A local's guide to the best food in Vung Tau

Vung Tau is a tourist area where the mountains are close to the sea. Therefore, the specialties here are extremely diverse and rich. There are many types of aquatic products with typical characteristics of the sea; Local specialties also have many dishes such as Long Huong soup cake, Hoa Long hot noodles, banh khot (khot cake), shrimp soup, barbecue,etc.

The yummy food at Vung Tau

At night, the city is always bustling at some culinary street including: Do Chieu late night food area with full of dishes such as porridge, pho, noodles, rolls,etc.

Vung Tau specialties will help visitors better understand the local cuisine, let's explore with us!

Vung Tau Seafood

As a coastal city, there are several famous seafood restaurants in Vung Tau. Seafood dishes in Vung Tau are very diverse in types, prices, ranging from affordable to high-end.

Right at the beach, there is no shortage of restaurants serving fresh seafood of all kinds, from steaming, boiling to grilling, which both brings appetite and creates excitement for diners.

Restaurant in Vung Tau with a beautiful sea view terrace

Near the beaches are bars and even hotels here are always ready to serve visitors with dishes made from fresh seafood quite attractive. Not only Vietnamese tourists, but also foreign tourists visiting Vung Tau are very interested in enjoying seafood in this coastal city. Sometimes there are groups of guests who fall in love with this city by two things, bathing and sitting at the beach leisurely enjoying seafood, sipping a few bottles of beer and chill all night.

Tasty seafood dishes in Vung Tau restaurant

At the street stalls selling seafood, you can enjoying many delicious dishes with reasonable prices such as: steamed clams, fried snails with coconut, etc.

Lẩu cá đuối (sawfish hot pot)

Eating sawfish hotpot in Vung Tau is better than ever, one of must-try food once you visit here.

This hot pot comes with many different ingredients in addition to stingray – pickled bamboo, chili, vermicelli, rice crackers, and a side plate of herbs, of course the ubiquitous fish sauce that you can’t get away from in Vietnam. Sawfish is prepared carefully, and its intestines rinsed thoroughly and then soaked in salt water or alcohol to remove fishiness. Fish will be chopped into medium pieces, cartilage chopped into small pieces as well, and then we stew them with low heat in order to have the sweet broth. 

Sawfish hotpot in Vung Tau city

Vung Tau sawfish hotpot on Truong Cong Dinh Street has been famous for a long time. There are many hotpot shops on this street. Most are very good quality and almost always crowded. But the most famous and popular tourist is Hoang Minh hotpot restaurant located at 40 Truong Truong Dinh street. Make sure you don’t go alone as it will take at least two people to finish.

Vung Tau snail

Traveling to Vung Tau, you cannot help but eat snails, popular seafood in the sea. If you want to enjoy many different types of snails, you can go to Nam San Snail Restaurant at 12 Nguyen Thai Hoc Street. Snails here are very tasty and have reasonable prices.

There are many types of snail dishes such as: coconut fried snail, fried snail with spinach, snail fried with tamarind, garlic, fried salt crabs. Each dish costs from VND 35,000 to VND 60,000.

A lot of delicious dishes of snail at Vung Tau restaurant

Banh Khot Vung Tau

Banh khot is considered a specialty of Vung Tau. Especially, the brand “Banh Khot Goc Cay Vu Sua” is very popular to not only locals but also tourists. This restaurant is always crowded with diners. These round small Khot cakes with its white surface, red layer made from shrimp roe, green topping of chopped onions. 

A plate of banh khot has about 10 pieces with with its white surface, red layer made from shrimp roe, green topping of chopped onions.  The fish sauce here is also very delicious; the vegetables are all fresh, add a little fish sauce and eat the pancakes with herbs is the best way to enjoy this dish.

Banh Khot Vung Tau

Banh Xeo Vung Tau (Vung Tau pancakes)

Pancakes have long been in the minds of people in the South and become an indispensable specialty for a Vietnam food tour. Pancakes are sold in many places but Vung Tau pancakes (Long Hai pancakes) has a very specific flavor, taste of the sea that cannot be found in anywhere.

Long Hai Pancake is made from rice flour, egg and turmeric powder. A special feature of the Long Hai pancake compared to other regions is that the shell also adds chicken eggs; the filling consists of shrimp, pork meat, bean sprouts, wood ear, and mushroom. Taste of pancakes in Vung Tau makes diners always impressed by many reasons, from the fragrant crispy crust, the smell of eggs to the fillings full of shrimp and pork.

Vung Tau pancakes

The sauce of this dish also has its special way to make. At first glance, the sauce might not be complicated, but once you try it, it will definitely make you feel full of spices from the lightness of fish sauce to the sourness of fermented vegetables.

Banh Canh Ghe (Crab Noodles)

On the way from Sai gon to Vung Tau, tourists often stop by Ba Ria to have snacks and a bowl of banh canh. This is one of the most delicious crab noodle shops in Vung Tau that tourists cannot miss. The crab soup here has a very "sea" flavor, the crab is extremely fresh, and you can feel the freshness as soon as you touch the tongue. No need to be fussy with many ingredients, this longstanding vendor has conquered several foodies by its simplicity and purity.

Crab Noodles – Banh Canh Vung Tau

Banh Canh is made from rice and tapioca flour, light broth, tender and greasy pig legs, pork. After a long ride, all you need is a bowl of banh canh and suagarcane juice which will wipe off your tiredness to continue your journey with many other activities in Vung Tau.