Vietnam changes plate by region, so eat to the place you are in. The north is the home of phở and bún chả, the grilled-pork-and-noodle lunch that Hanoi does better than anywhere, both around €2. The centre is the spicier, fussier cooking: Hue's bún bò Huế and royal-court dishes, and Hoi An's cao lầu and white rose dumplings at €2 to €3. The south is sweeter and herbier, built on cơm tấm, bánh mì and the coffee culture that peaks in Ho Chi Minh City.
Coffee is its own reason to slow down. A cà phê sữa đá, strong and over ice with condensed milk, is about €1, egg coffee in Hanoi is a little more, and a specialty flat white in a design café is €2 to €3. None of it is expensive, so try the traditional and the modern versions on the same day.
The tell for value is the same everywhere. The €2 bowl and the €8 one are often on the same street, and the cheaper one is usually a couple of doors back from the water or the main sight, with small plastic stools and a queue of people who live there. That queue is the thing to look for. Do not eat at the places with laminated photo menus and a person waving you in from the pavement, because you are paying tourist rates for a worse version.
Sources
- Vietnam travel guide, Viet Nam National Authority of Tourism, accessed