# A Hanoi Restaurant Honors the Past With Nostalgic Dishes and Decor > Hanoi's 37 Nam Trang recreates the mood of postwar Vietnam with authentic dishes, nostalgic decor, and a deep dive into the country's history. - URL: https://langandtrip.com.ua/en/article/restoran-37-nam-trang-u-khanoi-vidtvoriuie-atmosferu-pisliavoiennoho-vietnamu-proponuiuchy-avtentychni-stravy-ta-zanurennia-v-istoriiu-krainy/ - Language: en - Published: 2024-02-15 - Categories: Culture, Historic Sites, Restaurants, Tours, Vietnam, Food & Drinks --- If it weren't for the neatly arranged wooden tables and chairs, the stack of well-worn paper menus, and the sharp aroma of fish sauce and garlic, you might mistake 37 Nam Trang for an art gallery or a museum. The walls are decorated with artifacts of the era: old photographs, metal mugs, military caps, and camouflage-green lanterns, while a set of enormous scales stands just inside the front door. Built into the brick wall are an old radio, a pair of vintage televisions, and a display case of stamps once used to purchase food rations. This is no ordinary dining room. 37 Nam Trang, or State Food Store No. 37, sits in a Hanoi village about a 15-minute drive from the Old Quarter, modeled after a state-run food store right down to its name. In the postwar years, from 1976 to 1986, when the economy was state-controlled, restaurants were allowed to exist but could only be called state establishments. Welcome to Quy Nhon, Vietnam's new upscale beach destination ## Straight From the Past Dang Thanh Thuy, 47, is now the legal owner of 37 Nam Trang, but in running her local business she chose a theme that evokes her country's history. "When they come to us, guests remember and travel back in their minds to the old days, and I want everyone to join me in preserving and promoting a certain part of our country's history," Thuy says. Though Thuy, who was a little girl in the postwar years, doesn't recall many specific details of that time, she is determined to recreate it through her restaurant. She is quick to credit the stories and lessons of older generations for what she has built. ![](/storage/image/prev/july-article-image-110-1-2024.jpg) "In my restaurant, I have recreated the objects and memories of the subsidy period, and to me the cooking of those hard times feels genuinely fascinating. Through nostalgia and childhood memories, I brought back some dishes and culinary touches from a difficult and trying chapter in my country's history." One of the objects closest to Thuy's heart is the blue, worn-out set of scales piled high with root vegetables. They greet guests at the entrance, serving as a reminder to Thuy and others of a time when lining up to weigh out food was how people were fed. "Every time I stood in line to buy meat or fish at the store, I saw the saleswoman standing behind the scales, weighing out the goods." A visitor's guide to the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, one of Hanoi's landmarks ## Old and New; Young and Old ![](/storage/image/prev/july-article-image-110-2-2024.jpg) Thuy welcomes both older and younger generations of Vietnamese to 37 Nam Trang, which has earned favorable press since it opened in 2012. The former are "deeply moved, because they lived through such a hard time," while the latter are eager to learn "how their parents and older generations lived," what they ate and how they ate it, and how they cooked with minimal resources. Foreigners make their way to the 70-seat 37 Nam Trang and order from a picture menu. Thuy says foreign guests fill the restaurant in the evening for dinner, while the local crowd comes at lunchtime. For a more authentic experience, it's best to head to the village around midday. Either way, you'll encounter freshly prepared seasonal cooking: shrimp, river crabs, snails, eels, and frogs. Thuy uses plenty of what she calls "tiny shrimp." These small crustaceans, also known as artemia, live in lakes and have a pronounced earthy flavor. The pork is cooked in shrimp paste, which also doubles as a dipping sauce. As is traditional in Vietnamese cuisine, Thuy loves fish sauce, and it turns up in all sorts of dishes. Salty and savory, it has the power to elevate even the simplest ingredients. ![](/storage/image/prev/july-article-image-110-3-2024.jpg) While locals may lean more toward the seafood on offer at 37 Nam Trang, pork is a standout ingredient in both the old and the modern menus. During the subsidy period, women often bought raw pork fat and found countless ways to stretch it: as cooking fat, and as a crispy seasoning that added texture and flavor to dishes like stir-fried water spinach or pickled mustard greens, Thuy explains. The Hanoi restaurant whose menu is all about empowerment Today, diners can order dishes where pork is not just flavoring fat but the centerpiece, as in pork adobo, a rich dish that's perfect for a quick dip in the garlic fish sauce served in a small dish alongside. The boiled pork is balanced by crisp slices of tart starfruit and fragrant fresh herbs. Deciding what to drink may be the easiest decision you'll make all day. Thuy serves only local beer: Truc Bach, Hanoi, and Saigon, the same three beers that were available during the subsidy period. Unsweetened iced tea is also on offer. "I want everyone to join me in preserving and promoting a certain part of our country's history," Thuy says. ## How to Get There From Hanoi's Old Quarter, the restaurant is less than 5 km away, about a 15-minute taxi ride. 37 Nam Trang, Hanoi; 84-4-37-15-43-36