One of our favorite cities in the world is Da Nang, Vietnam. There are a lot of reasons to love this place. Great people, amazing beach, beautiful temples. But one thing that really keeps bringing us back to Da Nang again and again is the incredible food scene here. There is such a huge variety of foods, in fact, Vietnamese cuisine consists of over 3,000 individual dishes. It is fragrant, always made with super fresh ingredients, it can be very spicy, and is one of my absolute favorite cuisines. It seems like everything we try is delicious and affordable! We ate better and did more activities in Vietnam than anywhere else we’ve been, and spent less money. There are definitely higher priced options to be found, but they are not nearly as tasty as the local restaurants we tried.
If you watch our Da Nang breakfast food video, that will give you a little insight into the local food scene. We couldn’t fit all of the things we love for breakfast into one video. One dish that got left out, but still something we ate every week, was Cơm tấm (Cooome Tham) which is broken rice with grilled pork chop. It’s another one of those dishes that sounds deceptively simple but packs so much flavor. Our favorite place to go for this dish is Cơm tấm Út Vân. Your plate comes with broken rice, a big grilled pork chop pounded thin, marinated and grilled, shredded pork skin, a steamed slice of pork & egg loaf, and a fried egg. You also get sliced cucumber, tomato, and a bowl of thin sliced chilis in vinegar. Cơm tấm literally means broken rice, and originated in the Mekong Delta region of Southern Vietnam. Local farmers would take the leftover pieces of broken rice from the rice mills to feed their families with. Over the years it was introduced into the cities and other elements were added, such as the grilled pork chop marinated in fish sauce, sugar, and aromatics. This dish has such amazing flavors.
Nothing says Vietnam like the classic Banh Mi sandwich. I don’t think I ever said that I “loved” a sandwich until I started eating these. The baguette, crispy on the outside, tender and airy on the inside, filled with your choice of mouth-watering delights. We would pick up a couple on our way to the beach for breakfast from our favorite cart. The sweet lady that ran this cart would always roll up some bbq inside of a slice of beef or pork and come around and stuff one into each of our mouths, she was so nice. So good for .85 cents each! Sometimes we would stop and have one for our dinner on our way home from the beach at a street stall called Banh mi co Phuong which had child sized tables and chairs out front. It was always so hot when we stopped here, but they were so good that the heat did not deter us.
Often we would hit Bánh Mì Bà Đào for just a random lunch stop and have a Banh Mi with some delicious Vietnamese coffee. My favorites were the omelette with fresh veggies, the pork, pate, and fresh veggies, and the barbecue pork with fresh veggies. The veggies are always fresh and include shredded carrot, cucumber, onion, and cilantro. You can order your sandwich with or without chili sauce. Yes please, for me. It’s not just the fresh fillings that make these sandwiches so good, it’s also the bread. The baguette is from Vietnam’s French influence, but they have made it even better. Using a mixture of wheat flour and rice flour, these baguettes stay crispy on the outside and light as air inside, even on the most humid days.
Vietnam has so many delicious soups. I haven’t tried them all, yet, but I’m up for the challenge! No dish says “Vietnam” like Phở (fuhl), in fact, it’s the national dish. You can literally get a bowl of Phở on every block in this city from a walking vendor, a street stall, or in a restaurant. If you’ve never tried Phở, you’re missing out! A rich beef bone broth that has just a hint of cinnamon, thinly sliced beef, rice noodles, thinly sliced onion, and your choice of limes, chilis, and herbs that you add yourself. Things like mung bean sprouts, coriander, basil, mint, ginger, even rocket. I add them all! Beef or phở bò is the original and classic version, the chicken version or phở gà is also quite popular. There are a few other versions, but the classic beef remains king.
