Traveling Vietnam as a vegan

Traveling Vietnam as a vegan had many surprises for us. This is a little guide for you on a plant-based diet to navigate the world of flavors in Vietnam. This is a country filled with morning glory, an abundance of tropical fruits, soup (pho) vendors on every corner, fresh coconuts and plenty of fruit juice and spring rolls in all different forms.

The first surprise for us was how many places that market themselves with ‘vegan’, it was a joyous shock to see vegan signs everywhere, so many restaurants offering vegan options on their menus. But I soon realized that vegan as a trend has really hit it off in Vietnam without the actual understanding of the concept existing in many places. So, some things that might help you to avoid unpleasant situation;

• Many places that have a vegan section in the menu don’t realize the difference between vegetarian and vegan, which unfortunately can be very misleading
• Language barrier, as we suck in Vietnamese language, we experienced a bit of a language barrier trying to communicate, with the concept of vegan not being known by the majority you would have to be detailed in your explanations (google translate helped us a lot)
• People are so accommodating and sweet, not wanting to say no, and with the eagerness to sell something, it often leads to somewhat untrue communication regarding ingredients, and if something is vegan or not (sadly I encountered this on several occasions, the coconut ice-cream is not vegan btw)
• Pho (the known Vietnamese soup) is always made on a meat broth, also the vegan version in a place where they sell meat, the exemption will be places that actually are 100% vegan
• Banh Mi (the baguette) is widely sold on the street, many places they offer a vegan version, sadly most of the places it is not really vegan as they put mayo

On the bright side, there is always vegan options on the menus, tofu is widely used in all Vietnam as well as super yummy green leaves like morning glory (water spinach) is a staple on every menu, and off course rice (which saves the day for us). Not to mention that in most cities they actually do have fully vegetarian and often vegan restaurants. All the places that are fully vegetarian mostly understand the concept of vegan. So, all in all, Vietnam is a very vegan friendly country. Some of the restaurants that we recommend in different areas;

Vegan in Hanoi

Hanoi offers many options, several full vegan restaurants and many vegetarian places that offers vegan alternatives. For authentic local cuisine vegan style, you have to visit Katze Vegan and vegetarian They give you lots of extra dishes free of charge in addition to your order. This is definitely in our top three of local cuisine experience in Vietnam.

If you want a salad that blows you away and other food options then local dishes we absolutely loved The Veg – organic vego & tea, it is also close to the train tracks if you are heading to that area.

Vegan in Sapa

In Sapa there was several places that we kept on going back to. There is a pure vegan local place with a very chill vibe and sweet owner playing reggae tunes all day, which was an extra star in my book for sure. Its called Sapa Classic Vegan. Then the café called Thong Dong Vegan has the best atmosphere with the cutest cats chilling everywhere, lots of books and very good food. It’s a small menu so I think we have tried pretty much everything, and it was all really delicious. Another restaurant called YEN Vegan restaurant and bar had very tasty meals (picture below).

Vegan in Cat Ba

Cat Ba has a surprisingly good amount of vegan food, and the one restaurant that we really loved was called My way pizza – healthy – vegan & restaurant they had a diverse menu with everything vegan.

Vegan in Ninh Binh

Ninh Binh offer several options for vegans, but there was not really any that stood out for us. We did enjoy our meal at NGON Vegan restaurant.

Vegan in Phong Nha

As far as we know there is only one vegan restaurant in Phong Nha, but the food was really delicious. Its called Phong Nha Vegan Restaurant and is located along the river with a beautiful view.

Vegan in Hue – BEST MEAL IN OUR VIETNAM JOURNEY

CHAY Corner Vietnamese Dumplings. This is the absolutely best food experience in our whole Vietnam journey, its literally just some tables outside the sweetest little old ladys home in a small neighbourhood outside Hue center. The food had sooo much flavour, super fresh and not to mention that the owner has the most positive, sweet, energetic presence. This is a MUST if you are in the area. It’s a good idea to bring your google translate though, as she don’t speak English.

Vegan in Da Nang

We only tried one place in Da Nang on our way to Hoi An but we really enjoyed the meal and the very welcoming and enthusiastic owner. It is called KARMA VEGAN – Tiem chay nho nho. 

Vegan in Hoi An

In Hoi An old town area you can get a good vegan Banh Mi to a super cheap price at a little street food stand called Lê Hội Bánh MÌ Chay (Le Hoi Vegan Banh Mi). They only serve vegan Banh Mi, so no need to worry about any ingredients like mayo etc. Our favorite restaurant close to old town is called Minh Kien Vegetarian Restaurant.

The beach area close to Hoi An is called Cam An, our favorite places where definitely The Fisherman Vegan Restaurant. Really good food enjoyed with a view to the ocean. Every dish we had was delicious. Our second one was a vegetarian restaurant called Ken Vegetarian and Coffee, they have a good understanding of vegan as well for a reasonable price.

Vegan in Ho Chi Minh

There are many options in Ho Chi Minh, but none that we where really impressed by. I think we didn’t try enough places, but we did enjoy the food at SEN Vegan Restaurant.

We really do recommend traveling Vietnam on your own wheels, it really get you off the beaten path and offer the opportunity to see the more untouched hidden gems in the country. Hope this comes in handy in your journey though Vietnam, enjoy the beautiful country.

Love N Light,

Marita & Sabin