hi Marcello

yes, i think yu can be a bit concern, seems that vietnam food is allways flavored with fish sauce, that is a base of there cusine, plus they love to mixe pork , shrimp , with tofu, wich is used very rarely alone in a dish ,you might end up pretty frustrated if you want to enjoy the traditional food there , well i dont want to sound to pessimistic , i am sure you will find some good alternative, and the fruit and veggies must be amazing anyway and you can allways ask to the chefs to prepar theim in a vegan way, ( just mention no nioc man sauce...and no shrimp paste/ dried shrimp...)
hope it help , let me know about your experience , i ll be happy to get some info as well...

I hope you're excited! I was in Vietnam for four months at the beginning of this year and I had no problem finding good food at all (granted I speak Vietnamese myself.)

Loving Hut will be your best friend. They have restaurants in many major cities and make REALLY good Vietnamese food. Some places do an awesome job of recreating the original traditional foods. It was seriously heaven for me since I stopped eating so many of those dishes my mom make at home.

Typically, what you will find on their menus aside from special dishes is Com 25, Com 30, Com 35, etc.. They give you one bowl of rice, a bowl of soup, and an assortment of veggies and fake meats (that are pretty delicious.) The numbers indicate the worth of the meal. Com 25 gets you 25,000 VND worth of veggies/meat and so forth. A 30 or a 35 fills me up quite well depending on where you go.

In Ha Long Bay there is a Loving Hut and also in the neighbouring city Uong Bi. Of course if you go on any tours there you can let them know you "an chay" (eat veg) and they will accommodate you easily.

In Hanoi, I highly recommend the Loving Hut at 3/10 ngõ 121 Chùa Láng, Đống Đa District and trying the Bun Nam Bo. SOOOO GOOOOOODDDD!! And if they're out of it that night, go back again until you have it! hahaha But like I said, you have a LOT of options. Be careful of buddhist veg restaurants though, as they are less vegan than you think... (Buddhism in Vietnam has morphed into something really strange... less and less monks are fully veg now.)

The Loving Hut at 71 ngõ 18 Nguyen Hong St, Dong Da District has a delicious Bun Thai and the Loving Hut at 192/4 Quan Thanh, Ba Đình is also one of my favourites and they even have cake there :)

Hue is the vegan capital of Vietnam. You will have an amazing time. The further south you go, the more veg options you will have. In Hanoi, despite buddhism being widely practiced, vegetarianism and veganism is not as big as central and south Vietnam. You will find the south to be a lot more accommodating. I also suggest that if you're on your way to Hue and you stop in Quang Tri, go to Com Am Phu and ask to "an chay". They aren't specifically veg but when I stopped there the owner was super gracious and made me delicious vegan food since he goes vegan once a month too.

Ho Chi Minh City... You don't even need help. They have like this whole street dedicated to vegan food! Just look for "COM CHAY" and you will be fine. Except if there is an accent above the "A" (cháy) then that means burned rice LOL.

Another great thing about Vietnam is their desserts! Look out for the word "che". It has nothing to do with Che Guevara ;) It's a dessert drink traditionally made of different types of beans, fruits, and coconut milk, but since cow milk has become more accessible to Vietnam they put that in now too.. so make sure you say/write on a piece of paper, "không sữa bò". And yea, they taste best the further south you go as that is where it originated from. If you are in Hanoi/up north though, just look out for Che Saigon or something (Ho Chi Minh City's previous name), but I'd save that experience for further south ;)

Also keep an eye out for a veg directory list when you're eating out at any of the Loving Huts as they have a pretty extensive list of different veg restaurants around Vietnam. It's not perfect or completely updated but it's still useful.

If you find you are in a town or city without veg-dedicated restaurants, it's as simple as ordering just veggies, tofu, and rice. And eat as many different fruits as you can. They have sooo many different kinds that you will never find in any other part of the world :)

I hope that helps! Let me know if you have any questions or if you get into any sticky situations! I have a very friendly cousin in Hanoi that could help you out if need be. Safe travels!!!

xx