7-Day Vietnam
Itinerary

Phở Bò

Vietnam's most internationally celebrated dish and Hanoi's greatest gift to world cuisine — a clear beef bone broth simmered for 12 hours with charred ginger, charred onion, star anise, cinnamon, cardamom and clove until it reaches a translucent, deeply complex clarity; poured over flat rice noodles with sliced raw beef that cooks in the broth; served with basil, bean sprouts, hoisin and sriracha; the Hanoi version is cleaner and less sweet than the southern Saigon pho.

Bánh Mì

Vietnam's greatest sandwich and the most successful French-colonial culinary fusion in history — a Vietnamese-adapted baguette with a shattering crust and airy crumb, split and filled with pâté, Vietnamese pork roll (chả lụa), pickled daikon and carrot, cucumber, jalapeño, fresh coriander and a smear of mayonnaise; the Huynh Hoa bánh mì stall in District 5 has the longest daily queue in Saigon.

Bún Bò Huế

Hue's ferocious noodle soup and arguably Vietnam's most complex bowl — a lemongrass-perfumed pork and beef bone broth spiked with fermented shrimp paste (mắm ruốc) and annatto oil to a fiery rust-red; served with thick round noodles, sliced beef shank, pork knuckle, Vietnamese sausage and a mound of fresh herbs; more intense than phở in every dimension; the imperial capital's proudest export.

Cao Lầu

Hội An's mysterious noodle that cannot be authentically reproduced elsewhere — thick, chewy yellow-grey noodles (made with ash water from a specific Hội An well and rice from Cham Island) topped with slices of char siu pork, pork crackling, bean sprouts and herbs in a small amount of concentrated broth; the texture of the noodles is unlike anything in Vietnam; unique to one small ancient trading port.

Cơm Tấm (Broken Rice)

Saigon's working-class masterpiece — broken rice grains (the small fragments that break during milling, once only eaten by the poor) topped with a grilled pork chop marinated in lemongrass and fish sauce, shredded pork skin (bì), steamed egg meatloaf (chả trứng), pickled daikon and carrot, cucumber and spring onions; served with a fish sauce dipping broth (nước chấm); the defining breakfast-lunch of Ho Chi Minh City.

Bánh Xèo

Vietnam's sizzling crepe — a thin, turmeric-yellow rice flour batter poured into a searingly hot pan to crackle and sear (xèo is onomatopoeia for the sound), filled with pork belly, prawns, bean sprouts and spring onion; folded in half and eaten by tearing off pieces, wrapping them in mustard leaf with fresh herbs and dipping in nước chấm; the southern version is enormous; the central version is smaller and more intensely crisp.

Bún Chả

Hanoi's lunchtime institution — grilled pork patties and pork belly grilled over charcoal until caramelised and smoky, served in a bowl of sweet-sour fish sauce broth with sliced green papaya, herbs and garlic; accompanied by a plate of bún (thin vermicelli) and a mountain of herb salad; Barack Obama and Anthony Bourdain ate this in Hanoi in 2016 and the restaurant has been full ever since.