Vietnamese Food - Food for Vegetarians - Favorite bars in Hanoi

HANOI:

Cha Cá Lã Vo?ng, 14 Cha? Cá St, serves Cha? cá (grilled boneless fish cubes marinated in dill served with rice noodles and peanuts). This is brought on a charcoal brazier along with noodles to your table. The restaurant is on the 2nd floor in a weathered building. Nevertheless the restaurant has been written up by several noted travel magazines.

Across the street, try the Bánh cuo?n - meat and mushroom wrapped in a fresh rice crepe - at Bánh Cuo?n Nóng, 17 Cha? Cá Street. It's a nice light meal.

Brother’s Café (26 Nguyen Thai Hoc) We went for the lunch buffet which is $6.50 per person. The restaurant is beautiful in a wonderful courtyard. The food was also excellent. We would highly recommend a leisurely lunch or dinner here.

Baquette and Chocolate – (11 Cha Ca Street) This bakery is a training school. I recommend visiting for coffee and pastries. They do also serve food here, if you want food, I would recommend going for lunch. We went for dinner and they were out of most of the food on the menu. Back to the pastry and coffee, both were EXCELLENT. Also the interior, especially upstairs is wonderful. Try to go!

Hoa Sua Restaurant – (81 Tho Nhuom St") – same organization as Baquette and Chocolate. Great atmosphere at this restaurant. You can eat outside, downstairs inside or upstairs inside. We ate outside on a wonder warm day and really enjoyed. If you want to eat indoors I would recommend upstairs which is very beautiful. We had very delicious fresh spring rolls and Pho. We also had WONDERFUL desserts – apple crisp with ice cream and ice cream with pastry puffs and chocolate sauce. They also have great iced coffee.

Hanoi Garden – (36 Hang Manh) - The grilled duck was excellent. The rest of the food was very mediocre. All and all I would say this dinner was not worth the $20 cost.

Tamarind Café – (80 Ma May) – Home of Handspam Travel which used for 3 trips and highly recommend. Tamarind Café – pretty expensive for what you get – priced in US dollars not Dong. The food is very good so look at the menu before ordering and decide whether you willing to pay there prices.

Nikko Hotel Lunch Buffet – (84 Tran Nhan Tong) - $15.90 beer included. Very little Vietnamese food but very cold draft Tiger beer and delicious sushi and sashimi! A very good value for delicious sushi and sashimi.

Sofitel Metropole Hotel Sunday Seafood Buffet (15 Ngo Quyen) – This was our last big splurge before heading home. The cost is steep at $25 a person ++. However, if you like seafood and can afford it go. I think you will agree that this is a serious bargain. The seafood is absolutely delicious. Also the service is wonderful and they have wonderful live jazz music.

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For sampling Vietnamese food, I suggest Pho? Tái (a beef noodle soup commonly found throughout the country), beef in 7 courses, Mì xào (Chinese style egg noodles), both of which can be found on Ngõ Ca?m Chi? St off of Hàng Bông St in the Old Quarter. Goat meat can be sampled on Láng H?, south of the US Embassy, and if dog meat strikes your fancy, go to Nghi Tàm Road between West Lake and the Red River. Hoàn Kie?m is also a very good place to search for delcious Vietnamese restaurants. I recommend Hoa Su?a (French/Vietnamese), a restaurant that teaches improverished youths the restaurant business. To?ng Duy Tân Street, where the king’s food was cooked in ancient times, at the junction of Ðien Biên Phu? and Hàng Bông streets is busy with noodle shops serving seafood dishes and Gà ta?n, a chicken soup cooked with eight Chinese herbs considered especially good for health. Make sure to avoid dishes with “ scallops” as they are very tough. Xôi Alley, off of To?ng Duy Tân Street towards Tràng Thi Street is a great place to go for Xôi, or sticky rice. Xôi is a rice served with sausage , boiled egg ,dried shredded pork , or cucumbers and fish sauce . Here you can find sticky rice, fried noodles , or Pho? any time of day and late into the night. Also, a word of caution: Do not eat at roadside vendors or little holes in the wall, or drink tap water or ice.

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Bún Bò Nam B?: (67 Hàng Ðieu Street) beef and noodle of southern style, VND 15,000.

