Hanoi: Cha Ca Thang Long

During the planning stages of our trip, I started making my list of dishes, and a few places that I wanted to check out. Of course, being a fan of Cha Ca Thang Long(tumeric fish with dill), I had the famous Cha Ca La Vong, made popular by Patricia Schultz's 1,000 Places to See Before You Die, and seen in every single travel show on Hanoi, on my list. But after asking around a bit, and reading a post or two, we thought that'd maybe we would try elsewhere, and on Beach's and a NY Time's article, the lower-keyed Cha Ca Thang Long Restaurant seemed to fit the bill.

So upon our return to Hanoi from Halong Bay, we dodged the endless procession of motorbikes and walked on over to Cha Ca Thang Long.

At first glance it seemed that the restaurant hadn't taken down the Christmas decorations! But the interior of the restaurant was very clean, and I guess red is the color of choice.

Every table comes equipped with a brazier loaded with heating gel.

And a rather large bowl of scallions and dill.

And in an instant, all of the ingredients of Cha Ca arrive; the wonderfully spicy, but sweet orange chilies, shredded scallions, skinned peanuts(a very important detail.....a gentleman told me the peanuts have to be skinned), a bowl of wonderful fresh herbs...

A plate piled high with Bun....

Both the Missus and I each had an entire set of ingredients......it was turning out to be quite a collection of plates and bowls. Meanwhile, one of Young Ladies, started toward us with 2 little bowls, as she approached our table she spoke to us in Vietnamese. As soon as we replied in English she stopped dead in her tracks and beat a hasty retreat to the kitchen, and came back with two different bowls. These had Nuoc Mam(Fish Sauce) in them.

Laughing, I told them, "no-no, mam tom, mam tom, shrimp paste....please!" "You want shrimp sauce?" "Yes, yes, please......"

And while the fish sauce was quite nice....pungent and biting like a stiff drink of whiskey, the Mam Tom was a revelation. Rich and savory, pungent as expected, but it had been whipped until foamy, making it very light. and there was an unmistakable sweetness, with a mild sour flavor. The Missus went through 3 bowls of this stuff, and 2 little bowls of the chilies during the meal.

The brazier was lit, and our pan of fish arrived. I went to start cooking, and with a smile, the Young Lady, waved me off, and started cooking the Cha Ca for us.

Her own version of quality control I guess. She mixed in half of the dill and scallions, gently mixed everything together, and served us.

  Our observations on the meal? Strangely, the dill had almost no flavor, which threw off the overall flavor. The fish was very moist, tender, and without any hint of the dreaded "muddy flavor", but was on the bland side. I had been expecting this to be a tad oily, but that was not the case at all. The Bun was very mushy and sticky. Kind of a mixed bag for a meal. Though the fish was very moist, compared to the version a good friend's Mom made for us, the flavor came up a bit short.

The service was probably the best we had in Vietnam, amazingly efficient, and generous. As soon as we were out of something, they would bring out replacements until we told them to stop! The price was also quite good 160,000 VND for 2. About 5 bucks each. The based on the what we heard and observed, the clientele was completely Vietnamese.

Cha Ca Thang Long
21-31 Duong Thanh
Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi

Gastronomy eats at Cha Ca Thang Long here.

Comments

[nhbilly]

My favorite dish! So fresh and lite that you can eat it nonstop, well I can at least ;-)

[Chris]

I have been wiating for this one. I LOVE VN turmeric dill fish! I just don't know if i'm doing it right because I never had it in VN. Sorry for being so inquisitive: but if you shoud have the chance to reply: the yellow/orange chilies- would you say this is like a serrano, or jalapeno that has allowed to ripen to an orange color, or do you think its anything like a peruvian aji amarillo? (suggested substitute) I usually get these little thai bird chilies in the VN market that are either GREEN or RED. Alot of heat, but not that fruity flavor one associates with like an aji amarillo or habonero. Could you expound on this if possible?

[Chris]

Oh, and ah..the mam tom is this like the same thing I have in my fridge MAM NEM (except made with shrimp)? The fish: it is supposed to be "grilled" first no? although that can be an ambiguous term (like the buffalo from HWY 4)would you say the fish was grilled or cooked in oil (like- pan fried). I mean- its not cooked from the start in that little braiser- its just tossed with the herbs to finish? FINALLY: this is supposed to be made with snakehead fish I have never had. Would you say catfish would be a good substitute (what I use) or is there something you know of that comes closer? Once again. sorry for the many questions,. I have just waited a long time for this moment.

