Food Tours · Tour

Hanoi Old Quarter Street Food Walk for Eight, with Pickup

Hanoi street food is best eaten with someone who knows which stall to trust and which alley it is down. Without that, you either eat badly or get lost, and usually both. Three hours on foot through the Old Quarter, at food stands and family restaurants rather than anything set up for visitors. Street food here is not a cart with hot dogs: it is the entire eating culture of the city, and the tour treats it that way. The menu rotates day to day, which is the honest way to run this, and tastings might include rice noodle soup with beef, chicken or grilled pork, snails, dry noodles, sticky rice, several kinds of doughnut, steamed rice pancakes and Vietnamese sandwiches. Egg coffee, bun cha, green papaya salad and grilled pork with lemongrass are all on the rotation. Between the stops the walk covers the history and the culture of the Old Quarter, past Ta Hien, Hang Ma, Luong Ngoc Quyen and Ma May, and it finishes by Hoan Kiem Lake, which is where Hanoi goes to be quiet. Eight people at most, in English, with water, coffee or a beer included. Pickup is from your hotel if you are staying inside the Old Quarter. If not, come to the office on Luong Van Can. Vegetarian, vegan, kosher and gluten-free versions are available with notice, and allergies should be flagged.