Hanoi Journal: Ta Hien St., from banh mi to beer, daily

 

HANOI – Early morning. Ladies in iconic non la (conical hats) push their stores-on-two-wheels laden with bread, fruits, flowers, vegetables, and delicacies winding their way though the narrow alleyway to side streets and wider roads.

Mid-day. The sound of contended sips and slurps from the steaming bowls of pho with multinationals and Hanoians alike enjoying this culinary delight, sitting – fittingly, squatting -- on the ubiquitous low plastic stools, mainly blue and red in color, set right at the stores’ frontages.  

Late afternoon. The alley veritably vanishes with tables and stools running the breadth and depth of its full length.

The sun sets, Ta Hien Beer Street in the heart of the Old Quarter of Vietnam’s capital city comes alive – in Epicurean dusk-to-dawn delight.

The sun rises. The honks of the bicycles come back, banh mi and pho to go.