Pho Ly Van Phuc aka Chicken Street, Hanoi.

“Have you been to chicken street yet?”. Had I been to chicken street? No, I never even knew that Chicken Street existed. I’d been to tin street, coffin street and christmas decoration corner, but I had never heard those two words placed side by side in a sentence and they sounded delicious together.

First you have to find Pho Ly Van Phuc, it is off the tourist drag but the piles of skewered chicken bits grilling and delicious scents wafting will drag you right in. Pass by the touts trying to herd you in to near empty eateries at the head of the road and make your way down to the last and largest open air eatery. Rows of miniature blue chairs and tables straddle the road, flanked on one end by the makeshift kitchen. Ladies prowl the dining area carrying chicken pieces impaled on long bamboo skewers. Chicken bones picked clean litter the ground, a good sign.

The menu here is short, in Vietnamese and stuck up on a wall. Grilled chicken, bread and sweet potato are the staples and the reason to come here. As soon as you sit down you these pickles (pictured above) land. Lightly pickled cucumber and water spinach stems refreshed by sweet vinegar, still retains its crunch and are incredibly moreish. The bread rolls are flattened, hot and crisp from the grill and unexpectedly sweet. They are glazed with a sugar syrup and are best when dipped in the mild but complex chilli sauce. Service here is a two part affair. One waitress drops the skewered item on your plate then another lady with a set of enormous shears unceremoniously dissects your food.

The smoky, sticky chicken is just delicious. Wings are succulent and the tender legs are enveloped by skin grilled crisp. Chunks of grilled yam, basted with a sweet sauce are hit and miss, sometimes unpleasantly fibrous but other times they are perfectly softened with a chewy exterior. This is a messy, relaxed, eat with your hands meal, dipping morsels into the chilli sauce in between sips of cold bia Ha Noi. Sweet, salty, spicy and sour, Chicken Street has it all and I’m so glad that I know about now.

Chicken Street.
Ly Van Phuc, Hanoi.

Ask for:
cánh gà – chicken wing
khoai – sweet potato
bánh mì – bread