Only in Hanoi! Unique STREET FOOD Tour in Vietnams Capital - Bánh Tôm, Fried Duck and MORE .

Alright, so I wanted to try something just very, very Hanoi. I asked Leila what is it all about when I went onto Google Maps and I found all these shrimp cakes everywhere and I was like what is this all about? Why are so many people selling shrimp cakes? Yeah, so what people come here for is there's a place called Phu Tay Ho, so it's a temple that is very sacred for Hanoi people and they come here to ask for blessing and they tend to come as a big group and family as well, right? Yeah, yeah. And after getting a blessing and they like family gather so they like to snack on something and shrimp cake is actually was invented and created in Westlake area. Okay. Because from there like fresh water caught shrimp back in the day. So basically because of spiritual like religion practice and bring all these people here, that's why back in the day it's only maybe a couple of vendors start selling shrimp but because of like there's so many people come here. Everyone selling shrimp cakes, yeah. All right, so we're going to get blessed. Yep, and then eating snack after getting blessed. All right, you just want to get blessed with some snacks, don't you bud? You'll love it, yeah. As we said yesterday in yesterday's video that we were coming here today, right? It's such a contrast from the busy crazy streets of the old city, right? So come here, you've got this beautiful lake, you can walk all the way around it, I think, right? Yeah, you can walk all the way around the lake. It's about 17 kilometers I believe. People tend to go to Tran Quoc, like pagoda. You probably heard about it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Right in the between of Trúc Bạch and Westlake. But when you come here, you also can visit the temple and like pray for the blessings and also it's like to hang out more like local neighborhood. Yeah, yeah, I really like it. What did you just pray for? To be honest, most of the time I didn't pray for anything. If I would pray something, I would say I pray peace for everyone. Okay, that's really nice. That's much nicer than mine. I was just going to pray for good shrimp cakes. No, no, no, that's good. That's more realistic. What about you both? What are you going to pray for? What did you pray for? Ice cream. Ice cream? Yeah. So how are we going to pick? I make a research and I know there's a couple of like spot is one of the oldest spot in the whole neighborhood here. They also have a nice presentation from outside and they also have their kitchen outside too. So like they put their reputation right in front. Yeah. See, everyone has these piles of shrimp cake outside here. But these ones must be fresh because when we just walked past, they only had, it was only like this, like that bit. And now the whole thing's up. So they must have just covered this. And then also guys, also we've got some wood pigeon, some pigeon, papaya salad. And then this lady is making the grilled pork. Yeah. So there's a bun cha here as well. Can you ask her what's the most delicious thing? She said what they're known for is still shrimp cake. She said everything tastes great, but she's very proud of the barbecue pork. She makes the pork, so it must be the best. And the pigeon. But people come here for the shrimp cake as well, right? And the owner said it's like everything is great, but depends on what you come here for. Yeah. Is that bun? So I'm getting it. We take any excuses to just like get together and parties and eating and drinking. Is this the same with Thailand? Yeah, same with Thailand. Same with Thailand. What else is there in life? Exactly. Life is too short to not have a good time. Right, Finley? What do you reckon, bro? Correct. You agree? So you ordered this as bun cha as well? Yeah. So because we see the pork skewers so good out there, so we get a bun cha as well. And because they use the same dipping sauce, so I think that's a smart way for them to do business, like to order different things. But it's like using the same base of dipping sauce. It's right. So everyone knows what it is. Right, right, right, right, right. And to enjoy... And this supposed to be snack, like afternoon snack. Okay. Yeah, so it's not a heavy meal. It's like people come... Yeah, yeah, just a little pick. Yes. Couple of beers. Couple of beers and have a like a like eating with the finger, right? Have a like dip Hanoi dipping sauce right here. Have very light, like super light. But that's what this family specialize. They've been around for more than 30 years and they serve shrimp cake. And the way to enjoy shrimp cake is very simple. They give you a bowl of very like slightly dipping sauce or you can just eat straight with your finger like that. So is the dipping sauce the same as the bun cha yesterday? Very, very similar. Very light, like very light dipping sauce with fish sauce, vinegar, sugar, a little bit pickled papaya and carrot. What do you reckon, bud? You like? You like it? That's one thing that I've got to get used to in Vietnam. We would never eat the shells. Like at home, we just don't have the shell. It's like a bun shell and it just comes with the shell and everything. Yeah. So I've got used to it in Thailand. In Vietnam? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, you know what? Because they all like fresh water shrimp. So they're soft. So the shell is softer. Yeah, but when you eat the sea, like sea shrimp, it's like ocean shrimp. You definitely have to peel it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And plus they like, they double and sometimes triple deep fry them. So even the shell is like very crispy and easy to eat. