Buzz
1. Ice Cream
Not just in Hanoi, but anywhere, ice cream always stands out as the golden name in the realm of refreshing treats. In the scorching days of summer, with temperatures soaring above 40 degrees in Hanoi, indulging in a delightful, cool ice cream is like finding an oasis in the desert.
When talking about ice cream in Hanoi, one cannot overlook Trang Tien ice cream – a brand that has been satisfying taste buds since 1958. Trang Tien ice cream comes in numerous flavors such as vanilla, chocolate, young sticky rice, mung bean, coconut milk, cocoa, with various forms like stick ice cream, boxed ice cream, snail-shaped ice cream, and fresh ice cream. What makes Trang Tien ice cream special is that its ingredients are sourced from Vietnamese specialties in different regions. For instance, the sticky rice ice cream is made from Vong village sticky rice, and the coconut ice cream is made from coconuts imported from Ben Tre.
Discovering the charm of Tràng Tiền's ice cream. Image: Collection
Tràng Tiền ice cream is budget-friendly, priced at around 10,000 VND for a stick and 12,000 VND for a cinnamon snail-shaped treat. No need to worry about the quality as Hanoi's Delightful Tràng Tiền Ice Cream avoids using chemical sugars, additives, and preservatives.
Cinnamon snail-shaped ice cream at Tràng Tiền. Image: Collection
Besides Tràng Tiền ice cream, while strolling around Hanoi in the summer, you can also indulge in Xã Đàn workshop ice cream, Lò Đúc street Old Man's ice cream, Hai Bà Trưng sticky rice ice cream, West Lake ice cream... There are also unique imports like rose ice cream, fish-shaped ice cream, and green tea ice cream that quickly become the refreshing choice for many.
Eye-catching rose-flavored ice cream. Image: Collection
2. Preserved Plum in Sugar
Plum is a familiar fruit to Hanoi residents. Preserved plum in sugar is a sought-after beverage, not only for its effective cooling properties in the summer but also for its distinctive and delicious 'Hanoi' flavor.
Refreshing Hanoi-style sugar-soaked plum drink. Image: Collection
In Hanoi, you can easily indulge in a refreshing glass of soursop juice at numerous roadside stalls or upscale cafes. You can also purchase soursop from street vendors across Hanoi or visit major markets such as Dong Xuan Market and Long Bien wholesale market. Bring it home and craft your own unique beverage. The sweet and sour flavor, coolness, and lingering taste blended with the essence of sugar, ice, and the distinctive soursop aroma make it a perfect and refreshing choice for the hot summer days in Hanoi.
3. Tào phớ
The street vendors selling tào phớ along the streets or in small alleyway eateries are a familiar sight to the residents of the capital, especially when summer arrives. Tào phớ in Hanoi is truly special. Apart from the traditional bowl of phớ with a dash of classic sugar syrup and a few ice cubes, tào phớ here comes in various flavors: strawberry tào phớ, mung bean tào phớ, caramel tào phớ, coffee tào phớ, green tea tào phớ, and more.
Traditional tào phớ. Image: Collected
Holding a bowl of aromatic tofu pudding in your hands, you can feel the fragrance blending with the gentle sweetness of jasmine-infused sugar water. The coolness of shaved ice, chewy and smooth black jelly, sprinkled with a hint of dried coconut and fresh enticing coconut, is truly irresistible. Some renowned tofu pudding stalls in Hanoi include Nghia Tan Market, Nguyen Du Street, Hang Luoc Street, Xa Dan Street, with prices ranging from 5,000 to 15,000 VND per bowl.
Various types of tofu pudding are creatively transformed. Image: @mattysblog
4. Jelly Delicacies
A cup of sweet and refreshing jelly is always a top choice for Hanoi residents when summer arrives. There are many different types of jelly for you to choose from: ginger jelly, coconut jelly, fruit jelly, and more. However, the most famous is still coconut jelly with an incredibly simple recipe using coconut fruit, a bit of agar powder, and coconut milk. You can enjoy coconut jelly at Hang Than Street, 34 Hang Cot Street, 21 Tran Phu Street, and more.
