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Within tourist areas, a wide range of food acceptable to the international palate is freely available, restaurants are usually clean and menus often have English translations. Elsewhere, the variety is far less, dishes and menus are often unrecognizable and preparation and eating areas are a long way from international standards of hygiene. Having said that, few visitors seem suffer food-related illnesses during their stay!

Apart from the most expensive establishments, hotel food is nearly always offered as a buffet with a mixture of Asian and international dishes. Although the quality may be good, the variety is often unpredictable.

1. Food
Vietnamese food is mostly nutritious and healthy. Cooking methods are confined to grilling, frying, boiling and steaming, as ovens are not used. The staple is rice, either as grain or flour. The cuisine varies according to the region. In the north, it is comparatively bland, with a strong Chinese influence. Food in the Hue area is spicier, with some French touches. In the south, dishes with hot spices proliferate. Each area has its own local specialities.

2. Drinks
Vietnam has wide variety of soft drinks, ranging from ‘Coke’ and ‘Pepsi’ produced here under licence to locally produced fizzy drinks and ‘energy-boosting’ concoctions. Fruit juices are ubiquitous, ‘nuoc chanh’ (water, lemon juice and sugar) being very popular. Fresh orange juice and other sweet fruits are sometimes served with added sugar or salt – watch the person making it and stop them if necessary. Also very popular with visitors are fruit ‘shakes’: chopped fruit with ice, water and milk frothed up in a blender.
Vietnamese coffee is mostly grown in the Central Highlands. Robusta is the usual variety served in Vietnamese establishments – black, thick, and very strong. The minority of Vietnamese people who drink coffee usually mix it with condensed milk – definitely an acquired taste for most foreign visitors. In the cities, smoother Arabica coffee and fresh milk is becoming popular.
For Vietnamese coffee look for the sign 'Trung Nguyen' - they are franchised cafés, very common throughout Vietnam. For Western-style coffee, visit the tourist areas.

A curious, and expensive, variety is ‘Weasel Coffee’. Arabica beans are fed to a weasel. They pass though the animal’s digestive system, are excreted whole, collected, and processed. The passage of the beans through the creature’s intestines is supposed to create a more mellow flavour.
Vietnamese tea is mainly green, sometimes with flavourings, and drunk without milk or sugar from small handle-less cups. This is the drink traditionally offered to people visiting families, friends, offices, shops and so on. Black tea is also popular, but drunk without milk. If you want a traditional cup of tea with milk, stick to the tourist areas - elsewhere you're likely to end up with lukewarm water with a tea bag and condensed milk