Have you ever eaten West lake shrimp in batter?

[Anna Nguyen]

Visitors to Hanoi would eagerly go to West Lake to enjoy the shrimp fried pancake, a speciality of the place. One enjoyment could leave a great impression. The reason is not only in shrimp pancake itself, but also in the beautiful scene at West Lake.

All people who used to live in Hanoi are familiar with Banh tom Ho Tay Restaurant on the Thanh Nien (Young) Street. The cake preparing process includes wheat flour mixed with potato fibres, placing on shape with shrimps upper, then fried with oil. The cake is brittle, soft, sweet-smelling, and served with vegetable pickles and sweet and sour fish sauce for best taste.

The best time to enjoy shrimp pancake at West Lake is at sunset in summer. The pink shrimp (from the West Lake fresh water) on light brown crackers and the sweet, sour and spicy sauce all remind you of the aroma of the countryside. There at the West Lake, a diner could take each bite of the cake accompanied by a drink of cold beer, and enjoy the nice smell coming from the stove and the cool wind blowing from the lake. Now, you may seek somewhere in your memory the fairy tale about the Golden Buffalo who, on the way to look for his lost mother, created the West Lake.

The shrimp fried pancake of West Lake now still keeps its traditional flavour and taste: hot, cracker cake dipped in skillfully made sauce which is sweet, sour and spicy.