Must-eat dishes in Da Lat and where to find them

03/12/2019

Da Lat, or “little Paris” of Vietnam, which gets nearly a million visitors a year, is also a highland town where 400,000 locals live and work. Here are some tips on where the locals go to eat.

Banh mi xiu mai

Ideally eaten for breakfast or brunch, banh mi xiu mai, pork meatballs in hot spicy gravy sauce with crispy bread, is a distinctive dish in Dat Lat, a resort town in the heart of Lam Dong province.

Pork meatball and pork skin in banh mi xiu mai

You could find this dish in many places in this area, Vi Nguyen, born and raised in Da Lat, refers to a smal food stall on Hoang Dieu Street. "Banh mi xiu mai here is served within seconds by a lovely local lady, the sauce is very greasy and savory. She also sells Vietnamese bread (banh mi) that many locals come by to pick up before work every day. The food stall only opens until noon". You can find the small food stand, Banh mi 79 - on the sidewalk every morning from 6:30 AM. A banh mi xiu mai costs VND15,000 ($0.7).

Fish hot pot

There’s a restaurant called Com Hung Nhat Ly on the right hand in Nguyen Chi Thanh Street from Da Lat market, t. When asked for a recommendation, the restaurant owner said fish soup made from freshly cut fish cooked with Vietnamese vegetables in a large pot with a little fermented wine.

Sturgeon fish in a hot pot

To eat with the fish soup is com nieu or Vietnamese white rice cooked in a clay pot. Aside from this special serving, you can order other Vietnamese dishes ranging from VND50,000 to VND350,000 ($2-15). The restaurant opens all day.

Eating with the fish soup, there's com nieu, Vietnamese white rice cooked in a clay pot

Beef hot pot

Lau bo Hanh (Hanh beef hotpot) on 95 Bui Thi Xuan Street is famous among locals. Beef bones are boiled for hours with vegetables for the broth while the meat is carefully chosen to have both fat and lean parts.

Beef slide in hot pot

They also serve beef tendon salad to eat with sesame rice pie and chili sauce. Dishes here cost VND180,000 - 350,000 ($8-15). Lau bo Hanh opens daily from 10 AM to 10 PM.

Grilled chicken

At 14 Tran Hung Dao Street, next to Violet Cafe is a small grill stand that opens from 3 PM to 8:30 PM. However, its signature roasted chili chicken sells out very soon.

A whole chicken marinated in hours, roasted on organic embers

Fish porridge

Dinh An Lake in Hiep An commune, Duc Trong District, 13 kilometers from Da Lat, is a regular weekend haunt for locals. Locals visit here to fish, relax and eat delicious snakehead fish.

Snakehead fish porridge at Van Son Thuy restaurant next to Dinh An Lake

Fish porridge is one of the must-eat dishes for tourists on a cold winter’s day or a rainy day in Da Lat. Fish dishes at Van Son Thuy next to the lake cost VND120-350 ($5-15).

Da Lat is also famous for banh trang nuong (Vietnamese pizza), rice noodles with chicken, banh can (mini pancakes), avocado ice cream, Ba Toa beef hot pot and more.

Avocado ice-cream