Our days on the island of Phu Quoc, a beautiful island belonging to Vietnam, were spent on a moped exploring the 574 km² of treasures it has to offer. Some days found us over the lunch time in the town of Duong Dong, and when that happened, we went to the fabulous restaurant Bun Cha Ha Noi. This quickly became our favourite lunch go to when it was open!
The menu is always the same, so all you do is sit down and wait for it to appear. Iced Tea arrives the second you sit down. Then, an order of Chả giò (nem rán) arrives; minced pork wrapped in spring rolls and fried until crispy and golden.
Fried Spring Rolls, Vermicelli and Greens
A big plate of white vermicelli noodles as well as a plate of herbs and greens are placed on the table followed by a big bowl of moderately sour grilled pork and fish sauce broth filled with pork meat pieces and having an slight sweet taste. This combination leaves an incredible delicious taste explosion in your mouth.
Although the art of Bún Chả varies from place to place, at this restaurant it is best described as a grilled pork & *vermicelli noodle soup with Chất Viên(minced pork balls) and Chả lá Lốt (minced Pork wrapped in betel leaves).
*Rice noodles and a basket of basil, mint, cilantro and perilla are put on the table so you can add as many noodles and herbs as you like – I like lots of herbs!
Bun Cha
Everybody working here are super friendly, full of smiles and trying to understand! Such warm people only enhance the fab experience!
It is amazing and cheap with a total of 100.000 dong for two people!!! That includes: Lemonade, Spring Rolls and Bun Cha.
Total Cost for 2 persons: 100.000 dong / €3.70 / USD$4.40
Simple restaurant, delicious food, great price! Do not miss out on the experience to taste traditional Vietnamese food.
Walking around the main town Duong Dong on the island of Phu Quoc, we saw a cute little restaurant with a blue porch. The fresh catch of the day was displayed on ice – when it is gone, there is no more! The overpowering sign, too big for the little place, displayed in bright red letters the restaurant name, Thu Phuong.
Spicy Grilled Prawns
Although there was no more space on the porch area, or in spite of, we entered the busy restaurant and sat at the only remaining table. We were immediately greeted by a lady with a huge, contagious smile; she took our drink order and disappeared leaving the menus behind.
When our drinks arrived, we were asked what we would like to eat. As I was once again craving Asian carbs, I ordered the mì xao gà which is yellow noodles with chicken and vegetables. Promising we would share with each other, my husband ordered barbecued Tiger Shrimp and a starter of chả giò tôm or better known as Shrimp Spring Rolls. Our server / owner pulled him out of his chair and scurried him over to the iced seafood, telling him “you pick”.
Fresh Fish Selection of the NIght
The spring rolls arrived first (not an easy feat in many restaurants world wide!) with a side dipping sauce similar to sweet chili thai. The hand made rolls were crispy, crunchy and delicious. Although they tasted like more, our next course was begging to leave space!
Spring Rolls / Cha Gio Tom
The huge shrimp were barbecued in a garlic chili butter, giving just the right amount of spice, similar to monster firecracker shrimps. The noodles were a very good accompaniment to the shrimp, but most certainly could be a fine stand alone price worthy meal as well.
Dinner for Two!
A plate of watermelon from the house, no charge, nice touch!, finished our delicious feast. Following our meal and goodbyes, a romantic walk along the beach helped with digestion!
On another night, we found ourselves visiting this delight of a restaurant once more. As delicious and friendly as the first time we had:
– Cà ri gà, a curried chicken, with lemongrass, veggies & rice for 95.000 dong / €3.55 / USD$4.20
– Spicy BBQ Prawns with rice – 150.000 dong / €5.60 / USD$6.60
– Beer – 25.000 / €0.93 / USD$1.10
– Ginger Tea – 25.000 / €0.93 / USD$1.10
– Finishing with free watermelon Total: 295.000 dong / €10.96 / USD$12.99
On the Island of Phu Quoc, Vietnam the charming local restaurant AceroLa can be found. This is my review.
Note: This is an independent restaurant review based on my experience.
AceroLa Restaurant Patio
Restaurant Name: AceroLa Bar and Restaurant Address: Gia Thanh Phu Quoc Guest House, 6, 91 Trần Hưng Đạo, tt. Dương Đông, Tp. Phú Quốc, tỉnh Kiên Giang, Vietnam
We stayed at the Guest House Gia Thanh while on the island. On the motel premises is the restaurant AceroLa which is owned and operated by the same family. It is conveniently located an approximate 5 minute walk from the main road of Duong Dong or 10 minutes from the beach. Parking is available.
AceroLa Restaurant Kitchen
For more info about Phu Quoc and the top things to do click the link. For my independent review of Gia Thanh Guest House, click the link.
