When we slow travel long-term, not every day is about sightseeing. Some of our four-week stay in Hanoi was devoted to the rhythms of everyday life — cooking, shopping, walking around the neighborhood, and discovering the city through its food. Tasks we often find boring at home became an unexpected way to explore Hanoi in a way that traditional sightseeing could never capture.
Discovering Hanoi Through Food
Before coming to Vietnam, we had heard that cooking there makes little sense because street food is cheaper than groceries. We found this to be mostly true — with a caveat.
If you are comfortable eating mostly rice and noodles and do not mind fried food, then street food in Vietnam is very affordable. It becomes more complicated when you have specific dietary needs. For health reasons, I follow a low-carb diet — which can be difficult to maintain in Vietnam. It takes time and energy to find places that can accommodate modifications, and communicating those needs is not always easy.
Local inexpensive eateries are especially difficult, as their menus are limited and rice and noodles form the foundation of most dishes.
Walking in and asking for modifications through a language barrier can feel intimidating. It is easier in more formal restaurants — but prices there are significantly higher.
For example, in a small eatery you can have a couple of bánh mì sandwiches or a bowl of bún chả, a grilled pork noodle dish, for as little as 50,000–60,000 VND (around 3 CAD) — but these are all high-carb meals. More formal restaurants cost two to three times more — and it adds up quickly if you eat out for every meal.
How did we miss Philippine carinderias — where eating out felt both stress-free and affordable!
Our First Market Adventure
We tried eating out for the first two days in Hanoi, but after calculating the cost, we decided to try a different approach. Eggs for breakfast are our staple while travelling, and those were easy. But what about lunch and dinner?
Our frustration with restaurants gave us the courage to visit the main market on our third morning in Hanoi. Exploring a market with a guide is one thing. Shopping there alone, actually buying food and navigating a language barrier, is quite another. It felt like a real adventure.
The first Vietnamese phrase I learned was “Bao nhiêu?” — “How much?” — and it came in very handy.
When we had previously visited the market with our guide, he mentioned that food vendors were located outside the main building, and that prices tended to be lower the farther you moved away from it. Armed with this knowledge, we headed not into the market hall itself but into the maze of narrow alleys and nooks that sprawl around Dong Xuan Market, the largest in Hanoi.
The chaos began immediately. Our senses were overwhelmed. The crowd swirled around us — and not just on foot. Motorbikes moved through the same tight alleys, weaving between shoppers and stalls. The number of sellers and options was staggering, not to mention that many of the goods on sale were completely unfamiliar to us.
Shopping for Ingredients
We decided to focus on seafood first, though that proved challenging. One difficulty was simply the sheer variety on offer — shrimp of all sizes, a mind-boggling selection of fish ranging from giant carps weighing over five kilograms to tiny minnows, live squirming eels, heaps of mollusks in every imaginable size, even frogs. Most of the fish on display was still alive, flipping and splashing in shallow tubs, a clear sign of how fresh everything was.
I could ask how much something cost, but I could not understand the answer. Luckily, vendors are used to this and simply show the price by holding up the necessary banknotes.
After passing through the seafood section several times, we finally found the best price for a middle part of an enormous carp — nearly two kilograms just for that single piece. I had never seen carp that large before.
Encouraged by this success, we started looking for chicken but Valery noticed a duck. The price was excellent, so we bought the whole duck as well.
After that, shopping for vegetables felt easy. We also found a vendor selling nuts by the kilo and bought walnuts, cashews, and pumpkin seeds.
One of the delights of shopping at the market was choosing fruit we had never tried before — in addition to our favorites.
This time we came back with papaya, Valery’s fruit of choice, and dragon fruit, my favourite discovery in Vietnam. I had always wanted to try rambutans, and finally buying them felt like a small victory.
I also picked up a couple of yellow-brown mystery fruits that looked intriguing enough to risk. They were a leap of faith — and, as it turned out, not my favourite.
Cooking at Home
The next day we stayed home, and I did some serious cooking. Our Airbnb had an Instant Pot, so I had to learn how to use it. I had never braised anything before, so braising the carp and duck, along with making soup from the duck head and neck, became a small culinary adventure of its own.
We did learn one practical lesson early on. Buying a whole duck and a large piece of fish was ambitious.
Valery had to cut them with a dull knife from the apartment, which turned into quite an ordeal. After that first struggle, we made it a rule to ask the vendor to clean and cut the fish or meat at the market, which saved us a lot of effort at home.
I used Vietnamese recipes along with local spices and sauces, so it felt as though we were still eating Vietnamese food at home.
The first step toward our Vietnamese-style braised carp: onion, garlic, and ginger ready in the Instant Pot.
The final step before cooking: add the fish pieces together with water, a splash of fish sauce and soy sauce, then set the Instant Pot to braise.
The meals lasted almost a week. For the first time since arriving in Hanoi, we felt completely settled.
Eating Out in Hanoi
After a few weeks in Hanoi, we felt more comfortable asking for modifications and discovered a few good options for eating out close to home. Our best budget-friendly lunch was takeout phở bò tái (beef noodle soup with rare beef) from a nearby hole-in-the-wall place. We ordered it almost daily when staying home. I would walk in with three containers and, using Google Translate, ask for fewer noodles and more meat and vegetables, plus two containers of broth. One portion cost 70,000 VND and was enough for the two of us, especially since I added more greens at home.
Another spot, just a block away, sold half a cooked duck for takeaway, complete with a sauce. At home, we would stir-fry vegetables and have a complete dinner.
This does not mean we did not enjoy restaurant food in Hanoi. We tried some local dishes — just not every day.
Chả cá — grilled turmeric fish
Sizzling on a tabletop burner as the waiter stirs it with fresh herbs. A Hanoi classic prepared right at the table.
Lẩu cá kèo lá giang — sour goby fish hotpot
A cloud of fragrant steam rises as the hotpot is opened, filling the table with its aroma.
Bánh tráng cuốn — rice paper rolls with herbs and fish
Our first experience assembling these rolls, guided by a waiter who shows the proper way to roll and eat them.
Savoring the Flavors of Everyday Life
Our culinary explorations in Hanoi taught us how to slow down, and savor the small moments — and to approach each day with creativity and flexibility. We discovered that the city had many more layers waiting to be discovered beyond the kitchen and the market — a story for another post.
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