Dong Xuan Market

Dong Xuan Market Hanoi is located in the Old Quarter, the North of the market is Hang Khoai Street, the South is Cau Dong Street, the West is Dong Xuan Street and the East is Dong Xuan Market Lane.

History of Dong Xuan Market

In the past, Dong Xuan Market was just a small market on the mudflats of To Lich and Red rivers when it was not fully covered. In 1890, small stalls were eliminated by the French government, they grouped in Dong Xuan ward so market was established. Due to its location close to the river, ships, and boats busy, this place quickly became the largest trading point in Hanoi at that time.

On February 14, 1947, market was the place affected by the war of Hanoi army against French colonialism. In 1997, the market once again caught fire, causing heavy damage. Standing by Hanoi people many ups and downs in history, Dong Xuan Market has been renovated 3 times. Today, it still has the old design but equipped with emergency exit doors and fire equipment. This is also considered the most beautiful and largest market in Hanoi.

Dong Xuan Market

Dong Xuan Day Market

Thi is a wholesale market in the north, consists of a 3-floor building, and has 5 arches on an area of more than 6,500 square meters, open from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm. The market sells a variety of items such as clothes, shoes, home appliances, toys, fabrics with traditional patterns, etc. Outside the market, there are many foods, snacks, souvenirs, food stalls.

It is divided into clear areas by floors and always crowded with buyers and sellers. Right from the entrance on the first floor, you will find a wide range of shops such as clothing, shoes, sunglasses of all kinds, electronics equipment like chargers, cables, flashlights, speakers, etc. mainly originated from China. The second floor is the wholesale area for clothes, fabrics, silk brocade for adults, while the third floor sells goods for babies and children.

Day Market in Dong Xuan

Dong Xuan Night Market

Night Market is located in the Old Quarter of Hanoi. The market stretches about 3km from the beginning of Hoan Kiem lake, through Hang Ngang, Hang Dao, Hang Duong streets, and ends at Dong Xuan market lane. It usually opens on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays every week. On every Saturday evening, there are often hold traditional folk performances such as “Cheo”, “Quan Ho”, and “Ca Trù” singing, etc. This is considered the unique feature of the night market.

Dong Xuan Night Market is a busy trading place with nearly 4,000 stalls. Products in the market for sale are quite diverse and plentiful. The items in the market are full of clothing, bags, backpacks, belts, hair ties, household goods, souvenirs, decorations, food, etc. Walking around the market, looking for a favorite item; watching a show at the market, or finding a food stall at the market to enjoy Hanoi cuisine are experiences that tourists should try when visiting market.

Dong Xuan Night Market

How to get to Dong Xuan Market

How to get there Dong Xuan market is at the West end of Hanoi Old quarter, surrounded by Hang Khoai street and Cau Dong street. If you keep walking down Hang Ngang street, you will reach the market after 4 blocks.

• Walking: If you are in Hoan Kiem lake area, you can walk to Dong Xuan market. On the way, tourists can go around to admire Hanoi Old Quarter.
• Electric car: Around Hoan Kiem Lake, there are many electric cars that will take you to the gate of Dong Xuan market.
• Bus: If you want to take a bus, you should choose buses such as 31 stops at Hang Luoc stress; 14, 14CT, 18, 22A, 23 stops at Hang Dau flower garden; No. 01, 36, 36 CT stops at Hang Cot stress, etc.
• Taxi: This way is simple but more expensive. You can call a taxi and they will take you to Dong Xuan market.

What to buy at Dong Xuan Market

There are plenty of trinkets, bags, t-shirts, homeware, art, and so on. People come here for shopping or just strolling in the crowd to feel the atmosphere of Dong Xuan Market and the habit of Hanoians.

As a commercial street, you can find everything concerning clothes and recreation. Clothes, sweets, “o mai” (salted dry fruit), decorations, toys, stationeries, sundry goods are respectively sold o­n Hang Ngang, Hang Dao, Hang Buom, Hang Duong, Luong Van Can, Hang Ma, Ngo Gach, and Hang Ca Streets. All goods and facilities can be found from Dong Xuan Market to Hang Giay Street.

Food stalls often sell “banh beo” (bloating fern-shaped cake), bacon, grilled “nem chua”, sausages, Hai Phong bread, Donner Kebap, cakes, sweet porridge of northern provinces or Hue city. At the end of the night market street, next to Dong Xuan market, there is a night eatery with a wide range of food, such as “lau”, grilled food, “banh khuc” and steamed sticky rice.

Please do not forget to try special street foods in Dong Xuan night market.

