Aside from the hordes of delicious meals that Hanoi has to offer, there are also a number of sweets you can find throughout the old city. And what better to follow up a day of walking or a hearty bowl of phở with a sweet treat?

Many of these sweet dishes are ubiquitous to Vietnam, such as chè, but we also included our return to the famed Maison Marou, innovator of chocolate in Vietnam, for good reason. In any case, be it for a cold drink, a smooth jelly, or a decadent chocolate sensation, Hanoi has all the makings to satisfy the sweet tooth of any seasoned gourmand.

Chè

As vague as the word pudding to describe desserts in the UK, chè is the Vietnamese equivalent to any traditional dessert soups, jellies, puddings, and sweet drinks. Vendors selling such a dish also often have as varied of a selection of toppings for you to choose the combination you like best. Be it mung bean or red bean, lotus seeds or taro, or a plethora of tropical fruits, the biggest vendors will let you eat your heart out.

Chè Bà Thìn

Not too far off from the famed Phở Gia and Chả Cá Thăng Long is the corner shop Chè Bà Thìn. Selling a selection of traditional Vietnamese chè, this shop opens from early to late, making for an easy visit for a snack or dessert after a meal, be it dinner or even breakfast.

Don’t expect too much when you visit. Consisting only of a shopfront, covers, and outdoor knee-high stools and tables, it’s as close to a street stand as you can get. With the benefit of a large store, however, comes a sizeable menu. At least a dozen buckets, bowls, and containers perch all around the serving counter heaping with ingredients, some recognisable and others not so much. You can choose some solid sweets at the front for munching, or follow the trend of the visitors and sample a bowl of their chè.

Of course, when in Hanoi we had to look to our local friend to help us out. She recommended both this shop specifically as well as the dishes to get: their tào phớ thạch trân châu (tofu with chewy white pearls), and thạch đen + trân châu ăn kèm nước hoa nhài, the longwinded menu item which describes its components (herbal jelly, white chewy pearls in jasmine water). Though it may not state it on the menu, this item also includes hạt sen (lotus seeds). Each item is ₫17,000 (US$0.75).

The tofu jelly, sweetened with a jasmine syrup, was not at all grassy or too beany in flavour. Predominantly it’s all about the texture, as smooth as you get and offset by the firm crunchy agar of the black herbal jelly beneath. For those who have never eaten herbal jelly, it is fairly distinct. Rather than pungent, its notes are closer to floral, though its fragrance is very short-lived. The white pearls were also a huge textural component, its outside nice and chewy like typical tapioca balls but the chunk of coconut inside providing a crispness. It’s delicious, and a great way to follow up a good bowl of phở.

There are obvious similarities with the second dessert. Besides the absence of tofu was the addition of ice, shredded coconut, and lotus seeds. Lotus seeds are similar in texture to a boiled peanut or a very firm bean – toothy, with chunky, crumbling flesh. This one tasted a little more of the herbal jelly that it was served with but made for a much more refreshing, fun dessert. Both are great, but with this sort of mix-and-match style of dining, it’s of course best to go with what you love the most.

Chè cart

Unfortunately, not every chè stand can be located on Google Maps or Foody (the Vietnamese equivalent of food rating sites like Yelp or Zomato). But it is worth mentioning that you don’t have to go to a recommended spot to eat good food.

This cart piqued our interest due to the crowd of ladies flocking like it was free. Some were office ladies, some in school uniforms, but they were all walking away with a cup filled to brimming with colourful combinations of chè that we just could not pass up. An old lady operated the stand from a souped-up bicycle fitted with wire baskets that accommodated pots of jellies and pastes. On this day we’d already eaten a fair amount, but that wasn’t going to stop us.

Compared to previously where we’d had a photographic reference for the items we were ordering, this one was very much a mix-and-match of everything we liked. Noms pointed out the tofu jelly of a previous customer and received a similar dessert. Jos requested a gloopy green bean paste and red beans in syrup, and the old lady obliged. She charged us both ₫10,000 (US$0.45) each, which was by far the cheapest for chè we’d encountered throughout all of Vietnam, despite it also being the most generous. Perhaps, even, the most delicious.

In short; follow the crowds, be it online or in person. We can’t even guarantee this lady will be in the same location in the future, but sometimes, that’s the beauty of travel.

French Influences in Vietnamese Desserts

Besides the classic chè stands and stalls all throughout Vietnam, there is also a different side of desserts due to the French influence. The colonial rule lasted over half a decade and did not go without the locals taking some of what the French brought over and making it their own.

Such examples include flan and yoghurt, which arguably distinguishes Vietnam from much of the rest of Asia, whose cooking rarely, if ever, uses dairy products. In Vietnam, flan is referred to by many names: kem caramel, caramen, or bánh caramel in the north, or kem flan and bánh flan in the south. It stays fairly true to the French method of cooking, beginning with a sugar caramel and an egg custard cooked over a bain-marie. Inevitably, the melting pot of a country introduced several renditions of the dish, including the addition of coffee, coconut, or fruit, if the store proprietor so pleases.

