From Ho Chi Minh City to
Hanoi, restaurants and cafes to the street, Vietnam has exotic, tasty food for
a quarter of the price you’d pay in Australia.
Unfortunately many tourists
are reluctant to try the most authentic dishes in fear of spending their
holiday hunched over a bucket.
But not being afraid to
immerse yourself in the culture and try traditional flavours will be the difference
between unforgettable food, and missed opportunities.
Whether you’re a first time
tourist or an experienced traveller, knowing where and what to eat in Vietnam
is essential in creating the perfect exotic escape.
Avoid the common tourist trap
of sticking to western food but start at local restaurants before delving into
street foods flavours.
Navigating
food from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi
From the spicy curries in the
south, to bustling street cafes in the north, you won’t have to look far to
find great food, but each city in Vietnam has different strengths.
South Vietnam’s warmer climate
means more tropical fruits. Spices are rich in central Vietnam and seafood is
more popular in the north.
For traveller Anna Ditchburn,
who explored from South to North Vietnam, the former harbour town and popular
tourist destination Hoi An was the place to eat, featuring a mix of local and
western infused menus.
“They have an abundance of
lovely restaurants and use a lot of fresh seafood,” she said.
While Jenni Zierk, who
travelled and studied in Vietnam, loved the variety in the north.
“Hoi An had excellent food but
was pricey, Ho Chi Minh City had amazing street variety but not great
restaurants. Hanoi was my favourite because it had a good mix of both,” Zierk
said.
Take in the overwhelming
scents of herb infused broths and slow-roasted meats in Vietnam’s capital Hanoi
and try the infamous boiled meat, herb and noodle soup ‘pho’ said to have
originated there.
“I love its saltiness and the
contrast with the tangy coriander and spicy sauce”, Ditchburn said.
First-time visitor to Vietnam,
Elizabeth Daff, used Hanoi as a base for her travels and describes North
Vietnamese food as “full of flavour, meaty, warm, filling and delicious.”
For an authentic experience,
jump in the hustle and bustle of Old Quarter in Hanoi, try a cooking class and
get your hands dirty collecting fresh meat and veg straight from the markets
before cooking.
“It was different to see the
market as a participant instead of an observer,” Ditchburn said. “It was pretty
confronting to see the fish we were going to cook killed in front of our faces,
but I think it’s a really important thing to learn about.”
Tofu-stuffed eggplant, known
as ‘cat timnhoidauhu’ served for lunch in Hanoi
Best
Restaurant Eats
Wherever you are in Vietnam,
there will be an overwhelming choice of local restaurants and cafes to taste
and learn the local cuisine, but it can be difficult to decipher Vietnamese
menus full of unfamiliar names.
Start with vegetable, herb,
seafood or pork-stuffed rice-paper rolls, ‘goicuon’- the crisp crunch and fresh
flavours make them a crowd favourite for tourists.
“Fresh spring rolls seem more
quintessentially Vietnamese than the fried ones,” Ditchburn said. “They’re so
fresh and full of flavour.”
Whether your preference is
pork, fish, or veg, order a clay pot at least once. Food is stewed in the pot,
keeping moisture and creating a tenderness that will melt in your mouth.
Daff’s favourite meal was ‘bun
cha’, “made up of soft vermicelli noodles, fried pork belly, delicious sweet pork
meatballs and a bowl of sweet and sour clear soup”.
Some tourists opt for western meals
instead of these local dishes, but this food is rarely as good as it is in
Australia, and likewise, Vietnamese food is never quite as flavoursome and
authentic back home.
“You should eat Vietnamese
food because you’re in Vietnam, as obvious as that sounds”, Zierk said. “If
you’re craving western food, try something French-inspired like pastries or
bread.”
As a former French colony from
1887-1954, the French influence in Vietnam sets its food apart from other
South-East Asian cuisine.
Try ‘banh pate so’, a pork or beef
filled flaky pastry, or ‘ca phetrung’, a Vietnamese sweet custard-like coffee
made with egg, sugar and condensed milk which both Zierk and Daff
enthusiastically indorse.
Fruit lovers will be in heaven
in Vietnam, with constant access to rich tropical fruit like soft and juicy
papaya. You won’t have to walk far to find a refreshing iced coconut juice or
perfectly peeled mango.
Be captivated by the bright
pink and green dragon fruit and discover its subtle melon and kiwi fruit
flavour either fresh or blended with ice and sugar at one of the many smoothie
bars.
Freshly cut dragon fruit and
mango served for dessert at a restaurant in Hanoi
Street
Treats
You’ll hear a lot of advice to
stick to restaurants and avoid street food, especially from people who have
never been to Vietnam, or who had a nasty food bug.
But steering clear of street
food could be your biggest dining mistake.
Whether it’s a cart of ‘banh
mi’ (baguette with meat, vegetables, coriander and sweet sauce), locals
carrying baskets of ‘banhtieu’ (fried hollow donut) or a $1 noodle stand
outside your hotel, some of Vietnam’s most enticing dishes are right in front
of you.
“I like trying the weirdest
food on the street,” Zierk said. “I tried ‘chendol’, which is a sweetened
condensed milk drink with noodles, jelly and beans. You get all the different
textures- like an extreme bubble tea.”
There’s plenty of options for
the adventurous, like the delicacy ‘balut’, a fertilised duck egg matured and
boiled that Ditchburn describes as like eating “meaty egg”.
But these unusual dishes are
not for everyone- noodle based stir-fries are a safe option and the fried
banana pancakes common in Hoi An area hit among tourists.
“Every street food is
different. Nothing tastes the same. You could have terrible pho one day then
the best pho you’ve had in your life the next,” Zierk said.
Street food is great if you’re
on the go, saving money or want a break from café-style dining; and unless
you’re unlucky, Ditchburn explains, food poisoning is not on the menu.
“I was quite hesitant at
first, but the only problem I had with food poisoning was from a hotel,” she
said. “If you can see the person preparing it hot in front of you, it’s
probably good. It’s food that’s been sitting out and salads or juices with
un-treated water that can cause problems,” Ditchburn added.
Observe how busy a street
stall is. If the locals are avoiding one but lining up at another, play it safe
and wait at the latter.
Try a walking street food tour
in Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City to learn the safest and tastiest stalls from a
local.
“It built our confidence in
eating street food on our own, because we had a better idea of what to get from
where”, Daff said.
Balot served at a street market
in Old Quarter, Hanoi
There’s nothing worse than seeing
tourists in Vietnam spending their time in a pristine westernised restaurant
wondering why the dirty footpath-café outside is attracting so much more
attention.
If you’re unsure about a dish,
ask, and be aware of what you eat so if something doesn’t sit right you won’t
make a mistake twice.
Wherever your travels take you
in Vietnam, take advantage of the huge variety of food and don’t be afraid to
try something completely unknown- it might just be what you remember most from
your trip.
I wrote this in 2015 as a travel feature for a university assignment. I visted Vietnam is 2013 for 2 weeks, travelling from the south to north via night train.
I am current living in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Keep posted for updates, travel tips and stories from SE Asia.
I started blogging assignments and stories in Melbourne but have spent the last year writting at ditchedinafrica about my travels and life in Southern Africa.
