Eating Well in Vietnam as an Indian Traveller
7 August 2026 · TravelJar
Vietnamese cooking is built on herbs, broth and freshness rather than heat, which surprises travellers expecting Southeast Asian food to be uniformly spicy.
For some that is a relief. For others it takes a couple of days to adjust.
What to actually try
Pho is the obvious one and worth having where locals queue rather than where the menu is in four languages. Banh mi — the baguette sandwich left behind by the French — is the best cheap food in the country.
Egg coffee in Hanoi is a genuine local speciality rather than a tourist invention, and the regional differences between northern, central and southern cooking are real enough to notice.
For vegetarians
Vietnam has a Buddhist vegetarian tradition, and food marked as chay is vegetarian. That signage is the most reliable route to a good meal.
As in Thailand, fish sauce is foundational and appears in dishes that look plant-based, so it is worth asking about specifically rather than asking generally.
- Look for 'chay' — the Vietnamese marker for vegetarian
- Ask about fish sauce specifically
- Spice levels are mild by Indian standards; chilli is usually served separately