Yoghurt, on the other hand, underwent a few more changes. Originally, fresh milk is added to yoghurt culture with a little sugar to kick-start the fermentation process. The Vietnamese, however, have a preference of sweetened condensed milk over fresh milk, due its far extended shelf life. The use of condensed milk removed the need for sugar, and also results in a much milder and more delicate yoghurt, with a little more sweetness than acid.

Besides the fact that we should all agree that colonialism is a Bad Thing, the Vietnamese did truly well to turn their hardships into deliciousness.

Chè Xoài Minci

Not many people may know about the history of these iconic Vietnamese sweets, but they don’t really have to in order to enjoy them. Our local friend took us to Chè Xoài Minci simply because she liked eating there, not to give us a history lesson, but it’s interesting all the same.

We started with the plain caramen (₫7,000; US$0.30). The first thing we noticed was the caramel, which had been cooked a little past its caramelisation point to produce a slight bitterness. It could closely be described much like a very brown slice of toast, balancing the sweetness and the richness of the flan. Rather than jelly-like, this caramen was very thick, almost firm though slowly dissolves in the same way that cream cheese might.

Next was the chè xoài (mango pudding) (₫12,000; US$0.55). Rather than a jelly flavoured with mango, this was more of a sticky rice cake with generous quantities of fresh mango, submerged in a thick coconut milk. Though some may like a sweeter fruit, we enjoyed the tartness of the fresh mango that helped to reduce the richness. A nice follow-up to a light meal.

The sữa chua nha đam (aloe vera yoghurt) (₫22,000; US$1) is another Vietnamese classic. We established during our Vietnamese snack frenzy that we enjoyed it, but having a fresh version was really something else. Compared to its mass-produced counterpart, the fresh yoghurt is a little more acidic and less smooth. The chunks of aloe vera is first boiled with sugar water, resulting in firm, jelly-like chunks that are sweet though with a vaguely bitter finish. Very light, and not at all too sweet, this can be consumed almost as a drink and a great way to cool off.

Finally, the caramen pudding phô mai (cheese caramel flan) (₫22,000; US$1) was more of a wild card, needed to satisfy our sweet tooth and try something a little out of the ordinary. We hadn’t expected cheese in the traditional sense. The caramen was served in a thick coconut milk with sago pearls and a translucent white jelly which was thick in texture but nothing like cheese. A little milky, though without any of the savoury flavour, we were disappointed not because of how it tasted but rather how it failed to taste of cheese. A little sweeter than the caramen on its own, the addition of the cheese pudding was tasty, and not at all off-putting. Give it a go.

Chocolate

We’ve discussed chocolate before in Vietnam on our previous article when we went to Maison Marou in Ho Chi Minh City. Chocolate is highly prized all over the world, with many associating European artisans as in the forefront of the game. However, the cacao plant is fickle and only able to grow in the cocoa belt within 10° of the equator, far from the European countries most known for their chocolate. Tropical Vietnam sits right within this region, resulting in a resource that only recently has been put to the use it deserves.

Nowadays, there are several Vietnamese chocolate makers that draw in tourism and help to fuel the growing Vietnamese economy. Many market their products by emphasising the region and terroir of their chocolate. The long, narrow topography of the Southeast Asian country allows for a huge range of environmental diversity, resulting in chocolates that may be fruity in one area, or spicy in another, much like wine or cheese.

It’s exactly for this reason that chocolate shouldn’t be overlooked in Vietnam if gourmands are what they claim to be. Marou is exactly a great example of that, selling high quality chocolates that can easily be purchased as souvenirs. We may have visited Maison Marou before, but during our visit, Hanoi offered something that its Saigon branch did not.

Maison Marou

The menu at Maison Marou changes, frequently enough that it’s different as of the release of this article from what was available during our trip. At the time we had gone, Hanoi’s branch offered a Hanoi specialty drink: egg chocolate (₫100,000; US$4.40). This is made by whipping eggs with condensed milk to produce a custard-like foam with very fine bubbles, creating a silky-smooth texture that is supposed to imitate frothed milk in a coffee drink.

The result was a drink that is much richer, creamier, and infinitely more decadent. When accompanied with the flavour of the milk chocolate and the perfect drinking temperature, the experience was more like drinking liquid chocolate right at its melting point. Understandably, it can become a little sweet; for those who like a darker drink the Signature Bold is one to behold. But when in Hanoi, you may as well try the egg chocolate.

We also ordered a coffee macaron (₫25,000; US$1.10), and a mini chocolate chip cookie (₫20,000; US$0.90), both of which hit the spot. For those who are after something more luxurious, we also recommend the tiramisu. At ₫150,000 (US$6.60) it is expensive by Vietnamese standards without a doubt, but hardly anything to shell up for a well-crafted dessert featuring bean-to-bar, single-origin chocolate.

Compared to a traditional tiramisu, this one is lighter, consisting of cake layers and whipped coffee cream amongst others. What made this dessert a little more outstanding was the use of cocoa nibs, which added an increased chocolate flavour with the heavy crunch similar to roasted almonds. An exceptional dessert. It may not be around in the future but it goes to show how distinguished Marou is as purveyors of chocolate.

Hanoi is varied in its sweets, but it is also home to many local dishes that show the gorgeous sophistication of Hanoian dining and cuisine. You can check out our previous article to see what Hanoi has to offer, and where you can go for them.