A MULTI-CITY FOODIE TRIP IN VIETNAM

Yasemen Kaner-White

Vietnam is a vibrant country and is best explored taking in a few cities at a time: an historic hotel in Capital city Hanoi in the north, to a sleek iconic hotel in southeast Saigon, to the nautical ambience of southern Nha Trang. Each full of flavour, with fragrant local dishes and drinks and each with attractions and experiences to feast your eyes on. A jam-packed week, yet so many reasons to return and see and taste more.

HANOI

Hanoi is the capital City of Vietnam, located in the north on the western bank of the Red River, roughly 85 miles inland from the South China Sea.

The local must have dishes include Phở, a beef noodle soup which can be bought from breakfast to evening, in restaurants and street food outlets. The soup is flavoured with sliced beef, beef stock, cinnamon, ginger, black cardamom, star anise and nam pla fish sauce. Next up is Bún chả, essentially grilled pork and noodles, you can see and smell it being cooked over charcoal around the city, the unctuous pork, rice noodles and fresh herbs alongside the nam pla dipping sauce is incredibly popular.

Interestingly it is the meal that food broadcaster Anthony Bourdain and Barack Obama ate on the ‘Parts Unknown’ TV series. If you like savoury pancakes then Bánh xeo is for you, these crispy rice flour pancakes tinged with turmeric and coconut are stuffed to the gills with prawn, pork, bean sprouts and fresh herbs, they make a satisfying sizzle when placed in the hot oily pan. For a slightly healthier option, try the Bánh cuốn, which are steamed rice pancakes and a Hanoi classic, they are filled with chicken or prawn, pork, mushrooms and onion, the most popular breakfast dish around, it’s mesmerising watching them hand roll them in the streets in front of you, nothing beats the freshness.

I stayed in Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi which opened in 1901, it is the first luxury hotel in Hanoi and in 2009 became the first in the Sofitel portfolio to gain the esteemed label as a ‘Legend’ hotel. A famed previous guest was Charlie Chaplin and the cocktail named after him which is served with a scoop of lemon sorbet to drop in, was created in honour of when he stayed for his honeymoon with his third wife in 1936, it can be enjoyed in the sun-kissed Bamboo Bar and if you’re after wine, the hotel has one of oldest wine cellars in Hanoi. Legend has it that the Vietnamese egg coffee was created at the Metropole, when milk and sugar was expensive and hard to come by during the war, the bartender wanted to create an alternative and so he used whisked egg instead, you can order yours in the restaurant and café.

Vietnam is known for fresh coconuts to drink at any time of the day and at the hotel they’ve burnished their logo into them, making it an Instagram worthy drink to quench your thirst. As the French occupied Vietnam from 1858 to 1883 it is no surprise that there is a French influence in the cuisine, from particularly good pastries to coffee culture, the hotel’s fine dining restaurant Le Beaulieu is very good, and even has a vegan tasting menu should you wish. It certainly felt Parisian with the décor and soft background French music, and I especially enjoyed the lobster bisque which was made in front of me, a showstopper. www.sofitel-legend-metropole-hanoi.com

HO CHI MINH CITY FORMERLY KNOWN AS SAIGON

Ho Chi Minh City was known as Saigon until 1976 and is the largest city in Vietnam, it lies along the Saigon River (Song Sai Gon) to the north of the Mekong River delta, about 50 miles from the South China Sea.

The local must have dishes can be found all over but District 4 is known for street food, worth looking for is hu tieu, the southern pork noodle soup, the noodles are smaller and chewier than pho noodles originating from the north. Another is Ốc len xào dừa, which is essentially sea snails in coconut milk flavoured with lemongrass, coriander, chili, and garlic. A typical local street food is banh mi dac biet, it is a baguette stuffed with pork liver pâté, sausage and thin sliced pork shank, topped with mayonnaise, pickled daikon and carrots, fresh chili, cucumber and coriander, you can spot it almost anywhere in the city.

If you like rice then you’ll love the local Cơm tấm, the dish stems from the broken rice that used to be thrown away as defected but now it’s the base of this dish, it comes with an array of accompaniments such as crispy pork skin, fried egg, grilled pork chops and crispy fish, refreshingly served with fresh lime, spring onions, sliced tomato and cucumber, pickled vegetables, fresh mint leaves and dipping sauce. It’s worth popping into the oldest coffee shop in Ho Chi Minh which is 82 years old, ‘Cafe Cheo Leo’, instead of a coffee I opted for a refreshing iced salty lime drink. You’ve also got to hunt down an iced coconut coffee using coconut cream and condensed milk, ‘Cong Coffee’ does a good one, the fizzy coffee from ‘Workshop Coffee’ is also thirst-quenchingly good.

I stayed in The Reverie Saigon, a some may say extravagantly designed hotel, though for me, it was not too much, rather a celebration of art led décor and the outside pool is a dream, laying on your back listening to the music being played underwater whilst gazing up to the sparking lights of buildings just before dinner, was a highlight. Lunch consisted of quite possibly the best Chinese dim sum in Saigon and beyond at The Royal Pavilion, the chef hailing from a two Michelin star in Hong Kong. As well as exceptional dim sum with a feast of flavours inside, we had a delicate birds’ nest pudding served in a coconut, a delicacy known for its nutritious attributes in China.

The ‘The Long @ Times Square’ has the longest bar in Saigon, a jungle ambience, with statement plants boasting large tropical green leaves throughout, the artisan pizza topped with local seafood followed by a scoop of real Italian gelato with the unusual flavours of Vietnamese coffee and a scoop of the purple potato flavour made a memorable lunch. Dinner was a treat at Da Vittorio Saigon, the restaurant is led by Chef Matteo Fontana and overseen by Chicco and Bobo Cerea from the 3 Michelin Starred Da Vittorio Relais & Chateaux restaurant in Italy. My favourite dish was the Tuna ‘spaghetti’ with pistachio sauce, a blend of northern and southern Italy together, tuna from the north and pistachio from the south, yet served in Vietnam. www.thereveriesaigon.com

NHA TRANG

Nha Trang is a coastal resort City located in south Vietnam, lauded for its beaches, great diving spots as well as offshore islands.

The local must have dishes include seafood platters, the area is famous for its seafood, from shrimp, squid, shellfish, crab to clams, you can order them fermented, steamed, grilled or stir-fried, another speciality of the region is Nem nướng, a type of pork sausage, you can get them with fresh or pickled vegetables, steamed rice, noodles or even wrapped in rice paper, with dipping sauce. Another local dish to try is bún cá sứa, a rice vermicelli soup topped with jellyfish and raw vegetables, served with fresh lemon and chili peppers.

For a sea-facing restaurant try Nha Trang Sailing Club which has three menus to choose from, Western, Vietnamese and Indian - I had a prawn korma with freshly made naan, one of the best curries I’ve had this year! For a delicious egg coffee, whisked to perfection, try ‘Trung Nguyen Legend’, which is also where I bought a few bags of Vietnamese coffee beans to take home. For cocktails with enviable skyline city views try the Atlantis bar at the Sheraton.

HOW TO GET THERE

I flew business class with multiple award-winning Bamboo Airways from the UK, the seats were spacious, the staff incredibly helpful and courteous and the food really, quite delicious, especially if you choose the Asian options. The business lounges serve a good selection of fresh Asian food too, I particularly enjoyed the seasonal fruit platters and couldn’t get enough of the dragon fruit and renowned local mango. bambooairways.com

I stayed in Alma Resort Cam Ranh, after a tour of their gardens housing organic produce from lemongrass to bananas, past their chicken farm, we grabbed a delicious lunch at Alma food court. There’s a huge choice from six street-food like stalls including New York style chicken and burgers, a French bakery with great coffee, Japanese sushi and my favourite, Vietnamese classics, the bo luc lac (stir fried beef in a sweet and sour sauce) was immense.

They also have bubble teas and local drinks, such as a refreshing cold purple dragon fruit with black tea. Post lunch we went straight to the pool, with eight to choose from plus my private pool in my seafront villa, with fresh coconut in hand, it definitely felt like a holiday.

Dinner was had at the beachfront restaurant ‘Atlantis’, the décor includes live seafood tanks showcasing the rich array of local favourites, for instance the Long Beach sea crab, flower crab, Cam Ranh white pomfret, Nha Trang Grouper, Thuy Trieu sea clam and Cam Hai sweet snails. I really enjoyed making my own Vietnamese rolls stuffing it with fresh herbs and grilled fish, only to dip in the delightfully salty fish sauce. To end the night off we had cocktails and mocktails in the American Bar followed by the ever popular Vietnamese past-time: karaoke, singing along with sliced guava, watermelon and mango with the option of Vietnamese chilli salt to dip it in. www.alma-resort.com