Regional Variations

Northern Vietnam: seafood rules here, especially crap and prawns Central Vietnam: the foods from this region tend to be spicy Southern Vietnam: more vegetable-based diet with plenty of seafood

Popular Dishes

1. Spring Roll

The Vietnam Spring Roll is made up of lean minced pork, sea crabs or unshelled shrimps, two kinds of edible mushroom, dried onion, duck eggs, pepper, salt and different kinds of seasoning. Mix them roughly, wrap with a transparent rice paper and then put the roll into boiling oil to fry.

2. Summer Roll

Summer roll is all about the freshest things in summer: cucumber granita, a jumble of crunchy raw vegetables, soft, aromatic leaves and cool, squidgy noodles. All are stuffed into a featherlight rice wrapper.

3. Pho

Pho is the most popular food to local people for their breakfast usually. It is a bowl of hot and spicy noodles which is smell special and tasting. The rice noodle is made of the best rice called Gao Te, the soup is made by stewing chicken and pigs or cows. Add with fillet and slices of ginger and a delicious Pho is done.

4. Banh Chung

Banh Chung is a Vietnamese traditional dish called sticky rice cakes. It is made of glutinous rice, pork meat and green beans paste wrapped in a bamboo leaves, which will give the rice a green color after boiling. Vietnam family must have the sticky rice cakes as part of their offerings when they worship their ancestors.

5. Banh Tom

It is a kind of crispy shrimp pastry only can be eaten in Vietnam. The fried pastry is topped with red shrimps and should be eaten with spicy vegetables mixed with sweet and sour sauce.

Drinks

In Vietnam, you can find kinds of soft drinks that taste good. For visitors, it is a good experience to have a nice taste drinks during a tour or when he is thirsty. Coconut-based beers are popular in Vietnam and you don’t want to miss it. And the Vietnamese yogurt are not only looking-good, but also taste great. Apart from these drinks, fruit juices are other good choices.

Dining Tips

1. If you are lucky to be invited to eat at a local's house, making sure you will bring a small gift to the householder to show your gratitude.

2. When meeting locals or get to a restaurant, remove your shoes before entering the house or restaurant if you see others doing so.

3. Dining in a local restaurant, you have to go to the checkout counter to pay for your bill for the Vietnamese feel rude to bring the bill to your dining table.

4. The bill will usually includes a service charge about 5%. If there is no service charge included in your bill, tipping is at your discretion.

5. If you want to have a try on the real snacks in Vietnam, street food is your best choice. Tell your guide and he or she will take you to.