1. Pho
2. Bun Cha
3. Xoi
4. Banh Xeo
5. Goi Cuon (Nem)
6. Bun Bo Nam Bo
7. Cao Lau
8. Banh Mi
9. Grilled wild boar with mac khen North-West style

PHO

When talking about street food in Vietnam, nothing can beat a good bowl of Pho – the heartwarming rice noodle soup for a great day. As the birthplace of Pho, Hanoi is a ground zero for the savory broth, fresh rice noodles, a sprinkling of chicken or beef choice served with fresh herbs that has been unofficially known as Vietnam signature food. Pho’s soul is created by simmering meat bone for around 24 hours together with more than 20 ingredients like ginger, cloves, star anise, and peppercorns, salt, seasoning glutamate, etc. Pho is traditionally served for breakfast, but nowadays you can savour it all over town from dawn to dark.

BUN CHA

Pho might be the champion for breakfast, but Bun Cha is the best choice when it comes to lunchtime in the capital. Basically, a Bun Cha set includes a plate of fresh noodle together with a bowl of sweet and sour fish sauce with chargrilled pork patties, crunchy pickled papaya and carrot, seasoned with chilli and garlic to make the taste stronger. Accompanied by deep-fried spring rolls, this will be a delightfully heady mix of flavours. The highlight of Bun Cha are these pork patties barbecued over smouldering coals, usually smoked by a simple hand fan!

XOI

Every morning, it’s easy for you to catch sight of colonial hat wearing lady hawking their wares. Sticky rice is a carb-rich breakfast food with dozens of variations wrapped in a banana leaf. We can name some popular types of Xoi as:

Xoi xeo: yellow colored sticky rice, topped with fried onion and green mung beans.
Xoi ga: white sticky rice with steamed chicken and soya sauce.
Xoi ruoc/ xoi thit: stickey rice served with stringy, salty dried pork
Xoi ngo: mixed sticky rice and corn.
Xoi lac: sticky rice steamed with peanut
Xoi dua: sticky rice with sliced fresh coconut
Xoi gac: red sticky Rice from Gac fruit

If you visit Vietnam, try “Xoi Xeo” from any street vendor basket to enjoy Vietnamese rice culture in an off-the-beaten-path way.

BANH XEO

Banh xeo – also known as Vietnamese pancake is a favorite snack among not only Vietnamese people but also foreigners because of its crispy, messy, savoury fillings and fresh taste. A good banh xeo has a yellow outer layer bulging with pork strips, shrimp and bean sprouts. Banh Xeo is categorized as handfood so that there’s no need for complicated chopstick skill. To taste it like a local, you wrap a cut-in-pieces banh xeo with herbs and leaves then dip it into the sweet sour dipping sauce. The sauce is a perfect blend of fish sauce and spices such as sugar, lime juice, garlic and chopped chilli. I am sure that right after the first bite, this exciting combination will definitely make it hard to resist the next try.

You can easily find banh xeo in any places across the country but each place has their own local way to amaze strangers.

GOI CUON

It’s exciting to find out that regarding to CNN Travel’s voters, Goi cuon – Vietnamese fresh spring rolls have made its position to the best 30 dishes of the world list. The traditional recipe is made up of wrapped rice paper with boiled pork and shrimp, rice noodles, lettuces, local herbs. They are served at room temperature with either hoisin peanut dipping sauce or sweet and sour fish sauce. This refreshing roll is a perfect appetizer for any local tasting menu. Goi cuon is also a regular dish in our daily meal basis as it’s easy to make and ingredients are available at any local markets all year round.

BUN BO NAM BO

Besides our popular noodle soup – Pho, you may want to discover a new taste of noddle salad – Bun Bo Nam Bo. The word “Bun Bo Nam Bo” itself means beef noodles that originates from the South. Excitingly, this noodle is widely popular in Hanoi nowadays. It’s a fascinating mix of healthy materials including vegetable, noodle, beef topped with dried onions, roasted peanuts, bean sprouts and herbs, all of which harmonize in a magical way by the seasoning sauce. The sauce is a mixture of fish sauce, sugar, lemon, chili but each restaurant has their own secret recipe to combine these elements portions. Having a bowl of Bun Bo Nam Bo, all you need to do is mixing all ingredients together, grab a pair of wooden chopsticks and you are ready to try. In the tropical weather of Vietnam, a bowl of this fresh and crunchy noodle salad can definitely calm you down.

CAO LAU
 

Hoi An is the most attractive and favorite destination in Vietnam. And no-one can leave this romantic town without trying a Cao Lau. Cao Lau consists of five ingredients including chewy noodles, smoky pork, seasoned broth, crispy fried rice cracker and fresh herbs. Authentic Cao Lau noodles can only be bought from the centuries-old local noodle maker households.

A simple bowl of Cao Lau not only is the pride of Hoi An cuisine but also has hidden this ancient town’s history. Being a bustle trade center from the 15th to the 19th century, Japanese and Chinese culture has made a huge influence in this town architecture and cuisine. Cao Lau reflects the influence of waves of traders by its similarities with Japanese Udon and Chinese Char Siu.

BANH MI

Bread or Baquette-making is one breakthrough that the French brought in Vietnam beside the French language and the beautiful architectures of Colonial French. Banh Mi in Vietnam has developed to the great level of art and became one of the most preferred street food by Trip Advisor. Vietnamese bread (Banh Mi) has many choices of topping. You will find Banh Mi which contains Pate, Cheese, Sausages, Fried eggs, Mixed fried eggs & herbs, Grilled Chicken, BBQ pork as modified of Kebab, Minced baked pork… you can order one for each or mix it all in one Banh Mi. The taste combinations are endless and maybe this is why it became so popular not only among travellers but also among the locals.

Grilled wild boar with Mac khen in North-West style

When visiting Sapa, make sure to try out this dish. You don't need to actually eat wild boar, it can be any kind of meat that you prefer, may it be chicken, duck, beef or pork and even fish. However, the secret ingredient is the mac khen nut, which can only be found in the North-West territory of Viet Nam. Before grilling the meat, the locals usually mix it with many different herbs and nuts giving the meat its authentic flavor and color. 

To grill or roast the meat is the preferred way of cooking of the locals as they can sit around the campfire together and enjoy the meal alltogether in a slow and relaxed way.