Food in Vietnam

Again, authentic tourist I am not! I like to eat what I like to eat, and the last thing I want is food poisoning! I have a good history of getting ill on holidays, so with much joy I came away from my trip to Vietnam unscathed.  The BF was not so lucky! Here’s a photo document of some of the meals (and some of the meals we didn’t have – ie market stalls!)

 

Yep, plain old pizza - tasty too, with just tuna and olives
Yep, plain old pizza – tasty too, with just tuna and olives
A flavour I've never seen - sadly I didn't try it. This was the land of exotic juices
A flavour I’ve never seen – sadly I didn’t try it. This was the land of exotic juices
Kanye West Cheesecake - love the names the NY dessert cafe had. We liked it so much we went back for dinner on our last night!
Kanye West Cheesecake – love the names the NY dessert cafe had. We liked it so much we went back for dinner on our last night!
Bad photo of bulk vermicelli - almost a zero waste option!
Bad photo of bulk vermicelli – almost a zero waste option!
Another 'didn't eat' - live fish in the market
Another ‘didn’t eat’ – live fish in the market

We went to an outdoor Barbeque restuarant. I have never seen so many staff! There was at least one staff member to each 2 chairs, I’d say! They pretty much did all the BBQ cooking for you, so much so they tut tutted when I went to take a skewer – they’d determined they weren’t yet fully cooked.

BBQ Garden - a hybrid of Korean BBQ and many other dishes. I've never had so many staff attend to my meal
BBQ Garden – a hybrid of Korean BBQ and many other dishes. I’ve never had so many staff attend to my meal
Save for the coriander garnish, this noodle dish was tasty!
Save for the coriander garnish, this noodle dish was tasty!
We think this was Pho - the national dish. The BF had no idea what he ordered would be a soup :(
We think this was Pho – the national dish. The BF had no idea what he ordered would be a soup 🙁
Club sandwich, with exactly 9 chips!
Club sandwich, with exactly 9 chips!
Nacho cheese: not exactly what we were expecting!
Nacho cheese: not exactly what we were expecting!

It’s sort of surprising at the same resturant as the Nacho cheese, we got the following two dishes:

Spring rolls (or nems)
Spring rolls (or nems)
Squid stuffed with pork and crab mince!
Squid stuffed with pork and crab mince!

Poor cultural joke up ahead:

I'm kidding, they surely are not food! But it was weid to come across them on the pavement on an footpath otherwise devoid of walking trade
I’m kidding, they surely are not food! But it was weid to come across them on the pavement on an footpath otherwise devoid of walking trade

We certainly weren’t that adventurous! And to go with all that eating?  Drinks! I love all things pineapple, so there were lots of blends of juices.  I also enjoy mojitos, and some margaritas, and even a caipirihna to swap out that mint and rum.  And the BF was all over the gin and tonics – with a side of beer sometimes.

What’s your favourite cocktail?

16 Replies to “Food in Vietnam”

  1. I am not adventurous when it comes to food at all, since I'm pretty picky. The nacho cheese chips amused me though. I'm glad you didn't get sick at all! I don't drink much alcohol anymore due to it either giving me heartburn or an upset stomach, but I do like piña coladas and mostly anything with vodka or rum.

    1. I like to *think* I'm adventurous, but I'm really not!! The nacho chips were a little of a let down, especially being stale!

      Pina coladas are great – I had one whilst I was away, but the coconut milk was super dooper thick, so I steered clear of anymore. I also like vodka and rum based drinks.

  2. It all looks absolutely delicious! I remember reading EOK's post on eating at street stalls…I'd like to think I would try it, but I'm also very much afraid of getting tummy bugs. Nothing beats mojitos and margaritas on holiday!!

    1. Exactly! EOK is so adventurous, but I agree, eating at stalls worries me too much. Although, if they are packed with people, they must be doing something right. All the street stalls in Vietnam came with kid sized table and chairs, which they pack up and add to a huge trolley after the meal, and move on. It's quite amazing, and every one, old and young, seems to be able to get into the low seats and tables!

  3. How large is a typical serving of French Fries (Chips) in Australia? I thought the serving of 9 was pretty small, but at the same time I'm aware that we're served some pretty gargantuan potions in North America. What would you consider typical?

    1. Probably a good handful or two? I definitely thought the artful arrangement of 9 was comical!! You're right though, servings in the US/Canada can be huge and relatively speaking, so cheap!

  4. Yay, a food post 🙂 The squid and the Pho look really good.

    I had a similar experience with nachos when I ordered them in Mexico – it was just corn chips with fake cheese squeezed on top, whereas my boyfriend's fahitas had meat, veggies, real cheese, salsa and avocado!

  5. How disappointing is that Nachos! And 9 chips!!! Go portion control for weight loss.

    The spring rolls look good,as does the BBQ.

    Could handle a cocktail with all this smoke in the air and the heat – a nice cosmopolitan.

  6. I skip foods because I'm not adventurous either, and because a lot of dishes here are meat-centered. Like when we went to Florida this summer, tons of restaurants had alligator and tons of seafood on the menu, but I didn't try it. One weird thing I ate was jicama (from Mexico) in one of my salads, yum! – it reminded me of raw potato.

    1. Alligator certainly sounds 'interesting', even to a non vegetarian!! I've never come across jicama, I'll have to keep my eyes peeled to see it featured on a menu!

  7. Had to laugh at the 9 chips and the nachos, although I agree that they're better off without the fake cheese! I like pho but otherwise I'm not familiar with Vietnamese food. I hope the cats were moving on to a better life (?!) PS – I've never had tuna on pizza!

    1. Pho's about it for Vietnamese food, though they have some spring rolls which are different to the ones you get in Chinese restaurants.

      I'm sure the cats were being sold as pets, but it was a funny picture so I threw it in :p

      The tuna pizza was yummy!

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