a weekend guide for hanoi, vietnam

traditional vietnamese coffee (try their egg coffee)

a table where anthony bourdain and obama dined is now enclosed in glass

Don’t miss the local staple of rice vermicelli with charcoal-grilled pork patties and pork belly.

For true northern-style phở with broth as clear as consommé, hunt for this restaurant hidden within a residential home.

This steamed rice crepe specialist has been rolling up its namesake dish for over 30 years.

This time-honored eatery near Hoàn Kiếm Lake serves the classic pairing of rice vermicelli soup and savory sticky rice.

Order your phở stir-fried, sans soup.

incense village - 1 hr south of hanoi

The Ba Dinh Square is just outside the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum. Although the mausoleum is not top-secret as it's a popular Hanoi attraction where President Ho Chi Minh's embalmed corpse is kept, not many tourists are aware of the flag-raising ceremony that's happening every 6 AM at the square.

street where all the restaurants only serve smoked chicken wings

at night many students and younger vietnamese hang out outside of the circle Ks and drink. strike up conversations with the locals there!

the most touristy and loudest place in all of hanoi. definitely worth the experience but it is a very commercialized area.