Food in Vietnam

The first thing we noticed about the food in Vietnam was the price. We've had meals as cheap as 10,000 VND, or just over 50 NZ cents. Vietnam has a very large range of food; western style cafes, vietnamese eateries and sushi bars can all be found on a single street in some places, although western food is only slightly cheaper than in New Zealand. Also noticeable are the street stalls: usually mounted on a handcart or motorbike, these sell all kinds of food; I've had omelets, filled rolls and all sorts of skewers from them, all very cheap. However, after I had the omelet, I was told that that stall, like others, wasn't known for it's hygiene. We usually avoid fresh fruit stalls, or wash any fruit we do buy, as pesticides are widely used. As well as the fruit, we can't drink water from the tap without boiling due to bacteria.

As with most Asian countries, rice and noodles are the main staples, but Vietnam is slightly different: because it was once a French colony, baguettes are very popular and more common than normal loaves, while smaller ones are filled and sold by street sellers as banh mi. Vietnams most eaten dish is pho bo, or beef and noodle soup, but ironically, it's one of the most fiddly to prepare, so almost no-one makes it at home, instead choosing to eat out and buy it or use a sachet. MSG is frequently used , so much so that it is actually sold in supermarkets as "super flavor enhancer". As you can guess, we don't use it at all, though we suspect we've been given it in some of the food we've ordered at restaurants. Interestingly, dessert as we know it isn't found very often, but caramel flan and ice cream are still popular treats. It's been great fun sampling all that's available, but we've barely scratched the surface and are looking forward to what's to come.

by Isaac