Travel Tips to Vietnam: How to Feed Finicky Kids in Saigon (and still eat well)

There were great tips that people shared in response to the recent piece on travel tips to Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City). I also received some questions via email but one message this morning got me thinking about traveling to a foreign country with children, particularly those with special needs. Most people I know of have gone overseas when their children are either babies or in their late teens and older. The rationale being that it is easier to cater to their needs or they can take care of themselves.

Ellen posed this question:

We are going to Vietnam for the first time over the holidays and have been reading your website, which is marvelous. Sadly we will only be in Vietnam for just for a few days on the way back from Thailand -and only to Saigon/Mekong area. We are already planning a return visit dedicated just to Vietnam, we are that sure that we will like it.
 
We have two sons, 13 and 11. To say that they have white-bread palates is an understatement. The 11 year old also has autism, so that adds a layer of complexity to travel. I want them to eat local and as native as two Irish/German New Englanders can. Any suggestions? They are not seafood eaters. I want to keep them out of fast food! I have some ideas from your Saigon article, but any place you can think of that might satisfy culinarily-challenged kids would be great...  restaurants, grocery/food market items, types of foods,  etc would be welcome.

Hmmm… as adults, traveling to a foreign country presents both opportunities and challenges. Where to go and what to eat? How to eat safely? When you are traveling with children, particularly those who are finicky or are special needs children, special handling is required. Here are some suggestions and strategies for authentic eating in Vietnam:

Many thanks to Suzanne for sending this photo in!

Prep the kids in advance and start young! If possible, introduce them to Vietnamese classics, such a pho noodle soup before you leave your home country.  That way, they will not suffer culture shock upon arrival. (Ellen and her family will be in Thailand first so that is part of the advance preparation!) To illustrate, the photo above is of a 22-month-old toddler eating a bowl of homemade pho; it was sent in my his Vietnamese American mom, Suzanne (remember the post, Generation Gap: Why some Asian elders bug me?). Here's a tip from when I was a kid: If the bowl of pho is too hot for your child, add an ice cube to the bowl to cool it down. That's how I got trained!

Vietnamese food is a hybrid cuisine. It’s an amalgam of East and West, which means that to eat like a native would include enjoying goodies like banh mi baguette sandwiches. To engage and encourage kids to enjoy Vietnamese food, explain it to them in a culturally relevant manner. With regard to banh mi baguette sandwiches – they are like Vietnamese hoagies! When you go to buy one at a place like Nhu Lan deli in Saigon, talking to the gal at the banh mi station is like placing an order at Subway. The bread is baked on the spot and you get to make the call on what you want it in!

In Saigon, go to Givral in District 1 (across from the Continental Hotel) and get a French pastry (such as croissant) from the case; parents can order Vietnamese noodle soup. Try one of the Pho 24 outposts in Vietnam for pho noodle soup. They have a small menu, you can watch the staff make each bowl, and you can examine the various toppings at the open kitchen up front. Get coffee or a smoothie at one of the many coffee houses in Saigon. Places like Trung Nguyen and Gloria Jean's are modeled after Starbucks. There are ice cream shops in Saigon. such as Fanny Ice Cream, and it’s fun to go there in the middle of the heat and get scoops of chocolate, red bean or even durian ice cream! These are all authentic Vietnamese spots and they will be accessible to families.

Vietnamese cuisine is the have-it-your-way cuisine. Let kids play with the food. They can tinker all they want with squirts of lime, shots of chile sauce, leaves of fresh herb, etc. Each mouthful can be varied. There are no rules to eating, just parameters. Or maybe they won’t want to tinker all and that’s okay too.

Eat at off-times. Despite a restaurant looking dead, it is open for business. Vietnamese people – particularly those in Saigon – are hardworking entrepreneurs. When you want to eat, someone will feed you! Consider going late morning, mid-afternoon or early evening to places like Quan An Ngon or Banh Xeo 46a. Such eateries are not as busy then and you can get the staff’s attention. For finicky and special needs children, they can peruse the open kitchens at those restaurants and roam a bit without causing too much trouble.

Choose mellow, casual restaurants. Vietnamese people are by and large, very easy going. They pretty much leave you alone at a restaurant, but tend to over fuss at formal dining establishments (read: those with tablecloths). So if your kids need space to do their own thing, the more formal joints may not be suitable.

Vietnamese people love children. They always enjoy seeing a family together, especially one enjoying Vietnamese food. So dive in and don’t be afraid to ask questions or even point and gesticulate. If your child wants something in particular, there’s likely to be someone willing to satisfy him/her.

