Fabled Fish

If it's fish you want, it's fish you get - at Cha Ca La Vong. There's nought else to be had, except beer, soft drink and water. It's my kind of menu, the one you don't need your eye-glasses on for, where there isn't a truckload of choices that make you dizzy and take as long as a Patrick White novel to read. In fact, no menu exists at this more than 100 year old matriarch of the Hanoi food scene. It's a laminated white palmcard which basically says," We serve fish here. Nick off if you don't like it."

I don't imagine that there are too many centenarian restaurants where I come from, so we decide it might be best to stay: one dish wonder + 100 years = can't go wrong, right? Oh, and did I mention the fact that the street in which this place is situated is named after the dish. Unless there's been some *ahem* fishy, under-the-table payment to the local planning mob, that's got to be good, doesn't it?

Enough rhetoric. What's the bloody fish actually taste like? It's not a hundred years old, is it?

Upon climbing the steep flight of stairs with hand firmly gripping the banister (it's more like a ladder if the truth be told), the standard greeting, "How many people?" is issued. At this point, it's action stations! The cha ca la vong vitals, consisting of platefuls of mint, dill, spring onions, roasted peanuts, bun (vermicelli) and little bowls of fish sauce, are efficiently despatched to the table with the requisite number of chopsticks, refresher towels, glasses and bowls.The service is carried out by clinically attired waitresses in purple smocks, lacking somewhat in congeniality but making up for it in droves of cafeteria-like proficiency. Smile at them a lot!

With the table set and drinks only sipped from, along comes the coal brazier from which ash is flung by the slightest waft, crowned with an aged frying pan laden with turmeric-infused oil and already cooking chunky pieces of boneless white fish. It's plonked in the middle of the table and into the frying pan goes above-mentioned vitals, apart from the noodles, mint and fish sauce. The turmeric gives this fish dish its incredible yellow colour which, contrasted with the greenery, makes fantastic foodie eye candy.

Patrons are simply required to let the greens wilt, give the pan a swish with a spoon and dole it out onto the noodles. Pluck some mint, garnish and relish! Cha Ca La Vong is solid Hanoi. Missing it would be like coming to the capital and not walking around Hoan Kiem Lake.

Fish Business

It's 70,000VND (USD$4.40, AUD$5.85) a serve. Beers are 15,000VND (USD95c, AUD$1.25)

Cha Ca La Vong

14 Cha Ca St

Comments

[Preya]

The first time I went to Cha Ca La Vong I was 9 years old. I remember telling my mom to put a bit of the oil on the noodles so they would "chill out" and stop sticking together. You're right about this being "solid Hanoi"--heck, it's even listed in 1,000 Places to See Before You Die!

[foodjunky]

Three years ago, my husband and I went to the same joint because I had heard so much about it from friends and family whom had it when they lived in Hanoi, way back when. The taste was okay, but the MSG hangover was massive. The folks in Hanoi just use way too much of that flavor enhancer. A little bit is unavoidable and expected but this was something else. We spent three hours in our hotel just knocked out after having the food. Glad to hear that your experience was decent, but for those of you out there that have adverse reactions to MSG beware.

[MAB]

Wow, what a disappointment! As fabled as it is, the dish doesn't taste so great. There was way too much oil in the pan and the fish became chewy and tough because of the continuing flame.

[Anna]

MAB is right..this dish is quite oily! I enjoyed the food at Cha Ca La Vong but suffered a bit of queasiness afterward. Having said that, the taste has proven to be addictive. Since returning to Australia, my family cooks a version of it from time to time :)

[Sticky]

Well, we never expected such an adverse reaction to this place.

MAB and Anna - There's no doubting that cha ca is oily but so is a lot of stuff we shove in our cakeholes from time to time. It's not somewhere I go on a regular basis, usually only when I've got family or mates in town.
I must say that I have seen people spooning the oil over their noodles but I don't believe it should be treated as a sauce. There is fish sauce for that, though it's not really necessary either. As for it being tough, the fish comes almost cooked to the table and really only needs the greens added and wilted before serving. It's best to take the pan off the brazier and whack it on the table at that point.

Foodjunky - haven't heard any stories about MSG here though I do agree that Hanoians go into auto-pilot with the stuff.

Preya - All that oil is useful for something:)

[pieman]

Cha ca in Hanoi is bollocks. The branch the family opened in Saigon is way better, cleaner and with better service. One other thing - you cannot possibly eat Cha ca withou Mam tom. That's like having fish n chips without salt n vinegar. You just don't do that sorta thing.

[Sticky]

Pieman - I think due to the nature of their clientele now, they've ditched the mam tom from the standard cha ca vitals and replaced it with fish sauce and made it a more sanitised experience for westerners.

[pieman]

The bastards. Surly service and no mam tom. That's not good in anyone's book.

[gdbiederman]

Things seem to have changed a lot
recently. Most of the reviews I've
read on line consider this place an
outrageous ripoff.