Huong Sen - Dalat - TravBuddy

My friend and I stumbled into this place on our way back to our gueshouse after some sight seeing, for a late lunch. This place is probably one of the best eateries in Vietnam for vegetarians and those wanting to take it easy on the meat front. They serve tons of different dishes with a soup base, rice, or noodles. These dishes include meat analogs, a.k.a. veggie meat, made from soya protein, unless the menu (or you) specifies otherwise.

Although I'm not a true blue vegetarian, I've had enough experiences with bad chicken whilst backpacking to not eat meat too regularly. This makes Huong Sen a double hit. You get a nice big dose of fresh veggies for your vitamins and minerals, and big dose of protein.

Pho with veggie beef, veggie chicken, fresh mushrooms, a smorgrasbord of fresh veggies, and rice noodles, as well as a cup of iced peach tea will set you back about 20,000 VND (or 1.25 USD). Most dishes range from 15,000 to 30,000 VND (1-2 USD), so it would be pretty amazing if a big group went together as you'd get to sample a whole bunch of different things.

The service is great, too. The waitress double checked our order instead of rushing off to the kitchen right away, so that we'd get exactly what we wanted. The food arrived promptly and hot, with condiments including fresh lettuce, mint sprigs, lime wedges, chilli flakes, and chilli sauce.

Needless to say, we're heading back later today for dinner for our last supper in Dalat.

P.S. You can also buy vacuum sealed packages of the meat analogs that they use in their dishes if you want to send some home or if you're going to be doing some self-catering for an herbivore. Like the food, the prices are too good to pass up.