Top 10 drinks you should try in Vietnam

Vietnam is the second-largest exporter of coffee beans in the world, home of green tea, herbal, and an abundance of fresh tropical fruits. Thanks to the availability of fresh ingredients and Vietnamese creativity, Vietnam people creat the best drinks which is absolutely a must-try when you are here. Below are the top 10 drinks you should try in Vietnam, try them and you will find your favorite.

1. Egg Coffee

Egg coffee, a truly distinctive drink in Hanoi, is a sweet and dense Vietnamese beverage that traditionally consists of strong black coffee that is mixed with a combination of egg yolks and sweetened condensed milk. Egg coffee is created by a bartender called Giang, who worked at Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi Hotel. He then opened his own coffee shop and now there is a lot of coffee shops in Hanoi offering egg coffee such as Dinh Cafe or Loading T. It is great spending your time at a small coffee shop in the alleys of the Old Quarter, taking a sip of hot egg coffee and watching the rain falling outside the window on a cold winter day. Do not miss your chance to taste this coffee when you are in Hanoi. Price for a cup of egg coffee is about 15.000VND to 25.000VND
Places to drink:
- Giang Café: 109 Yen Phu, Tay Ho District, Hanoi or 39 Nguyen Huu Huan, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi
- Dinh Café: 13 Dinh Tien Hoang, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi

Egg coffee

2. Hanoi local draught beer

Vietnam is among the countries that consume the highest amount of beer in the world. Draught beer in Hanoi is tasty and cool, which can ease the heat and thirst quickly. It is wonderful drinking a glass of draught beer under the hot and humid weather conditions in Hanoi. This kind of beer is very light (only around 3° ABV), so do not need to worry about getting drunk.
Besides the draught beer, Vietnam has amazing bottled beer like Saigon Beer, Huda Beer, Hanoi Beer, etc. Beer is often drunk with a plate of roasted or steamed peanut with a shell. Just go to a restaurant, order a glass of beer, and drink beer following Vietnamese style: “Mot – Hai – Ba - Dzo”. If you are in Hanoi, do not miss Ta Hien beer street for a fun night. Price for a glass of beer is about 10.000VND

Hanoi local draught beer

3. Sugarcane Juice

If draught beer is the most popular alcoholic drink, then Sugarcane Juice is one of the best non-alcohol Vietnamese drinks for summer. You can find Sugarcane Juice in almost everywhere in Vietnam. It is yummy, fresh, and easy to make using an electric squashing machine. The drink is usually mixed with Calamansi, a tiny sour citrus fruit that smells like a mandarin. Sugarcane juice is good for people with diabetes and kidney stones; besides, it also helps prevent cancer and treat colds and flu. The price of this drink is from 10.000VND to 15.000VND.

Sugarcane Juice

4. Fresh coconut water

Fresh coconut water is another fresh and healthy drink in Vietnam. Coconut water is often served straight from a green coconut. Fresh coconut water is always grassier and sweeter than the one in bottles, and it is even better when you drink fresh coconut water cold. The smaller coconuts, which are called “dừa xiêm”, is sweeter than the bigger ones. People can add kumquat juice into the coconut water, making this drink more flavorful and fragrant. The price is about 20.000VND per drink.

Fresh coconut water

5. Smoothies

Another drink to keep cool in the hot weather in Vietnam is smoothies. Thank the abundance of fresh tropical fruits, smoothies can be found everywhere in Vietnam. They’re made from fresh fruits with crushed ice and condensed milk. Fresh fruits used to make smoothies in Vietnam are custard apples, jackfruit, durian, dragon fruit, papaya, avocado, strawberry, carrot, or apple. Many people use smoothies for breakfast or a snack as they can meet daily requirements, containing a lot of vitamins and nutrients. The price of this healthy drink is from 20.000VND to 30.000VND.

Smoothies

6. Artichoke Tea

Artichoke Tea is a healthy drink, it is believed to be able to clean the liver and detoxify properties. This kind of drink is often used for hungover men, but it is also good for everyone else. There are two kinds of artichoke tea: the sweetened yellowish tea made from the artichoke flower & the intensely bitter black tea made from the artichoke stems. Yellowish tea is easier to drink than black tea. Even this kind of tea is mostly grown in Dalat in Vietnam's cool Central Highlands, it is now dried, packed in packets and you can find in supermarkets throughout the country. It is 80.000 VND/ kg for fresh artichoke and 250.000VND/kg for dried artichoke.

Artichoke Tea

7. Mot Tea

This fantastic herbal tea belongs to Hoi an ancient town. You can find it in the tea shop on the pavement in Tran Phu Street. The shop is decorated with colorful small plants, some herbals, and a lovely round bamboo basket...The owner of the shop has his name at home Mot, which is why this drink is called Mot. There are many herbs inside this tea such as honeysuckle, cinnamon, Luo Han Guo, lemon, lemongrass, etc. which make the smell of the tea attractive. A cup of Mot tea is decorated with a leaf or a lotus petal which makes the cup more artistic. The price for a cup of Mot tea is only 12.000VND. Opening time is only from Mid-afternoon onwards.

Mot Tea

8. Rice wine

Rice wine is a popular alcoholic drink in Vietnam, especially for man. This liquor distilled from ferment cereal (normally rice) is used on special occasions such as Tet holiday, wedding ceremonies, or funerals. The wine is considered as the best flavor when it has a high level of purity and limpidness, together with fragrance, sweetness, spicy, and relatively high alcohol content (from 39 to over 45 degrees) but it does not make the drinkers have a headache. Be noted that you can easily get drunk after trying some cups of rice wine, so take a little amount only. The price of this alcoholic drink is about 80.000VND/ liter.

Rice wine

9. Traditional Vietnamese Tea

Traditional Vietnamese Tea can be found everywhere in Vietnam from the urban to rural areas, and it is considered an indispensable part of the Vietnamese people’s life. There are two main kinds of tea: fresh tea and dried tea. The fresh one is a little bit less tart and bitter than a dried one. Vietnamese drink tea any time during day time: a cup of hot tea in the early morning after breakfast, some iced tea at the roadside-make-shift shop while waiting for a friend, or a whole day chilling out in a teahouse. Drinking tea is not only about to ease your thirst, but it is also a traditional beauty in Vietnam. A cup of tea at the roadside is about 5.000VND

Drinking tea

10. Tube Wine in Central Highlands

If you travel to the Central Highlands of Vietnam, do not miss this kind of drink. Tube wine or Ruou Can is the traditional tube wine of the tribal people, which is well cooked from glutinous rice, mixed with different types of herbs (leaves and roots of trees in the local forests) and fermented in a jar in at least one month. This traditional tube wine is served on important occasions like weddings, festivals, and harvest feasts at a place called “Nha Rong” (communal house) or by the campfire. Ruou can is drunk through the long, slender cane tubes placed in the earthenware jug. Each person uses separate tubes, and about 2-4, even up to 10 people share one jar. Price of a jar of ruou can is from 200.000VND

Drinking Ruou Can in the central highlands

No matter the weather is hot or cold, you are in the south, the north or the center part of Vietnam, there is always a drink to suit your taste. Do not miss your chance to try a local drink in the place you have visited. If you have not got a chance to visit Vietnam, do not hesitate to plan a trip there.

Jenny Tran

Image sources: Internet