Vietnamese American chef Christine Ha, winner of the MasterChef TV show in 2012 and renowned for her journey as a blind chef, tried many of Hanoi's iconic dishes during a recent tour.
Ha started her morning with a cup of egg coffee and yogurt coffee at Giang café at 13 Dinh Tien Hoang Street.
"Had Vietnamese iced yogurt coffee for the first time and at first sip, my brain was confused, I wasn’t sure if I liked it or not, but the more I drank, the more it grew on me. Decidedly one of my favorite things I tasted today," Ha said.
Ha said a cup of hot egg coffee reminds her of a Vietnamese eggy cappuccino in form and a mash-up of espresso and eggnog in taste. In recent years, egg coffee has gained attention from international media and is a famous specialty of Hanoians.
A cup of egg coffee starts with a layer of condensed milk at the bottom, and then topped with strong black coffee. A scrambled egg yolk is then poured over the top.
Ha then enjoyed breakfast at Suong pho stall on Trung Yen Street in the Old Quarter.
"Hanoi-style pho there has a lighter, less-spiced broth with wider rice noodles, very similar to the way my mom used to make it," she said.
Pho, Vietnam's national dish originating from Hanoi, is traditionally made with chicken or beef broth, where the bones simmer for at least three hours until the broth is perfect.
At lunch, Ha visited Gam Cau stall on Hang Giay street to try bun cha, a bowl of savory, sweet and sour fish sauce with meatballs and thick pork slices served with a plate of white vermicelli.
"Bun cha done a little differently at this street corner. The pork is grilled perfectly, and you dunk the different meats, vermicelli, and herbs into a light fish sauce before consuming," Ha described.
Dong Xuan Market alley is home to street food stalls and is known as the food capital in Hanoi. Ha also tried a traditional snail noodle shop and banana tofu snail noodle.
She also tried banh gio, pork pyramid dumplings, at a stall on Dao Duy Tu Street.
"The sidewalk shop has been making these soft rice cakes filled with pork and wood ear mushrooms for 40 years," Ha said. The dumplings wrapped in layers of banana leaves are a popular breakfast in Hanoi, with fillings including minced pork, wood ear mushrooms and shallots.
Ha was the first-ever blind contestant and winner of MasterChef with Gordon Ramsay. In addition to writing a New York Times best-selling cookbook and co-hosting cooking show "Four Senses", Ha and her husband John Suh produce a YouTube channel for over 160,000 subscribers.
