Places to Nosh
There are plenty of places to dine Diana, but life is too short to eat distasteful things. So before you go trundling off to
the nearest backpacker restaurant du jour. Consider the following (we warn you, we don’t love everything and we are quite catty.)
Little Hanoi Ta Hien
Little Hanoi is very popular with tourists and deservedly so. There are in fact two Little Hanoi restaurants on Ta Hien and either is fine. One is slightly bigger and posher than the other. The food is inexpensive and well done. The Tiger beer comes in giant bottles and for only 15,000 VND/or approx 1 US Peso dollar. Go with a gal pal and share the dishes. Worth ordering are the tofu with tomato, the roll your own fresh springrolls with caramelised beef, and the caramelised squid with chilli and lemongrass. Go on Gertie, stuff yourself!
BudMo! 61 To Ngoc Van
An unintentionally kitsch Ukrainian restaurant complete with pictures of Stalin, Lenin and Brezhnev AND Vietnamese staff in Ukrainian fancy dress. Tucked away in the Toorak of Hanoi on To Ngoc Van, BudMo! is great fun if you go with a group of friends. Sit upstairs with Joe (Stalin) and Lenny (Brezhnev) and their impressive eyebrows and play a few games of pool. The food is good and does everything that Ukrainian food should, it soaks up alcohol beautifully! Get the Golubtsy (cabbage rolls), Pelmeni (meat dumplings) and the Schaslik. The highlight though, is the vodka shots that come with a side of black bread, pickled garlic and pork fat. Disgusting as it sounds, you’d be surprised how good it seems after the third shot. Stop at three or allocate a designated hair holder!
Mediterraneo 23 Nha Tho
Standard Italian fare including wood fired pizzas. The food is fine if a little uninspiring and it is on the pricey side (up to 120,000VND for pasta). Worth trying is the gnocchi gorgonzola. Avoid at all costs the salads. They are overpriced and you are expected to dress the salad yourself (tres 70’s!) Also, the décor is channeling Robert Palmer circa 1986 (peach anyone?) Sit upstairs or by the front windows. Pay no heed to the scowling Vietnamese girl clearly lusting after Imelda Marcos’ eyebrows – aside from glaring at customers, we’re not sure what she actually does.
La 25 Ly Quoc Su
If you’re looking for more inspiring fare, then look no further than La. The atmosphere is cozy and the décor understated. The staff are efficient and polite. The prices are slightly higher but it is well worth it as the menu offers some fab dishes. Order the pate and pickled tomato salad and follow it with the potato, roast garlic and cheese soup. The pate, soup and a glass of Pimms set us back 195,000 VND (about $13US) Love the shoes, love the bag, love the dress, love everything. LOVE IT.
The Green Tangerine Hang Be
Once you pass through the front door, you will be transported into another world. With it’s faded French colonialist interiors, you will feel like a character in ‘Indochine’ – and in fact Catherine Deneuve has dined here. It’s so D-vine we can’t even describe it! The food is expensive here but good (actually it’s a little frou frou for us, but other people like it). A better idea would be to stop in for an aperitif before schlepping off to a cheaper place to eat, or popping in for a cool drink in the afternoon. The Green Tangerine is the perfect escape from the bustle and general grime of Hang Be – it’s fabboo shabboo!
