What a stroke of luck to have my first ever alcohol-free holiday in Vietnam. I hadn’t planned it this way at all, but it turns out there are dozens of delicious drinks options for the sober traveller in this South East Asian country.
By the way, when drinking, especially beer, Vietnamese people say ‘MỘT, HAI, BA, VÔ! which means ‘one two three, drink!’ It’s actually pronounced: Mot, Hai, Ba, YO!“ Cheers!
Pre-orders for my memoir ‘Going Under’ will be opening soon. I will pop links here when they are open.
This books took me a few years to write and publish, through my friend Jane Curry at Ventura Press. Getting very nervous now!
There are some specialist tea houses and coffee shops in Hoi An, but most cafes offer many options.
Coffee! I had no idea that coffee was grown widely in Vietnam and is a major export. And coffee is a major drawcard at cafes and tea houses throughout the country.
This is an egg coffee… it took a few days to pluck up the courage to try one and I can’t say it’s an experience I shall be repeating. There’s raw egg whisked into the coffee, it tastes a bit like an eggy custardy pudding. Must be tried, of course.
Iced coffee is widely available and super refreshing in the hotter parts of the country. The hot filer coffee on the right was very strong and very tasty.
This one is a coconut coffee, the coconut cream is whipped, that’s the white stuff in the glass. It really was good, think of it as a dessert more than a drink.
The Reaching Out Teahouse in Hoi An is run and managed by the deaf community as a social enterprise. It’s the most calm and tranquil spot and so pretty too.
Check out how many different teas and coffees are available at Reaching Out.
Here we have pandan tea, made from the leaves of this tropical shrub, pandanus amaryllifolius. This snack and drink was served to us Chu Chi Tunnels, outside Ho Chi Minh City. This was a typical meal for the Viet Cong soldiers who lived in the tunnels. The taro root served with peanuts went well with the tea, simple but satisfying.
More pandan tea in the Mekong Delta
It’s always surprising to me how refreshing a hot tea can be in hot weather
Enjoying a tonic at the Heart of Darkness brewery in Ho Chi Minh City, sadly they have not yet woken up to the idea of brewing AF beer.
Who knew that there would be all sorts of cool craft breweries in Vietnam? Not me… myself and my husband visited a couple of them, and my drink of choice was generally a tonic water. Paul enjoyed a few ales.
You will not run out of options for fruit and veggie juices!
This was mango, apple and orange, I think. Delicious!
A fruit mocktail at our hotel in Ho Chi Minh City.
We met up with friends at the luxurious Mango Mango restaurant in Hoi An. When asked which mocktails they had, the waitress asked us just to choose any cocktail from their long list and she’s make it into a mocktail.
This was a mojito from their list, with heaps of ginger and lime. Scintillating!
So, there you go. There’s absolutel no shortage of cool drinks to enjoy in Vietnam, you can definitely find drinks that are interesting, cause a taste sensation to the tongue and that feel like treats.
