Some foods of Hanoi

Today we went about to a number of places to try some Hanoi specialties, as well as Taiwanese specialties! Here's a list, pics and thoughts on each adventure:

1. Chicken Phở at Phở 26.
The best phở of the trip. Light, fragrant, tasty, with high quality ingredients.

2. Sweet Buns from Roti King (Vanilla and Matcha).
These were not at all what we expected. They had very little filling in them. Some bits tasted like a biscuit, others a croissant. They were light and tasty though and we enjoyed them. Note: matcha in Vietnam SUCKS. Every time I've had something matcha, it's not tasted at all like matcha. This was the best matcha thing I've had, because there was ZERO matcha flavour hahaha.

3. Egg Coffee and Egg Chocolate
Hanoi is famous for egg coffee. I've had it, and for me it's a miss. The froth on top is tasty, but it's very very rich and sweet, and then the coffee underneath is outrageously bitter. You have to mix it a bunch and even then it's not that great. I've tried all 3 speciality Vietnamese Coffees, and Salt Coffee smashes the other 2 out of the park. In saying that, Egg Chocolate is FANTASTIC. It's a much better pairing than egg coffee as dark chocolate has a bitterness that suits the richness of the egg.

4. This isn't a Hanoi speciality, but we went to another hidden cafe/restaurant. This time, it was NOT a tourist trap, and it lived up to the reviews. It was gorgeous. An adorable coffee shop with incredible ambience both downstairs in the broody, rich area, and upstairs amongst the plants and mini beach seats. It was a quiet and tranquil respite from the hustle bustle of the city. We ordered 2 fruit mocktails (spiced apple and mulberry, they were delish), Michael had a Baileys Chocolate (yum) and I had my iced salt coffee (equal best to Bikini Bottom in Da Nang). We spent around 90 minutes here as they had free wifi and we just wanted to chill.

Taiwanese Food Court Food
After our fun gaming session, we got a bunch of snacks to make up the rest of our food for the day. I loved Taiwanese food when I went in 2018, so wanted to share some faves with Michael. Here's how it faired:

1. Taiwanese beef noodle soup.
Delish. Michael's fave soup of the trip. Hearty, yet delicate. YUM
2. Beef and pickle bao.
At first I was a bit freaked out, but then after pulling it apart it tastes like an Asian version of a hamburger. Pretty tasty!
3. Crab roe dumplings.
Michael's fave dumplings of the trip. Scrummo.
4. Taiwanese dough pork dumplings.
My favourite dumplings of the trip. Eye rolling, god tier for me.
5. Popcorn fried chicken.
Best popcorn chicken we've had in years.

We also had some yummy ice-cream for dessert. Michael got the cutest piglet icecream haha.

I actually can't believe how top tier this food was given it was food court food at a shopping mall. Blown away.

Overall, I'd say the day was another successful day for our bellies!Read more