This is a companion article to our main page about our trip to Cambodia and Vietnam. We also have a separate page with our Cambodian food photos and reviews. The reason we split them is so that travelers searching for good food in a certain location probably don’t want to read our whole trip story. We generally only post the places we like, which in Vietnam was 8 out of the 9 places we ate outside hotels (and the Sa Pa hotel breakfasts were all excellent as well!)
Hanoi
Bahn Mi
Bánh Mỳ , or more likely spelled Bahn Mi in English merely means bread, but the additional words afterwards specify the kind of sandwich you would like. Bánh Mỳ in Hanoi was really good, we had two. The first one was at Bánh Mỳ Phố Cổ (google maps link). It was really good. I got a pate and Carolyn got an egg. Both were delicious and the total for two sandwiches and two soy milks was about US$5.
The second place we went was a Vegan Bahn Mi place, it was a little bit hidden down an alley. There was a sign facing the main street, walk down the alley about 15m and you will run into the shop kitchen, which was also their house. The walls were covered with children’s artwork celebrating veganism. We briefly met the children who seemed amused at westerners in their shop. It’s located here : Vegan Bahn Mi Hanoi We enjoyed the Seitan and the “Meatless” Bahn Mi, the Seitan has a little more chew, the meatless had a delicious herbed soy/tofu paste. I recommend getting both and splitting them, or taking some home for later. They had a sign up that they refused tips and asked for a review if they were good. They were really good! Cost was very cheap.
Egg Coffee
Vietnam is famous for it’s egg coffee, which according to legend was created during milk shortages after the French war in the mid 20th century. We went to the arch typical shop Egg Coffee Cafe Trung (google link). It was also down an alley, but opened to a large two floor shop. We got a seat, flagged down a waiter and ordered our egg coffee. It was sweet and delicious, a real dessert coffee if you are used to unsweetened lattes like we normally get in Japan. Served in a hot water dish to keep it warm, Carolyn tried some Vietnam Tea, which was VND5,000 , or about a US quarter.
Rose’s Kitchen Cooking Class
Finally we had a wonderful time at Rose’s Kitchen Cooking Class (We booked at klook). We did a short tour thru a market (including getting the meat!) and then went back to the kitchen and cooked several delicious dishes, including fresh spring rolls, Bánh xèo (A kind of crispy ‘taco’ that you wrap in rice paper to eat), and bun cha. The class also came with drinks. Our class was full at 8 people, but there was still plenty for everyone to do. We can highly recommend this class, in addition they set up our transport from the hotel, and to the train station!
Sa Pa
As we traveled to Sapa we were on the cusp of Tet, the Lunar New Year. As it normally is very crowded the week after Tet with Chinese Tourists (although perhaps it was hushed a bit with the Corona virus fears). Because of this many of the smaller shops were closed on the days before Tet, so we were unable to try a few places that we wanted to eat. Luckily a few places opened up and we got some tasty food!
LadyBird Restaurant
We went to LadyBird restaurant three times as they were good, and open! More expensive than some of the smaller places that were closed, but very friendly, they were good to high maintenance people around.
High Tea at the Hotel De La Coupole
We had high tea at the spectacular Hotel De La Coupole. We had tea and hot cocoa, the food and drink was divine. The cost for both of us was US$25.
Vietnam had some great food, even though we paid a bit more than we’d like in SaPa, it was still cheap compared to American or Japan prices. There is so much more to Vietnam than Pho! We were happily surprised at the variety and tastiness of all the dishes.