Next, cook the beans in a steamer and grind. Form into balls the size of tennis balls.

Soak some glutinous rice overnight. Clean and rinse. Mix with a little salt. Cut fresh pork meat (lean or fat, according to personal taste) into 2cm strips. Mix with salt, fish sauce and pepper, and leave for about one hour.

Clean dong leaves (leaves from arrowroot) and place them over each other to form a cross. Place an amount of rice in the centre of the leaves. Shape into a square (the southern version is in a circle). Press a "ball" of green bean on top. Then, add 1-2 pieces of marinated pork, then more green bean, and finally rice. Press firmly into a compact square and wrap the leaves over to cover the cake completely. Tie with bamboo strings. Place in a large pot of boiling water and boil overnight. Squeeze the moisture out by placing it in a colander with a heavy object on top.

To serve, untie and open the leaves. Invert on a plate and cut into pieces using the bamboo strings, not a knife. Serve cold.

Canh mang (Dried bamboo shoot soup)

Soak dried bamboo shoots in water for 2-3 days to soften. Boil 2-3 times if necessary. Cut into 5cm strips. Fry with pig trotters and salt. Add water, bring to boil and simmer until meat is tender. Garnish with green onion.

 Bong (Dried pig skin)

Soak dried pig skin (the skin should be yellow, which means it has been pre-treated) in water for one hour. Drain and then add a cup of rice whisky and fresh ginger. Rub onto the skin (this will remove the smell). Cut into diamond-shaped pieces.

To make fresh chicken stock, add dried shrimps and dried huong (perfume) mushrooms, which have been pre-soaked in warm water, to 2-3 chicken carcasses. Bring to boil and simmer. Remove the dried mushrooms. Cut carrot and kohlrabi into decorative shapes (flowers, leaves etc). Boil the dried pork skin in the chicken stock for several minutes until tender. Add French/ string beans. To serve, mix all drained ingredients (place vegetables on top) and garnish with coriander.

 Hanh muoi (Pickled onions)

You should make this dish about two weeks before Tet. Clean onions. Dissolve some salt and sugar in warm water. Add onions, cover and keep in a clean, dry place for two weeks.

 Mien (Vermicelli noodles)

Cut mien into lengths and pre-soak for 10-15 minutes in water. Boil chicken innards (liver, heart, etc), salt and green onions in a fresh chicken stock. Mix with mien and serve.

Moc (Pork soup)

Buy raw minced pork. Add dried mushrooms, which have been soaked to be softened. Mound pork on the mushrooms and boil in chicken stock.

Ga ran or luoc (Fried or boiled chicken)

Fried version: marinate raw chicken in salt, sugar, garlic, fish sauce and burnt sugar. Fry chicken and marinade in oil.

Boiled version: served with julienne lemon grass.

Ca chep kho rieng (Carp with galangal)

Scale carp, cut into steaks and fry. Add finely sliced galangal, fish sauce, salt, burnt sugar and water (this makes the fish turn dark brown). Cook over a low heat until the fish is hard and little liquid remains.

Bo kho que (Beef with cinnamon)

Tie up beef muscle firmly with several strips of bamboo. Break cinnamon into small pieces, rub into beef. Sear.

Add fish sauce and salt, and cook over a low heat. Only cut beef when about to serve. The meat should be firm but not tough.

Xoi gac (Steamed momordica glutinous rice)

Soak glutinous rice in water overnight. Drain. Cut open the momordica (qua gac). Remove flesh and large black/red seeds. Mix this with a small cup of rice alcohol. Mix rice with salt and qua gac mixture.

Steam in a rice steamer. During steaming, add some chicken fat and stir through. When steamed, add a little sugar and stir through with chopsticks. Mound onto a plate and decorate with the black seeds from the fruit.

Che kho (Soft green bean cake)

Soak green beans in water overnight to soften. Rub and remove skin. Drain. Cook in boiling water until soft. Drain and grind into a wet powder. Mix with sugar in a pan over a medium heat. Keep stirring until a little drier and smoother. Place in a mound and invert onto a plate. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. To serve, cut into slices like a cake.

