Eating cheap in Vietnam, where cheap is the good version
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Eating cheap in Vietnam is not a compromise, and that is the part that surprises people. The 40,000 dong bowl at a stall with four stools is usually better than the 120,000 dong bowl in an air-conditioned room two streets away, because it is the same recipe cooked by someone who makes only that.
A full day of eating well here costs less than a single main course at home.
What does a day of food actually cost?
About 150,000 to 250,000 dong, or roughly 6 to 10 US dollars, for three meals, a coffee and a drink. At about 26,000 dong to the dollar, that is the number to plan against, and the trip cost guide sets it beside the accommodation line that actually decides a budget.
| Meal | Where | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Banh mi | A cart, morning | 20,000-35,000 |
| Pho or bun | A neighbourhood stall | 40,000-60,000 |
| Com binh dan, rice and two dishes | A rice shop, lunch | 35,000-60,000 |
| Coffee | A pavement cafe | 15,000-30,000 |
| Bia hoi | A corner keg | About 13,000 a glass |
| Tra da | Anywhere, with the meal | Free to 5,000 |
What is com binh dan?
The cheapest real meal in Vietnam, and the one visitors walk past. Com binh dan means "people's rice": a shopfront with trays of cooked dishes behind glass, open from mid-morning until the food runs out.
You point at two or three things, they land on rice with a bowl of broth and some pickles, and the bill is 35,000 to 60,000 dong. No English is needed and none is offered. It is how most of the country eats lunch, and it is the fastest way to try dishes that never appear on a tourist menu.
Why is the stall version better?
Because a stall makes one thing. A pho stall makes pho, from a stock that has been going since five in the morning, and sells out by lunch. A restaurant with a laminated menu of forty dishes makes forty things adequately.
The rule that works: eat where there is a queue of locals and one dish on the sign. The what to eat guide covers which dish belongs to which city, and the street food safety guide explains why the busy stall is also the safer bet.
Where do the prices double?
Inside the tourist districts, and on any menu printed in four languages. A bowl that costs 45,000 dong in a residential street costs 100,000 in the old quarter of Hanoi or around Bui Vien in Saigon, and the difference is rent rather than food.
Drinks are the sharper jump. A beer in a bar can cost more than the entire meal next to it, while bia hoi at the corner keg runs about 13,000 dong a glass, as the drinks guide sets out. Coffee follows the same pattern: 15,000 to 30,000 dong on a pavement, 60,000 or more in a chain with air conditioning.
How do you order without the language?
Point, and count on your fingers. Every rice shop and most stalls expect it, and the transaction takes ten seconds.
Three words carry most of it. Bao nhieu is how much. Khong cay is not spicy. Cam on is thank you. The language guide has the rest, including the tones that make pho and pho two different words.
Is cheap food a false economy on hygiene?
No, and the evidence runs the other way. Cooking is the strongest safety step in any kitchen, and a stall performs it in front of you. What carries risk is the uncooked part of the meal: the herb plate, the pre-cut fruit, sauces that have stood open all afternoon.
Cooking heat means the money you save is not bought with an upset stomach. It means paying attention to the plate of raw leaves rather than to the price of the bowl.
What is worth spending more on?
Two things. Seafood, where the difference between a market stall and a poor tourist restaurant is real and the seafood guide explains how the pricing works. And one cooking class, which costs more than a week of lunches and changes how you order for the rest of the trip.
Everything else is better cheap. The 200,000 dong version of a Vietnamese dish is almost never twice the 100,000 dong version, and it is frequently worse.
FAQ
How much does food cost per day in Vietnam?
About 150,000 to 250,000 dong a day if you eat where Vietnamese people eat, which is roughly 6 to 10 US dollars for three meals, a coffee and a drink. Eating exclusively in Western restaurants multiplies that by three or four without improving the food.
What does a bowl of pho cost?
Between 40,000 and 60,000 dong at a neighbourhood stall, and 80,000 to 120,000 in a tourist district or an air-conditioned chain. It is the same bowl. The price tracks the rent and the menu language rather than the broth.
What is com binh dan?
The point-and-choose rice shop, and the cheapest full meal in the country. Trays of cooked dishes sit behind glass, you point at two or three, and they arrive over rice with soup and pickles for about 35,000 to 60,000 dong.
Is the cheap food safe?
The cooked food is, and the risk sits in what never meets heat: pre-cut fruit, raw herbs, sauces standing at room temperature. A busy stall turning over stock all day is safer than a quiet restaurant, whatever the seating suggests.
Where do prices jump?
Inside the tourist districts, on menus printed in four languages, and anywhere with a doorman. The same dish three streets away costs half. The other jump is drinks: a beer in a bar can cost more than the entire meal beside it.
What is the cheapest thing to drink?
Tra da, the iced green tea that arrives unasked and is usually free. After that, bia hoi at about 13,000 dong a glass, and Vietnamese iced coffee at 15,000 to 30,000 dong on a pavement rather than 60,000 in a chain.
Do you tip at a cheap eatery?
No, and nobody expects it. Tipping is not customary at street stalls or rice shops, and rounding up a taxi fare or leaving change at a sit-down restaurant is as far as it goes. The tipping guide has the places where it genuinely is expected.