A print of three glasses of beer with white heads on a red plastic stool, seen from above, on a deep indigo ground. — Three glassesOchre, Sappan red, Indigo, key blockHà NộiLine drawn by FLUX.2 [klein] 4B, an image model, after a photograph by thalling55, Photograph by thalling55, CC BY 2.0. Cropped for this site.

A photograph of three glasses of beer with white heads on a red plastic stool, seen from above, on a deep indigo ground. — Three glassesOchre, Sappan red, Indigo, key blockHà NộiLine drawn by FLUX.2 [klein] 4B, an image model, after a photograph by thalling55, Photograph by thalling55, CC BY 2.0. Cropped for this site.

In the city

The city eats on stools

Eight stops on an evening walk. Bia hơi included.

Length: 3.5 hours
Starts: 18:00
Group: Up to 8
From: USD 59 a guest

What happens

Hanoi eats close to the pavement, on stools made for children. Eight stops on an evening walk: charcoal smoke from a bún chả grill, a glass of bia hơi brewed this morning and gone tonight, and coffee whipped with egg yolk because, the story goes, in 1946 there was no milk.

18:00
We meet at the old city gate and walk in, as the grills are being lit.
18:20
Bún chả: pork grilled over charcoal, noodles, herbs, a bowl of sweet-sour broth.
19:00
Nem rán, then bánh cuốn: fried rolls, then steamed rice sheets filled and folded.
19:45
Bia hơi, brewed this morning. It is light, and it does not keep.
20:30
Chè, a sweet soup, and a stop for something grilled.
21:15
Egg coffee to finish, hot, in a small cup.

Included: Food at all eight stops; Two glasses of bia hơi, or juice; A guide for up to eight guests.

What you will see

Photographs, graded to look like one shoot. Select one to see it larger, with its credit.

Good to know

What to wear

Anything you can sit in on a stool thirty centimetres off the ground.

Walking

About 2 km, with long sits.

Children

From 8. Bia hơi is for adults; children have juice, which is included.

Access

The stools have no backs. Tell us if you need a chair and we will plan stops that have one.

The weather, by season

Xuân February to April: lows 16 to 22°C, about 53 mm of rain a month.
Hạ May to August: lows 25 to 27°C, about 239 mm of rain a month.
Thu September to November: lows 20 to 25°C, about 148 mm of rain a month.
Đông December and January: lows 14 to 14°C, about 20 mm of rain a month.

Láng station normals, 1991 to 2020. The four seasons

Where we meet

Ô Quan Chưởng, the old city gate at the east end of Hàng Chiếu Street.

Come hungry. We start eating within twenty minutes.

Open in Google Maps (new tab)Open in OpenStreetMap (new tab)

Ô Quan Chưởng. We link to maps; we do not embed one.

Cancelling

Cancel up to 48 hours before the start for a full refund. Between 48 and 24 hours, half is refunded. Within 24 hours, nothing is, unless we cancel: then you are refunded in full, or moved to another day.

Sample terms. The cancellation policy

Questions

Can you cook around a diet?

Partly. Four stops can be made vegetarian. Fish sauce is in most things, so tell us when you book and we will plan around it.

Is it safe to eat at a pavement stall?

We choose stalls that cook to order and have a queue of regulars, and we have walked the route many times.

Why egg in coffee?

The story goes that in 1946 milk was short and a bartender at a Hanoi hotel whipped egg yolk into the coffee. It rests on the family's own account, which is why we say the story goes.