As much as I like trying to be brave, sometimes language can be a barrier to exploration.

Local knowledge seemed ideal, so I decided to find a guided food tour we could go on, eventually signing us up for a Hanoi Street Food Tour.

Because one of our number didn’t eat meat, I opted for a private tour. As there were 4 of us, it didn’t turn out that much more expensive ($100 vs $80).

We turned up at the office on time, and were introduced to our lovely guide, who had the nickname Miss Smile. She plunged off into the streets (on foot), and we started the tour.

It was amazing!

We went to 8 or 9 different places in the old town, having partial meals in each.

So many great things, and I can’t remember the names of any of them!

Well, I can with the ones below. Spring rolls and pillow cake. Deed fried goodness.

And of course there were desserts too.

The above was a kind of dumpling in syrup with nuts on, served warm.

Our guide was extremely accommodating and explained about each dish as we tried it. She took us into places I would not have tried solo, and it was a really great experience.

I absolutely recommend it – just maybe don’t have any food for a few hours before hand as we were all stuffed!