Ngõ Nooks: Vintage Sound Systems and Birds of Prey Coexist in Café Nhac Xua
A quaint melody drifts out of Nhac Xua and over to one side of West Lake, where café owner Nguyen Duy Binh and I sit. The calming, classical, Vietnamese-style guitar-driven music, is soothing.
Ngõ Nooks: The Dish That Smells Like Regret but Tastes Like Happiness
If you’re a food lover, there is one dirt-cheap, aromatic Hanoi snack that you must try: bún đậu mắm tôm.
Khoi Pham in Hanoi Ngõ Nooks
Ngõ Nooks: Crispy Fried Eels Complete This Warming Winter Soup
I am Hanoi’s hungriest tourist; and the capital welcomes me into its flavorsome, umami-rich warmth with open arms.
Ngõ Nooks: De Tam Café Adds a Contemporary Touch to a Familiar Retro Aesthetic
As soon as you walk into De Tam’s leafy entrance courtyard, a familiar vintage theme becomes apparent. An entire wall is covered in shelves containing over 100 film cameras and lenses, while record pl...
Ngõ Nooks: Take a Ride on Ha Dong’s Hipster Bus Café
When you initially spot the café, it’s hard to tell exactly what it is — it isn’t hurtling towards you at 50 miles per hour and doesn’t have helmet shrapnel from its previous victims stuck to its...
Ngõ Nooks: Cu Xa, the Cafe That Awakens Your Childhood Self
“Where is home?” is a question that at some point has probably nagged everyone who feels caught between worlds. To the owner of a retro cafe in Hanoi’s southern Dong Da District, it’s Cu Xa.
Ngõ Nooks: Oozing Quail Egg Bánh Giò for Upcoming Winter Days
After a long, draining day at work, the unexpected discovery of a steaming, peppery bánh giò, complete with oozing quail eggs, is the ultimate remedy.
Ngõ Nooks: On Hàng Bài, Golden Bún Cá Thái Bình in a Hole in the Wall
When a friend of mine returned home after living abroad last year, he longed for a bowl of bún cá. I suggested the classic Hanoi dish, with satisfyingly oily deep-fried fish, but he had other ideas&nb...
Ngõ Nooks: Ingenuity Meets Tradition at Phở Cuốn Hung Ben
As traditional and unchanging as Hanoi’s cuisine may seem to visitors, creativity can still be found below the surface. Every now and then, a novel dish catches on and becomes the talk of the town, an...
Ngõ Nooks: At Bun Bo Hue Thu Thuy, a Broth That Bridges Tastes
In only three places have I enjoyed truly sumptuous bowls of bún bò giò heo: in its hometown of Hue, in Hoi An and at Bun Bo Hue Thu Thuy in Hanoi.
Ngõ Nooks: Autumnal Golden Hours Are the Key Ingredient in Cô Thoa’s Bún Bò Nam Bộ
Hanoi’s fascination with bún is endless. There are more varieties in this city than anywhere else in Vietnam. Bún has a lot more to offer than phở, especially as it can be served cool and dry, as seen...
Ngõ Nooks: At Tropical Forest, Coworkers and Plants Thrive in a Unique Ecosystem
Tropical Forest isn’t one of those adorable coffee shops you find hidden away in one of Hanoi’s many pokey alleyways. In fact, it’s quite the opposite – its large glass presence resembles a giant terr...
Ngõ Nooks: Kamon – Authentic Japanese Cuisine Served With a Side of Persian Rugs
Tucked away amongst a row of cafes on Van Phuc Street is a curious Japanese restaurant – beneath the bright red KAMON sign above its entrance and the usual menus offering sashimi and sushi is an altog...
Thi Nguyen in Hanoi Ngõ Nooks
Ngõ Nooks: The Delectable Comfort of Xuan Dieu's No-Name Bánh Đa Trộn
With most of my life having been spent living in Saigon, the concept of bánh đa was first introduced to me by a mass-produced instant crab noodle soup package.
Paul Christiansen in Hanoi Ngõ Nooks
Ngõ Nooks: Reng Reng, a Welcome as Cold as the Coffee at Hanoi's Most Idiosyncratic Cafe
Reng Reng isn’t a friendly coffee shop.
Ngõ Nooks: Steamed Hai Phong Rice Cakes at Banh Beo Cho Do
That the most delicious food in Vietnam is usually found on top of shabby plastic tables is an incontrovertible truth. So much so that modernity has done something strange: we feel skeptical when seei...
Chris Humphrey in Hanoi Ngõ Nooks
Ngõ Nooks: Old Hanoi Aesthetics and Durian Milk-Tea at Cafe Minh
Whether a grey-eyed morning or a long-tailed dusk, it makes little difference in Café Minh. The windows, opaque from a history of cigarettes and road dust, barely let in any light. The groan of motorb...
Ngõ Nooks: Piquant Broth and Tangy Snails at Bun Oc Co Hue
There’s nothing fancy about Bun Oc Co Hue. You’ll find makeshift awnings and a leaning mahogany tree outside, and tattered walls and faded floral tiles within. The shop itself is 28 years old, the sam...
Ngõ Nooks: Craft Beer and Deep Conversation in a Cargo Ship Container
From Pasteur Street to Standing Bar, the capital hides a plethora of hop spots, but its newest entrant might be the most unique.
Ngõ Nooks: The Bánh Cuốn That’s Worth a Year of Waiting
Mrs. An’s bánh cuốn won the heart of world-renowned chef Bobby Chinn, kept lines of die-hard fans waiting outside and left a number of hearts broken when it disappeared for almost a year.
