We talk about what we eat in Vietnam (how much it costs and how it looks). This is our big overview of Vietnamese food, dish names and prices.
Within a month and a half we will be, so it became necessary to somehow understand the food - what is what in Vietnamese cuisine. Having purchased a special notebook, we began to enter the names of dishes and their translation, as well as everything that could be useful when communicating (more precisely, when trying to explain ourselves) with employees of local street eateries. The situation is complicated: the menu, if it exists at all, is only in Vietnamese, and among the catering workers almost no one knows English, and if anyone knows at least a little, they speak with such an accent that we can’t understand anything. So you have to explain yourself mainly in sign language.
Advice: For correct translation from Vietnamese, use the Tieng viet TCVN 6064 virtual keyboard in Google Translate - you will find all the necessary characters there.
With the introduction of the names of dishes in Vietnamese into a notebook, it has become easier - you can simply show the chef the inscription and he will say if there is such a dish, or twist the “flashlights”, which means “no” in Vietnam.
We started our journey from Ho Chi Minh City, and as we move to the north of Vietnam, we will supplement the article with new names, descriptions and photos of food in Vietnam, prices for dishes, and, if possible, note regional differences in dishes. UPD: we did just that, read our comparison in different cities of the country.
Let's make a reservation that we eat exclusively in small street eateries in order to feel the spirit of the simple Vietnamese people and save money. It usually happens like this: the lower you sit, the tastier and cheaper you eat. Even white-collar workers - serious business men - do not disdain to sit down on a low plastic chair of a street eatery and have a bite to eat.
Remark from Alyosha : During our stay in Vietnam, there has not yet been a single case that we ate in some eatery, sitting side by side with a "white man", our desk neighbors are always local residents. A European sits on a plastic high chair of street food very rarely, but in vain, because it is this way of eating while traveling that is the guarantee that, and the prices are minimal.
Exchange Rates at the time of this writing: 1,000 Vietnamese dong = 2.76 rubles, and $1 = 21,400 dong. Roughly speaking, to convert the price of this or that Vietnamese dish into rubles, cut off three zeros from the cost in dong and multiply by 3 - you get the ruble equivalent.
Food prices in Vietnam are not too high, but given the fall of the ruble, they have become about the same as in Russia.
Food in Vietnam: how much, description of dishes and their spelling in Vietnamese
- Nem cuốn, bánh tráng cuốn or gỏi cuốn and chả gio(respectively in North, Central and South Vietnam) - nam pancakes, or rolls. They are stuffed rolls wrapped in the finest rice paper. The stuffing consists of rice noodles, shrimp, bacon, herbs and other ingredients - at the discretion of the cook. Rolls are served chilled or room temperature. The price is from 6 thousand dong apiece.
- Chả nem or nem ran(respectively, in the south and in the north) - also rolls with filling, but small and fried. The filling consists of minced meat, mushrooms, vegetables and herbs, it may vary. The price is from 3.5 thousand dong apiece.
- Soup Phở (pho)- the national dish of Vietnam, it is a must try. This is a very tasty savory beef broth with rice noodles, where either thin slices of beef are added ( pho bo - phở bò), or chicken pieces ( pho ga - phở gà) or fish ( phở ca). The soup is served with local herbs such as mint and mung bean sprouts, dipping sauces and lime wedges for squeezing. In general, there are a lot of varieties of soups in Vietnam - they can differ in types of noodles or meat, vegetables. Price: in Ho Chi Minh City, we found pho bo for 20 thousand dong, but on average it costs 25-30 thousand dong. In Can Tho, it costs 18,000 dong.
Phở bò - beef soup
- Bún chả (Bún thịt nướng in the south)- fried pork with rice noodles. Served with fresh herbs and vegetables, as well as sauces. Price: from 25 thousand dong.
- goi bo- salad of beef, vegetables and herbs. Price: from 17 thousand dong.
- Bunca — fish soup with noodles. Price: in Can Tho - from 15 thousand dong.
- (or Bún riêu) - soup with noodles, tomatoes, snails, beef, chicken, boiled pork blood and herbs. Price: from 28 thousand VND.
Bún ốc - soup with vermicelli, meat and snails
- Banh canh- noodles soup. There are many varieties: cua- with crab tom- with shrimp and so on. Price: from 25 thousand dong.