Bún cha: (Hàng Mành Street) pork barbecue and noodle

Baguette & Chocolat.*11 Cha Ca, Is part of the Hoa Sua School, vocational teaching for young adults in restaurants.
*Cafe des Arts. *11B Bao Khanh, French owned, great coffee, great wine.
*La Salsa. *25 Nha Tho, Fantastic Spanish style tapas, lively nightlife, good wine.
*Le Beaulieu. *Inside Metropole Hotel, 15 Ngo Quyen, Expensive but charming french cuisine.
*Dakshin. *94 Hang Trong, Great vegetarian Indian food.
*Tandoor. *24 Hang Be, Great Indian food, both vegie and meat dishes.
*Al Fresco's. *23 Hai Ba Trung, Good Mexican food great ribs and pizza's.
*Au Lac Cafe. *57 Ly Thai To, Coolest, busiest, best spot for a coffee.
Bobby Chin. 1 Ba Trieu, Expensive fine asian fusion cuisine.
KOTO. 61 Van Mieu, A must visit, a favorite for expats and tourists. Training center for disadvantaged kids in Hanoi. See Streetvoices/KOTO Website
La Place. 4 Au Trieu, Cool juices in this great location.
Paris Deli. 9 Phan Chu Trinh and 13 Nha Tho, Great coffee, beautiful decor.
PUKU. 60 Hang Trong, An expat favorite, try the open sandwiches if you can find this hidden gem.
Mediteraneo. 23 Nha Tho, Hanoi's finest Italian restaurant, home made pasta's and cheese's plus Hanoi's best pizza.
Little Hanoi. 23 Hang Gai. Hanoi's best location for a sandwich.
Little Hanoi. 9 & 14 Ta Hien, Same name but only great Vietnamese food here..
No Noodles. 20 Nha Chung, Hanoi's best sandwich.
Con Chay Nang Tam. 79 Tran Hung Dao, Fantastic veggie Vietnamese food.
Tamarind. 80 Ma May, Always popular with TTer's, chilled out veggie cafe.
Highway 4. 5 Hang Tre, Popular with Vietnamese, Expats and tourists. Famous for good value food and rice wine.
Wild Rice. 6 Ngo Thi Nham, Expensive Vietnamese cuisine.

HUE

Mai Dao (21 Nguyen Thai Hoc) – Very delicious Pho soup 25,000-28,000 depending on what you get in it. The people that work at this restaurant are very nice.

Bun Bo Hue – (17Ly Thurong Kiet) This is also a soup restaurant. This came with a whole pork chop in it. It was very delicious and 6,000 Dong. I asked for beer. The did not have any but the mother sent her daughter to get some and she returned a few minutes later with a nice cold Huda beer. This delicious beer was 25,000 Dong.

Hanh (4 NguyenTri Phuong) This place only serves small “Happy Pancake” Banh Xeo. This was probably the most delicious thing we ate the whole time we were in Vietnam. The pancake was very crisp and the toppings were so delicious. Cost 25,000 Dong.

Banh beo Cung An Dinh (rice cakes with shrimp) at No. 31, Kiet 177, Phan Dinh Phung, Hue, and "Banh khoai - nem lui" (fried cake with shrimp) at No. 6 Dinh Tien Hoang St., Hue (2 restaurants with the same cakes "banh khoai" so be careful to choose the exact number).

DA NANG

My Quang (noolde with shrimp and chicken) at No. 1, Hai Phong Street, near railway station.

HOI AN

Vinh Hung Restaurant (147 Tan Phu Street) – very good food, excellent espresso and best of all is just people watching. This is a great location – go enjoy the food and people watching. We enjoyed 2 afternoon visits for coffee/espresso and people watching!!!!

Brothers Café (27 Phan Boi Chau) – had set menu dinner, $12 per person. With drinks, coffee, dessert and tax and tip the cost was about $40. Not a good value in our opinion.

Ly Café 22 (I forget address) – Very good food at very reasonable prices – strong recommendation. We had white rose, cau lau and Ly’s special pork. All were excellent.

The Cargo Club (107 Nguyen Thai Hoc) – A wonderful place for coffee and pastries after dinner. You can sit at small tables in front of the restaurant and watch the world go round. We felt the 50,000 ($3) for 2 desserts and 2 coffee was very worthwhile.

Café 96 - 96 Bach Dang St - it's along the riverfront, along with several other restaurants. I have seen this recommended several times since, though we just wandered in here on our first night in Hoi An, and had a beautifully cooked banquet - for around $3/head. This was the second best meal we had in Hoi An (and the food in Hoi An is on average of a very high standard). Travelfish.org has this review: "Bubbly owner Bup is a third generation Hoianese and while his shopfront may not look like too much, his Mum dishes out great bowls of Cao Lau -- which we vote as being the best in town -- and super White Rose. He also runs very reasonably-priced cooking classes, but don't expect the secret behind Mum's White Rose. It's a family secret."

Hochiminh City – SAIGON

Pho 2000 – (not sure of address but you can find as this place is pretty famous since President Clinton ate here.) The Pho is very delicious. However, it is also 19,000 Dong were Pho is usually between 5,000-8,000 Dong. Is it worth the extra Dong? In my opinion – NO.

333 Café – (De Tham Street) – We had chicken curry, steamed shrimp and chicken noodle soup. We did not find the food to be all that good and thus can not recommend.

Quon An Ngon (138 Nam Ky Khoi Nghia), a great way to try a variety of delicious Vietnamese food.

Hu Tiu Nam Vang (Quynh at A65, Nguyen Trai St., Dist. 1): a soup from Mekong Delta with vermicelli noodles, pork pices, two shrimps, onions and herbs.

