There is this, there is that: nào là … nào là

Nào là goes before each item in a list, to say there were a lot of them: Trên bàn nào là bánh, nào là trái cây. The table was covered in cakes and fruit (in Hà Nội, hoa quả). What matters isn't each item but how many there were, a bit like English "there was this, there was that".

Put nào là before every item, usually two or three times. The list can follow a verb such as mua (buy) or hỏi (ask), or simply a place. The items can be things or actions. People often round it off with đủ thứ (all sorts) or with how they feel about it: Hôm nay nào là họp, nào là báo cáo, mệt quá! Today it was meetings, reports, the lot. I'm worn out!

So the pile can be a pleasure, like a table full of food or presents, or a burden, like chores or questions. It's at home in stories, whether told or written.

For a short, plain list, và (and) is enough. Ví dụ như (for example) picks one or two items to explain what you mean; nào là piles them up. And nè after each item points things out to someone who can see them: Có phở nè, bún bò nè. Nào là describes; it doesn't point.