And so, the Vietnamese beat us to it. Introducing the Vietnamese version of Marche - Quan An Ngon. It is located near Melia Hotel in Hanoi.
Everyone dines under a huge yellow canopy. and they also have an air-conditioned villa for those who book in advance.
U either order from the waitress using the menu provided (with english translation), or you go around the stalls and pin point what you want. Bring along the paper provided and tell them where your table is. But I would actually recommend ordering from the menu as the chefs at the stalls do not seem to understand English.
This is Lotus Tea, a speciality in Vietnam. At first glance, most would think this is Green Tea. The taste is weird at first sip, but it grows on you. Still, don't really like the taste of it.
BBQ pork with rice. When I saw the guy BBQing this at the charcal grill, I know I MUST order 1 plate. Meant to be shared among 5 diners, in the end I ate about 75% of it. The pork was juicy and flavourful.
The delicious pork being grilled on charcoal. Hints of ginger, garlic and savoury sauce.
Another stall was selling rice paper rolls, and also roasted quails, which I forgot to order.
I didn't like the rice paper rolls. The rice paper was too tough for my liking.
A forgotten shot of the condiments and sauces for the grilled pork. Each Vietnamese dish comes with a specific sauce. If you order 10 dishes, there will be 10 different sauces on your table.
A photo of how each stall looks like in the Vietnamese Marche. The real stalls along the streets of Hanoi are unfortunately not as clean or attractive as those here. And I doubt my stomach is strong enough to try those along the streets.
This fermented pork roll is roasted over banana leaves. Again, anything fermented in an overseas country really need some getting used with.
Lotus salad with crispy keropok. The salad had this tangy and sweet dressing.
Vietnam's version of Chee Cheong Fun with pork and mushroom fillings, served with their own version of luncheon meat at the side. A weird combination. But the Chee Cheong Fun was good.
I like this crispy pork "Ngoh Hiong". Taste almost like our Ngoh Hiong.
Ended our meal with a familiar dessert. In almost all the ASEAN countries I have been, be in Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore and now Vietnam, they have their own version of Chendol or Ice-Kachang. And this is Vietnam's version of Chendol.
Unfortunately, the coconut milk is not as fragrant or sweet (maybe due to lack of coconut syrup) as other southeast asia versions of this familiar dessert.
This is a MUST VISIT for all new and old visitors to Vietnam. And we were surprised to see that most of the diners are actually the Vietnamese people, so the food here should be just as authentic as those served along the roadside or restaurants.
Quan An Ngon
18 Phan Boi Chau,
Hoàn Kiếm,
Hanoi, Vietnam