- is a very common street food in Vietnam. Delicious fresh baguette with "combined" filling at the seller's discretion: vegetables, pork/beef/sausage, greens, pate, chili (usually sellers ask if pepper should be put in), sauce. All this is wrapped in paper and placed in a bag. Very convenient: a Vietnamese drove up on a bike, in 2 minutes they prepared a sandwich for him, and he drove on. You can find mobile "framing" almost everywhere (with the exception of the center - there are practically none there). Cost: from 10 thousand dong apiece - red price. In more tourist areas, we met for 15 and 20 thousand (Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Hue, Halong). A variant of a baguette with fried pork costs from 15,000 dong.
Bánh mì. Photo © cherrylet / flickr.com
- Banh bao (ban bao, dumpling pies)- this is a pie yeast dough steamed. Filling (may vary): pork / chicken, quail egg, onion, mushrooms, vermicelli. There is a vegetarian version of bánh bao. Price: from 10 thousand dong. Sometimes the price depends on the weight (seen in Hanoi).
- - another street food. You could say it's bread pudding. In general, this is a fried banana pie, a bit like pudding in texture. Ingredients can vary greatly, but it is usually made from bananas, bread, coconut milk etc. Very tasty and satisfying. Carts with bánh chuối are mobile and can be identified by the characteristic sweet smell of waffles. By the way, waffles themselves are often also sold. Often just such a banana mass with mung can be found in the form of fried waffles. Cost: in Ho Chi Minh they sold us for 12 thousand dong apiece, which, of course, is expensive. In Da Nang they sold us the same one for 5,000.
Banh chuối. Photo © noodlepie / flickr.com
- Che chuối- among ourselves we called it "banana pudding". In my opinion, one of the most delicious dishes in Vietnam. These are fried (sometimes fresh) bananas, filled with hot coconut milk and pulp, and sprinkled with roasted peanuts. Very tasty and satisfying! Served in plastic cups with a spoon. Best eaten hot, but cold is delicious too. In Hoi An, we bought for 10 thousand dong, although in fact they sell it cheaper to the locals (about 7 thousand).
- — a rice dish with fresh vegetables and the most tender grilled marinated pork (you can also take grilled chicken instead). As an additive comes spicy sauce and green broth. This is one of the varieties of street food in Vietnam, you can ask cơm tấm to take with you, and the dish will be put in a special container. Price: from 25 thousand dong in Ho Chi Minh City, in Can Tho we ate cơm tấm for 15 thousand dong.
Cơm tấm - rice with pork
- Banh chưng- a traditional Vietnamese dessert - a mass of gluten rice, mung bean, pork and other ingredients, wrapped in banana leaves. Price in the supermarket: from 30 - 35 thousand dong.
- Vietnamese street food. Satisfying and tasty dish, is prepared very simply: pieces of rice dough are fried together with an egg and green onions. All this is topped with the famous nước mắm fish sauce. Price: from 22 thousand dong.
Bột chien. Photo © phswien / flickr.com
- - also cheap street food in Vietnam. It is deep-fried pasta with scrambled eggs and herbs. Fresh vegetables are often served as well. Price: from 22 thousand dong.
- Nước mắm- fish sauce. Obtained during the fermentation of anchovy. It is used instead of salt, you can dip pieces of food into it, or you can pour it over a dish - depending on the variety, of which there are many. Also added during cooking. Served free.
Our journey is just beginning, so the article will gradually be filled with new information: we will continue to tell you about all the types of food that we try in Vietnam, as well as the prices for these Vietnamese dishes. To be continued…
Intro image source: Khánh Hmoong / flickr.com.
Vietnamese cuisine is unique: it is full of exotic, combines culinary trends different countries, and today strengthens its position on the banks of the Neva.
Recently, a new institution has opened in St. Petersburg - Pho'n'Roll, already the second under this brand.
Doan Van Quang, CEO of Pho'n'Roll, told us about the intricacies of Vietnamese cuisine and its "acclimatization" in Russia.
Pho'n'Roll CEO - Doan Van Kuang
Kuang, I know that the cuisine is different in different regions of Vietnam. Tell me what's the difference?
Indeed, due to the length of the borders and coastline, Vietnam is divided into three regions: the northern one with the center in the city of Hanoi, the southern one (Ho Chi Minh City) and the central one (Hue). Their cuisine differs due to climatic features and the influence of neighboring countries.
Northern cuisine is the most traditional. It was here that the most famous Vietnamese dish, pho soup, appeared.
