🎉 Kickstarting 2025 with ajith & Sally in Hanoi! 🎉
Updated: Oct 25
⚡ Story Snapshot from Hanoi • Real Moments Around Our Table: A personal look back at the dishes, neighborhood alleys, and conversations we shared with guests exploring Hanoi together. • Local Takeaways Inside: Notice how small adjustments to timing, portion sharing, and hands-on stops make exploring the Old Quarter effortless for every age group.
Hanoi Food Tour 2025, January 1st, 2025
What better way to begin 2025 than with an adventure around Hanoi? 🥳 Meet Ajith & Sally, a sweet couple on their first trip together, and what an adventure it turned out to be! 🌏
Ajith, the fun-loving, try-anything guy, kept everyone entertained with his endless humor and adventurous spirit. Sally, on the other hand, has a taste for all things zen, natural energy, and those tiny thoughtful details that make moments unforgettable. 🌿
The day was packed with delicious bites, giving a real taste of Hanoi’s street food charm!🥢 But that’s not all! We also visited a 100-year-old heritage house, a peaceful pagoda, and even painted colorful dragonflies, a perfect mix of Hanoi’s charm and creativity! 🎨
The top moment? Sipping coconut and jackfruit coffee at a cozy hidden cafe, so good that the cups were empty before anyone knew it! Ajith & Sally couldn’t stop raving: “favorite stop of the day!” ☕✨
The first stop for our couple was a lively market tucked along an alley. Ajith and Sally got to dive right into the daily rhythm of the locals here. They experienced a true slice of Vietnamese life, watching how people shop, chat, and connect with each other every morning 🛍️☕✨
Here, Linh introduced Ajith and Sally to the steamed pork sausage, Vietnam’s premium take on sausage. Ajith? Two bites, and it was gone! 😂
Then, just as they snapped a quick photo with the friendly sausage seller, a neighbor dashed out to join the fun. Gotta love Hanoi's surprises! 🥢✨
Next stop was the hot steamed rice rolls. This is the perfect dish to warm you up on a chilly winter day in Hanoi! 😋🌬️
Tada, the stamp-making spot, where you create a one-of-a-kind seal just for you! Sally chose to have 'Sally ❤️ Ajith' engraved, so sweet, it’s practically melting our hearts! 😍💕
And the fun didn’t stop there, they had a hilarious chat with the shop owner, who proudly shared that he’s been in the news since ‘99. To prove it, he even showed them a magazine from back in the day! 😂
Look at this pic, can anyone guess what Ajith is about to take on? 😆
Exactly! It’s betel leaf parcels!
The vendor shapes each betel leaf with such care and attention to detail.
Our couple then followed Linh to explore a 100+ year-old traditional house, a perfect example of the classic Vietnamese tube house! 🏡 This place was once home to five different families over the years, each with their own little corner of history. How cool is that? 😄
Here’s their favorite spot, a specialty coffee shop! Our couple tried coconut and jackfruit coffee, and let us tell you... mind blown! 🤯 (It’s that good!) 😋
Next up, Linh took our couple to visit a temple with absolutely beautiful architecture. Sally, who enjoys calm places and loves anything about nature and meditation, felt completely at ease here. With Linh’s guidance, she even prayed like a true local! 🙏 Such a relaxing and special moment! 🧘♀️
And yeah, here comes a super fun activity: painting bamboo dragonflies! 🖌️🎨
Our couple was absolutely fascinated by how these little dragonflies can balance so magically on the tip of a finger! 😲✨
Sally’s already started with her first brushstrokes, while Ajith is still all smiles, enjoying the moment! 😄🎨
Or maybe it’s because he’s too busy enjoying his super delicious coconut coffee! 😋☕
Speaking of drinks, Sally’s totally in love with her herbal tea. But, of course, she still found time to dive into her painting!
Sally picked sky blue, and just look at the colorful mess on her hands, you can tell how much love and effort she poured into it! 💙
Ajith, on the other hand, gave his dragonfly some personality 😄
Wala, what a perfect way to kick off the new year in a fantastic place with even more fantastic people! ✨ Even more special when they crafted a handmade keepsake, something to cherish and remember their time in Vietnam! 🏺❤️
Join us for a day of Eat & Explore Hanoi: click here!
Walking & Eating Through Hanoi With Us
If you would like to explore these neighborhood kitchens with a local friend who knows the families behind the stoves, join us on our daily Taste of Hanoi street food walk (running at 10:00 AM and 6:00 PM for 3 to 3.5 hours across 6 to 8 family-run stops, serving 6 to 7 full dishes plus a local cafe drink, with dedicated Veggie Delight and Off the Beaten Path routes available right on the booking form). Depending on your travel style, you can also combine history and food on Hanoi Eat & Explore or private car-based Hanoi Bites & Sights, bring the kids on our Hanoi Family Quest, or spend two cool hours at our $20 USD Cocoa-Coffee Workshop (9:00 AM and 2:00 PM). Message us anytime on WhatsApp (+84 969 655 521) if you want local tips for your trip.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. How do Hanoians spot a great street food stall in the Old Quarter?
Locals look for single-dish stalls that are busy during local meal rushes (breakfast from 6:30 AM to 9:30 AM, lunch from 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM, and dinner from 6:00 PM to 8:30 PM) where broths are kept at a rolling boil and dishes are cooked fresh to order.
2. Do Hanoi street food stalls accept credit cards, or should we carry cash?
Family-run sidewalk stalls and wet-market vendors operate almost exclusively with Vietnamese Dong (VND) cash for visitors. Carrying smaller banknotes (20,000, 50,000, and 100,000 VND notes) makes paying for bowls of noodles and drinks quick and easy.
3. How can vegetarians or travelers with food allergies order safely on the street?
Because clear broths often use pork or chicken bones and dipping sauces use anchovy fish sauce (Nước Mắm), simply saying 'no meat' is often misunderstood. Carrying a short written Vietnamese note on your phone explaining your exact dietary needs or visiting dedicated plant-based (Chay) kitchens is the safest approach.
Keep Exploring Hanoi with Us
Ngoc Anh (Ice) · Beyond Vietnam Xin chào! I am part of the local host and storytelling team at Beyond Vietnam. Through these stories, I share the everyday flavours, laughter, and real moments from our walks and workshops in Hanoi.
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