Mut (Preserved fruit)

Prepare a week before Tet. The most important thing is to maintain the shape of the fruit. Use apple, potato, tomato, plum, ginger, mandarin, or gourd.

Apple: Pierce skin lengthwise, but don’t cut too deep. Place in a bowl of cold water and lime. Soak overnight. Wash carefully and dry. Cover in red sugar. Stir very carefully in a dry pan over low heat until sugar melts and solidifies. Take off heat. Press down carefully on top of apple to make into shape evocative of a seashell.

If using a kumquat, a traditional Tet fruit, use white sugar to keep the natural orange colour of the fruit. You must also keep the stalk in to keep the shape. You must also carefully press juice out after piercing skin.

Fast Food

• Cock-A-Doodle-Doo Fried Chicken
  38 Le Thai To St Tel: 8288520 *
• Pepperoni's
  71 Mai Hac De St Tel: 9760088 *  

 Chinese

• First Restaurant
  12 Trang Thi St Tel: 8240060 *
• Galaxy Hotel
  1 Phan Dinh Phung St Tel: 8282888 Fax: 8282466
• Green Lake
  Lake Side Hotel 6A Ngoc Khanh Rd. Tel: 8350111; Fax: 8350121
• Hanoi Hotel
  D8 Giang Vo St Tel: 8452270
• Lee Man Fong Restaurant Gallery
  Hanoi Horison Hotel 40 Cat Linh St Tel: 7330808 Fax: 7330888
• Paradise
  19 Han Thuyen St Tel: 8247697
• Quan Gio Moi.The best part about this plain-looking restaurant is its perfect location overlooking a lake in Lenin Park . The food is good, though not superb. Try the hot-and-sour soup, the chili prawns, or the sweet-and-sour chicken. Eat here if you’re in the area, but it’s nor worth a special trip. Add: 63 Le Duan St., Hai Ba Trung District, Tel: 04/822-9839. No credit cards.
• Sampan
  125A Lo Duc St Tel: 8214138
• Silk Road
  Hanoi Daewoo Hotel 360 Kim Ma St Tel: 8315000 ext: 3230  

 Czech

• Hoa Vien
  8 Doe Ngoc Ha St Tel: 7330333

French

• Club Opera
  59 Ly Thai To St Tel: 8268802 - 8246950
• Gustave Eiffel
  17 Trang Tien Tel: 8250625 Fax: 8240933
• Le Beaulieu
  Hanoi Softel Metropole 15 Ngo Quyen St Tel: 8266919 Ext 8028
• Le Bistro
  64 Nguyen Luong Bang St Tel: 8514070 Fax: 8564845 *
• Le Coq D'Or
  130 Le Duan St; Tel: 8524713 *
• L'Elegant
  66 Hue St Tel: 8267639 *
• Hanoi Gourmet
  1B Ham Long St Tel: 9431009
• President Garden
  14 Tons Dan St Tel: 8253606 Fax: 8269730
• Restaurant Bistro
  34 Tran Hung Dao St Tel: 8266136
• Le Splendide
  44 Ngo Quyen St Tel: 8266087
  

Korean

• Han Kook Kwan
  16A Lang Ha St; Tel: 8350908/9
• Hoa Do Korean
  59B Duong Thanh St Tel: 8286779
• Le Hoa Korean
  5 Quoc Tu Giam St; Tel: 8267215

Swiss

• Tell Swiss Restaurant
  1 Ngoc Khanh Tel: 8462069

Steak

• Galleon Steak House
  With beef imported from Australia and the U.S., the meat here can satisfy most any carnivorous hankerings. Sizzling-hot steaks and ice-cold draft beer bring customers back again and again. The Galleon was cited for the “ Best Steaks in Hanoi” by the Vietnam Investment Review two years running. The restaurant is housed in an uninspirational narrow building; inside you’ll find a nautical theme, chevron-pattern wood floors , and a lugubrious wooden bar in back . Add: 50 Tran Quoc Toan St., Hoan Kiem District, Tel: 04/822-8611.AE,DC,MC,V.