In the north, they strictly monitor the balance of the “five tastes”: salty, sour, spicy, sweet and bitter. Thanks to this principle, Vietnamese dishes cannot be called too spicy or too salty: their taste is harmonious.
In the southern region, the influence of neighboring Thailand is felt. In the south, they like to cook sweet and sour dishes.
In general, Vietnamese and Thai cuisines are very similar: both countries love fried rice and noodles, and also use a large amount of seafood and fresh vegetables.
The city of Hue in central Vietnam used to be the capital where the royal family lived. In this region, the cuisine is the most diverse and unusual.
After all, they prepared for monarchs fine dining and arranged accordingly. The tradition of aesthetic presentation of dishes came from Japan, although in general this is not so important for Vietnamese cuisine.
You mentioned the balance of "five tastes", but what else is characteristic of Vietnamese cuisine?
We prepare many dishes from fresh vegetables and fruits. When frying, we use less oil than the Chinese, so our dishes are not as fatty.
Due to the proximity to the seas in Vietnam, seafood is eaten more than meat: on average, 200-300 grams of meat per kilogram of seafood.
We use spices and herbs, but not as actively as in China. The Chinese add a lot of different spices to their dishes. We use ginger, garlic, chili, black pepper, red onion, dill.
Another feature of Vietnamese cuisine is nuoc mam fish sauce and fish paste. True, now we are trying to use them in smaller quantities due to the specific smell.
Cooking sweet dishes in Vietnam is not popular, because we grow a lot of sweet fruits: papaya, mango, durian. The most famous dessert is a sweet pudding made from beans, glutinous rice and fruit called "te".
From drinks is in demand green tea, which grows in Vietnam, as well as coffee, herbal drinks.
I heard that Vietnamese cuisine uses the yin and yang principle. What does it mean?
We borrowed some basics of culinary philosophy from Chinese food, and one of these principles is the observance of the balance of "yin and yang". In other words, this is a harmonious combination of seemingly incompatible ingredients.
The energies of "yin" and "yang" are expressed in tastes: the cold female "yin" is responsible for sour, sweet, spicy taste, and the hot male "yang" - for salty and bitter.
For example, ginger, a hot product with yang energy, goes well with fish, which has a cold yin energy.
You said that Vietnamese cuisine is influenced by neighboring countries. And what did the cuisines of European countries bring?
Until the middle of the 19th century, Vietnam was a closed country, then it became a French colony. French chefs have significantly influenced our cuisine.
For example, they took traditional recipe pho soup and began to cook it on a classic French broth, which is cooked for a long time. Beef bones for pho are cooked for eight (!) hours, which is uncharacteristic for Vietnamese cuisine, because we usually cook very quickly.
From France, the Vietnamese adopted the recipe for a sandwich known in Vietnam as "ban mi". For its preparation, a baguette is used with various fillings: ham, chicken, fish sauce, marinated salads.
Before the French, there was no bread in Vietnam in principle, it was replaced by pies and noodles. In addition to the baguette, the French showed us ice cream, coffee with milk.
What dishes are popular in Vietnam today?
The basis of our cuisine is rice. It can be boiled or fried with vegetables, in the form of a warm salad with beef or pork.
Of course, every day we eat pho - beef noodle soup, bun - rice vermicelli with meat, dumb - pancakes from rice flour stuffed with vegetables and glass vermicelli, deep fried.
In general, the cuisine in the cities and villages of Vietnam is not much different. The only difference is that in the villages they cook from local products, and in the city some products, like the same meat, need to be bought.
What Vietnamese dishes can be called street food?
Street food is an international concept, but it is uncharacteristic for Vietnam. Rather, it is our traditional food, which is simply sold near the house on the street.
In Vietnam, it is customary to cook a lot: each family has its own garden where they grow rice and vegetables. Some of the cooked food can be sold near the house - this is what Vietnamese street food looks like.
Basically, these are ban mi sandwiches, spring rolls, nema pancakes, banana roti (pancakes), pho soup, pies stuffed with peas and sugar, fried shrimps and other dishes.
Are there options for vegetarians?
With the exception of Buddhist monks, there are practically no vegetarians in Vietnam. Therefore, there is no special vegetarian menu in our kitchen either.
But we grow a lot of vegetables and fruits, herbs - dishes from them are also suitable for vegetarians. Warm salads, pies, pancakes, vegetable spring rolls ... Especially popular among vegetarians are dishes made from bean curd tofu.
