Saturday, January 07, 2006

Hanoi By Night

Following many requests, here is a post about typical Hanoi night life. I have done some research and I think now is a good time to post about this part of Hanoi life. Even though, it's ice cold weather but a lot of activity is still happening, especially late at night.

So many people dine out at Lau restaurants which are popular now, where a mix of adults and teenagers can hang around for a few hours which costs less than bars but they still can drink lots of ruou and get drunk.

Most young people enjoy going to ruou dan toc(tradional wine) shops, where they sit on mats at low tables like in Japanese restaurants, drinking wine, eating grilled dried fish, cuttle fish, grilled Nem(sour pork mince wrapped in banana leaves) and rice crackers. In Nha Trang, where I come from, we usually sit on the beach and drink wine or beer with fresh mango, guava or some other sour fruits and rice crackers dipped in Mam tom ot(shrimp sauce with chili) which tastes great.

Another place where lots of teenagers go late at night is in the middle of Hang Bong Street where there are lots of small grilled Nem Chua shops. Before they come to these places, they usually drive around, eating a fruit treat called Hoa qua dam or drinking coffee at Truc Bach lake.

I was talking to quite a few older people, and they said they like going out for a few glasses of rice wine or inviting friends over to their houses to drink but not too late because they prefer to wake up early for morning exercise than go to bed late.

New Century Nightclub is also a common place for young people to go for fun. The funny thing is the way Hanoians dress up. While the men look like they're going to work, the girls are dressed up beautifully. I was asked by lots of my colleagues why I dress up like crazy when I go to the disco? I always wear jeans, or casual pants with disco shoes and I think these clothes are for disco or going out instead of wearing boring working clothes. Am I right?

There are lots of nightlife options in Hanoi.

15 comments:

Preya said...

After partying too hard I would always go for a bowl of chao and a glass of nhan tran--miss that:)

..·:.**.:·..HomY_n_JunE..·:.**.:·.. said...

Hi,
After having seen your pictures , i just want to come back to Viet Nam :'(
I have also friends who live in Hanoi. Therefore, one day, I will be there to see Hanoi by night:) and of course, to taste these things too :p
Thx for posting.

Winn said...

you make mee feel like flying over to vietnam now!:) no wonder u are in tourism industry:P

JC said...

thanx for dropping by

Hawaiianmark said...

Now that looks sooooo Ono. (delicious)

Aloha!

FooDcrazEE said...

oooh ! the ruou and the lau - good during winter time eh ?

Tu, r u in Travel Agency ?

Anonymous said...

so good for me because I always have after dinner after 10 pm. and "ruou" va "lau" are so good at cold nights in Ha Noi.

Wendy C. said...

I just love visiting your site! So full of life! I always go away hungry...and, like others here, I would love to hop a flight to Vietnam!

Mother Sharon Damnable said...

Greetings Vietnamese God

It does look delicious, thanks for sharing :>)

Van Cong Tu said...

Hi everyone,
Thanks for viewing my blog and leaving comments. Today is a really ice cold day which made me wear 3 pants, 4 shirts and 2 pairs of socks, bloody cold here in Hanoi I tell you. Don't ever think about go to Hanoi between jan and march.
to fooDcrazEE, I am working in a restaurant, not in a travel agency.
to Preya good idea.
..·:.**.:·..HomY_n_JunE..·:.**.:·.. I am sure you will love it.
to Winn, Wendy C: do not hesitate contact me on your arrival

Anonymous said...

Hey Godknows,

Great Blog, your pics of the food over there look SO tempting. Someday I'll have to go see it for myself.

Thanks for stopping by my site too.

Weird

Anonymous said...

Hi Godknows,

what's the temp. in Hanoi right now? Under 10C?

Van Cong Tu said...

Hi Mish,
Yes, about 9. thanks for viewing my blog

Anonymous said...

helloooooo!!
love your blog!! you are a great photographer!!
vietnamese noodles are loved in my country too. pls keep on introducing food(^o^)/

Anonymous said...

don´t forget to mention the amazon bar at 9 bao khan...