Western and Vietnamese guests line up and serve themselves vegetarian food in an old house in Hanoi.

A vegetarian culinary experience space located in an ancient house built in the 1920s on Chau Long Street (Hanoi) is attracting a lot of diners.

During a 2-day trip to Hanoi, Ms. Megan (British nationality, working in Ho Chi Minh City) stopped by to experience vegetarian food at an ancient house on Chau Long street (Ba Dinh ward).

"The space here seems to take me back to the last century. The counter exudes an attractive aroma and every dish looks traditional. Notably, there are a lot of customers coming in and out continuously," the female tourist shared.

Female tourist Megan chose vegetarian pate sandwich for lunch. Photo: Nguyen Huy

Images of steaming bowls of vegetarian vermicelli soup, full, eye-catching vegetarian Hue beef noodles in the space of an ancient, nostalgic house are loved by many diners, self-introduced and shared on social networks.

The vegetarian experience in an ancient house attracts diners. Photo: Nguyen Huy

This is a space to experience vegetarian food with a self-service model, operated by Mr. Le Huu Tue (28 years old) and a group of friends who love vegetarian cuisine .

"Our goal is to introduce vegetarian food and share how to prepare it to more people, especially young people. The location is a traditional Hanoi house, with the hope that visitors will feel at home," Mr. Tue shared.

At first, Tue’s group served vegetarian food right on the sidewalk in front of an old French villa, also located on Chau Long Street. Diners gathered around the wooden kitchen counter to enjoy vegetarian dishes such as vermicelli soup with crab, pho, vermicelli with grilled pork, spring rolls, etc., very simple but cozy.

Vegetarian vermicelli soup and vegetarian Hue beef noodle soup are filling and eye-catching. Photo: Vegetarian sidewalk

Later, they moved to an old house built in the 1920s. The house still retains the old kitchen with tiled roof, brick walls, and faded wooden doors. The house above was renovated by the owner about 30 years ago, but still has horizontal lacquered boards, parallel sentences, and old wooden decorative items.

The 100-year-old kitchen was preserved and renovated into a dining room to welcome diners. Photo: Nguyen Huy

The preparation counter and steaming pots of broth are located right at the entrance. On the wooden tables are displayed more than 10 eye-catching vegetarian dishes.

Main dishes here include crab noodle soup, pho (served Monday and Tuesday), Hue beef noodle soup (served Wednesday to Sunday), vermicelli with grilled pork, mixed vermicelli, pate bread, mushroom porridge, etc., priced from 25,000-40,000 VND/bowl. Diners can also order some vegetarian side dishes such as fig leaf mushroom, spring rolls, fried breadsticks, etc. priced from 15,000-30,000 VND/dish.

Bun cha dishes or snacks such as spring rolls and mushrooms are all prepared in advance and displayed on the table. Photo: Nguyen Huy

Mr. Tue said that Bun Rieu and Bun Bo Hue are the two dishes most loved by diners. Vegetarian Bun Rieu has a broth made from tomatoes, onions and stewed vegetables. To create a light sour taste and a light aroma without overpowering the aroma of the vegetables, the chef uses rice wine vinegar.

Meanwhile, the Hue beef noodle soup is simmered with chayote, onion, pineapple and lemongrass. The rich salty flavor comes from vegetarian shrimp paste.

Mr. Tue makes a hot bowl of vermicelli soup for diners. Photo: Nguyen Huy

In the evening, diners can enjoy a steaming hot pot of crab soup, served with green vegetables and mushrooms. This dish is popular in autumn and winter.

Bread combined with fragrant vegetarian pate, rich flavor, chewy vegetarian ham and cucumber, coriander is also loved by diners. Photo: Nguyen Huy

Interestingly, here, customers will choose their dishes, choose their seats, then carry their own food, bowls, chopsticks, and dipping sauce. When they are finished, they bring their food back to the counter and pay.

Diners serve their own food. Photo: Nguyen Huy

"I accidentally saw pictures of vegetarian food and this ancient house on social media and decided to come and enjoy it. At first, I was confused about how to order and how to serve myself, but the staff were very enthusiastic in guiding me.

Today I came back and invited my friends to enjoy the famous vegetarian vermicelli soup on social networks. Serving myself is quite interesting, it feels like eating at home," Nguyen Thuy Linh (20 years old, Hanoi) shared.

Thuy Linh (right) served herself "professionally" on her second visit to this vegetarian restaurant. Photo: Nguyen Huy

Linh and her friend - Quynh Anh (20 years old, Hanoi) both praised the restaurant's vermicelli soup. The bowl of vermicelli was hot, full, beautifully decorated and had a delicious taste. "Before, I thought vegetarian food was not attractive or expensive. But the vegetarian food here is delicious and the price is 'very student-friendly'", Quynh Anh commented.

The first time coming to eat vegetarian food, Ms. Cao Thi Van (Hanoi) and more than a dozen friends were impressed with the space of the old house with a very old yard, kitchen, and water counter. "Entering the backyard, I felt peaceful, completely different from the crowded streets outside. The dishes are rustic but flavorful, hot, and reasonably priced," Ms. Van said.

Ms. Van (brown dress) and her friends all praised the vegetarian dishes here. Photo: Nguyen Huy

This group of diners enjoys serving themselves. This self-service model is also very attractive to foreign tourists.

Western and Vietnamese guests line up to serve vegetarian food themselves. Photo: Nguyen Huy

This vegetarian dining experience space is open from 11am-1:30pm (closed for lunch on Sundays) and 5pm-8pm. In addition to food, there are also many drinks that are praised by customers such as cashew milk, salted tamarind, mulberry...

Customers should note that the restaurant is very crowded, so during rush hour there is often a long wait and there is no parking space, you have to park at surrounding houses (price 5,000 VND/motorbike).

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Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/khach-tay-khach-ta-xep-hang-tu-phuc-vu-do-chay-trong-can-nha-co-o-ha-noi-2467480.html