Is it difficult to achieve a real Vietnamese taste when cooking in Russia?
I specifically visited various cafes in St. Petersburg, which have Vietnamese dishes on the menu, and was disappointed. Many of them do not correspond to how we cook at home. In order to preserve the traditional Vietnamese taste, I invited Hi Le Nguyen to the position of brand chef at Pho'n'Roll.
Brand Chef Pho'n'Roll Hi Le Nguyen
He came to Russia from Ho Chi Minh City last November. For the menu, we have chosen dishes popular in our country - pho, dumb, noodles - we cook them without adapting them for Russians.
But in other dishes we add a smaller amount of spices and fish sauce - that's the whole difference.
We also try to use local products as much as possible - vegetables, meat. But sauces, shiitake and noodles, of course, we bring from Vietnam.
Thanks for the interview!
Pho soup recipe for four people
Ingredients:
Beef bones - 1 kg
Beef - 400 grams
Anise - 10 grams
Cardamom - 20 grams
Mustard - 20 grams
Ginger root - 100 grams
Red onion - 50 grams
Rice noodles pho - 400 grams
Green onions - a few stalks
Black pepper - to taste
Lemon or lime - to taste
Fish sauce - to taste
Mint - to taste
Cooking
We put the beef bones in cold salted water for two hours, then cook for fifteen minutes in a deep saucepan. We take the meat out of the pan and look - if there is a smell, the meat needs to be cooked for another 15 minutes.
Fry the grated ginger root, chopped red onion (but you can also use onion), add anise, cardamom and mustard. If the bones are high in fat, add more ginger.
Boil the bones with spices for eight hours. Add salt and fish sauce, cilantro root. Then cook the broth for another hour along with chopped slices of beef.
Boil the noodles in boiling water for five minutes.
In a deep bowl, put the noodles, broth, beef, finely chopped greens: green onion, mint.
Add black pepper lemon juice or slices of lemon. Pour in the broth.
Our pho soup is ready!
Vietnam is an amazing Asian country with incredibly friendly and helpful people and unforgettable cuisine. Vietnamese cuisine varies depending on the region: northern, central and southern parts of the country. The south of the country is washed by the South China Sea, so the cuisine of this part of the country is the most diverse and interesting. It is full of seafood, vegetables, exotic fruits and herbs.
Traditional Vietnamese food
Vietnamese cuisine is distinguished by an interesting combination of sweet and sour, spicy and sweet. The traditional salad of the south, the same as our Olivier, is sweet corn salad, fresh cucumber, carrots, peanuts, greens seasoned with soy sauce. Corn attached to lettuce sweet taste, and a European person may seem superfluous in this dish.
Soup pho - Vietnamese soup with rice noodles, different types meat and greens. Pho soup is prepared in every home, cafe and restaurant. Hearty, but at the same time low-calorie soup. The broth is drunk from a spoon, and all other ingredients are eaten with chopsticks.
In ancient times, snails were considered a delicacy and only very wealthy people could afford snails. Snail meat is mixed with mushrooms, fried. For serving, they are tied with green onions so that it is convenient to get out of the shell.
Rice noodles are an integral part of Vietnamese cuisine. Grilled beef, rice flour roll with meat, carrots, rice noodles, lettuce and sweet-sour-hot sauce with red pepper, served in a small saucer separately (served with many dishes).
Features of Vietnamese cuisine
Almost everyone associates frog legs with France. But few people know that grilled frogs are often eaten in Vietnam. Frog meat is very tender and tastes like chicken. Rice is boiled until half cooked and fried with a lot of garlic.
Vietnamese cuisine- this, of course, and exotic dishes, such as crocodile meat. It tastes like fish and meat at the same time.
And of course, shrimp, without them nowhere. Grilled shrimp with lots of garlic.
The famous Vietnamese rice flour crispy pancakes. They can be with absolutely any filling, from meat to bananas. So sweet stuffing are a traditional national dessert.
Delicacies such as scallops, oysters, lobster, etc. are national Vietnamese cuisine dishes and all these European delicacies are caught in the sea near the house.
An amazing discovery will be a sweet-spicy taste, which may seem absolutely incompatible. Various dried seafood very often have such an unusual taste. They are sold by weight and are very popular with the local population.
Any Asian cuisine is something new and unusual, full of previously unexplored tastes and sensations, and Vietnamese cuisine not an exception.
