When I think of Hong Kong, I think of Yum Cha. Although “yum cha” means “drink tea”, this age-old tradition also involves devouring copious amounts of dim sum and nattering loudly away in Chinese. When I was a small child, my parents would always drag me along to yum cha with family friends and relatives and I used to hate it: I couldn’t understand what anyone was saying, my tea was always too hot, and I was too short to reach any of the good food on the table.
Fast forward twenty-odd years and now my parents need to drag me away from the table to get me out of the restaurant.
What exactly is yum cha?
Yum cha is basically a Cantonese brunch, where small portions (usually 3 apiece) of pan-fried, steamed, and deep-fried dim sum dishes are served in bamboo steamers for the whole table to share. This is all washed down with your favourite Chinese tea.
If you go with a large group, you may be seated on a table with a Lazy Susan. Pro tip: be ready to spin the table your way as soon as your dish comes, otherwise prepare for a standoff for the last dim sum.
Back in the old days, the bamboo steamers were stacked tall on trolleys, which were pushed around the restaurant. When you saw the dish you wanted, you stopped the waiter, they served your dish, and ticked it off on your table number.
Nowadays, most restaurants have a paper menu where you choose your dishes, and they’re then brought out to you. Whilst this stops the wastage of food, it sure makes things difficult if you can’t read Chinese…
You could try ticking a few boxes and keeping your fingers crossed that you’ll like what you get, but if you’re feeling brave, you can order from the waiter using this handy guide to yum cha in Cantonese!
Cha
First, foremostly, and possibly most importantly is the tea! The typical standard will be oolong or jasmine tea. You’ll be given two teapots, one filled with tealeaves, the other with just hot water. This way, if the tea gets too strong, you can dilute it with hot water before you drink it.
Har gow are delectable little parcels of prawn dumpling
Har gow
These are one of my favourite dim sum of all time! They’re little parcels of prawn dumpling wrapped up in a semi-translucent rice paper pastry. When I was little, I loved the pastry so much that I would make my sister give me the pastry from her har gow, as well as eat my own.
Har gow are in the foreground, with the fluffy Char Siu Bao in the background
Char siu bao
Most people will be familiar with the Chinese BBQ pork bun, but this is what it’s called in Cantonese! Inside the fluffy, white, and slightly sweet bun (“bao”) is the Chinese-style barbequed pork (“char siu”). Char siu is a very popular dish just on it’s own, or with rice and vegetables. If you can’t get enough of it in a char siu bao, you could always give this a try!
Cheung fun are usually served with a splash of soy sauce
Cheung fun
This slippery rice roll is quite unique to yum cha! The rice mixture is spread thinly, steamed, and rolled up tightly to enclose any variety of fillings. This may typically be shrimps, beef, pork, or even fried savoury dough! (I don’t know what the technical name of this is, sorry)
Siu mai are terribly addictive..I probably ate all four myself
Siu mai
These delectable pork, shrimp, and mushroom steamed dumplings are wrapped up in a thin, yellow pastry sheet (don’t ask me why it’s yellow). I believe the little orange dots are caviar, but are sometimes replaced with chopped carrot. You can find these sold by street food vendors as well as at yum cha!
Gai farn
This literally means “chicken rice”. It’s a little more exciting and tasty than a standard bowl of plain, white rice, but not as adventurous as eating chicken feet (which I believe are cooked in a similar way). A good stepping-stone until you’re brave enough to try chicken feet! 😛
Okay, so you know which street foods you can’t skip out on when you’re in Vietnam. But what do you drink whilst you’re scoffing down your fourth banh mi for the day? Or you don’t-really-need-but-really-want dessert after your dinner of com ga? Don’t worry, I’ve got you covered on the sweets front too.
1. Ca Phe Sua Da (Vietnamese coffee)
Again, I’m starting with an obvious one but I’m stressing this: you really can’t miss the coffee in Vietnam! It’s brewed in a little Vietnamese drip filter, which slowly releases drop after delicious drop into the cup below it. The coffee itself is very dark and quite bitter, and most of the time is served with condensed milk. This transforms it into the most delectable caffeinating treat around: a perfect balance between sweet and bitter, milky whilst still having a serious caffeine kick. You can order it hot or over ice. Most of the time, I ordered iced since it was so hot and humid.