Thai

• Hong Thoong
  12 Nguyen Du St Tel: 9431428
• Siam Corner
  Oriental Park Quang An Tay Ho District. Tel: 82912004 Fax: 8292053
• Tam Tu
  84 Ly Thuong Kiet St Tel: 8251682

Vietnamese

• Thuy Quynh 2
  41B Ly Thai To St. Hoan Kiem Dist. Hanoi
• Cha Ca La Vong
  Right in the thick of the Old Quarter is Hanoi’s most famous purveyor of cha ca( grilled boneless fish cubes marinated in dill and served with rice noodles and peanuts ). Watch out! Cha ca is dill at your table on a brazier that can send hot grease flying . ( On a warm evening, you may feel like you’re being grilled along with the fish ) . Portions are small ,but that doesn’t seem to dissuade the tourists who pack the upstairs restaurant . Fewer people sit downstairs . The grease-covered walls add to the authentic, pungent experience. Add: 14 Cha Ca St., Hoan Kiem Districk , no phone. No credit cards.
• Country Side
  9 Nguyen Cong Tru St Tel: 8219487
• Dinh Lang Thuy Ta
  1 Le Thai To St Tel: 8286290
• Ha Thanh Restaurant.Packed with locals at lunchtime, this Viernamese equivalent of a greasy-spoon diner serves tasty heaping portions of Vietnamese and Chinese dishes. Add: 15A Hang Hanh St., Hoan Kiem District, Tel: 04/828-5829. No credit cards.
• Hoa Quynh Restaurant
  41 B Ly Thai To St Tel: 8241166
• Hue Restaurant.If you want the best food in Hanoi, come here for imperial Hue cuisine and other traditional Vietnamese fare in a rustic outdoor /indoor setting. Pork Pie is a poor translation for culinary nirvana-a some-assembly-required platter of sugarcane-wrapped ground pork that you roll with greens and vegetables in rice paper and dip into a delicious peanut sauce. Fof those who wince at this carnivorous frenzy, vegetarian delights are plentiful. A warning: It’s advised not to drink too much since the rest room here is essentially a sloping floor. Add: 6 Ly Thuong Kiet St., Hoan Kiem District, Tel: 04/826-4062. No credit cards.
• Indochine
  One of the better upscale Vietnamese dining establishments in town, Indochine is set back from a small street in a worn but elegant house. Antiques from the region set the mood, though interior lighting is somewhat dim. Live traditional music plays some nights , and staff members wear colorful traditional costumes. Choose from seating inside upstairs or downstairs, or outside in the small but pleasant courtyard . Favorite dishes include banana-flower salad, prawns in coconut milk, crab, spring rolls , and beef in bamboo with lemongrass . Add: 16 Nam Ngu St., Hoan Kiem District,Tel: 04/824-6097.Jacket and tie. Reservations essential. AE,MC,V.
• Nam Phuong Restaurant
  19 Phan Chu Trinh St Tel: 8240926
• Nang Tam (Com Chay)
  79A Tran Hung Dao Tel: 8266140
• Piano Restaurant & Bar. A piano-and-violin duo creates a pleasant mood, while the high-ceilinged French-colonial architecture, soft lighting , and antique yellow walls recreate turn-of –the-century charm. The food is less exceptional , though you can expect a good , traditional Vietnamese meal. Stick to the very fresh boiled crab . Don’t expect the best English skills, especially on the telephone. Add: 50 Hang Vai St., Hoan Kiem District, Tel: 04/828-4423. No credit cards.
• Quan Gio Moi
  63 Le Duan St Lenin Park Tel: 8229839
• Seasons of Hanoi
  95B Quan Thanh St Tel: 8435444
• Smiling Café. Brimming with young travelers, the Smiling Café not only serves some of Hanoi’s cheapest Vietnamese fast food nut also doubles as a tourist agency that books boat and bus day trips out of the city . As a hub of tourist activity , the Smiling is a great place to meet other travelers and exchange information over a refreshing fruit shake. Add: 10 Dinh Liet St., Hoan Kiem District, Tel: 04/828-2109. No credit cards.
• Van Xuan
  15A Hang Cot St Tel: 9272888. Fax: 9272999

 Entertainment


Friendship Cultural Palace

Location: Friendship Cultural Palace is on Tran Hung Dao St., Hanoi.
Characteristics: The construction of the palace started on November 5, 1978 and completedon September 1, 1985. The Friendship Cultural Palace, also called Huu Nghi Cultural Palace, was a present from theUSSR Central Trade Union Council to the Vietnam Trade Union.