Vietnamese cuisine is very diverse, with over 500 traditional dishes. Coming to Vietnam, be sure to try the most popular of them. Tasty food is part of Vietnamese culture, so you can not imagine a vacation without getting to know her.
The main rule for Vietnamese cuisine is the use of only fresh products. Therefore, you can not be afraid of any food poisoning. The only precaution to take when dining in simple Vietnamese cafes is to be sure to wipe the forks and spoons before eating, and also treat your hands with an antiseptic.
The basis of Vietnamese cuisine, as in many other Asian countries, is rice (Com in Vietnamese). It is used as a side dish, rice replaces bread for the Vietnamese. It is served boiled or fried. As a sauce for most dishes, the Vietnamese serve nuoc mam fish sauce. It resembles soy sauce, but has a slightly sweet flavor.
The Vietnamese love the taste of lime in their dishes, so lime juice is added to many soups and meat dishes. Lime is served with all seafood dishes.
So, let's move on to the most interesting Vietnamese dishes that you must try.
Soups. Of course, Pho soup is considered the most popular soup in Vietnam. It is rice noodles meat broth with the addition of a small amount of vegetables and herbs. The pieces of meat in the soup are cut into thin slices, sprouted soybean sprouts are added on top. We were surprised when Pho soup was served to us for breakfast in Ho Chi Minh City. We don't eat soup for breakfast anyway. And in Vietnam, this soup is eaten at any time, it is very popular among both locals and tourists. Pho soup is a very nutritious and tasty dish. When we dine in a cafe, we often choose it, the average cost of a dish is 35-50 tons of dong or 1.5-2 dollars. There are several varieties of soup: with beef, pork, chicken or seafood. The Vietnamese eat it with chopsticks and a spoon.
Pho soup with beef
Bun Bo Hue soup is the second most popular soup in Vietnam. It is also, like "Fo" is made on meat broth. The differences between the soups are that Bun Bo Hue uses a different type of noodles, and instead of thin slices of meat, large pieces with bones are added. In addition, shrimp paste and lemon grass are added to Bun Bo Hue, which makes it taste more spicy.
Bun Cha Ca is a fish soup with small patties topped with fish sauce, garlic and pepper. Served with rice noodles. This is a very fragrant and unusual soup, completely unlike fish soup. I advise you to try!
In some restaurants, you can make your own soup from various ingredients. This dish is called Hot pot, its cost starts from 150 tons or 8 dollars. This is a large dish, it is better to order it for two. To prepare a hot pot in a cafe, they bring a special gas burner to the table, put a pot of water on it. Plates are also served with various ingredients, from which you cook your own soup: seafood, meat, fish, herbs, vegetables, spices, etc. We cooked a soup of shrimp, noodles, cauliflower, herbs and spices, it turned out very tasty. From time to time a waiter came up to us and followed the process.
Another popular soup is crab. We tried it first, back in Ho Chi Minh City. This is a very tasty and nutritious soup with a rich crab flavor. For cooking, crab meat, water and spices are used. There was nothing else in the soup, judging by the consistency. The cost is small (about 40 tons of dong - $ 2), but the portions are very small. I really liked the fish soup with eel (cost 60 tons - 3 dollars). But still, we like Thai soups more than Vietnamese ones.
Meat dishes. Diversity meat dishes impressive: chicken, beef, pork, pigeons, ducks, frogs, ostriches, crocodiles, turtles, lizards, snakes, etc. In general, it seems that the Vietnamese eat everything that moves! In one of the restaurants, my husband really liked the ostrich meat, it tastes a bit like beef: the meat is dark in color and rather tough. Crocodile meat is more tender, similar to chicken. I don’t eat these meat delicacies, I describe from the words of my husband.
It's no secret that people in Vietnam eat dog meat. In the northern part of the country, dog meat dishes are very popular among the local population. And it's terrible! But in the southern part, and especially in the resort towns, there are no dogs or cats on the menu; eating dogs here is considered bad form.
In some restaurants you can taste rat or mouse meat. If you want to try a snake, you can order a whole ritual in Vietnam. The snake is butchered in front of your eyes, they offer you to drink fresh blood with vodka, have a bite with a still warm heart, after which you will be served cooked meat. From one snake can cook up to 10 various dishes, so the ritual is usually ordered for the company. They say that the blood and heart of the snake is very beneficial for human health. But we are not yet ready for such a bloody ritual!
