Eating in Vietnam

Vietnamese food and eating

Fresh, aromatic ingredients, such as mint, lemon grass, ginger, basil and coriander, are used within a variety of distinctly Vietnamese tasting dishes. Seafood, beef, duck, chicken and veggies combine with rice and noodles for soups, stir-fry dishes, rolls and pastries/dumplings (known as banh). Across the country you'll find everything from open air markets and sit down restaurants to shop fronts and street corners, all offering every pocket of society the chance to pull up a pew and tuck into what will be, for travellers, a combination of familiar favourites and not-so-well-known curiosities.
No matter where you are, food in Vietnam follows the same principles of fresh ingredients and harmonious textures, with the overall dish needing to be well presented and contain herbs and vegetables.

Food in Vietnam is one of Southeast Asia's healthiest options and provides a bedrock upon which Vietnamese base their entire world. You can't move for pop-up kitchens and street food stalls where food is cooked right before your eyes by passionate chefs who appear from behind dented silver pots, baguette pyramids, and cabinets concealing garlands of marinated meat, fresh fruit and cooking equipment.
Food finds you in Vietnam and if you'd like to pull up a tiny plastic chair, wield a pair of chopsticks and raise a bowl of soup to your lips then read on as this could well be your first tantalising taste of things to come.

Classic Vietnamese dishes
- Pho (meat and rice noodles cooked in a salty broth blended with herbs) is a prime example of balancing flavours and stands as staple sustenance for local people and travellers alike.
- Fried spring rolls are another popular street food and restaurant dish with veggie or meat fillings, combined with a sweet or savoury sauce, found in the north as nem ran and in the south as cha gio. A healthier alternative to fried spring rolls is goi cuon which features salad, shrimp, pork and veggies wrapped in clear rice paper to be dunked in an accompanying bowl of peanut or soy sauce.

Regional variations

Vietnamese food is one of the top highlights for your holiday. Different parts of Vietnam have their own special tastes.

If you cut Vietnam into three regions: north, south and central, you'll discover distinct variations on classic dishes and differing ingredients more commonly used to create regional specialities.

North Vietnam has a slightly cooler climate than the south and there are less opportunities to cultivate chillies so heat is less pronounced, although black pepper is often used to give dishes a bit more of a kick. The lack of spice doesn't mean a lack of flavour as soy, fish and prawn sauces, often balanced with lime juice, serve up a typical taste of North Vietnam. The north also favours freshwater fish and shellfish in place of seafood and meat, with crabs, found in paddy fields, used in traditional dishes like bun rieu, a tomato and rice noodle broth.

As many Vietnamese migrated away from the north, especially Hanoi, several well-known national dishes went with them including the rice noodle classics of bun cha and pho ga, that you'll find served all the way from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City.

Central Vietnam is all about the spice with red and green chillies providing stark colour contrasts to rice and noodle dishes to reflect the more sophisticated tastes of the former Vietnamese dynasty that resided in the imperial, centrally-located, city of Hue. As the capital of the royals, Hue has become synonymous with culinary expertise with carefully balanced flavours combining wonderfully well in classic dishes such as bun bo Hue (rice noodle soup with marinated beef and lemon grass) and banh xeo (a savoury pancake coloured with turmeric and stuffed with pork, shrimps, onions and bean shoots).

Coastal areas and more tropical temperatures make South Vietnam, including the Mekong Delta, a hotbed for freshly grown produce. Garlic, shallots and a huge variety of herbs complement seafood dishes and coconut-based recipes to create a much sweeter dishes, more reminiscent of Thailand and Cambodia. South Vietnam also serves up a simple comfort food, com tam, which is basically grilled pork chops, rice and sliced veggies, often accompanied by fish sauce or broth on the side. Sticky rice is another firm favourite here, with xoi (sticky rice) served with slithers of meat and spring onions, definitely worth checking out on the streets of Ho Chi Minh City.

Vietnam�s neighbours China to the north, Cambodia to the south and nearby Thailand have had huge impact on which dishes tend to be more popular and the differences in preparation within each region.

Another major influence on Vietnam�s food is France, which attacked and captured Vietnam during Napoleon's colonisation drive during the mid to late 1800s. Although Japan occupied Vietnam during WW2 and Vietnam declared independence from France in 1945, the French influence still remains.

Baguettes, potatoes, asparagus and onions have all made their way onto restaurant and caf� menus the length and breadth of Vietnam. Typically French ingredients, such as butter and wine, feature in several dishes to offer a less healthy, although nonetheless delicious, alternative to more typical Southeast Asian offerings. Banh mi (filled baguettes), banh cuon (steamed crepe/rice cake) and banh xeo (crispy crepes) are all commonplace throughout Vietnam thanks to the French.

recommended restaurants in Saigon

• Lemon Grass - Delicous Vietnamese food with traditional live music - 4 Nguyen Thiep Street
• Indochine - Delicious Vietnamese food - 32 Pham Ngoc Thach Street
• Pho 24 - 5 Nguyen Thiep Street
• Manderine - Fine selection of traditional Vietnamese food - 11A Ngo Van Nam
• Blue Ginger - Vietnamese food with live music - 37 Nam Ky Khoi Nghia Street
• Hoian - Central Vietnamese dishes - 11 Le Thanh Ton Street
• Son Ha - Traditional Vietnamese food - 143 Hai Ba Trung Street
• The Refinery - Great French food - 47 Hai Ba Trung Street
• Sushi Bar - Nice Japanese food - 2 Le Thanh Ton Street

recommended restaurants in Hanoi

• Cha Ca La Vong - 14 Cha Ca Street
• Pho 24 - 61 Van Mieu Street
• Bobby Chin Restaurant - 1 Xuan Dieu
• Vietkitchen - 24C Ba Trieu Street
• Indochine - 16 Nam Ngu Street
• Wild Lotus - 55A Nguyen Du Street
• Letonking - 14 Ngo Van So Street
• Koto - 61A Van Mieu Street
• Wild Rice - 1 Ngo Thi Nham Street
• Tamarind Cafe- 97 Ma May Street
• Press Club (French food) - 59 Ly THai To Street
• Tandoor (Indian food) - 24 Hang Be Street
• Au Lac Cafe- 57 Ly Thai To Street
• Brother's Cafe- 26 Nguyen Thai Hoc Street

recommended restaurants in Halong city

• Vietnamese Restaurant - situated by the Highway 18 opposite to Trung Nguyen Cafe
• Casino Restaurant - at the Royal International Gaming Centre
• Bien Mo Restaurant - 35 Ben Tau, Hon Gai, Ha Long City
• Royal Restaurant - Royal Park, Ha Long Road
• Jumbo Vietnam Restaurant - 119 Le Thanh Tong, Hon Gai

recommended restaurants in Sapa town

• Ta Van Restaurant - Victoria Sapa hotel
• Mimosa Restaurant and Gerbera Restaurant - Cau May St, Sapa Town
• Lotus Restaurant - Cau May St, Sapa Town
• Fan Si Fan Restaurant - Cau May St, Sapa Town
• Delta Restaurant - Cau May St, Sapa Town
• The Gecko Restaurant - Cau May St, Sapa Town
• Red Dao - Sapa town
• Luly - Sapa town
• Hill station - Cau May St, Sapa Town

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