Shopping in Hanoi
When you
are in Hanoi I think you might ask yourself, what can you buy in Hanoi or what
should you buy in Hanoi? These are often the questions many my customers ask me
when they are here.
Here are my
small suggestions to visitors with some interesting ideas for shopping and who would
like to buy something special for themselves and their friends, or family.
- Lacquer, Pottery and Ceramics in Hanoi
![]() |
| Lacquer in Ha Thai Village |
Hanoi has a traditional village for lacquer
production - “Ha Thai village” - where
they produce high-quality lacquer painted products for export. This is a great
place for you to buy lacquer here.
You can also buy lacquer products in Hanoi Old
Quarter - there are many lacquer shops in there around Hang Manh, Hang Hom and Hang Trong streets.
But if you are after high quality and are
shopping for lacquer-wares, I think you should go to Ha Thai village. Maybe all you need to do is rent
a car to go the village and browse around the village yourself, or
maybe you might like a guide to go with you to visit the village and talk to
people there.
Bat Trang village is very good place to buy
pottery and ceramic products. You can either join a group and go on a city
tour . You can do a half day in Bat
Trang village if you go on Monday and Friday. Or there are some pottery shops
in the Old Quarter you can find in Hang
Hom street.
- Silk and Embroidery
Van Phuc Silk village and Hanoi have been renowned for
making the best silk in the country. You can buy painted silk, printed silk or
patterned silk with traditional and modern designs and decorations as unique Vietnamese
presents for your family and friends. There are some silk shops in Hanoi that should
be easy for you to buy:
Khai Silk
121 Nguyen Thai Hoc-Tel: 04 3747 0583
96 Hang Gai -Tel: 04 3825 4237
Duc Loi (Queen)
Silk
76 & 93 Hang Gai, Hanoi
Tel: 04 3826
8758
Ha Dong Silk
102 Hang Gai, Hanoi
Tel: 04 3928
5056
|
Ipa Nima Shop
34 Han
Thuyen, Hanoi Tel: 04 3933 4000
14 Nha
Tho street, Hanoi Tel: 04 3 928 7616
Jade Collection
17A Au Trieu, Hanoi
Tel: 04 3928
6567
|
![]() |
| Hanoi Embroidery Painting |
To see
various stages of the silk production, you can visit Van Phuc village. It is not far from central Hanoi (around 12km) so
you can easily spend half day in Van Phuc
village. Maybe you might rent a car
only and then go shopping around the Van
Phuc village if you are an experienced shopper.
Hanoi also famous
for embroidery – Khoai Noi village, Thang Loi commune,Thuong Tin district,Hanoi. It is also easy for you to buy
embroidery in the Old Quarter … such as in Ly
Quoc Su street, Hang Gai street.
I also know one place that is very good with high quality and they sell the
products from Khoai Noi village. That
is Quoc Su Gallery with Gallery 1: 2C
Ly Quoc Su Str., Hoan Kiem Dist., HaNoi, VietNam - Tel: (84-4) .3928.9281
They also
have Gallery 2: at 107B Nguyen Thai Hoc
Str., Ba Dinh Dist., HaNoi, VietNam -
Tel: (84-4) 3.747.5519
Website: http://quocsu.com/service.html
- ‘Do’ paper and Dong Ho Painting village.
![]() |
| Dong Ho Paintings and 'Do' Paper |
‘Do’ is made from the bark of the ‘Do’ tree, a wild plant can found around
local riverbanks but nowadays it is difficult to find around Hanoi. It was used popular for many
years before modern paper production was
invented. It is more difficult to buy ‘Do’
paper now, Even in ‘Dong Ho’ painting
village where they use ‘Do’ paper for
their painting also they have to buy from other provinces.
Now, ‘Do’ paper is mostly used to make cards,
paintings in ‘Dong Ho’ village, water
colours and bamboo-bound note books.
In Dong Ho’ painting village , products
made with ‘Do’ paper cost little: 1
US$ for greeting card, and 2 US$ for small painting. You can also buy ‘Do’ paper and similar products in Hang Gai street.. and the most famous Dong Ho paintings you can buy in Nguyen Khac Can street.
- Suits and ‘Ao Dai’
![]() |
| Martin my friend tailor-made his suit |
Ao Dai is the traditional women’s dress in Vietnam.
Although it is traditionally Vietnamese, you can also get Ao Dai in many modern and exciting styles. It will be truly
special, especially when you have done it with authentic silk. Good places to
get an Ao Dai made are in Hang Gai
street at Khai Silk village. Average costs are around $30 – 50 USD.
Men’s suits
are really good to get tailor made in Hanoi. Especially when you know where you
can find finely crafted custom-tailored suits. I know one place where I often
take my friends to made suits while they are visiting Hanoi. Ms Oanh - ‘Phan Nghia and Dao Oanh’ fashion garment
address: 68 Hang Trong street. She
has made our friends some wonderful hand-made suits , and the costs are from $100
USD –depending on your choice of fabrics..
- Ethnic Minority products
| Danielle's bag - one of my customer bought her bag |
Vietnam is
home to 54 ethnic groups, with the Kinh
people being the majority of the population. Most of the ethnic groups live in
the Northern mountainous regions of Vietnam. Each group has its own traditional
costumes with distinctive designs and product.
Both handicrafts and clothes are unique decorations and also special
weaving from various ethnic groups which are sold in many souvenir shop in
Hanoi’s Old Quarter. You can easily to find something special for you and maybe
some of your friends – they will be delighted that it is so unique and has fine
work. One of my friends bought a handbag here and when she came back home some
of her friends were very envious. It is a really nice feeling when you have
been a clever shopper
- Other products
![]() |
| This is our gift to Marcel |
You might want to buy some T-shirt
with: TinTin, A label such as” I Y Phở” or “I Y
Vietnam” or maybe a
hat with the Vietnam star or Hanoi… Etc. There are no lack things to buy in the
Hanoi Old Quarter and just strolling around and find things you love is a great
way to spend some time. Of course you can also buy all sorts of ‘non-original’
items like sunglasses, bags and clothing.
Useful Tips when you are shopping in Hanoi and
whole of Vietnam:
-
Some
shops have ‘fixed price’ – usually the more expensive shops. But in most
places, you can bargain and negotiate a discount of 20 – 30% from the original quoted
price. Remember to have fun and bargain with a smile on your face
-
It
is better to shop around to check and compare the prices and then select the
items you are most interested in.
-
Please
note: Try to avoid to shopping in the early morning because following
Vietnamese culture for their business,
the first customers that comes into the shop will be very important - it will reflect the mood for the whole day. Some
shop keepers may be unhappy and sad if you come into the shop and do not say
anything (like negotiate prices, or ask about their products) . So please note
that experienced bargain hunters are always polite and friendly with a ready
smile and a laugh - especially in the morning.
Public by: Dragonfly Travel Vietnam - http://www.myvietnamtravel.net



















