What to Eat on Phu Quoc, Hour by Hour

noodle stalls open: 06:00
most have closed: 10:00
grills start: 17:00
flavours in everything: 2

Early morning, roughly 06:00 - 09:30

Breakfast is the meal Phu Quoc takes most seriously in the street, and it is mostly noodles. Stalls set up before sunrise, sell until the pots run out and then close. If you sleep in, you miss them.

Bun quayThe island's own noodle and the one dish to look for. A cook presses fresh rice batter through a mould straight into a boiling pot, so the noodles are made in front of you, then adds seafood paste dumplings and a light broth. The ritual is the sauce: before the bowl comes, you mix your own dip from salt, pepper, sugar, lime, chilli and fish sauce at the table.

Banh canhThick, chewy noodles in a clear seafood broth, often with fish cake or crab. Softer and heavier than bun quay - a good second breakfast.

Bun kenRice noodles under a fish and coconut milk sauce, eaten with shredded green papaya and herbs. A dish of this stretch of the southern coast that you rarely meet elsewhere in the country.

Banh mi and sticky riceThe fast options. Neighbourhood bakeries and rice sellers feed people on their way to work.

CoffeeStrong, dripped through a small metal filter, usually over ice with condensed milk. Cafes fill up from early morning.

The morning session of the Scooter Bites food tour starts at 07:00 precisely because this is when the good stalls are at their best.

The middle of the day, roughly 10:00 - 16:00

Late morning to mid-afternoon is the slow part of the day for street food. It is hot, many stalls have closed, and people eat rice-based lunches indoors: com, rice with a choice of dishes from a counter, a soup and greens. It is good, cheap, filling food, but it is not what the island is known for.

This is the obvious window for a cooking class. The morning Roll & Brew session ends with lunch at noon. It is also the time for fruit: whatever is in season at the market, eaten cold, or blended into a smoothie with ice.

Evening, from about 17:00

As the heat drops the grills come out, and the island's seafood takes over. Evening is when Phu Quoc eats the things it is famous for.

Goi ca trichA herring salad: the raw fish is cured with lime and mixed with shredded coconut, onion and herbs. You roll it yourself at the table in rice paper with lettuce and dip it. Probably the most typical island dish of all.

Grilled sea urchinHalved and grilled in the shell over charcoal, with scallion oil and crushed peanuts. Eaten with a small spoon.

Ham Ninh crabBlue swimmer crab from the village of Ham Ninh on the east coast, steamed or grilled, eaten with salt, pepper and lime.

Grilled squid and shellfishWhatever the boats brought in, priced by weight. Agree the weight and the price before it goes on the grill.

CheA cold sweet soup of beans, jelly, fruit and coconut milk, in a glass or a bowl. The usual way to finish.

The Night Bites session runs from 18:00 to 21:00 through exactly these hours.

The two flavours in everything

Fish sauce. Phu Quoc has made fish sauce from anchovies, fermented with salt in large wooden vats, for generations, and the island's name on a bottle carries weight in Vietnam. It goes into dipping sauces, marinades and dressings. Good fish sauce smells strong in the bottle and tastes rounded rather than harsh in food.

Black pepper. Pepper vines grow on posts across the island's red-earth farms. Ground fresh, it goes on almost everything savoury, and salt, pepper and lime is the standard dip for seafood.

Both are why vegetarian eating here takes some planning: fish sauce is in a lot of food you would not expect. The diet page deals with this.

Ordering and paying

Street stalls usually make one or two things. You sit down and say how many; the menu is what is in the pot.
Seafood restaurants price by weight. Ask the price per kilo, watch it weighed, and agree the total before cooking.
Herbs, lime and chilli on the table are free. Wet towels in plastic and peanuts often are not.
Tipping is not expected at street stalls. Rounding up is appreciated.

A street table with herbs, lime, chilli and small dipping bowls — Herbs, lime and chilli come free; you season at the table.

Common questions

Questions travellers ask most

What is the one dish to try on Phu Quoc?

For breakfast, bun quay, where you mix your own sauce. For dinner, goi ca trich, the herring salad rolled in rice paper.

When do street food stalls open?

Breakfast stalls from about six in the morning until mid-morning; evening grills from about five. The middle of the day is quiet.

Is the seafood safe to eat?

Busy places that cook in front of you are the safest bet. Eat seafood where it is grilled or boiled to order, and skip anything that has been sitting out in the heat.