Discover the Top 9 Affordable Street Foods Making Waves in Nam Dinh

A local specialty, Giao Thuy Rolled Pork, has been a timeless delight, cherished not only for its flavor but also for its unique preparation method.

This dish consists of finely diced pig's ears, skin, and fat mixed with fragrant roasted rice powder, a hint of minced garlic, lime leaves, wrapped in sung leaves, tied with straws, and accompanied by dipping sauce made from Sa Chau fish sauce expertly balanced between sweet and sour.

Occasionally, the locals of Giao Thuy also incorporate sea ingredients like jellyfish or clams instead of pig's ears and skin.

Both exotic and enticing, rolled pork has deeply embedded itself in the hearts of the people of Nam Dinh as a traditional delicacy. During special occasions, it's customary to find each household laying out a serving of rolled pork on their dining tables, enriching the meal with familial warmth and intimacy.

Banh mi, a familiar Vietnamese delicacy, varies in taste across regions. In Nam Dinh, there's a beloved type known as Banh mi Pate from Do Quan Bridge.

The bread here is always crispy, baked in an oven rather than flattened by a press machine. The pate is fragrant and incredibly rich, if you can't handle fat, make sure to ask the lady to skip it. The bread's core is deepened to hold more filling. The shredded pork here is always succulent with a perfect balance of meat and fat. The homemade fried shallots add an exceptional crunch and aroma. Paired with pickled papaya, it's a burst of sweet and sour.

A loaf of bread costs 15,000 VND but is slightly smaller. If you want to be full, order two. When in Nam Dinh, don't miss out on this dish.

Mini puff pastries might sound unfamiliar unless you're from Nam Dinh. Even locals might struggle to recall when these cute little pastries first appeared. Yet, somehow, they've become one of the standout delicacies, deeply intertwined with daily life here. The humble pastry resembles a fried bun but with a baked filling, encased in a crust akin to Soc Trang's pia cakes.

The main ingredients are primarily flour, meat, eggs, flour, and a few distinctive spices. Mini puff pastries with their petite appearance draw inspiration from familiar Chinese dishes that have been passed down for generations. Besides their enticing flavor, these pastries offer ample nutrition, with a balance of starch, protein from the meat and eggs, making them ideal for breakfast or afternoon snacks. Each pastry costs between 8,000 to 10,000 VND.

Currently, to savor these delights, tourists can head to Hoang Van Thu Street, Tran Hung Dao Street, or Le Hong Phong Street. With their affordable prices and nutritious content, mini puff pastries have become a quintessential snack for both past and present residents of Nam Dinh.

Nam Dinh Sweet Rice Ice Cream combines traditional sticky rice that's both tender and savory, paired with a spoonful of icy cold cream that tantalizes the taste buds. This dish is surprisingly perfect. The rice is served with a refreshing, mildly sweet coconut cream and dried young coconut pieces, adding a unique twist.

A famous spot for sweet rice ice cream in Nam Dinh is located near the Tran Hung Dao Statue, on Nguyen Du Street. You can buy your ice cream and head to the square to enjoy it. The shop not only offers sweet rice ice cream but also mini puff pastries, pomelo sweet soup, and more, all delicious. If you're in Nam Dinh, be sure to visit this place to try the sweet rice ice cream.

Unlike Hanoi's pillow cakes, Nam Dinh pillow cakes exude the culinary style of the Chinese. If you've ever been to Nam Dinh, you can't forget the flavor of pillow cakes here. The golden, crispy pillow cakes neatly arranged on trays always catch people's attention, drawing them in. Though simple and easy to make, there's a secret that sets them apart from any other pillow cakes in other regions.

Nam Dinh pillow cakes are made from nem wrapper mixed with flour, making them soft and not as greasy as those in Hanoi. This is a familiar dish for school children. Because the price of this dish is affordable for them and nutritious, it's often favored for gatherings or class meetings.

