Christmas Eve in Vietnam: What People Actually Eat, From Réveillon Pigeon to Cathedral-Street Snacks

Search for Christmas Eve food in Vietnam and most lists give you a turkey substitute or a generic Western menu. The real picture is three separate tables: the family réveillon, the cathedral-street crowd, and the restaurant night out. Each has its own food. For the holiday that does have a fixed menu, see our guide to Vietnamese Lunar New Year food traditions.

Why Christmas Eve Has No Set Menu in Vietnam

Christmas came to Vietnam through French Catholicism, and Vietnam Discovery puts Christians at 8 to 10 percent of the population, with about seven million Catholics. For those families the night centers on midnight Mass. For everyone else it is a night out, with no dish attached to it.

That is the opposite of Tết, where every dish has a rule. On Christmas Eve, the food follows the household.

The Réveillon Table: Gà Ta, Bồ Câu, and Gà Hầm Ngũ Quả

Réveillon is the late meal after Mass, a French custom. Tuổi Trẻ reports that it began among Vietnamese families with means and has spread over the past decade or so.

The French turkey rarely appears. Gà ta, Vietnamese native chicken, takes its place, and the same report says cooks prefer smaller breeds such as gà kiến over big hybrid birds. Bồ câu is increasingly common, and the owner of 48 Bistro Lê Anh Tú says pigeon orders in réveillon season are quite numerous. Vịt quay, honey-glazed roast duck, is an occasional addition.

The dish that shows the meal has gone local is gà hầm ngũ quả, chicken braised with red dates, longan, mushrooms, wood ear, and lotus seeds. Nothing about it is French.

Tuổi Trẻ calls réveillon a democratic meal, because everyone is asked what they want. That explains why no two households match.

Bánh Khúc Cây: The One Dish That Stays French

The cake is the exception, and it is kept almost unchanged. VnExpress traces bánh khúc cây to the French custom of burning a large log on Christmas Eve to drive off winter darkness. When big fireplaces fell out of use in the 19th century, Parisian bakers made an edible version: a rolled sponge with chocolate buttercream, decorated like bark.

Tuổi Trẻ writes the name as bánh khúc củi, while VnExpress uses bánh khúc cây. Both appear, so search for either. VnExpress adds that the cake spread widely after the Second World War.

Hà Nội: Street Snacks Around Nhà Thờ Lớn

Most people around St. Joseph’s Cathedral on Christmas Eve are not sitting down to réveillon. They are walking, and eating standing up. VietNamNet lists the local food by street.

Near the cathedral it names nem chua nướng, bánh tráng trộn, bánh rán mặn, and miến lươn. On Tạ Hiện Street it lists bia cỏ, chân gà, nem rán, chim cút nướng mật ong, and bún mọc. The Hàng Mã area gets cháo sườn sụn, bún ốc, and bún thang.

The nem rán is the same fried roll that turns up on Tết tables, which is the closest thing to overlap between the two holidays.

Sài Gòn: Sugarcane Juice and Pastries Under the Lights

Ho Chi Minh City’s version centers on Nhà thờ Đức Bà and Tân Định. A Thanh Niên report said the cathedral was lit from 6:45 p.m. to 2 a.m. that season, with peak crowds after 9 p.m.

Vendors stayed open to match. The paper lists nước mía (sugarcane juice) carts, trà tắc (kumquat tea) stands, and pastry shops, open until about one or two in the morning.

Christmas Eve Eating at a Glance

I got to Nhà Thờ Lớn in Hà Nội around eight on Christmas Eve and spent a long time covering a short block. I bought bánh tráng trộn in a plastic bag and ate it standing next to a shop shutter, with a cup of trà chanh from the next stall. The crowd was mostly teenagers taking photos. Nobody near me was eating anything that looked like Christmas dinner.

Kelly Thuy — field notes, Hà Nội

How to Eat on Christmas Eve as a Visitor

Treat it as a street-snack evening, not a dinner reservation. Vietnam Discovery says cars are kept out of the city center that night, so plan to walk. Eat a proper meal before you go, then graze.

Watch for the usual pitfalls in crowded areas, which our guide to common street food mistakes covers, starting with asking the price first. For typical costs, see what food costs in Vietnam, and for regular meals in each city, the best food in Vietnam.

Frequently Asked Questions