Breakfast in Hanoi is often eaten outside. People usually stop their motorbike at some restaurant on the way to work to eat instead of having breakfast at home. Traffic in Hanoi is bad so everyone must leave their house at 6:30 or 7AM even working time start at 8:30 in the morning and they don’t have enough time to prepare breakfast at home. The street food has adapted to the busy life of the capital and became a familiar breakfast to Hanoians. Tourist should try breakfast in Hanoi outside at least one time when visiting the city even though most of the hotels have buffet breakfast.
Noodles with hot broth are number one choice to start a new day. Sticky rice, stream rice pancake or even balut are favorite for breakfast too. This article will introduce some good food for breakfast to tourists.
- Pho
Pho is not only the most popular breakfast in Vietnam but is also internationally renowned as a symbol of Vietnamese gastronomy. Thousands of Pho stores deliver thousands of tastes, that’s why some Pho stores are much more well-known than the rest, and the mystery hidden in the broth of Pho. Although the same ingredients are stewing bones of cows and pigs to cook Pho Bo (Pho with beef) and stewing bones of chicken and pigs to cook Pho Ga (Pho with chicken), an excellent pot of soup is determined by extra spices. Rice noodle used in a bowl of Pho is made of a special type of rice called “gao te” which is famous for its fragrance. Best served Pho are Pho Bo Tai (rare fillet) and Pho Ga (boneless white chicken meat). Others variety of Pho are Pho Bo Gau, Pho Bo Tai Nam and Pho Sot Vang. Lemon and chilly are indispensable for the best taste of Pho.
- Sticky rice
Although Pho is well-known all over the world, it is hard to tell whether Pho or Xoi is more popular for breakfast in Vietnam. Even in the smallest lanes in Vietnam ones can find a street-stall selling Xoi in the morning or recognize one or two people carrying a basket of Xoi, covered by banana leaves, on their head of bicycles advertising their Xoi loudly. This sticky rice varies from simple low-price ones like Xoi Gac (Xoi colored with Gac’s oil), Xoi Do Xanh (Xoi with green beans), Xoi Lac (Xoi with peanuts) or Xoi Ngo (Xoi wih corns) for commoners to higher ranks like Xoi Trung (Xoi with egg), Xoi Pate (Xoi with paste) or Xoi Cha (Xoi with meat rolls).
- Banh mi
Banh Mi has its origin from France during the colonial period in Vietnam in the late 1800’s. Since then, French eating behavior has been strongly affecting Vietnamese gastronomy, including bread for breakfast. Goose’s liver paste should be the best crepe for bread when this food was first introduced. Gradually, Vietnamese bakers has innovated more variables of crepe to create a unique type of bread in Vietnam, which are uncooked vegetables, shrimp, sausage, pig’s liver paste eaten with tomato or chili sauce. Recently, Vietnam has adopted Donner Kebab bread from Turkey, which is highly appreciated by its civilians.
- Balut
Balut is duck’s embryo still laying in its shell going through fertilization process and then boiled in steamy heat. Due to this characteristic and its appearance, this dish is listed among the most …”err” food for Western visitors. However, if ones can manage your fear to taste it one time, you may find it thousand times more delicious than normal chicken egg as well as a huge amount of protein good for your heart. In Vietnam, balut is favored by most people and appears in every breakfast stalls.