First Bite: Xie Xie

Cha Ca La Vong

Cha Ca La Vong is an actual restaurant down a back alley one flight above street level in the middle of Hanoi, and it specializes in a similar tumeric-laced fish dish. There, Sosa watched his servers fill a hot pot with charcoal, grilling the fish over its heat, and was smitten. After surveying several restaurants in the city, he realized that “dill was a predominant ingredient in Hanoi.” Indeed, it is the defining aspect of his own Cha Ca La Vong.