{"id":33799,"date":"2023-06-11T20:57:44","date_gmt":"2023-06-11T12:57:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.chekyang.com\/musings\/?p=33799"},"modified":"2026-03-11T19:41:26","modified_gmt":"2026-03-11T11:41:26","slug":"day-03-hanoi-private-food-tour","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.chekyang.com\/musings\/2023\/06\/11\/day-03-hanoi-private-food-tour\/","title":{"rendered":"Day 03 @ Hanoi \u2013 Private Food Tour"},"content":{"rendered":"

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<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n

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 types 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 was very patient – considering our resident chatterbox, 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.<\/p>\n

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 spots that really don’t see many tourists. If you like your food to be prepared in the most pristine and hygienic<\/span> conditions, then street food tours like these might not be for you!<\/p>\n

We visited seven different places for food. Pictures!<\/p>\n

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Our first stop was to sample small plates of salad and snacks: pictured here is Nom Thit Bo Kho (Dried beef salad).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Banh Bot Loc (Dumplings).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Next stop was a street push-cart hawker offering Banh Trang Cuon (Rice Paper Rolls).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Eaten using long wooden sticks.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Weather was a hot and humid 33 degree Celsius, so we had Nuoc Mia (Vietnamese sugarcane juice).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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The sugarcane juice here uses calamansi mixed in with the extracted sugarcane juice. Makes a world of difference!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Banh Cuon (Vietnamese Rice Rolls) next.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Alex ordered three types for us: beef, chicken, and shrimp. Taste-wise, it’s broadly similar to the Hong Kong-styled chee cheong fun we get at home.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Crowded eatery with many locals having lunch, as the little eatery also offers many other cuisine types.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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By this time, we were getting pretty full! Banh Mi (Vietnamese baguette sandwiches) next, and at a fairly well-known Banh Mi eatery. This was the only place we were brought to that had a lot of foreigners also dining there. Pretty crowded!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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We had two sandwiches, both sliced into halves.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Nope, we weren’t done yet. The next place was to try Banh Flan (Vietnamese creme caramel).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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These are very light dessert-type items, and we each devoured our plate in minutes!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Our final stop: Thaiyen Cafe, Alex’s favorite coffee joint, for egg and also whipped cream coffees.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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A final picture outside our hotel at the end of our tour.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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<\/p>\n

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