Products in Dong Xuan Market

Tips to go shopping at Dong Xuan Market

• Tourists should wear sandals or shoes because the market is very crowded and long. Wearing sandals or shoes makes it easy for tourists to move around the market without worrying about foot pain or other difficulties.
• When you want to buy an item, you should bargain the price and when the price is quite reasonable, you should buy it because most of the same items in the market have the same list prices.
• The market is quite crowded, so tourists should take care of personal belongings, especially phones, money, and identity papers. Before leaving any stall, remember to check your bag carefully.
• The parking ticket is very important, if you lose it, you will have many troubles getting your vehicle. Therefore, you should remember to keep it carefully in your purses or bags.
• Dong Xuan day market mainly sells wholesale, If you buy retail, you should go to night market at the weekend.

What should you eat at Dong Xuan Market?

Nom Bo Kho - Vietnamese salad with beef jerky

Beef jerky here is marinated with chili, lemongrass, ginger, and salt, then dried in big pieces to keep the sweetness and softness of the meat. When eaten, the meat will be cut into small pieces, mixed with shredded green papaya, carrots, and roasted peanuts. The salad soaked in sweet and sour sauce, served with beef jerky and roasted peanuts brings a wonderful taste. Each bowl of beef jerky salad costs 30,000 VND.

Bun Cha - Grilled Pork Noodles

Hang Nga stall is one of the few places that still sells Bun Cha with rustic and traditional flavors. The minced pork rolls here are covered with guise leaves, thin pieces, and grilled but not burned black as in many other places. Sliced pork is pork belly, when grilled, skin and fat are scorched. The sauce mixed well, not too sweet, served with minced garlic and chili. Each set of Grilled Pork Noodles here costs 30,000 VND.

Bun Cha Hanoi

Chao Suon - Pork Rib Porridges

The porridge here is cooked pure and smooth, the rib is simmered, eaten soft and sweet, combined with fluffy pemmican. All blended together to emit a rich flavor that makes it hard to resist. In addition, porridge is also eaten with bagel twists, add little spices such as pepper, garlic vinegar, chili powder depending on each person's taste. When you eat a spoonful of porridge, you will feel the taste of rice flour mixed with the sweet taste of thinning cartilage ribs right at the tongue.

Bun Rieu - Crab Paste Noodles

Crab Paste noodles dish includes vermicelli and paddy crab. Bun Rieu is a sour soup cooked from tomalley, filtered crushed crab with tomatoes, oil, vinegar, fish sauce, salt, onion, etc. Crab Paste Noodles often adds a little shrimp sauce, chili oil to spicy to increase the flavor and serve with fresh vegetables such as lettuce, chopped young banana flower, water spinach, oregano, and perilla, etc. Crab Paste noodles have the red color of tomatoes, the delicious tomalley, little dried onions sprinkled on top, and the yellow color of fried tofu. Bringing a wonderful taste to people and it will make you love at first sight with this delicious dish.

Bun Rieu Cua

Restaurants nearby Dong Xuan Market

Dong Xuan alley market is short, only a few hundred meters long, but it is known as the paradise for cheap, attractive food and drink in Hanoi. Today, Bestpricevn will introduce you to some famous restaurants in Dong Xuan market that you definitely cannot miss when you have the opportunity to come here.

• Hu Tieu Mrs. Phuong

Hu Tieu Mrs. Phuong has been open for about 40 years and always crowded. A full bowl has hu tieu (a kind of rice noodle), sliced char siu, dried onions, crushed peanuts, and herbs. However, 5 types of sauces with secret recipes are the highlight of this dish. After mixing well, you can add chili and garlic vinegar to enjoy it. It has a harmonious taste of sour, spicy, salty, sweet, and a bit of a fat sauce. The price for each full bowl is 30,000 VND.

• Hu Tieu

Because the shop is located in a narrow market lane, tourists have to walk from the beginning of Hang Chieu Street. When the market is closed, the stalls here also stop selling, so you should come to enjoy it before 5 pm.

Address: Alley Dong Xuan Market, Hang Chieu Stress, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi

Opening hours: 07:00 - 17:00

Price range: 25,000 - 30,000 VND

• Co Am Shrimp Fritter - Dong Xuan Alley

Co Am Shrimp Fritter is one of the most standard shrimp fritter left in Hanoi. The restaurant is located at the beginning of Dong Xuan lane and on Hang Chieu street. Co Am Shrimp Fritter is very crowded, especially in the evening with many customers. The shrimp Fritter here attracts people by the special mixer of flour, typical shrimp wrapped with fresh vegetables and eat with a sweet and sour sauce. Co Am Shrimp Fritter pays attention to the fritter dough to create delicious shrimp fritters, the flour is milled from delicious and smooth rice, mixed with water in the proportion to make the flour match, blends with the sweet potato then adding 1 or 2 shrimp on top. When fried, the color of the cake is turned to golden, with a sweet taste and delicious of sweet potato and shrimp. The fritter is only fried when having orders so they are always fresh, hot, and crispy.

