Cha Ca in Hanoi: Turmeric Fish Cooked at the Table, Dill and the Dipping Sauces

Cha ca in Hanoi is turmeric-marinated fish finished in a hot pan on the table, with dill and spring onions added as it cooks. This article sets out what nine pages, read on 26 October 2026 and dated 2013 to 2026, say about the table service, the dipping sauces, the fish and the portions. They include the Michelin Guide, the site of the restaurant Chả Cá Thăng Long, travel and news writing, and a Hanoi city culture portal. None gives a price, and such details change, so treat each one as a report to confirm with the restaurant.

How a tabletop cha ca meal is described

The pages share a rough outline: turmeric fish cooked in a hot pan, dill and spring onions, and noodles, peanuts and a sauce on the side, though not every page names every part and only some mention hot fat. The table summarises six of the nine pages; the restaurant’s own pages and the Hanoi portal page come up below.

The pages disagree on who stirs. Lonely Planet says the diner cooks everything and CNN calls it a DIY experience; VTV says the server drops the fish in and diners then stir; Michelin names no one. That is a question for the restaurant.

Dill, spring onions and the pan

Michelin says “spring onions and herbs” without naming dill, while the restaurant’s own menu, Vietnam+, VTV, Lonely Planet, CNN and VnExpress all name it. Vietnam+ says the fish is re-fried in the pan when served and hot fat is poured over cut dill and spring onion. VnExpress adds that, because of the amount of fat, the fish is eaten with split spring-onion stalks soaked in diluted vinegar. A Hanoi Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism portal page, dated 21 December 2017 and credited to MaskOnline, lists herbs, roasted peanuts, soaked chilli and fresh bún.

Vietnam+ writes mỡ phần and VTV mỡ nước, both Vietnamese terms for fat, and neither says what it comes from. VnExpress (2013) says the fat used for cha ca is mỡ chó (literally dog fat), a family secret of Cha Ca La Vong. CNN (2018) says only that the fish is fried in oil. As general guidance, not a statement from any page, a diner who avoids particular foods would ask what goes in the pan.

The dipping sauces the pages name

Five pages name a fermented shrimp paste: VnExpress, VTV and Vietnam+ write mắm tôm, Lonely Planet writes mam tom, and CNN writes mam nem and glosses it as a fermented shrimp paste. Michelin instead says fish sauce. The three pages that describe mixing agree on lime juice and chilli. VTV adds sugar, a few drops of white spirit and hot fat, and VnExpress lists cà cuống essence, a few drops of white spirit, a little fat (nước mỡ) and sugar.

Only Michelin ties a sauce to Chả Cá Thăng Long (fish sauce), and no page says whether a restaurant offers both sauces. Lonely Planet calls the taste of mam tom strong and CNN gives it a distinct musky aroma, but neither says how strong a given restaurant’s paste is. For reading the two on a menu, see Fish Sauce Versus Shrimp Paste on a Hanoi Menu: Ask About Both. The pages list fish, roasted peanuts and shrimp paste among the parts of the meal; as general guidance, a diner avoiding any of them would ask before ordering.

Which fish is in the pan

Michelin, the restaurant’s menu, VnExpress, the Hanoi portal page, Vietnam+ and VTV name cá lăng. Michelin glosses it as Hemibagrus catfish, and VTV describes a smooth-skinned fish with firm flesh and few small bones. Lonely Planet says catfish. CNN’s text names snakehead, “a freshwater fish found across Vietnam”, while a caption on the same page says catfish. VnExpress adds that cá nheo and cá quả can also be used, though its writer judges them crumblier, bonier and not as good as cá lăng.

Because the pages differ, asking which fish is in the pan is a fair question. A different fish dish, served in broth, is covered in Bun Ca in Hanoi: Read the Fish, Noodle and Broth Options.

Portions and the restaurant’s menu

CNN Travel quotes the chef-owner of another Hanoi restaurant, Green Tangerine: in a traditional cha ca restaurant you sit down, give your order and “just choose one portion or two”. CNN’s article gives no portion size.

