OLD QUARTER CHARM: Hanoi Dzao restaurant has just opened on the bustling Lương Ngọc Quyến Street. VNS Photos Mỹ Hà

By Nguyễn Mỹ Hà

Since we heard that the owner of Red Dzao in Sa Pa had opened a new joint in town, we rushed out to try it. With that, Hanoi Dzao has become the latest dining destination in Hà Nội's Old Quarter.

Hanoi Dzao, on Lương Ngọc Quyến Street, has an open facade, decorated by electric lanterns with striking colours. The front patio also has tables that look out unto the street, and one level below, diners can also sit outside, close to people strolling by.

CRISPY: Spring rolls presented in a bamboo basket on a fragrant bed of aromatic herbs.

At Hanoi Dzao, the open air space can be hotter during summer, but much more suitable for autumn and winter.

Walk inside the restaurant, and you'll feel the comfort of the place, dropping off all the hustle bustle of life behind your back. The restaurant is cosy, neatly designed with ethnic colours and fabrics to make a lively dining space anyone would enjoy. We went in a big group and had a table for 10.

In Việt Nam, feasts and parties are typically catered in groups of six, and each group makes one mâm, or round tray. For 10, we ordered everything to share, so to make it easier, we would choose two salads, two of each type of appetiser, then something hot like a soup or hotpot.

FOOD TOWER: The three-tier tower holds tofu, mushrooms, fish and rich greens.

We ordered green papaya salad (VNĐ89,000) and a beef salad (VNĐ159,000). For travellers who have not been to Việt Nam before, the words green papaya may ring a bell, as it's the name of Trần Anh Hùng's famous movie, Scent of Green Papaya, which won the Camera d'Or in 1993 Cannes Festival.

The green papaya salad always has a warm place in any Vietnamese heart as they are a must-have on festive occasions. They can be afternoon snacks for high-school boys and girls, sitting on a sidewalk holding a plate of sour-sweet-spicy green papaya salad on a hot summer afternoon. The salads are also among the vital elements of a Lunar New Year's tray to offer to our ancestors. The salads we had were delicious, and the veggies really fresh.

Northwestern Mat features five-coloured sticky rice on a bed of home-made sausages

Next up we went for some spring rolls (VNĐ99,000) and deep-fried sturgeon bites in hot salt (VNĐ389,000). The spring rolls were quite limited, and each of us had only one - just enough to try, but not enough to judge.

Next came the beauty of mountainous cooking: five-coloured sticky rice on a bed of home-made sausages, the Northwestern Mat (VNĐ350,000). Nothing tastes as delicious as a mountainous sausage: fatty and smoked. The crystal clear fatty pieces of the sausages blended well with the sticky rice. They both enhance each other's flavours when dipped in sesame salt and a pinch of hot red chilli sauce.

VIBRANT: The beef salad features bell pepper and balanced dressing.

Browsing through the menu again, we chose the pumpkin soup. When it arrived, we were all surprised at how smooth it was: the flavour was so delicate, and above all, it was not as rich as the usual creamy pumpkin soup.

But the evening was far from over. We asked for the menu again with one burning desire: we wanted something hot, salty and sour, with lots of green veggies and some protein. Our eyes captured the veggie tower on the menu: sturgeon hotpot for two (VNĐ529,000, they also have options for 4 and 6 people).

All we ever craved was beautifully layered on the three-tier bamboo tower: tofu, mushrooms and fresh fish slices on a big bed of greens. They were taken down the digestive system by dipping into a boiling broth of the hotpot. The spicy soup made us all sweat.

It was early summer, yet the restaurant was well ventilated and air-conned. But nothing gets your head fresh and cleared like a hot bowl of boiling soup. "Nóng hổi vừa thổi vừa ăn" is just the saying for the occasion: it's so hot you have to blow it and sip a tiny amount. It usually shows how delicious the food is, when you can't wait so blow it and taste, and hope your tongue does not get burned.

The Hanoi Dzao hotpot size was quite generous for us Vietnamese. Maybe it caters to international tourists, so the average portion seemed usually double that of similar establishments for local people.

Last but not least, Hanoi Dzao had fresh fruit for dessert, but that was not what we wanted. The convenience of sitting right in the middle of the Old Quarter is that you're only a few walking steps away from all the best fresh snacks.

Our waitress Lò Kim Tuyến, who was wearing a beautiful Dzao outfit, was kind enough to allow us to order desserts from the neighbourhood shop.

The desserts were so delicious, we found more to discuss while letting our judging taste buds do their job. The sweet bean-based icy cool broth would melt even the most icy hearts, well-blended with a touch of coconut milk and buttery peanut bits. The sweets were cheap at between VNĐ15-30,000 each, but the satisfying effect they bring is priceless.

As we stepped out of the restaurant, the street was full of happy people hanging around. Some people danced to the music of a nearby bar. Tuyến informed us that the restaurant owners actually have a new hotel next door too, and we could have booked a room for a staycation in the centre of town. Maybe that's what we'll do next time. VNS