We ate breakfast every morning in the restaurant. The prices were fair and it allowed us a relaxing way to start the day. They had a nice variety of offerings including the traditional American style breakfast in addition to the typical Vietnamese soups.
AceroLa Breakfast Eggs
Presentation / plating was always appetising to the eye and served with a big smile. The food always tasted fresh, hot and delicious. Really, I do not give out praise easily, but this place is wonderful. The iced coffees were the perfect cooling java jolt and a great accompaniment to the meal.
AceroLa Morning
Due to the fact that we were literally on the run every day trying to see as much as possible, it was not until the last day of our stay that we had a lunch at Acerola Bar and Restaurant. It was then that we realised what we had missed out on.
Chicken, Bell Pepper & Cashews
We ordered Sautéed chicken with bell pepper with cashew for 75.000 dong / €2.80 / USD$3.30, Tamarind Spicy Shrimp for 85.000 dong / €3.20 / USD$3.75 and 2 passion fruit Mojitos for 35.000 dong / €1.30 / USD$1.55 each.
Tamarind Spicy Shrimp Dish
The food was delectably delicious! Each morsel was a taste explosion in the mouth! This guy knows how to cook and obviously enjoys doing it.
After adding 2 more Mojitos?, our bill came to a total of 300.000 dong / €11.18 / USD$13.20.
Coconut Prison heartache, dream Beaches, friendly People, Fabulous prices, delicious Seafood, Markets and more. This is our Phu Quoc, Vietnam experience!
Palms and Sunshine at Sao Beach
From Ho Chi Minh, we had planned to go to Hue, Vietnam, but it was pouring rain as far as the weather app could see (2 weeks)?, so we looked for sun and found we had to book a trip to the sun island of Phu Quoc!
Skyscanner quickly located 2 Tickets from Ho Chi Minh to Phu Quoc on Jestar Airlines via Vueling for 1,555.000 dong or USD$66 ($33 ea.). As seems to be the theme, we had a 1/2 hour delay.
Upon arrival, we walked out the door and headed to the parking lot across the road. As there is no Uber on the island yet, we spoke with a taxi driver and paid the 150,000 dong from the airport to our hotel, Gia Thanh Phu Quoc Guest House. Read my independent review here.
Our Room – Gia Thanh Guest House
The restaurant adjacently joining the guest house is called Acerola Bar and Restaurant and this is where we had breakfast – every morning. We bought a jackfruit at the market and they prepared us a wonderful smoothie- we left a generous tip for their kindness. Can’t say enough good about this family!
Breakfast Pho Bo Soup at Acerola Restaurant
Dinner found us at a little restaurant just off the main street and a short walk to the beach called Thu Phuong. Read about what we ate, how much it cost and how it tasted here: Thu Phuong Restaurant Review. A romantic walk along the beach helped with digestion!
Barbecued Shrimp at Thu Phuong Restaurant
The next day, after a breakfast of beef noodle soup and an iced coffee to the sound of Vietnamese music, we walked down to the corner street and rented a moped for 122.000 per day, and filled in 60.000 dong of petro.
Our first stop was the Mui (Peninsula) Dinh Cau Buddhist Temple, located on a small cliff on the beach adjacent to a fishing village. We climbed the few stairs to the top, took some pictures and were on our way!
Gorgeous Water at Dinh Cau
45 minutes later found us at Bãi tắm Sao / Sao Beach, also known as Paradiso beach. This is an unfortunate stretch of a beautiful, long, white sand beach which is strewn with garbage and many people. Too bad they do not clean this up!
Beautiful Sao Beach
Dirty Sao Beach, The unfortunate other view
Lunch found us on the beach at a restaurant called Nha Hang My Lan – Not memorable, not great food, but a fabulous view.
Pho Ga (chicken noodle soup) 60.000 dong / €2.25 / USD$2.65, Mi Xao Rau (Noodles w/ vegetables) 80.000 dong / €3 / USD$3.50, Coke 20.000 dong / €0.75 / USD$0.90, Beer 25.000 dong / €0.94 / USD$1.10Total: 185.000 dong / €7 / USD$8
Mi Xao Rau Noodle Dish
A glorious, relaxed drive back through mountains followed the beach lunch. In the evening we went to the Phu Quoc Night Market for Dinner. After walking the market twice to see the offerings and prices, we settled on Quan An Mien Trung Restaurant. Thevery friendly owner is from Da Nang, speaks English a little and understands a lot!
Seafood at the NightmarketStreet action at the Night Market
Day 3 found us checking out Long Beach, about a 5 minute drive from our hotel. Trip Advisor had great reviews for RoRy’s Bar, so eventually we headed there to chill. It is a beautiful and popular location, but…
Long Beach
For Lunch we went to the Fabulous Bun Cha Ha Noi. This would become our favourite go to when it was open!
