Have problems navigating a Vietnamese restaurant menu? You’re not alone. They are their own animals but are generally organized the same. There are more or less the same menu items – think of a Chinese restaurant menu. Instead of a "Pasta" section, there's a "Noodles" section. "Banh" are usually savory dumplings, crepes, and little morsels made with flours and starches.
Nevertheless, Vietnamese restaurant menus can confuse with English translations. As a Vietnamese speaker, I sometimes ask for clarification too!
Last year the folks over at Pho411.ca (a now defunct site) approached me to collaborate to help Vietnamese food lovers and Vietnamese restaurant owners. Sometimes there are typos and miscommunication that get in the way of good food. Together we assembled the following content for those who may be unfamiliar with Vietnamese food terms. (Your Vietnamese language skills may be rusty!)
Also, for Vietnamese chefs and restaurant owners may benefit from having some kind of common vocabulary to use when describing Vietnamese dishes. The content in the pages below is not meant to be exhaustive, but rather a starting point. I hope the information broadens your understanding of Vietnamese food and allows you to explore it more deeply.
- Sections of a Menu: How a Vietnamese restaurant menu is organizes. What types of food do you usually see? What are they?
- Common Vietnamese Restaurant Dishes: English - Vietnamese names of common foods you'd find on a menu. Restaurants, delis, bakeries and pho shops offer mostly the same things. Use this as a guide.
- Cooking Methods, Seasonings, and Ingredients: If you don't recognize a dish, this page will help you translate the menu descriptions. How is something cooked? What kinds of seasonings or dipping sauce is served with it? What are the featured vegetables and fruits? From there you can imagine the flavors. Or, ask informed questions!
Have content to add or corrections? Add them here!
Belinda @zomppa says
Thank you for this helpful post!! You making me want to go eat now.
Lee Fielder says
The link: common...dishes,doesn't work. In the first and third links, there are numerous letters replaced by squares or other symbols. As I am really excited to see this content, and send it to friends and the owner of a small, but excellent Vietnamese restaurant here in Colorado Springs, I am hoping you can fix the problems.
Lee
BTW: I use your cookbooks A LOT
Dennis M Reed (check the "Cooking - Food - Recipes - Cookbook Collections" link on my site. says
the link does not work but the following will get you there:
http://www.vietworldkitchen.com/blog/vietnamese-menus-names-of-dishes.html
I got this from viewing the source of the page with the non-clickable "link".
Andrea Nguyen says
I fixed the links, everyone. My apologies!!!
David says
No, you haven't. http://www.vietworldkitchen.com/blog/vietnamese-menus-names-of-dishes.html - page not found - 404.
And this is 7 years later...
Andrea Nguyen says
When I updated the site and the page, it became a secure page with Https as the lead. So go here:
https://www.vietworldkitchen.com/blog/2010/06/vietnamese-menus-names-of-dishes.html
MIKO says
Thanks for a wonderful and comprehensive- and very well-organized post! Especially the detail in the links! Except, I couldn't find the sprout-and-shrimp crepe/pancake/omelette item that I had at one place in SD... Do you know what i'm talking about Andrea?
twitter.com/bob_ferrapuhls says
@MIKO - Are you talking about Banh Xeo (on the list as 'sizzling crepes')?
A few nitpicks: I wouldn't call Hu Tieu 'glass noodles' but rather 'rice noodles'. I think of glass noodles as being 'mien'.
Also, you might want to list 'Angel Hair Vermicelli' as Bun, and call 'Banh Hoi' 'Angel Hair Vermicell sheets', no?
Sandy says
I like the wide rice noodles like the Cantonese chow fun. I can never figure out what those noodles are called on a Vietnamese menu.
twitter.com/bob_ferrapuhls says
@Sandy - I love those noodles too. Chow Fun, Pad Se Ewe, Lad Na, Chow Kway Teow, all of them!
I don't personally recall seeing them used in Vietnamese dishes however (Andrea?)
