Top list of Vietnamese drinks – Must-try things when traveling to Vietnam

Vietnam – a little “S-shape country” in Southeast Asia, has been a charming attraction to foreign travelers in recent years. If you spend time exploring Vietnam, either you are keen on history or natural beauty, you will be thrilled by what welcome you here. Needless to say, a long and complicated history plus a diversified and magnificent landscape are the main parts of a trip to Vietnam. But besides these, a simple and authentic way of life will be one more aspect you need to find out about this country. When it comes to daily life, you should not miss the best and most famous Vietnamese drinks.

Spanning roughly 1600km in length, Vietnam is divided into 3 main parts: Northern part, Central Part and Southern Part. In each part that you set food on, the culture of life varies much with different types of food and drinks. Vietnam is the kitchen of the world! You might have heard this well-known quote somewhere when you are surfing the Internet for Vietnamese cuisines. But if you only focus on tasting the cuisines without trying the beverages, you will have a big mistake. Hence, here are the top drinks that you need to put into your pocket list.

Beer

Beer is drunk all over the world; nevertheless, which makes beer become one of the most delightful drinks is how Vietnamese people enjoy it every day. People can buy beer for a meal meeting at home or go out in a local beer restaurant, in which the latter is more preferable, especially for men. When going out for a beer, people in Vietnam often call it “di nhau” since it is not simply about drinking beer. There are plenty of dishes that are served along with beer in any beer restaurant; such as roasted peanut, fried tofu, steamed snails, boiled big intestines, etc. An interesting fact is that a “beer – meeting” can last for many hours with beer and only 1 or 2 dishes of “snacks” for a group of friends.

Beer restaurants can be found various when walking on the streets of Vietnam with quite rustic and sometimes boring style; as long as there are tables and chairs. Many beer shops offer low chairs sitting on the sidewalk but still draw a large number of customers daily, mostly for dinner time. As life changes, more and more modern and more expensive beer restaurants for the higher class are opened. You can find different brands of beer based on the region that you visit. If you come to Hanoi, Hanoi, Truc Bach Beer are produced by the local companies. If you come to Ho Chi Minh city, Sai Gon and 333 Beer are common. But do not worry if you want to taste foreign brands, they are also popular and easy to buy in many supermarkets or convenience stores.

The last but not least experience you need to try is to indulge yourself into the hectic vibes of the Beer Streets in big cities such Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh, and to taste the famous craft beer – “bia hoi”, the fresh, unpasteurized beer made by the local.

Coffee

Similar to beer, coffee is easy to find in any corner of the world; but the distinct taste and drinking style of Vietnamese people is what’s worth mentioning.

A fact is that Vietnam is the world’s biggest producer of Robusta coffee. The Robusta coffee itself has a bitter and richer taste; and how Vietnamese people process the coffee beans really makes its final products stand out. It is not the tradition for people here to prepare coffee by using a coffee machine; instead, another tool called “phin” – coffee filters are used. A coffee filter is simple by the way it looks, yet the activity of using a filter to make and drink coffee is complicated on the opposite side and requires users’ patience. A filter with coffee powder pressed with water is placed on top of a cup; and then the coffee will gradually drip, a little by little through the nest into the cup.

The 2 most famous coffee styles in Vietnam are black coffee “cafe den” and coffee with condensed milk “cafe sua”. Both are drunk hot or cold with iced. You might notice a special ingredient that is used with coffee: condensed milk. Yes, it is not fresh milk but condensed milk which is an exclusive style of Vietnamese people to other countries over the globe. If you are not used to drinking the rich and dense coffee here, you should ask for “cafe sua” with extra condensed milk. In addition to these 2 styles of coffee, egg coffee is another must-try, especially in Hanoi, where it originates from.