This comforting soup is savory and rich, while feeling light and refreshing at the same time. The Hanoi version is served with quẩy, or a golden brown, deep fried puffy bread stick, which is also a nice addition. Phở was invented in the 1930s in North Vietnam. It made its way to South Vietnam in the 1950s when people started to flee the North and was quickly adopted in the South. After reunification, Vietnamese refugees spread the dish worldwide. If you never try any other Vietnamese dish, you should try Phở, you will be glad you did. The Thia Go Restaurant serves a great bowl of Phở.
They also serve another one of our all time Vietnamese favorites, Bánh xèo. This is a crispy, stuffed pancake made with rice batter containing turmeric and coconut cream, which makes the pancake yellow. This large, savory pancake is stuffed with meat, veggies, and herbs. I like mine stuffed with pork, shrimp, onions, leafy greens, and pickled carrot and radish. Aaron likes his stuffed with beef, onion, and bean sprouts. These things are enormous and you cut them into strips with scissors. Then you take that strip of stuffed pancake and wrap it in rice paper along with fresh herbs. Next you dip it into a sweet and sour dipping sauce. Mmm, so good!
Another must try soup is the Bun Bo Hue. This is so much more than a bowl of noodles. Bun Bo Hue means Hue Beef Noodle Soup. Hue is the ancient royal city in which this dish originated. Thin slices of beef along with pork patties in a lemongrass and shrimp paste infused beef bone broth, with chopped scallions sprinkled on top. What’s not to like? You can get a few variations of this that include the addition of chilis, a square of pork blood cake, or blood mixed with the broth. All soups in Vietnam come with a basket of lime wedges and fresh herbs to mix in that include things like coriander, mint, bean sprouts, basil, and shaved banana blossom. This is rich, hearty, and good for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. One of our favorite places for this dish and also for Phở in Da Nang is Bún bò huế Na.
A completely new dish for me, and now one of my all time favorites is Clam Congee. It may not sound awesome, but it is. I discovered rice porridge in Thailand and really liked it. After walking the beach one morning in Da Nang, we wandered back into the neighborhood and were looking for a breakfast place and spotted the Cháo nghêu O Hoèn. A little hole in the wall place attached to a hotel. They only serve three things, clam congee, oyster congee and pork rib congee. I loved the clam version so much that I haven’t tried the others yet. The clams are cooked with shallot, garlic, black pepper, and lemongrass before being added to the congee, or rice porridge. The bowl they would bring out was literally packed with clams, I had two or three in every bite. Before eating it, I would top it with sesame oil, chopped chives, and thin slices of fried garlic in oil. For me, this is a heavenly food and one of the best breakfasts I have ever had. I can’t wait to return to Cháo nghêu O Hoèn and have it again! I will try the other versions as well.
One of the great things about Da Nang is that you can find foods from both the North and the South. However, my next favorite soup in Da Nang is Mì Quảng, which originated here in Central Vietnam. This soup has only a small amount of rich, turmeric infused bone broth, wide rice noodles, and your choice of protein. You can choose pork, shrimp, chicken, steamed pork sausage, fish, quail eggs, or a combination. The meat is simmered in the broth and seasoned with fish sauce, black pepper, shallots and garlic. The dish is traditionally garnished with peanuts and a large sesame rice cracker on the side. It also comes with a basket of lime wedges, chilis, and herbs to add. Mì Quảng is traditionally served at breakfast and lunch, it is also a staple found at family gatherings and death anniversaries. One of our favorite places for a delicious bowl of this goodness is Ngon Thị Hoa.
I have a couple more items from Ngon Thị Hoa that I just have to mention. The first one is their Pho cuốn thịt bò or lemon grass grilled beef spring roll. Thin slices of beef that have been marinated in lemongrass and garlic and then grilled. Then placed on a bed of mint leaves, fresh lettuces, and rolled in a wide rice noodle paper. These come accompanied with a peanut dipping sauce and one of chili and lime.
