Enchanting streets of Hanoi

Architectural beauty: Tran Quoc at Truc Bach Lake, is Hanoi’s oldest pagoda. Picture supplied

Mike Yardley embarks on a vibrant journey through Hanoi, Vietnam’s bustling capital, where the chaotic traffic and aromatic street food create an enchanting symphony of sights and flavours.

Arriving at Noi Bai Airport in Northern Vietnam, Hanoi’s humid heat greeted me like a hot, wet hug. If a hearty dollop of exotic urban life is your idea of holiday joy, Hanoi delivers in spades. It’s unquestionably a city of stark extremes, illustrated by the feverish Old Quarter and the contemporary business districts. Hanoi is a melting pot of culture and creativity, artisanal hubs, heady history, colourful street art and with a buzzing food and café scene.  In a city of eight million residents and nearly six million motorbikes and scooters, crossing the road feels like a cultural experience, tinged with trepidation. As I gazed in awe at Hanoi’s heaving traffic intersections, there’s an enchanting sense of ordered, orchestral symphony to the chaos and how it seems to work.

Teaming up with Wendy Wu Tours, who know Vietnam inside out, my trusty local tour guide navigated us confidently across the street. When on foot, the key is to wait for a gap, be assertive and make eye contact with the oncoming riders. Confidence and courtesies seem to go hand in hand in Hanoi. Your first stop should be the whirring web of the Old Quarter, an evocative labyrinth of lanes and skinny streets, which have been a hub of trade and commerce for over a millennium. For bargain-hunters, top drawcards include the streets dedicated to selling puppets, religious and funeral trinkets, artisanal souvenirs and traditional medicine.

Coffee? The French introduced café culture to the country, but the Vietnamese have stamped their own mark on it. Vietnam is the world’s second-biggest coffee exporter, beaten only by Brazil. Robusta beans power their coffee production and the Vietnamese enjoy their coffee, around the clock, in a variety of ways. It is most commonly made in a metal filter and allowed to slowly drip into the cup. If you’re wondering how that generous dose of condensed milk entered the equation, the craze originated under French rule when it was very difficult to obtain fresh milk.

I also tried an egg coffee, where egg yolks replace milk. I’m not convinced. Apparently the yolk version was hatched in Hanoi during the war years against the USA, when fresh milk was strictly rationed. In the summer months, coconut coffee, which uses shaved-ice coconut milk is wildly popular. I generally opted for a rich, dark coffee, which certainly packs a bigger punch than your bog-standard long black in New Zealand. I’m sure I was vibing like a wind chime for the rest of the day. For great atmos, follow the locals to Café Dinh, which entails navigating the skinniest of staircases to reach the second-storey venue, which is furnished with little stools and walls lined with the sepia tones of the owner’s family photos. The little balcony overlooking the lake is the cherry on top. If you’ve ever wondered why so many of those French-influenced buildings in Hanoi, in all their faded glory, are so pencil-thin as they rise to six storeys — it was a tax avoidance design.

The abundance of street food is a rolling, sensory assault as you stroll around Hanoi. A crowd-pleasing go-to is banh mi, Vietnamese baguettes, which brim with many flavour-loaded concoctions. How could you possibly go wrong with Hanoi’s deliciously hot and crispy bread? The baguette used in a banh mi is typically lighter and crispier than a traditional French loaf or baguette. The secret? The bread is made from rice flour, which gives it a slightly sweet flavour and a crispy exterior. One of the hottest haunts in town is Banh Mi 25, where hundreds of people flock to around lunch time for their fill. It’s like the Fergburger of Hanoi. Tuck into a sublime beef banh mi, loaded with pickled veges, fresh herbs and spices. Costing just NZ$2, it’s an absolute steal. Street food in Hanoi is headlined by the three Bs. Banh mi, pho bo (traditional Vietnamese noodle soup with beef) and bun cha (barbecued pork with rice vermicelli.)

Need a detox? Hanoi loves its central city lakes, beckoning as blissful retreats from the urban grit. Immaculately landscaped with ornamental bridges,  flame, bamboo and willow trees and incredible flower beds, these lakes are Gram gold. My top pick? — Truc Bach Lake, adjacent to the Old Quarter. It’s home to Hanoi’s oldest pagoda, and John McCain was famously photographed being dragged from this lake before being incarcerated in the Hanoi Hilton. Most of the jail has been demolished, although one section remains which has been turned into a museum.

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