Eat your way north.

The south cooks sweeter, with more herbs on the side and more of everything on the plate.

• Cơm tấm35–60k

  Broken rice with a grilled pork chop, shredded pork skin, a slice of egg-and-pork loaf and sweet fish sauce. Farmers' food from the delta that became the city's staple. Any meal.

• Bánh mì20–35k

  A light, crackling baguette filled with pâté, pork, pickles, coriander and chilli. Breakfast or a snack.

• Phở40–70k

  Southern style: a sweeter broth, with a plate of bean sprouts, basil and lime to add, and hoisin and chilli sauce on the table.

• Bánh khọt

  Coin-sized rice-and-coconut cakes crisped in a mould with a prawn on each, wrapped in leaves. A Vung Tau dish eaten all over the south.

Fishing country, and the home of the country's most famous fish sauce.

• Bánh căn20–35k

  Rice batter baked in small clay moulds over charcoal, topped with egg, squid or prawn and dunked in a fish-stew sauce with green mango. Cham in origin. Breakfast or a snack.

• Lẩu thả150–250k a pot

  A pot for the table: fish, green mango, starfruit, omelette, herbs and rice paper with a tamarind and coconut broth. The fish is traditionally raw, so read the note on staying well. Evening.

Cool evenings at 1,500 metres make this a town of charcoal grills and hot bowls.

• Bánh tráng nướng

  A sheet of rice paper grilled over coals with egg, spring onion and whatever else is to hand. Often called Da Lat pizza. Evening snack.

• Bánh mì xíu mại

  A baguette for dipping into a small bowl of pork meatballs in hot broth. Breakfast.

Back at the sea, and the noodle soup turns to fish.

• Nem nướng35–80k

  Grilled pork sausage rolled in rice paper with a fried crisp, herbs and green mango, dipped in a peanut sauce. It comes from Ninh Hoa, just up the coast.

• Bún cá · bún sứa30–60k

  Rice noodles in a clear sea-fish broth with fish cake and, if you ask for it, jellyfish.

A quiet city with its own small, crisp take on the pancake.

• Bánh xèo tôm nhảy25–40k

  Hand-sized crisp pancakes of tiny river shrimp and bean sprouts, rolled in rice paper with green mango. Lunch or dinner.

• Bánh hỏi lòng heo20–40k

  Fine woven sheets of rice noodle with boiled pork offal, herbs and a bowl of porridge. Breakfast.

The Central Highlands: forest leaves, charcoal, and the coffee the whole country runs on.

• Gỏi lá

  Dozens of different forest leaves, whatever is in season, wrapped around pork, shrimp and pork skin with a fermented sticky-rice sauce. Kon Tum's signature.

• Gà nướng · cơm lamabout 200k a bird

  Chicken grilled over charcoal, with sticky rice cooked inside a length of bamboo.

• Phở khô

  Pleiku's "dry pho": the noodles in one bowl with pork and fried shallots, the broth in another.

An old port with a noodle found nowhere else.

• Cao lầu30–50k

  Thick, chewy noodles with five-spice pork, crisp noodle squares and herbs, and barely any broth. Local lore says they need water from one old well and ash from the Cham islands. Breakfast or lunch.

• Bánh mì

  Hoi An's version is the one Bourdain made famous. Every local has a favourite stall, and it is rarely the famous one.

You ride through on the way to the Hai Van Pass. Stop for lunch.

• Mì Quảng25–40k

  Wide turmeric-yellow noodles with just a little strong broth, pork, shrimp or chicken, peanuts and a sesame rice cracker to break over the top. Any time.

• Bánh xèo · nem lụi10–15k a pancake

  Small crisp pancakes and grilled pork skewers, rolled together in rice paper. In the south the same pancake is the size of the plate.

The old royal capital cooks hotter and in smaller, more careful portions than anywhere else.

• Bún bò Huế30–50k

  Thick round noodles in a lemongrass beef broth with shrimp paste and chilli oil, with beef shank, pork knuckle and a cube of blood cake. A morning dish here.

• Cơm hến15–25k

  Cold rice with tiny river clams, peanuts, pork crackling, herbs and chilli, and a bowl of hot clam broth beside it.

• Bánh bèo · bánh nậm · bánh bột lọc2–5k each

  Small steamed rice and tapioca cakes with shrimp, ordered by the plateful.

Cave country, after the longest and emptiest day of the ride. You will be hungry.

• Cháo canh15–30k

  Thick noodles in pork-bone broth with snakehead fish and fish cake.

• Bánh bột lọc20–30k for ten

  Clear tapioca dumplings of river shrimp and pork belly, steamed in a leaf.

Eel country. The north-central provinces are proud of it and you should try it once.

• Súp lươn30–45k

  Eel fried with turmeric in a bone broth, eaten with steamed rice sheets or bread. Breakfast.

• Cháo lươn35–50k

  Rice porridge with eel, turmeric and chilli.

Limestone hills, and the goats that live on them.

• Thịt dê núi50–100k a plate

  Mountain goat, served many ways. The well-known one is lightly soured goat wrapped in fig leaves with a ginger and bean sauce.

• Cơm cháy35–70k

  Crisp sheets of scorched rice with a meat sauce and pork floss.

The finish line. The north cooks plainer and cleaner, and thinks the south has ruined the soup.

• Phở40–55k

  Northern style, the original: a clear, savoury broth with spring onion and coriander, and pickled garlic and chilli on the table. A classic breakfast.

• Bún chả45–65k

  Charcoal-grilled pork patties and belly in a bowl of warm, sweet-sour fish sauce, with cold rice noodles and herbs to dip. Hanoi's own. Lunch.

• Cà phê trứng30–55k

  Egg coffee: whipped yolk and sugar over strong robusta. Better than it sounds.

• Bia hơi7–15k a glass

  Light, fresh draught beer of about 4%, delivered daily and drunk on the pavement. The right way to end a ride.

If you carry on into the mountains, the food gets stranger and more warming.

• Cháo ấu tẩu30–50k

  Ha Giang's slightly bitter night-time porridge of rice, pork trotter and a carefully treated mountain root.

• Thắng cố80–100k

  A horse meat and offal stew sold on market days in Ha Giang. For the curious.

• Phở chua30–50k

  Cao Bang's "sour pho": cool noodles with roast duck, pork, peanuts and a sweet-sour sauce.