Top 10 Specialties to Buy When Visiting Hanoi

Meaningful Hanoi Specialties for Gifting

1. Green Rice Flakes – Iconic Hanoi Specialty for Gifting

When in Hanoi, you can't miss the famous green rice flakes from Vong village. Stop by Vong village on a cool autumn day, and you'll feel the gentle sweetness in the air, along with the scent of green rice flakes wafting through the streets. Green rice flakes are usually wrapped in lotus leaves and served with ripe bananas. Whether you taste them on the spot or take fresh green rice flakes home as a gift, the emotions are simply indescribable beyond the two words: 'blissful joy.'

Green Rice Flakes - Meaningful Hanoi Specialty Gift (source: collected image)

Even if you don't visit Hanoi during the autumn season, there are still many other specialties made from green rice flakes, such as green rice cake, green rice sticky rice, stir-fried green rice, or green rice sausage... for you to buy as gifts. However, some types have a short shelf life, so you should pay attention.

Hanoi Green Rice Cake - Unmissable Gift When Visiting the Capital (source: collected image)

A few places to buy green rice flakes for your reference:

• Vong Village Green Rice Flake, Mrs. Hoan, 36 Alley 63 Xuan Thuy, Cau Giay, Hanoi
• Nguyen Ninh Green Rice Cake, 11 Hang Than, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi
• Stir-fried Green Rice Flake, 1A Dinh Liet, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi

2. Preserved Fruits

Featuring a full range of sour, spicy, salty, and sweet flavors, Preserved Fruits represent the essence of Hanoi cuisine. With diverse types and delightful tastes, these fruits are highly favored by tourists for their affordability. Since they are dried, Preserved Fruits have a long shelf life and are easy to store.

Preserved Fruits - Essence of Hanoi's Specialty Gifts (source: collected image)

The most outstanding and characteristic among the various Ô Mai in Hanoi is the sour plum Ô Mai. Preserved sour plums, soaked in a sweet and sour marinade with a hint of spicy ginger flavor. When tasted, you will experience the crunchy and slightly spicy taste that will surely satisfy even the most discerning palates.

Assorted delicious Ô Mai in Hanoi (Photo: ST)

Hang Duong Street is a place where you can find many types of Ô Mai. Tourists can stop by here to taste all kinds of Ô Mai and choose their favorite to take home as gifts.

Some addresses to buy Ô Mai for your reference:

• Hong Lam Ô Mai, No. 11 Hang Duong, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi
• Van Loi Ô Mai, No. 24 Hang Da, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi

See more >>> Travel guide to Hanoi Old Quarter - Unmissable destination

3. Lotus Tea

While autumn in Hanoi carries the fragrance of cốm rice flakes, summer welcomes tourists with the serene beauty of West Lake lotus blossoms. In the scorching June heat, when lotus flowers bloom, people enjoy the sweet aroma of lotus tea to dispel the intense summer heat. Lotus tea is meticulously processed, so when tourists savor it, they can feel the essence, richness spreading in their mouths.

Hanoi's most meaningful specialty for loved ones is lotus tea (source: VNTRIP.VN)

Here are some addresses to buy lotus tea:

• Ninh Huong Store, 22 Hang Dieu, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi
• Dong Son Tea, 169 Nghi Tam, Tay Ho, Hanoi
• Viet Tea, 34 Giang Van Minh, Ba Dinh, Hanoi

4. Lam cake

A simple yet heartwarming dish, lam sweet soup from Doai land is not only a delicious dish but also a meaningful Hanoi specialty for gifting. Lam sweet soup is crafted by artisans from simple and familiar ingredients associated with agricultural life, such as glutinous rice flour, cane sugar, pearl barley, along with a hint of ginger and roasted peanuts to enhance the flavor.

Lam sweet soup, a meaningful Hanoi specialty gift (source: VNTRIP.VN)

Enjoying lam sweet soup with a cup of hot tea allows you to better appreciate the flavor of sticky rice flowers blending with the spicy ginger, as well as the hearty, nutty taste of roasted peanuts, and feel the warm soul of the homeland in this humble gift.

Here are some addresses to buy delicious lam sweet soup:

• Thach Xa Village, Thach That, Hanoi
• Ancient Village Duong Lam, Son Tay, Hanoi

5. Pork Roll Cake

Pork roll cake is a traditional and distinctive cake, imbued with the rich flavors of Hanoi, making it a perfect delicacy from Hanoi as a gift. The small, cute cake conceals the unforgettable taste of fatty lard combined with fragrant lime leaves. The cake crust is made from kneaded wheat flour, rolled thinly, and the cake filling consists of lard, sugar, lime leaves, and flour, which is then rolled up, cut into pieces, and baked.