The biggest rice noodle I can think of is the one used in Banh Canh, which is like a fatter Udon-sized rice noodle (which is quite tasty too).
twitter.com/aqnguyen says
@Sandy-You're thinking of Banh Hu tieu. In Vietnamese those are called banh pho. See this post on banh pho noodles: http://www.vietworldkitchen.com/blog/2010/03/vietnamese-noodles-101-banh-pho-flat-rice-noodles.html
@bob_ferrapuhls: Yeah -- the glass noodles for hu tieu are actually made of tapioca when they're the clear ones. When hu tieu is made with rice noodles, they are rice. Pho411 and I went back and forth on the bun and banh hoi. Bun to me are round rice noodles because they're bigger than a vermicelli. However, there are more Viet restos and cookbooks that call them rice vermicelli so we went with that translation. You can't win every battle. How about just "bun" [boon]?
katherine says
Andrea, thank you so very much for this useful guide. I made it into a printable document and so I can carry it with me and use it often! Wish we could find more of the Savory Banh Snacks and some other uncommon items on menus. It seems owners of Vietnamese restaurants assume the more unusual dishes won't be pleasing to American tastes, but nothing could be farther from the truth! Americans just don't know them and must be introduced to them. And I'll bet everyone will love them when they try them.
dining room set says
I heard that Vietnamese foods are so delicious! I can't wait to try some.
Sohbet Et says
However, there are more Viet restos and cookbooks that call them rice vermicelli so we went with that translation. You can't win every battle. How about just "bun"
Taobao says
That's not his. Steve's is black*_*
Buy from taobao says
Um...like the style of your writing.*_*
The Magic Of Making Up says
menus differ a little at each restaurant due to the size of the kitchens.
http://www.squidoo.com/natural-ovarian-cyst-relief-secrets
Coach Carryalls Bags says
exaggerates a man´；s virtue， an enemy his crimes.
supra shoes says
I do appreciate that you like the content I write. I'm not exactly sure what I blog about fits in with your customer profile. And, looking at your retail site, it's not clear to me where you'd actually be using some of my information. What exactly do you have in mind?
ovarian cysts treatment says
I have a friend which he meet his partner at vietnam. I've already tasted Vietnamese food.
vibram toe shoes says
Wow, they are great:)
Thanks for sharing
looks so good
coach bags outlet says
As the tournament gets closer, the odds will change a bit. Rumors have it that the "Smart Money" will increase their wagers into the English side and their odds will change to 5/1. As always, since the beginning of the World Cup 80 years ago at Uruguay 1930, the top four favorites to win the tournament have come from South America and Europe only. In fact, South America has sdf9 World Cup wins and Europe has also 9 wins. South America is the only region in the world to win the World Cup outside their own continent, Brazil in 1958 and 2002!
mbt online says
That was my thought,too.
the magic of making up says
I do tried vietnamese food myself, and to be honest, it is DELICIOUS!!
Red Bottom shoes sale says
Misfortunes never come alone/single.
cheap red bottom shoes says
I use the entire life, will only trade in the future one.
marlon says
there are more Viet restos and cookbooks that call them rice vermicelli so we went with that translation.
williamarker says
Hi
I just back holiday trip in Vietnam and It is very wonderful to learn Vietnamese cooking special HCM Cooking class in Cu Chi - HCM City that I found Most exciting and clearly about how to make the Vietnamese food completely healthy and Now i saw in this post .It is exciting and very informative .Thanks for that .I will love to cook vietnamese food now
Tony says
Hi there, no links are working for the Vietnamese food, or for pho411.ca - hopefully this can be fixed as it sounds like great info for our trip through Vietnam.
Andrea Nguyen says
Tony -- Man, I didn't know the site is gone. I removed reference to them. Also, I just moved VWK to a new platform and some of the links need polishing. It's fixed now and I think I'll polish things off to refresh it! Thanks. Any suggestions? Holler!