Vegetarian Food Guide to Vietnam

We are big time foodies. Many people don't consider vegetarians as foodies but I think that we are playing the same game, the hunt for delicious food, just at a more difficult level. While Nidhi is more focussed on healthy food, I am more focussed on experimenting with new food and exploring the local culture through food.

When we heard that the buddhist population in Vietnam celebrate two days each month eating only vegetarian food, we were delighted and knew that we wouldn't have much problems finding vegetarian food. However, we do love to cook a lot as well. Our primary filter on AirBnb is Wifi and kitchen. We love going to the local markets, buying fresh groceries and experimenting with local recipes. Hence we knew that it was not going to be challenging for us to travel across Vietnam.

Here we outline our quest and challenges for vegetarian food across Vietnam.

Ho Chi Minh

This was easy. We stayed near Bui Vien Street and there are a lot of vegetarian restaurants, vegan restaurants around this place.

Shamballa Restaurant

https://g.page/ShamballaRestaurant?share

(Overall Rating: 8/10, Cost: $$$)

This was the first place that we went to in Vietnam and god we were not disappointed. The food here was delicious. They have a lot of options and we were the only ones when we walked in. The service was prompt and they understood our dietary requirement.

We tried their Banh Hoi La Lot (must eat), Shamballa Tu Vi, Mien Xao Noi Dat. Most of the flavours were simple yet amazing. We were blown away by the assorted leaves that came along with Banh Hoi. Throughout our journey, we realised that Vietnamese people eat a lot of fresh herbs along with their meal which was new yet refreshing for us.

Struggle during the Mekong Delta Trip

We booked for the Mekong Delta trip with Vietnam Adventure Tours. This tour includes lunch and we had opted for the Vegan option. During the trip, at one of the stops, we were offered a lot of tropical fruit which we gobbled up.

But when the time for lunch came, it was just plain fried rice with two spring rolls, clear soup and some chewy green(which we entirely skipped). Also not sure if the fish on the table was staring at us or our food

Plain Vegetarian Food — Some vegetarian food

Veggie Saigon

http://g.page/veggiesaigon?share

(Overall Rating: 6/10, Cost: $)

This is tucked away in a little corner. Surprisingly, there were a lot of people. Its not very expensive and the food was average. We tried the Pho and fried rice with Dill Tofu balls.

Sen Vegan

https://g.page/SEN-VEGAN-RESTAURANT?share

(Overall Rating: 7/10, Cost $)

Sen Vegan Dishes — Banh Hoi, Summer roll and Noodles

This is a very widely famous vegetarian/vegan restaurant in Ho Chi Minh, especially among the locals. However, we found it average. We tried their version of Banh Hoi and stir fried vegetables.

Hum Vegetarian

https://goo.gl/maps/86anrQ377HSf3q7u5

(Overall Rating: 9/10, Cost: $$$$)

Probably the most expensive restaurant that we went to. This place has a great ambience. The hospitality was on point and they helped us choose some of the food.

We tried their famous square fried spring rolls, signature banana blossom salad and tapioca noodle in spicy sauce. It was a lovely dinner and definitely worth a visit.

Banana Leaf Saigon

https://goo.gl/maps/ByAhL7FbJ8gePueN6

(Overall Rating 8/10, Cost $$)

Ok, so we caved a bit. We had been eating fruits and Vietnamese flavours mostly and the Indian in us, saw this restaurant on google and just craved for a proper lunch. We ordered a South Indian Thali and aloo paratha, which was a lot for the both of us. But we really loved the food and would recommend it if you are looking for good Indian food.

Shanti Indian Cuisine

https://goo.gl/maps/iQTGx4ojRYNWY9ct9

(Overall Rating 6/10, Cost $$)

We had to go here purely due to logistics issue. Both Nidhi and I had meetings and this was the closest place to our hostel where we could find vegetarian food without trouble. However, this was just your average food. We tried their North Indian Thali with Green Salad here.

Filthy Vegan

https://g.page/Filthy-Vegan?share

(Overall Rating 7/10, Cost $$)

Nidhi was super excited to try out an exclusive Vegan restaurant. I had been craving to go to Kashew Cheese restaurant and since it was not possible, we ended up here. This is a small restaurant on the top floor of a small building. The owner is very friendly and did chat up with us quite a bit.

We ordered the spaghetti and a 50-50 Pizza. It was different and the spaghetti lacked seasoning to my palatte. As far as the pizza is concerned, I learnt something new about myself that day: I do not like cashew cheese pizza. 😅

P.S: We ate a lot of fruits and even tried some local restaurants where we requested them to make some basic vegan food for us like Banh Mi with just cheese and salad, Pizza with tomato and onion etc.

Da Lat

We stayed in a hostel here as well where we did not have easy access to kitchen. So the day we reached, we headed for lunch directly.

Guru Chay

https://goo.gl/maps/5hT1rrnXrMVz9MX26

(Overall Rating: 7/10, Cost: $$$)

When you walk into this place, it feels like an art studio rather than a restaurant. We tried their Pumpkin soup, Moringa rice and Spring rolls. The portion is small, presentation is good but the taste was average.

Biang Dalat Garden Restaurant

https://g.page/biangdalat?share

(Overall Rating 6/10, Cost: $$$$)

This is a super fancy restaurant which we ended up in because we were craving for some Hummus and Pita. They did not have any other vegetarian option. So we ended up ordering French Fries along with the Hummus and Pita.