Another dish that can be found on the menu of any Vietnamese restaurant in Nha Trang is rice paper pancakes - “nem”. Fillings for pancakes are very different: both meat and vegetable. In terms of size, Vietnamese nems are not at all like Russian pancakes: they are very small, almost one bite.
Nem Nuong is another rice paper dish. These are homemade large rice paper rolls. The cafes bring separately sheets of rice paper, greens and meat, or fish for filling. You need to put all the ingredients on the sheet, especially there should be a lot of greens. After that, roll the sheet into a roll - and you can eat!
Steamed stuffed rice cakes look like snow-white lumps. They are sold everywhere: in street stalls, in supermarkets, they can be ordered in any cafe. Toppings can be very different.
Stuffed Rice Cakes
If there is no time for a cafe, and the desire to have a bite has appeared, you can buy a Vietnamese baguette with filling (Ban Mi). It is prepared on the street, the filling can be any. Usually the filling consists of pieces of meat or ham, bacon, cucumbers, tomatoes, greens, sometimes eggs and cheese are added. The baguette is topped with sauce. The cost is from 10 to 20 thousand dong or 0.5-1 dollar, depending on the chosen filling. Trays with Vietnamese baguettes can be found on all the busy streets of Nha Trang.
Vietnamese hot dogs
Vietnamese salads. Vietnamese salads seemed too specific to us. But maybe we just made the wrong choice. We ordered a salad from a Vietnamese cafe called "Vietnamese Salad". There was no composition on the menu, which made it even more interesting. The composition, it would seem, turned out to be quite simple: beef, quail eggs, greens, a large amount of onions. But… everything was well seasoned with sugar.
More successful was a salad called "Nom Hoa Chu" of chicken pieces, banana blossom shavings, cabbage and sprouted soybeans. It was topped with a slightly spicy dressing and sprinkled with nuts.
Husband liked the salad of fried mussels, with the addition of mint, soy sprouts and rice paper. The cost is about 2-3 dollars per serving.
Seafood dishes. Of course, the most popular among tourists are seafood dishes. The choice of seafood in Vietnam is huge: shrimp of various sizes, lobsters, mussels, rapana, oysters, squid, cuttlefish, octopus, sea mantises, sea urchins and much more.
Never buy shrimp and lobsters on the beach from flip flops who carry them in special warming pots. They for a long time are under the scorching sun and, of course, do not differ in freshness. We were told about numerous cases of serious poisoning among Russian tourists with seafood bought on the beach.
We ate fresh seafood dishes mainly in one very popular local cafe. It’s hard to name it and the cafe, the interior is too ugly there. More precisely, the interior is completely absent. There are small tables and very tiny chairs against the wall. There is no menu as such, you just go to large buckets of seafood and fish and choose what you like.
Grilled fried frogs taste like chicken, only more tender. You can find them in any seafood cafe. You can order both whole carcasses and fried paws in batter (4-5 dollars per dish).
Grilled fish costs about $4-5 for a large portion.
The prices are reasonable, but not as low as in the cafes for locals that we pass along the road. But we haven’t dared to go there yet, it’s very dirty around! In basins with ice are a variety of seafood. Small clams and rapanas are especially popular. Our interest was aroused by incomprehensible seafood in the form of large hedgehogs. But we haven't tried it yet!
Cafe for locals
Cafe for locals
Vietnamese desserts. Candied fruits and candied fruits are very popular among the Vietnamese. Before the Chinese New Year, they sold out the entire department in the Big C supermarket.
The menu of Vietnamese cafes, as a rule, has a small selection of desserts. One of them is coconut mousse, served inside a fresh coconut. The cost is 1-2 dollars.
And, of course, in Vietnam you need to try fruits, of which there is a huge variety: papaya, passion fruit, sugar apple, durian, dragon, mango different varieties, sapadilla, lychee, langans, mangosteens, rambutans, guava, anona, water apple, carambola, spondias, star apple. I have not listed the entire list of fruits. Each of them has its own unique taste.
