All through our trip the thing we kept saying we wanted to take a cooking class! Suddenly, we only had two weeks left and no cooking class had been taken. Our travels through Vietnam were non-stop and full of things to do and see, so we did the closest thing we had time for – a street food tour. I honestly enjoyed this even more than I probably would have enjoyed a cooking class! I’m a pretty conservative eater, so getting to try things I wouldn’t have otherwise tried was really great!
⋙ BÚN CHA
This is a soup type of dish that felt similar to pho. We were given a bowl of beef broth with bits in it, and on the side we each had a bowl of cold white noodles and then a basket of assorted herbs and spices. It was pretty good, but not quite as flavorful as pho.
⋙ NÔM BÒ
This was a really interesting dish, one of my favorites, actually made of veggies, herbs and a slightly tangy sauce. The beef was a bit like beef jerky with a little less flavor and not quite as tough. Once everything is in place, you mix it together and simply dig in.
⋙ MUSHROOM-FILLED RICE PANCAKES
This was my favorite stop, not because of the flavor, but because I got to “help” cook! (Granted, everyone had the chance, I wasn’t special ;)) They put the rice batter in place and I scraped and flipped it. Inside these oddly gelatinous pancake things are bits of pork and mushrooms with a crunchy, oniony garnish.
⋙ FRIED SPRING ROLLS & DUMPLING
Of course, I’d had spring rolls already, but I honestly hadn’t had pork spring rolls since I was going the veggie route on this trip. They were so full of flavor! The little dumplings are filled with all sorts of good things too! It too is served with herbs and also had this weird tangy juice. I preferred just having the spring rolls by themselves.
⋙ FRESH BEER
This was probably the greatest discovery in Vietnam. “Fresh beer” is beer that has been made very recently and once the keg has been opened that have to get rid of it that night and the greatest part is that cost a little less than $0.25! Seriously, less than a quarter! Each glass of it tasted completely different than the last, but all of it had a slight corn flavor to it. Our food tour stop let us have all we could drink beer!
⋙ EGG COFFEE
Vietnamese coffee is famous for its delicious flavor and unbelievable strength, but the coffee we had on this trip was something a bit different – egg coffee. The way everyone sounded so freaked about this, but it was a delicious treat for the end of the night. It’s supposedly even stronger than regular coffee and it has a type of custard on top made from egg whites and sugar. IT. WAS. DELICIOUS. I can’t wait have another cup of this the next time I’m in Vietnam.
The cost of this tour is about $20 with Hanoi Street Food Tours. It is so worth the money. Our guide was fantastic and was sure to answer any questions about the Vietnamese Street Food, tell us what other things were that we passed along and point out sites all along the way! When you’re in Hanoi, take a street food tour!
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33 Comments
Candy
January 19, 2017 at 1:17 amI am a huge fan of Vietnamese food and would love to journey to Vietnam just for the street food. I love Pho, but after reading this I can already see myself becoming a huge fan of NÔM BÒ.
Paige Wunder
January 19, 2017 at 4:14 pmIt was totally yummy! It had very similar flavors to Pho. (which I’m a huge fan of too!)
carrieemann
September 2, 2017 at 9:44 pmI’m so sad I missed the egg coffee when I was in Hanoi! Those mushroom pancakes look delicious too. Don’t worry, you didn’t miss much by not doing a cooking class — I did one in Hoi An but I’ve never been able to reproduce the dishes at home. Thai food is way easier to cook!
Indrani
September 2, 2017 at 10:35 pmWow some unique dishes there. I am tempted to try out egg coffee… googling now for the actual recipe.
Vietnam is treasure house of unique food.
Cindy Collins
September 3, 2017 at 1:56 amThat sounds like a great tour to take while in Hanoi. All that food looks delicious! The egg coffee definitely sounds interesting. I’d quite like to try it myself! All this for $20 is a bargain I think.
Mei & Kerstin 👭🌍 (@_travelwithmk)
September 3, 2017 at 2:01 amOMG! I’m so craving for Vietnamese food now (and it’s only 9am haha…)! But I prefer the food in Southern Vietnam, because they’re less cooked than in Hanoi. Although Hanoi Beer tastes better than Saigon Beer. Did you also get a chance to eat some cam tam, banh xeo, and goi cuon? They’re my favorites. 🙂
Kavey Favelle
September 3, 2017 at 2:21 amI love both food tours and cooking classes, so this looks like something we’d enjoy too. I’m just researching both for a Thailand trip right now!
Red Nomad OZ
September 3, 2017 at 5:45 amHaha, I love cooking, but I love eating even more so this sounds like a tour made in heaven for me!! It’s actually a great idea to get to try things you might not otherwise get to sample – I would never have ordered egg coffee if I’d just seen it on a menu!!
Tom
September 3, 2017 at 6:44 amHi Paige, this post is awesome! We will travel to Vietnam very soon and the food is one of the things we are looking forward to the most! I’d really like to get my hands on some of that NÔM BÒ, it looks so delicious. We would still like to learn to cook Vietnamese because it’s such awesome food 😀
Siddhartha Joshi (@sid_travel)
September 3, 2017 at 10:35 amThis food looks divine…and I wonder if there is something vegetarian too! The Vietnamese eating places in India certainly have a few options for vegetarians like me, but that might be done to accommodate us 🙂
The fresh beer looks great too!
elenasts
September 3, 2017 at 1:45 pmThe first time I tried Vietnamese food I was in Boston with a friend and I loved it.
