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Vietnam’s banh ram it goes viral, sending foreign food lovers on culinary hunt

Sandy Verma | July 26, 2026 11:24 AM CST

Russian Bichev Aleksandr , 40, has hunted through local markets in Nha Trang since early July to find banh ram it after seeing it flood his social media feeds.

“I’ve tried banh chung (sticky rice cake), banh xeo (crispy crepe), and banh uot (steamed rice roll), but this was the first time I heard of banh ram it,” he says. “It offers a contrast between a crispy fried base and a chewy dumpling on top, paired with sweet and sour fish sauce. When you bite into it, the crunch is so satisfying.”

Another selling point for him is the price: just VND30,000 (US$1.20) for a portion of five pieces. He now hopes to visit Hue to taste the authentic version.

The craze was sparked by a taste test video put up by an American content creator in California. The crunching sound of the fried base paired with the soft, chewy texture of the glutinous rice dumpling has gone on to captivate millions of foodies.

Banh ram it as prepared by Tran Thi Quynh Loan from Hue. Photo by Ba Chi Eatery

Christine, 30, of California paid $12 for a portion of banh ram it at a local Vietnamese restaurant. Having traveled to Vietnam in 2018, she was familiar with football and banh bot locbut this was her first encounter with banh ram it.

“The combination of hard and soft textures in a single bite is the main draw,” she says.

Similarly enchanted, South Korean Ari Hee Lee, 36, who lives in Las Vegas in the U.S., headed to Chinatown to buy five pieces for $16.

She likens the texture of the soft banh ram it top to East Asian mochi, and says its savory braised shrimp filling and dipping sauce are the differences.

The social media hype has driven a massive surge in foot traffic to Vietnamese eateries abroad.

Quynh Le, a restaurant owner in California, says she added banh ram it to her main menu two weeks ago and is now selling 300 to 400 portions a day. She enlarged the piece to 1.5 times the size in Vietnam to cater to American appetites. “In Vietnam, each piece costs around VND 6,000 (24 cents), but in the U.S., it sells for 10 times that or more,” she points out.

Hoang To Nhu, 26, in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada says Hue restaurants in her area have been fully booked for weeks as crowds line up to try the trending dish.

Foreigners hunt to try Hue ram it cake/ Hue ram it cake trend 'covers' national social networks — South Korean Ari Hee Lee, 36, in Las Vegas, the U.S., tries *banh ram it* in July 2026. Video from TikTok/@ari_godiet

The boom abroad is also impacting traditional eateries back in Hue.

Tran Thi Quynh Loan, owner of the city’s 60-year-old Ba Chi eatery, says tourist numbers have tripled or quadrupled, with each of her outlets selling over 2,000 pieces a day.

“At first I was surprised. We used to serve mostly locals, but now the majority of our customers are foreign tourists.”

Banh ram it features a unique fusion of two distinct elements. The ram is a crispy base made from glutinous rice dough, shaped into small balls, pressed flat and deep fried. The it on top is a small steamed glutinous rice ball stuffed with savory braised shrimp and pork.

The dumpling is placed on the base and garnished with dried shrimp powder and scallions for serving.

Loan says: “To achieve the authentic flavor, the shrimp filling must be marinated for hours and then slow-cooked over a low flame. Every family has its own secret marinade recipe.”

Chef Ngo Doan Lenh, a culinary instructor at L.Q.T Kitchen Center, Hanoi, says banh ram it originated in Hue’s royal kitchen, embodying the delicate balance characteristic of central Vietnamese culinary techniques.

“The dish represents a harmony between Fire as represented by the deep-fried base and Water as embodied in the steamed dumpling, between the richness of fried glutinous rice and the clean, savory kick of fish sauce.

“This trend highlights a global dining shift toward valuing ingredient texture and sensory experience.”

The viral culinary trend is likely to be a powerful engine driving tourism.

“The viral phenomenon of banh ram it goes beyond boosting local dining sales abroad; it directly stimulates immersion travel,” Nguyen Tien Dat, general director of AZA Travel in Hanoi, says. “After tasting a dish in their home country, foreign tourists tend to trace it back to its birthplace to experience the authentic local food culture firsthand.”

He adds that Vietnamese street food repeatedly going viral on international platforms offers a great opportunity for the tourism industry to convert online views into actual tour bookings.