Enjoying a pillow cake with some slices of pickled papaya, mixed with sweet chili sauce, you'll have a wonderful meal. Pillow cakes are mostly sold at the entrances of schools on Bac Ninh Street, Nguyen Du Street, 'Ms. Nguyet's pillow cakes', 'Ms. Mai's pillow cakes' are always familiar spots for students when school ends.

If you ask where to eat grilled chicken feet in Nam Dinh, the young locals will immediately tell you about Quang Trung. This is a famous snack in Nam Dinh and is still favored by many people.

Quang Trung's Grilled Chicken Feet 97 is truly worth your time to taste the renowned grilled chicken feet. The chicken feet served here are carefully selected, fresh and safe.
The feet are marinated with aromatic spices, grilled until they're tender, fragrant, and piping hot. They're crispy, juicy, best enjoyed with a glass of cold tea or beer.

The dipping sauce for the grilled chicken feet is also delicious, spicy, but if you don't eat spicy food, you can ask the owner to reduce the chili. The intense aroma of the spices along with the fatty, succulent feet gives the sensation of eating a special piece of cheese.

Nam Dinh Green Bean Cakes, or commonly known as 'lục tàu xá,' is a traditional dessert of Nam Dinh. This dish originates from Chinese cuisine, bearing some resemblance to 'bánh trôi nước' (floating cake) often mentioned in folktales.

The main ingredient of green bean cakes is finely ground mung beans. According to ancestral wisdom, mung beans have cooling properties, detoxify, relieve heat, fever, and have a purifying effect (removing impurities from the body), making them a highly effective remedy. Combined with mung beans is 'trần bì,' a type of dried orange peel with a bitter taste, aiding digestion and clearing phlegm and bronchial tubes. Finally, roasted peanuts add a fragrant, nutty flavor to the mouth when eaten. That's the unique characteristic of this dish compared to other familiar dishes we know.

A famous spot for delicious Nam Dinh Green Bean Cakes is the shop on Mac Thi Buoi Street, tucked away in a narrow alley reminiscent of Hanoi's old quarter. The shop is small, run by an elderly lady with extensive experience in making green bean cakes. Although it's just green bean cakes, the way the lady prepares them makes the cakes irresistibly delicious.

When it comes to Nam Dinh Clear Shrimp Dumplings, perhaps you immediately think of those fragrant shrimp-filled cakes from Hanoi or Hue. But no, Nam Dinh Clear Shrimp Dumplings are different, with only minced meat and wood ear mushrooms as the filling. Compared to other types of clear dumplings in other regions, those in Nam Dinh are larger. After steaming, they are lightly fried in oil. The fried dumplings are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. When dipped in sweet and sour fish sauce with pickled green papaya, the flavor is both delicious and unique.

Nam Dinh Clear Shrimp Dumplings have long been regarded as a delicious dish and have become an integral part of the local culinary culture. If you haven't tried this delicious dish made from clear dumplings, you can visit the super delicious clear dumpling shops on Truong Chinh Street in Nam Dinh city.

A favorite snack of young people is mixed rice paper. Mixed Rice Paper by Mrs. Nhung is one of the famous addresses in Nam Dinh. The menu is very simple, consisting of mixed rice paper, grilled rice paper, rolled rice paper, grilled eggs, etc. The prices of these dishes are very cheap, ranging from 10,000 VND to 20,000 VND, and you can already feel full. This is a place you should keep in mind when looking for snack spots in Nam Dinh.

Mixed Rice Paper by Mrs. Nhung is delicious and satisfying, with crispy grilled rice paper. Every afternoon is an ideal gathering place for students. The shop opens in the evening and closes around 10 pm. So if you want to enjoy this famous Nam Dinh mixed rice paper, remember to come during that time frame. Mrs. Nhung's mixed rice paper shop used to be at the entrance of the nursing school, now it's moved to the alley next to Mymy souvenir shop at 148 Han Thuyen.