Bánh Cuốn Bà Hoành

Bánh Cuốn Bà Hoành is a street-food restaurant at 66 Tô Hiến Thành in Hanoi's Hai Bà Trưng district, in northern Vietnam. It specialises in bánh cuốn, thin steamed rice-sheet rolls that are a traditional Hanoi breakfast. The sheets are made by steaming a thin rice batter, then filled with minced pork and wood-ear mushroom and rolled while still soft. They are served warm with chả lụa (Vietnamese pork sausage), fried shallots and a dipping sauce of fish sauce, lime and a little sugar, sometimes with fresh herbs on the side. Chả quế, a cinnamon-scented pork sausage, is another signature item. The texture is delicate and slightly chewy, and the flavour comes from the filling, the crisp shallots and the dipping sauce rather than from heavy seasoning. The dining room is local and breakfast-oriented, with simple tables, quick service and a steady flow of regulars. There is no dress code and no formal service. The atmosphere is calm early in the morning and can become busier at peak breakfast hours. Noise levels are moderate. Because the rolls are made fresh in small batches, the freshest plates are available early in the day. Prices are very low, with a typical meal costing about 35,000 to 60,000 VND per person, depending on the number of plates and extras ordered. There is no wine programme; tea, iced coffee and soft drinks are the usual drinks. Hours are listed as daily 6AM to 10AM and may vary, which reflects the shop's focus on the morning trade, so visitors should plan an early visit. Reservations are not taken. Arriving soon after opening usually means fresher rolls and a shorter wait. The location in Hai Bà Trưng, south of Hoàn Kiếm Lake, is a short taxi or motorbike ride from the Old Quarter and fits well into a morning food itinerary alongside other Hanoi breakfast dishes such as phở.