Our arrival in Vietnam was rocky…to say the least. After the worst airplane ride we’ve ever had (to the point where we were holding hands and praying), we finally landed in Hà Nội (hereinafter Hanoi) close to midnight. Obtaining our visas took a little over an hour, despite having all of our paperwork ready. Our ride into the city and through back alleyways didn’t inspire much confidence, but we finally arrived at our AirBNB around 2am. Mai, our lovely host, had waited up for us and quickly showed us around the apartment before we passed out on the bed, thankful to have arrived in one piece!
This is the alleyway where our apartment was located. It was about a 10-minute walk through narrow lanes like this to get to the main road.
The next day was spent learning the route from our apartment to the main street (it was a maze!), purchasing and activating a Vietnamese SIM card, and trying our first bánh mì sandwich. Over the next few days, we visited some of the important sites in Hanoi: Hồ Chí Minh’s mausoleum, Hỏa Lò Prison (otherwise known as the Hanoi Hilton), the Presidential Palace, Hoàn Kiếm Lake, and the Old Quarter. One evening was spent celebrating Labour Day by drinking 15 cent beers and watching performances amongst the crowds with our friend Harry (who we ran into again after spending time in Thailand together!).
Although we didn’t go inside, Hồ Chí Minh’s mausoleum was impressive to see from the large square in front!
Look who we ran into while in the Old Quarter of Hanoi! Harry makes a repeat visit on our trip!
Despite all of the things that we saw and did during our four days in Hanoi, I hadn’t been feeling inspired to write about anything in particular. At least, I wasn’t until I thought of writing about my favorite meal in Vietnam: bún chả. While I am tentatively planning on writing an entire article about the food in Vietnam, I thought that this noodle dish deserved an article all on its own. And so, I present to you: my ode to bún chả.
The meat patties were grilled in the doorway to the shop, tempting all those who walked by with the delicious aroma.
While noodle dishes are common throughout Vietnam (and all of southeast Asia), my favorite remains the first bún chả that we tasted in Hanoi. Following the advice of another travel blogger, we decided to find a small shop in the Old Quarter for lunch, breaking up a day of sightseeing. The eatery is located on the square in front of St. Joseph’s Cathedral and doesn’t have a name – just a sign that translates to “Eat Vietnam”. There are three tables inside which can seat 6 people each, a cooler where you grab your own beverage, and a grill set up in the corner. In lieu of a menu, there’s a poster on the wall that lists the options; you have your choice of four dishes. We both ordered the bún chả, along with a side of spring rolls.
The menu inside offers four dishes; obviously we went for the second.
Quickly after ordering, we were presented with a platter of greens and a plate of rice vermicelli. We could smell the meat grilling in the corner, making us eager to eat. A few minutes later, we received a bowl of broth and pork patties. Piling in the noodles and greens, we stirred and finally tasted our first mouthwatering bite of bún chả. A deceptively simple dish of noodles, meat, and broth, the complex flavors of bún chả won us over. We slurped our bowls, hardly speaking except to exclaim how good we found the food. Upon finishing, we paid our bill which, including drinks and spring rolls, came to ₫80,000 (or $3.52 USD).
The perfect bite of bún chả: a little noodle, piece of meat, veg, and broth. Delicious!
Bún chả is a dish that originated in Hanoi, although it can be found throughout Vietnam. While we ordered it a few additional times during our travels in the country, it never came close to the first version that we tried at the tiny shop in Hanoi. The flavors, smells, and sounds as we shared our first taste of bún chả are forever imprinted in my memory and the thought of eating this again makes my mouth water. If you ever find yourself hungry in Hanoi, there’s one thing I recommend: bún chả.
It would be easy to walk past the best bún chả restaurant in Hanoi, since there’s no sign other than one that says “Eat”!
*Note: The use of accent marks is inconsistent for a reason. I found it easier to refer to the cities by the Anglicized version, since this is what most of you will recognize. For the lesser-known places, food, or people, I’ve kept with the accent marks since this is what we got used to while traveling.