Hanoi Food - Day 1

Prior to visiting Hanoi, I didn't have much experience with Vietnamese food. Just coming from Thailand, I think I prefer Thai food more. Though they have many similarities, Thai food is overall more flavorful, even if nine times out of ten, I finished a Thai meal with my mouth on fire. We spent our first day tasting some of the more traditional Vietnamese dishes.

For lunch, we went to Quan An Ngon, which is one of the busiest restaurants I have ever experienced. It is shaped like a large cafeteria, with long tables and tons of small kitchens surrounding the eating area. Each tiny kitchen specializes in a few of the dishes on their very large and extensive menu, which are listed on the kitchen columns! You order from a waitress but you see each dish being prepared and served from the different kitchens. We tried the Vietnamese rice pancake which is a pancake made of rice and eggs, stuffed with shrimp and bean sprouts, and you wrap it with some herbs and rice paper. I really liked this dish! We also tried Bun Cha, which is pork meatballs in soup with noodles. Though flavorful, this was very heavy.

Pancake

 Bun Cha

 Ground Pork wrapped in sugar cane

Dinner, was at the awesome Didier Corlou restaurant, Madame Hien. He is known for his other restaurant La Verticale. The restaurant is named after the chef's mother-in-law, and is a tribute to hard-working women everywhere. We shared an excellent bottle of white wine, that was the perfect combination of buttery and aromatic from the Cotes du Rhone. We started off with a sampling of appetizers which included a few different spring rolls, banana blossom salad, raw tuna served on a hot rock, and tempura shrimp. My favorite was between the tuna and a soft shell crab and avocado spring roll. We then ordered two of their local fish dishes. The first was Ca Kho To, fish cooked in a clay pot with a caramel sauce, served with rice. This was excellent, juicy, and flavorful. A must eat if coming to Vietnam. The second was Cha Ca, fish sautéed in dill and tumeric served on an iron grill with vermicelli noodles on the side. Dill isn't my favorite flavor so I would have to say this was my least favorite of the two. We finished our meal with coconut and cinnamon ice cream. I am a huge fan of cinnamon ice cream but it is a rare find. The cinnamon was just strong enough and I enjoyed every last droplet of it. The coconut was also fabulous with fresh coconut shavings in the ice cream. Overall, a fabulous meal in a wonderful garden courtyard atmosphere.

Appetizer platter:

The tuna on the hot rock can be seen in the middle here

 Ca Kho To (clay pot fish)

Cha Ca (dill fish)