Vietnam’s Essential Foods: What to Eat and Where

One of the world’s great food cultures

Vietnamese food is complex, regional, light, and endlessly varied — and the street food you eat for $1–2 in Vietnam is often better than Vietnamese restaurant food anywhere else in the world. Here’s what I’d prioritize on a first trip.

Pho: the breakfast ritual

Beef noodle soup — the national dish, eaten primarily for breakfast. Clear broth simmered for hours with star anise, cinnamon, ginger, and charred onion. Thin rice noodles, sliced beef or brisket, fresh herbs, bean sprouts, chili. In Hanoi: pho bo bac (northern style) is cleaner and more restrained. In HCMC: richer, sweeter broth, more garnish. 40,000–70,000 VND. Find the place with the queue of local families at 7am.

Bun cha: the Hanoi lunch

Grilled pork patties and sliced pork belly in a sweet-savory fish sauce broth, served with rice vermicelli noodles and fresh herbs. This is Anthony Bourdain and Barack Obama’s famous meal — and it deserves the hype. 40,000–60,000 VND at any Old Quarter lunch spot.

Banh mi: the perfect sandwich

A French baguette (Vietnam does baguettes because of colonialism, and does them brilliantly) stuffed with pate, ham, pickled vegetables, cilantro, chili, and sauce. 25,000–45,000 VND. Available everywhere, excellent everywhere. HCMC’s Huynh Hoa is the most famous; find your local equivalent wherever you are.

Cao lau: Hoi An only

Thick noodles, roast pork, fresh herbs, and rice paper crackers in a minimal broth. Only made properly in Hoi An, using water from local wells that gives the noodles a specific character. 60,000–80,000 VND at the covered market in the Ancient Town. Don’t skip this.

Banh xeo: the sizzling pancake

A crispy turmeric-yellow crepe filled with shrimp, pork, and bean sprouts — you tear off pieces, wrap in lettuce leaves with fresh herbs, and dip in fish sauce. The sizzling sound when the batter hits the hot pan is where the name comes from. 60,000–100,000 VND at restaurant stalls throughout central Vietnam.