[kat]

too bad the flavor didn't match up to what you were expecting, still it looked like a great meal.

[Rachel]

Interesting combination of herbs and flavours. Hehe maybe it all worked to remove the "muddy" flavour. Did the restaurant only serve Cha Ca? Or did it have a few other specialty dishes as well?

[howie]

This looks like a really interesting dish, though it's too bad it wasn't seasoned more. Does anywhere in San Diego make this?

[ed (from Yuma)]

Another great post. Wonderful pictures. Like Howie asked, is this dish available in San Diego?

It's amazing that they would suspect that English speakers wouldn't like Mam Tom. Who'd think you'd run into "you no like that" in Hanoi. Guess they've had American tourists before.

[Wandering Chopsticks]

Did you later go to Cha Ca La Vong then Kirk? Funny coincidence since I just made this dish last week. This time though, I used more oil like how it's served at Cha Ca La Vong. That extra oil seems to release more of the turmeric fragrance and softens the scallions. And I loaded up on the dill. I think too many people use dill sparingly, whereas for this dish, dill should be treated like a vegetable. Anyway, cooking with more oil really made a difference for me. I tried to be healthier in previous attempts with less oil and the result was never quite right. It sounds so simple, but I'm thinking that may have been the difference with your meal too?

[Roger]

Wow! The 'nam posts just keep on coming :D I hope you got more to post on here so we can experience your vacation vicariously.

Also...I really love how food is so cheap (compared to the States) in Asia. Thanks for posting up the prices of each meal. I get a real kick out of them :P

[Roger]

Yikes almost forgot:

Sorry to hear you won't be able to make it to the mixer at EC tomorrow. Was really lookin' forward to meeting you and the missus. Don't worry though, other bloggers n I will bring back lots of goodies for you!

[Kirk]

Hi Billy - I agree, it is quite good, and when done well you can just keep on eating!

Hi Chris - The pepper is mildy sweet and fruity, and it could compare with the Aji Amarillo, but is nowhere as hot as a habanero. It is much more nuanced than the Thai Bird Chilies we get here in San Diego. The fish is precooked - it did look mildly grilled. Not enough overall flavor; usually there is something that stands out - ginger, galangal, etc. Actually, I had a chance to talk to someone about Cha Ca; I was told that the fish of choice is the "Ca Lang" or dwarf catfish. The reason I don't think you've had "Ca Qua" (snakehead), is that I believe it's illegal to import the fish into the US. The best version I had of this dish; at a friend's house was made with catfish. I hope that answers everything.

Hi Kat - In the end, we enjoyed certain portions of the meal.....but I had hoped for better.

Hi Rachel - I think these places only make Cha Ca.

Hi Howie & Ed - Nope, can't find this in restaurants in San Diego. Ed, if you want, on your next trip here, I can grab you and Howie and take a drive up to Westminster.....

Hi WC - You could be right....the Chinese believe that oil is the "pathway to flavor"....which is why some people freak when they see how much oil is used for some dishes. And no, we never made it to La Vong....we just ran out of time. I'd have love to have gotten there...and had a few more bowls of Bun Rieu as well.

Hi Roger - Would you believe that this was just about 4 days! It looks like you all had a blast at Eclipse.

[foodhoe]

Kirk the pix are really great, especially of the groups of people exercising around the park. I am going to look for that turmeric dill fish, it sounds fantastic.

[foodhoe]

ok I'm back, got home and read the latest saveur magazine, they have an article about Vietnamese-American recipes for crab. There's one for bun bieu cua (http://www.saveur.com/food/classic-recipes/crab-soup-21391827.html)that looks pretty good...

[Kirk]

Hi FH - You gotta love Savuer! I hope you're able to find some good Cha Ca.

[Nhung]

Hum, the reason why the dill tasted bland is that you're not really supposed to eat it, or much of it--it's basically only used for aroma. The frying pan is filled with so much oil, you'd get a heart infarction on the spot if you eat all that dill and green onion drenched in oil. There's plenty of vegetables on the side to eat with the fish and noodles, and you can dip the vegetables in the sauce.

[Kirk]

Hi Nhung - I'm sorry but I don't understand..."the reason why the dill tasted bland is that you're not really supposed to eat it". If you're trying to explain why the dill tasted bland, I don't think I get your point. We didn't pour the stuff into our bowls....so it wasn't oily, we watched and ate it as all the other locals did in the restaurant. Hum......