Tiny plastic stools….mean outstanding food in Hanoi

We do work up an appetite when we travel, averaging 8 miles a day on foot, dodging traffic, motorbikes etc and tend to eat well.  Usually breakfast and a late lunch is all we eat but we FEAST during those two meals.

 

We ended up doing a nighttime street food private tour with our charming guide Nga who first asked us what we liked.  We said EVERYTHING…so off we headed down the crowded streets in the dark to eat!!  I’ll highlight a few of the special treats below, starting with the unique beverages

This is a popular drink here and our guide told us as we sat on 10″ high blue plastic stools on the street corner that the young people call this “chatting tea”.   They gather, sip this citrusy concoction and chit chat about everything.  She said the super low stools on the sidewalks usually indicate this is lemon tea vendor. (higher, low stools are more for foods)

Lemons in Vietnam are actually limes….but they call them lemons.  We found the same  was true in Thailand.  Above is the view from my teeny “Chatting Tea” stool as women passed through with snacks to sell to accompany  the tea.

My personal favorite of all the beverages we tried was Vietnamese Egg Coffee. OMG like hot strong coffee nougut in a cup.  Sweet, creamy…like a silky marshmallow cream.  The above Foodspotting photo was what Steve took after our coffee and eggs froth was stirred together.  Below I took this photo beforehand.

When our guide said we were having coffee I as SURE Steve would pass on it as I have never EVER seen him drink coffee and he always complains how  he hates the smell.   Well to my SHOCK and AWE…he drank the whole thing with gusto and  really enjoyed it.   Personally it was my fave sweet treat of the whole night and we had some crazy good food.

When we said we would eat unusual food, our guide decided to put us to the test and brought us to a Durian place that served nothing but food and drinks made with the infamous stuff.  Her jaw dropped as we are chowing down on our durian cream filled crepe and durian drink…both so good!!!!

The edible flesh emits a distinctive odour that is strong and penetrating even when the husk is intact. Some people regard the durian as having a pleasantly sweet fragrance; others find the aroma overpowering and revolting.

THE ABOVE DURIAN CREPE HAD A THICK WHIPPED CREAM INSIDE

The smell evokes reactions from deep appreciation to intense disgust, and has been described variously as rotten onions, turpentine, and raw sewage. The persistence of its odour has led to the fruit’s banishment from certain hotels and public transportation in Southeast Asia.

We continued dodging traffic on these narrow food streets for 3 hours, walking single file behind our guide (pictured in front of Steve)…. getting fuller by the minute.

Below are a few highlights of some of our street food and other meals that Steve took.  You  can see all of our meals below in the foodspotting thumbnails

Above is my snail and tofu soup.  2 different varieties of snails and so incredible

Our guide said this woman can make 8 of these savory pancakes at once and has been in this spot for years.    They are filled with veggies and then the fun begins

A generous basket  of fresh FRESH herbs including mint, cilantro, thai basil and greens accompanies the pancakes along with rice paper wrappers.

You hold the white wrapper, fill with pancake chunks and herbs, roll up burrito style, an dip in the mouthwatering  thin sauce which was rice wine vinegar, sugar, a dash of fish sauce and chili slices

I BRAKE FOR SILK TEDDY BEARS!!!!  My grandsons will love these!!

Thank you to Nga for an outstanding tour!!!

CHECK OUT YESTERDAY’S MORNING MARKET SLIDESHOW BELOW TOO!!!