Hanoi no Hoi San — Restaurant in Tokyo

Complicated layout, but I think it's about 50 seats total. Main menu is interesting but a bit mysterious for me, and there's a secondary menu with some Taiwan options. Very popular and crowded, which also means a bit noisy. Might have some public Wi-Fi, but not for the restaurant itself.

My main course was noodles with some lemon grass, but I didn't really taste it that much. Perhaps I should have gone with something spicier? The uncooked spring roll was good and I enjoyed the tea jelly, too. Going to call it a high four stars, but partly that's based on the enthusiasm of the...

I'm really into my banh mi so I thought I'd give this a try. The lunch set is quite generous, and there's a choice of 1 side from 3 options (I picked spring rolls). The banh mi was nice, but, it's just my taste, but it was weird to have kewpie mayo in it. But maybe it's a hit for Japanese patrons. Service was also very good; quick and attentive and the servers actually enunciate their words instead of the usual mumbling which was very appreciated.

The shop is also much larger than it looks from the outside, and I liked the colorful and...

I'm half-vietnamese, half-chinese by blood, fully American by country, and living in Japan. Why mention that? I grew up with traditional Chinese and Vietnamese dishes, made by family and large communities.

This place tastes like home. I haven't had any food (in Japan) that reminds me of my youth, until this place. Good vietnamese dishes, on a not so busy side street of Shibuya, with plenty of memories to boot.

If you want to experience a small taste of...