Vietnamese street food in the eyes of international tourists

Vietnamese street food has become so well known that CNNgo praises Vietnam as the heaven of food and Travel Jounal Lovelyplanet lists Vietnam as one of 10 culinary tours most worth-trying in the world.

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Sometime attractive foods of Vietnamese are also the cheapest ones. Vietnam, a small country has such an amazing culinary culture that surprises international tourists. Every city, even every village has a specialty of its own. This is the general impression of foreign tourists after enjoying pastoral Vietnamese foods. Even for many tourists, it becomes a hobby to attract them to explore charming destinations in Vietnam. The evidence is that a large number of articles on interest and impression of tourists when they experience Vietnamese street food appear on popular international journals. For them, the experience of enjoying specialties on plastic chair along pavements is sometimes mentioned more than the food itself.

Mr. Mike Tatarski, a tourist having a couple of years with Vietnamese street food excitedly shared that street food was so simple that you entered into and choose a seat, generally a plastic chair, sometimes you would get stuck in a small chair designed for toddlers but used for adults to sit. It was so worth-trying. He added: “a specialty that only Vietnam possesses is hawker. The voice of hawkers advertising their products has become a unique characteristic of Vietnam tourism. Its rhythms are like singing somewhat”.   

One of the most interesting things when enjoying Vietnamese cuisine at a small roadside restaurant is that you may observe the rhythm of local people’s lives: a group of middle-ages men sitting around the table drinking beer and talking about football or work, children playing with each other and waiters joking while waiting for customers to call more items. What will happen for those who are not familiar with Vietnamese? They just need to point to what someone is eating and slowly discover miracles that food brings. The food is so fresh and creative that all challenges and inconvenience become nothing at all.

Vietnamese street food is so attractive that it is listed in the top 10 culinary tour of the Jounal Travel Guide Lovelyplanet. Lovelyplanet says that the best and quickest way to explore cuisine of any city is taking part in a walking tour with a tour guide in which enjoying local specialties is indispensible. The journal also recommends Vietnamese specialties in such tours in Hanoi. They are Pho bo (Vietnamese noodle with beef), Banh xeo (Vietnamese pancakes folded in a half), banh cuon (Vietnamese rolled cake) and Café Duy Tri at 43a Yen Phu Street.

Along with the development of tourism, the Vietnamese are familiar with foreign tourists sitting on pavements, using chopsticks to enjoy Pho or bun cha (Vietnamese vermicelli and grilled chopped meat). Some culinary experts commented that Vietnamese cuisine attracts tourists by fresh flavor of vegetables, fruits and nuts. It is not as greasy as Chinese food, and less spicy than Thai food. CNNgo, a prestigious US journal even emphasizes that the US has created portable restaurants but Vietnam is truly the heaven of food. There is nowhere else having such diverse culinary style like Vietnam. Through cuisine, a part of culture has been preserved and promoted in the process of integration and international cultural exchanges.