Haute Hanoi: Enjoy a weekend in Hanoi
Daniel Allen
A weekend in Hanoi might not seem long, but cherry pick your attractions and the discerning traveller can easily sample the essence of Vietnam's bustling, tourist-friendly capital in 48 hours. Less brash than southerly Saigon, this is a city that celebrates culture, cuisine, and the quieter, more cerebral side of urban life. Here, where Paris meets Asia, there's always time to revel in the local joie de vivre.
Hanoi's time-honoured neighbourhoods boast a contemporary dynamism, as ancient and modern mingle on its ever-vibrant streets. Cafes occupy sidewalks, as pedestrians compete with diners, chefs, vendors and gossiping neighbours for control of alleyways and footpaths. An eclectic range of foreign influences have left their mark on life in this unique metropolis. From baguettes and Chinese dumplings to Sino-Vietnamese temples and colonial churches, compressing 1000 years of history into two days isn't easy. But it is fun.
Hanoi Food: Streets Ahead
Sampling cuisine is always a high point in any Hanoi itinerary, however long. Today the Vietnamese capital is a street eater's paradise, with a smorgasbord of options for those who want to eat like a native. In fact, many swear that the best food in Hanoi is actually found on the sidewalk.
"Street food here isn't only about enjoying cheap, tasty cuisine," says Nguyen My Giang Huong, owner of highly rated Hanoi restaurant Green Tangerine. "Touring this city is a bit like walking around a big communal kitchen. Friends, families and colleagues all meet to eat on the street. Many foreign visitors here make friends simply by asking neighbours to pass chopsticks or chili sauce."
With its long history of street cuisine, Hanoi is the birthplace of many quintessential Vietnamese dishes. Of these, pho is probably the most famous, and should certainly be included on any visitor's menu.
A fragrant rice noodle soup served with fresh herbs and tender slices of meat, the pho in Hanoi is almost universally outstanding. Two variations are most popular: pho ga (with chicken) and pho bo (with beef). Pho is traditionally served as a breakfast food, with sellers setting up shop in the early hours, although many restaurants offer this delicious Vietnamese staple throughout the day.
Coffee lovers will also find a great cup of java on the streets of the Vietnamese capital. The recently opened Joma Coffee on Le Quoc Sur is comfortably chic, but for the real Hanoi deal, walk to Hang Gai and turn left, grab a seat on the sidewalk, and order the nation's most famous drink: ca phe sua nong. Sweet and strong, with the consistency of molasses, it's the perfect pick-me-up.
Superior Spas
When it comes to selecting the ultimate Hanoi hotel, it's still hard to look beyond Hanoi's grande dame - the Sofitel Metropole. Steeped in history, this fin de siècle classic remains a perennial favourite with travellers from around the globe. The list of former guests reads like a Who's Who of twentieth century artistic heavyweights, with such distinguished patrons as Charlie Chaplin, Somerset Maugham, Graham Greene, Jane Fonda and Oliver Stone all having their favourite room.
Opened in 2010, the Sofitel Metropole's exclusive Le Spa du Metropole has quickly become one of the Vietnamese capital's most popular destinations for a spot of upscale relaxation. Situated just above the hotel's pool, the entire spa is decked out in a range of Indochinese-inspired designs, and boasts fragrances and oils by local Frenchman Laurent Severac, an expert in aromatic plants. Try the Dieu Cham facial technique or Vietnamese herb poultice for a little cross-cultural pampering.
While Hanoi has long played second fiddle to Ho Chi Minh City in the sophistication stakes, today the capital is rapidly playing catch-up. The city's West Lake area in particular is evolving into a neighbourhood of high-end restaurants, bars and boutiques. It's here that another of Hanoi's leading spas - the Santal Spa - is located.
Boasting eight treatment rooms and suites, a foot massage and pedicure area, and a range of al fresco recliners and massage beds, the Santal space is comfortable and calming. Sothys from France provide luxurious facials, while the highly recommended Vietnamese-style Santal massage uses oils made with herbs from the northerly region of Sapa.
Eating in Hanoi: Culinary Crossroads
Away from the Hanoi streets, discerning gourmands are blessed with a range of high-end eateries. The old-world-meets-new-Asia chic of the city makes it a place of fascinating contrasts, and forms the perfect backdrop for one of the region's most dynamic culinary scenes. Visitors will find designer restaurants occupying every neighbourhood, many tucked away down narrow alleyways, and there are now numerous innovative chefs making their mark across the capital.
Frenchman Didier Corlou, a former executive chef at the Sofitel Metropole, is one example. Corlou now has several restaurants in Hanoi, of which Madame Hien is the pick of the bunch. The menu here is an upscale take on Vietnamese home cooking, with a few more creative touches thrown in. The banana flower salad and five-spice caramelised prawns consistently win rave reviews.
