Shadowing Practice: I didn't know Hanoi had food like this!! 🇻🇳 - Learn English Speaking with Video

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Today I'm going to be showing you three restaurants that you did not know existed in Hanoi.

And no, they're not going to be called Shiny Pets.

Although I definitely didn't know Hanoi had a store called Shiny Pets.

They're going to be central Vietnamese cuisine.

Now I've lived in Hanoi for five years, never been able to find a good central restaurant.

But that is going to change today and I'm so excited.

Let's get on the road and get to our first spot.

Also, big thanks to Surfsharp for sponsoring today's food tour.

More on that later in the video.

So our first stop sells a Vietnamese food called bánh xào which is basically like a savory Vietnamese pancake.

Hold on, I gotta get across the road.

They're not dying, let's wait for this car.

Basically savory Vietnamese pancake, has meat, vegetables on the inside, it goes with like a fish dipping sauce.

And every region does it very differently.

I happen to have found a central style up here in Hanoi.

It's this place.

Oh, I've only ever had it on Grab food.

This is the best buying sale I've ever had in Vietnam, but I've never been to the restaurant.

I've only ever ordered on Grab.

Where are you?

Do you want to eat? Where are you?

Where are you?

I'm going to eat it I'll eat it fast Let's see if we can't put this bike squeeze it in the back

Alright Let's try 2 bánh xào Bánh xào This is the one of your friends?

Y'all don't have chairs set up.

I don't really think people come here and eat that much.

It's just more of a order and get it to go kind of thing but I had to come check it out.

It's so sweet.

My friends, I don't know if you have a lot of chairs.

I don't really think people come here and eat that much.

It's just more of a order and get it to go kind of thing, but I had to come check it out so good and you'll see why in a sec.

She has six of these the pans for pan frying her little savory pancakes.

She's working here by herself, man.

I was expecting like this old lady.

I don't know why would I order on Grab was like this old lady teeny tiny shop in here a long time.

She's like a new thing.

I think super nice and pretty nice and clean.

I'm going to make it a little bit.

How long?

I'm going to make it a little bit.

I got the base for the bánh xiao.

It's basically a pancake mix.

Not too thick because it's a pretty light dish.

Wow, she just dumps it in there and it starts frying up.

It breaks apart a little bit so you see all those bubbles, it gets this nice airy texture.

But I think you are from the Bắc, right?

Yes, right.

I think that you are very similar to the Bắc.

Yes, you are from the Bắc.

Yes, because the Bắc is very similar to the Bắc.

Yes, I think it is very similar to the Bắc.

It is very similar to the Bắc.

It is small and very nice.

It is very nice.

You have to use the Tỏi and Lý Sơn?

No, I do not use the Bắc.

Ah, the pork is very good.

So once the base has crisp enough, she puts some of the meat in there.

She'll throw some pork, some bean sprouts, shrimp.

She got a little shrimp in there.

Oh, and this, you will see in a sec, this is her stash.

This is the gold.

It looks gold, and it is literal liquid gold.

That is the dipping sauce for what you see there.

That is a big, big plate for some bánh xèo.

Let me show you how to do this.

So basically, the way this works, you get a packet of these rice paper wrappers.

They're very thin rice paper.

You take some lettuce.

Get your base.

It's almost kind of like building a burger, but a rolled up burger.

Take some of these fresh leafy greens.

And this is the one she was asking me if I can have or not.

It's called nipka.

It's like a...

they call it like oh what's the English name I actually

don't know it's like it's very fishy a lot of people can't have it though

because it's too strong get a nice piece of mango cucumber

then you go for I usually go for her vines that are really small so I'll take one

lay it across the one side there

and then you'll usually need to grab a second one

and lay it on there there you go and then the real trick comes when you need to roll it

oh not my best one not my best one

but it'll have to do then once you've got your spring roll You take it

and you dip it in that liquid gold.

It is literal gold.

You can see how much garlic she has in there.

It's a fish sauce base.

Very viscous.

Chili. So savory.

One of the best I have ever had in Hanoi.

No doubt.

Let's get a bite here.

Fish sauce. So salty.

Garlic flavor just explodes in your mouth.

Her pork is not dry.

A lot of places don't use enough fat on their ground up pork.

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She has fat on it, that nice ratio so it doesn't get dry, juicy.

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I'm not going to lie to you guys.

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There was, when I first found out about this restaurant, I ordered, I think, four days in a row for lunch.

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It's so good.

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If you come to Hanoi and someone tells you to go to Doit Guttn, go to Doit Guttn, that's where the best buying store are in Hanoi.

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No, skip that.

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Come here.

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Now we're going to play a game and see if I can't finish telling you about today's sponsor, Surfshark, before I finish rolling my next roll.

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Something sounds weird about that.

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So if you don't already know, Surfshark is an app and browser extension that lets you connect to a server in another location.

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For example, I'm currently here in Vietnam, but for security reasons, my U.S bank account only lets me log into my account when I'm physically located in the U.S.

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With Surfshark, it's as easy as clicking a button to connect to a New York City internet server, and then I can log into my bank account with no problems.

