Readers of the world’s leading food magazine Taste Atlas have voted Vietnamese cuisine the 22th best in the world, putting it above neighbors like Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines.
In Southeast Asia, Vietnamese cuisine was only behind Indonesia's, ranked 6th and Thailand’s at 17th position in the ranking of the cuisines of 100 countries and territories based on audience votes for ingredients, dishes and beverages.
In this year's annual Taste Atlas rankings, a total of 395,205 dish ratings and 115,660 food product ratings were considered to determine the top culinary experiences.
Italy topped the list of the world's best cuisines, followed by Japan, Greece and Portugal.
The magazine recommended that visitors to Vietnam try some of the nation's highest-rated foods, including pho (noodle soup), banh mi (Vietnamese baguette) and banh xeo (crispy pancakes), as well as famed local products like Phu Quoc fish sauce and Phan Thiet dragon fruit.
Two Vietnamese dishes, meat-filled banh mi and pho bo (beef noodle soup) were named among the 100 best dishes in the world at the annual rankings.
Banh mi consists of cold cuts and vegetables such as coriander, cucumber, pickled carrots, and daikon, and condiments from French cuisine such as pate and mayonnaise. It can be easily found everywhere in Vietnam from large metropolises to rural villages as it is not only a popular breakfast/lunch/dinner to local people, but also a beloved street food by many foreign visitors.
Beef noodle soup originates from Hanoi but has become a national dish praised by international media for years now.
The noodle soup uses various cuts of beef for the broth and different main ingredients, including brisket, flank, eye-round steak, tripe, and beef balls in southern Vietnam.
U.S. news site Business Insider earlier listed banh mi and pho in a list of 60 dishes to try at least once in a lifetime.
Vietnam’s cuisine reputation has achieved global spotlight this year.
In June, four Vietnamese restaurants - Hibana by Koki, Gia and Tam Vi in Hanoi and Anăn Saigon in Ho Chi Minh City - were recognized with one Michelin Star for the first time for the high-quality cooking and outstanding culinary experience they offer.
The Rhythms and Cloud Nine in Hanoi then were voted on a list of the 25 best fine dining restaurants in Asia by Tripadvisor readers at the 2023 Travellers' Choice 'Best of the Best' Restaurants Awards.
Hum - Healthy Veggies Delights in Ho Chi Minh City has recently been named among the world’s 25 best vegetarian restaurants by readers of Tripadvisor.