Beware though: this stuff is addictive. I drank at least two iced coffees a day and couldn’t imagine life without it, so I brought 2kg of coffee beans home with me. Given how hot it is, most of the time you’ll be wanting iced caffeine-sugary-goodness. So go ahead, order a ca phe sua da. Your life will never be the same.
2. Nuoc Mia (sugar cane juice)
Because I’m an absolute dweeb and was too busy enjoying my sugar cane juice, I forgot to actually take any photos of it! If you’ve been anywhere in Asia, you’re probably familiar with the sight of fibrousy, flattened sugar cane on the side of the road. This is what it’s squeezed for! The sugar cane is put through a mechanical press to extract the juice, which is served with ice and a dash of lime. You can find nuoc mia stalls all over the place, and they will often squeeze the juice fresh for you. This is seriously sweet though, and not for everyone’s taste, but definitely worth a try whilst you’re there.
3. Ca phe trúng (egg coffee)
Before you turn and run in the opposite direction, let me explain myself! This is certainly not just an egg with coffee. The egg is whipped with sugar, to make a thick, fluffy, meringue-like topping. A generous amount of this sweet, foamy topping is dolloped on top of a steaming hot cup of Vietnamese coffee. It ends up being about two-thirds coffee, and one-third meringue topping, which makes this more like a dessert than a drink. They have an iced variety available, but I personally think the ice dilutes it too much and prefer the hot version. Egg coffee is a specialty in Hanoi, and the best place to go is Café Giang. You definitely don’t want to miss this whilst you’re in Hanoi, as you can’t find it anywhere else in the country!
4. Weird bean dessert-drink-thing
One of my favourite things to do in Vietnam was wander around local markets in the food section and order what everyone else was eating. These odd-bean-drink-things were popular in many cities all over the country. I honestly have no idea what their proper name is! There will usually be a stall that has lots of bowls and jars of jellies, fruits, and various unnameable liquids – this is where you can find these. As far as I understand, you can order pretty much whatever combination you like. I would usually point to what another customer was having and ask for the same.
Typical ingredients might include red beans, grass jelly, lychee pieces, coconut jelly, tapioca pearls, mung bean paste, fruit juice, and/or coconut milk. These ingredients are piled together in a glass over ice and then handed to you for you to work out how to eat it. A young girl showed me at one market to mix it all together before you drink/eat it as I had stared perplexedly at my glass, so I believe that’s how you do it. As strange as they may sound or look, they are actually very tasty and refreshing so I’d definitely recommend trying them at least once. At the very least, it’ll be a fun experience 😛
5. Kem (ice cream)
You can get kem all over Vietnam, from 7-Eleven to street vendors, but I had this particular ice cream from a place in Hanoi. One of my local friends took me here; I would never have discovered it by myself. You can find Kem Trang Tien near the Hoan Kiem Lake. It’s a bit like an ice cream factory, but open to the public. When we went, it was bustling with locals buying armfuls of ice cream cones for each of their kids. The flavours available change on an almost daily basis, my friend told me. The two that we had were coconut and taro. They were delicious: not too sweet or creamy, but very flavourful and refreshing. We also tried the heavenly matcha soft serve. Although this seems fairly readily available now, it was rather hard to get at the time. You’ve got to eat this quickly though! Even inside, the Hanoi heat melts ice cream fast. Though I suppose this means more time to try more flavours, am I right? 😉
6. Coconut coffee
Hm maybe I should have mentioned at the start of my post that half of these things will be coffee related… but this really emphasises just how good the coffee in Vietnam is! Coconut coffee is very different to egg coffee, and perfect for a hot day. Again, you start with the typical dark, bitter Vietnamese coffee. This time though, they add a coconut ice instead of condensed milk. This is basically frozen coconut milk; it’s not super creamy like ice cream and is similar to a granita. This turns the coffee into an icy, slushie-like drink that you half eat, half drink. It’ll cool you right off after hot day’s exploring!
Which of these desserts/drinks did you need in your life yesterday?
“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 (:
HEY THERE!
I’m Steff, a part-time traveller and full-time foodie from Melbourne, Australia. I want to make sure you never get hungry or suffer from massive food-regret on your next adventure!
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