Their next dish is one of Aaron’s all time favorite dishes at this restaurant, and I love it too. The Cá chình nướng nghệ (grilled eel with turmeric). Slices of fresh eel that have been marinated in lemongrass, garlic, chili, curry, turmeric, salt, pepper, and oil. Then grilled while being brushed with the marinade. This eel was similar in flavor to a firm, white fish, but bolder, richer, and more succulent in flavor. Served with a bowl of jasmine rice, it’s simple and delicious. The chefs at Nhà hàng Ngon Thị Hoa definitely know what they’re doing!
Another new food discovery here in Da Nang was the dish Bò Né. I think this platter of food is fun because it is served in a really hot, cast iron dish shaped like a cow. The cast iron ware itself is nestled into a wooden tray to prevent burning the table and the diner. Bò Né is steak and eggs, plus! Ours came with thin sliced griddled steak, eggs, pate, and pork sausage. They also bring you a plate of fresh baguettes, butter, and some fresh veggies. Hearty, filling, and deceptively delicious. We had this for breakfast or lunch, several times, at a great place called AN Food. They do several versions of this plate, but this one was our favorite.
Next on my list of favorites is Bún chả. This is a dish of grilled pork patties and pork belly. It comes with a bowl of rice vermicelli noodles, a plate of fresh herbs, julienned pickled carrot and radish, garlic, and chilis. You mix it together as desired. It also comes with a dish of dipping sauce. Normally eaten for lunch, this dish is satisfying and delicious. There are some slight variations of it between the North and the South of the country, but it did originate in Hanoi. Former U. S. President Barack Obama and Anthony Bourdain met for Bún chả at a famous place in Hanoi, now there is a string of them. The one we like to eat at in Da Nang is called the Quán Mai – Bún chả Obama.
The list of delicious delights continues with another type of spring roll called Gỏi cuốn. These are the best spring rolls I have ever had. They are huge and actually almost a meal in themselves, the name actually means salad roll. The extra long tube of rice paper had some grilled pork at one end, shrimp in the middle, and egg at the other end. In with the protein was red and green leaf lettuces, chives, mint, coriander, and shredded carrot. They came with a nice hoisin and peanut dipping sauce. I can’t pass these up whenever we eat at Hanh & Ken Authentic Vietnamese Cuisine. All of their dishes are terrific!
Another favorite from here is the Bánh Khọt (small rice pancakes with shrimp). These are savory mini-pancakes topped with shrimp, brushed with scallion oil, and sprinkled with minced, dried, salted shrimp. Another deceptively simple dish that really packs a punch in a little bite.
One more from here is the Pork and Lemongrass Skewers. This is seasoned, ground pork sausage formed around the end of a lemongrass stalk and grilled. Served with a spicy dipping sauce, these are truly addictive. You cannot beat a meal at Hanh & Ken Authentic Vietnamese Cuisine. Everything we have ordered here has been exceptional!
A very popular family style place we ate at a few times had an exceptional dish called Thịt kho tàu (caramelized pork with egg). This is one of Aarons favorites. Braised pork belly cooked in a clay pot until it is falling apart, along with a couple of eggs. I had a great deep fried, whole fish served with steamed morning glory. Morning glory is a type of green eaten all across Southeast Asia, very similar to spinach, it has a nice delicate flavor. We ate these tasty dishes at An Nam Quán.
Next is a dish that doesn’t really sound very Vietnamese, but I promise you, it is fantastic! It’s smoked goose. Oh my gosh, my mouth is watering. We had tried some in the royal city of Hue and were blown away. When we saw it on the menu in Da Nang we had to try it again and this one was even better than the first one we had tried. We actually ended up ordering two plates of it. Tender, moist, smokey boneless breast slices of goose. It was served with rice, and another first for me, salad with sea grapes. Sea grapes are a type of edible seaweed that is consumed across Southeast Asia. They taste slightly like seaweed and provide a crisp, bright crunch when added to a salad. I’m a fan! We were not expecting the level of food we received when we went for a beer tower at the Draft Beer Euro Garden. Being located on the river near the dragon bridge, you can come here and watch the show. We just wanted to have a beer and watch the Dragon Bridge change colors. Then we started looking at the menu and decided to eat here, and wow, are we glad we did. It was phenomenal.
