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I keep waking up early – 530AM. Grabbed breakfast at the hotel buffet and then off we went to the airport one last time to head over to Hanoi via Vietnam Airlines. They are very flexible in timing here as my original flight to Hanoi was scheduled for 930AM but then they rescheduled us to a later flight which actually got pushed back in timing. The flight itself was pretty easy and we also got a full meal there. We touched down to see rain. We hopped in a random taxi although we wanted to take a Mai Linh or Vinasun but I believe Hanoi taxis are more regulated and won’t cheat you out of a ride. It was raining hard and takes about 45 minutes to get into the city from the airport which is roughly 300.000-500.000VND. The hotel we stayed at was Royal Palace Hotel 2 (95 Hàng Bông, Hoàn Kiếm, Hà Nội). We were greeted by a young boy who was the bellhop who brought us refreshments and then the lady at the front desk – Hang, who was very professional and informative. She told us that the street we are staying on is also known in english as cotton street because in the old quarters back in the day, this street was where people sold cotton.

First looks at Hanoi, it looks very old world in terms of architecture with old structures buildings.  A mix of modern with a little more design flair. Reminds me a little bit of Hong Kong with buildings built narrow and high. Very jungle meets city incorporated. HCM did have giant trees embedded into sides of the streets but here, the vines and trees just take over certain parts. Plus I absolutely love walking down each street with so much character and all these narrow alleyway / corridors that create dynamic vignettes.

Adam and Amy are in a different room as I was rooming with Lixin and Yu Ling. The hotel is very quaint and french inspired which is so lovely. We decided to walk a bit of the town as we awaited their (Lixin & Yu Ling) arrival from the airport. Lixin and Yu Ling were Amy’s roommates back in London in uni . Amy’s friend Emily and her fiancee James also joined us for this little portion of our trip (Hanoi – Ha Long Bay) who are originally from Carolina but Amy met Emily in the Sahara Desert and now Emily and James live in Singapore.

We walked to the centre of town by the big river/pond – Hồ Hoàn Kiếm then returned to the hotel to meet with them. We walked over to Hanoi Street Food tour (74 & 76 Hang Bac Street at Kim Tour’s Building) where we met Emily and James. It costs $23USD but lasts 4 hours or so and includes multiple stops and different local cuisines. Our tour guide Phuong aka Phoenix is a 22 year old university student who was very friendly, social, knowledgable and spoke english pretty well. She would yell Stickyrice and that was her signal for us when we crossed the street so we would stick together and not get hit especially in the very crowded areas.

Our first stop we had ben cha (boon cha) – rice vermicelli + pork. Thanh Hop – 12 Dinh Liet.

Second spot we had banh cuon nong – hot rice crepes that we made ourselves! The lady put down the rice flour and we used a long flat bamboo stick and you push against it then turn the stick to the left against the surface a few times then pull up. The other lady filled them up with shrimp or something which is similar to churn fun. Banh Cuon Nong My Van Than-Mien Luon – 14B Bao Khanh.

Third Spot – we had tea chanh – lime tea, tra quat – kumquat tea, bo bia – coconut rolls – Cafe Giai Khat Tra Chanh – 26 Nha Tho. We also ate sunflower seeds here that are non salted and you pretty much throw the shells on the ground.

Fourth spot we had nem cua be – sea crab spring rolls, banh goi – pillow cake, banh tom – shrimp cake, banh ran man – savoury donut, & banh ran ngot – sweet donuts. – Banh Goi – 52 Ly Quoc Su.

Fifth spot we had Nom thit bo kho – papaya salad. Long Vi Dung – Nom Thit Bo Kho – Gia Truyen — Banh Bot Loc – 23 Ho Hoan Kiem

Sixth spot we had Caramen thap cam – caramel mixture, kem coi – sticky rice + ice cream, caramel nep cam – caramel + black sticky rice, caramel sua chua long noon – caramel + longan + yoghurt, sua chua nep cam – black sticky rice + yoghurt, che  dau xanh – green been soup, sua chua mit – jackfruit + yoghurt. Banh Cuon Nong – 95 Hang Bac

Seventh spot we had banh mi – bread rolls that were heated and pressed. But we also had a specialty of Hanoi – ca phe bung – egg coffee & tico trung – egg coco. Hanoi Street Food Restaurant – S07 Cho Gao

And our final spot was a corner where we had the best beer from Hanoi for 5000vnd and we had great entertainment as the streets are pedestrian only where 12 year boy and girl were dj-ing hardcore with speakers and a iPod where tons of little kids just danced on the street. Bia Hoi Pho Co – 1 Ma May, Hang Buom

I think my favourite flavour that we ate was when we sat down at Cafe Glai Khat Tra Chanh on the corner across from the cathedral to have kumquat or lime green tea with sugar cane. They had this thin crepe/rice paper-like wrap with sesame and filled with sugarcane sugar and coconut.

Facts about Hanoi:

-Hanoi – Legend has it that a dragon formed the islands.

-There aren’t many supermarkets as majority of people go out to eat at restaurants that make specific dishes if not just one dish in particular that they specialize in. If its their livelihood I can understand. They eat that particular dish then hop on over to the next spot for something else. Also, smaller portions – not american sized portions here.

I think the reason everyone likes to eat outside on the street is because it is very similar to the way of life for the French; it’s all about the open concept people watching style but instead of wicker furniture, it’s small plastic furniture but same idea of tables facing outwards into the streets. Very different I’m so glad we chose to do this walking food tour on a weekend because all the locals are out late including children. Phuong brought us to so many places that oozed the energy of Hanoi with food as it’s fire.