We all know the fried spring roll (cha gio), but its “fresh” counterpart is a much lighter and healthier appetizer alternative. Vermicelli is often the noodle of choice and toppings can include meatballs, pork knuckles, fried tofu, fish, snails, and blood cubes.

The crustaceans produce a piquant aroma while the red vegetable adds a layer of acidity and hint of sourness to the soup. There are a few variations of this noodle soup dish, but the foundation of it is a crab and tomato broth. Photo: Courtesy of Christina Liao Bun rieu These bite-size medallions are cooked in a special cast-iron plate so that the outside is crunchy and the inside is fluffy. Banh khot is similar to banh xeo, using the same batter, but it resembles a mini pancake with a single shrimp in the center. Wrap it up in lettuce, add some herbs to it, and dip it into some fish sauce before taking a bite into this crispy delight. The first is a type of savory crepe made from rice flour and turmeric powder (hence the yellow hue) and is stuffed with pork, shrimp, and bean sprouts. To help you navigate the myriad of options out there, below are 37 Vietnamese dishes to try next time you make your way to a Vietnamese restaurant or head to Vietnam on vacation. While pho and banh mi are easily identifiable as Vietnamese, there’s so much more to the fare than these two quintessential items. Influenced by its French colonial past (as seen in banh mi) and its neighbors in China, Laos, Cambodia, and Thailand, Vietnamese cuisine is an amalgamation of the exciting eats offered in these countries while still maintaining its own identity. And we certainly can’t leave out fish sauce (nuoc cham), a fundamental ingredient that is pungent yet delicious. Then there’s banh mi, which literally translates to bread, but is most frequently used to refer to sandwiches traditionally assembled with a variety of pork products and pickled vegetables, then stuffed into a toasted baguette. Take, for example, pho, a noodle soup usually consisting of either beef or chicken broth that is simmered for hours before being served piping hot with a heaping plate of crunchy leafy greens and various aromatic herbs. Fun fact: Anan translates to “eat eat” while Nhau Nhau translates to “drink drink.When we think about Vietnamese dishes, complex flavors and contrasting textures come to mind. After dinner, head up to the on-site bar, Nhau Nhau, for thoughtful cocktails like a Vietnamese espresso martini and a “phojito,” reimagining the mojito with pho spices. Set in a narrow five-story “tube house,” the restaurant can be experienced through both its excellent chef’s tasting menu-featuring such innovative creations as a one-bite bun cha-as well as an a la carte menu of favorites that range from crab fried rice and bone marrow to a Wagyu pho and banh xeo, or sizzling Vietnamese crepes, rejiggered as hand-held tacos. 40 on the Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants list. The sole Michelin-star recipient in Saigon, Anan is best known as the pioneer of “new Vietnamese cuisine,” a term coined by its Yale-educated chef Peter Cuong Franklin-a one-time war refugee and adoptee who returned to Vietnam after earning acclaim at Hong Kong’s Chom Chom.

Ha noi pho menu