We experienced Cha Ca on our very first day in Hanoi Vietnam. Watch our video to find out why this fish dish was a revelation to two seasoned culinary travelers.
We had never heard of Cha Ca until our first day in Hanoi just two weeks ago, but we were game to try the classic Vietnam food dish on the suggestion of our friend Mai Nguyen who writes the Hanoi food blog Tho Loves Food.
Although the famous and tourist-friendly Cha Ca restaurants are in the city’s Old Quarter, we happily walked 25 minutes to tiny, family-owned Cha Ca Phan to eat pan-fried chunks of meaty fish at our table along with a mixture of vegetables and herbs like fennel, turmeric and dill.
The real fun was assembling the bowls with fish, vegetables, herbs, rice noodles, shrimp paste, fish sauce and red chili peppers.
What a perfect introduction to the Hanoi food scene!
Cha Ca Phan is located at84 Trần Quốc Toản, Trần Hưng Đạo, Hoàn Kiếm, Hà Nội, Vietnam. Note – this is a new address for Cha Ca Phan.
Cha Ca Hanoi Video
Watch our YouTube video as we eat Cha Ca with Mai for the second time and learn more about this lesser-known but highly intriguing Vietnamese dish.
Try not to laugh too hard when you hear us attempt to pronounce “Cha Ca” and other Vietnamese words.
Plan Your Hanoi Trip
Hungry for More in Hanoi?
Check out our Hanoi Food Guide for great food and drink options in Hanoi.
About the Authors
Daryl & Mindi Hirsch
Saveur Magazine’s BEST TRAVEL BLOG award winners Daryl and Mindi Hirsch share their culinary travel experiences and recipes on the 2foodtrippers website and YouTube. The married Food and Travel content creators live in Lisbon, Portugal.
Disclosures
Article Updates
We update our articles regularly. Some updates are major while others are minor link changes and spelling corrections. Let us know if you see anything that needs to be updated in this article.
Funding
We self-funded our multiple trips to Hanoi.
Original Publication Date: September 5, 2016
Ava
Tuesday 6th of September 2016
I love your videos. They really give you a good feel of the area and the food.
Daryl and Mindi Hirsch
Saturday 10th of September 2016
Thank you. We're glad we could convey the essence of the many places we travel through.