Best Cities for Eating and Drinking in SE Asia?

Singapore is fantastic, though one of the priciest cities around Southeast Asia. Bangkok and Chiang Mai are unbeatable, with some of the best street food in the world, as well as fine dining. Penang in Malaysia. Hanoi or Saigon in Vietnam, though I think I found my best food in Vietnam in Hoi An. Hong Kong, if you want to stretch the Southeast Asia boundaries a bit. Luang Prabang has great street food and fine dining, and is a beautiful small city. Phnom Penh has great food at every level, and an interesting, lively drinking scene. I was quite happy with everything I found in Ubud in Bali. 

There aren't many cities in Southeast Asia you would go wrong with. This part of the world is unrivaled in exciting food. That said, good wine bars can be hard to find outside of the largest cities. Cocktail bars are starting to pop up in the places with large expat populations. 

My best suggestion would be Vietnam especially Hanoi, Hoi An and Ho Chi Minh City where you can find so many interesting foods and drinks for very cheap price.

Vietnamese cuisine and living culture and very dynamic, colorful but pretty balance in the taste :

- If you a sweet tooth person: try thing in Hochiminh city ( Saigon) ( By Bun Bo Nam Bo or Hu Tieu Sai Gon)

- More spicy Hue-  Hoi An ( Try Bun Bo Hue )

- Balance in between: not so hot not so sweet not so dry - Hanoi  ( Try Pho , Banh My, Banh Quan, Pho Cuon and Bun Cha )

Check out this site for more stuff about Vietnamese cuisine: http://www.vntravelnews.com/food-drinks/

In addition to the wonderful suggestions regarding Vietnam and the exciting street food in Singapore, don't overlook Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia with its street food, Peranakan and Hokkien cuisines. My husband and I spent last February and March in these venues as well as in Thailand and Myanmar where the food was also tantalizing.

I loved vietnamese food, you can eat really well and very cheap nearly everywhere, but especially in Hoi An there are lots of places to eat, drink and enjoy wonderful desserts. 

Food in Siem Reap and Chiang Mai was really good too. 

Kuala Lumpur, being geographically central in South East Asia, has a rich mix of street food of the region. There's a mix of Malay, Chinese and Indian food and often Thai and Indonesian influenced street food. Being the biggest city in Malaysia, a fair amount of higher end restaurants are available as well. Penang has far better street food than KL, but may not have as much options for international cuisine (though not lacking). However, alcohol isn't the cheapest in both these places although there is a rich nightlife. 

In Bangkok and Ho Chi Minh City alcohol is significantly cheaper, and both national cuisines are delicious in their own right but lesser of that mix you get in Malaysia. Bangkok in particular has amazing restaurants and you'd be able to find anything to your taste if you look beyond street food. In HCMC you can sit at Parisian style cafes, drink Beer Hoa or sip tea/coffee and people watch. 

Food on the whole is glorious in South East Asia, and cheap. Each place has it's own charm. If you were just choosing one place, I'd say go to Bangkok. 

Bangkok is definitely where it is at! You can find anything from a heaping bowl full of sautéed clams and seafood at a sidewalk stand complete with 4 large Singha beers for about $10 total all the way up to a 7 course meal on top of a high rise hotel such as the Banyan Tree Bangkok costing $100+. I agree with Jacey & Scott also that Hanoi has some incredible street side options, but for me there is no better than Bangkok. So many fresh juices, fruit, fish balls, and exotic items that you can easily spend all day long eating. Try out the Chatuchak Weekend Market which is teeming with low cost dining options and great people watching. The market itself will blow you away by the sheer size of it...the food is just a bonus! Keep in mind that Thai people love to cook with spicy food so be prepared!

Hue is the best choice. hue food tour

You can visit District 1 of Ho Chi Minh City  where you can enjoy a lot of street foods and night activities. 

To me, it's city in Viet Nam.

Ho Chi Minh City

Lots of amazing things to eat in Sai Gon. It's hardly to choose the best one.

Vietnamese broken rice (Cơm tấm) is ranked first of the list. I've lived in Ho Chi Minh for 2 years, I saw a lot of local people have this dish every day. The beautiful combination of rice and pork is truly a beautiful treat for me.

Secondly, Rice Paper Salad (Bánh tráng trộn) - a familiar snack for youngsters in Ho Chi Minh. It can be sold near schools where students come and eat Banh tranh tron after their school.

Lastly, Snails which are made in different ways is the most common food in Sai Gon, especially at night. There is a chain of restaurants selling snails in Nguyen Trai street.

Other top things to eat in Ho Chi minh and where to eat, check here.

If you visit Hue, you can both explore the history of Viet Nam in Nguyen Dynasty and have beach dreams with Lang Co Beach beach which is about 15 km away from the Hue Center.

Or you can also get to Da Nang that has several beaches as Phạm Văn Đồng  beach. Then, head to Hoi An and enjoy a romantic view in the old quarter.

This is my itinerary in Hoi An and Da Nang, you can give it a view:

3 days in Da Nang

4 days in Hoi An

Good luck and have a nice trip!

Hi. For the best definitely Vietnam. Hanoi or Saigon. So many places and variety. Cheap stands in the street with the locals or posh restaurant with dressed up staff. The food is excellent.

Singapore would still get my vote just for the range and quality of dining options on offer. Here are a few of my favourites http://platetrotter.weebly.com/blog/category/singapore

After that, probably Bangkok for its amazing street food. I ate these oyster omelettes almost 3 years ago and thinking about them still makes my mouth water http://platetrotter.weebly.com/blog/category/thailand

I also thought Hoi Anwas pretty special, especially considering that Vietnam as a whole had some fantastic food on offer. Remember a spot called Cafe 69 that had amazing bahn mi filled with ham and pickled vegetables and also tried out a cooking class while I was in the city which was a great way to spend an afternoon http://platetrotter.weebly.com/blog/ready-fly-cook

Bar street in Siem Reap has some amazing little spots full of character that would also feature on my list of favourite dining destinations in SE Asia http://platetrotter.weebly.com/blog/plateplotter-siem-reap

Bon appetit!