Cho Mo is one of the oldest and most famous traditional markets in Hanoi. Since 2014, Cho Mo has been operating in the basement of a building in Bach Mai (Hai Ba Trung, Hanoi).

Despite being "taken underground", this century-old market is still a lunch spot that attracts many residents, office workers, and laborers in the area. The market gathers dozens of eateries, selling a variety of dishes such as spring rolls, vermicelli with snails, vermicelli with tofu, vermicelli with grilled pork, eel vermicelli, boxed rice, fake dog meat, tofu pudding, sweet soup...

Cho Mo is open from early morning to evening. However, the busiest time is lunchtime. The stalls are almost full. Some stalls sell set meals, and customers have to line up to order and pay.

"From 11am, the market starts to get bustling with people coming and going. Around 12-1pm, the shops are packed, and there's no time to stop selling," said Ms. Nguyet, the owner of a restaurant at Mo Market.

The dishes at Mo Market are affordable, ranging from 10,000-50,000 VND. Many people often call Mo Market the "culinary paradise" of Bach Mai and Hai Ba Trung areas, because of its diverse and cheap dishes.

"Just bring about 80,000-100,000 to Mo market to comfortably enjoy all kinds of delicious food," said a diner.

Workers, office workers and students in the area often come here for lunch.

Ms. Pham Huong (35 years old, Hai Ba Trung, Hanoi) said: "Every time I pass by here, I have to stop by the market for a snack. At noon, the market has a few stalls selling delicious bun cha and bun suon. Sometimes, my friends and I also come here to eat shrimp cakes, banh duc, and dessert with mixed sweet soup. The total cost is only 50,000-60,000 VND."

Ms. Hang's noodle shop with elephant ear is one of the most popular eateries in Mo market. The broth is fragrant, sweet with the taste of bones, cooked in traditional style. The pig's feet are soft, not dry nor too greasy, and go very well with the crunchy elephant ear.

Even though the market was moved to the basement, Ms. Hang's business is still quite favorable, with a stable number of customers.

Hot banh duc at Cho Mo is only 20,000 VND/serving. This is a favorite dish of middle-aged and elderly diners. "Every day, my family cooks a pot full of banh duc. On cool days, it's sold out by early afternoon," said Ms. Nga, the shop owner.

The banh duc part is made from rice flour, cooked until it is thick and sticky. The filling is made from minced meat and wood ear mushrooms. When customers order, Ms. Hang puts the banh duc into a bowl, adds the filling, pours hot broth made from simmered bones and sweet and sour fish sauce, sprinkles with dried onions and green onions.

Most of the restaurant owners here have decades of cooking experience, many of which have been family-run for 2-3 generations.

Ms. Pham Thi Thanh Hoan specializes in selling snail noodles at Mo market. Ms. Hoan carefully selects each snail. The broth is a combination of bone broth, tomatoes, and rice wine yeast, both fragrant and slightly sour. Each bowl of noodles costs 20,000-60,000 VND.

At the market, there is a popular restaurant that is quite crowded, and customers often have to wait in line. The restaurant sells many different dishes such as boiled meat, roasted meat, grilled pork rolls wrapped in betel leaves, fried chicken..., the menu changes daily.

At the end of the "culinary tour" at Mo Market, diners can enjoy sweet soups to quench their thirst and balance their taste buds. There are many types of sweet soups such as green beans, black beans, grapefruit sweet soup, sweet potato sweet soup, banana sweet soup, purple sticky rice yogurt, tofu pudding, floating cakes...