Although not perfect, these are still 3 long-standing vermicelli with shrimp paste, which are praised by many people in the capital.
It is not clear when it appeared, but today, vermicelli with shrimp paste has been considered one of the typical dishes of Hanoi street food. It is also easy to find restaurants in any district, can sit on the sidewalk or in the house.
It’s popular, but for gourmets, not every restaurant can serve a mouthful of vermicelli. However, there are still 3 shops with decades of age that are always preferred by domestic and foreign diners.
Phat Loc bean vermicelli
If you order Trung Huong bean vermicelli according to the name of the restaurant, perhaps some people will feel strange. However, if it comes to vermicelli with shrimp paste at 49 Phat Loc lane, everyone must have heard of it.
According to share, husband and wife Huong – Trung, they have started making vermicelli with shrimp paste since about 1987. By 1994, this dish was more widely known and thus created the brand of vermicelli noodles in Phat Loc lane. .
Photo: Pham Luu Loan, Tran Nam Phuong
Later, many houses around opened for sale, but it was impossible to mix shrimp paste taken from Tinh Gia sea (Thanh Hoa) to have a rich, sweet and fatty taste like this. Not to mention, with nearly 30 years of experience in the kitchen, the owner of this restaurant also owns the “secret” of undefeated fried beans. Pieces of beans are brought to a frying pan until golden brown, then cut into bite-sized pieces, crispy on the outside but still tender and soft inside.
Photo: @huyen.lam.69, Truong Vinh, Anh Nguyen
Address: 49 Phat Loc Lane, Hang Bai, Hoan Kiem
Price: 30,000 VND – 50,000 VND / serving
Ms Tuyen bean vermicelli
Along a small alley that can only fit two cars to avoid each other, we come across 4-5 rows of vermicelli with bean paste and shrimp paste. Moreover, every family also competes to display hot bean curd frying pans to the door. However, if you are familiar, people go straight to house number 29, located on the left hand side.
About 20 years ago, Ms. Tuyen and her cousin just carried on peddling in the old town. Only later did they rent a house to open a permanent noodle shop.
Photo: @_quinah.inst_, @phuongthao3008, Doan Doll
The shrimp paste here is said to be fragrant and flavorful. Noodle leaves are always fresh, tightly packed and not sour or rancid even when eaten at any time of the day. Here, in addition to the square-cut tofu noodles, there are many side dishes. Like spring rolls with soft green nuggets, fried spring rolls are quite flavorful, pork tongue is cut into long, thin pieces, pork leg meat is soft, sausage and tail are quite strange to eat, and the stomach is fragrant with cinnamon.
Photo: @mattysblog, @maryderoux
However, the restaurant has not been able to meet the most demanding customers because the dining space is relatively small, and the hot days are very uncomfortable. Therefore, on a crowded day, many people have to wait for the new food to come out.
Address: Bun Dau Co Tuyen, No. 29, Lane 31 Hang Khay
Price: 60,000 VND – 180,000 VND / serving (depending on the number of toppings)
Sale hours: 07:00 – 21:00
Tram bean vermicelli
Having existed for 14 years on Doan Tran Nghiep street, Bun Dau Tram is an address that foodies often frequent. According to the evaluation of many people, compared to the above two rows, the beans of this shop are not so excellent. However, pork leg meat only takes the core, fried heart and fried rice here are also much better.
Photo: Vu Linh Chi
In addition, from the hostess to the family members, everyone has a warm and enthusiastic attitude even though the table is full at peak hours. In recent years, not only selling on the sidewalk, the shop also takes advantage of the 3-storey dormitory to install air conditioners to serve customers, thereby attracting a large number of office workers every noon.
Photo: Nguyen Hoang Phuong Linh
Address: No. 42 Doan Tran Nghiep
Price: from 35,000 VND / full meal