Vietnamese food among 100 best in the world

Loafs of banh mi filled with cucumber, pickled carrots and salted shredded pork served at a stall in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo by VnExpress/Quynh Tran

In this year’s annual TasteAtlas rankings, a total of 395,205 dish ratings and 115,660 food product ratings were considered to determine the top culinary experiences.

Italy leads the ranking, with Japan, Greece, Portugal, and China following behind.

The magazine recommended that visitors to Vietnam try some of the nation’s highest-rated foods, including pho, banh mi, and banh xeo (crispy pancakes), as well as famed local products like Phu Quoc fish sauce and Phan Thiet dragon fruit.

Bowls of beef pho served at a restaurant in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo by VnExpress/Huynh Nhi

Two Vietnamese dishes, meat-filed banh mi and beef pho, earned spots on the top 100 best dishes in the world list, ranking 14th and 100th, respectively.

Banh mi, a classic Vietnamese sandwich, is a blend of roasted pork, pork belly, cha lua (pork rolls), cucumbers, mayonnaise, pickled carrots, daikon, and liver pate. It is a popular choice for breakfast and lunch, especially among students and professionals.

Beef pho is a noodle dish using various cuts of beef for the broth and different main ingredients, including brisket, flank, eye-round steak, tripe, and beef balls in Southern Vietnam.

Pho also stands out in TasteAtlas’s ranking of the world’s top meat soups, with the southern beef variant earning third place and the northern variant taking fifth. Chicken pho also ranked at the 25th spot, based on over 5,000 ratings from diners and culinary experts.

In addition to pho, other Vietnamese dishes have also been celebrated internationally. Bo kho (beef stew) and banh cuon (steamed rice rolls), have been voted among the world’s 100 most popular breakfasts. Bo kho, a spicy and aromatic stew, ranks 52nd, while banh cuon, with its rice rolls filled with pork and mushrooms, ranks 76th.

In a previous statement in December 2022, TasteAtlas also placed Vietnam 20th among the world’s 100 best cuisines.