Bobby Chin is the closest Hanoi comes to its own celebrity chef - the half-Egyptian, half-Chinese cook has numerous books and a TV show to his name. Recently shifting his eponymous restaurant into his own Hanoi home, Chinn now serves up a reasonably-priced fusion of French, Western and Vietnamese staples in stylish surroundings. The vegetarian quesadillas with mango salsa make the perfect entree, while the salmon with wasabi-mashed potatoes and rack of lamb are both a great way to recharge the batteries after a day on your feet.
Hanoi Markets & Malls
Long spared the global fashion trends that have brought exclusive boutiques and identikit malls to cities across Asia, Hanoi is now home to a growing number of glitzy shopping emporia. One of the most recent additions is Vincom City Towers (191 Ba Trieu, Hai Ba Trung) which combines five floors of brand shopping. It's worth stopping by, if only for a cappuccino and spot of people watching.
Those in search of more traditional products should head for the Old Quarter, where countless shops offer cut-price Vietnamese ceramics, silks, lacquerware and linens. For art go to Hang Bong, Hang Gai and Nha Chung, three streets selling a mixture of reproduction oils and original, locally-themed artwork.
Hanoi's night market (Dong Xuan), held every weekend, is also a good place to go shopping - the brightly-lit food zone is the most animated, serving late night guests until early morning, and offering dishes such as hotpot, grilled meat, glutinous rice, and steaming plates of pho cuon (beef wrapped in long wispy strips of rice vermicelli, served with aromatic herbs and spicy sweet-sour fish sauce).
Hanoi Nightlife: Sax & The City
Weekend nightlife in the Vietnamese capital is less about hitting a pumping disco than indulging in life's simpler pursuits: good food, good alcohol, and, in a few select spots, great live music.
Hanoi native Quyen Van Minh recalls a time when jazz was strictly taboo in Vietnam. "People thought I was crazy to learn jazz. It was just after the war with the US and playing that kind of music was considered seditious. I had to practise in secret." Despite numerous challenges, however, Minh, now in his late 50s, has successfully and virtually single-handedly catapulted the jazz genre to mainstream in the Vietnamese capital.
Minh's Jazz Club, located three blocks from Hanoi Railway Station at 65 Quan Su, makes a great place to wile away an evening, and has become a magnet for Vietnamese jazz players of all ages, as well as hosting many celebrated international artists such as Herbie Hancock and Nguyen Le.
Once a sleepy backwater, today Hanoi has transformed itself into a thoroughly modern metropolis. Those on a tight itinerary can safely put the city's musty museums and mausolea on the back burner. For a snapshot of contemporary colour, commerce and character, it's all about hanging out, hitting the streets and haggling for bargains. Join the crowds, and go with the pho.
Pool of Talent
Hanoi's water puppet shows, which consist of a series of short skits or vignettes on rural life and Vietnamese mythology, are performed in a waist-deep pool of water, which serves as a stage and conceals puppet mechanisms. Male and female puppeteers stand behind a bamboo or rattan curtain, controlling puppets with strings and bamboo poles up to three metres long.
Take in a traditional water puppet performance at the Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre (57B Dinh Tien Hoang, at the northeast corner of Hoan Kiem Lake). Shows are generally in the afternoon and evening - check www.thanglongwaterpuppet.org for details.
Class act
A growing range of Hanoi-based cooking classes now offer visitors a chance to learn about Vietnamese cuisine, and to try their hand at recreating a few delicious local staples.
Hidden Hanoi
Hidden Hanoi offers the Vietnamese capital's best introduction to culinary culture. All cooking classes are fully hands-on - would-be chefs have the chance to prepare their own typical Vietnamese meal in a purpose-built kitchen before sitting down to enjoy it with other students. Market and street food tours are also offered.
www.hiddenhanoi.com.vn
Sofitel Metropole
As well as serving up top quality haute cuisine at its Le Beaulieu (French) and Spices Garden (Vietnamese) restaurants, the Sofitel Metropole also offers an interesting cookery class. Accompanied by a chef from the hotel, participants visit a local market before returning to the Metropole kitchen for instruction.
E-mail: concierge@sofitelhanoi.vnn.vn / Tel: +84 (04) 826 6919
Hanoi Essentials
- Travel between Beijing and Hanoi
- There are twice-weekly trains between Beijing West Station and Hanoi. Check here for more information: www.seat61.com/Vietnam.htm
- It is also possible to get the train from Beijing to Nanning, and then take the international bus to Hanoi - this trip takes about 7 hours, with tickets purchasable at Nanning's international bus station.
- There are flights from Nanning, Hong Kong, Guangzhou and Beijing to Hanoi's Noi Bai International Airport with various airlines. There are international connections from Noi Bai to Bangkok, KL, Luang Prabang, Moscow, Osaka, Paris, Seoul, Siem Reap, Singapore, Taipei, Tokyo and Vientiane.
Accommodation in Hanoi, Vietnam
Book a hotel for your desired budget from this list of hotels in Hanoi. Recommendations include the Rising Dragon Palace Hotel in the Old Quarter, the Somerset Grand Hanoi Serviced Residences near Hoan Kiem Lake and Nikko Hotel Hanoi on Tran Nhan Tong Street.
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