What and where to eat in Phan Thiet?

Phan Thiet and Mui Ne are like the centers of Vietnamese traditional food as well as restaurants. While seafood is still one of the most served dishes, there are a plenty of restaurants that serve American, French, Italian cuisines.

Here are some recommendations for food and where to find it:

Vietnamese Crepe (Bánh xèo)

One thing you should know: Vietnamese crepe is extraordinary. The cake looks like a pancake at first because its color is yellow; the dough is poured into a pan and then the shrimps get added, fat pork, vegetables, and soya sprouts on the top. When the cake is well- cooked, the cooks fold it in half of a circle. People usually taste it with some herbs and fish sauce. Vietnamese Crepe is definitely a must-try dish for food lovers on their journey to Vietnam.

Where to eat:
Cay Phuong Restaurant
Address: 49 Tuyen Quang st, Phan Thiet city
Opening hours: 10.00 am -10.00 pm

Cay Xoai Restaurant
Add: 40 Tuyen Quang st, Phan Thiet City.
Opening hours: 8.00 am- 9.00 pm

Căn cakes (Bánh căn)

The origin of Căn cakes dates back to the days of economic breakdown of Vietnam in the war. During the war, Vietnamese people were poor and life was difficult. They did not have money to manufacture or to buy different types of food for their meals and their most common ingredients on their meal were rice and garnishes. And that was how Căn cakes were made.

Căn cakes comprise of rice powder – rice flour and green garnishes. Local people choose old – used rice to make powder in order to make the cake crispy. If they use new rice, the cake will be difficult to be removed from the mold. And after the cakes are made, sometimes the locals put shrimp on the surface. Another important factor in making a delicious Căn cakes is the fish sauce. The taste of sauce can be adjusted to suit the individual: spicy sauce, sour sauce, sweet sauce, etc.

Here are one famous street vendor where you can find Căn cake:
Ms.Xu street vendor
This place is very “Vietnamese”: every person comes to eat and sits on chairs that are lined up on the pavement. Pavement food has become a part of Vietnamese culture. It is common knowledge for locals here that sidewalk food is better than food that served in luxurious restaurants. Sitting on the pavement eating the original taste of Vietnamese traditional food while sightseeing Vietnamese local life should be the first things on your to-do list on your journey to Phan Thiet.

Address: Ngư Ông street near Phan Thiet fishing port.
Opening hours: 4pm -9pm.
Price: 15000- 40000 VND.

Banh Canh Phan Thiet shop
Address:168 Thủ Khoa Huân, Phan Thiet city
Opening hours: 4.00 pm – 10.00 pm

Sticky Rice Paper (Bánh Tráng Dẻo)

Sticky rice paper is made from rice paper, skin of pig and shrimp paste. It is often sold in late afternoon and evening at the pavements of all the streets in Phan Thiet. For example, you can find it in Tran Hung Dao St., Thu Khoa Huan St., or Tam Bien St.

Spade fish salad ( Gỏi cá mai)

Fresh fish with juice and marinade with ginger, galingale, minced garlic, lemon is a favorable food for locals.The fish named Cá Mai is the main ingredient for that dish. The dish is usually served with rice, rice cake, noodles and eaten along with fish sauce.

Where to eat:
Viet Nam home restaurant
Address: 125 Nguyen Dinh Chieu, Mui Ne
Opening hours: 9.00 -23.00

Seafood Hot Pot

There are some steps to prepare before you eat seafood hotpot: First, you pick the fresh fish then dip them into lime juice to get rid of the fishy smell. Come along with fresh fish is boiled pork and fried egg that is cut into fibers. Secondly, you will eat this dish with roasted rice paper, broth and raw vegetable. The taste of seafood hotpot is really good so don’t miss any chance to taste it in Phan Thiet. One of the most famous hotpots is cobia fish hot pot. It is often liked by the locals here. 

Where to eat:
Ngoc Lan hotpot 11A Phan Dinh Phung

There is a countless variety of traditional food in Phan Thiet and Mui Ne. if you have a chance to come here, you should definitely put “tasting Vietnamese food” as a priority on your list.