The menu page of Chả Cá Thăng Long, dated July 2026 in its page data, lists six dishes: fish hotpot, chả cá (turmeric fish grilled on a hot pan), fish stomach, a fish-head soup, fish rolls and fish floss. It shows no prices or portion sizes.

Two restaurants the pages describe, and what to confirm first

Michelin lists the 6B Đường Thành address as a 2026 Bib Gourmand (“good quality, good value cooking”), says the restaurant has been open over 30 years with three branches on one street, and shows 10:00 to 22:00 on all seven days. The restaurant’s own site, read on 26 October 2026, lists two branches: 2D Đường Thành, 10:00 to 22:00, and 6B Đường Thành, last guests at 21:30. Michelin’s page data lists cash only and says the restaurant manages its own bookings; it also pairs the 6B address with the phone number the site lists under 2D.

The restaurant’s pages warn that the Google Maps address under its name is not its accurate location and point guests to the two address links on the site or its hotline. As general guidance, such details change, so confirm the branch and hours by phone rather than relying on a map pin alone.

CNN and Vietnam+ place Cha Ca La Vong at 14 Chả Cá Street, and with Lonely Planet they tie it to the dish’s origin. Vietnam+ gives 1871 and the Đoàn family; Lonely Planet suggests Cha Ca Thang Long and Vua Cha Ca as alternatives for a more comfortable meal. CNN says Hàng Sơn (Paint Street) became Chả Cá Street after the dish, while VnExpress (2013) glosses 14 Hàng Sơn as “phố Lã Vọng ngày nay” (today’s Lã Vọng street) yet also says the name Chả Cá came to be used for the street, so the street’s name is not given consistently; how Hàng names are read is covered in Hanoi’s Street Names: Decode Hang, Pho and Local Trade References. Vietnam+ also reports that the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism recognised the knowledge of preparing and enjoying Chả cá Lã Vọng as national intangible cultural heritage.

No page covers arriving by motorbike or where to leave one. For the helmet during a meal, see Leaving a Helmet on the Bike While You Eat: Hook, Lock or Carry It With You?

What the pages leave out

• No page gives a price, and neither CNN’s “one portion or two” nor the menu page says what a portion holds.
• No site of Cha Ca La Vong itself was read, so its hours, booking rules and branch addresses are not covered; Vietnam+ says only that the family has opened more branches.
• No page says whether a milder sauce is offered or who stirs the pan at Chả Cá Thăng Long.
• The pages conflict on the fish, on the sauce, on the number of branches (three or two), on which phone number goes with 6B and on the name of the street at number 14.
• No page gives allergen information, and only VnExpress (2013) says what the pan fat is, for Cha Ca La Vong alone.
• CNN (2018), VnExpress (2013) and the Hanoi portal (2017) are dated, so their details may have changed.
• The heritage listing comes from Vietnam+ only; the Ministry’s decision text was not read.
• No page covers parking, weather or season. On seating, the restaurant’s home page mentions only a bamboo garden and a VIP room, and the only queue mentioned at a cha ca restaurant is CNN’s 2018 remark of a line out the door at Cha Ca La Vong, with no waiting time.

Sources checked

• Chả Cá Thăng Long: Home page
• Chả Cá Thăng Long: Menu page
• MICHELIN Guide: Chả Cá Thăng Long listing
• VnExpress, 5 September 2013: Thơm mãi vị chả cá Lã Vọng
• Hanoi Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, 21 December 2017: Cha ca La Vong repost
• CNN Travel, 3 December 2018: Cha Ca street article
• Lonely Planet, 28 September 2025: Hanoi street food article
• Vietnam+, 1 December 2025: Chả cá Lã Vọng article
• VTV, 6 November 2025: Chả cá Lã Vọng feature

Thuê xe máy Nguyễn Hà is open 09:00–21:00 daily at Ngõ 5 Nguyễn Văn Cừ, Bồ Đề, Long Biên, Hà Nội (near Gia Lâm bus station). Phone: 0334 699 969.