Indulge in the essence of Caramel, a delicacy crafted from fresh eggs, creamy milk, and sugar, steamed to perfection and stored cool before relishing. When in Hanoi, especially during the summer, you can explore a plethora of unique and delectable caramel treats, not readily available everywhere. Notable variations include longan caramel on Hue Street, pearl milk tea caramel at Nguyen Cong Tru market, fruit caramel on Hang Than street, agar agar caramel at the Kim Lien communal playground, matcha green tea mixed caramel, assorted sweet soup caramel, red bean caramel, and more.
Pearl milk tea caramel. Image: Collection
However, regardless of the twist, Hanoi's caramel retains the rich and creamy taste of eggs, milk, and the distinctive aroma of winning sugar or coffee.
Assorted sweet soup caramel. Image: Collection
6. Fruit Yogurt Delight
Arguably the most budget-friendly summer treat in Hanoi, the Fruit Yogurt Delight comes at an affordable price of around 3,000 VND per box. These adorable small yogurt cups seem to be a nostalgic snack for the 80s and 90s generation in Hanoi. Made from various fruits such as durian, mango, orange, young rice, sweet potato, and more, each yogurt cup boasts a unique color – yellow, orange, green, purple, pink, and more. The sight of these refreshing, petite, and colorful yogurt cups is irresistible to almost any visitor.
Fruit Yogurt Delight. Image: Collection
To savor these special yogurt cups, head to Kim Ma Thuong Street. The yogurt here is crafted using traditional and manual methods. Each night, the owner ferments the yogurt with condensed milk, yogurt culture, and sugar. After a night of fermentation, the mixture is poured into small cups before being placed in the refrigerator. The flavor of the fruit yogurt is enhanced with fruit syrup and jelly, offering a wide range of flavors such as young rice, guava, peach, orange, pineapple, strawberry, coffee, and more, all priced at only 3,000 VND.
Indulge in a nostalgic journey to childhood with yogurt in cute jars and crunchy popcorn. Image: Collected.
7. Mixed Fruit Delight
Take a leisurely stroll around Hanoi during the summer, and relish the various versions of the refreshing mixed fruit delight. A concoction of familiar fruits like mangoes, pears, strawberries, jackfruit, watermelon, and dragon fruit, this treat is both aromatic and nutritious. Unlike many other beverages, this mixed fruit delight skips sugar and opts for condensed milk, coconut milk, and tapioca flour. Crushed ice perfectly balances the sweetness, creating a cool and delightful experience.
Summery Mixed Fruit Delight in Hanoi. Image: Collected.
In Hanoi, there's an array of transformed versions of fruit salad. If you're on the lookout for a 'healthy' fruit salad with low fat content, consider trying the oatmeal-infused fruit salad. For a refreshing chill, you can opt for the fruit salad with vanilla, strawberry, or green tea-flavored ice cream. If you have a sweet tooth, you can't miss out on the caramelized fruit salad...
Oatmeal-infused fruit salad. Image: Collection
8. Sweet Soup
Sweet soups always come to the rescue for a quick refreshment on hot days. In Hanoi, sweet soup options are diverse and delicious, ranging from almond soup, mixed sweet soup, green bean soup, grapefruit soup, taro soup, mango soup, avocado soup, to fruit soup... Sweet soups are sold on various Hanoi streets during the summer. A bowl of sweet soup, perfectly sweetened, accompanied by pearls, refreshing basil seeds, crunchy pomegranate, topped with a layer of creamy coconut milk, will surely help you beat the summer heat.
The trend of lemon tea in Hanoi is still going strong, even in the midst of scorching heat. Image: Collection
During these hot days in Hanoi, you can visit a few places to enjoy refreshing lemon tea or kumquat tea, such as the Cathedral area, Rice Market area, 162 Tran Quang Khai... with prices ranging from 10,000 to 20,000 VND per cup.
Lemon tea at the cathedral. Image: Collection
