Best Grilled Fish in Hanoi

I went to Hanoi, Vietnam to visit one of my closest friends, Ha. I have been to many places and wandered around with locals in the city but I would say Ha knows the best of her hometown. We were able to explore Hanoi on her Vespa, without GPS. Well, I would be able to do the same in my own hometown but what makes Ha a waaaay more amazing than all my local guides is that she knows literally every road (or alley) in the city and the best food in town!

I was there only for four days, how hard can it be for my host to serve me the best delicacies in town, right?

Well, it is pretty challenging because I do not eat meat, only poultry and seafood. But this is no challenge to Ha, as she kept feeding me BEST food while I was there.

Out of so many, the 'Cha Ca' grilled fish is one of my favorite.

FIIIIISH

It came pre-cooked like this. Served with plenty of green and condiments, it tastes supeeeer fresh.

We are in Southeast Asia but no, you do not eat this thing with rice but noodle.

yay noodle!

I have no idea what is this white noodle called in English or Vietnamese, but yeah. It was a very smart combination.Oh, I did not get to take picture of the phenomenal fish paste sauce but it was really good. They also give you chilli so you can create your own spicy sauce.

Cooked Cha Ca!

Ha said this dish actually was first served in a road called cha ca (my memory is not that good with Vietnamese words). The original place is rather old and small. We did not go to the original restaurant but the other one, located at 19-21-31 Duong Thanh, Hanoi. This place is very spacy and they only serve one dish. You can order fish intestines after your meal. Ha did order it but I rejected the idea since... I am not sure how would I like it (or I'd just probably hate it).

Only VND 120,000 per person (would not be cheap for Hanoi standard)

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.