Blog

Stories and practical advice about eating your way through Hanoi: Old Quarter alleys, Train Street coffee, wet markets, and the stalls locals actually queue for, grounded in the real listings and primary sources.

Metal phin filter dripping dark robusta into a glass of condensed milk, a classic of Hanoi coffee culture

2026-08-05

Slow Coffee: Why Hanoi Brews Robusta and Refuses to Hurry

A Hanoi guide on Vietnamese coffee culture: why robusta rules, how the phin filter works, and where egg, coconut and salt coffee fit in a city that drinks slow.

Crowds strolling the car-free Hoan Kiem walking street in Hanoi at night with the lake glowing behind

2026-08-03

Friday Night on the Walking Street: Hoan Kiem After the Traffic Stops

A Hanoi guide's Friday night on the Hoan Kiem walking street: opening hours, the night market streets, portrait artists, performers, and what to eat where.

Fresh herbs, banana flower and market vegetables laid out for a Hanoi cooking class

2026-07-30

Market to Table: What a Hanoi Cooking Class Day Really Teaches You

A Hanoi guide on the market-to-table cooking day: what you shop for, the dishes you cook, what foreign cooks get wrong at the wok, and what finally clicks.

A vintage olive-green army jeep used on a Hanoi jeep food tour sits parked on a narrow Old Quarter street

2026-07-28

A Day Out by Army Jeep: How Hanoi Looks from the Back of a GAZ-69

A Hanoi guide on the olive-green GAZ-69 jeeps that carry eaters through her city: the Soviet machine's history, where the food routes go, and who should ride.

Low plastic stools and glasses of fresh bia hoi on a crowded Bia Hoi Corner Hanoi at night

2026-07-23

Bia Hoi Nights: The Corner Where Hanoi Drinks the World's Freshest Beer

A Hanoi guide's night at Bia Hoi Corner: how daily-brewed beer for under a dollar works, where the Ta Hien stalls sit, and what the 2026 pavement rules change.

Crusty Hanoi banh mi cut open to show pate, grilled meat, pickled vegetables and herbs

2026-07-16

My Rules for Hunting a Perfect Hanoi Banh Mi

A Hanoi guide's scoring rubric for the perfect banh mi: why northern baguettes are denser, what good pate does, and the shops worth a queue in the Old Quarter.

Grilled pork patties over charcoal beside dipping sauce bowls, classic bun cha in Hanoi

2026-07-09

Charcoal Smoke at 11 AM Means Bun Cha

Why Hanoi grills bun cha before lunch, how the charcoal basket works, and where I eat mine: Dac Kim, Tuyet 34, and the Michelin-listed Obama table.

Porters moving loaded carts of produce through Long Bien wholesale market before dawn

2026-07-02

The 4 AM City: A Dawn Walk Through Long Bien Market

Inside Hanoi's overnight markets: Long Bien's 2 to 5 AM trading peak, the Quang Ba flower market, porter culture, and where to eat pho when the sun comes up.

Egg coffee on a small table beside the railway tracks at a Hanoi Train Street cafe

2026-06-25

An Hour on Train Street With an Egg Coffee

What an hour at a Hanoi Train Street cafe involves: minimum spends, posted train times, the stool ritual before each pass, and the 60,000 VND egg coffee.

Evening crowd eating street food on low plastic stools under warm lights on an Old Quarter evening food crawl in Hanoi

2026-06-18

My After-Dark Eating Route Through the Old Quarter

A Hanoi guide's evening route through the Old Quarter: when Ta Hien fills up, what the weekend night market charges, and how to eat well until midnight.