If you’re familiar with the book “1,000 Places To See Before You Die” by Patricia Schultz, also an executive producer of the Travel Channel’s show of the same name, Cha Ca La Vong in ${bigcity_Hanoi:"Hanoi"} is mentioned as one of the 1,000 places to see before you die. For something like that to be placed in such distinction, it must be really something good and worthwhile. Cha Ca La Vong Restaurant has its history way back in the 19th century when the French conquered Vietnam. On an ordinary day, a Doan family generously treated their friends with homemade marinated grilled fish with herbs. The friends loved the food so much that they encouraged and helped the family put up a restaurant to share their delicious creation and make a living as well. Thus, the Cha Ca Restaurant was born. 

Cha ca literally means “grilled fish” as what the family first served that made the restaurant came to be in the first place. La Vong on the other hand was taken from a statue of a fisherman. The Vietnamese pronunciation for Lu Wang, also called Jiang Ziya, is also a popular Chinese prime minister of the Zhou Dynasty in the 1030 BC – 223 BC. Moreover, La Vong is a symbol of talented people who “know how to wait for the right time to shine.” Thus, the restaurant was named Cha Ca La Vong. The street it was on, formerly named Hang Son, was even changed to Cha Ca in honor of the famous dining place. Cha Ca La Vong Restaurant was conceptualized at a time when Vietnamese wanted to catch on to the Western idea of dining out with family and friends. Thus, the restaurant was also a pioneer of its time. 

Cha Ca La Vong dish, the recipe which started it all, is a traditional Hanoi-style food prepared meticulously and cooked slowly. The main ingredient is a kind of catfish called hemibagrus. The small bones are removed then the fish is cut into tiny pieces. It is them marinated for two hours with saffron, zingibera ceous, galingale and fish sauce with a little pepper. When the fish pieces turn yellow from the saffron, they are then lightly grilled over charcoal. The fish is then taken to the table and fried in a small pan together with dill and spring onion before being served with fresh rice noodles called bun, fried nuts, basil and shrimp sauce, or fish sauce and lime for those who find shrimp sauce a bit heavy. 

The dish is so flavorful and the way it is prepared is so exciting that not only locals patronize the food but tourists and foreigners alike. Though the restaurant itself is old, made of dark timber wood, inside is a happy atmosphere of customers and employees joining hand-in-hand in making the dining experience a joyful and memorable one. Cha Ca La Vong Restaurant has gotten so popular that it opened a new branch in Ho Chi Minh City with a southern twist to their menu. A typical meal for two at Cha Ca La Vong Restaurant costs VND300,000-VND 400,000 (US$15-20).