Night Market in Hanoi: Tips for Shopping & Taste Local Food

Hanoi Weekend Night Market is a famous night market in Vietnam. This market is very special because it is located in the centre of Hanoi Old Quarter which only opens on weekend nights. BestPrice will briefly introduce about night market as well as some tips when visiting this place. 

Hanoi Weekend Night Market Overview

Hanoi Weekend Night Market is located in Hoan Kiem District. It is 3 kilometres from Hang Dao Street to Dong Xuan Market passing via Hang Duong Street and Hang Ngang Street. The market has come into operation since 2003. Recently, this market is known as a great destination which attracts thousands of tourists per year. 

It is a playground for young people and it also contains many cultural features of Vietnamese. Night market opening hours last from 6 p.m to 23 p.m on weekends including Friday, Saturday, Sunday. Products selling here are very diverse such as necessary items, clothes, jewellery, handicrafts, souvenirs. Besides, the cuisine area of this market is also famous for attractive and delicious foods.

Hanoi night market

Top things to do in the Hanoi Night market

Shopping

There are many products which are displayed at the Weekend Night Market. Hanoi’s stores in this market are sparkling because they are decorated with colourful lights. Clothes, bags, sandals are sold at most stores in the night market. These products are sold at affordable prices which are suitable for most people, especially students. We will list a lot of main products which are sold in most stores in the night market. 

• Clothes: Like other night markets, clothes in this one are not only beautiful but also modern. Some stores sell casual clothes such as shirts, skirts, pants and so on which are made from soft materials. However, lots of other stores sell Vietnamese traditional costumes such as Ao Dai, Non-La, Ba Ba and so on which are known as the symbols of Vietnamese people. Tourists are usually attracted by the elegance of them.
• Sedge Products: There are many kinds of bags which are displayed in the night market such as carpetbags, handbags and so on. Vietnamese people often use sedge material to make some special bags. And they are quite cheap. Tourists like them because they are suitable for travelling and taking some photos. Sedge slippers are also considered items when going shopping at the night market because tight ones help tourists feel more comfortable to move. 
• Scarves: Colorful scarves make tourists feel excited. Tourists will be surely attracted by their designs. Foreign tourists often buy scarves to give to their relatives and friends because they are some meaningful gifts. 
• Souvenirs: Souvenir Hanoi shops are crowded by tourists because of their richness in both colours and sizes which always attract the attention of visitors. Paper products such as postcards, notebooks are spiritual gifts that most visitors want to buy when they have trips to Hanoi. Maybe they buy those souvenirs to save their memories or give them to their relatives and friends. Some colourful keychains are attractive to young people. They can buy some suitable keychains for them at cheap prices. 
• Accessories: In fact, accessories for women are the dominant items recently because most accessories stores sell unique and exotic handicrafts such as earrings, hairpins, headband and so on. Most young girls, as well as women, often stop walking for a long time to admire the beauty of them. 

Shopping at Hanoi night market

Taste local food

Surely, most visitors like to visit the Hanoi night market street food areas because they are known as the paradise cuisine of Hanoi. Therefore, if you are a foreign tourist, you should not miss the opportunity to enjoy street foods in Vietnam. Foods which are sold in this night market are quite cheap. Each tourist only prepares about 100,000 VND, so they can taste all the delicious street foods there. 

• Grill: The fragrance of the grill will surely make tourists not refuse. Pork, chicken, beef, seafood or vegetables will be grilled above the stoves and then tourists can taste them immediately. 
• Rice paper: Rice papers are used popularly in Vietnam to make some snacks which are always supported by young people. They make “rice paper mix” by cutting rice papers into small pieces then mixing them with eggs, sauces, coriander, beef jerky shreds. Or they can make a “rice paper drill” by putting eggs, sauces, cheese, beef jerky shreds on the rice papers then drilling them on the coal stoves.
• Ice-cream: There are many famous ice-cream brands in Hanoi Old Quarter such as Trang Tien Ice-creams, Thailand ice-creams with diverse flavours from coconut, strawberry, apple, orange.  
• “Banh Mi”: is a Vietnamese dish which is very famous in the world. The way to make “Banh Mi” is very simple. However, the flavour of Banh Mi completely depends on the flavour of spring rolls and sauces which are put into them. 
• Fruits are very good for health. So they use fruits to make some snacks. These snacks are liked by young people such as mango shake, guava shake,...
• Drinks are very necessary for tourists because they have to walk a lot. There are many kinds of drinks such as soft drinks, juices, water, yoghurt. 

In addition to Vietnamese dishes, foreign dishes are also safe choices for foreign travellers who are not familiar with Vietnamese foods such as kimbap, topokki and so on. Hang Duong Street is evaluated as the sweetest street in Hanoi because most delicious foods are sold on this street. Therefore, don’t miss visiting Hang Duong Street to taste some foods which are made by Vietnamese people. 

Taste Hanoi Bun Cha

Enjoying cultural shows

As mentioned at the beginning of the article, Hanoi is the capital of Vietnam which saves and preserves the long-standing cultural features of Vietnamese people. Therefore, the cultural shows at this market are good opportunities to promote Vietnamese cultures to foreign friends in the world. The areas where cultural performances are held is quite bustling because there are many people participating. 

Every Saturday evening, traditional cultural performances such as “quan ho”, “cheo”, and “xam” shows are held. The shows attract hundreds of people, especially the elderly and foreign tourists. For the elderly, there are some opportunities for them to remember past memories. For foreigners, there are some absolutely special occasions to learn more about Vietnamese cultural features. 

Visitors can easily take part in some cultural shows when they walk along with this market. Don’t hesitate to stop walking to admire the beauty of Vietnam's traditional cultures. Holding cultural performances is the best way to advertise the image of Vietnam. The poetry and music of Vietnam make tourists love Vietnam as well as want to come back again. 

In addition to some cultural shows, there are many concerts which are performed by young singers. They performed eventful songs that are really supported by young people. In many shows, not only young artists but also old artists who still always try to perverse the cultural features of the nation. 

Enjoy cultural shows in Hanoi night market

Local tips when visiting a night market in Hanoi

• Wearing sandals instead of high heels because tourists will definitely have to walk a lot. 
• If visitors including adults and kids come to the night market, kids will have to be taken care of by adults carefully. Because the large numbers of crowded tourists go there every day. 
• This market opens in the evening so it is difficult to control security. The night market is very crowded, so visitors should watch out for their property by themselves. 
• Although the prices of products which are sold in the night market are very affordable, visitors should still consult the prices of them before buying. 
• If visitors have plans to visit the night market, please go there early because the parking areas are very tight. 

Visiting and going shopping in Hanoi Weekend Night Market are some exciting experiences. Some souvenirs which are bought in this night market will always make tourists remember the trips to Hanoi. They can’t forget the delicious street foods which are made by Vietnamese people. Cultural shows will be their unforgettable memories when coming to Hanoi Old Quarter.  

For BestPrice, Hanoi is a great place that we always want to introduce to tourists. We hope that we can help visitors have the best plans. Our enthusiastic staffs are happy to support tourists when they have any problems. You can contact BestPrice to have further information. 

Besides, tourists can go to bestpricetravel.com to search for the necessary information about the Hanoi Tours. We will try our best to help tourists have suitable trips for their schedules.

Nhat Anh

Image source: Internet