In Vietnam, food is front and center and fresh: City streets are lined with vendors, restaurants and markets while the countryside is teeming with rice paddies, cashew orchards, vegetable farms and community gardens. And for those who still conflate price with quality, the country easily upends that argument, especially in cities where the convenience and low cost of dining out drives a robust foodservice scene.

Saigon tends to garner most of the attention in terms of culinary innovation. It is, after all, the country’s largest metropolis and economic center. By contrast, Hanoi is lauded for its Old World charm and culinary traditions, many of which date back to the city’s founding a thousand years ago. Hanoi is a destination for tried-and-true classics, but it’s also so much more than that. Need proof? Vietnam’s inaugural class of Michelin-starred restaurants includes three Hanoi concepts (but only one from Saigon). On the beverage side, sophisticated cocktails and craft beer are finding traction, while fresh juices, iced teas and coffee concoctions lean into the abundance of fresh ingredients.

If you ask locals, the Vietnam of today is quite different from just a decade earlier, driven by a strong export market, foreign investment and tourism. It only follows that the food scene should evolve, too, especially in the northern regions, which have historically been more isolated. In celebrating the flavor traditions of the past and embracing new and emerging trends of the future, Hanoi strikes a tasty balance.

Feeling a bit of wanderlust? Our Flavor Postcard series spotlights markets around the world for culinary inspiration.