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But you get used to it after a while. And I don't blame people. I mean, it's hard. As I said, it's got like everything, shell, head, everything. Not the head, but the shell, like the little, whatever you call it. As Nina said though, where it's been like triple fried, the shell is actually almost non-existent. You wouldn't even know there was a shell on there. Right? You don't even know. You don't even know, really. They're just super like crunchy, fluffy, light, like floury shrimp cakes. It's very addictive too because it's like, even though they double and triple fry this shrimp cake, but it's not super oily at all. It's actually very light and fluffy, right? And when you combine everything with like fresh herbs and lettuce and you dip in this sauce, it's all about perfect balance. There you go. More balance. Yummy face? Yummy face. So simple. I'm going to try and wrap one. Here you go. I'm the worst wrapper in the world. Like you mentioned, it's like, you don't even know that you're eating the whole shell anymore because like it's all, it's all come together with the veggies and fresh herbs and everything. Oh, and we got my favourite as well. We have perilla leaf. Perilla? Yeah. The dipping sauce is here. So I add a little bit of like vinegar and stuff. Oh, thank you. That makes all the difference. Just having that freshness from the herbs. That sour, sweet, salty dipping sauce. As we keep saying guys, all about balance. Right, buddy. Out of my way. Get out of my way, man. I need to get some pork. All right, all right, all right. You win, you win, you win, you win. Oh, thanks, buddy. That's a big chunk of pork. You're doing all right. I'm so into this. This reminds me a bit more of like, I'm not going to try and pronounce it. Few snacks, few drinks, good company. And that is what Vietnam is all about. As I said yesterday, and I've said throughout this video, click the link in the description box below or the QR code on the screen to pick up Miss Yummy Face Curious About Vietnam's Hanoi food map, where you can get a map from anywhere else in Vietnam. She's got 11 different maps to choose from and they're all absolutely amazing. Do not hesitate as well to book a food tour with Miss Yummy Face herself or one of her wonderful tour guides. They are absolutely amazing. This is without doubt the best thing we could have done in Hanoi. Do you agree? All right, bud. Got a bit of pork stuck in your teeth. Leila, have you had fun taking us out? Oh yes, so much fun. Not too annoying? So much fun. No, it's fun hanging out finally, meeting up with you and also having a pleasure hanging out and eating with Finley as well. He's the best eater. So hanging out with people like Finley makes food absolutely taste better. So if you're in Bangkok, make sure that you not only book for Gary but book for Finley as well. That's double the price. Double the price. Pay for two. And where can everyone find you? I'm going to stick it all in the description box. Please find me at Curious About Vietnam. I'm on all sorts of social media. Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, everywhere. And remember if you come in Hanoi and would like to join a food tour with me or with my team, using the code FINLEY so you can access, when you book the tour with us, you can access to my exclusive Hanoi Black Book where you can have all the recommendations from local street food to a high-end upscale beach show where you're shopping, where to get anything home with you. Wow, amazing. All right, code in the description box below. FINLEY All right, real quick, before we hit our next stop, I just want to take a moment of your time to talk about the partner for today's video, Tomtoc and their amazing new T77 backpack. Now, if this looks familiar, that's because I've already reviewed the T66 Lightweight Navigator and I'd say this is like its little brother. Same premium feel, same smart design, just in a slightly more compact everyday travel size. As we've come to expect from Tomtoc, there are pockets everywhere for your electronics and your gadgets, power banks, cables, camera bits, chargers, everything actually has its own place instead of just being thrown into one big compartment. As with the other bags that I've reviewed, there's the two pockets on the side which I use for my tripods. I've even got enough clothes for a two to three day trip in a packing cube in the bag with room to spare. There's two sleeves inside, one for your laptop which will fit up to a 16-inch MacBook Pro or laptop. I've got mine in a Tomtoc case. As you can see, mine's a 13-inch MacBook Air. There's also another sleeve for your tablet. I have got the iPad Mini 6, so no problems fitting mine in there. But even if you didn't have a laptop case, there is this incredibly smooth, almost velvety backing which is guaranteed to keep your electronics in tip-top shape. As always with Tomtoc these days, you've got those ultra-tough zips and premium stitching that make the whole bag feel really, really solid and built to last. But the main reason I've been loving this T77 bag as we've been traveling around Vietnam is the fact that we are predominantly flying domestically and back to Bangkok on budget airlines. And this thing is designed to fit under the seat. If you've ever flown with low-cost airlines, they can be a little bit over-enthusiastic about checking the size of your carry-on luggage. No problems here with the Tomtoc T77. Fits snugly right there under the seat and doesn't take up any room if you do want to put it up over in the overhead compartment. So all in all, the Tomtoc T77, a very, very solid option for your next bag. I will leave links in the description so you can check it out for yourselves. Right guys, now we've got our bag sorted, let's get on to the next stop. All right guys, so last stop on our second day. Yummy Face unfortunately had to leave us, but she has been replaced by two of my absolute favorites. And we are going out for one of my absolute favorites, fried duck covered in crispy garlic. And this, my friends, is one you have to stick on your list next time you head to Hanoi. And when I say two of my favorites, they couldn't make it, so I brought Danny and Diggy. All right, talk to me, what do you think, vibe of the place? Proper local. There's