Since you are travelling to Vietnam, you cannot avoid trying their local food. Here some of Vietnamese foods that are considered safe to tourists that come from the west and, at the same time, delicious. However, for the safety of your stomach, we suggest you try them at the restaurants rather than food vendors on the streets.

Pho – Noodles
Besides rice, Pho or noodle is the most popular food in Vietnam. It can be eaten for at breakfast, lunch or dinner. Preparations may vary in each region. Pho Bo is a noodle soup that is served with slices of cooked beef. Pho Ga is a bowl of noodle soup topped with sliced of boneless chicken meat. Perhaps the most famous place try Pho is at Pho 2000 restaurant. Located near Benh Tha Market in Ho Chi Minh City, the restaurant is visited by important figures in the country as well as foreign diplomats.

Banh Cuon (Rice Flour Steamed Rolls)
Many Vietnamese like to eat Banh Cuon for breakfast. It is made of rice that is soaked overnight and grounded with a stone mortar. The soaked flour is then spread on top of a clean white thin cloth screen that is placed over the opening of a pot of boiling water. After a few minutes, a bamboo stick is used to strip the thin sheet of flour off the screen. Then the sheet is rolled up and sprinkled with fried onions. Stir fried lean meat, shrimps, mushrooms, dried onions, fish sauce, and pepper can be added inside the sheet roll.

Banh Cuon is most delicious when it is very thin, white, and sticky. It is tastier when dipped in a sweet, sour, and spicy sauce.

Nem Ran or Cha Gio (fried spring roll)
Called Nem Ran by northerners and Cha Gio by southerners, this is perhaps the most familiar dish to western tourists. Similar to Chinese fried spring roll, it is usually cooked during the Tet festival or other special occasions. Ingredients used for Nem Ran includes lean minced pork, sea crabs or unshelled shrimps, mushroom, dried onion, duck eggs, pepper, salt and different kinds of seasoning. All are mixed thoroughly before being wrapped with a transparent rice paper into a small roll. Then, the roll is deep fried until it turns gold.

Hu Tieu (My Tho Noodle Soup)
My Tho seafood noodle soup contains soy bean, lemon, chilli, and soy sauce. This southern dish originates in My Tho town, 70 kilometres from Ho Chi Minh City. The sweet aroma of the broth comes from the meat, dried squid and special condiments.

Banh Chung (Sticky Rice Cake)
Sticky rice cakes are a traditional dish normally cooked during Vietnamese’s New Year. It is made of glutinous rice, pork meat, and green beans paste wrapped in a square of bamboo leaves, giving the rice a green colour after boiling. Nowadays, sticky rice cakes are available throughout the year. During the Tet or New Year, they are served with lean meat pie and salted sour onions.