Quan An Ngon (Quán Ăn Ngon) is a popular restaurant in Hanoi, Vietnam, which offers a variety of traditional Vietnamese dishes and street food.
The place was quite cozy, and the food quite decent. Not really my favourite restaurant in Hanoi, but if you can only have one meal in the city… this is probably the place you want to be because of the great varieties.
Quan An Ngon is located at 18, Phan Boi Chau Street, Hanoi.
Vietnamese have quite a unique way to prepare their coffee. One of the most popular coffees is the ice-milk coffee (cà phê sữa đá) which is also popularly called the ‘drip coffee’ by travellers because of how it was brewed… like this and this.
Didn’t manage to drip the coffee myself when I was in Hanoi in July 2008; the cafe I visited served the well-prepared drink instead (photo above).
My sister who tried some coffee in Hanoi prior to my visit told me that the Vietnamese coffee was stronger than common espresso… can’t agree on that, at least not with the one I had. A decent glass of coffee though… smooth, thick and rich.
Phở (pronounced like ‘fuh’) is a traditional rice noodle soup and one of the most iconic Vietnamese food. Pho is normally served as a bowl of flat-rice-noodles in beef broth, with some beef slices or other options like tripe or chicken etc.
There are a few variations of pho depending on the regions in Vietnam. The pho in Hanoi is called phở Hà Nội or phở bắc (northern pho), which is normally served with green onions; whereas the middle and southern regions are using some other herbs with the pho instead.
A new found friend brought me to one of the locals’ favourite to try the pho when I visited Hanoi in July 2008. The place is Pho Thin, located at 13 Lo Duc St.
The restaurant was packed on the Saturday morning. The customers were sitting shoulder to shoulder while some others lining up for their seats. It’s not difficult to understand the crowdiness after tasting the pho, because it was really good.
The rice noodles were smooth and chewy, and the broth was rich in flavour despite looking mild and clear… and their chillies were nice too. Simplicity to its best, worth recommended.
It’s quite funny that my first ever meal in Vietnam was not Vietnamese food, but western food instead…
It was at a restaurant called Kangaroo Café, which also runs some short tours around Vietnam. I was there to book a trip to Halong Bay initially, but couldn’t find the right schedule. However, after spending two hours walking under the sun in Hanoi City, I kinda need a break… and the air-con and cold beer seemed a bit too hard to resist.
Hence, my first meal in Vietnam… a peppered chicken chop, some chips, salad, and a Bia Hanoi (Hanoi beer). Decent food and reasonably priced.
