It’s more like what didn’t we eat in Vietnam. There’s a very good chance we ate more food in Vietnam than we have in any other country so far. We loved the fact that there was tons of fresh produce included in every meal… we had missed our greens! While we ate almost every meal out at a restaurant (except the free breakfast included at all hostels), we definitely had a large variety of different types of foods. There was one point where we were burnt out on Vietnamese food so we devoured burgers, pizza and Mexican food. Here’s some of the many places we chowed down at…

HN Tropical Cafe (Hanoi, Vietnam)
Our first outing for food in Hanoi proved successful! We visited and had two different pho dishes (one with instant noodles because they ran out of rice noodles). Both were so tasty and enjoyable considering it was a cooler day.

Chops (Hanoi, Vietnam)
Sometimes you just need a burger and fries in your life. We hit up this restaurant on our second stay in Hanoi when we were totally exhausted and needed to have some comfort food and crash. It was quite tasty! We tried the cheeseburger with bacon and the chicken sandwich with brie and avocado, all with some fries.

We also went back on our final afternoon in Hanoi and tried their Katsu chicken sandwich (tasty!) along with the cheeseburger and fries that we knew we liked.

Street Food Tour (Hanoi, Vietnam)
Several folks suggested we do a street food tour in Hanoi and we were happy to oblige. Our guide, Lotus, took us around the Old Quarter and introduced us to tons of delicious restaurants. We learned about different Vietnamese foods and found a few spots to visit on our next few stays in Hanoi.

Quan Bia Minh (Hanoi, Vietnam)
This was a Lonely Planet guidebook recommendation and it was near our hostel, so we stopped in and checked in out. Draft beers were cheap and the food was tasty! We pigged out on spring rolls and bun bo and left with happy bellies. We went back for the exact same meal again on our next visit to Hanoi.

Homestays (Sapa, Vietnam)
We stayed in two different local homes while in Sapa. Each family spoiled us with amazing home cooked meals. On our first night we stayed with a Red Dzao family. We helped prepare the veggies for dinner and then enjoyed an amazing (and huge!) meal of rice wine, rice, spring rolls, greens, pork and veggies and more. The next morning we were greeted with some tasty noodle soup for breakfast.

The second night in Sapa we stayed with a Black Hmong family. Their dinner was equally as delicious as the Red Dzao and the next morning we had crepes and fruit for breakfast. Kerry may have pigged out on that one! 🙂

Hong’s House (Sapa, Vietnam)
On our last day in Sapa our host Hong took us to the local market and then did an in-home cooking class with us. She taught us to make homemade fried spring rolls (we did all of the work!) and fresh greens with garlic. Then we learned to make fish sauce dip for the spring rolls. Most importantly, we sat down for lunch with Hong, her sister, husband and daughter afterwards and feasted on what we had made!

BBQ (Sapa, Vietnam)
On our first day in Sapa we ate at a small BBQ place in the mountains. This was quite the experience as the owner cooked everything right in front of us on a charcoal grill. We had meat skewers, greens wrapped in pork, eggs, corn, sweet potatoes and bamboo sticky rice with peanuts. 

Jalapeno Mexican Restaurant (Hue, Vietnam)
That’s right, we ate at a Mexican restaurant in Vietnam. We needed a break from Vietnamese foods and this restaurant was in our hostel, so it was an easy choice. We tried their chicken burrito, beef quesadillas, avocado and chips and of course… beer. This is where we got to try Hung beer!

Bale Well (Hoi An, Vietnam)
This is another great suggested that we heard about through word of mouth. It’s a Vietnamese restaurant where you sit down and food just starts being put in front of you! The only thing you order is your beverage of choice. The food offerings are limited but very tasty. You get fried shrimp spring rolls, rice paper, assorted greens, a pineapple concoction, some sauce, grilled pork skewers and pork meatballs and you basically create your own hand rolled spring rolls. There’s also a mango dessert kinda like a jell-o but not as sweet. We loved the experience, the price tag and the food.

Ganesh Indian Restaurant (Hoi An, Vietnam)
Maddy, whom we met in Halong Bay, recommended this Indian restaurant to us for Hoi An. It was absolutely amazing! We had vegetable samosas, garlic naan, steamed rice and chicken tikki masala. Tasty!

Paddy’s Hostel & Sports Bar (Hoi An, Vietnam)
Our hostel in Hoi An was incredible not only because of the rooms and the great staff, but also the food! Our stay included free breakfast every morning which we gladly devoured. It also came with 1 free beer each day, then buy one, get one free beers from 6-7 pm. AND they had great food that we tried for dinner a few nights. Two big thumbs up to this place!

Mojzo Dorm (Nha Trang, Vietnam)
Our hostel in Nha Trang had killer food. Breakfast was included with each night’s stay and was buffet style… everything from toast and eggs to homemade yogurt and granola. Quite possibly the best free hostel breakfast so far. Every night they did a “family dinner” for $3USD where you could sit down for a meal with other folks staying at the hostel and pig out on whatever was served that night. Vietnamese hosts definitely make sure you have more than enough food for every meal!

Lanterns Restaurant (Nha Trang, Vietnam)
This restaurant was suggested to us by our dorm and we loved it (and one meal in particular) so much that we ended up going twice! We devoured some bun thit nuong and also some tasty morning glory (aka spinach).

Beer!
Saving the best for last. We had many different types of beers in Vietnam. Let’s see if we can remember them all:

• Larue
• Saigon Green
• Saigon Bia Hoi
• Saigon Special
• Huda
• Hanoi Beer
• Bia Ha Noi
• Tiger beer

~ Kerry & Jenny