Pho, Coffee, and Banh Mi Are Just the Start of a Vietnam Food Tour

There are a number of ingredients that make a trip memorable — beautiful landscapes, a pleasant climate, fun adventures, friendly locals. And, of course, food. Aside from satisfying our salivary senses, food gives us insights into a country’s culture and customs.

On my recent trip to Vietnam, I fell in love with the country, and with the food, which was inexpensive, delicious, and fresh. Here are some of the reasons why Vietnam is a culinary delight.

Exotic Tropical Fruits of Southeast Asia

Most of my travels were through the Mekong Delta in southern Vietnam, which is especially known for its nutrient-rich soil, tropical climate, and vast network of canals and rivers providing irrigation for orchards. I delighted in devouring local exotic fruits like rambutan (similar to lychee), mangosteen, passionfruit, longan, and star apples. Fruit is easily available at shops and markets in Vietnam and commonly served for dessert in restaurants.

Jackfruit, the largest fruit in Vietnam, was a new-to-me experience. The flesh of this oval, spiky fruit is divided by a membrane into small aromatic oval segments (like a pomegranate, but bigger). Both the taste and texture are unique — a subtle sweetness and slightly chewy consistency. Jackfruit has become popular in North America recently as a meat substitute for dishes like vegan tacos, because the fibrous flesh shreds easily and takes on whatever sauce you put on it.

Vietnam is one of the biggest dragon fruit producers in the world and late November is prime season, so while I was there many fields were covered with the strange cacti-looking bush. There are two varieties — red-fleshed or white-fleshed — both with a waxy red-skinned exterior. I slightly preferred the red-fleshed option, which was just a hint sweeter.

Another first taste for me was sugar cane juice. To make the juice, the cane is harvested, peeled and cut into pieces. Generally sold at portable sugar cane juice stands (called nuoc mia), the vendor runs the cut segments between small mechanized rollers that crush them and extract the juice. I’d expected a cloyingly sweet flavor, so was surprised by the earthy, semi-sweet freshness of the drink — loaded with vitamins and minerals, as I learned later.

Vietnamese Food Traditions

Pho is Vietnam’s most famous dish and a must-try. Made from a fragrant, slow-cooked (usually overnight) broth, pho is served with a protein, like beef, chicken or tofu, over rice noodles, topped with thinly sliced spring onions and accompanied by a tray full of herbs, bean sprouts, and slices of lime. On the table there will be an array of bottles of soy sauce and chili oils to spice up your bowl just the way you like it. Pho restaurants are everywhere and at only about 50,000 VND ($1.96 USD; $2.80 CAD) a bowl, you can try a few to find your favourite.

Vietnam steamed rice is the staple of the local diet, and dining is most often done family style. The cuisine includes lots of noodle-based soups, fresh herbs, and stir-fried veggies, plus complementary dishes of seafood and meats. A small bowl of nuoc cham, the national condiment, is almost always on the table. It is a sauce made from water, citrus, fish sauce, sugar, chilies, and garlic. Nuoc cham is used for dipping almost everything from banh xeo pancakes (rice flour pancakes) to mango salad to deep-fried spring rolls.

Buddha in the Restaurants and Vegetarianism

Mahayana Buddhists in Vietnam are commonly vegetarian, as are Cao Dai followers, a monotheistic religion that originated in Vietnam in the 1920s. Followers of both religions often aspire towards vegetarianism, or at least eat vegetarian on certain ceremonial dates and on the first and 15th day of the month, so com chay (vegetarian) restaurants are easy to find. There are more vegetarians in the south and central Vietnam, where there is a higher concentration of devout Buddhists.

You will often find fairly large Buddhist altars in restaurants in Vietnam, with a Buddha statue, incense, flower vases, and space for food offerings. My Vietnamese Art of Bicycle Trips guide told me that often where there’s a Buddha altar diners can be confident the restaurant will be com chay. Authentic vegan restaurants also have Buddha pictures and posters with teachings.

One of my favorite meals was at Hu Tieu Chay Cay Bo De, a vegetarian restaurant in My Tho. I ate dishes like lotus-root salad served with shrimp crackers and banh xeo pancakes stuffed with an assortment of interesting greens and herbs like shisu, morning glory, mint, and basil.