Fruit. Vietnam
Traditional Vietnamese drinks. In almost any cafe and restaurant, green tea is brought before meals. This tea is a traditional Vietnamese drink called Cha da. It is often served with ice. Vietnamese tea perfectly quenches thirst and refreshes in hot weather. It has a pleasant mild taste, different from the usual green tea.
vietnamese tea
Cane sugar is our favorite drink in Vietnam. We have wanted to try it for a long time, but in Thailand, apparently, it is not popular, we have not met it. But in Nha Trang it is made on almost every street. Juice is squeezed out of a cane stick with half a lime on a special machine. The cost of juice is 5-10 tons of dongs or $0.25. Cane juice is very tasty: sweetish, with a slight lime flavor. It is poured either into glasses if you are going to drink it right there, or into small ice packs. For the first time I saw that juice was poured into a bag, put a tube in and tied up!
This is how cane juice is made.
And, of course, what kind of vacation can there be in Vietnam without Vietnamese coffee. Vietnam is the second largest coffee exporter after Brazil. Usually coffee is grown in the mountains. Coffee plantations are located near Nha Trang in the vicinity of the city of Dalat. vietnamese coffee has a high degree of roasting. It has a rich taste and thick aroma.
Vietnamese coffee is prepared using a special technology; it is not brewed in Turks or coffee pots. For preparation, a special filter is used, which is worn on top of the coffee cup. Pour a few teaspoons into the filter ground coffee to taste, press down with a press, then pour boiling water over the filter to the brim. The coffee drops will gradually drip from the filter into the cup. The cooking process takes 3-5 minutes. After the coffee has completely drained from the filter, boiled water or milk should be added to the cup to taste.
In Vietnamese cafes, coffee is served either black or with the addition of condensed milk. Iced coffee is especially popular. The cost is about 15,000 VND (0.8 dollars).
Iced coffee
I was surprised by the prices for beer in cafes and restaurants, a bottle of good Saigon beer costs 10,000 dong (0.5 dollars). Red and white wine, which is produced in the neighboring city of Dalat, costs from 80,000 VND per bottle ($4-5).
If you don’t like or are tired of Vietnamese cuisine, there are a huge number of Russian, Italian, Kyrgyz, Armenian and other restaurants and cafes in Nha Trang. Since the majority of vacationers in Nha Trang are Russians, restaurants with Russian cuisine are very popular. There are a lot of them in Nha Trang, we visited several of them. For example, the Moskva restaurant made us very happy. Everything was delicious, reasonable prices, good service. In the Cosmos restaurant we even found smoked mackerel and fresh draft beer. After 6 months on Koh Samui, where the choice of Russian dishes is very limited, I was happy to eat okroshka on kvass and cabbage rolls. Vietnamese cuisine, no doubt, deserves attention, but Russian is still closer!
Selection of hotels in Vietnam
Nha Trang hotels with reviews
10 Best Vietnamese Dishes
Vietnamese food is known to be delicious and spicy in taste, thanks to the combination of fresh herbs and greens with rice, noodles, seafood, pork or beef. In many major cities in Vietnam, many big restaurants and five-star hotels may offer extravagant meals, but the best Vietnamese delicacies can actually be found in roadside eateries, street markets, and modest-looking restaurants.
A typical Vietnamese lunch includes rice or noodles, meat or seafood, vegetable dish, soup and Nuoc Cham (fermented) for dipping. Here is a helpful guide on what to eat in Vietnam, most of the dishes can be eaten at almost any time of the day. Although most tourists are familiar with Pho and spring rolls, the variety of Vietnamese cuisine is only available in some regions, so be sure to try them during your visit.
Soup Pho
In fact, the most favorite food in Vietnam for locals and tourists, the composition includes rice noodles in a fragrant broth with meat and various herbs, as well as Nuoc Cham (fish sauce) or chili sauce. The bowl is mostly served with Tai (beef slices), Bo Vien (beef meatballs) or Nam (beef side), with soy sprouts, lime and fresh herbs such as basil, mint, cilantro and onion. Depending on where you eat Pho in a restaurant or roadside cafe, you can opt for more exotic ingredients such as Gan (beef tendons), Sach (thinly sliced pork stomach) or Ve Don (lateral cartilage). Soup Pho is usually eaten for breakfast and costs between 20,000 and 50,000 VND.
Banh Mi (meat sandwich)
Banh mi is a unique French-Vietnamese sandwich that's great for when you need a quick bite to eat. It consists of a toasted sandwich baguette, pickled vegetables, pâté, butter, soy sauce, cilantro, pepper, and hot pepper, costing about 10,000 to 40,000 VND. In most Banh Mi, vendors offer a wide range of meat fillings, including Ho Ki (fried pork), Chung Op La (fried egg), Thit Nuong (fried pork loin), Cha Ka ( Fried fish with turmeric and dill), Cha Lua ( boiled sausage), Exa Xu (Chinese BBQ Pork) and Thit Ga (boiled chicken).
