Food and Drink

The fundamental word of choice here is SEAFOOD, and in Nha Trang there is an overabundance of restaurants offering the freshest catch from the city’s fleet of blue and red fishing boats. Options range from the innumerable restaurants in the tourist hub, grilled seafood at street stalls, and 5-star dining at reasonable prices (compared to back home). There are also outlying restaurants for those who wish to experience dishes with local flavors at lower costs. It’s hard to go out without encountering the many varieties of fish, prawn, lobster, and crab that abound in this seafood lovers paradise.

Being the Mecca for domestic tourists has also produced restaurants serving Vietnamese cuisine that can rival any found in the big cities. Grilled beef, hot pots, soups, and the inevitable seafood are the staples, and there are also some good vegetarian options around town. Vietnamese tourists rave about Nha Trang’s incredible variety of shell fish. The markets offer exotic fruit, home-made Asian sweets, and western style munchies. In the tourist area you’ll find excellent international cuisine, such as Italian, Japanese, French, Korean, Indian, Russian, Mexican, Malaysian, Chinese, and all the western standards, like the infallible burgers and chips.

Regional Agriculture

While most of the country’s foodstuffs tend to grow in greater abundance at the higher altitudes, Khanh Hoa province produces most of what it uses locally. Rice, sugar cane, corn, and most leafy vegetables grow in small farms in the countryside just outside of the city. Lemongrass, chili peppers, and all of the key spices are also produced regionally.