Meagan
September 3, 2017 at 2:33 pmA) I apparently need to try real Vietnamese food, not just the Asian-fusion stuff we have around here. B) That egg coffee looks insaaaaaane. If it’s half as good as it looks, Luke and I would be all in!
Brianna
September 3, 2017 at 2:46 pmI love Vietnamese food and everything here looks delicious. I’d love to try that egg coffee
lucywilliamsglobal
September 3, 2017 at 3:13 pmThis food tour sounds delicious and really fun. I love trying new foods and I cannot believe how cheap the beer was, that is crazy! I really want to try an egg coffee now as well, looks interesting. I think I need to do more food tours!
SherianneKay
September 3, 2017 at 6:29 pmThis sounds like such a great tour! Fresh Beer is a unique concept and the egg coffee sounds yummy!
Aleah | Solitary Wanderer
September 3, 2017 at 6:52 pmI so so miss the food in Vietnam. It’s one of my favorite cuisines ever. Never had egg coffee though! I love eggs and I love coffee, but not in one dish/cup haha
Valerie Wheatley
September 3, 2017 at 10:59 pmYummmmm! It all looks and sounds delicious! I cannot WAIT to get over to Vietnam and eat all the food in sight! I’ll definitely have to take a food tour as well – it looks like a blast!
authenticfoodquest
September 3, 2017 at 11:50 pmWhat a fun culinary adventure. I miss the food in Vietnam and especially the egg coffee…more like a dessert than coffee, right! Love love Bun cha. Looks like a great time!!
Rhonda Albom
September 4, 2017 at 2:32 amWow this looks delicious. There are lots of Thai restaurants in New Zealand, but not very many Vietnamese places. Pity, because it looks so tasty.
Veronika Tomanova
September 4, 2017 at 2:09 pmHi Paige! The Vietnamese food looks very yummy, thanks for informative post. In SE Asia I always have the feeling that food is very healthy thanks to all the veggie. But actually, many things are prepared in oil so one has to watch out to stay in a shape. I look forward coming back to Vietnam and tasking all of these again!
Kerri
September 4, 2017 at 4:54 pmHanoi is a great place for street food isn’t it? I remember on our first night there we took off into the little known back streets for some dinner with the locals, complete with lady sitting besjde me spitting her chicken bones onto the ground. My husband tried the egg coffee too and thought it was ok, but unusual. I’m a big fan of pho I have to say. Looks like you had a great experience on the food tour and great that you got to try the local fresh beer.
Anna @ shenANNAgans
September 4, 2017 at 7:53 pmMy best mate is Vietnamese, I have been lucky enough to experience many of the dishes you have described on the daily without actually visiting the country. 🙂 Not sure I could name a fave dish, it all just tastes the goods. How amazing is the .25c beer? And egg coffee. Drooooooling!
Ferna Mae
September 4, 2017 at 10:44 pmI wonder how they that EGG Coffee tastes, I am now extremely curious since I am such a coffee lover… and so with an egg lover too… hahahaha.. the combination really makes me wonder and I want to do it myself since I am not coming yet to Vietnam anytime soon, in 2018 i will. I wonder does the $20 inclusive of the food that we must try or we need to pay the food separately?
Sandy N Vyjay
September 4, 2017 at 11:38 pmStreet food always has the authentic flavours of the place. So to get a real taste of the local food, street food is the best bet. I must say the Hanoi street food scene is really vibrant with a wide range of options. Of course the noodles and the veggie preparations are what I would have my eyes on.
Megan Claire (@mappingmegan)
September 4, 2017 at 11:57 pmNice to hear that you enjoyed the street food tour, especially as I’m a pretty conservative eater also. Vietnam is one of those countries where I’ve heard incredible things about their street cuisine though. Mushroom filled rice pancakes sounds incredible, and how awesome that you had the chance to help cook – street food tour and your cooking class in one!
Wow though had never heard of egg coffee until now – quite a different concept than what I’ve had before but looks good! Will have to give it a try soon 🙂
travellingslacker
September 5, 2017 at 7:51 amI remember this news from last year when Obama and Bourdain had a meal somewhere in Hanoi. I always wanted to see how it looked like. These are just wonderful. Some of them I could not even identify but I would love to try them soon.
Sarah Chant
September 5, 2017 at 10:48 amI’ve never really tried Vietnamese food before but it all looks so flavourful. The egg coffee sounds like a treat too!
Mansoureh
September 5, 2017 at 3:53 pmwhat a delicious tour you have been. I can imagine how fun would be when you got to help the cook. Do you think you can cook the food now by yourself?
elenasts
September 5, 2017 at 5:57 pmEverything here looks delicious. I love street food no matter which cuisine it is. I would love to try that egg coffee though.
Candiss | Lost Not Found
September 5, 2017 at 6:19 pmI LOVE Vietnamese food and food tours so I am sure I will make this tour the first order of business once I make it to Vietnam. Everything sounds so amazing!
Lauren
September 5, 2017 at 10:55 pmI follow a vegan diet – you mentioned about going the veggie route for part of your trip. How is the vegetarian food in Vietnam? I’d love to know! Is it hard to find food without secret fish sauce or anything in it? I’d love to eat here!
mags
September 5, 2017 at 11:26 pmI’ve never been to Vietnam, but I love Vietnamese food. This tour is right up my alley.
Mike - The Brew Diaries
September 7, 2017 at 11:33 amVietnam is definitely our next destination. Food looks great! I’m looking forward to that fresh beer too. I’d say it’s perfect for my blog 🙂 Thanks for sharing this!