Mekong Delta Food: What to Eat in Each Town

Mekong Delta food is built on rice, river fish, fermented fish sauces, tropical fruit and coconut, and it is sweeter and richer than northern cooking. This guide from our Vietnam travel blog covers noodles and soups, hotpots and grilled fish, cakes and sweets, orchard fruit, and which town to try each dish in.

Food is one of the best reasons to stay a night or two in the delta rather than visiting on a rushed day trip. If you are planning that trip, apply for a Vietnam e-visa online before you go.

Noodles and soups

Noodle soups are breakfast across the delta. Hu tieu, especially the My Tho style, has thin, chewy rice noodles in a clear pork and seafood broth with herbs and lime.

Bun mam is a bold noodle soup made with fermented fish, pork and seafood, for those who like strong flavors. In Chau Doc, bun ca is a turmeric fish noodle soup. Our guides to Vietnamese noodle soups and the wider Vietnamese food guide compare them with northern bowls.

Hotpots and grilled fish

The delta's family meals revolve around fish from the rivers and fields. Lau mam is a hotpot of fermented fish broth with pork, seafood and a basket of local greens and flowers to add at the table.

In the flood season, around August to November, lau ca linh bong dien dien combines small river fish with yellow sesbania flowers, a Dong Thap specialty. Ca loc nuong trui, snakehead fish grilled whole over straw, is wrapped in rice paper with herbs and dipped in fish sauce.

Mekong Delta cakes and sweets

Mekong Delta cakes are made from rice, coconut, mung beans and palm sugar, and markets sell dozens of kinds. Banh pia, a flaky pastry from Soc Trang filled with mung bean, salted egg yolk and sometimes durian, is a popular gift.

Ben Tre's coconut candy (keo dua), made from coconut milk and malt, is sold in workshops you can visit. Banh xeo, crispy rice pancakes with shrimp and pork, are larger here than in the center and come with a mountain of herbs.

Fruit from the orchards

The delta is Vietnam's fruit basket. Orchards around Vinh Long, Cai Be and Ben Tre grow mangoes, rambutans, longans, pomelos and durians, and many homestays let you pick fruit.

Fruit is best in season, mostly from about May to August, but markets have something all year. Try it fresh at floating markets or with chili salt at roadside stalls.

Mekong Delta food by town

Each town in the delta has its own specialties. The table shows what to try where, along a typical route.

Our Mekong Delta guide explains the route between these towns. Two experiences add to the food: homestay meals and the floating markets.

Eating in the delta

The best delta meals often happen away from restaurants. These two are worth planning.

Homestay meals

Homestays along the canals serve family dinners of grilled fish, soups and vegetables from the garden, sometimes with a cooking lesson. They are often the best food of a delta trip.

Floating markets

At the floating markets, boats sell noodles, coffee and fruit to buyers on the water. Order a bowl of hu tieu from a boat kitchen at dawn; our Saigon street food guide covers similar dishes in the city.

VietnamVisa-Easy.com is a private visa service operated by H2 Global Travel JSC since 2012, not a government website, and you can apply directly at evisa.gov.vn for US$25. If you would like your application checked first, start your application with us.