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Where is my fishy vegetable?

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So for a traveler like me having a VPN is essential

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and what's even better is it encrypts all of your data

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That means while I'm on the road I can securely and safely use my applications

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Without worrying about hackers getting access to my personal information.

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What's getting down the line?

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Just have two pieces of buying sale.

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and use the code CLewis to get an up to an

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additional six months for free for Surfshark's exclusive Black Friday sale

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and if you're unhappy with it there's a 30-day money-back guarantee

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so there is no risk involved i will say that was competition

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all ready guys that was really good best buying sale in hanoi hands down

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but fun's not over yet we're going to have a central noodle dish

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that i've found for the first time first good place I found in Hanoi, it's called Mì Quang.

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Central style noodle dish, let's go do it.

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You're not gonna wanna miss it.

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How many of you have done this?

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Good.

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I'm not.

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I'm not?

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I'm not?

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This is delicious.

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The beef is delicious.

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It's delicious.

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Yes.

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Hello.

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How are you doing?

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I'm eating a lot of food.

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I'm eating a lot of food.

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I'm eating a lot of food.

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I'm eating a lot of food.

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Oh, his reaction was too good.

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Oh man, I don't think I've got a reaction like that.

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We're speaking Vietnamese for quite a long time.

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I think he almost like he saw a ghost or something.

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Maybe I am a ghost, but how I'm dressed.

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I'm about to show you guys a shortcut.

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This is one of the worst roads in Hanoi.

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If you keep going straight, you have the traffic to come down here.

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Get through all the...

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Oh my god.

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Get through all the traffic without dying.

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There is a secret little road on the side here.

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There's a straight road.

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Side road.

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There's a little back alley that cuts through to our next spot.

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Here it is.

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Yes.

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The problem is getting in the back alley.

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Okay. And we're through.

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10 minutes saved.

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Need a horn for this part because kids see anybody coming around the corner.

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Oh man, there we go.

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Here it is.

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Okay.

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That's kind of what they do here.

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It's in a little back alley.

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So it's very tight.

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No space for parking.

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They just have an agreement with the people here that live here.

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They just let them park their bike in front of their houses.

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Holy crap.

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This is what I love about the street side restaurants in Vietnam.

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Just a little back alley.

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Small little tables.

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Nice and cool.

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Especially it's getting into winter season here in Hanoi.

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Perfect vibe.

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Nice.

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Perfect weather.

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Sit outside.

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Get away from the chaos back here too.

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There is our...

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I think this is...

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Let's see.

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I don't even know how much this is.

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It's super cheap.

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$55k.

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$2.

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$2 for that giant bowl.

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At the bottom of this bowl of noodles there's a ton of soup

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so they've they've used fish sauce pork broth and some other spices less talking first bite

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it's definitely got to be the best central style meat guang i've ever had in hanoi it's got

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that nice savoriness the toppings are all correct the noodles are correct they also give you this nice

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with a ton of sesame seeds on there

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which is very very very very common in the central region

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and not only with regards to flavor

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but they also have the correct toppings here last time you'll

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see from my bang me i brought this special sauce

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but here they actually have it this is the first shop

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i've ever seen outside of second it actually has this it's

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called bill agreement it's a type of chili sauce of course

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we can't forget our pickled pickled onions they have a nice bathing in that vinegar

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and the green central style super spicy chilies those will those will burn your mouth off kind of spicy

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so what we'll do we'll put all our toppings in here

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and then we'll break up our bang na toss in our bowl to add some extra crunchy texture

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and some of the nice light flavor from the sesame you can see

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that red color from the from the thing

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that dream has really soaked in there it's given the noodles a nice little red color

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but the noodle bang na vegetables peanuts and that big, big giant piece of beef.

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It even has some of that tendon in there.

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It's gonna be nice and soft and juicy.

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Spicy chili sauce has a nice sour spicy component plus the onions add a nice sharp

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flavor they cut through all the savoriness

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and then it's not just a soft noodle

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because you get those crunchy pieces of

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that bangda cracker in there you even get these nice little

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hidden chung cu in there little teeny tiny small little eggs

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i would love taking a bite out of these eggs so they have the little teeny tiny yolks

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so guys just over three dollars for all that food but we're not done yet

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i don't know about you guys i can't finish off a food tour without

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get me some dessert

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so we're gonna go look for some central style dessert i

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think we should be able to find some uh dessert is

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it gonna be ice cream no it's not it's a che

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shop it's a durian che shop i have no idea where

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it is i haven't been here in forever where is it ah here it is

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I always am I the only one who like makes a decision

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and then like looks the menu is like oh

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and then I rethink my all my life choices is that just me

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We're getting into winter but it's still kind of hot.

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Best way to end off this slightly hot day.

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Nice cold treat.

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So this is called che.

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It's like a coconut based soup's not the right word but coconut based drink soup thingy.

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You get tons of toppings in there.

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Coconut pieces, durian, little tapioca pearls, jellies.

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Then you get a little bowl of ice you put it in.

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You just eat it up.

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Nice cool treat.

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First thing you do you mix it up because durian for some people is really strong on its own.

