October 6, 2025
Despite the typhoon warnings, we were relieved to see that it was only drizzling outside when we woke up. We took a Grab to the Old Quarter to meet our food tour guide but before going to the meetup spot, we perused some of the knockoff clothing street vendors. I picked up a pair of knock off Lululemon shorts from a street vendor– $8 USD! I paid the opening offer but imagine I could have negotiated if I was up for it. We met our guide for the day, Ciara, and we were off. Like most people we’ve met in Vietnam so far, she was surprised to learn that the kids were boys and that they were not twins. She brought ponchos and traditional Vietnamese hats (Nón Lá) for us to wear to stay dry in the rain.
The first stop was for Nom thit bo kho, salad with green papaya, dried beef, herbs and peanuts with a light fish sauce. Ollie was quick to dive into the papaya before the dressing was mixed in but more hesitant once blended. Ciara was clever to anoint Len as the “chopstick hander outer” at all of the stops. While he loved having a job, this enthusiasm didn’t always carry over into trying the foods. He eventually tried the cured meat and compared it to pepperoni back home but let us know that he no longer cared for pepperoni. This was a favorite dish of mine though.
Next we stopped for Vietnamese street noodles. Ciara let us know that she preferred hers without broth so thats how we took ours. The rice noodles were served with fried tofu, fish skin, sausage, fried shallot and greens. For us, though, the star of the show were the condiments on the tables– picked garlic, chili paste and kumquats. We loved how bright the kumquats tasted and Kyle was quick to diligently collect the seeds to take home and attempt to sprout. The kids both had to use the bathroom so Ciara took them both down the street to a hotel and Kyle and I got to eat noodles in peace for a few blissful minutes.
Next were Bánh gối (deep-fried dumpling) and Bánh Cuốn Nóng (steamed rice crepes). Ciara shared that her grandma once told her that there was no way she was truly Vietnamese because she was unable to make a rice crepe without holes in it. The rice crepes were filled with pork and mushrooms and topped with copious amounts of friend shallots and shrimp dust. Ollie took to picking all of the shallots off my rice rolls and I kept quiet that he was eating equal parts dried shrimp.
The rain really started to pick up at this point in the morning but we soldiered on. Kyle and I agreed that we preferred the wet weather to the humid, sticky weather from the past few days. Especially for all the roadside, back alley eating we were doing. We enjoyed little donuts (Bánh Rán) under a veranda as the rain came down. Len asked for a second but must have heard us talking about the filling (mung bean paste) and instead of devouring the second like he had his first, he simply licked the sugar off the outside.
We also had sticky rice cake (Bahn chung) roadside and a dessert soup with jelly, tapioca and coconut (Che) in an alleyway. The Che vendor was especially taken with the boys and repeatedly told us (with Ciara translating) how beautiful she thought the boys were. She wanted to give them a special decoration to take home but we thanked her immensely but let her know we wouldn’t have space in our luggage.
The tour ended at a second level coffee shop that we accessed through another hidden alleyway. Kyle tried the egg coffee, I had a pineapple juice and the boys snow lemonade. There was then a comedy of errors where the boys managed to spill 3 different glasses of their lemonade. The kids were good sports during the food tour but we had all hit our limit at this point.
Back at the hotel, Kyle went to the spa for a massage while the boys and I hung out in the room and watched Rookie of the Year. Ollie was especially taken with the movie and seeing a kid become a major league baseball player but the movie didn’t yet keep Len’s attention.
After our adventurous day of eating, we all were in the mood for some familiar food and for our family comfort comes in the form of tacos. We spent some time researching where to find the best tacos in Hanoi and landed at a spot nearly 30 minutes drive away. We weren’t keen to drive but knew it would be worth it for a comfort meal for our crew. At Naco Taco, Len ate two bowls of refried beans with chips and Ollie ate a bowl of pico de gallo, some nachos and 2 huge Birria tacos. The tacos were a ~6/10 but exactly what we needed.
In the bathroom with Len at the Taco restaurant, we reminisced about the time he put a stack of paper towels in the toilet at his afterschool care (PlayDay) and flooded the bathroom. He then reminded me that Ollie also recently clogged a toilet. I asked him where and he goes, “You know the place where we drove up the mountain to the hotel and then me and him fought over being the leader of the hike.” My memory completely failed me but when we got back to the table and asked Kyle he goes, “Oh yeaaa, Longsheng, I remember having to go upstairs at the hotel to help him out.”
