a 20-day food tour of Vietnam
I'm not drooling, you are
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Vietnam cast its spell on me the second I stepped off my plane. This country! With its bright green cities, balmy weather, friendly locals…and maybe most importantly, its equally incredible coffee and soup cultures. (Need I say more?!) Actually, its whole entire food culture is incredible, so I have chronicled the one best thing I ate here every day for 20 days. Get ready to drool.
1. Phở gà
On my first day here, I panicked at the Vietnamese-only menu, and so yes, I ordered the one thing I always get at home: chicken noodle soup. Adorned with bamboo sprouts, green onions, and a squeeze of lime, the simplicity of phở is what makes it soooo slurp-able.
2. Bánh bột lọc, báhn nậm, and bahn bèo
Prepared with rice and tapioca flour, these dumplings are as tasty as they are adorably bite-sized. They are filled with ground shrimp and pork, then wrapped to steam in banana leaves. You can find the best ones at Quán Báhn O Lé, where they’re cooked in a family kitchen and served with tea in the backyard.
3. Mango cakes
Occasionally street food is mysterious and disappointing, but just like I hoped, these teeny mango-shaped desserts were mysterious and delicious: soft pillowy mochi wrapped around chopped, toasted-caramel nuts, then generously dusted with powdered sugar. I am drooling.
4. White rose dumplings
A local specialty of Hội An, these dumplings are *divine.* Sprinkled with fried onions and dipped in shrimp broth, they are delicate, chewy, savory, and lightly sweet — like they’ve been dusted with rose petals. (In a good way!) They mostly taste like more.
5. Garlic-seared tilapia
We ate this fish on a floating bamboo restaurant, lounging in the shade after biking through rice paddies. It was grilled whole and served with a steaming plate of rice.
6. Cao lầu bá lễ
Two words: noodle heavennn. Topped with thin slices of pork, crispy crackers, pickled red onions, and a splash of soy sauce, these noodles are at once slurp-able and chew-able, each bite an umami symphony of flavors and textures. (Hot tip: this restaurant has been serving its secret family recipe since 1976!)
7. Sweet potato and coconut cakes
One of the joys of traveling Southeast Asia is strolling and munching on street food. In my experience, street food is always a) the cheapest b) the tastiest choice. Vendors in Hội An’s Old Town sell these purple and white cakes for 5,000 dong (about 20 cents) each: they are best eaten fresh off the grill and paired with a cup of mộc tea.
8. Egg coffee
Confession: I’m in love with egg coffee. Egg and sugar are whipped into a merengue-like foam, and then spooned on top of espresso; it’s so fluffy, like having a cloud melt in your mouth. Taste the foam with your spoon, stir three times, and sip slowly.
9. Bun cha
I don’t often eat pork, but in Hanoi, I felt I had to make an exception (sorry, pigs!). Vietnam’s capital city is famous for its bun cha: grilled pork served over a heap of rice noodles alongside a slightly sweet broth and handful of fresh herbs. It is best shared around a teeny table balanced precariously on the bustling streets of Hanoi.
10. Banh da cua
At this hole-in-the-wall, noodles are ladled with simmering broth and heaped with a fun mix of everything: fried tofu, savory fish cakes, grilled slices of beef, chicken sausages, morning glory greens, lettuce. Dessert was a slice of Japanese sweet potato, gifted by the shopkeeper, who sat on a plastic stool peeling them with a knife.
11. Ché san nong
This pudding was warm, comforting, and sticky. Fragrant with the sweet spice of ginger, cooked pieces of cassava, and finished with a splash of coconut milk, I especially recommend if you are having a bad day. I ate two bowls after limping around Hanoi and it cured me instantly. (Emotionally, that is. Physically, I think I still have tendinitis.)
12. Salt coffee
This is my favorite of Vietnam’s specialty coffees. Served on ice, it is creamy and slightly sweet, but perfectly balanced because it’s also the teeniest bit salty. Think notes of salted caramel and milk chocolate, kind of like drinking ice cream…the perfect treat on a hot, sticky day.
13. Crab soup
The coastal road from Hội An to Huế is gorgeous. We stopped for lunch at a seaside restaurant where I ordered shrimp fried in butter and garlic, a bowl of rice, lemonade, and this soup, where fresh crab and greens coalesce into one giant delicious mess.
14. Madam Khanh, the Bánh Mì Queen
The Bánh Mì Queen is a famous sandwich establishment, so when I discovered its proximity to our hostel, I was *very* excited. Wrapped in paper and packed with pickled vegetables, fresh herbs, and tender chicken — all stuffed inside warm, toasted baguettes — our báhn mìs were gone in three bites.
15. Mì quảng
I ate these noodles late at night at a teeny street stall, where four dishes were plopped in front of me: rice noodles, leafy greens, and two saucers of lime wedges, chili peppers, and rice crackers. Peeking inside the biggest bowl, I found two eggs the size of ping-pong balls (quail eggs!), shrimp, pork, peanuts, and chopped cilantro. Mixed in with greens, pickles, and — of course — a squeeze of lime, it was fresh, cooling, and delicious.
16. Cơm hến
In Vietnamese, “cơm” means rice — “cơm hến” meaning rice with baby clams. In Huế, it’s often eaten for breakfast or as a snack. This simple dish is full of flavor: ocean-salty broth mixed with crispy clams and the crunch of bạc hà stems.
17. Home-cooked dinner
I ate this meal at Chef Dung, a backyard restaurant in Ninh Binh, overlooking a garden at twilight. The fixed menu was prepared with love by a mother of three; dessert was a banana on a plate. (I love this country!!!)
18. Banana pancakes
Crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, filled with banana slices and drizzled with honey…the banana pancake never disappoints. (The Southeast Asia backpacker circuit is nicknamed the “banana pancake trail” because you can find these on every menu!)
19. Bún đậu mắm tôm
Scissor-cut rice noodles, fried tofu, and herbs star in this Northern Vietnamese dish, alongside meat and dipping sauce. This one came with fried seafood cakes.
20. Bánh gối
Translating to “pillow cake,” this fried morsel was one of many dumplings consumed on my last night in Vietnam. Some were wrapped in sticky rice, filled with pork and mushrooms; some were wrapped in wonton paper, filled with shrimp…but my favorite was the plainest, Báhn Bao, fried dough that was pillowy and and soft and warm and just…perfect.
Twenty days of good eats, and I feel like I’ve barely skimmed the surface of Vietnam’s incomparable street food scene. I am slightly heartbroken to leave, but know I’ll be back (mostly for the egg coffee!). Vietnam — my taste and I buds loveee you!
Xo,
Eden