Why eating out during Tet is not a good idea

By VnExpress/Minh Chau January 29, 2017 | 05:14 pm PT

Despite of the price increases during Tet, many customers still flocked to these eateries. Photo by VnExpress

There are not many options to choose from and the few places that stay open often raise prices.

If you’re visiting Hanoi and eager to try the city’s famous food and delicacies, you may have picked the wrong time.

As the city, and almost everywhere else in Vietnam, is now in the middle of the Lunar New Year hibernation, there are not many restaurants and street food stalls that choose to stay open.

VnExpress reporters found that only a few places served customers on Saturday and Sunday, most located near bus stations or deep in small alleys.

Prices also increased by between 1.5 to four times at some eateries. A crab noodle bowl at a famous shop in Hai Ba Trung District in Hanoi, for example, cost VND100,000 ($.4.4) even though a few days ago it was only VND25,000 ($1.1).

Regardless of the price hikes, these places were mostly crowded. Their owners explained that all ingredients cost more during the holiday and that they also need to pay higher wages to their staff.

They have promised that prices will drop back to the normal range in the first week of February, when the week-long holiday break is over.

Until then, you may just expect to leave it to luck to find a good restaurant and hope that the bill doesn’t hurt your pocket.

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