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Bia hoi oi!
Yorkie Pittstop
toasts the perfect after work tipple – bia hoi –
and offers you 10 spots to start tippling the good
stuff this summer.
It’s light. It’s
thirst-quenching. It’s as low in alcohol as a
beer-shandy. What’s more, it is as cheap as chips.
Yes, bia hoi is surely the perfect summer tonic,
if not the drink to be drunk if you’re driving
home.
Bia hoi culture is
also an important part of the mechanics of Hanoi.
It’s a pleasure just to sit amongst it all
watching the throng of after-work drinkers happily
chattering over snacks and beers or digging into
hot pots or standing up and clinking glasses and
shouting, “tram phan tram!”
Of course with such
abundance of bia hoi, your only problem might be
choosing one. Although getting to know all of them
might take years, it’s good to try out a few
different ones. So here’s a “Top 10 places” to try
bia hoi this summer. You may find better, or
worse, but it should be enough to quench your
thirst.
Pint sized
○ 19A
Ngoc Ha: A
massive courtyard bia hoi behind the Ho Chi Minh
Mauseleum. This bia hoi is heaving with government
workers after office hours. Great atmosphere. Does
a mean German sausage.
○ Tang
Bat Ho (The old parachut bia hoi):
There’s actually a few in this area, so pick any
one of them, though the first one, Bia hoi Lan
Chin, opposite No. 1 Tang Bat Ho, is tried and
tested. It covers half the street on busy nights.
○ Hai
Xom Bia Hoi (Two-floored bia hoi) on Gang Vo:
Perhaps seen better days but still one of the most
popular bia hoi for large groups, though kind of
pointless if you’re on the ground floor.
○ The
Army bia hoi (in between Nguyen Tri Phuong and
Hoang Dieu, numbered 19C):
This one has appeared
since the citadel reopened to the public, but
still subject to odd closing hours. The food
however is second to none.
Mid-sized
 ○ Opera
House bia hoi a.k.a. the cage bia hoi:
You can find this one where Pham Ngu Lao meets
Tong Dan. A large bia hoi that curves around,
offering seating inside and outside. Serves Bia
Hoi Ha Noi, has a decent sized menu with some
wonderful translations into English (the Master
Chef invites you!) and a very lonely condom
machine in the toilets.
○ Phung
Hung Railway tracks bia hoi:
Real feel of a working men’s club at first glance
(plenty of thuoc lao pipes and not too many Honda
@ motorbikes) but a good honest watering hole. No
idea where you’re supposed to go the toilet
though.
○ Wee
ones
○ 55
Ma May (The Squid bia hoi reincarnated):
This Old Quarter place serving Bia Hoi Viet Ha is
indoors and when the old fellows are in fine
fettle (99 per cent of the time) the volume gets
out of control. It is run by the same family that
owned the late great Tong Dan bia hoi (a.k.a. the
Squid bia hoi). The Muc Chien Bo is just as good
and service is quicker here, alas it just isn’t
the same.
○ The
Round Tower bia hoi on the Dyke road (Tran Nhat
Duat):
This little tower shaped building just north of
Long Bien bridge is one of the most curious
looking bia hoi restaurants in the city. Close
proximity to the street means it’s pretty noisy
but that’s half the point.
○ Ta
Hien/ Dinh Liet streets a.k.a. bia hoi corner:
Probably the worst bia hoi in the city, but nobody
cares because it’s also the cheapest (VND 1,500 a
glass). This crossroads is home to a number of
stalls serving bia hoi and serves as a handy
meeting point for backpackers and local experts
and it’s as decent place as any to watch life
passing by or possibly finds work as an English
teacher.
○ 11
Da Tuong:
A good one to sample the “minority” Viet Phap
brew, this smallish-sized bia hoi is a lively but
cool (temperature wise) establishment, just off
Tran Hung Dao street.
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