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I really like this dish because when you mix it up, it's not nearly as strong.

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It doesn't have that super pungent flavor because it's mixed with the sweet coconut, the jelly, all that good stuff.

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So first thing you want to do whenever you get some durian chay, if you're not up for the durian, better mix it together.

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You take some of your ice.

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I like this place because they got the nice crushed ice

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It's pretty sweet so I usually put a bunch of extra because the water melts it down down a little bit.

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So it's not as sweet Nice bite of our coconut milk coconut pieces jellies That's the perfect way to end this video

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What a fun food tour.

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If you're up in Hanoi check out the places enjoy eating This is the first time

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This is the last time You have had 30 million dollars

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I have had this one I have had this one I am so good

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I am so good You are 20 years old 26 years old

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You have a new year I have already You have a new year You have a new year

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You have a new year Yeah.

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Yeah.

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Yeah.

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I'm so excited.

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That's how you end a Vietnam video.

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Getting offered a wife.

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This.

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This.

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This.

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This is what you're doing.

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This is what you're doing.

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This is great.

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Bye bye.

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See you in the next video.

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This B1 speaking lesson is built on the video “I didn't know Hanoi had food like this!! 🇻🇳”. This video has 269 sentences and 2471 words to shadow. The speech runs for 15:39. The speaker talks at a natural 158 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. Only 80% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding.

Key vocabulary in this video

The 15 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
noodle noun	/ˈnu.dəl/	A string or flat strip of pasta or other dough, usually cooked (at least initially) by boiling, and served in soup or in a dry form mixed with a sauce and…
coconut noun	/ˈkəʊ.kə.nʌt/	A fruit of the coconut palm (not a true nut), Cocos nucifera, having a fibrous husk surrounding a large seed.
durian noun	/ˈdʊə.ɹi.ən/	Any of several trees, genus Durio, of Southeast Asia.
flavor noun	/ˈfleɪvə/	The quality produced by the sensation of taste or, especially, of taste and smell in combined effect.
pancake noun	/ˈpæn.keɪk/	An thin batter cake similar to a crepe, typically unleavened.
savory adjective	/ˈseɪ.və.ɹi/	Tasty, attractive to the palate.
topping noun	/ˈtɑpɪŋ/	Any food item added on top of another, such as sprinkles on ice cream or pepperoni on pizza.
chili noun	/ˈt͡ʃɪli/	The pungent, spicy fresh or dried fruit of any of several cultivated varieties of capsicum peppers, used in cooking.
spicy adjective	/ˈspaɪsi/	Of, pertaining to, or containing spice.
alley noun	/ˈæl.i/	A narrow street or passageway, especially one through the middle of a block giving access to the rear of lots of buildings.
dish noun	/dɪʃ/	A vessel such as a plate for holding or serving food, often flat with a depressed region in the middle.
bite verb	/baɪt/	To cut into something by clamping the teeth.
teeny adjective	/ˈti.ni/	Very small; tiny.
jelly noun	/ˈd͡ʒɛli/	A dessert made by boiling gelatine (or a plant-based alternative such as agar or carrageenan), sugar and some flavouring (often derived from fruit) and…
dessert noun	/dɪˈzɝt/	The last course of a meal, consisting of fruit, sweet confections etc.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
get through verb	/ɡɛt ˈθɹu/	To overcome; to endure.
break apart verb		To dismantle something into its base components.
break up verb		To break or separate into pieces.
check out verb		To record the departure or withdrawal of someone or something (such as guests, employees, books, etc.).
come around verb	/kʌ.məˈɹaʊnd/	To change one's mind, especially to begin to agree or appreciate what one was reluctant to accept at first.
come down verb		To descend, fall down, collapse.
cut through verb		To take a shortcut through.
end off verb		Synonym of end up.

Sentences worth repeating

Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:

They're not dying, let's wait for this car.
Do you want to eat?
I'm going to make it a little bit.
Where is my fishy vegetable?
How many of you have done this?

Grammar in this video

The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:

Structure	In the video
Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now	I've lived · I've only ever had · I've ever had
Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it	be called · is called
Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing	xào which is · one who like
Superlatives the -est / the most … — the top or bottom of a group	the best · my best · the worst

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 84 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, don't, I've. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

The “th” sounds: rethink /ɹiːˈθɪŋk/, thingy /ˈθɪŋi/
The “sh” and “zh” sounds: dish /dɪʃ/, shrimp /ʃɹɪmp/, shortcut /ˈʃɔːtkʌt/, stash /stæʃ/, crush /kɹʌʃ/
Long words — get the stress right: tapioca /tæpiˈoʊkə/, differently /ˈdɪf.ə.ɹənt.li/

How to practise with this video

Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like noodle, coconut, durian.

What is the Shadowing Technique?

Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.

Shadowing technique: read the full step-by-step guide →

Shadowing Practice: I didn't know Hanoi had food like this!! 🇻🇳 - Learn English Speaking with Video

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

Key vocabulary in this video

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Sentences worth repeating

Grammar in this video

Pronunciation to watch

How to practise with this video

What is the Shadowing Technique?