• Address: Alley Dong Xuan, Hang Chieu Stress, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi

• Opening hours: 14:30 - 17:00

• Price range: 10,000- 50,000 VND

• Long Vi Dung Beef Jerky Salad

Beef Jerkey salad is considered one of the most favorite dishes of many young people, so it is impossible to ignore a special address selling this special dish called Long Vi Dung Dry Beef Salad. Beef jerky sold at Long Vi Dung restaurant is cooked according to their own recipe but it still has the basic ingredients such as ginger, chili, lemongrass, salt, sugar, and then dried whole pieces so the finished beef can still be kept the most natural sweetness. Full topping of beef jerky salads often includes: beef jerky cut into small pieces, roasted peanuts, and herbs.
• Address: Kiot No. 5 Hang Giay, Hang Buom stress, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi
• Opening hours: 09:00 - 21:30
• Price range: 25,000-44,000 VND

• Mrs. Thuy Snails Paste Noodles

Mrs. Thuy Snails Paste Noodles is one of the oldest restaurants in Hanoi. Mrs. Thuy said that the restaurant has existed for more than 70 years. Since Vietnam war days, her mother has been hiding in the basement while selling noodles. Mrs. Thuy Snails Paste Noodles is loved by many diners because the snail is always fresh and clean, with a bone flavor, sweet taste of soup; raw vegetables served with variety, fresh and clean.

• Address: Alley Dong Xuan, Hang Chieu Stress, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi
• Opening hours: 09:00 - 21:30
• Price range: 30,000-35,000 VND.

• Dinh Coffee

Dinh Coffee is famous for the unique egg coffee: sweet of egg cream and the aroma of coffee. Dinh Coffee was opened in the 1990s, is always crowded with students, art lovers, and a place for rock lovers. (Address: 13 Dinh Tien Hoang Stress, Hang Bac, Hoan Kiem)

• Trang Tien Ice Cream Center

Trang Tien ice cream has become a very characteristic feature in Hanoi, it will not a complete trip if you coming to Hanoi without eating Trang Tien ice cream. Whether it's winter or summer, sunny or rainy, Trang Tien is always crowned with ice cream customers. There are many kinds of ice cream such as ice cream cone, mochi with ice cream pie, ice cream cup, etc. with flavors of coconut milk, chocolate, green beans, etc. for enjoyment. Go to Hoan Kiem lake to have fun, you must first eat Trang Tien ice cream before going!

Attractions nearby Dong Xuan Market

• Ngoc Son Temple: located on Ngoc Island in the center of Hoan Kiem lake. The temple was built in the 19th century. In the past, this was originally a Buddhist pagoda then it was changed into a place worshipping the god Van Xuong De Quan (manager of literature and examination) and god Tran Hung Dao. The architecture of Ngoc Son Temple shows very clearly the concept of "three religions in a country" of the Vietnamese people with the meaning of religious unity and harmony. The harmony of these religions is not only evident in worship but also in architecture, construction, the system of couplets, panels, and decorations at Ngoc Son Temple.

Ngoc Son Temple

• "Beer Street" Ta Hien: In Ta Hien, people cannot find luxurious beer restaurants, but easy to find many sidewalk stalls, consumers sitting on the plastic chair with a table, right in front of the house. Many street performances are performed all night long, from traditional music to pop music or extremely unique musical instrument performances that attract all eyes.
• Thang Long Water Puppet Theater: Water puppetry is a traditional stage that cannot be missed in Vietnam especially in Hanoi. Thang Long Water Puppet Theater is one of the active traditional puppet theaters and the theater's lacquered wooden puppets have become famous all over the world.
  (Address: 57b Dinh Tien Hoang Stress, Hang Bac, Hoan Kiem, Hoan Kiem Hanoi)

It is great to freely walk around Dong Xuan Market, go shopping for your favorite items at extremely affordable prices, eat all the specialties everywhere and also enjoy learning about the types of Vietnamese traditional cultural performances. If you do not have any experience in travel, it is very easy to visit Dong Xuan Market by joining our Hanoi City Tours.