Saigon street food appeared along with the eating-out habits of local people. The development and convenience of the small food stalls, street vendors, and food trucks have created an impressive part of the culture in Saigon.
The best places for rich-in-experience food tours include the local markets, long-standing food streets. In each food street, there is a myriad of unique dishes from Vietnamese cuisine as well as foreign foods. This article will give you more specific information about famous street food and the best places for an excellent food tour in Ho Chi Minh city.
I - Why does Saigon street food steal your heart?
The main factors making the attractiveness of local street food:
Diversity and creativity
Saigon is the largest city in Vietnam where people come from many regions and countries leading to cultural interference. Therefore, the street food here is the crystallization of regional culture.
Source: VnExpress
Diverse ingredients & culinary
The best street food in Ho Chi Minh city is characterized by the combination of many ingredients, balancing nutritious elements from meat, fish, seafood, and the freshness of vegetables and tubers. A variety of sweet and sour flavors and a variety of cooking methods are introduced in the way of cooking and mixing ingredients from other cuisines such as Thai, Chinese, Indian, French... through transformation and creativity. Vietnamese people create the quintessence of street food culture.
Convenience
This is a unique element of Saigon street food because the dishes are everywhere, all over the street, with countless choices from vermicelli, cake, rice, dessert.... along with quick and convenient service with options that can be eaten on-site or taken away, is the hallmark of street food.
Cheap price
The dishes here are extremely cheap and reasonable for all types of diners. The average price of each street food is only about $1 - 1.5.
II - Saigon street food tours guide
1 - Ben Thanh market in district 1
Ben Thanh Market in District 1 is a symbol as well as one of the must-see attractions in Saigon. Not only selling essential goods, this place is also voted by Food and Wine Magazine as one of the 10 most attractive street food destinations on the planet in 2012.
The food court in the market is always vibrant and crowded with compact stalls that are uniquely decorated, selling most Vietnamese street food. The Ho Chi Minh street food market serves about 200 different dishes, some typical dishes you should try such as Saigon broken rice, bun mam (fermented fish sauce noodle), crab vermicelli, vermicelli noodles, banh beo, snails & grilled seafood, seven-colored sticky rice and hundreds of kinds of desserts…
- Mắm noodles: Phan Boi Chau Street (East Gate of Ben Thanh Market)
- Bun Rieu (northern crab noodle soup) at No.4 Phan Boi Chau, Ben Thanh ward
- Co Mai rice noodle, stall 1020, Ben Thanh market, Ben Thanh ward, district 1.
- Southern crab noodle soup stall at No.1301, Ben Thanh market.
- Mixed rice paper at Ut Ngoc - stall 1257, the east gate 11, Ben Thanh market, Phan Boi Chau street.
2 - Co Giang street - Awesome place to enjoy the best street food in Saigon Vietnam
Source: Saigoneer
Co Giang Street - located in the southwest of District 1 is also one of the famous and long-standing food courts in Saigon. Here the food stalls are not too crowded like other food streets, the food shops here are diverse with long-standing traditional dishes. Some famous dishes in this food area such as Co Giang sweet desserts, grilled pork vermicelli, steamed bread, coconut ice-cream with sticky rice, offal porridge, broken rice, grilled beef wrapped in guise leaves, char siu dry noodles,....
Some of the best street food Saigon district 1 and places to eat:
- Ms. Tuyen grilled meat noodle soup - No.195 Co Giang Street
+ Opening hours: 7:00 - 20:00
+ Price: 30,000 - 50,000 VND (~ $1.3 - 2.15)
- Lady Ut porridge - No.193 Co Giang street
+ Opening hours: 6:00 - 14:00
+ Price: 20,000 - 30,000 VND (~ $0.86 - 1.3)
- Grilled beef wrapped in guise leaves - No.92 Co Giang street
+ Opening hours 16:00 - 22:00
+ Price: 25,000 - 35,000 VND (~ $1.07 - 1.5)
- Coconut Ice-cream with sticky rice - No.69 Co Giang street:
+ Opening hours: 16:00 - 22:00
+ Price: 10,000 - 25,000 VND (~ $0.43 - 1.07)
- Co Giang sweet soup - No.85 Co Giang street
3 - Tran Khac Chan Street - District 1
Tran Khac Chan Street in District 1 Ho Chi Minh City is a culinary “mecca” in Saigon. There are many delicious and cheap dishes typical of Saigon street food such as fried flour, southwest fish sauce noodle soup, crab noodle soup, ribs porridge, snails dishes, fish sauce hotpot, durian cake ...
