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VIETNAM

Vietnam is famous for its breathtaking natural landscapes, as well as its rich history and culture, such as the ancient town of Hoi An. The country is also renowned for its delicious cuisine, especially pho, banh mi, and spring rolls, and its vibrant street food scene.

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HO CHI MINH CITY

De Tham Restaurant

De Tham restaurant was the first place we went to in Vietnam and the server was so friendly, he helped with the menu and even let me take a photo of his Vietnamese GF card! I ordered a fried rice with melted cheese on top, it was actually a bit weird but I'm not really sure what I expected! 

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Den Long Home Cooked Vietnamese

This restaurant had lots of reviews regarding gluten free, so I had fairly high expectations and was quite excited but I was rather disappointed. They had a whole GF menu which is great, my dish was just rather plain and uninteresting. The service was also really slow, but they did recognise this and gave us complementary desserts which was a lovely touch. 

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Bamboo Restaurant

We did a Cu Chi Tunnels tour and on the way back to Ho Chi Minh, the bus dropped us off at this restaurant. I had very low expectations that there would be anything I could eat but I was very pleasantly surprised. They were brilliant with GF and I was able to have a beef pho and it was dirt cheap as well. 

O Tinh House

By far the best place we went to in Ho Chi Minh for gluten free. They have a cool GF menu with four options but they can also adapt other dishes on the main menu to suit. Food was really fresh and delicious; we had rice cakes with shrimp floss and a cool rice noodle dish.

HOI AN

Miss Ly

Miss Ly is an amazing restaurant. We went three times we loved it so much! The whole menu is gluten free, bar the (two) wonton dishes. If you want to try the two dishes that are unique to Hoi An only - cao Lau and white rose dumplings, then I highly recommend Miss Ly. The staff are great, so friendly and helpful. 

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Cao Lau is a regional Vietnamese dish which is famous for its chewy, thick noodles, pork and crispy pork crackling. ​

 

White rose dumplings are also a regional specialty and are known for their delicate rose-like shape and translucent rice paper wrappers. The filling is often shrimp, pork and vegetables. 

Vietnamese Chopsticks

This place is so underrated. There wasn't much in the way of gluten free reviews on google so I was hoping for the best but the chef was brilliant. The initial server wasn't too sure about gluten free but understood my Vietnamese GF card and called the chef to assist me. He went through the whole menu with me and told me what items had soy sauce / gluten in them. I was able to have white rose dumplings, a gorgeous tofu curry cooked in a clay pot and some veg spring rolls. 

The chef was so kind he even delivered some food himself to our hotel when Marcel was very poorly, legend! 

Mate Restaurant

I'm so glad we went to this restaurant, it was a last minute decision as we had to catch our bus to Hanoi that evening. This place is an awesome Vietnamese / Chinese fusion restaurant that has a massive gluten free menu and dedicated fryer for coeliacs! We had crispy honey soy chicken and sweet and sour chicken. The portions were generous but it wasn't overly pricey either.

The staff were so friendly, it started pouring while we were there and because we were on a moped, the server went to get us a poncho from a few doors down!

Bun Cha Ta Hoi An

Bun cha is a classic Vietnamese dish,  featuring grilled pork and noodles. The dish typically includes grilled pork patties and slices of fatty pork belly, served with a side of rice noodles, fresh herbs, and a dipping sauce. We came here and had a lovely meal, followed by egg coffee for dessert - yummy!

Dingo Deli 

Dingo Deli is a a certified GF place that does western food, GF pizzas and also a selection of GF snacks. I ordered a GF sandwich that wasn't great at all, if I'm honest. That being said, they did have a wide range of GF snacks and also their own Vietnamese GF card which you could take - I thought this was a great idea! 

HANOI

Hanoi Fusion

This was a lovely restaurant and staff were very helpful in navigating the menu for gluten free options. Lovely selection of cocktails too.

Tung's Restaurant

We popped into this restaurant on a bit of a whim but the staff were friendly and the waiter was able to tell me what was GF and what wasn't. I had a lovely fragrant fried rice. 

Ma Xó Cafe

A lovely small western-style café in Hanoi with a range of GF options. I had a potato fritter with poached eggs and a mint, feta and avocado salad. A nice place to read, chill or even work remotely. 

HA GIANG LOOP

We went to Ha Giang to do the Ha Giang Loop. There was one place we went to the night before and after finishing the loop called Pizza Here. Owned and run by a Spanish guy who now lives in Ha Giang with his Vietnamese wife. They only do GF pasta (not pizza) but it is really tasty and highly recommended before a busy and hectic few days in the Vietnamese mountains! Portions are on the small side.

We did the Ha Giang Loop with Bong Hostel, which we thoroughly enjoyed - one of the highlights of our whole trip! In terms of being gluten free, I just let my team leader know and he would point out at mealtimes what was gluten free. Although most of the time I was just eyeballing it and making an educated guess which I found fairly easy as most meals were all family style and identical. 

I would imagine most of the loop tours are similar with regards to the food offerings. My advice is to let them know in advance and let your team leader know as soon as you get assigned one. Oftentimes, the team leader will be pretty well-versed when it comes to dietary requirements and be a strong English speaker - as opposed to the individual easy-riders. One thing I would recommend doing is taking some GF snacks like cereal bars or even some mixed nuts - just to have on hand. 

So if you're wondering whether to do the Ha Giang Loop as a GF person, you must! It was the one of the best things we did, an unforgettable experience.

 

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