Most of the best meals I have eaten in Hanoi have been street food in the company of Vietnamese friends, so I can't be of much help.

However it should be noted that Quan An Ngon (a very good restaurant that my Vietnamese friends really enjoy too) is now called Nha Hang Ngong and has moved to 28B Trung Hung Dao. The restaurant that now occupies the site of the original Quan An Ngon bears the same name, but whether the new owners have maintained the standard has yet to be established.

I understand that the Quan An Ngon branch in HCMC has also moved premises and changed its name, but I'm afraid I don't have the details.

Note to Smeagol: no you are not alone. I've tried the ice cream at Fanny's a couple of times and found it decidedly lacklustre and disappointing. There is far better artisan ice cream here in Wales, made with real cream, fresh fruit and so on. In particular the elderflower ice cream in Harlech is to die for.

Oh, and like you I enjoy the cha ca at Cha Ca La Vong and eat there at least once when I'm in Hanoi. Admittedly the portions are small if it's the main meal of the day, but if a gap needs to be filled, over the road there's a delightful bakery with exceedingly palatable cakes - the lemon mousse cake is a particular favourite of mine.

Bookmarking for our trip to Hanoi in March. Thanks, all!

strange...i was just there last month...

fannys was good but not the most fab ice cream i have ever had...

Pho 24 was named because the Pho was priced at 24,000VND. Now it's up to at least 38,000. Still a bargain.

Pho Pastuer is also a good Pho option, although a little bit out of the way.

QAN in HCMC we went to was in a new location on Pasteur street an old villa with a nice courtyard. Whatever it's called we ate there twice and I loved it.
Redkite THE best ice-cream I ever ate was in Wales, where we used to go on holiday as children. Think the place was called Lundy island???

Thanks everyone for all the fabulous recommendations -- we'll have to extend our trip just to eat!

About Quan An Ngon in Hanoi. That is one of the "must do" places on our list (along with Ly Cafe, which looks yummy)so I hope its still as good as under the prior owners. I did a google search on Nha Hang Ngong and didn't find anything.

OK, so Fanny's isn't that good. Since we're not going to Wales (maybe another time!) and DH loves ice cream, what do you recommend in Hanoi or HCMC?

Now I'm really confused. I was looking for the address of Quan An Ngon in HCMC & found this. So which one should we go to?

"Quan An Ngon -- two different restaurants operate with the same name within a few blocks of each other, one at 160 Pasteur Street, and the other (recently reopened) on Nam Ky Khoi Nghia across from the Reunification Palace. Not clear if they have common ownership, but both are set in atmospheric old French villas, with similar menus featuring good, reasonably-priced Vietnamese food, including regional specialties from around the country. Rather than once central kitchen, each has numerous independently-operated food stalls around the perimeter. (The name literally means "restaurant of delicious eating".) Both are popular with locals and Vietnamese tour groups as well as overseas visitors, and both tend to be jammed at peak hours requiring a wait for a table. The one on Pasteur has dozens of kerosene lamps burning for "atmospheric" decoration at night, so if you have asthma or COPD or feel you got enough pollution already, better to try the other one."

answer is to go in hanoi

I went to the one on pasteur in HCMC VERY good. Have the chilli beef.

CFW: have you looked at the restaurant reviews on The New Hanoian (a website for expats in Hanoi)? If not, the address is http://newhanoian.xemzi.com/venue/ca...staurants#1/11 .

If you're staying in or near the Old Quarter, look for restaurants in Hoan Kiem District; if you've opted for one of the modern hotels near West Lake, then restaurants in Tay Ho District would be more convenient for dinner. Ba Dinh District lies south of West Lake and a taxi will probably be required, no matter where you're staying.

For ice cream, try the City View Cafe, which is located on the 5th floor of a building on Cau Go Street at the northern end of Hoan Kiem Lake. The ice cream is approximately on a par with that at Fannys, the coffee is not as good as at pavement cafes and the service is unsmiling, but the view over the lake from the seating on the left-hand side of the balcony is beautiful enough to make up for the cafe's shortcomings.

Smeagol: it might have been Lundy Island, although the latter is designated as part of England as it lies closer to England than Wales.

Thanks RedKite. GREAT website for more than just restaurants!

Have you seen this site?



http://www.savourasia.com/content/view/59/60/

It's taken a while, but at last I've tracked down my source of the Quan An Ngon name change and relocation - see posts 5 and 7:

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowTop...noi-Hanoi.html

As both posters are Hanoians I'm presuming the information is accurate, but there's no guarantee. I won't be back in Hanoi until the beginning of March so can't check out the new restaurant yet. It will be interesting to see whether the atmosphere is as good as it was at the original location - it was the atmosphere and the diversity of the clientele (mostly Vietnamese, but ranging from small family groups to yuppies to distinctly dodgy looking gangster types) that set it apart from other restaurants.

We're going to be staying at the Hanoi Elegance Diamond, located at

Address: 32 Lo Su Str., Old Quarter, Hoan Kiem Dist., Hanoi, Vietnam

What's the best area for us to look for restaurants for dinner (if we prefer to stay in the area of the hotel)?

And while we're at it, what about restaurants in Hue?

do a google search for that street for restaurants

Thanks for finding that thread, Red Kite! Ekscrunchy, Thanks -- I had just found the savourasia site and have been devouring it :) Wish they had one for Saigon and Hong Kong too.

SF, I'm lalso looking for Hue restaurants. Anyone?

I thought Fanny's was quite good, but leaned more toward the tropical sorbet-ish flavors -- like mango, cinnamon, coconut -- rather than the heavy cream and chocolate choices.

When we were in Hue 15 years ago we had several wonderful meals at a lovely garden restaurant within the citadel itself. I've tried to find the name of it since, but to no avail. Some of my best meals, ever.

The big allure to Fanny's is the air conditioning. They also offer free water which is filtered.