Rough Guide to Vietnam - Jan Dodd [274]
Moca 14–16 Nha Tho. Located in the hip cathedral area, Moca’s huge picture windows are ideal for people-watching over a mug of the creamiest, frothiest café latte in town. In winter hunker by the open fire.
Paris Deli 13 Nha Tho & 6 Phan Chu Trinh. Excellent coffee, tea and cakes at this French-style bakery and café with outlets in prime spots near the cathedral and the Opera House. They also serve reasonably priced sandwiches, savoury snacks and main meals.
Pho Co 11 Hang Gai. Hunting down the entrance to this fascinating place is hard enough: go through the art gallery, then beneath the birdcages and into a hushed courtyard, where you place your order. Head up the stairs, past the family altar, up a spiral staircase and one more flight of regular steps, and you’ll finally reach a roof terrace high above Hoan Kiem Lake, where you can sample coffee with added egg white, if you dare.
Puku 60 Hang Trong. One of the main hangout venues for Hanoi expats, and deservedly so: good food and coffee – try the Kiwi breakfast at 70,000đ – comfy sofas on the lower level, breezy views from the upper, and wi-fi access all around. Head down the hard-to-find alleyway and up the stairs on the left.
Student Café 2b Au Trieu. An amazingly cheap place considering its location directly in front of the cathedral: strong coffee and decent fruit shakes are available for 6,000đ, and tiny meat toasties for even less. You get a small plastic chair to sit on – like being back in kindergarten – and another for your food or drink.
Thuy Ta 1 Le Thai To. A breezy lakeside café that’s great for breakfast, afternoon tea or an evening beer. It also serves pastries, ice creams and a variety of light meals.
Hanoi and around | Eating | Cafés and patisseries |
Patisseries and bakeries
Le Croissant 21 Ha Hoi. The bakery of the Hoa Sua(see "The Old Quarter and west of Hoan Kiem Lake") turns out excellent breads, cakes, pastries and savoury snacks.
The Deli 59a Ly Thai To. On the ground floor of the Press Club, producing a mouthwatering array of home-made breads, quiches, cold cuts, cakes and suchlike to eat in or take away. It also has an extensive wine selection.
Maison Vanille 49 Phan Chu Trinh. Real Parisian-style bakery-cum-deli with all sorts of goodies from walnut bread and fruit tarts to cheese, paté and cold cuts. They also serve salads and other light meals in the upstairs café-restaurant.
Hanoi and around |
Drinking, nightlife and entertainment
For a capital city, Hanoi is pretty sleepy: most bars outside the big hotels sweep up around midnight and nightclubs don’t stay open much later. The authorities blow hot and cold over enforcing a midnight curfew on bars and clubs, but one or two places always seem to keep pouring until the last customer leaves: check the English-language listings magazines (See "Information") for the current situation. Each November, the Minsk Club puts on a popular music festival, featuring a wide range of acts from home and abroad; check www.minskclubvietnam.com for details.
On the traditional side, even if you’re not particularly into Western classical music, it’s well worth catching a concert or ballet at the Opera House on Trang Tien, where occasional performances take place in truly sumptuous surroundings of plush red fabrics, mirrors and chandeliers; tickets (from 150,000đ) are available from the Opera House (daily 8am–5pm) or can be booked by phone or online (04/3565 1806 or 0912 021516, www.ticketvn.com).
As for traditional entertainment, a performance of the water-puppets, Vietnam’s charming contribution to the world of marionettes, should be high on everyone’s itinerary. It’s also worth catching some music, opera or dance at the Ly Club(See "Traditional Vietnamese entertainment"). Otherwise, apart from the odd group playing traditional music at some of Hanoi’s main tourist sights, there’s little on offer in the cultural sphere that’s easily accessible just yet. Very occasionally, events are listed in the English-language