I’ve tried a wide array of folk dishes and street food available on sidewalks. Among them, I find “bánh tráng nướng” (grilled rice paper) particularly irresistible as a simple delicacy with a unique taste. In my opinion, not only expats living and working in Vietnam but also tourists to the country are hooked on its street food and other specialties. Vietnamese street food will help attract travellers through recounts of satisfied visitors to the country.

I strongly believe that cuisine is a distinctive part of a country’s history and culture. For instance, phở is such an essential part of Vietnamese gastronomy that all foreigners to the country have heard of or thought of trying it. Vietnamese “bánh mì thịt” (Vietnamese sandwiches) are also introduced as a must-try street dish to tourists or business travellers to Ho Chi Minh City. Globetrotters travel around the world to experience the countries’ unique culture and traditions, and the best way to do that is letting them relish its specialties.

The special thing about street food is the homely feelings they arouses and satisfaction for almost all social classes.  Office workers, students and even tourists or sometimes diners stepping out from luxury cars are easily spotted at food stalls on the street. Therefore, apart from the zoning of peddlers and convenient arrangement of street food, special emphasis must be placed on how to retain the distinctiveness of the food and to ensure food safety.

Activities should be launched to encourage and promote hygienically-ensured popular culinary delights and street dishes to city dwellers as well as domestic and foreign tourists. Vietnam’s cultural richness, long-standing traditions, and diversity of terrain and regions guarantee a wide assortment of folk dishes for sale on local streets. Let us create conditions to facilitate them in promoting these distinctive features to everyone in their own ways.