“Oh you just came back from [insert country here]! Did you try [insert delicious sounding food here]?”
Your face drops. Your heart sinks. The food regret is real.
“No,” you sadly say, “I never heard about it.”

Fear not! I’m here to make sure that this doesn’t happen on your trip to Vietnam! Vietnamese food is delicious, and quite different to a lot of other Asian cuisines. Most meals are quite fresh and light, and the sauces add just the right amount of flavour without overpowering the dish. The flavours and local specialties vary from North to South, so it’s always important to try every dish in each city you visit 😉

Bonus picture of fresh and fried spring rolls, which I know you guys will already have on your to-eat list

Although every city probably deserves a post on its own, I’ll be sticking to a few favourites from all over the country. I haven’t included pho and spring rolls, but that’s because I assume you already know about them and are planning on eating them. Now without further ado, to the food!

1. Banh Mi

I know this is a pretty obvious one, but banh mi is one of my favourite foods ever. It would be a crime for me not to mention it, plus I couldn’t deal with the guilt. If you haven’t heard of it, banh mi is the perfect lovechild of French and Vietnamese cuisine. Glorious French bread, crusty on the outside and pillowy soft in the middle, filled with pickled carrots and daikon, cucumber strips, a lashing of mayonnaise, a coriander sprig or two, and your choice of meat. This might typically include paté, pork roll, grilled pork, or barbecued pork meatballs. Some places will give you an option for fried egg as well – always say yes.

You can find banh mi “restaurants” in every city, but my favourite place to buy them was from street vendors. This usually involves some pointing, nodding, and shaking of your head. You get to watch them make it from scratch though, and there is something far more authentic about being served your warm bread roll wrapped up in newspaper than on a plate. Be careful if you’re not good with spice (like myself) and make sure you ask for no chilli. The street vendors will understand that much. One time I forgot to ask for no chilli and the heat burned my face off. I spent most of that meal crying but I still ate it because the rest of it was so good.

2. Com Ga

Most cities will have some variation of com ga, chicken rice. This might be fried rice with chicken, or it might be more like this dish I had in Danang. In this type of com ga, the rice is cooked is chicken broth so it soaks up all the flavour. The rice is served with chicken (surprise surprise), green onions, herbs, and fried shallots. It makes for a very satisfying, hunger-killing meal. Com ga is a specialty in the middle cities of Vietnam, places like Hoi An and Danang. Further north or south, it’s more likely to be chicken fried rice so make sure you order it whilst you’re in the right spot!

3. Banh Xeo

This is usually listed as “crispy pancake” or something along those lines on the English version of the menu. To be honest, that’s actually a pretty accurate description but don’t be expecting ice cream and maple syrup. This savoury pancake is made of rice flour and stuffed with pieces of pork and prawn, bean sprouts, and green onion. To serve, it’s broken into bite-size pieces and wrapped in rice paper with lettuce, carrot and cucumber slices, and fresh leaves of Vietnamese mint and coriander. Don’t forget an ample amount of peanut sauce for dipping. It ends up not only being a delicious combination of flavours, but also of textures. The crunchiness of the pancake, the chewy rice paper, and the crisp herbs and vegetables make it an unmissable food experience.

I first discovered banh xeo at a cooking class I did in Hoi An. I think they’re a specialty of this area since I didn’t often see them anywhere else. I’ve tried recreating them at home, but I haven’t quite got the knack yet. Mine always end up a little bit soft and soggy.

4. Banh Trang Trung

Another pancake-type food, bahn trang trung starts with a sheet of rice paper. This is placed over hot coals and egg is swished across it until it starts to cook. Then you get to choose your toppings, which can include fried shallots, dried fish, chives, or even cream cheese. Once the egg is cooked and the rice paper is crunchy, the bahn trang trung will either be folded or cut like a pizza for your eating convenience. I remember munching on these whilst exploring the night food market in Dalat – the perfect snack for it!

5. Nem Lui

I tried these as part of a banquet-lunch-deal in Hue, so excuse the average photo – I was way too excited to start eating. Nem lui are grilled minced pork rolls on leek stalks, pictured on the left. Similar to bahn xeo, they are also served wrapped in rice paper. You take the rice paper, make a nice bed of lettuce, cucumber, and carrot, place your nem lui with leek stalk and all on top, and tightly roll it all up. Once it’s rolled, you give the leek stalk a tug to pull it out of the pork. The remaining rice-paper-encased-roll is best devoured with a plentiful amount of peanut sauce.

6. Bun Bo Thit Nuong

I only discovered this on one of my last days in Vietnam and I was so upset that I didn’t get a chance to eat more! It’s essentially a noodle salad. Vermicelli is topped with lettuce, herbs, cucumber, and carrots, and your choice of meat. In this one, I had both beef and spring rolls, but you could also get pork, chicken, and probably purely vegetarian too. It’s served with a fish sauce dressing so you can choose how much to put on. Trust me, you’ll want all of it. I had this dish in Saigon, though you’d probably be able to find it all over Vietnam. You guys will have to try and let me know!

What are your favourite street foods? Not necessarily from Vietnam, but anywhere! Comment below or email me (: