The late, great gourmand and globetrotter Anthony Bourdain regarded Vietnam as one of the greatest places in the world. “Vietnam grabs you and doesn’t let you go,” he said. “Once you love it, you love it forever.”
Much of that love was for the spirit of the Vietnamese people in the face of everything they have endured, but it was also a deep appreciation for the country’s extraordinary cuisine.
Vietnamese cooking is sophisticated without being pompous, endlessly inventive in its interplay of flavours, textures and aromas, yet adhering to fundamental Asian culinary principles of yin and yang, combing heat with cold, piquant and fiery spices like chilli and cumin with the cool effects of shellfish, noodles, limes and so on.
Pho-nomenal cooking
TUI provides various packages and tours that give travellers the perfect opportunity to explore Vietnam’s incredible food culture, while also enjoying the beauty of the country itself.
For example, their Mekong Delta Unveiled Tour and Stay lets you explore the maze of rivers, swamps and islands south of Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon), including noodle factories and rice paddies (and also includes a trip to Thailand’s neighbour Cambodia for more Southeast Asian goodness!).
Indeed, as with all of TUI’s tours, each country’s culture, beauty and diversity remain at the heart the adventure; so expect to sample Vietnamese food culture at every step, including a visit to Cai Rang’s six-kilometre floating market boating a colour array of food, including remarkably succulent pineapples.
And don’t forget to look out for one of the many Vietnamese broths – known as ‘pho’ or noodle soup – which use a fish sauce or shrimp paste base, then throw in loads of other ingredients like lemongrass, chopped crispy shallots, bean sprouts, lime wedges, shredded banana blossoms and the ubiquitous chillis, either chopped or as a paste.
This dish originates in Hue, the Imperial coastal town in the centre of the country, but variations exist everywhere. The Southern pho includes things like star anise, cinnamon, ginger and coriander, but with the chillis added directly to the broth – rather than as a garnish – it results in a soup that will make your hair stand on end.
Explore Phu Quoc
To the west of the Mekong Delta you’ll find the island of Phu Quoc. TUI is the first UK airline to fly here, and travellers have the option to stay at beautiful resorts like the Novotel, the Saigon and the Vinpearl among others. At the latter, you will find the Seashell restaurant specialising in seafood and Nemo, serving up local Vietnamese dishes.
Naturally, seafood is a staple here, fresh red flower crabs being the island’s speciality. A trip to The Spice House restaurant at Cassia Cottage as a must if you want to get a taste of the innovative ways the Vietnamese use seafood, as is the night market at Dinh Cau, where the fishermen bring in their catch of the day and lots of street vendors set up to start cooking it.
If you’re touring the south, a visit to Ho Chi Minh City is essential for foodies. Ban Xeo is a local favourite (savoury crepes stuffed with things like beansprouts, pork and shrimp), while the French influence can be found in the enormously popular banh mi, essentially a French baguette stuffed with a fusion of meat pate and pickled vegetables.
Costing a mere £1.50 on average, and available on every street corner, a banh mi will keep you full until dinner. Another staple is gui cuon (translucent Vietnamese spring rolls) packed with spices, greens, pork, shrimp, crab – you name it. The southern version includes strips of pork and starfruit dunked in a rich peanut sauce.
A feast for the senses
Vietnam is a feast for the eyes as well as the palate. Most famous among its sights is Halong Bay in the far north of the country, with its jagged karsts rising up out of the water.
This Unesco site is a tourist favourite these days, but no less spectacular for that. At the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park, north of Hue, you’ll find the world’s most remarkable cave system including the largest known cave in the world, over 200 metres in height in places and running for five kilometres.
One thing’s for sure though – for gastronomes, the best memories of Vietnam won’t be the golden sands or the towering karsts or the lush tropical forests and awesome caves, it will be sitting on a small plastic stool in the heart of a busy town with mopeds buzzing by, and in front of you a bowl of some of the most delicious food you’ll ever eat.
All hotels featured in this article can be booked with TUI. Explore more of the delights Vietnam has to offer, here.