I like the Vietnamese food at Eden Center in Northern Virginia more than I like the Vietnamese food in Hanoi. There. I said it. I have violated the cardinal rule of the (semi) well-traveled – always make your friends who don’t travel abroad feel as though they’re missing something special that they just can’t get at home. Show your worldliness by automatically assuming that if it’s produced abroad it has to be better than the pale imitations crafted in the U.S.
But, U.S.-prepared Vietnamese food better than that on the streets of Hanoi? How on earth can I say this? Well, let me first try to regain my snob credentials by stating that Thai food in Thailand is much, much better than Thai food in the U.S. Hard to compare Ugandan food to that in the States, since I haven’t yet found an American place that serves matoke and groundnut sauce. Second, let me try to limit my statement geographically. We live in Hanoi and though I’ve traveled around the country a reasonable amount, I only consider myself knowledgeable about a small segment of northern Vietnamese cuisine. Southern Vietnamese food I think is considered (at least by the southern Vietnamese) more flavorful than the food from the north. Finally, I need to confess my own personal limitations. I get sick. Easily. Unlike my wife’s iron stomach, my digestive tract seems to be constructed from tissue paper and balsa wood. She can lick a gutter and feel fine. I can watch her lick that gutter and need to be hospitalized. Therefore, my street food exposure was prematurely halted after a bad experience with pho. I’m sure I’ve missed a lot.
So, what’s my problem with the food in Hanoi? Well, it’s actually not a problem. The food is fine. But, that’s the thing. It’s supposed to be awesome. There are plenty of good Vietnamese restaurants for dinner and many solid storefront shops for lunch. However, I think we set the bar a bit high before coming here. Anything short of wonderful would disappoint. Plus, Vietnam is still, very much, a developing country. While restaurants serve a wide-variety of dishes, the quality of produce and meats doesn’t often match that in the U.S.
Or, to be honest, preferences are different. One of our fastest growing agricultural exports to Vietnam is the chicken pieces that U.S. poultry growers can’t sell to U.S. customers. Vietnamese consumers gobble them up and view them as tasty cuts with fewer hygiene questions than some locally produced chickens. Since the Vietnamese like tougher dark cuts, meals during upcoming travel have led to near-dislocated jaws. Northern Vietnamese food often is fried (no problem with that), typically served with fresh herbs. Though fresh herbs in theory sound wonderful, in reality, in the U.S. we’re used to those herbs being cooked as part of the dish. Shredded raw mint, basil and other greens taste ok, but seem to my tastes a bit like eating a forest.
Anyway, enough criticism. We’ve had some excellent dishes in our time in Vietnam, many of which we haven’t seen much of in the U.S. One Hanoi specialty is cha ca – pan fried river fish marinated in turmeric and dill, then sautéed with green onions and served on top of rice noodles with toasted peanuts, chilis, fresh spring onion, herbs, fish sauce and, for the brave, shrimp paste (fermented raw shrimp heads). We also love northern bun cha, grilled pork patties served with noodles and herbs in a sweetened broth. And, of course, pho originated in northern Vietnam and a soothing bowl of beef or chicken pho spiced with extra garlic and chili sauce is just the ticket on a wet and chilly Hanoi winter day. In our trips to the south (few Hanoi restaurants do a great job with southern Vietnamese food), we love banh xeo (pancakes stuffed with shrimp, pork and bean sprouts). Bun Bo Hue from the ancient capital is a tart and spicy soup, while Cao Lau noodles from Hoi An combine crunchy fried noodles, greens, and roast pork.
Vietnam is a wonderful place for fruit lovers. Due to its length and variety of ecosystems, which range from tropical jungles to evergreen-covered mountains, we get a tremendous variety of produce. Among our favorites are the tart and sweet mangosteen, rich custard apples, grapefruit-like pomelos, luscious mangos, nearly seedless watermelons, and juicy lychees and longans. It also has what people describe to me as wonderful papaya. But I’ve always found papaya to be the most disappointing of fruit – looks like a sunset, tastes like a urinal cake. (Durian, while sulphurous can hardly be called a disappointment, since it announces its unique odiferous stink from a hundred yards away. In short, you are forewarned). From mountainous areas we get oranges, strawberries, apricots and quince.
We also have access to other great foods. Every time we travel to Dalat in the Central Highlands we load up on dried fruits, spicy deer jerky and artichoke tea. The coastal areas produce bountiful seafood. Hanoi has a growing international restaurant scene, and when we tire of the local fare, we can choose from everything from Ukrainian dumplings to Morroccan tagines. So, it’s hard to complain. Or, at least, hard for anyone to take those complaints seriously.
Bonus list of foods that three years ago I would not have thought I would ever eat:
Congealed lobster blood
Snake bile
Duck brains
Pig hearts (I initially thought they were mushrooms. Big surprise.)
Favorite Hanoi Restaurants:
Highway 4: Far northern Vietnamese dishes and rice wines
Cay Cau: Tasty Vietnamese, a bit spicier than most
Quan An Ngon: Upscale street food. A good mix of locals and expats.
Cha Ca Anh Vu: Near Embassy. Excellent Cha Ca.
Halia: Hanoi branch of Singaporean Restaurant. Expensive, but very well-prepared Western and Singaporean dishes.
La Badiane: Flavorful French, with interesting presentations.
Luna D’Autunno: Old standby. Great pizzas and pastas.
May Manh (Fortuna Hotel): All you can eat dim sum.
InterContinental Hotel: Great Sunday brunch (though its not the Bangkok Four Seasons)
Ete: Best burger in Hanoi