Vietnam has been fought over and inhabited by many different countries, and as a result has many food influences from surrounding countries, like Thailand, Cambodia, and China. Vietnam was also under French rule from the late 1800s, until French Indochina dissolved in 1954, and the residue of the French culture is still seen in cuisine. Baguettes are used as the base for flavorful banh mi sandwiches (filled with meats, veggies, herbs, and pickles), Vietnam’s second-most famous dish.

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Vietnam is the second-largest coffee producer in the world, likely introduced by the French. Today, there is a strong coffee culture in the country and a strong bold-flavored coffee served with condensed milk is the country’s signature version. Another interesting Vietnamese coffee is egg coffee, made with whipped egg yolks and condensed milk. The larger cities do have Western chains like Starbucks, but there’s also a Vietnamese coffee chain, Highlands Coffee, that is popular.

Like most of Asia, the Vietnamese have been drinking green tea for thousands of years. One of the top tea producers in the world, the country has a long history of tea farms, but during the French colonial times, they established plantations and factories, making it an organised industry.

Afternoon tea, especially low tea from 3 to 5 pm, is an old English tradition more recently embraced in Vietnam, especially in hotels. Many hotels include afternoon tea in the room price, like Silverland Yen in Saigon, where an impressive spread of food and pastries ranging from European (finger sandwiches, waffles, and tarts) to Vietnamese (fried rice cakes and coconut jellies) is accompanied by live classical music.

Regional Specialties of Vietnam

Each region in Vietnam has its own unique take on lau (hot pot), a culinary tradition that originated in China. Not just a meal, but an experience, I participated in a vegan version, called lau thuoc bac. Gathered around a large pot of flavorful broth on a portable burner, my tour guide first added veggies like lotus root, then leafy greens and herbs together with noodles, tofu, and an assortment of mushrooms. Small dipping bowls with sauces such as hoisin enhanced the taste.

I learned more about regional specialties in Da Nang, a city in central Vietnam on the coast of the South China Sea. Unlike at the markets where vendors noisily try to catch your attention, I wasn’t approached once by a food stall vendor. With signs only in Vietnamese, I really couldn’t tell what they were selling, so I knew a guided food tour was the answer. Through GuruWalk, I booked with guide Anh Nguyen to explore the decades-old food stalls in the hidden alleys of the old town.

We started with banh mi ya (ya means mayo). “The banh mi ya is unique to Da Nang because of the mayo and round crunchy bun,” says Nguyen, as she paid the banh mi vendor 13,000 VDN (approximately $0.50 USD; $0.75 CAD). Nguyen advised that banh mi is a popular breakfast food, and about 90% of people eat breakfast out on the way to work or school.

In front of the next food stall where we ordered a plate of banh nam, steamed rice dumplings with shrimp and pork with croutons sprinkled on top, there were small plastic tables and chairs. “The furniture is small,” Nguyen said, “so you could pick them up and run away when the police came, because historically cooking on the street was illegal.”

We moved to other delicacies, banh trang, a lightly crisped rice cracker topped with quail eggs, and banh cuon, rice paper rolls stuffed with beef jerky and mushrooms, both served with a fermented fish dipping sauce. At only 7,000 a plate, Nguyen said that she frequented the street stall often when she was a student.

My favorite stop was the one for mit tron, a salad made with young, green jackfruit. Mixed with fresh herbs like mint and cilantro, topped with crunchy elements like peanuts and fried shallots, and dressed with fish sauce dressing, the dish hits every one of the seven taste elements.

For dessert, we pull up stools at the avocado ice-cream stand in Bac My An, a food market that isn’t full of tourists. The Da Nang specialty, made with very large avocados and coconut milk, then sweetened just right, was the perfect end to the tour.

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Currency: It’s easy to use a credit card in most hotels, but at street vendor food stalls, be sure to have Vietnamese dong. Dong are easily available at ATMs throughout the country. Exchange Rate: 20,000 VND is equal to just over $0.78 USD (or $1 CAD).

Culture Tip: Booking with a tour guide in Vietnam is a great way to learn about the food and local customs. There are several tours for cooking classes available through GuruWalk or other similar tour providers that start with a trip to the market to get the ingredients. There are also several coffee tours.