To our dismay, the portion of hummus was teeny tiny for the price and the portion of French fries was gigantic. But great ambience.

IndiaGate Indian Restaurant

https://g.page/indiagate-indian-restaurant?share

(Overall Rating 7/10, Cost $$)

After the unfulfilling meal last night at Biang Dalat, we decided to play it little safe and headed to IndiaGate for lunch. We ordered the Vegetarian Thali. It is your standard meal with a lot of options. They allow you to choose the curry for the meal as opposed to fixed curry.

P.S: We tried Soy Milk and some local tofu and fresh veggies and fruits. A must try in Da Lat is the dried fruit chips from the night market and some tea by the lake.

Nha Trang

We finally managed to get an apartment with a kitchen. Hence we ended up cooking all our meals indoors only. To top that, the apartment we stayed in was close to a supermarket which had the greatest varieties of fresh fruits and vegetables.

Balcony View — Balcony with a view and tea

Hoi An

We again had a room with kitchenette here. However, we did eat out as well.

Rom Bistro

https://g.page/ROMbistrohoian?share

(Overall Rating: 8/10, Cost: $$)

This is a nice place, tucked away in a quiet street. We tried their famous tempura, lotus salad and Pad Thai. Definitely an easy going place with good ambience.

Baba's Kitchen

https://goo.gl/maps/6ENZnGbR26bSejxX6

(Overall Rating 8/10, Cost: $$)

Guilty as charged. We were craving for some Masala Dosa and this place had them. The owner was friendly and we talked to him for a bit. The dosa was as good as any Indian restaurant back home. It also had 3 chutneys. 😋

Ganesh Indian Restaurant

https://g.page/ganeshhoian?share

(Overall Rating 8/10, Cost: $$)

Another Indian restaurant near Baba's Kitchen that serves delicious Indian food. They had a lot of vegetarian options and the owner here is friendly as well. We had the Thali which was good enough for the both of us.

P.S: Again we visited the local market here and bought a lot of fruits, vegetables, tofu, mushroom and enjoyed cooking.

Da Nang

We took an apartment with a big kitchen in Da Nang. We cooked most of our meals indoor. However we also saw that there were a lot of Vegan restaurants near to where we had stayed. Da Nang definitely had the maximum variety of options when it came to Vegan restaurants.

Roots Plant based cafe

https://goo.gl/maps/8LokzYhSwr6hYEiJ7

(Overall Rating: 8/10, Cost: $$)

This is a really nice place and has good reviews overall. They had a lot of options and we tried their Mediterranean Falafel bowl and Japanese Nori bowl. Both of those were delicious.

Loving Vegan

https://goo.gl/maps/oGBsjBzki44An3sa6

(Overall Rating: 8/10, Cost: $)

We tried their loving vegan noodles and burrito which was very delicious. We enjoyed it so much that we asked the owner for the recipe which she happily shared with us.

Hanoi

Our family joined us at Hanoi and hence we had booked a big AirBnb. We used to buy fresh fruits and bread every morning and we used to eat sandwiches with fruits. We also had carried a lot of snacks with us. So mornings were mostly sorted. Since we had the whole family who are not keen on experimenting with food, most of our lunch and dinner used to be at Indian restaurants.

Vegan Banh Mi

https://goo.gl/maps/YeBQu2g14JkcJPbj9

(Overall Rating: 8/10, Cost: $)

This was an exception. We ate here twice. This is a small place tucked away in corner, serving Vegan version of Vietnamese street food. This place is cheap and has some delicious options on its menu. We tried the Fried Spring roll, Fried Pillow Dumpling, Steamed bun, Pho, Fried Tofu Noodles, Banh Mi. I guess we covered everything on the menu.

Uu Dam Chay

https://goo.gl/maps/jDCkMiYmEeKCN2GK6

(Overall Rating:9/10, Cost: $$$$)

Sticky Rice and Tempura — Sticky Rice, Tempura

We reached here a little late in the afternoon. The restaurant was empty but the service was prompt. We sat in a corner and started ordering food. We ordered quite a bit and most of the food was delicious as well as new for us. We tried sticky rice with Mango, Tempura, mushroom stuffed tofu, sushi two ways, quesadillas, brown rice and a hot pot to top it all. This place is definitely worth a visit for its good food and ambience.

Hungry at Halong Bay

We had booked our Halong bay cruise with Aquamarine cruises. We had clearly specified our dietary requirement while booking the cruise. When we embarked on the cruise, we were welcomed with a pre set lunch on our table which had good variety. However a few things were cold and hence it was not that delicious.

Cruise Lunch

Again during the night, they tried to provide us with a lot of variety but the taste was similar to the afternoon and although we appreciated the effort, we couldn't appreciate the food equally.

Cruise Dinner

For breakfast, it was the same toasts, yogurt and fruit which was served at 6:30 am. So we skipped it. Finally brunch was served before check out at 10:00 am. Now this time, it was an open buffet with some vegetarian options. But before we knew it, everything was empty and the crew onboard just went ahead and said that there was no second helpings. So we were left pretty hungry and just had to manage with some fruits.

Overall, I would say that we did not have much problems in Vietnam with respect to finding vegetarian food. In most major town, we could always find Indian restaurants and hence, there was always a backup for us. We also were delighted with all the fresh fruits and vegetables which we consumed a lot.

The Hunt for Vegetarian Food in Vietnam

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