Fine drizzle has bleached the sky since
early last month and Hanoians yearn for a hot beverage to warm their hands. No
better place to hold a hot mug and people watch than Nha Tho Street.
Before the economic reforms of 1986,
drinking tea was limited to sidewalk stalls with a few wooden stools, a teapot
kept warm in a rattan basket, peanut and sesame candy jars and a bamboo pipe to
smoke Tien Lang tobacco. These sites were popular meeting places for men, who
paid five Vietnamese cents for a big cup of hot green tea and sat to chat for
hours. For a long time, a cup of tea stayed at a low price. Then the price
inched upwards: 5 cents, 1 Vietnamese dime, 2 Vietnamese dimes, then up to 5
Vietnamese dimes. Yet, people did not abandon the sidewalk tea stalls.
After 1986, the number of sidewalk tea
stalls waned, even disappearing for a while. Now these stalls have revived.
Every afternoon until 11 pm, the sidewalk of Nha Tho Street is lined with young
people, enjoying the old habit of drinking cheap tea. At 1000 VND for a hot cup
and 2,000 VND for an iced cup, prices can’t be beat.
Any sidewalk tea stall around Nha Tho
Street has good views, especially in certain seasons.
In early winter, for example, when the
morning sunlight is still weak, a vaporous fog covers Nha Tho Street. Sitting
at King Do café, behind a big savanna tree, crowds face the front courtyard of
St, Joseph’s Cathedral to look at the gothic architecture, reminiscent of
Paris’ Notre Dame. In the gray fog, the church’s walls are contrasted by the
bright walls are contrasted by the bright color of pedestrians’ clothes.
The first cheap tea stall opened in this
area was at Au Trieu and Ly Quoc Su, where vegetables are now sold and nearby,
in the space that is now La Casa Shop was the famous Luong Eight Element Tea
Shop. Thought Eight Element was only about 10 square meters, it was well
patronized and famous for its tea’s strong, herbal taste. The bitter taste of
Northern green tea is unique. A sip of hot tea in the chill of winter slides
over the throat, producing a sweet and interesting aftertaste. Hot tea was
always available, but not cold tea—ice was still a luxury in that period.
Surrounding the tea stalls are vendors
of cheap eats that locals on this street are famous for: Au Trieu Street’s bean
cake and sticky rice, Ly Quoc Su Street’s stuffed pancakes, My’s Shop’s chicken
rice porridge, spiced sour fruits. Across the road, Au Trieu Street turns into
a small lane lined with high penthouses, build recently since economic reforms.
Ten meters down the lane, two stalls sell dried gold-streak fishes and fried
fermented pork rolls.
Pedestrians meander by without paying
much attention to those drinking and eating on the sidewalk. But the sidewalk
clientele relish over their delicacies, observing passersby. As night wears on,
sidewalk stalls becomes sparse. Along with the last sip of tea, a food
peddler’s cry echoes out.
This
article written by Lanh Nguyen from Vietnam Heritage Travel
For
original article, please visit:
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