Shrimp cake shops around Tay Ho Palace
Every Tet holiday, anyone who walks around West Lake will surely see a long line of cars and motorbikes lining up to worship at Tay Ho Palace. People flock to the temple to pray for a new year of wealth, luck and prosperity. After the ceremony, it is not uncommon for people to feel full and crave for a snack. The shrimp cake stalls around the Palace are a reasonable choice.
It is reasonable because this is not a dish that Hanoians eat regularly like pho, bun or as a snack like banh ran, banh duc... but it seems to be remembered when there is an opportunity. A couple of times a year, people tell each other to take the whole family to the temple and then stop by to enjoy shrimp cake. It is reasonable because each piece of shrimp cake is not too big, too thick, just enough to be full and delicious. Two shrimps are intact, the head and body of the shrimp are stuck together, the shrimp legs are not separated, the shrimp tail is folded, fried with a base of flour and shredded sweet potato. The finished product is golden brown and fragrant... The dipping sauce is just the right amount of salty, sweet and sour, served with papaya and raw vegetables. Dip the hot cake in it, it is extremely delicious, but eating a little is fun, eating a lot will make you feel full. Hanoians eat like that too, eating just enough is delicious.
Phu Tay Ho shrimp cake is always a dish enjoyed by many people during Tet.
Coffee on the shore of Truc Bach Lake
The ceremony was over, the shrimp cakes were served, but going home now would be a waste of the spring weather. Many people chose to go around Thanh Nien Street, to Truc Bach Lake to drink coffee and chat with friends.
Here on Tet holiday, there is no shortage of coffee shops open, from those with white walls, bright glass doors, long sofas inside, serving smoothies and juices for young people, to those with only a coffee counter, sunflower vases, and a few plastic chairs or canvas chairs by the lake to serve middle-aged people. There are all kinds of customers who like to sit and chat during Tet.
But sometimes, people come to Truc Bach Lake to drink water, four parts for the food and six parts for the scenery. Here, it is as if, after a busy year, they now have time to truly calm down and observe the life around them. The lake is bustling with families enjoying duck-paddling around, a hobby that they probably don’t have the chance to try on normal days. Couples invite each other to walk around the lake, chatting away like doves.
Truc Bach Lake has no shortage of cafes with beautiful views and delicious drinks during Tet. (Photo: Ma Xo Cafe)
Pho rolls in Ngu Xa street
After drinking, you get hungry again, have to eat again, that is also the pleasure of Tet, to eat, to drink, to play. If you are bored with boiled chicken, banh chung, nem ran... maybe you should change your dish and try pho cuon, pho chien in Ngu Xa street.
Nowadays, many families also make pho rolls at home during Tet. The dish is simple, consisting of stir-fried beef, wrapped in large rice noodles with herbs, dipped in fish sauce and sliced papaya. However, eating at restaurants always has a unique flavor that cannot be recreated at home.
The dish has a lot of vegetables and just enough meat, enough to relieve the feeling of fullness, enough to fill the stomach for dinner. People with a big appetite can sometimes eat ten in a row and still feel hungry, people with a weak appetite have to enjoy five, that's how it feels. Delicious dishes are sometimes not only because of good ingredients, delicious preparation but also because they go well with everyday dishes.
Pho rolls and fried pho are also delicious dishes during Tet.
Beef noodle soup and crab noodle soup along Tran Phu and Phung Hung streets
There are so many delicious dishes in Hanoi that we probably won't be able to list them all during Tet, but the things that make people remember and crave during the New Year are simply everyday dishes like pho, bun rieu, bun oc...
Many people admit that they are addicted to pho. If they don't eat a bowl of beef pho, they feel restless and lacking. Eating three bowls of pho a day is fine, but not eating pho for three days makes them very restless. That's why during Tet, even though delicious dishes are spread all over the table, they still have to "have" a bowl of pho to feel satisfied. Pho is open throughout Tet, there are many delicious restaurants in Tran Phu and Phung Hung streets. At the pho shops on the train street on Tet, the sounds of slicing meat, slicing onions, ordering food, and paying are still constantly noisy on a street corner. Eating a bite of pho is like meeting an old friend, feeling familiar, but in the Tet atmosphere, it is very special.
Bun rieu and bun oc are different. Some people don't eat them all year, but when Tet comes, they crave them. The light taste of tomatoes, the aroma of crushed field crabs, the just-right amount of sour bun, eaten with raw vegetables is a way to balance the taste buds. Lips are plump and shiny, full of chicken, meat, and banh chung. Now, when they can sip the hot broth, they feel all the boredom of Tet and the fatigue of going out fall off their shoulders. They have new vitality, ready to continue their spring trip. When they are tired of the high-class dishes, many people look for simple yet sophisticated things.
Hanoians, every Tet, compete to eat vermicelli soup with crab and vermicelli with snail. (Photo: Maipattie)
