Northern Vietnamese cuisine is a hidden gem in Vietnamese culture, known for its distinctive flavors formed through centuries of history, geography, and cultural influence. When traveling to Vietnam, part of the experience is sampling all the unique flavors and regional dishes.

Let’s Hanoi Voyages take you through the top 10 cuisines you must try in Northern Vietnam. From famous dishes like pho, bun cha, banh mi to lesser known, these dishes represent the culinary quintessence of Northern Vietnamese cuisine. Be prepared to enjoy the unique flavors that make Northern Vietnamese cuisine a fun and delicious experience!

Best Northern Vietnamese cuisine must try

Northern Vietnamese cuisine is known for its delicate balance of flavors, fresh ingredients, and traditional recipes passed down through generations. From hearty noodle soups to flavorful street food, these dishes are a must-try for anyone wanting to taste authentic Vietnam.

Pho

It would be remiss to discuss Northern Vietnamese cuisine if we don’t mention Pho, which has been considered a national dish. Northern cuisines are famous for elaborate preparation steps, bone broth is carefully simmered for many hours with spices such as star anise, cinnamon, cardamom, and cloves, accompanied by fresh pho noodles and fresh beef slices.

What makes Pho special is the harmonious combination of flavors and textures – aromatic broth, delicate spices, soft yet chewy noodles, and beef imbued with the essence of the broth. You can add lemon, chili, and bean sprouts to add flavor to the dish.

Price: about $2 – $4 per bowl

Bun cha

Bun cha stands out as another favorite dish representing Northern Vietnamese cuisine. A bowl of bun cha gives you a delicate combination of grilled pork with sweet broth to eat with vermicelli and herbs.

What makes Bun cha special is the perfect combination of the smoky smell of grilled pork, the rich umami dipping sauce, and fresh herbs. Pork patties and sliced pork belly are marinated with fish sauce, lemongrass, and black pepper before being grilled over charcoal to get the caramel outside and an irresistible smoky aroma.

Price: $2 – $5 per bowl

Banh mi

Among the best Northern Vietnamese cuisine, on any Vietnam holiday, you’ll easily to find Banh mi has become a famous dish worldwide, but tasting an authentic version in Vietnam will give you a wonderful experience.

What makes Banh mi special is its soft yet crispy texture combined with a variety of meat fillings such as sausage, ham, grilled pork or grilled chicken, herbs, crispy pickled, and chili. The variety of textures coupled with the bright, contrasting flavors in each bite is what makes Banh mi so appealing. It’s definitely is one of top 10 best dishes on your Vietnam tour!

Price: about $0.8 – $5 per serving

You can also refer: Discover Banh Mi: Vietnam’s must-try street sandwich

Cha ca La Vong

Cha ca La Vong represents the quintessence of Northern Vietnamese dish traditions with simple flavors but full of surprises. This specialty features a soft-grilled fish made from fresh catfish, one of the Red River’s most prized catches.

What makes grilled fish special is the fish marinated in turmeric powder, galangal, garlic, and lemongrass and then fried in a hot pan on the table with dill and shrimp paste. It is served with vermicelli, peanuts, and herbs. Cooking directly in the pan along with layers of complex flavors creates an amazing dining experience.

Price: about $5 – $7 per serving

Nem cua be

Nem cua be demonstrate the ingenuity and creativity of Northern Vietnamese cuisines. These crispy fried crab spring rolls pack delicious flavor and plump texture in every bite.

What makes them special is the filling of fresh crab meat, crispy wood ear mushrooms, and shredded vegetables wrapped in a soft rice paper. Nem cua be is often served with soy sauce or chili lime fish sauce. The crispy exterior gives way to a delicious crabmeat interior accented with herbs.

Price: about $2 – $5 per serving

Banh da cua

This colorful noodle dish is a specialty from Hai Phong. It includes broth made from pork and a variety of accompanying ingredients such as crab meat, fresh herbs, pork rolls, or beef patties. Ingredients may vary, but each bowl should have a portion of locally made rice paper with its characteristic light red color. A bowl of vermicelli is often served with lemon slices, lettuce, perilla leaves, or red chili.

Price: about $2 – $5 per bowl

Banh cuon

Banh cuon is a Northern Vietnamese cuisine famous for its unique processing skills. This dish consists of a thin roll of rice dough filled with various fillings. What makes banh cuon different is the skill needed to make it, must be as thin as paper but still maintain its elasticity. The filling for banh cuon is usually minced pork or chicken, wood ear mushrooms, and shallots.

The key ingredient of this dish is the dipping sauce, usually a mixture of fish sauce, vinegar, sugar, and garlic, which adds contrast. The beauty of banh cuon lies in its simplicity, demonstrating Vietnamese culinary expertise in achieving the perfect balance between flavor and texture.

Price: about $1.5 – $4 per serving

Com lam

For people in the North, Com lam (bamboo sticky rice) is a Northern Vietnamese cuisine that has a special place in everyone’s heart. Com lam represents the quintessence of Northern Vietnamese cuisines through the unique cooking method, sticky rice is wrapped in bamboo tubes and cooked slowly over a fire, bringing excitement to sticky rice dishes through its amazing smoky flavor.

You can enjoy the taste of Com lam with Vietnamese rice wine to take the flavor to a new level. The dish often comes with a bowl of salt and sesame or cham cheo – a special dipping sauce of Northwest people

Price: about $3 – $5 per set

Bun Rieu

Bun Rieu is a traditional Northern Vietnamese cuisine originating from the Red River Delta, widely known both domestically and internationally. This dish includes vermicelli and rich crab broth.

Crab broth is a sour soup made from crab bricks, pounded crab meat along with fruit, tomatoes, fat, vinegar, fish sauce, salt, and scallions. Shrimp paste is often added when cooking broth to add rich flavor. Bun Rieu is a dish with a sour taste and is one of the best Vietnam dishes in the summer, so it is very popular with Vietnamese people.

Price: about $1.5 – $4 per bowl

Bun oc

Bun oc is a dish that encapsulates the quintessence of Vietnamese street food, bringing diners unforgettable culinary experiences. This typical snail noodle has small snails soaked in fragrant broth, combining the sweetness of tomatoes, the sourness of vinegar, and the rich taste of many spices.

What makes Bun oc different is the harmonious interaction between flavor and texture – soft snail blends with chewy vermicelli, creating a symphony of flavors that stimulates the taste buds, making the dish satisfy everyone, even the most demanding diners.

Price: about $2 – $4 per bowl

Hanoi Voyages offers tours throughout Vietnam, giving you the chance to indulge in its diverse food culture

Where to eat the best Northern Vietnam cuisine?

Many Northern specialties can be found across the region. However, to enjoy these dishes in their most authentic and distinctive flavors, certain destinations stand out:

• Hanoi – The heart of Northern cuisine, where you can taste traditional bánh cuốn, bún chả, and the original phở.
• Hai Phong – Renowned for its rich and savory bánh đa cua (crab noodle soup), nem cua be, …
• Nam Dinh – Celebrated as the true home of beef phở, offering a rustic Northern touch.
• Mountainous provinces (such as Hoa Binh, Lao Cai) – The best place to savor authentic cơm lam (bamboo rice) and ethnic minority specialties.

The top 10 cuisines you must try in Northern Vietnam mentioned by Hanoi Voyages in this article are just a glimpse of the culinary masterpieces of this land. Whether you are a food enthusiast or an adventurous traveler, Northern Vietnam promises to bring you a memorable culinary journey and will leave you yearning to come back for more. Just contact us, don’t miss the opportunity to explore this fascinating, diverse, and sophisticated culinary world!