If you are planning to travel to Hanoi, I would like to offer you two recommendations.
First, book a free tour via HanoiKids. It is a unique opportunity for you to learn about Hanoi City from a local student, as well as you are helping a student to practice his or her English. Check it out on Trip Advisor.
Secondly, find your way to Café Giang or its sister location, Café Dinh and experience a Hanoi specialty – egg coffee.
Egg coffee? Really? Uhm. Well. Ummmm …… (think oldish woman acting like a three year who does not want to eat her broccoli)
That was my first reaction when Thom, my guide from Hanoi Kids, advised me that I had to experience egg coffee. Why? Because it is a specialty of Hanoi, best experienced in Hanoi and should be enjoyed at the café where the original drink came to be. (Thom’s English was really good and she was adept at persuading this 60-year-old three-year-old)
Thom took me to Café Giang; popular with students and difficult to find for the uninitiated. There is no store front. You enter a narrow hallway between shops, climb an even narrower set of stairs which led to a cozy room with low tables and even lower stools. Every stool was filled but room was made for us, and a small bowl of sunflower seeds was delivered. Thom went to place our order as I tried to get comfortable on the stool. (My tip here is place yourself by the wall, lean back and stretch those legs out. Worry about getting up later.)
The small cup of coffee was placed in front of me, and I slowly touch the tip of my tongue to the yellow froth on top. Picture the face of a toddler tasting ice cream the first time. That was me. It was heaven in a cup. I went to heaven three times that afternoon.
Being directionally challenged, I couldn’t find my way back the next day. Google Maps is your friend, and you can always ask for help. The search is worth it!
Oh. They also serve it iced. Better than…well, you fill in the rest.