It is a season of romance and nostalgia that has been crooned about by centuries of singers and scrolls and scrolls of poets’ pens. The whole city takes on a shade of gold that painters’ brushstrokes can't quite hold on to.
From September to December, Hanoi is dry and cool, hovering between 18 and 25°C with low humidity. The season is a literal breath of fresh air after the summer monsoons: the sky clears into a brilliant, cloudless blue, giving space to the greenery that’s unfolded during a lush season of rain.
The cheer and delight of seasonal festivals combined with the homey comfort of seasonal dishes are enough to encourage a timely visit on their own. Add sighing golden landscapes, toasted-golden weather, and the bounty of a harvest to understand why autumn in Hanoi is the stuff of poetry.
1. HANOI NATURE AT ITS MOST PHOTOGENIC.
Autumn is when Hanoi is at its most photogenic. The gray haze of the rainy season clears away, leaving the sky a clear and crystalline blue. The leaves of the trees lining wide city streets begin to turn red, yellow, and brown. The sun takes on a particularly radiant hue, a gilded beaming through the ruddy branches. Delicate hoa sua (alstonia scholaris) erupt from the trees, filling entire neighborhoods with a powerfully sweet and distinctive smell that captivates the creativity of artists and musicians.
2. “CỐM” - THE CULINARY QUINTESSENCE OF HANOI’S AUTUMN.
Traveling to Hanoi in the autumn days, enjoying a handful of “cốm” in the chilly air, the romantic space of falling yellow leaves on the streets will make you unforgettable. Cốm is the word for green rice kernels that are roasted over low heat and then flattened into pieces with a sweet, fleshy taste. In addition, “cốm” are also enjoyed in many different ways, typical is: on its own packed in lotus leaves, eat with banana, cooked into a sweet soup called “chè”, etc. Wandering on the streets, you will come across simple street vendors filled with “cốm” wrapped in lotus leaves with the fragrance emanating from them. Just eat once, remember forever!
3. EGG-COFFEE IS A TRADITINONAL DRINK IN HA NOI.
It was created in 1946 by a Vietnamese who worked for the French Restaurant as a barista. Especially before 1975, Vietnam was separated into 2 countries, namely North and South of Vietnam what was heart breaking Vietnamese nation.
In Sai Gon, because of American army, milk was very easy to find. Alternatively, milk coffee became more popular there. In the contrary, the residents in Hanoi were very poor and condensed milk was too expensive for them to buy it at that time. As a result, the majority of them used egg instead of condensed milk.
Egg coffee was made from yolk mixed sugar. A combination of yolk, sugar and black coffee, unintentional created a special taste, unique culture of people in Hanoi. And now it becomes well-known with all Vietnamese as well as foreigners.
4. MID-AUTUMN FESTIVAL IN HA NOI.
“Tết Trung Thu” is the Mid-Autumn Festival, sometimes also called the Mooncake Festival or the Children’s Festival. Vietnamese children wait the whole summer for this season of drums and dragon dancing, sweets and song.
The whole country spends weeks unfurling the festivities. The first sign is the arrival of pop-up toy stores and vendor stands selling colorful masks and red paper lanterns. As though overnight, each corner of Hanoi opens a mooncake shop selling ornately-decorated geometric cakes in an endless variety of sweet or savory mystery fillings. These are meant to be offered to ancestors or shared in tiny slices with friends alongside thimble-sized glasses of hot tea.
