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Hanoi - Snack Time

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Hanoians are also fond of Bun Ca ro Rau cai (anabas fish and colza vermicelli soup), especially in early autumn. Fish broth is poured over vermicelli, white fish, green colza and fennel to dispel the heat of a sunny morning.

A favorite lunchtime dish is Bun Cha (vermicelli with grilled meat). This dish is hard to forget. In the past, minced meat patties were skewered on bamboo sticks, grilled over charcoal, and served with coiled vermicelli. Today, the minced meat is clamped between two grills, cooked and served with long vermicelli. Thankfully, the distinctive taste of the amber dipping sauce remains unchanged. Each shop has its own recipe. Surrounded by the fragrance of grilling meat, the diner dips his noodles into a bowl of sour, hot, salty and sweet sauce that contains garlic and chili, and then adds fresh mint leaves. One bite and you'll understand why the writer Thach Lam, in his book Delicious Hanoi Foods claimed that aroma of grilling Bun Cha could inspire sick people to rise.

While it isn't difficult to make Bun Cha, it is hard to make good Bun Cha. As attractive as the Bun Cha served in restaurants may be, purists are still tempted by the flat baskets of minced meat and Tu Ki lotus vermicelli (noodles wrapped in lotus leaves), which remind them of the old days. Those in the know head to the corner of Thi Sach and Tran Xuan Soan streets, where some women sell Bun Cha Tu Ky from about 7 AM to 11 AM.

Once eaten only by poor people, Bun Dau (vermicelli with tofu), is a tasty and healthy dish. The ingredients are simple. Phu Do coiled vermicelli and golden fried Mo tofu from Co Mai village are dipped in reddish shrimp paste mixed with the grease used to fry the tofu. Fresh perilla, basil and marjoram make the dish complete.

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