The Best Vegetarian in Da Kao, District 1, HCMC

Tib's tofu skin rolls stuffed with mushrooms

Up next on my food tour of Ho Chi Minh City, I bring to you the best vegan / vegetarian Vietnamese cuisine in Da Kao ward, District 1! 

You're in luck today, because all three of these options are absolutely, undeniably excellent, and in three different and unique ways. In my opinion, these are three of the best veg spots in the city, so there's no clear frontrunner... you'll just have to try them all and choose for yourself.

If you haven't yet, read about finding and ordering vegan food in Vietnam. If you're looking for more vegetarian nearby, check your vegan options in Tan Dinh ward. Otherwise let's rock!

Da Kao ward sits just north of the major tourist and financial centers of District 1, and is full of big companies with hungry office workers, and thus excellent food at every price point and of every kind. Here's the area I'll be covering in my next few food posts:

As usual, I try to avoid the chain restaurants and focus on independent places that I think are unique and extra-delicious.

Click here for three tasty veg joints that will make your day:

The Best Vegetarian Restaurants in Tan Dinh, District 1, HCMC

Our first stop on my city-wide breakdown of my favorite Viet Veggie restaurants is, of course, Tan Dinh, where I'm comfortably located and where I do the most repeat visits (including my post highlighting the 7 coolest cafes in the area).

Here's Tan Dinh ward, in case you need a location refresher:

Here are a few of the best vegan restaurants around my new home in Tan Dinh ward, District 1, HCMC.  Don't forget to check out the most important food vocabulary to decipher all-Vietnamese language menus.

To Tan Dinh, and to chay!

Vegetarian in Vietnam: Vocabulary and Notes

Cha Gio Chay - Vegan spring rolls

Strap in - I'm about to start a series of my favorite veg restaurants in Saigon, according to area!

But first, a little background information...

It's absurdly easy to be a vegetarian here in Vietnam, and I've been upping my vegan intake in 2020 - a lot. At this point I'm probably about 60-70% vegetarian, and I feel great. I've also noticed that, even though I still sweat like a waterfall, I've got less BO! It's the little things, people.

Buddhists in Vietnam traditionally eat vegan two to four times a month, the day before and after the full moon, and before and after the new moon. For this reason, there's almost always a few veg places around, and even meat-centric places will often offer a vegan version of their most popular dishes on those days. It's very popular to gather in groups on these days and go out to restaurants, but many people also choose to cook at home.

So without further ado, here are some things to look out for, to understand, and some words that will help you navigate menus and street food signs across the city and through Vietnam. They'll also help you understand what you're drooling over when I post lists of my favorite locations.

Onward, to learning!

Tib Chay Restaurant: Upscale and Affordable Central Vietnamese Vegetarian

Tib Chay restaurant in Ho Chi Minh’s District 1 is a fine choice for getting your Central Vietnamese vegetarian food fix! Check it out – colorful, flavorful, and reasonably priced.

One of the best things (out of many, many best things!) about eating in Vietnam is the incredible variety. While it may be occasionally difficult to find street food that is truly vegetarian (for example, fish is not considered a meat), a huge chunk of the population is Mahayana Buddhist, and one of the traditions is eating vegetarian on the 1st and 15th days of the lunar month. As a result, there are a fair amount of prominent vegetarian restaurants, from cheap to expensive, that serve exclusively veg food any time of the month. Sometimes you just can’t with the pork again, you know?

Slightly off the beaten path, Tib Chay revels in the royal traditions of Central Vietnamese food. Central Vietnamese cuisine is distinct from the Northern or Southern traditions, and centered around Hue. This ancient city was the home of the last Vietnamese royal dynasty, and the food reflects the court: sophisticated and colorful. Dishes are often defined by their small size and elaborate preparation.

Our main dish (seen above) was the house rice, served with veggies and lotus seeds. I’m not usually a fan of anything culled from the lotus plant, but these seeds are an exception to the rule. The vegetables were juicy and well seasoned.

Psycho Asian Comfort Food: Crepes, All Kinds

This was not my recipe, but they awakened a fire in my belly....
a fire that can only be quenched by... more crepes (and better cheese).

One of the single best benefits of having roommates from all corners of the world is a chance to mash up cuisines, creating new, and occasionally wonderful, dishes in the process.

American society contains an embarrassment of riches in the form of cultures from all over the world. I talk about Chicago a lot when people ask me about food, because it's such a very interesting example of mixing and matching, as well as just a all-out-amazing foodie town. Chicago's socio-ethnic history informs modern neighborhoods in a real and visible way, and many neighborhoods exist as a living record of the last hundred years of people and cultures moving in and out of these 'hoods. The city is both a global food experiment, and completely & utterly Chicago and midwestern in expression.

As for me? I know what I like, and I know that I'm a builder. Sometimes I get... mildly obsessed.

Psycho Asian Comfort Food: Banh Mi Pizzas

1/2 kilo of pork from the Deli... along with all the fixin's!

Well, hello strange feelings brought on by a vacationing with my sister!

After an exceedingly long time apart (2.5 years... this will happen when your family lives on other ends of that great big expanse we call the States), I finally got to see Vietnam with Lex and our childhood friend, Kat. It was amazing... and exhausting.

So what's the cure? No, it's not a cowbell... but you're on the right track (do pet pigs wear bells? They should).

For these Strange Feelings of home and family and belonging, I knew I needed something with the gastronomic power of a nuclear bomb. Something fatty, cheesy, light, airy, and with some vegetables, because I love vegetables. But preferably not too healthy, because these are Strange Feelings, of course, and that would just not be appropriate.

The solution? Banh Mi Pizza.

Yes. BANH MI PIZZA. Go ahead. Click through. Learn how glorious it is having an oven, and just how I'm making use of it...