Variety
Al Frescos - 27 Dong Du St. very good salads, bbq ribs, pizza and decent mexican food
Pepperoni’s – 111 Bui Vien Street – Good pizza, cheap food and rooftop bar
Juice - excellent smoothies, milk shakes and good variety of food (another branch selling drinks only is located on the 4th floor of the Parkson Shopping Ctr)

Mexican
California Burrito – 17 Phan Van St.- very good burritos

Italian
Pomodoro - 79 Hai Ba Trung St.
Opera – Park Hyatt Hotel – 2 Lam Son Square.
Santa Lucia – 14 Nguyen Hue St.

Thai
Golden Elephant - 34 Hai Ba Trung St.

IIndian
Alibabas - 60 Le Thanh Ton St.

Brazilian BBQ
Au Lac do Brazil - 238 Pasteur Street

Steakhouse
Amigo – 55-57 Nguyen Hue St.

Sushi
Ohan – 71 Pasteur Street –Sushi/Sashimi

Food for Vegetarians

Tôi ãn chay = I'm a vegetarian

Based on the Timeout Guide to Hanoi and HCM City:

Hanoi:

1. Com Chay Nang Tam: 79A Tran Hung Dao st., (tel: 9424140)
2. Dakshin: 94 Hang Trong st., (tel: 9286872)
3. Adida: 37 Nguyen Khac Nhu st.,(tel: 9272430)

HCM City:

1. Com Chay Nang Tam: 384/40, Nam Ky Khoi Nghia, ward 8, Ditrict 3 (tel: 8483874)
2. Hoa Mai restaurant: Rex Hotel, 141 Nguyen Hue st., District 1 (tel: 8292185)
3. Tib restaurant: 187 Hai Ba Trung st., District 3 (tel: 8297242)

Favorite bars in Hanoi.

GC's. 3 Bao Khanh. Lively fun spot. Pool table.
Polite Pub. 5 Bao Khanh. Great for watching sport. Pool Table.
Bar Barracuda. 49 Phuc Tan. Long way from town but often worth the trip. Great location on the Red River.
Half Man Half Noodle. 52 Dao Duy Tu. Open very late, can get messy...
Le PUB. 25 Hang Be. Busy, cool, hangout. Great food and music. Open all day!
Inside Bar/Pinky Moon. Hidden in Bao Khanh near the awful Funky Monkey this is a 24 hour little gem.
Nutz. Inside the Sheraton Hotel. Awful name, terrible place, long way from town. Open late with dancing...

Eating in Nha Trang

Hong Ha has suggested I include this previous posting:

I have regularly enjoyed the following places, listed in no particular order:

"Danh Map" bia hoi joint on Yersin Street not far from the station. Good San Miguel bia hoi at 6000DVN per litre, plus a huge rang of 'nibbles', including fresh squid, deer, beef, pork, chicken. No rice, so it still qualifies as 'nibbles' an nhau. It's the local, unofficial meeting club for retired ex-servicemen from both side of the war, who form a large number of the customers. Friendly, cheap, and down to earth. Open from around 10a.m to 9pm.

Evening grilled steak and eggs along Yersin Street near the high school. Cheap and layed back. Wander down the street for bia hois when you've finished.

Evening footpath seafood along the waterfront north of the Song Cai River bridge. Super cheap prices. Cool sea breezes and wonderful views of Nha Trang. Drink till you drop.

Kim Chi Korean Restaurant in grounds of Nha Trang Lodge. The delicious main courses come with huge supply of sauces, various pickled vegetables, salads in side dishes . Three mains are enough for four people. Bottled beer, spirits and Korean 'shoju' rice wine sold. Run by Mr & Mrs Kim, both charming hosts. Mr Kim is an expert in three martial arts: judo, kendo, and karate.

Quan Gio on Tran Phu for seafood, an open air place that fills up with locals and Vietnamese tourists on warm evenings. The staff like to deliver warm beer to the tables by the crate. Ice for your beer is served constantly.

Truc Linh on 21 Biet Thu Street (careful, there are two places with the same name. Go to No.21). Vietnamese food with a long wine list. When this place opened three years ago it set the new standard for food, service, and atmosphere in Nha Trang. It's not quite as good now, but still excellent food at the right price.

7C German Restaurant, 7c Le Loi. The best German sausage and eggs anywhere in Nha Trang. Bia hoi 15,000 per half litre. Live music Tuesday nights. Customers are welcome to play music too.

Long Den Do Red Lantern, Hoang Van Thu Street. Open from breakfast thru to dinner. Gets very busy due to bus loads of Vietnamese tourists being brought to the door on package deals. If it's busy, ask for a private room upstairs. Evening bookings often essential. Quite good food, well dressed staff who do try and be polite and present an up-market atmosphere.

Omar's Indian Restaurant. Omar has two establishments on Tran Phu: the cheap one is opposite the water park, and the opulant and upmarket one is right on the beach up the road. From vindaloo to chicken tikkar to manggo lassi, Omar has without a doubt the best Indian food in Nha Trang.