Hanoi is one of the best foodie destinations in Southeast Asia, the food is often dubbed the healthiest food in the region. Street food in Hanoi, in fact, so diverse and extraordinary that we decided to go through the streets with a local foodie guide to do exactly that. A street food tour in this charming city unveils not only the heathy Vietnamese food but the daily life of the local residents in their hustle and bustle city.

After a short walk from Hoan Kiem Lake in the city center and a brief introduction about Hanoi’s best foods, we just gave in and started eating. In our food tours, food selections were both be delicious and not make wary Westerners sick. In Hang Be market, we ate the famous Nom Bo Kho (Dried Beef and Green Papaya Salads) and learned about all the ingredients that make the great salad and its amazing dressing.

Then we walked to Cau Go street to sample the famous Banh Khuc (Steamed Cake made of glutinous rice mixed with Cubweed, filled with green bean paste, pork, black peppers, and sprinkled with grains of cooked sticky rice), one of the most popular traditional cakes in Vietnam, especially in the countryside.

Wandering around the market to take in the sights, the sounds, and the aroma of foods on offer in every direction. We again sat down at a local sidewalk restaurant to eat Bun Cha (Grilled Pork Noodle Soup), a traditional dish from Hanoi that consists of grilled pork served in the dipping sauce, flanked by rice noodles and fresh herbs. The dish became famous after the former US President Barrack Obama and television personality Anthony Bourdain were both eating in a local restaurant in Hanoi.

We then went to a hidden egg coffee lane, a very busy family-run coffee shop, to try the special egg coffee – a very famous Vietnamese drink, which is traditionally prepared with egg yolks, sugar, condensed milk, and Robusta coffee.

Keep walking to a Banh Mi (Vietnamese Sandwich) shop on Hang Ca street, the place is really well-known with their hot baked bread with Paté and grilled meats, highlighted with fresh coriander.

 

We didn’t miss the best Pho (Beef Noodle Soup), the dish consists of broth, rice noodle, meat (primarily made with either beef or chicken), a few herbs, and vinegar or fresh limes. Pho Gia Truyen and Pho Ly Quoc Su are among the best stops for a really good bowl of Pho. When we were so full, we were still offered a Vietnamese dessert, sweet tapioca pearls.