Australia’s new favourite destination; and a mortgage-busting meal

Hi there friends, and welcome to another edition of the Food + Travel Edit. I’m at home this week, preparing for a trip with Jess and the kids to a destination that will come as no surprise to anyone who knows me: Japan. We’ve got 10 days in Tokyo and Osaka, to share with our children everything we already love about this country. And we’re not alone in that admiration – Australians love Japan. We will probably break 1 million arrivals in Japan in 2026. This nation is incredibly popular and will remain so. However, there’s another destination hot on its heels, a country that is rapidly growing in popularity among Australians, and it’s the topic of this week’s newsletter. Read on, too, for a budget-friendly meal that’s still goddamn delicious.

There’s a certain irony to getting into a road accident with an ambulance. These vehicles are supposed to save lives, not risk them.

So Jess and I were able to have a wry chuckle once we righted our scooter and got it back on the road, having just a few seconds earlier been forced off that road and into a shallow ditch by an ambulance travelling very fast straight towards us. It was not the first time we had a near miss on that journey – and it would not be the last.

This was a couple’s holiday with a difference, a romantic adventure with a twist. Some people think of swaying palm trees and cocktails by the pool when it comes to romance, or maybe an Amalfi clifftop and a shaded lemon grove. But this trip was all thrills, spills and obvious danger, not to mention deep connection with place, and with each other.

It was a scooter trip through Vietnam’s Mekong Delta, a week-long ride in a circle from Ho Chi Minh City, an experience of incredible food, sultry air, busy roads and white-knuckle adventure. And it would live forever in our memories as one of the truly great holidays.

Vietnam is many things to many people. It’s certainly an increasingly popular destination: overseas visitors have soared in recent years, from a little over 12 million in 2023, to more than 21 million in 2025.

Among Australians, the country has already hit 176 per cent of its pre-COVID arrival numbers. Only Japan is doing better, with a just over 200 per cent rise.

It shouldn’t be a surprise that Vietnam is so popular. This is a country with rich culture, a vibrant and affordable food scene, energetic cities, laidback beaches and cool mountains. It’s also very affordable to access from Australia thanks to the service of multiple budget carriers: VietJet being the most useful, with direct flights out of Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Perth; though, Australians can also get there direct with Jetstar, or via other Asian ports with Scoot, or from Melbourne, Perth and Adelaide with AirAsia.

I’ve been to Vietnam numerous times for so many reasons. I first visited the country in 2005 and have watched over the last 20 years as it has gradually modernised while still staying true to its roots, still being very much a unique nation that rewards return visits.

On every stay here I’m struck by the many aspects of Vietnamese life that are so different to my own, so foreign to me and so interesting and enjoyable to experience. Even just the traffic. To cross a road in Vietnam is to adopt an entirely different approach to any you’re probably used to. You don’t wait for the seas of scooters to stop for you here: you adopt an air of confidence, an air of invincibility, and you just walk across the road, trusting that the vehicular sea will part around you.

Mostly, it does.

I’m also obsessed with the food in Vietnam. There aren’t many countries that can give Japan a run when it comes to cuisine, but Vietnam is one of them. Everything is so fresh and cleanly flavoured and delicious. The food also very accessible, usually very cheap, with no barriers caused by culture or language to prevent visitors giving everything a try.

I still dream of the pho I had in Ho Chi Minh City a few years ago, at a place called Pho Phu Vuong near Ben Thanh market. Just so incredibly fragrant and flavourful, served on metal table overlooking rows of parked scooters and a busy street. I ate it at 7am – there is no better way to start a day.

I also dream of the cha ca – turmeric-flavoured fish – I had in Hanoi, the bo la lot in Ho Chi Minh, the banh xeo in Da Nang, the banh mi in Hoi An.

And the coffee! Mostly, Australians will go to other countries and complain about the coffee, but surely not in Vietnam.

Coffee culture is so deeply ingrained here and entirely unique, the way each cup is brewed individually with a “phin”, a small metal drip filter that sits on top of a cup or glass.

Ho Chi Minh, or Saigon, is one of the great cities of the world, friendly but chaotic, thrilling but occasionally frightening. Hanoi I find a little more difficult to feel comfortable, there’s an edge to it that isn’t always welcoming, but it’s a fascinating, heady place all the same. Hoi An is very touristy these days but the banh mi is the best in the world. Dalat is cool and refreshing. Nha Trang is fun and relaxed. Hue is underrated, the former capital with an excellent food scene.

