hanoi restaurant

hanoi restaurant
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

northern-style vietnamese food is not as prevalent as southern food. i love all kinds, but my family was originally from the north, so i was excited to learn about a restaurant specializing in certain dishes from my childhood that are harder to come by.

my friend steph and i met here for dinner tonight. located in a newish strip mall and sporting a large saltwater fish tank, hanoi restaurant looks fresh and clean. for an appetizer, we had to order the highly recommended tom co nghu, which is basically yam fry encrusted shrimp. it was quite tasty. if you like french fries or fried shrimp, or even better, both, you'll like this. oh, and the fish sauce, is goooood.

when i walked in, i could totally smell the dill and turmeric, but i resisted as i was really craving the bun rieu oc, which is a tomato-based vermicelli noodle soup consisting of shrimp, crab meat and sometimes pork that has been pureed together with some egg. you can order it with or without snails. we both ordered the same soup with snails. the snails are pretty crunchy-chewy and earthy. i thought the soup was good. it's not as flavorful as my mom's, but she's hundreds of miles away, so i can't really complain.

i am definitely coming back to try some of the other specialties.