Hanoi has been placed second on the list of the world’s 17 greatest cities for food selected by the UK’s Telegraph.

The Telegraph wrote “Hanoi’s compact old quarter is arguably the best place to sample the balance of salt, sweet, sour and spice in Vietnamese cuisine.”

The Telegraph also advises readers to eat like a local and take to the streets for freshly prepared dishes such as hu tiu noodles with a sweet and sour soup, pork and fish sauce; banh mi, a baguette filled with pate, cucumber, herbs, crispy onion and chilli; and com tam, broken rice with grilled pork, pork skin, egg and fish sauce. Finish with a traditional egg coffee - or ca phe trung - a blend of coffee and egg whites, served hot or cold.

Other cities included on the list are Tokyo (Japan), London (the UK), Jaipur (India), New York (the US), Mendoza (Argentina), Bologna (Italy), Lyon (France), New Orleans (the US), Bangkok (Thailand), Barcelona (Spain), Singapore, Copenhagen (Denmark), Lima (Peru), Fez (Morocco), Chengdu (China) and San Sebastian (Spain).