Xôi gà - sticky rice chicken

xôi gà at the (street) restaurants with mung bean  milk (right corner above)

Xôi stands for sticky rice, gà is the chicken part. It is sticky rice served with chicken meat pulled from the bones. It is full of flavours and different textures, a great example of a typical Vietnamese party-in-your-mouth dish. Just perfect for lunch or as a big snack to survive the last hours before dinner.

Bún riêu cua - tomato crab noodle soup

Bún riêu cua, crab tomato noodle soup

Outside Vietnam, bún may be lesser known than its brother phở, the flat rice noodle, but within the boarders of this country full of fresh flavours, you will see far more dishes with bún than phở. It seems to be more versatile; served not only in soup, but also without soup base as a cold noodle salad (bún thịt nướng, with bbq meat), or inside fresh rice paper rolls (gỏi cuốn) or just "dry" with sauce on the side to dip in (like bún cha cá lã vong, with fried fish & dill).

This restaurant is a nice place to explore a in-soup version, bún riêu cua and a "dry" with dipping sauce version, bún chả.

Cơm Gà - Chicken rice

Rice with shredded chicken, cơm gà xé (above), and rice with roasted chicken, cơm gà quay (below)

There's a restaurant that sells great chicken rice. Simple and nice, with kind of salad on the side (slices of cucumber). It is opened for lunch and dinner till late night, but I am not sure about the mornings. The dishes are available the whole day, but only in the evening they serve a bowl of soup  along your order and something I would refer as the Vietnamese take on Kimchi; a lightly pickled cabbage that taste like its mixed with some sweet chili sauce. Try the rice with shredded chicken, cơm gà xé (the dish on the upper part of the picture) or rice with crunchy roasted chicken, cơm gà quay.