Top 5 street foods in Vietnam — Family Vagabonders

We love to try the different and amazing foods of the countries we visit. Luckily our kids are also (for the most part) adventurous eaters!

We spent a month in Vietnam and besides really loving our overall experience here, the food has also blown us away. Back home in Colorado we used to go to a Pho place near our home, especially on snowy and cold days! The warm, steaming soup full of vegetables, rice noodles, tofu and the meat of your choice was amazing. We thought it was always a bargain at $8 for the vegetarian option, until we came to Vietnam. The pho here is different: less variety of vegetables and normally you are limited to the option between beef and chicken but the broth is amazing and the flavors are indescribable and at $1-$1.20, we have had a lot of soup even with the warm weather!

Madeline showing us the real way to eat a Banh Mi :)

Below are some of our favorite foods in Vietnam:

Bahn Mi: this is our all time favorite! Fresh delicious baguette with local herbs and chili paste, pate, fresh vegetables (cucumber, thinly sliced carrots and daikon, tomato and lettuce) and your choice of meat (chicken, pork or a local bologna) or with an omelet. There are many other options in most places but the authentic, ‘where-the-locals-go’ street vendors, only have 3 - 4 options! This is excitingly more delicious than any sub sandwich you can get in the US and it will cost you less than a dollar! Yes, most places charge VND 20,000 (=US$0.85)

Pho: This warm Vietnamese noodle soup is light and delicious. Most places have their own broth recipe, add the rice noodles and top it off with chicken (Pho Ga) or beef (Pho Bo). There are other protein options (like tendon, tripe or meatballs), but chicken and beef are the most popular options available! They are also served with a plate of bean sprouts, basil, lemon and spicy peppers that you can add as little or as much as you would like! We tried many places and most were just outstanding!

Egg Coffee: When we first heard about this coffee, we were not very sure what to expect. We love coffee and were willing to try it. It is DELICIOUS! (although we found some variations of the ‘original’ egg coffee that were not as good). The original egg coffee is from the northern city in Vietnam, Hanoi. Cafe Giang is the “inventor”. As we were in Hanoi, we went to the original coffee shop. It did not disappoint. The coffee was creamy and not too sweet. Egg coffee reminds me of coffee flavored ice cream; Jason says it’s like a luscious, sweet merengue on top of a perfectly bitter espresso. It mixes egg yolk with condensed milk until it is frothy and fluffy. They poor this over an espresso shot of Vietnamese coffee. At some places it already comes all mixed up, but one of the best coffees we had (in Hoi An), had a three-layer; it was beautiful and delicious!!! This is definitely something to try but not to have every day as it is more a dessert than your regular americano!

A delicious three-layered egg coffee from Hoi An, Vietnam. The bottom layer is condensed milk, then espresso in the middle, with a creamy whipped egg yolk on top. Yum!

The original egg coffee from Cafe Giang in Hanoi, Vietnam. So delicious!

Bún chả from Bún chả Nem Rán in Hanoi, Vietnam

Bun Cha: A typical dish with grilled pork (a mixture of pork sausage and pork lion) served in a delicious broth. They serve it with a plate of plain rice noodles and greens (lettuce, bean sprouts and herbs), which you add or dip into your broth. The mixture of textures and tastes is amazing: the sweetness of the meats and broth, the chewiness of the noodles and the freshness of the greens. We tried this dish at many places but our favorite was in Hanoi Bún chả Nem Rán (41 Cửa Đông, Hoàn Kiếm, Hà Nội, Vietnam). The meat was trimmed, flavorful and of high quality. We had a couple of Bun Cha’s that were chunks of fat with little meat.

Banh Bao: when staying in DaNang there was a vendor that would drive around with a speaker repeating over and over B-a-a-a-a-n-h B-a-a-a-a-o-o-o-o-o. It was load and annoying, but ones we had one of these snacks, we loved it and can see how it is a local favorite quick bite. It slightly sweet fluffy bun with pork filling (can also be chicken) and eggs (sometimes quail eggs), green onions and other vegetables. This varies based on the family recipe. Most Banh Bao’s we had in Vietnam were delicious and very popular with our kids!

And some other dishes we enjoyed in Vietnam:

Banh Xeo: Little crispy pancakes that are filled with shrimp or other savories and just a burst of flavor!

Spring rolls: there are so many variations of this dish. The ‘traditional’ is a rice paper wrapper with pork, prawn and vegetables. Served with hoisin sauce and soy sauce. At some places we were giving the ingredients and the rice wrapper and we could make our own. Many places also had fried spring rolls, which were served as an appetizer.

Banh Xeo from a street vender in Danang.

Banh Cuon: made from a steamed fermented rice batter, they are gelatinous ‘pancakes’. Mostly served cold and served with a soup with meat and a plate with vegetables. We were given instructions to grab some of the pancake, some of the veg and dip it in the soup. It was delicious but some places

White rose dumplings or rice pancakes: soft rice paper (gelatinous and delicate) filled with pork or shrimp. Sprinkled with fried garlic and served with a sweet and sour dipping sauce.

Fruits: so many delicious, fresh and cheap fruit! Try the dragon fruit, lychees, passion fruit, pomelos, papaya, mangoes, coconut or anything fresh!

Fresh seafood: we went to many night markets and street vendors with amazing sea food. From lobsters to all sorts of fish, clams, crabs and shrimp! It’s a feast of colors and flavors!