What to order at a Vietnamese restaurant, past the pho.

For two

A first-timer order for two.

• One soup each: pho, or bun bo Hue if you like it spicy. Our guide to how to eat pho covers the herbs and sauces.
• A starter to share: fresh spring rolls (goi cuon).
• One more to share: bun cha or com tam.
• Coffee: a ca phe sua da, iced coffee with condensed milk.

For a group

For four to six people.

• Starters: fresh spring rolls and fried spring rolls (cha gio).
• Something to wrap: banh xeo, the crisp turmeric pancake, eaten wrapped in lettuce and herbs.
• A family-style meal: bo luc lac (shaking beef), ca kho to (fish caramelised in a clay pot), canh chua (sour soup), a plate of stir-fried morning glory with garlic, and rice for everyone.
• Noodles: one bun thit nuong (grilled pork over rice noodles) for the table.
• To take away: a banh mi for tomorrow.

Cheat sheet

Eighteen Vietnamese dishes, in one line each.

At the table

Vietnamese table manners.

• Share from the middle. Dishes go in the centre; everyone helps themselves into their own bowl.
• Use the serving spoon, or the back end of your chopsticks, to take from shared plates — and don’t pile up from one dish.
• Lift your bowl. Bring the bowl close to your mouth rather than bending down to the table.
• Chopstick don’ts. Never leave them standing upright in rice — it looks like incense at a funeral — and don’t cross them.
• Nuoc cham is shared. Fish sauce with lime and chilli comes in small communal bowls for dipping.
• Elders first. Let older people start; when toasting someone older, hold your glass with both hands.
• Whoever invites, pays. Friends usually take turns treating rather than splitting.

Keep it

Your pho, ranked over time.

Everyone has a pho place, and most people have three. Snap each bowl in PlateDiary and it becomes a save with its own name and stars, filed under the restaurant. Put them in a collection called “Pho, ranked”, and the place pages show your usual at each — so next time you know which bowl to order where.