Vietnam Treats Guests To A Hearty Feast When Traveling in Winter

From rare beef pho in the morning, to bun cha at lunch, sweet floating dumplings in the afternoon, and bun thang for dinner… there are so many choices for visitors when they come to Vietnam to travel in winter.

Vietnam ranks among the top ideal winter destinations for food-loving travelers.

Recently, the British magazine Time Out announced its list of the 20 most ideal winter destinations in the world for 2025 – 2026. Vietnam was ranked “Best for food” – a winter destination ideal for travelers who love cuisine.

According to the magazine, Vietnam has a rich and distinctive traditional cuisine; every dish evokes impressive and unforgettable flavors. Vietnamese food also offers visitors a wide variety of choices, from dry dishes to soups, from main courses to snacks.

Compared to destinations around the world, Vietnamese dishes are praised for being delicious, nutritious, and affordable, helping visitors save money while sampling many great foods. Slurping a hot bowl of pho in the cool winter weather is an experience that satisfies even the most discerning guests.

The ideal time for international visitors to come to Vietnam is from October of the previous year to February of the following year, when the weather is cool and not as hot as summer.

On Vietnam’s culinary map, Time Out highlights three outstanding destinations: Hanoi, Hội An (Đà Nẵng), and Ho Chi Minh City. Hanoi is the place where travelers can feel the cold most sharply — and it is also Vietnam’s culinary paradise.

From Hot Soups That You Blow On Before Eating…

When visitors arrive in Hanoi in winter, there are so many delicious foods that match the cool weather.

From early morning, restaurants in Hanoi are already steaming, ready to welcome customers. Soups are listed among the “must-try” items when visiting the capital. A bowl of Hanoi crab noodle soup with simple ingredients, served with fermented shrimp paste, chili sauce, sour bamboo vinegar, and fresh greens. When it comes to pho, visitors are satisfied with the broth rich in cinnamon, star anise, and cardamom, with a variety of options like rare-beef pho, well-done beef, brisket, fatty beef flank, or rich red-wine pho. If you get tired of beef, you can switch to chicken pho for breakfast.

Along with pho, noodle soups also leave a longing. In the Old Quarter of Hanoi, it’s not hard to find restaurants serving crab noodle soup, beef noodle soup, or water spinach noodle soup with deep flavor. If you have time for an easy stroll on Cầu Gỗ Street in the evening, you can stop by a 40-year-old noodle restaurant to try bun thang, a signature Hanoi dish.

During windy days, nothing is better than sitting with family or friends around a boiling hot pot, dipping vegetables and pieces of meat while chatting. In Hanoi, hot pots are diverse and easy to find, from street stalls to upscale restaurants. But wherever you go, Hanoi’s hot pot brings an unforgettable taste.

Depending on your preference, you can choose sour beef hot pot, crab hot pot, oxtail hot pot, Thai tom yum hot pot, spicy frog with bamboo shoots hot pot, or duck stewed with dracontomelon hot pot…

…to Warm Treats for Afternoon Snacks

Cold weather makes people hungry faster. Just wandering a few small alleyways, visitors can easily fill their stomachs by afternoon.

Hot snacks enjoyed by Hanoi locals in cold weather include:

• Hot banh đuc

• Sweet floating rice balls

• Warm cassava sweet soup

• Pork rib porridge

• Hot sesame-coated doughnuts

• Corn cakes

• Sweet potato cakes…

These snacks are tied to the childhoods of generations of Vietnamese and certainly will not disappoint diners.

Sweet floating rice balls typically come with 2–3 pieces depending on the restaurant, most commonly with green bean or black sesame fillings, drizzled with palm sugar syrup, ginger, crushed peanuts, and served with coconut cream or fresh shredded coconut.

Winter snacks are easy to find on street vendor carts along streets, in markets, or in small alleys of Hanoi. The price for each warm winter delight is only 10,000–20,000 VND.

From hot soups to snacks that warm your heart, the iconic foods of Hanoi in winter are an experience you shouldn’t miss when you come to the capital during cold days.