During the busy hours of the day, the restaurants of Hanoi are packed with customers who sit on cheap plastic chairs, elbow to elbow with other patrons. They even spill out onto the sidewalk outside the eateries, where many of the chairs appear to be sized for children. But in the in-between times, the quieter hours between mealtimes, the chairs are left empty.
There’s often a sense of abandonment, the restaurant freshly emptied after a breakfast or lunch rush. But equally there is frequently a feeling of anticipation, the venue ready to receive the next onslaught of customers.
I took the following photos as a way to try and capture those moments.