Ban Seo (Crispy Pancake)
Ban Seo is similar to a pancake, made from rice flour, coconut milk and turmeric, and can be filled with: noodles, chicken, pork or beef pieces, shrimp, chopped onions, soy sprouts, and mushrooms. In stalls, at local markets and restaurants, Ban Seo is sold for 15,000-30,000 dong, served with a side dish of fresh lettuce or rice paper. Try eating banh seo like the locals - wrap it in mustard leaves, lettuce or rice paper, along with nem lui (pork kebab with lemongrass), and then soak it in walnut sauce.
Goi Suon (Vietnamese fresh rolls)
Goi Suon consists of thin noodles, pieces of pork, shrimp, basil and lettuce, all tightly wrapped in translucent Ban Trang (rice paper). Because of its delicate flavor, Goi Suon is usually eaten with a sauce of peppers and Hoisin base with crushed peanuts. It is a popular snack and is also a healthy alternative to the Cha Gio snack, which is deep fried (egg roll, noodles, minced pork and spices).
Mi Quang (Vietnamese Noodles with Turmeric)
Mi Quang is served in almost all restaurants in Vietnam, but in fact this dish originated from Da Nang. It is distinguished by yellow rice noodles, it is filled with hearty bone broth, seasoned with black pepper, shallots and garlic, also add pieces of meat, shrimp and boiled quail eggs. As with most Vietnamese dishes, Mi Quang is served with various herbs, basil, peanuts, cilantro, lettuce, banana flower slices, sesame and rice biscuits.
Ban Thit Nuong (Grilled Pork Rice Noodles)
Ban Thit Nuong consists of thin rice noodles, chopped lettuce, cucumber, soy sprouts, pickled daikon, basil, crushed peanuts and mint, topped with grilled pork shoulder. Unlike most noodle dishes, Ban Thit Nuong is not a soup and is not filled with broth, but it can be poured with Nuoc Cham sauce (fish sauce) and then a very aromatic dish is obtained.
Kom Tam (Crushed Rice)
Kom Tam, literally translated from Vietnamese, is “crushed rice” and is traditionally served with fried egg, sliced green onion and various types meat. Although it is a popular breakfast or lunch dish, it can be ordered at any time of the day as it is relatively inexpensive, costing around VND 20,000 at street markets and roadside eateries. Filling options can be Suon Nuong (grilled pork chop), Bi (shredded pork skin) and Cha Chung (braised pork and egg patty). Kom Tam is also served with pickled vegetables, cucumber slices and Vietnamese Nuoc Cham sauce (fish sauce).
Banh Quon (Rolled Cake)
Banh Cuon resembles a large rolled cake and is great when you are very hungry after long excursions in Vietnam. Banh Quon is a combination minced meat(chicken, shrimp or pork), minced tree mushrooms, onions, Vietnamese ham (Cha Lua), stewed soy sprouts and cucumbers wrapped in a steamed rice flour sheet. The overall flavor of Banh Quon is surprisingly bland despite the rather bland ingredients, you can dip it in Nuoc Cham (fish sauce) for extra flavor. Due to its popularity among tourists, Banh Quon can be easily found in roadside cafes and restaurants.
Xoy Xeo (Sweet Sticky Rice)
Xoi Xeo is a sweet and savory Vietnamese snack usually topped with Mung Bean pasta, dried shallots and soy sauce. For a fuller meal, many restaurants offer a variety of ingredients such as pâté, chicken, Cha Lua (Vietnamese ham), marinated pork, or canned eggs. Xoy Xeo can also be served as a dessert, which consists of dried coconut flakes, roasted sesame seeds and crystallized sugar.
Ka Kho To (Caramelized fish in a clay pot)
Ka Kho To you must try if you love fish, consists of a stewed catfish fillet in a clay pot. Basically, the dish is available in the cities of South Vietnam, especially in Ho Chi Minh City. Ka Kho To is prepared by slicing a whole catfish into fillets, then cooked in a clay pot in a thick caramel sauce made from a combination of soy sauce, fish sauce, sugar, shallots, garlic and spices. The dish is always served with white rice and fresh herbs.
