Hanoi street food guide: pho, bun cha, egg coffee and where to eat them

• ✔Pho: the northern version of beef noodle soup, clean and fragrant, usually for breakfast.
• ✔Bun cha: grilled pork patties in a sweet broth with rice noodles and herbs, a lunchtime favourite.
• ✔Banh mi: a crisp baguette with pate, pork and pickles.
• ✔Cha ca: turmeric fish with dill, a Hanoi speciality.
• ✔Egg coffee: a velvety espresso topped with whipped egg yolk.
• ✔Banh cuon: steamed rice rolls with pork and mushrooms.

The Old Quarter is the centre of everything, with specialised streets and stalls open from dawn. Look for a place with a queue of locals and a short menu, since many vendors only sell one dish. For egg coffee, find a small café above a shop or down a lane.

• ✔Sit on the small stool, and the vendor will bring a bowl.
• ✔Say yes to the herb plate and chilli on the side.
• ✔Pay at the end, as a few notes cover most meals.
• ✔Carry small notes and use only the price shown.
• ✔Be careful with raw vegetables and ice on day one.

A tour takes you to stalls you would not find alone, explains the dishes and manages the language barrier. Choose a small group and a mix of breakfast, lunch and dessert stops.

You can eat all of this for the price of one meal in many western cities. Pace yourself, since portions at street stalls are small. If you are keen on cooking, a class that includes a market visit is a fun half-day.

1. 17:00: a bowl of pho at a busy street stall.
2. 29:30: egg coffee in a café tucked in an alley.
3. 312:00: bun cha with fresh herbs and crispy spring rolls.
4. 415:00: a banh mi or sweet soup (che) for an afternoon snack.
5. 519:00: cha ca or a bowl of bun rieu, then a glass of bia hoi.

Hanoi's best food is often in places that look unremarkable. Look for plastic stools, a single burner and a queue of locals. A shop that specialises in only one dish is more likely to do it well than one with a long menu. Do not be put off by the lack of English; point, smile and ask for the house dish.

Use the maps app to find places with high ratings, and note the opening hours, since many close in the afternoon after selling out. Early starts are rewarded: the best pho often runs out by 9 am. If you are unsure about hygiene, choose places where food is cooked to order, and drink bottled water.

Coffee in Vietnam is a ritual, and cafés are places to sit and watch the world pass. Be sure to try a cup on a balcony overlooking Hoan Kiem Lake. Our Da Nang and Hoi An guide, Cu Chi vs Mekong Delta guide and the Hanoi guide help plan the rest of Vietnam.

• ✔Egg coffee (cà phê trứng): a creamy, sweet drink invented in Hanoi.
• ✔Coconut coffee and salt coffee, other local favourites.
• ✔Bia hơi: cheap, fresh draught beer served at street corners.
• ✔Sugarcane juice and fresh coconut for a refreshing break.
• ✔Vietnamese iced coffee with condensed milk, strong and sweet.

Make time for a Ha Long Bay cruise, a water puppet show and Hoa Lo Prison. See the Hanoi guide or plan the south with Ho Chi Minh City.