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Hanoi Information 
Hoan Kiem District
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88 Van Ho Ba
Atmosphere
If you go out of the south entrance to Lenin Park and turn left onto Dai Co Viet there’s a narrow little road running off to the left called Van Ho Ba (three). Just round the first bend is the Bia Hoi Viet Ha at number 88.
It’s tiny – the single room is no bigger than a bedroom in a backpacker hotel. The walls need a coat of paint and if you’re taller than five foot you need to bend down to get into the WC but its clean and friendly.
Food and Drink
The beer is… well the beer is Bia Hoi the same as anywhere else and you can also get those deliciously soggy monkey nuts they serve at every other Bia Hoi in Hanoi and there’s no cocktail menu. If you want more substantial snacks they have Nem Chua, the preserved pork packed in banana leaves or maybe you fancy some dried fish burnt over rice wine (it could be paraffin) and served with chilli.
The beer is dispensed from a shiny metal chest just inside the doorway, but go early since the daily delivery of five barrels often runs out by mid evening.
Other
It looks ordinary but its well worth a visit if just to meet the characters who go there and experience the way they welcome you into their local.
Sitting on your little yellow plastic chair take a look around. The thin elderly gent in the corner appears to have come out in his underwear. He may have greeted you as “my friend” when you entered and he is probably sketching you now – a caricature in his little note book. He’s a retired Colonel from the Army who fought the Americans.
The guy sitting next to him smoking the communal pipe is a retired engineer who will engage in a bit of French conversation. The one sitting by the door in a flash shirt works at one of the government ministries, he’s talking to a smartly dressed motorbike salesman, probably the best English speaker of the group. The range of occupations is mind-boggling in its diversity.
The smiling owner has two teenage daughters, the eldest is learning English. She is called upon to act as interpreter for the regulars eagerly seeking information about any newcomer who is brave enough to step inside. Communication is not easy but the effort is worth while.
At 4,000VND a glass the beer is similar in price to most other places. The range of bar snacks is diverse, though they don’t have dried squid. Being greeted like a lost brother and treated like a house guest is what makes this place exceptional.
Review by Marvin Couldwell
