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Web Only: Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City—Restaurants, Affordable Custom Clothes, and Fun Day Trips

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Where to Eat in Hanoi

Au Lac House Located in a beautifully restored 1930’s French-era villa, Au Lac House is the place to go for a special occasion. Quiet and elegant, though not extremely expensive, it’s also fun for kids, who can feel as if they’ve stepped back in time. 13 Tran Hung Dao, 84-4/933-3533; dinner for four $50.

Cam Chi Street This little food alley at the southwest end of the Old Quarter has dozens of tiny rice and noodle shops where you can eat like a local. Try xoi, a mound of sticky rice served with your choice of toppings, or lau, a party favorite, in which diners add meat, seafood, noodles, or vegetables, to boiling broth, then ladle the melange into bowls.

Highway 4 Kids will enjoy the climb up two flights of steep stairs to the covered rooftop dining area, where you sit on the floor, traditional-style, around low tables. Grownups will like sampling the wide array of rice liquors (a mild introduction: the apple-flavored version). Also recommended: catfish spring rolls and non-alcoholic nuoc ngo (corn water). The flavor of sweet summer corn-on-the-cob makes a surprisingly refreshing hot-night drink. 5 Hang Tre St., 84-8/926-0639; dinner for four $18.

KEM Caramen 29 Celebrated for its crème caramel and French-style yogurt. The "dining room"—a row of plastic stools on the sidewalk—is crowded day and night. 29 Hang Than St., no telephone, crème caramel about 15 cents per serving, yogurt, 20 cents.

Quan Cu A neighborhood restaurant with the same sort of dedicated clientele that you’d find at a little no-name bistro in Paris. We love the fries, rau muong sau toi (water morning glory sauteed with garlic) and Ca Qua Nuong (grilled snakehead fish, smothered in sauteed peanuts, carrots, green onions, and garlic): place a morsel of fish and various condiments (pineapple, basil, sliced green banana) on a piece of rice paper, roll it into a cylinder, dip in tangy sauce, and devour. 31 A Phan Dinh Phung, 84-8/734-4048; lunch or dinner for four, less than $20.

Where to have Clothes Made in Hanoi

Whether you bring along a loved-to-rags piece of your own or an alluring photo from a magazine, these stitch masters can whip up a well-made copy of virtually anything—often in 24 hours, and typically for $10 to $30. Tourist-oriented establishments on Hanoi’s Hang Gai Street specialize in Vietnamese silk: an especially good bet is Le Minh Silk (79–111 Hang Gai, 84-4/ 828-8723). For other fabrics and a more trendy look, try VIS Fashion (16A Ly Nam De, 84-4/733-0933; ). Bring a translator and plan to return for a fitting. This is one travel experience your budding Miuccia Prada won’t forget.

Thrilling Day Trips from Hanoi

The city lies at the heart of the Red River Delta, a region known for its traditional culture. Here are some wonderful places to visit.

Bat Trang, a pottery town. Only 30 minutes south of the city, this ancient craft village has, over the last few years, transformed itself into an international center for export-quality pottery and ceramics. Kids will love watching the intricate ceramic-making process, and if you wander down the back alleys you’re likely to find traditional kilns. Taxis from the center of Hanoi cost about $6.

Craft Village Tour For a guided outing, sign on for Trails of Indochina’s one-day tour of the Red River Delta. You’ll visit a home-based lacquerware factory, a village that specializes in wooden musical instruments, and a village where people make Vietnam’s famous conical hats. All three offer wonderful examples of traditional rural architecture, but the conical hat-making village, with its maze-like pagoda and tree-shaded market square, is particularly charming. 84-8/844-1005; www.trailsofindochina.com; $150 per person.

Dau Pagoda, Ha Tay Province. Adults love the serenity and beauty of Vietnam’s pagodas, but children rarely get excited about ancient architecture. They might want to visit the 11th-century Dau Pagoda, however. Located 25 minutes southwest of the city, it’s both exquisite and a little bit creepy: two of the pagoda’s statues are actually mummified monks, who, hundreds of years ago, went through a rigorous regimen to purify their bodies before taking arsenic to kill themselves. Taxis from the center of Hanoi cost about $6.

Thien Son-Suoi Nga Resort, on Ba Vi Mountain. Located in the lush forests of Ba Vi Mountain, about 40 miles west of Hanoi, this new eco-resort offers a wonderful respite from the heat and congestion of the city. Bring bathing suits—the kids will want to play in the mountain stream—and don’t forget to try the deservedly famous Ba Vi yogurt. Whether or not you sample the local moonshine is up to you. Van Hoa Commune; 84-34/881-411; doubles from $50, no website.

Where to Eat in Ho Chi Minh City

Bo Tung Xeo Full of boisterous groups of locals, Bo Tung Xeo has two important qualifications for kids. First, the menu offers several jaw-dropping options: scorpion, field rat, goat testicles. Second, the food you’ll be brave enough to order—marinated beef barbecued at the table, grilled prawns, fresh sauteed corn—is all delicious. (31 Ly Tu Trong Street, 84-8/825-1330; dinner for four $25.)

Dragon-Boat Dinner Cruise. Take in the cityscape, while you feast on seafood. For details, see Trails of Indochina. 84-8/844-1005; www.trailsofindochina.com; dinner for four $160.

Nam Giao After some shopping at Ben Thanh Market, duck into this tiny café off Le Thanh Ton Street to sample the banh beo (steamed rice-flower cakes) and tiny shrimp dumplings of Central Vietnam. 136/15 Le Thanh Ton; 84-8/825-0261; dinner for four $20.

Quan An Ngon The delights of Vietnamese street food presented in a hip setting. Our favorites: banh hoi nem nuong (rice noodles with barbecued pork), cuon banh trang (grilled pork pate wrapped in rice paper), com rang toi (garlic fried rice), and sinh to sapoche (sapodilla shakes). 138 Nam Ky Khoi Nghia St., 84-8/825-7179; lunch or dinner for four $20. N.B.There’s also a branch in Hanoi at 18 Phan Boi Chau; 84-4/942-8162.

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