Cha ca

It’s every Hanoi first-timer’s rite of passage – a dinner at the gorgeous, rickety Cha Ca La Vong in the Old Quarter. Their raison d’etre is to serve just one dish – cha ca . Pieces of local Red River fish (carp or catfish) are marinated with turmeric then fried at the table with heaps of dill and spring onion and served over rice noodles with peanuts and a dipping sauce (mam tom tong).