Here's What A Typical Vietnamese Breakfast Looks Like

Vietnamese breakfasts lean heavily savory: Don't expect syrupy dessert-breakfasts like waffles or pancakes. Instead, think warm broths, rice, herbs, and crisp bread. If you're looking for a morning meal, one safe bet is to seek out a line forming in front of a phở stall. A bowl of phở bò or phở gà — rice noodles in an aromatic beef or chicken broth — is the unofficial national morning ritual. A busy stall will often sell out by mid-morning, although stalls with longer hours serving phở throughout the day are becoming more common.

If you prefer something handheld, bánh mì is another staple, and it's much easier to find throughout the day. It's made with a crisp-yet-airy baguette (drawing on Vietnam's history as a French colony), and the fillings vary, but some standard fillings include pâté, pork, pickled veggies, and herbs like cilantro. If you're fixated on a breakfast that features eggs, a fried egg banh mi is also something you might find.

Vietnam has a warm climate, so you'll want a drink to go alongside these hearty dishes. Cà phê sữa đá is one of many Vietnamese drinks worth trying. It's a Vietnamese-style iced coffee sweetened with condensed milk. There are many variations, like a Hanoi specialty that whips an egg yolk into the condensed milk for an extra-rich morning brew. Take note that many Vietnamese drink their coffee separately from their breakfast food, so you may need to detour to a dedicated café to get it. Not a coffee drinker? Sugarcane juice and fruit smoothies are also popular drinks.

If noodles or bread aren't tempting you, there are popular rice options as well. Xôi is a sticky rice dish topped with a variety of ingredients, including mung bean, chicken, sausage, or fried shallots (the exact name depends on the toppings — for example, the chicken version would be xôi gà). There are some sweet variations that include coconut milk, tropical fruit, and nuts. Sticking with rice, rice porridge chao (aka congee) is another classic breakfast food. The rice is cooked in water or stock until it's creamy, then it's served with meat or fish, and sometimes herbs and veggies.

For a lighter breakfast option, consider bánh cuốn: Thin steamed rice sheets rolled around minced pork and wood-ear mushrooms, topped with crispy shallots and eaten with fish-sauce dressing. It's more of a northern dish, and it's common in the capital, Hanoi. If heavy or hearty is your preference, look for bò kho, a fragrant beef stew with tender, slow-cooked meat and plenty of flavor from ingredients like lemongrass, anise, and ginger. It's more of a southern dish, and can be served with noodles or a baguette. 

Finally, there's bò né, a steak-and-egg dish sizzled in cast iron. It's served with pâté, onions, tomatoes, herbs, and a baguette and should keep you full through the lunch hour. These options don't cover every Vietnamese breakfast — there are plenty of other rice and noodle dishes in particular — but these are some of the best staples to start exploring.