Pork Roll Cake - a delicious Hanoi delicacy as a gift (source: VNTRIP.VN)

Cold weather, brew a strong cup of tea, slice a pack of pork sausage onto a plate to feel the warmth. Sip the tea, then bite into the crispy, sweet pork sausage, tasting the initial bitterness followed by a gradually sweet sensation on the tip of the tongue, like the taste of Hanoi autumn blending within.

Some addresses to buy delicious pork sausage:

• Bao Phuong Store, 183 Thuy Khue, Tay Ho, Hanoi
• Ninh Huong Store, 22 Hang Dieu, Hanoi
• Various stores on Hang Duong Street

6. Tamarind

Tamarind is a familiar food to Hanoians, from which many delicious dishes and refreshing drinks can be made.For every visitor to Hanoi, especially those from the South, buying a bag of tamarind as a gift is a must. If you visit during the tamarind season, you will see many stalls selling fresh tamarind along the streets of the capital.

Fresh tamarind is a specialty to buy when traveling to Hanoi in autumn (photo collection)

If you visit off-season, you can go to Dong Xuan Market to buy fresh tamarind, which is priced 4-5 times higher than during the season. This is a specialty and a gift from Hanoi that many people love.

Delicious tamarind juice in Hanoi (Photo: ST)

Here are some addresses where you can buy tamarind:

• Dong Xuan Market
• Long Bien Market

7. Ceramic and Porcelain

If you have the opportunity to visit Hanoi, don't miss the chance to visit Bat Trang ceramic village. Here, tourists can not only buy souvenirs made from ceramic at very cheap prices, but also learn and make their own ceramic products in their own style, which is a very interesting and meaningful experience. However, attention should be paid to transportation as these items are quite fragile.

Bat Trang ceramics - meaningful gift from Hanoi (image source)

Here are some reference addresses to buy ceramic gifts:

• Bat Trang Ceramic Village, Bat Trang Commune, Gia Lam District, Hanoi.

8. Handicrafts, Souvenirs

When in Hanoi, you can visit souvenir lacquerware shops, where traditional products are meticulously designed and crafted. These items are sold in shops along Lý Quốc Sư Street, Hàng Gai Street, Hàng Bông Street, etc. It's worth noting that these items are usually sold to Western tourists and those with strict aesthetic standards, so their prices are higher than other common items.

Handicrafts in Hanoi (image source)

Here are some addresses to buy handicrafts for your reference:

• Lacasa, No. 12 Nhà Thờ Street, Hoàn Kiếm District, Hanoi
• Craft Window, 99 Nguyễn Thái Học Street, Ba Đình District, Hanoi
• Hoa Sữa, 63A Tràng Thi Street, Hoàn Kiếm District, Hanoi
• Craft Link, 43 Văn Miếu Street, Đống Đa District, Hanoi

9. Silk

Vạn Phúc Silk Village, located 10km from the center of Hanoi, is famous for its silk weaving. The silk here is soft, thin, airy, and light, unlike ordinary silk, with diverse materials. Artisans in the village choose designs imbued with national identity to attract foreign visitors.

Vạn Phúc Silk – Meaningful gift for loved ones in Hanoi (image source)

In addition to buying silk products, such as ao dai, hats, clothing, scarves, etc., you can also visit shops along Hàng Gai Street, Hàng Trống Street, and Nhà Thờ Street if you prefer not to go far.

Here are some places to buy silk:

• Vạn Phúc Silk Village, Vạn Phúc Ward, Hà Đông District, Hanoi
• Khai Silk, 26 Nguyễn Thái Học, Ba Đình, Hanoi
• Hà Silk, 538 Thụy Khuê, Tây Hồ, Hanoi

10. Pomelo Dien

In the Hanoi travel guide, Pomelo Dien is always listed as one of the Hanoi specialties that tourists should try or buy as gifts for the New Year. As a fruit that was once chosen for the king's banquet, Pomelo Dien is not only attractive with its thin, golden peel when ripe, but also its juicy and sweet flesh inside.

Pomelo Dien, a must-buy specialty when traveling to Hanoi (source: collected photo)

Pomelo Dien is not widely available because it's difficult to grow, and if grown in places other than Phu Dien, it's not as good. Therefore, if you want to buy delicious pomelo as a gift, you should buy it from the orchard. This is also a type of fruit that cannot be missing in the fruit tray for Tet holiday of many families.

Hoping that with these Hanoi specialties as gifts for family and friends suggested by VNTRIP.VN above will help you choose the most favorite gift when visiting the capital city.

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