Previous posts and discussion regarding travel to Vietnam include:

• Tips for getting a Vietnam travel visa
• How to eat safely and stay healthy while traveling in Vietnam
• Food souvenirs worth bringing back from Vietnam
• For addresses on most of the restaurants mentioned in this article, see Travel Tips to Saigon: Where to Go, What to Eat

Feel free to share your suggestions and/or personal experiences so as to assist Ellen and others traveling to Vietnam with kids!

Comments

[Mary]

We traveled to Hanoi with our then 5-year-old in 2007. We "practiced" eating at Vietnamese restaurants before we left and cooked Vietnamese at home regularly. At age five, food was as much about look as taste, so nearly any combination of rice or noodles with chicken usually worked fine, even if we sometimes found ourselves picking "weird" green bits, like scallion trimmings, off the chicken! She *loved* Pho 24 (we were leery about ice cubes at most restaurants, though). We also brought a few pairs of plastic children's chopsticks with us, and she'd eat things with her chopsticks she would never have touched with a fork. We never went anywhere that she wasn't fussed over and doted on, and that didn't hurt, either. Good baguettes and French bakery treats were never hard to find, so no one starved. I will admit, though, that our one trip to an Italian restaurant for pizza was met with out-loud cheers, so it was worth taking a quick break from local cuisine, even if the grown-ups were craving kho! Oh, we did buy familiar breakfast cereal in Hanoi and ate western breakfast nearly every morning just to start the day with a good attitude, which also helped. Note to Andrea: we never found garlicy noodles with Maggie seasoning at any restaurant, and two years later, we still get grief that we never ate the "best" food!

[Brian B.]

There is a small place in District 1 called Scoozi (or something like that) that has a pretty decent wood-fire pizza. On Sundays they have 2 for 1. That might be a good idea for kids. The only time we don't eat VN food is when we go there since my wife likes pizza. But I think Pho, Banh Mi etc. would be fun things for kids to eat. I'm hoping my baby daughter loves VN food because that is pretty much all we eat.

You're right about that VN people love kids. When you go out at night, the whole family comes. The kids might run around and go crazy, but nobody gets stressed out.

[CBien]

What about a white boyfriend that loves his American breakfast?!?! haha!

I've been to VN but my boyfriend is hesitant about going so I told him if need be, I will go out and buy oranges and make him fresh squeezed oj if he really misses that. Plus, I can easily buy fresh eggs for breakfast as well!! :-)

[Andrea Nguyen]

@Brian B: Great suggestion on the pizza spot. I recall one that was a take on California Pizza Kitchen that had a kids play area.

@CBien: I love my fried eggs (trung op la) for breakfast too! And, there are lots of freshly squeezed juices and smoothies sold by street vendors. Your white boyfriend would be happy.

[Ellen]

I posted the original question about finicky kids in Vietnam (and one with autism.) Well, we are here and nobody is starving. Some items have worked better than others but we have encouraged some new tastes and have only dipped into the peanut butter once! The people have been wonderful with the kids. Anybody know if there is a Vietnamese word for something similar to autism? I think that people are offended when he does not respond... they love his blond hair and blue eyes, apparently, but he does not respond to the attention and seems rude (which he isn't; he just can't really talk or handle being touched.)

The food is great. I agree with the person who said that by picking out little bits here and there (something "funny" in the rice, or a big chile in the soup they are doing fine. Great tips... thanks!

Love it and are planning a return trip already.

Many thanks. Ellen

[r4i]

Wow this is really great, i actually liked reading this blog, thanks a lot for sharing this with us, would love to see more information liked this.

[Ellen]

Ellen here, the one with the original question about kids and food... Many thanks to you all for your ideas. It made for a wonderful trip.

One more comment about traveling in Vietnam or anywhere with a special needs child. It takes a lot of preparation and willingness to abandon ship if something just can't be tolerated or is not working out. That said, it can be incredibly rewarding, especially when the people are as lovely and kind as the Vietnamese. So don't be discouraged if you have a similar situation; just do a lot of planning and be flexible.

Pho in modified form turned out to be a hit (yeah!) as did most noodle and spring rolls. The pastries were wonderful, and the fruits luscious. We did resort to a pizza place one night when our son was clearly in need of something familiar.... thanks for that tip. Sometimes we all just need what we are craving...

It was New Years and noise and fireworks really upset autistic kids, so I will take that into account for next year's trip because we were in District one in the thick of things (yes, we are going back; it was wonderful) and will be in a quieter area on New Years. The tastes of Vietnam were wonderful and now my kids are pushing me to get to the market and restaurant and get some pho or other favorites. And I have a trip to the Bay area next month and am going to run to the Slanted Door again ASAP. Will follow other directions from this great site as well.

Good job, everyone. Many thanks.

[Bathroom Shower Stall]

Thanks for the tips