What should you eat in Hanoi?

Breakfast: pho, banh cuon and xoi

Pho bo. Beef and rice-noodle soup, and Hanoi's version is the original: a clear, deeply savoury broth, flat noodles, spring onion and little else. Unlike the south, herbs and bean sprouts are not piled on the side; you add chilli, lime and garlic vinegar to taste. Order tai (rare beef cooked by the broth), chin (well-done brisket) or tai chin for both. The best pho shops sell out by late morning, and the long-running ones around the Old Quarter have queues from 6am.

Banh cuon. Steamed rice sheets rolled around minced pork and wood-ear mushroom, topped with fried shallots and dipped in light fish sauce, with a slice of cha lua pork sausage. It is made to order on a cloth over a steamer, so sit where you can watch. It is a breakfast dish, eaten until late morning. Our 3 days in Hanoi guide has it in its food list.

Xoi. Sticky rice, sold from baskets on street corners in the morning, topped with mung bean, fried shallot, shredded chicken or pate. It is the cheapest filling breakfast in the city and comes wrapped in a leaf or paper to take away.

Lunch: bun cha and Hanoi noodle dishes

Bun cha. Charcoal-grilled pork patties and pork belly served in a bowl of warm, sweet-sour fish sauce, with cold rice vermicelli and a plate of herbs on the side. You dip the noodles and herbs into the broth as you go. It is a Hanoi lunch dish: the smoke from street grills starts around 11am, and many stalls are finished by mid-afternoon. Add a plate of nem (fried spring rolls). Barack Obama and Anthony Bourdain ate it in Hanoi in 2016, which is why every visitor has heard of it.

Bun dau mam tom. A tray of fried tofu, rice vermicelli pressed into blocks, boiled pork, herbs and a dish of fermented shrimp paste whipped with lime and chilli. The shrimp paste smells strong and tastes much milder than it smells. Ask for fish sauce (nuoc mam) instead if you cannot face it.

Bun rieu cua. Rice noodles in a tomato broth made with ground paddy crab, with tofu and herbs. It is sour, light and a good change from meat broths.

Bun thang. A delicate Hanoi soup of rice vermicelli topped with thin strips of omelette, chicken and pork sausage in a clear chicken broth. It is a dish from Hanoi home cooking and is less common on the street, so order it when you see it.

Cha ca. Turmeric-marinated fish fried at your table in a pan with heaps of dill and spring onion, eaten with rice noodles, peanuts and shrimp paste. It is so tied to the city that a street in the Old Quarter, Cha Ca, is named after it. It is a sit-down meal, good for a long lunch or dinner.

Snacks, sweets and coffee

Pho cuon and pho chien phong. Pho's two less-known forms: fresh pho noodle sheets rolled around stir-fried beef and herbs, and puffed, deep-fried squares of pho noodle under a beef and vegetable gravy. Both are specialities of Ngu Xa, the small island neighbourhood by Truc Bach Lake, which has a row of restaurants serving them.

Banh mi. Hanoi's baguettes are simpler than Saigon's, often just pate, cold cuts and chilli sauce, or a fried egg. Carts all over the Old Quarter sell them from early morning to late at night. It is the snack to buy before a bus or train.

Egg coffee (ca phe trung). Strong Vietnamese coffee topped with a thick foam of egg yolk whipped with condensed milk, closer to dessert than coffee. It was invented in Hanoi in 1946, when milk was scarce, and old cafes around Hoan Kiem Lake still serve it, often in a bowl of hot water to keep it warm. Stir the foam into the coffee halfway through. Also try ca phe cot dua, coconut coffee, a slushy iced version.

Bun oc and banh tom. West Lake has its own two dishes: snail noodle soup with tomato and vinegar, and banh tom Ho Tay, crispy fried sweet potato and shrimp cakes eaten with herbs and dipping sauce at lakeside restaurants.

Bia hoi. Freshly brewed draught beer, light and cheap, poured from kegs at street corners in the late afternoon and evening. The best-known corner is where Ta Hien meets Luong Ngoc Quyen in the Old Quarter; the beer is better at the neighbourhood bia hoi places away from it.

Markets and food streets

• The Old Quarter: the 36 trade streets north of Hoan Kiem Lake are where most of the stalls in this guide are. Walk them with no fixed plan and sit wherever a stall is full.

• Dong Xuan Market: Hanoi's largest covered market, at the north end of the Old Quarter, with a cooked-food section and street stalls around it.

• The weekend night market: on Friday to Sunday evenings, the streets from Hang Dao up to Dong Xuan close to traffic and fill with stalls. It is more clothes than food, but the side streets are full of snack vendors.

• Ta Hien: the backpacker beer street, loud after dark, with grilled skewers and bia hoi.

• Train Street: the cafes along the tracks are a coffee stop rather than a food destination, and access depends on the latest rules; see our Train Street guide.

Etiquette, tipping and street-food safety

Tipping is not expected at street stalls in Hanoi, though rounding up at sit-down restaurants is appreciated; our Vietnam tipping guide has the details. Prices are usually fixed at stalls; check before ordering at a stall with no menu. Pay in dong, in cash, at most street places.

Sit on the low stools, share tables with strangers, and wipe your chopsticks and spoon with the napkins on the table if you want to; locals do. Use the chopsticks and spoon together for noodle soup. On rudeness and norms, see what is considered rude in Vietnam. For safety, pick stalls with a high turnover and food cooked in front of you.

If you only have one day to eat in Hanoi

• 7am: pho bo at an Old Quarter shop, or banh cuon from a steamer.

• Mid-morning: egg coffee near Hoan Kiem Lake.

• Noon: bun cha with nem, then bun dau mam tom in the afternoon if you have room.

• Evening: cha ca at a sit-down restaurant, then bia hoi and banh mi in the Old Quarter.

For a longer stay, see how many days in Hanoi, where to stay in Hanoi and day trips from Hanoi. Ninh Binh was our next stop: see Hanoi to Ninh Binh and our Ninh Binh guide. Regional dishes from the rest of the country are in our Vietnam food guide.

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