Fresh spring rolls, translucent rice-paper wrappers rolled around poached pork, whole prawns, rice vermicelli, lettuce and herbs, served cold and dipped in a peanut-hoisin sauce or nuoc cham. Light, clean and uncooked, the counterpoint to the fried roll.
Where to eat it: 2 restaurants across 1 city.
Goi cuon are the fresh, unfried cousin of the crisp cha gio, and a Southern Vietnamese specialty. Cool and herbaceous, they suit Saigon's climate, and they are as much an assembly as a recipe: softened rice paper, a leaf of lettuce, vermicelli, herbs, a slice of poached pork and a split prawn laid so its pink shows through the wrapper. The peanut-hoisin dip is the Southern signature. They appear on nearly every Vietnamese menu in the city, from home-cooking rooms to the rooftop kitchen at Secret Garden.
Common allergens: Shellfish, Peanuts, Soy
Tip from the editors. Do not oversoak the wrappers; they keep softening as you roll and turn gummy if they start too wet.
Secret Garden hides on the rooftop of an old apartment block off Pasteur, serving home-style Southern Vietnamese cooking on a breezy open-air terrace.
Signature: Banh xeo, Fresh spring rolls, Grilled pork
Order: Banh xeo and the fresh spring rolls with boiled pork.
Tip: It is up several flights inside an old building; look for the small sign and keep climbing.
Quan Ngon 138 gathers dozens of regional Vietnamese street dishes near the Independence Palace, cooked at open stalls inside a colonial-era house.
Signature: Banh xeo, Bun bo Hue, Goi cuon
Order: Work through several small dishes; the banh xeo and grilled meats are reliable.
Tip: It is busy and touristy but a painless way to sample many regional dishes in one sitting.
More cities are in research. Want goi cuon covered somewhere specific? Tell us where you want to eat.