Cooking
Pizza in New York, a croissant in Paris, fish and chips in London. Cliches or must do's for any tourist? When it comes to Hanoi, every guide book will steer you to Cha Ca La Vong for the one and only dish (there is no menu) Cha Ca fish.
As you can see, it's a turmeric scented white fish cooked in oil over an open flame at the table, with batches of dill and scallions. It's served with bowls of rice noodles, scallions, cilantro, hot chiles, peanuts, and if you like a thick pink sludge of shrimp sauce. You mix it up in your bowl as you like, and enjoy it, just like everyone else in the place. It will cost you less than $4 per person.
Cha Ca La Vong has been around since 1871 and been run by 5 successive generations of the Doan family. Even the street was named for the dish. Sure, it's a touristy thing to do. But it tastes great and is a lot of fun too.
Cha Ca La Vong
14 Cha Ca Street
Hanoi
84-4/825-3929
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Once again...points if you can place that quote! Something new for me; Vietnamese food. Matt's a big fan of Southeast Asian cuisine, but I'm still a novice (and a bit reluctant). So, I decided to put together a whole meal, and see how it went....
Cooking
Cha Ca La Vong
Pizza in New York, a croissant in Paris, fish and chips in London. Cliches or must do's for any tourist? When it comes to Hanoi, every guide book will steer you to Cha Ca La Vong for the one and only dish (there is no menu) Cha Ca fish.
As you can see, it's a turmeric scented white fish cooked in oil over an open flame at the table, with batches of dill and scallions. It's served with bowls of rice noodles, scallions, cilantro, hot chiles, peanuts, and if you like a thick pink sludge of shrimp sauce. You mix it up in your bowl as you like, and enjoy it, just like everyone else in the place. It will cost you less than $4 per person.
Cha Ca La Vong has been around since 1871 and been run by 5 successive generations of the Doan family. Even the street was named for the dish. Sure, it's a touristy thing to do. But it tastes great and is a lot of fun too.
Cha Ca La Vong
14 Cha Ca Street
Hanoi
84-4/825-3929
- Weird Fish: Restaurant Review Closed
The latest Eat Local Challenge has been announced, and this time around the organizers are taking cost into account. It's being called the Penny Wise Eat Local Challenge. I Iook forward to seeing how everyone does in regard to their respective budgets...
- Quan An Ngon: Restaurant Review
Quan An Ngon means delicious restaurant in Vietnamese. It's a place for wimps, like me. Let me explain. Given the hot, sticky weather and the terrifying traffic it was hard to get my bearings in Saigon. I try not to be a scaredy-cat on vacation,...
- Lotus Garden Restaurant
On Saturday night I joined a bunch of culinary enthusiasts from the Craigslist Food Forum (I've recently learned that some find "foodie" derogatory) for dinner at Lotus Garden. While I have yet to visit Vietnam, I am always amazed at how at each...
- Thai Kitchen Disaster!
Disaster strikes. Sometimes things do go terribly wrong in the kitchen. I started out simply looking for a recipe for Thai peanut sauce online. I usually just mix peanut butter and coconut milk and add some soy sauce, fish sauce and brown sugar to taste....
- 14, Not Including Vietnam. They Never Declared It.
Once again...points if you can place that quote! Something new for me; Vietnamese food. Matt's a big fan of Southeast Asian cuisine, but I'm still a novice (and a bit reluctant). So, I decided to put together a whole meal, and see how it went....