Hanoi and Saigon grab a bite on list of world's best places for food

By Minh Nga   November 23, 2017 | 02:26 am PT
Hanoi and Saigon grab a bite on list of world's best places for food
A street-side eatery in Saigon. Hanoi and Saigon have been named among the world’s best food destinations by Caterwings. Photo by VnExpress/Bao Yen
Just one more reason why globetrotters should put the two biggest cities in Vietnam on their menus.

Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City have been named among the world’s best food destinations by Caterwings, a site that offers online food ordering service in Europe.

Saigon rode in at 80th position, while Hanoi secured 87th spot, on the list of 100 destinations ranked by 20,000 food journalists and restaurant critics.

The research began by analyzing thousands of food hubs to determine the final list of the top 100 cities based on expert opinions of their culinary scenes, quality of service, diversity of cuisine, affordability for locals and visitors, vegetarian and vegan options, the ratio of restaurants per 10,000 citizens, rating of high end restaurants, hours worked at minimum wage to afford a dinner for two, the fast food outlet to restaurant ratio, and quality of street food and food trucks.

The top 10 cities on this year’s list are San Sebastian (Spain), Tokyo, New York, Barcelona, Singapore, Paris, Madrid, Lima, London and Munich.

“Every delicious destination in this index can offer inspiration to food industry professionals such as ourselves, as well as burgeoning chefs, gastronomes and globetrotters,” said Manuel Queiroz, CEO of Caterwings.

Hanoi and Saigon have received global gourmet plaudits more than a few times.

In February, The Telegraph published a list of the world’s 17 greatest cities for food, and the Vietnamese capital grabbed second spot after Tokyo.

CNN praised Hanoi’s bun cha (noodles with grilled pork) in its food show, "Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown", as well its egg coffee.

The signature coffee has also appeared in stories by NatGeo and The New York Times.

The American channel also aired a short film introducing street food in Saigon that was viewed and shared thousands of times in just two days.

Dishes that have gained international recognition such as banh mi, pho and summer roll are all easy to find in Hanoi and Saigon.  

 
 
go to top