The Friendship Cultural Palace covers 3.2ha, and has three major buildings: a performance house, a study house, and a science and technology house comprising 120 rooms. The Friendship Cultural Palace is the biggest cultural center in the capital of Hanoi.

The front building is the performance house, equipped with a rotary stage, and two halls (the big hall has a seating capacity of 1256, the small one 375). Behind this block is the study house with a library and rooms for clubs to hold workshops and conferences. The science and technology house connects the two buildings together. The Friendship Cultural Palace is where cultural activities, art performances, fashion shows, beauty contests, conferences, workshops, exhibitions, and sports events are usually held.

Location: The Hanoi Opera House is situated on Le Thanh Tong St., Hanoi; near the Red River and several hundreds meters east of Hoan Kiem Lake.
Characteristics: It is an old theatre with French architecture and typical Gothic and Mosaic characters reflected on the door domes and the glassed room respectively.


For a long time, the Hanoi Opera House has been a rendezvous for those who love theatrical performance and traditional songs and music, symphonies, opera and classical opera. It is also a tourist attraction for local and foreign visitors.

The Hanoi Opera House is renowned for its unique architecture and good composition. It is furnished rationally and harmoniously. Since its establishment, the Hanoi Opera House is the largest theatre in Vietnam. Its construction started in 1901 and completed in 1911. Previously the site was a big pond, adjacent to the city gate of Tay Long (also called Tay Luong) of the ancient Thang Long Capital. The construction met with many difficulties, because the foundations of the theatre were built on the pond. Before building a concrete foundation, nearly one metre thick, the pond was emptied and dredged, then 30,000 hard bamboo stakes were placed on its bed.

The Hanoi Opera House is of the same architectural style as the Opera House in France. Some foreign architects said that due to being built nearly 300 years after the Paris Opera House, the Hanoi Opera House avoids superfluous architectural details, which make it more magnificent and attractive

After nearly 100 years of operation, the theatre's equipment and adornments became old and run down. In 1997, the theatre was repaired and modernized under the management of two Vietnamese French architects, Ho Thieu Tri and Hoang Phuc Sinh. The original architecture of the 3-storey theatre has remained. The decorative designs on the ceiling, arches, walls, and doors were renewed. The 3-metre-high stage and the audience's hall, with 600 seats, were also modernized in conformity with international standards. The theatre has been equipped with state-of-art facilities and appliances, compatible for all types of artistic performances, from folk music and songs, ballets and piano to classical opera, reformed opera, Vietnamese operetta and drama, all made great impressions on the audience. The Hanoi Opera House has also successfully organised many large-scale international concerts.

The Hanoi Opera House is a worthy artistic centre and a cultural and architectural relic of the capital Hanoi.


Hanoi Zoological Garden

Location: Hanoi Zoological Garden is on Cau Giay and Buoi streets, Hanoi; it is located on the west side of Hanoi
center-city.
Characteristics: Hanoi Zoological Garden is the place where hundreds of animals are exhibited.

Hanoi Zoological Garden opened its doors in May 1977. It covers a total area of 29ha, in which water is 6ha. There is also Bo Mountain, Voi Phuc Temple here. Voi Phuc Temple, meaning "prostrated elephant," was built during the Ly Dynasty to worship the Linh Lang deity.

Besides, Hanoi Zoological Garden has thousand of trees and flowers. It also features entertaining games such as driving carts, ball games, and electronic games; there is a bookshop and an outdoor stage for dancing.