Authentic Vietnamese cuisine: the top list

When we were planning our Cambodia-Laos-Vietnam journey, I have to say that my biggest expectations concerned the last country on the list. I was hoping for great tastes, views, some exotic experiences. We also had the biggest number of days to spend in Vietnam. However, the reality verified our plans as well as expectations.

As much as Cambodia amazed us, Vietnam was a bit of a disappointment, although I believe it has a lot to do with the fact that we stayed there quite short and visited only Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh, Sa Pa and nearby villages in the far north. We thought Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh were “just OK” because we couldn’t spot this diversity and otherness that we always seek during our travels. In Bangkok, even though there are many more skyscrapers than in Warsaw, streets and traffic jams are enormous, there is a sky train and other elements characteristic for a big city, you can feel the difference straight away as soon as you leave the hotel. Whereas during those couple of days spent in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh I didn’t feel that different than in Poland or other European countries… The main distinction would be the omnipresent mopeds and motorbikes, which are parked on pavements or ride on the streets and don’t stop even when they see someone trying to cross the street with a child in a pram. To be honest, this kind of “different habits” didn’t really suit me 🙂 On the other hands, Sa Pa and its surroundings are definitely worth seeing but again rain, low temperature, greyness and fog didn’t make us feel exactly positive. Moreover, we had some problems with our visa and at the airport we were greeted by officials, who were impolite from the very beginning. All this makes Vietnam rank last of all the three countries we visited this time.

There is, however, one thing we really liked in Vietnam, mainly the local cuisine, so different from what we know as Vietnamese food served in Warsaw. There are of course some similarities between them, but dishes you will find in Hanoi or Sa Pa are something much more than just chicken or pork served with various (and at the same time very alike) sauces. That’s why now I would like to present our subjective review of what and where to try while visiting Vietnam. Enjoy!

1) PHO SOUP

This one is an absolute must. Whether you’re in Hanoi or in Ho Chi Minh, you’ll spot boars and menus with “PHO” (usually Pho Bo or Pho Ga) on every corner. Pho is eaten in Vietnam for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Łukasz chose it for breakfast every day we spent in Sa Pa… and he often goes for it in Warsaw, waking up in the morning and going to the nearby market to have a large portion of Pho at the Vietnamese stall, for a good start of the day. And I have to say that the Warsaw version tastes not too bad when compared to the one from Hanoi! If you feel like having one, look for the stall near the flower market in ul. Bakalarska or let me know when you need additional directions 🙂

Pho is a kind of light chicken soup with rice noodles, a lot of fresh green herbs (mainly coriander) and meat. There are plenty of versions to choose from, something for everybody: with chicken (pho ga), boiled/ fried / semi-fried beef (pho bo), with meatballs, with fish. Looking at the menus in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh, pho bo and pho ga seem to be the most popular and most traditional ones. However, from time to time you might come across more original versions of pho, such as the one Łukasz fell in love with in Madame Hien in Hanoi, a restaurant with mixed Vietnamese and French cuisine, mainly pho with foie gras and ginger.

The soup is seasoned with fish sauce (called nuoc mam), lime, sliced chilli (Łukasz likes it!), marinated garlic, then sprouts are added and it’s ready! The locals eat pho both using sticks (which they use for fishing out bigger ingredients) and spoons — used for sipping the bouillon.

2) SPRING ROLLS – FRESH, FRIED, STEAMED

Spring rolls were definitely my number one during our stay in Vietnam. Fried and crispy, fresh, light, with a lot of vegetables or steamed, for example with pork and mushrooms. Usually dipped in fish or chilli sauce. An ideal snack that wipes away the first signs of hunger.

Most often I choose the fried ones, as they are very tender and almost fall apart in hands (and definitely melt in mouth!). Crispy rice paper wrappers plus the sauce and I’m in heaven 🙂 Łukasz prefers the fresh ones, usually seasoned properly with fresh herbs such as coriander, which is not my favourite. What else is in them? Vegetables (carrot!), vermicelli pasta and, for instance, shrimps or slices of roasted pork.

We also liked light spring rolls — again in rice paper wrappers but his time steamed. I have to say it’s the first time we came across such version but we’ll definitely try to prepare it at home, as we’re already pretty good at the fried and fresh ones! 🙂

In other words, it seems to be the same dish all the time, yet has so many versions that everyone will find the one they like most.

3)  BUN CHA

Another dish which is definitely worth trying. Traditional bun cha consists of rice noodles (bun) and grilled pork (cha). My bun included delicious beef, nuts and sprouts. I took out the fresh herbs (yes, I know it’s an essential ingredient, but well… 😉 ) and it was still super tasty! We pour nuoc mam (fish sauce) over the dish or dip the noodles and the meat in it, and mix everything together. This is one of the dishes that you won’t find in Vietnamese snack bars in Poland — at least I haven’t ever seen it anywhere.

