Must-try Vietnamese drinks

In summers, a Vietnamese drink, especially beer, hardly goes without ice.  That stems from a fact of hot-and-steamy climate of Vietnam. In that kind of weather, a soft drink or warm beer doesn’t really hit the spot.

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However, you should pay attention to the ice in the interest of hygiene because in Vietnam, your diarrhea is the problem of your choice to consume, not the responsibility of the restaurant owner. As a rule of thumb, if the ice served to you has a hole in it, it’s been made by a machine and is likely to be safe.

You can’t be sure about crushed ice as it runs the risk of having been a large block of ice, maybe touched by human hands. If your system is sensitive or that’s the first time you sample foreign foods and drinks, avoid crushed ice.

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Let’s continue with our list of must-try drinks in Vietnam.

Nước sâm (Herbal Tea)

The Chinese concept of medicine foods and drinks seems to apply to Nuoc Sam as it’s claimed to have ‘cooling’ properties.  This sweet and nutty Vietnamese herbal tea, usually served over ice, is perfect to sip on a steamy day. The basic Nuoc Sam recipe comprises sugar cane, corn silk, nettle leaves, grass roots. That can be an illustration of the Vietnamese aversion to wasting anything. Dried longan can be added to the drinks to make a fun variation.

Where to try Nước Sâm Cô Ba, 3 Đinh Tiên Hoàng – Điện Biên Phủ, Q.1, Ho Chi Minh City.

Nước mía (sugar cane juice)

On a sweltering hot day, it’s great to have a glass of this cooling, crips and grassy juice.  In order to squeeze the juice, street vendors run stalks of sugar cane through electric squashing machines. The finished product is usually mixed with juice from calamansi which balances the strongly sweet tasted of sugar cane. That’s just perfect drink to quench your thirst.

Where to try 39 Hàng Vải Street, Hanoi.

Trà a-ti-sô (Artichoke tea)

There are two versions of this tea both of which are served with ice – the intensely bitter black tea brewed from the artichoke stems and the sweetened yellowish version made from the artichoke flower. The former version are widely loved thanks to its sweet and nutty flavor. These artichoke teas are believed to  have detoxifying and liver-cleansing properties. That somehow explains they are go-to drinks for hungover Vietnamese men