Hanoi Review - Foodshop 45

Scores out of 5: Veggie friendly : 5/5;  Value for money: 4/5, Quality of cooking : 3.5/5; Ambience : 3.5/5; Service: 3.5/5 ;Atmosphere: 4/5

Foodshop 45 is an Indian Restaurant that is a favourite of expats in Hanoi. Sitting along the edge of Truch Bach Lake in The Ba Dinh area you can sometimes forget the bustle of the streets and think you are somewhere peaceful and on holiday. For me Indian food has always been a fairly easy experience as a vegetarian as there are so many options and rarely any need to be concerned that there wont be something you could eat.

On my second visit to this restaurant I sat in the downstairs area that holds the best wide windowed open view of the lake so is my favourite choice above the upstairs’ more closed in experience, however the tables on this level do seem to have the shortest seats I have sat upon outside of a blue plastic seat popularly used in street food experiences in Hanoi so can make for a slightly uncomfortable angle to eat at. The upstairs tables do not have this problem. For starters my friend and I ordered the Vegetable Samosas, the Paneer Pakora and the Tofu with Black pepper. The Samosas here are excellent, the pastry is flaky and the potato curry inside is just a little hot but not enough to numb your taste buds as so many often are. Everyone of course has a different level of chilli tolerance and for some Foodshop 45 may not be hot enough unless you order a specifically hot dish. While I like chilli there is only a little that I can take before I stop tasting my food so for me Foodshop is a good compromise so that most people can enjoy their food and for those wishing for a little more heat they can ask to turn it up! The tofu starter was tasty but nothing too exciting. For mains I ordered a favourite of mine, the Paneer Korma. In Australia my experience of this dish has been pieces of paneer (cheese) in a lovely Korma sauce made from cashews and a creamy sauce. Here in Hanoi the dish has a little twist, the Paneer is stuffed with a cashew and raison centre that makes it all the more delicious. This is a particularly rich dish so if you are looking for something a little lighter I would also order something off the menu that does not come with such a rich gravy like the dhal (yellow lentil curry). However having the rich curry means you can order the delicious garlic naan to mop up the sauce with!

Overall Foodshop is an enjoyable restaurant with good but not great Indian food, cold Hanoi beer on tap and the view of a lake in a very busy city.