In Hanoi, street food stalls, or more appropriately stools are everywhere. You can find Banh My, Banh Cuon, Chao, and all sorts of food on literally every street corner….it is easy to get overwhelmed.
On our first morning, while walking down Hang Tre, on the corner of Pho Lo Su we came across a woman selling Banh Gio:
One look, and a single sniff of the steamed banana leaf wrapped, rice flour cake, stuffed with minced pork and cloud ear fungus, and the Missus was sold.
The Lady serving this hot and hearty food was very warm and friendly…always smiling, and a pretty good business woman, on subsequent trips, she remembered how we liked our Banh Gio….upon unwrapping our Banh Gio, she’d provide a splash of chili sauce, Maggi, and a few strips of julienned ginger.
We ended up having the Banh Gio(5,000 VND – a shade over 30 cents US) here for the 3 mornings we were in Hanoi.
This woman was obviously very social…..the second and third times we visited we sat on the little children’s stools, no one manning the table, and about a minute later the lady would come jogging up, she had been visiting with other people down the street…..always with the biggest smile you could imagine.
Vietnamese God has a post on Banh Gio found here.
An article on various "Banh" can be found here.
Pho Bo at Pho Thin.
I had been warned off the Pho Bo in Hanoi by several people; everyone from Beach to the Dry Cleaning Lady had told me not to bother. But since I’d never had "Northern Pho", I decided that I needed to try it. And after passing these pots on the way back to the hotel, and seeing the name of the place; Pho Thin, I decided to grab a bowl after having the Banh Gio. I had read and been told that the preferred location of Pho Thin Bo Ho(per the article in Vietnam Cultural Window, the name means Mr Thin’s Pho Restaurant) is on Lo Duc Street, but since we were here on Hang Tre…..
I just kinda sauntered up to the place, and the kindly older gentleman smiled, I pointed, he nodded, and off to work they went….
I’m not sure if they are of any relation to the original Chef Thin……
My Pho Tai Chin(15,000 VND – just under a buck US):
The bowl arrived super hot(a common theme in VN & Cambodia – I think it’s really great for health reasons). As I normally do for any bowl of soup, I tasted the broth first….other than a mild hint of scallion and black pepper, it was fairly bland. There was just a scant shaving of well cooked beef and rare beef cooked in the broth. This broth, flavored with the "breath of a cow" needed fish sauce and the provided lime. I added some of the orange colored chilies, which we really enjoyed…..in addition to the heat, there was a nice bit of sweetness to them. The noodles were on the mushy side. As I had been told, this was served with just a few slices of lime and the chilies. Different, very different from the Southern style Pho that is the norm in the states.
I didn’t have much time for "Pho" contemplation, we needed to get back to the hotel for a quick shower….and had to meet our Guide and Driver for a tour of Van Phuc, Le Mat, and Bat Trang…..