Another must-do activity in Hanoi is the food tour, where you’d get brought around the Old Quarter and possibly also other neighboring districts in Hanoi to sample local street food. There are just a few variations to this activity: whether you want a group or a private tour – which would be obviously more expensive – and also timings. The activity can be easily booked via Tripadvisor or Klook, but after some research, we decided we’d live with the additional expense of having a private tour, and opted for a guide listed on (Tours) With Locals. The listing on this URL doesn’t note a food tour, but if you’d like to check him out, just contact the guide – Alex – and ask him for options.
Since our trip was private, we were able to personalise it – important for us since this was Day 03 and we’d tried out several times of local street food already by this point. We opted also for the brunch timing from 11AM to 2PM. And a 3.5 hour experience later, we have nothing but the highest praise for Alex as our guide. He was engaging, spoke English fluently, and very patient – considering our resident chatter box i.e. Peter, was chatting with him non-stop throughout the tour. He said he’d been doing this for almost 10 years now, and I wonder if there’s been any point in time when he’s felt a little tired of bringing visitors every day to sample local food. Sure, Hanoi is a huge city, but by virtue of the fact that this is a walking tour, there’s only so far you can walk to. If that was an issue, it certainly didn’t show on his part.
A note to those with weaker constitutions: there was a fair bit of walking involved, and we were eating at places that the locals themselves eat at, including several few spots that really don’t see many tourists. If you like your food to be prepared in the most pristine and hygienic conditions, then street food tours like these might not be for you!
We visited seven different places for food. Pictures!
The final stop – Thaiyen Cafe – was a fair distance from our hotel for walking, so Alex brought us back by cab. Alex has his own company Nom Nom Travel. Highly recommended!