But let’s take it back to the Mekong Delta, to the journey that only lasted a week or so, but will live with me as a travel highlight forever.

I wouldn’t recommend riding a scooter around Vietnam unless you’re very experienced, and maybe a little bit crazy. I loved the experience but there were also multiple close calls where we were run off the road by trucks or even ambulances, and had to be constantly at the ready for other riders and drivers to do things that they really shouldn’t.

But wow, what a journey. The Mekong is an incredible place, a series of rivers and tributaries, of small villages and bigger cities, of vast markets and tiny restaurants, with cafes by the side of the road with hammocks for weary riders.

On a scooter you get everything: the sun on your skin, the wind in your face, the scent of herbs stacked by the roadside, of rubbish piles burning, scooter exhaust and briny river air, you see the smiles and occasionally confused looks of locals strolling around in their PJs, you discover food and places that would otherwise have passed you by.

There aren’t many places where you can have such a tactile and deeply immersive experience in just a few days, and within a single flight of home. And there are even fewer where you can finish that experience and then go check into an insanely luxurious five-star hotel in the middle of a city and pay only $300 or so a night for the experience (the Reverie Saigon, highly recommended).

New destinations are being developed and becoming popular in Vietnam. Phu Quoc is like Phuket 20 years ago, a pleasant island with a mix of upmarket resorts and traditional culture. Da Nang has developed from a fairly dull industrial town to a buzzing beachside hub. Ha Giang in the northern mountains offers a far different experience to the coastal cities.

We have plans to take our kids to Vietnam next year, as so many other parents already have with their own children. This is a cultural experience for kids, but also a fun, adventurous holiday for parents, with excellent food that everyone can eat. And it’s cheap. It ticks all the boxes.

We won’t be taking our kids out on scooters, because there is still the very real danger of being run off the road by a larger vehicle, possibly even an ambulance. But I think we can have fun without that.

WHAT WE’VE BEEN EATING – THE RBA EDITION 

The Reserve Bank raised the cash rate again this week, to its highest point in 18 years, which means everyone with a mortgage, and plenty of those paying rent, are doing it tough. It’s no coincidence, then, that we’ve been looking for budget-friendly dishes to cook, including this chicken and lentil soup with yoghurt and herbs that Jess adjusted from an Andy Baraghani recipe.

To make it, cook sliced onions in olive oil with salt until browned, then add turmeric and cracked black pepper. Once that is fragrant, add three chicken thighs and 1-2 cups of red lentils (depending on the crowd), then about six cups of chicken stock. Simmer for 40 mins, topping up with water as needed, until the chicken can tear apart and the lentils are mooshy. Serve in soup bowls with fresh tarragon and mint (ideally, though parsley, coriander or dill will do if that’s what you have handy) and Greek yoghurt with fresh, grated garlic and extra salt. Finally, top with a hearty drizzle of chilli vinegar, the recipe for which you will find here.

THINGS I’M LOVING THIS WEEK

• The EU has introduced new rules for airlines, ensuring all carriers must allow two items of hand luggage free of charge – one piece, up to 7kg, that’s stored in the overhead compartment, and one smaller item under the seat in front of you. Happy days for everyone except Ryanair.
• Tourist numbers to Egypt and Jordan are bouncing back, great news after the tough time they’ve had in recent years.
• In Sydney, the iconic Opera Bar has reopened, and I have high hopes. I was always impressed by how relatively affordable this place remained when it was run by Matt Moran’s Solotel, but it’s under new management now, and I like what I’m hearing. The menu is a snapshot of Sydney, with ingredients sourced from legendary producers around the city, and I can’t wait to try it.
• The Spirit of Tasmania is transformed. The Bass Strait ferry service has two new vessels, with more space and more comfort. Great news for those heading to Tassie over the summer.

THINGS I AM NOT LOVING

• Remember when scammers looked you in the eye when they were cheating you out of your money overseas? Now it’s big corporate entities, and it’s entirely legal.
• Western Sydney International Airport is now open – but apparently almost none of the food and beverage outlets are? Weird.
• I’m very sceptical of Airbnb’s recent announcement of increased support for its charity arm, which offers free temporary housing to those in crisis. The platform is copping a lot of heat for its effect on local housing markets, which it hasn’t addressed at all, but has instead thrown a star-studded party in LA to promote its charity. Hmm.