Must Go for the Prawn Crackers at Quán Gốc Đa (also known as Cửa Hàng Bánh Gối Lý Quốc Sư) @ Hanoi Old Quarters in Vietnam

My third visit to Hanoi and I am once again staying around the old quarters surrounding the legendary Hoan Kiem Lake. As with every visit, I would stroll along the road leading to the century-old Saint Joseph Cathedral, counting every step to the place I had been anticipating.

Nope, not to the always crowded Banh My Mama; which befuddles me as their banh mi isn't the Vietnamese banh mi I know, and I am a huge banh mi fan! Nevertheless, the store I needed to go to was less than ten steps away.

Quán Gốc Đa, also known as Cửa Hàng Bánh Gối Lý Quốc Sư on Google Maps. Don't be fooled by its lack of queue; many customers would actually order for takeaway and return afterwards for their freshly fried purchases!

Back in 2023, I was attracted to the sizzling sound of boiling hot oil as it worked hard on cooking the food, ensuring they were all fried to a crisp! And it just felt perfect to be digging into something hot and crispy on a cold winter night! 

In 2025, I found myself back again to the same store, this time with my dad as other family members were enjoying themselves in the massage parlour. The wide variety captivated me but as I was still full, I had to order only one item, and it's the one I didn't manage to try in 2023.  

The prawn crackers! 

Memorable enough for me to return in 2026 with my mom, where we decided to make a meal out of what appeared to be just deep fried snacks! Menu as above for your reference.   

Much persuasion was required to coax my Asian mom (who believes a proper meal requires rice / noodles) and it helped that a big basket of vegetables was placed on our table. Now I can argue it's a healthy salad alike meal. 

Forgot I had this deep fried spring roll before in 2023 but I didn't remember there was prawn meat within! Now that I am older, I realized I actually quite enjoyed black fungus. 

Anyway, my mom enjoyed the "meal" with the exception of the sweet donut. It was, simply put, the sesame balls we can find in Singapore, albeit much oilier with a thicker skin. What really impressed my mom, however, were the prawn crackers; the best we have not had for the longest time! 

Good enough for me to surprise my mom before we left for the airport; by going back to the store and purchase six pieces of the prawn crackers (only S$0.75 each)! My intention was to share and have them for snacks in the airplane.

But she quickly downed three before we checked out from the hotel. And before we even boarded our Singapore Airlines flight back to our little red dot, we had cleaned out the other three! Next time I am back in Hanoi, I shall buy a box of ten and haul them back, resisting any temptation along the way! 

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Address

52 P. Lý Quốc Sư, 

Hoàn Kiếm, Hà Nội, Vietnam

Map

As above.