Nha Hang Ngon
I had tried this place out in Ho Chi Minh City and loved it. With it’s mission to bring all the diverse flavors of Vietnam together under one roof was awesome. When I heard they had branched out to Hanoi, I had to check it out. And wouldn’t you know it, it was close to my hotel.
The restaurant itself was beautiful. Restored to its French origins, the building was quite fun to explore. Even the trip to the rest room was fun. The stairs were pretty unique with its half level landing. But let’s get back to eating. You can have outside seating under the shade of trees or in the large courtyard. The surrounding building provided indoor seating on the second level. The cooking station nestled underneath on the first floor. You can sit and watch the wait staff shuffle through each station collecting meals as go. Unfortunately, the meals themselves fell way short on our last encounter. Very short. Most of the dishes we ordered fell short on taste and/or execution. Maybe it was an off night for the kitchen staff or maybe this branch can’t live up to the original. Which ever the case, I have to scratch this place off my list.
Nga Hang Ngon
26 Trang Hung Dao Street,
Hanoi, Vietnam
Verdict: Stick to eating specialty shops in Hanoi. I’d only give the original one in Ho Chi Minh City another shot.
Here’s a shot of the food after they fixed it. Pretty rushed I’d say. All I had were tears to wash this stuff down.
Okay, this came out good. The minced crab had plenty of taste and the soup the right hint of tang. The snails added a nice touch. Wish it came out sooner to ease the delirium. I think I scarfed this down within minutes. The servings here are small, intentionally. So sharing the bowl leaves you with plenty of room for other foods. This was one of the few times I wanted a larger one.
55,000VND
Quiz for all those familiar with Vietnamese food. Anything look odd here? Yep, it’s missing the beautiful minced shrimp. I called over the waiter and explained. It took them a while to understand me. I’d figure just looking at it would explain things. Even after they fixed it, we noticed another problem. It was cold. Not like sitting out cold, but came out of the refrigerator cold. Ugh!
55,000VND
A light crispy shell folded over the lovely contents of pork, shrimp, and bean sprouts. I’m so used to thicker batters so the delicate shell was an added plus. My first complaint was that the protein portions were very small. We had to go hunting for them. The other more important one was… why rice paper, dry rice paper. This would have been slightly better with lettuce.
55,000VND