Fine dining Vietnamese @ Gia Ngu Restaurant, Hanoi (Vietnam)

When we were in Hanoi last year, we had the chance to eat an amazing variety of delicious street food. Though we could have easily avoided restaurant dining altogether, we could not resist enjoying a meal at Gia Ngu Restaurant, located inside the hotel we stayed at. Service was amazing - staff were smiling and friendly as always, and very helpful in explaining the menu items and then demonstrating how to eat one of the dishes we ordered. The menu contained a combination of Vietnamese dishes as well as Western food, so there is something for everyone! Prices were of course higher than on the street, but still cheaper when compared to the same quality of restaurant service and food in Hong Kong, Australia and the US. And it was worth dining in air-conditioned comfort sheltered from the rain!

Gia Ngu Restaurant was also where we had our daily breakfast that was included in our hotel rate:

Even when we were living in Australia, the Viets had a reputation of doing awesomely delicious drinks, and here we enjoyed a mango smoothie, a passionfruit smoothie and pineapple juice:

For the kids, we ordered the Stir-fried Noodles with Seafood (US$7.50). I loved how much veges there were, but the 7-year-old disagreed:

Grilled "Hoi An" Snakehead Fish (192000VND, US$9) - with lemongrass, galangal, spring onion, garlic, onion, dill, peanuts in banana leaf, served with rice noodle, fresh herb, rice paper with Vietnamese fish sauce:

This was how you're supposed to eat the fish - DIY spring roll!

Wrapped Chicken in Sugar Cane (195000VND, US$9.20) - "chicken in ginger taste are wrapped with a sugar cane then grilled, served with rice noodle, vegetable for rolling and fresh sugar cane sauce". This was also eaten in the same style as the fish. Delicious!

If there is only one restaurant to visit in Hanoi, make it Gia Ngu Restaurant! The hotel, the restaurant, the staff - everything about this location gets our thumbs-ups!

Gia Ngu Restaurant
Essence Palace Hotel
27 - 29 Gia Ngu Street
Old Quarter, Hoan Kiem District
Hanoi, Vietnam
Tel. +84 4 3926 2135