Bot chien

Ho Chi Minh City's favorite street snack, bot chien is popular with both the after-school and the after-midnight crowd.

Chunks of rice flour dough are fried in a large wok until crispy, and then an egg is broken into the mix.

Once cooked, it's served with slices of papaya, shallots and green onions, before more flavor is added with pickled chili sauce and rice vinegar.

Banh mi

The French may have brought with them the baguette, but Vietnam takes it to a different level.

How, exactly, depends on what end of the country you're in.

In the north, chefs stick to the basic elements of carbohydrate, fat and protein -- bread, margarine and paté -- but head south and your banh mi may contain a more colorful combination of cheese, cold cuts, pickled vegetables, sausage, fried egg, fresh cilantro and chili sauce.

Goi cuon

These light and fresh spring rolls are a wholesome choice when you've been indulging in too much of the fried food in Vietnam.

The translucent parcels are first packed with salad greens, a sliver of meat or seafood and a layer of coriander, before being neatly rolled and dunked in Vietnam's favorite condiment -- fish sauce.

Not ready to give up on the fried ones?

In the north these fried parcels go by the name nem ran, while southerners call them cha gio.

The crispy shell surrounds a soft veggie and meat filling.

Banh xeo

A good banh xeo is a crispy crepe bulging with pork, shrimp and bean sprouts, plus the garnish of fresh herbs that are characteristic of most authentic Vietnamese dishes.

To enjoy one like a local, cut it into manageable slices, roll it up in rice paper or lettuce leaves and dunk it in whatever special sauce the chef has mixed up for you.

Pho

What list of Vietnamese cuisine would be complete without pho?

It's almost impossible to walk a block in Vietnam's major cities without bumping into a crowd of hungry patrons slurping noodles at a makeshift pho stand.

This simple staple, consisting of a salty broth, fresh rice noodles, a sprinkling of herbs and chicken or beef, features predominately in the local diet -- and understandably so.

It's cheap, tasty and widely available at all hours.