Food & Drink

The most important rule of eating in Vietnam is also the simplest: go where the locals go. This sounds obvious. It is, in practice, something most visitors find surprisingly hard to do — because the places where locals eat are often unmarked, sometimes require pointing at things you can't identify, and occasionally involve sitting on a plastic stool so low your knees are at shoulder height. The tourist restaurants are easier. They have English menus, air conditioning, and s

For decades, Vietnamese food existed in the shadow of its neighbours. Thai food had the international profile. Japanese food had the prestige. Chinese food had the ubiquity. Vietnamese food was something people discovered almost by accident — at a restaurant with plastic chairs, a hand-written menu, and prices that seemed too low to be serious. Then something shifted. Partly it was Anthony Bourdain, who spent more time eating in Vietnam than almost anywhere else and told

The bánh mì is, by any reasonable measure, one of the greatest sandwiches ever made. It is also one of the most misunderstood. In its Western incarnations — the bánh mì shops that have spread to every major city from London to Los Angeles — the sandwich has been cleaned up, explained, and made comfortable. The bread is softer. The pâté is optional. The pickled daikon is served on the side. It is very good. It is not the real thing. The real thing is a study in contrast. T