Pho (rhymes with fur) is hands down the most popular Vietnamese food. It is a soup with rice noodles, herbs and meat (usually beef, but can also be chicken or pork). You can find it practically everywhere, be it in fancy restaurants or roadside stalls. I would say the roadside pho tastes better. They serve you the noodle soup in a bowl, and raw vegetables on a separate plate. Bottles of condiments are placed on the table, so that you can tailor-make the pho to suit your personal taste and spice tolerance.
Vietnamese people have this fascinating outdoor-dining culture. Especially at night, the sidewalks would be filled with small plastic tables and chairs--the type that you would see in kindergartens or daycare centers. The chairs are so small and low, you'd almost be squatting on the ground. At night they would hang out in groups to nibble on sunflower seeds and drink sugar cane juice or beer. In the morning they eat noodles.
I liked pho so much that I didn't even get to try the other food Vietnam had to offer. I ordered pho every time I squatted down for a meal.
