Hanoi traditional cuisine

Introduction

ThangLong - Hanoi is not only the political, economic, cultural and social center but also a center of cuisine and traditional culinary art in Vietnam. For Trang An people, cooking and enjoying food is an art. The exquisite cuisine in Ha Noi is reflected in the way of cooking and how to enjoy it. Up to now , the habit keeps existing and become a unique culinary culture the attracts both domestic and foreign tourist when they visit the city. According to Mr Dinh Ba Chau – famous culinary artist, the lengthy culinary tradition of Hanoi created a distinctive culture in Vietnam.

After the fieldwork in some Old Quarters such as Hang Manh street, Ly Quoc Su street,Bat Dan street where many traditional dishes often are sold and fascinate tourists, I myself realize that there is a special style in cooking and enjoying food culture of Hanoi people that becomes as symbol of the capital Hanoi. There are a variety of the traditional delicious dishes of Hanoi people which exist from the past. This is one of the features that attracts tourist come to Hanoi. In particular , the tasty dishes in Hanoi have their own trademark that the citizens consider as the best taste : Thanh Tri rolled rice pancake, Vong grilled green rice, West Lake fried shrimp cake, La Vong grilled fish pie, Hang Manh round rice noodles with grilled pork , etc. 

Why does Hanoi cuisine become unique and different from other regions ?

In any travel guide book, it can be seen clearly that the capital Hanoi is an attractive destination which includes numerous tourist interest points such as Ancient Quarter, museums, theaters, historical landscapes, etc and especially Hanoi cuisine. It alway plays a key role in Hanoi people's life .

From the old days, the previous generation has left a cultural tradition in cooking and enjoying food that makes Hanoi cuisine unique and different from other areas in Vietnam. The first reason is the way of cooking which is the typical feature for the North cuisine. In food processing ans selecting ingredients, Hanoi people are very sophisticated. The dishes are not too spicy like the Middle, not too sweet like the South, each dish is a harmonious combination of various spices : onion, chili , sugar, garlic, pepper and particularly fish sauce that make it elegant taste and delicious flavor. Moreover, Hanoi people themselves can produce the cooking ingredients that nowhere can have such as soy sauce, rice sauce and shrimp sauce . The citizen mainly focuses on the using of fresh vegetables in cooking that is the reason why most of dishes in a Hanoian meal contain vegetables.

Another reason which contributes to a distinctive cuisine of Hanoi is the way of enjoying food. Initially, a meals of each family in Hanoi. It also takes a personal style : the sets of the tray, clean bowl and chopsticks. For Trang An people , eating is to enjoy it rather than to get it. In a meal, there are often alot of dishes but each dish is not  full of food. Because they think that every dish is prepared carefully as well as meticulously so when eating it is necessary to enjoy slowly and feel from their tongue the flavor in each dish contain. One more typical characteristic in Hanoi cuisine is that the citizens eat seasonally such as eating Khuc cake in spring, Che in the summer, green rice with banana in the autumn and Bun Thang in the winter. All above things create a special cuisine culture of Trang An people

How is Hanoi traditional cuisine today

In the modern society, Hanoi culinary art is made simpler a lot. There is no longer high demanding in the way of cooking and enjoying food like Trang An people in the past but the citizens keep ancestor's tradition in preparing carefully for the important events such as the Tet celebration, wedding ceremonies, family dining, etc.

However, long with the development of economy, especially in tourism, Hanoi tradition foods grow dramatically. Now besides normal rice noodle soup , there are the trademark of Pho 24 with different spices, Bun Ta with more than 70  types of the noodle which becomes famous not only in Hanoi but also in other cities of the country and all over world. Today, it can be easily to find the restaurant or shop on the pavement which serve fried spring rolls (Nem) in Dao Duy Tu street , West Lake fried shrimp cake in Thanh Nien street, snail with noodle in Phu Dong Thien Vuong street, etc.

Particularly, to develop and preserve the tradition foods of Hanoi, the city government has already built culinary culture streets that are Tong Duy Tan street and Hang Bong lane (or Cam Chi lane). When coming here , the visitors can enjoy the delicious dishes in Hanoi.

In short, the cuisine of ThangLong-Hanoi is the symbolic of the unique personalities of the Northern Vietnam people. Also, the capital Hanoi has unique culinary culture which plays an inportant role in bringing Vietnam's culture to the whole world. I fully hope that this paper will let the younger generation and foreign tourists more understand and love Hanoi. Furthermore, it makes the Hanoi younger more conscious in maintaining and developing the beautiful style in culinary culture of Hanoi.