Eating Out

I own a frying pan, 2 pots, and random kitchen utensils but have yet to really put them to use.  The extent of my cooking at home has been eating cereal and boiling water for tea.  While many people in Canada might think this is odd, it is definitely the norm among most expats in HCMC.

I eat breakfast at home, lunch at school (the cafeteria food is free!), and eat out for dinner... every day!  Restaurants here can be very cheap.  Sometimes you can get a full meal for $2-3!  The cheapest meals are usually at Vietnamese restaurants.  Sometimes we go to a "western" restaurant and splurge... spending $4-5!  Unlike the neighbourhood I lived in when I taught in Korea, this neighbourhood has much more variety in terms of restaurants.  Within walking distance, I can get to Vietnamese, Korean, Indian, Thai, Japanese, Chinese, Italian, Mexican, and "American"-style restaurants.

The #1 cheap Vietnamese meal:  pho

The typical Vietnamese "cheap" option is a soup called "pho."  Pho is sold all over the place, and is usually $2-3.  It is basically a Vietnamese version of chicken noodle soup.  It has noodles, chicken, and broth served with a plate of fresh herbs, sprouts, and lime for you to flavour it with.  I usually can't eat the whole bowl, but it is very tasty and healthy.  There is a chain of popular pho restaurants in Vietnam called "Pho 24."  If you order pho at this place, it will be on your table within minutes... the service is very fast!

In the above picture, you will see a glass in the upper right corner.  This is "tra da" which is iced tea (usually a jasmine or green tea, unsweetened).  Lots of restaurants will serve it to you for free, just like restaurants in Canada give you water for free.  It is tasty and refreshing!

Also in the picture is "cafe sua da," or Vietnamese iced coffee with milk.  I really like it!  It is very sweet because it is made with condensed milk.  Some people find it too sweet, so they ask for it without the milk.

Another good Vietnamese cheap option that I like is a dish with vermicelli noodles, vegetables, and spring rolls.  Yum!

Vermicelli noodles, vegetables, and spring rolls!

One thing that I have found is strange/good at restaurants in Vietnam is that tips are not required or expected.  Unlike back home, where everyone pretty much tips the server (and the servers expect to be tipped, even if the service is bad!), tipping is not the norm here.  We leave tips sometimes for really great service, but most of the time we just pay what we owe and leave.  This was a similar experience in Korea, where tipping was not required and was sometimes even considered insulting.  Nothing like a good, cheap meal to satisfy your hunger!