There is a huge variety of beer here in Vietnam. One interesting thing we saw here, that we haven’t seen in any other country is beer in a metal bottle. Not aluminum, but heavy steel, and ice cold. The type of beer in these big bottles was Bia hơi, which is a typical type of draft beer found mostly in small bars and street stall eateries. Bia hơi literally translates as fresh beer as it is brewed daily and aged for only a very short time. Beer gardens and beer halls are very big here.
Vietnam has a huge coffee culture. With two or three coffee shops on every block, you can find a coffee shop that caters to every budget. Vietnam is the second largest producer of coffee in the world, right behind Brazil. They don’t grow Arabica though, they grow Robusta, and it has a completely different taste profile. It has a dark, earthy flavor with a tinge of bitter, and a nice chocolate under note. We had our morning coffee at a little neighborhood place just around the corner from our apartment. We soon became regulars and our guy would just hold up two fingers and we would nod and sit down at one of the little tables out front. We always had two black coffees or Ca phe den. The coffee here is made strong, so they bring you a glass of herbal tea to drink afterwards so it won’t be hard on your tummy. They make all kinds of coffees but we are just black coffee drinkers. A cup of great coffee here at Khuong Coffee is 50 cents US!
For a nice afternoon pick-me up, we would head down to the beach. One of the vendors set up on the promenade is called Caribou Coffee. Aaron always gets a black, iced coffee. Which is delicious. My favorite is the tasty Robusta coffee blended with coconut milk and ice. Man what a treat!
I am lactose intolerant, so no milk products for me. Aaron found us a great place that serves vegan ice cream. Their specialties are coconut ice cream and avocado ice cream. We never tried the avocado, but the coconut ice cream was out of this world. We made several visits here to Zocoby Kem Bơ Dừa.
And finally, on our last night in Da Nang we had an absolute feast. We had eaten at this restaurant a few times before and found every dish we tried to be exceptional. We had discovered the delicious dish of Cà tím om thịt, which is grilled eggplant with minced pork. This dish is so good, the pork is cooked with red chilis, garlic chives, and minced garlic, then placed on top of the grilled sliced eggplant. Together with a side of rice you have an outstanding meal.
If you like okra, you need to try this dish of thin sliced okra stir fried with garlic and chilis, it is outstanding. They know how to bring out the flavor of their green vegetables in Vietnam. We also had an order of fish cakes, or Cha Ca, which is boneless white mackerel filets mixed with fish sauce, vermicelli, shallots, cilantro, garlic, dill, shrimp paste, and black pepper, then fried. Served with a chili dipping sauce, oh so good. Lastly, we also ordered a whole grilled rabbit fish. Butterflied open and drenched with butter and turmeric, this fish was the perfect thing to highlight our last meal in Da Nang with (for now). We had this wonderful meal at Restaurant NẬM. We each had two beers with our meal and when it was all said and done we had splashed out a whopping $16.00 for this entire spread! You really can eat very affordably here, this is the most we paid for a Vietnamese meal our entire time here, and we actually had a feast!
Once in a while we do get a craving for some Western food and we found two surprisingly great burgers here. One at Diner 66, and one at Fly Burgers, these places came highly recommended to us, so we tried them out and were very pleasantly surprised. We also found a pretty darn good pizza on the promenade. The place is called Pizza and Burger by Herbal Pizza. It is a trailer with an actual wood fired pizza oven in it. They have seating that overlooks the beach and ocean, and the beers are big! Western food is higher priced than local food so we don’t splash out on it very often, and we really don’t need to. The quality, flavors, and price of the local restaurants here in Da Nang keep us coming back for more.
Check our our Video on the Best Breakfasts in Da Nang!
Be sure to check out our Guide to Da Nang Blog & Video to see why this is one of our favorite cities in the world.