Our flight today on Day 10 is only departing at 6PM. But while there’s plenty of time from now till then, we decided to keep it really easy and just enjoy the hotel rooms on this last day, and check out after lunch and make our way to the airport thereafter. For this post, here are some notes on the dining places we visited throughout our ten days.
Apron Up Restaurant
Light brunch of VND357,000/SGD20.50 and comprising Beef Fried Rice, Spring Rolls and beverages. This little cafe is just a minute walk away from the hotel, and looks a little worn. Several items on the food menu were also unavailable, but this was our first introduction to local food, so we didn’t mind much.
Banhmi LongHoi
Dinner of VND206,000/SGD11.80 and comprising four sandwiches and soft drinks. Banhmi is the Vietnamese baguette-styled sandwiches, and the wife found this eatery just two minutes walk from the hotel. Sandwiches have quirky names: e.g. ‘lucky’, ‘romance’, and were yummy! We liked the food so much that we visited again for dinner on Day 08. Highly recommended.
Bun Cha Dac Kim
Lunch of VND320000/SGD18.40 and comprising several bowls of camaralised pork balls and rice noodles. We were brought here during our volunteer guides for our walking tour of Hanoi. Food was very delicious, but seating is a little cramped and the restaurant feels a little grimy. Basically, just eat quickly and go.
Hong Hoai’s Restaurant
Dinner of VND676,000/SGD38.90 and included fried fish, spring rolls, curry chicken, and morning glory (kang kong). This is a family restaurant that was a 9 minutes walk from our hotel. We arrived for an early 5:30PM dinner, and there were a few patrons besides us. Food whipped up was great, and credit cards as payment are accepted.
Pho Surong
Dinner of VND240,000/SGD13.80 and comprising four bowls of beef noodles. You can opt for well-cooked beef slices if medium rare doesn’t appeal to you. The stall hawker doesn’t speak English well, but can understand simple words. This is truly street food, and – at the risk of repeating myself – yummy.
Oriana Vietnamese Restaurant
Dinner of VND698,000/SGD40.10 and included stir fried beef, spring rolls, Vietnamese pancakes, and morning glory. The restaurant is in a hotel, so you need to take a lift up to the top floor to reach it. The floor offers decent views of Hanoi’s old quarter. Between this and Hong Hoai’s, both offered the same cuisine type and we liked the latter (earlier) restaurant a bit more, food-wise.
Pizza Belga
Dinner of VND560,000/SGD32.20 and included two 12″ pizzas. The pizzas are between pan and thin types crust-wise, and were wood oven baked at 500 degree celsius. The pizzas arrived very quickly – less than 10 minutes – and there’s a lovely ambiance about in the restaurant. Serving staff spoke very good English, and drinking water is complimentary. We found the pizzas a little soggy though and not of the kind we like, but your mileage might vary.
