10 Best Restaurants in Mekong Delta, Vietnam

Located across from Vinh Trang Pagoda, the setting of this charming vegan restaurant is basic but pleasant, and while the service is not the fastest, the food is truly delicious. Note that the English menu lists meat dishes, but they use imitation, soy-based "meats." The house specialty is the vegan Thai-style sour-and-spicy hotpot (lau Thai Lan); the braised vegetables in claypot (rau cu kho) is also a stand-out dish.

Across the road from the marina, this small, neat, and cozy café is a good place to stop for a coffee, ice cream, milk shake, or smoothie, as well as light meals such as sandwiches, burgers, and Vietnamese dishes.

A central location on Long Beach's main strip, an eclectic assortment of recycled furniture and antiques, friendly owners, and terrific Arabica coffee beans from Dalat are more than enough reasons to choose this creatively decorated nook. Look for their mobile cart on the beach behind the café, where they do sunset pop-ups.

This modern café has an eclectic menu of Korean and Japanese-influenced dishes, including ramen and bi bim bap, as well as pizza and Thai food.

There are two parts to the night market, one section selling clothes and tourist items and the other serving sweet and savory treats from a variety of carts, with vendors who are well versed in the point-and-nod style of ordering. Most of the food can be munched while strolling and is more of a snack than a meal. Stalls start appearing at around 6 pm each day.

From 5 pm on, a small outdoor market sets up shop along the riverside, where you can sit down on a little plastic stool with the locals and enjoy beer, grilled meat and seafood, and even hotpot.

A basic eatery that attracts a good mix of tourists and locals, Truong Van serves standard but tasty noodle soup, spring rolls, fish soup, and grilled beef in a sweet-and-sour sauce. Vegetarians can tuck into mixed sautéed vegetables (cauliflower, baby corn, red and green peppers, morning glory) over wok-fried noodles. Toast to your trip with Saigon beer and finish on a sweet note with the excellent banana pancakes.

There are several chain-type dining outlets inside Vincom Xuan Khanh, a multilevel shopping mall and cinema adjacent to Sheraton Can Tho. Level 4 is where most of the eateries are, as well as an indoor kids' play center. Choices include Thai BBQ Buffet, GoGi House (Korean), Kichi-Kichi (Japanese), and dim sum/Chinese restaurant chain Crystal Jade Kitchen.

Make your way through the bustling local market to the food section at breakfast or lunchtime to find something cheap, authentic, and delicious such as banh uot, which translates literally as "wet cakes," steamed rice sheets topped with barbecued pork patties, pickled vegetables, and a tangy dressing. The market stalls start packing up at around 4 pm.

Pull up a stool at this sidewalk restaurant and pop open a Saigon beer while you look to see what the locals are eating. Chau Doc is all about seafood, and you can't go wrong with clay pot fish—unless you don't like fish sauce, in which case go for clay pot pork, with juices that taste great over white rice. There's not a lot for vegetarians, but the plates of sautéed vegetables—morning glory, baby corn, banana flowers—flavored with coriander go well with rice, and there is a vegetable soup.