Bun Cha Ha Noi
My husband hit the Barbershop Duy for a 50.000 dong much needed shave.
After dinner, we went back to Rory’s Beach Bar for drinks on the beach. Fabulous atmosphere, bonfire, lots of people and a good DJ.
On Day 4, when looking for a local dinner spot, we discovered the restaurant Quán Ốc Bình Dân and this is where we ate every night after! Simply put, the food flavours are a music explosion on the tongue!!!!
Starters at Quán Ốc Bình Dân Restaurant
By Day 5 we had so fallen in love with Vietnam, we were frantically looking for an option to extend a visa, only to discover it can not be renewed easily ( German husband had only 15 days). If we would have pushed it, you need 3 days and $75. So we were sad to decide we would leave Vietnam after our Phu Quoc stay – very disappointed as Hue, Da Nang, Halong Bay were high on the top of our Vietnam list of where to go.
Drive to Kem Beach & Emerald Bay was on our 6th day in the morning. We had a backpack packed with drinks to take to the beach. We found our way in through the jungle on a dirt path and a big, almost private beach opened up. Only some fishermen shared the stretch of sand, trees and gorgeous water. We headed to a private spot and enjoyed the seclusion and scenery stretching through the bay.
Fishermen Sort their Catch at Kem Beach
After the beach, we stopped at a roadside restaurant calledBia Ruou Phu Quoc / Bia Tuoi Phu Quoc Craft Beer. It is located close to Coconut Prison and Emerald Bay so it was a perfect stop while waiting for the prison to open.
Bia Tuoi Phu Quoc Restaurant – Rice and Shrimp
After our delicious lunch, we went to the Coconut Prison; theentrance fee of 20,000 dong was worth every penny. The perspective does not change the the horror of what took place in this prison. There are plaques throughout describing what is happening.
Outer Perimeter at Coconut Prison
The next day found us at the huge Day Market in the streets by the fishing harbour. It was an interesting walk and we bought a Jackfruit (mit Thai) for 40.000 & a pear like bag of fruit called Rose Apple 25.000.
Meat Vendor Sits on her Stand Eating an Egg
Our 8th day found us at Suoi Tranh Waterfalls. TheEntrance fee was 10.000 dong per person plus a parking fee of 2000 for our moto. It is really nice gardens, a restaurant, colorful sculptures of animals and people throughout. We did the 1/2 hour hike over stones and rocks up to the waterfall. Not a lot of water this time of year, but it is a nice hike and pretty.
Almost Dry Suoi Tranh Waterfalls
Back in town we found a restaurant called Quan Ra Koi. It was packed with locals so we decided it must be good; we walked in and found ourselves a seat. Based on all the shocked and smiling stares, I do not think they are used to foreigners! Read about our experience here.
Ladies Selling Fish at the Market
Day 10 we went to get our Passport photos for our visa on arrival in Laos. Pho Bien, down by the Dinh Cau temple did our pictures for us. 200.000 for 10 photos – overpriced, but necessary. Our guest house said he ripped us off. The rest of the day was spent visiting our favourite spots and saying our goodbyes.
Fruit Lady – Long Beach
On the Last day, we had lunch at Acerola Bar Restaurant – read about prices and my review – before regrettably heading out.
Flight Jetstar Phu Quoc to Ho Chi Minh: 1,876.000 for 2 €77.49 or €38.75
1 hour delay
Flight Air Asia Ho Chi Minh to Bangkok: 3,024.000 for 2 €124.90
Flight Bangkok to Vientiane, Laos: $50 pp
Note: 2 weeks is NOT long enough in Vietnam- all nationalities with "free" visa, apply for minimum 1 month visaNote: It seems most locals speak NO English, not even in tourist places - everything works with pointing, calculators and smiles
Costs:
Flight from Ho Chi Minh to Phu Quoc: €32.23 per person
Taxis: €10.75
Lodging: €21.50 per night (€215 for our 10 nights)
Moped: €5 per day or €45 for the stay
Petro / Gasoline: €6.25
Entry Fees: €2.56
Food, Drink & Snacks: €211.19
Our Total Cost for 2 persons, 10 days in Phu Quoc, excluding flight: €490.75
Phu Quoc island on an extreme budget? Yes! For example:
– Stay at Langchia Hostel for $7 per night (includes breakfast & swimming pool)
– Buy fruits and veggies at the market
– Buy Noodles in the store & make your own noodles with a kettle and big bowl (borrowed or bought) – throw on market herbs and spice for great flavor
– Buy all beverages at the market (side street)
– Take towel and own food / beverages to beach
Maybe $10 per day???
Tip: book flights at least 4 days out for best prices!