still bones from the last person who sat here. I think Danny had some food already. There you go, just chuck it under the table. We don't need bins here, guys. Little plastic chairs. We've got some bar, bar, bar. And this, my friends, is real deal Hanoi. It looks very, very local. Proper local spot, I think. And the good thing is, you're looking at other people's tables, you can tell the food's going to be good. But I can tell you what, it smells so, so nice here. Loads of garlic and fresh herbs in there. I really like that. Ready to eat. I can't wait for food. And before this, we went for an awesome banh mi, kind of like the one we went to yesterday on day one. And this was Diggy and Danny's recommendation. So if you want to see that, I'll link to their video of Hanoi, where we've had some amazing food all day. And that'll be in the description box below. But this, guys, looks fantastic. As I said, real deal Hanoi street food. There's like eight tables here. Everyone's basically sitting on the floor. There's bones all over the floor. And it smells absolutely incredible. Look how much food we have. Wow. And the thing I love about this place is, and Hanoi in general, is the calamansi. I absolutely love these. I'm going to add these to our dipping sauce, I think. All right, so we've got the fried duck, which I thought was goose, but it's actually a fried Muscovy duck. And the reason that I didn't know it was duck is because the word for Muscovy duck is different from the word just plain duck in Vietnamese. We've got stewed duck here. We've got a bamboo soup, which we're going to get rid of because it's steaming up my, that's very hot, Dani. Let's see how hot Dani is. This has been deep fried, like in a sugar, soy sauce sort of marinade. Deep fried to crispy perfection and then covered in crispy, crunchy garlic. We've got the bun here. So we've got the fresh rice noodles. And then we've got some sauteed coriander and some Thai basil for the herbage. Oh, perfect. All right. So just found out this is a Siamese duck from the kingdom of Siam. So it's actually a pen. It's a Thai duck. Muscovy duck pen. Thank you very much. I'm going to just take a piece of that. I'm going to have a little dip. Now it's ridiculously salty, but like in a good way. I'm not like, not in a bad way at all. They're very, very, very savoury with that. I'm pretty sure it's soy sauce. Like, and it's been deep fried. So it's kind of caramelised. It's like a semi-sweet, salty and then you've just got that like bitter, sweet, crispy, crunchy garlic kind of getting stuck in your teeth. It's on the bone as well. So there's a bit of work to do with it, but I don't mind that, especially when you fry them on the floor as well. So it's great. Let me get one more bit with the dip. So this dip's like a chilli garlic fish sauce. Yeah, that's top, but I think it needs a bit of calamansi. I need some sourness. Now, if you've never eaten a calamansi, it is like a lime and an orange had a baby, in my opinion. They're very nice. You like slice the top for you, which is good. Let's go to two of them. Because I like mine sour, you see, because I'm very sweet. So I need to balance. Yeah, that's the stuff. Get on this, guys. You've got to try this. Super garlicky, but now it's sour as well. You've got that citrus coming through there. Just cutting like that real savoury richness from the muscovy duck. Unreal. Right, let me have a little piece of the stewed duck. Muscovy duck, stewed. Not bad. That's a bit tough. It's not tough, but like, it's nice enough, but this one's the winner. This one's like what you come for. That's OK. This is very good. OK, so I'm going to go for a dip straight away. Oh, wow. It's better than the first bit you picked up. This is roast duck or stewed? It's fried, so they basically, I think, Because it's so soft. They've marinated the duck and then deep fried it, I think. Oh, wow. It's super soft, garlicky. And when you said it's incredibly salty, I was expecting a little bit more salt than that. Yeah, I think salty was the right, I meant savoury, like it's like a real hit of umami. With garlic and fresh herbs, amazing. The good thing is this, you get the crispy bits, you get the soft bits, you get the crunch of the garlic, you get a mix of everything with this. You've got fat, you've got bones, you've got everything inside there. I'm going to have to do this, chew on this one. You've just got every bit, haven't you? It's so good. You like it? Yeah. Do you know what? This stewed duck or boiled duck, this is delicious as well. It's a completely different texture of the meat. I think you do need to dip that in the sauce because it just lacks a little bit of flavour, but consistency and it's so soft. I love it. I think they've cooked that so you have it with the dip, right? If you just had that, I just bit that without dipping it first and I was a bit like... Yeah, definitely, definitely. But you should have, I think, herbs with it, a little bit of noodles and that sauce as well. It's incredible. The flavours are amazing. Good spot. I mean, we've eaten well today. They haven't seen this because we were out, for your video, as we said, we had that amazing pho and what else did we have? Pho was so good. Banh mi was unbelievable, the roast pork. Yeah, make sure you check out the video. Link is going to be in the description, as I said. All right, so that's about it from our three days eating in Hanoi. This has reignited my love for this city. The food has been amazing. The people have been great. None more so than Leila, Miss Yummy Face herself. So please, if you are coming to Vietnam, book a tour with the links in the description box below or grab yourself a map for sure. They are amazing. I know I've banged on a bit about her, but as you saw from the video, she's absolutely amazing and I really do want to support. Danny and Diggy's links in the description box below as well. But that is it from us in Hanoi. Thank you very much for watching and we will see you in the next one.