Bun cha is supposed to have been originally created in Hanoi and is especially popular in the north of the country. Definitely a “must-eat”!

4) FRIED NOODLES WITH CHICKEN/ VEGETABLES/ BEEF

I think that “fried noodles” were the two words I used most often during our trip in Vietnam! I started my stay in Hanoi from it and continued eating the dish throughout the whole stay… With beef, chicken or vegetables; with wide or narrow noodles, sometimes delicious sometimes not so much, but with chilli sauce almost always tasty. Serve it with Coca Cola or a small beer and there you go: a perfect set.

I had one of my favourite fried noodles in Hanoi, in Rainbow Cafe situated at 37 Hang Hanh street. It’s a small, pleasant cafe with reasonable prices and — for those of you, who are travelling with a child — apart from Vietnamese cuisine it also serves the classic (and quite tasty) spaghetti bolognese. Recommended by us and by Maks 🙂

5) NOT ONLY FOR CHILDREN: FRIED RICE WITH CHICKEN

Fried rice with chicken was, I guess, the first oriental dish I have ever tasted. It was 2001, I was in high school and we were celebrating my friend’s birthday. A Chinese bar in Ochota district, in Warsaw. Not an ordinary snack bar but a cosy restaurant, and my friend’s advice: “Take fried rice with chicken, you’ll definitely like it”. Because this is the basis. And so now, ever since our last year’s journey to Thailand, also Maks became a fan. He likes it most with chicken and/or shrimps. It’s a dish that you’ll find on almost every menu in restaurants in Thailand, Vietnam or Cambodia. And even if not, the local chef will surely make it for us if we only ask.

6) BANH XEO, OR VIETNAMESE PANCAKES

We first saw Vietnamese pancakes in Phnom Penh, in our favourite Magnolia restaurant. On the plates of other guests we noticed those big pancakes that caught our attention as they looked completely different than our Polish ones.

Banh Xeo are rather crispy and filled with pork, shrimps, finely chopped spring onions, peas and lost of sprouts. They are served on a plate with lots of greens (coriander, lettuce, mint) and of course with sweet’n’sour fish sauce. They are very tasty and tearing off the edges is quite good fun 🙂

7) TOFU

Tofu is an important part of the Vietnamese cuisine. You can have it served with various sauces, sometimes very spicy, or e.g. deep fried as a starter.

8) SOMETHING TO PLEASE EVERYONE…

In Vietnam you’ll also find dishes that are quite similar to what we know from the Chinese or Vietnamese snack bars in Poland. Chunks of beef/ chicken/ fish or calamari in different sauces, such as oyster or 5 flavours sauce, served on a sizzling platter or on a plate, usually with rice or rice noodles (called yellow noodles here — Łukasz loved it!), similar to the one we know from instant Chinese soups.

My favourite set was the sweet and sour dish with calamari (squid) or fish, peppers, carrot, onions and cucumber. Just delicious!

9) DESSERTS

Desserts in Vietnam don’t leave you a lot of choice, especially if you don’t like bananas (like me). On the menu, in the dessert section most probably you’ll find: pancakes with bananas, fried bananas, bananas with coconut ice-cream, etc. The situation looks better in restaurants that combine the local cuisine with e.g. French tastes. There, you’ll have a wider choice and some very interesting combinations, such as green tea cake, sticky rice creme brulee or even a chocolate cake served warm with vanilla ice-cream (sounds familiar, doesn’t it?).

In terms of ice-cream flavours I would recommend the coconut ones and taro — purple and with a delicious, cookie-like flavour. If you’re in Warsaw and want to check the taste of taro, go and have some bubble tea in Bubbleology 🙂 I guess this is my favourite flavour there and a place where I first tasted taro. In Asia, this ingredient is widely used in desserts, cookies and other dishes.

Apart from that, both in Vietnam and in Thailand you’ll find a lot of exotic desserts, such as original sweet soups, usually with coconut milk, served warm or cold, with taro, long-shaped jellies, tapioca pearls or sago in it, the latter being small balls similar to tapioca in their texture, which you might have come across when trying the earlier mentioned bubble tea.

To be honest, some of those desserts are quite… tasteless but other are actually quite good, especially if you’re a coconut fan (me again!) 🙂

We are ending our adventure with Vietnamese desserts with the desserts. So what would you like to try most? 🙂 You might want to try and look for some of the dishes in the Vietnamese snack bars in Warsaw, but other are — as you can see — completely different from what we have imagined. So in order to taste them you should just plan a trip to Vietnam! 🙂

PS1. I’m sure Łukasz will have one or two Pho soups when we come back home 🙂

PS2. Have a tasty day!