Daredevil's Guide to Hanoi's Unusual Dishes (Not for the Faint-Hearted!)

Understandably, not every local delicacy is within our usual comfort zones, due to the influences of different cultures and traditions. Rather than shying away from these dishes and dismissing them as grotesque, I enjoy taking up the challenge and learning more about their cultures through trying and appreciating their local fare. Here are some unusual delicacies which I tried during my visit to Hanoi, which you may like to savour when you're there as well!


1. Bun Rieu Cua

Bun rieu cua is a noodle dish served with a rich, thick broth made from the liquid pounded from the shell of paddy crab. You will be able to enjoy the delicious crab meat and roe together with eggs, tomatoes and fried tofu. Like all other Vietnamese roadside stalls, a basket full of herbs like banana flowers and perilla will be made available at your convenience to enhance the flavour of the soup. The flavours work in harmony and offer your palate a real treat of both the sweet and the savoury.

Bun rieu cua with a generous serving of crab roe
(You can choose to have yours without pig's blood like this one!)

Here’s where it gets scary – the dish is often served with congealed pig’s blood which has a smooth, silky texture resembling tofu. Now you can be a fully-fledged vampire! I must say that it is definitely an acquired taste but I found it rather delicious possibly because we Chinese are no strangers to pig’s blood which is considered a delicacy in Chinese cuisine. No worries, though – there are options of bun rieu cua without pig’s blood like this as well!

Bun Rieu Cua

Address: 11 Hang Bac

Opening Hours: 0700h – 2000h

Expect to Pay: VND 30,000 

2. Mien Xao Luon

This seemingly harmless dish is basically glass noodles fried with egg, herbs and ground peanuts. It may sound plain and unappetising, but this delicacy is brought to the next level, thanks to the deep-fried eel that works well with the ground peanuts to give it that extra crunch and texture. 

The display cabinet at the store front is filled with eel! Don't they look like snakes?!

Eel is probably in our comfort zone only when it is served in Japanese cuisine, be it unagi sushi or don, but what happens when you walk into a restaurant where the store front is a display filled with deep-fried eel to the brim? Just get that image of its snakelike structure out of your head and dig in! The stall will surely give your teeth a good workout as the fried eel crackles in your mouth. The glass noodles and egg are heavenly and well-seasoned to give it the nice finishing touches.

Mien xao luon is served with crunchy eel and herbs with silky vermicelli and eggs.

If you still have some stomach space for extra food, you may want to try their other dishes like fried eel (cha luon), eel porridge (chao luon) or eel soup (sup luon).

Dong Thinh Nha Hang Mien Luon

Address: 87 Hang Dieu

Opening Hours: 1700h – 2300h

Expect to Pay: VND 60,000 

3. Bun Oc

I’ll give you a hint – they are slow, have shells and can probably be found in your backyard. Yes, snails are the stars of this dish and I’m not talking about escargots. A huge bowl of rice vermicelli infused in a tomato soup base is served here with luncheon meat, deep-fried tofu and snails of varying sizes. The stall is extremely generous with their serving of snails which are excellent in terms of their juiciness and QQ texture. 

Bun oc with the usual basket of vegetables and herbs - just look at the size of those snails!

Pho aside, this is definitely my favourite dish in Hanoi, as the broth was really light on the palate and had extracted the essence of the tomatoes. Unlike escargot which uses the strong buttery taste to cover that of the snails, the soup here does not overpower but rather complements the natural juiciness of the snails. I was never a big fan of luncheon meat, but theirs has a splendid texture and great flavour. If you are not afraid to walk quite a distance for one of the best dishes in Hanoi, I highly recommend this stall.

Quan Bun Oc Thuy

Address: 13 Hoe Nhai

Opening Hours: 0600h – 2100h

Expect to Pay: VND 50,000

4. Ca Phe Trung

Hanoi is the birthplace of the famous egg coffee (ca phe trung) and which better place to savour this delicacy other than the stall that started this trend that took the world by storm? Egg coffee uses the whisked eggs to substitute the milk to give it a white, bubbly froth that floats above the thick coffee. The sweetness of the eggs starkly contrasts against the bitterness of the coffee, giving it sort of a latte feel. 

Look at that froth of flavourful egg yolk floating above the thick coffee!

The café may be a little difficult to locate – I actually walked past it twice without realising that it was right there. Look out for the little signage that says Café Giang and then head into the little stairway. There are 2 floors in this cosy little café which gives off a retro vibe with olden furniture and artwork. Immerse yourself in the Vietnamese way of life – enjoying a lovely conversation with your companions over a cup of coffee. It is really an awesome place to chill out at, no matter what time of day it is.

Café Giang

Address: 39 Nguyen Huu Huan

Opening Hours: 0700h – 2200h

Expect to Pay: VND 20,000

5. Trung Vit Lon

This must have been the subject of almost every single conversation I had with my friends and colleagues even weeks after I returned from Vietnam. It would start off with a disgusted shriek or a comment about how inhumane I was to have tried it. Well, after all, it is a local delicacy and the essence of travelling is to adapt to the local lifestyle and broaden your mind. In fact, it was one of the items on my bucket list that I was dying to try ever since I stepped foot in this country.

Grab a seat and enjoy trung vit lon for yourself!

Ever heard of the infamous balut – a developing duck embryo that is boiled and eaten from the shell? It is wildly popular in the Philippines and trung vit lon is Vietnam’s answer to it. The local take on this dish is to first dress the embryo up in a bunch of herbs and ginger and then lightly salt it. After that, you should take a sip of the savoury fluid from the shell and thereafter make your way through the embryo starting from the hardened yolk.

Trung vit lon eaten the Vietnamese way - with herbs, ginger and salt!

This is not for the faint-hearted, as you will be tasting the crunchiness of the partially developed beak and legs, the fibre-like structures (its feathers-to-be) and some mildly disturbing anatomical features. However, the herbs and seasonings do give the delicacy some sort of kick to it. 

After breaking apart the egg, you'll see the 'baby duck' and the solidified yolk!

If you are looking for this dish, you may want to search the roadsides in the early morning when there are numerous vendors selling this local delight. This was rather counterintuitive as I thought there would be many stalls at the night market where I would be able to find it.

Now that you've either feasted on unique local delicacies or been grossed out too much that you've probably lost your appetite, let's explore some culturally and historically significant landmarks in the central region of Hanoi's city centre, where we can find ancient relics dating back to prehistoric ages in the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long, here!

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