Some places to eat:
- Crab noodle soup - No.87 Tran Khac Chan street
+ Opening hours: 14:00 - 21:00
+ Price: 35,000 - 40,000 VND
- The rice noodle soup - No.124 Tran Khac Chan street
+ Opening hours: 13:00 - 22:00
+ Price: 35,000 - 60,000 VND
- Dumplings - No.77 Tran Khac Chan street
+ Opening hours: 11:00 - 21:00
+ Price: 20,000 - 35,000 VND
- Ms.Hao rib porridge - No.109/15 Tran Khac Chan street
+ Opening hours: 8:00 - 21:00
+ Price: 30,000 - 60,000 VND
4 - Nguyen Thuong Hien Street - District 3
Source: Internet
Nguyen Thuong Hien street- one of the best places to sample the best street food in Ho Chi Minh city Vietnam. Located in district 3, Nguyen Thuong Hien is a straight and narrow street but has long been famous as a paradise of mixed rice paper and countless other attractive dishes such as spring rolls, grilled pork rolls, cheese toast, sweet plain rice flan cake, sweet potatoes shake with salted plum.
Some places to eat:
- Spring rolls - No.297 Nguyen Thuong Hien street
+ Opening hours: 11:00 - 21:00
+ Price: 15,000 - 50,000 VND
- Crab soup with northern herbs and eggs - No.225 Nguyen Thuong Hien street
+ Price: 135,000 - 30,000 VND
- Mr.Vien mixed rice paper - No.38 Nguyen Thuong Hien street
+ Opening hours: 11:30 - 19:00
+ Price: 15,000 - 20,000 VND
- Sweet potatoes shake with plum - No.7 Nguyen Thuong Hien street
+ Opening hours: 10am-9pm,
+ Price: 10,000 - 25,000 VND
5 - Turtle Lake - District 3
Street food here is extremely diverse and cheap. You can enjoy flavorful turtle lake Saigon street food dishes such as mixed rice paper, rice paper rolls, fried corn, black rice yogurt,...
- Grilled rice paper: 15,000 VND
- Mixed rice paper: 20,000 VND
- Stir-fried corn: 15,000 - 20,000 VND
6 - Alley 284 Le Van Sy - District 3
Alley 284 Le Van Sy - a small alley located in District 3 located next to the Ho Chi Minh City Pedagogical University. This is the gathering place of many inexpensive restaurants, a familiar destination for young people and students. The Saigon street food dishes that visitors should enjoy when coming here are spring rolls, broken rice, fried flour, Quang noodles, Cao Lau noodles, Vietnamese pancakes, and Hue dishes.
Some places to eat
- Central region duck cake & Hue mussel rice - No.284/9 Le Van Sy:
+ Opening hours: 16:00-20:30
+ Price: 15,000 - 22,000 VND
7 - Vinh Khanh Street - District 4
Vinh Khanh Street in District 4 is famous for its countless delicious Ho Chi Minh city street food such as barbecue, hot pot, snail, and seafood restaurants. Snails here are extremely diverse, you can enjoy boiled snails, snails fried with spicy tamarind, snails fried with lemongrass and chili, grilled snails,... This food street is especially crowded and busy in the evening when young people begin to gather around small plastic tables, talk and enjoy food.
- Ốc Thảo (Thao snails) - No.383 Vinh Khanh street
+ Opening hours: 7pm - 1am
+ Price: 100,000 - 165,000 VND/ serving
- Chilli - Grilled & hot pot buffet - No.232 Vinh Khanh street - one of the best Saigon street food to try at night
+ Opening hours: 4pm - 0am
+ Price: 50,000 - 100,000 VND/ serving
- Lăng Quán - No.38/31 Vinh Khanh street
+ Opening hours: 3pm - 10pm
+ Price: 150,000 - 275,000 VND/ serving
8 - Chinatown in Saigon
Source: ChinatownSaigonCafe
In Saigon, the Chinese live mainly in districts 11, 5, 6 of which the Cho Lon area in District 5 is considered the most unique and impressive Chinatown. Chinatown is also a culinary paradise with many attractive dishes such as duck noodles, various types of noodle soup, dumplings, bread, etc. Across the street, the Saigon street food truck, food stalls are always crowded and attract passersby with the wonderful aroma of food.
- Roasted duck with black pepper sauce at Tran Quang Ky
+ Address: No.390 Tran Phu street, Ward 7, District 5
+ Opening hours: 6am - 8:30pm
+ Price: 380,000 VND/ serving
- Thien Thien dumplings
+ Address: No.195 Ha Ton Quyen street, District 11
+ Opening hours: 1:30pm - 1:30am
+ Price: 30,000 - 45,000 VND/ serving
9 - Van Kiep Street - Binh Thanh District
If you are looking for a place for the best street food in Ho Chi Minh in the Binh Thanh district, you should not miss the street food on Van Kiep Street. Famous dishes here such as: smoothies, pork rolls soup, Da Lat grilled spring rolls, beef vermicelli, Van Kiep heart porridge, Quyen vermicelli, dumplings, Van Kiep egg rolls...
- Van Kiep egg steamed rice rolls (Vietnamese Banh Cuon)
+ Address: No.55/19 Van Kiep street
+ Opening hours: 5am - 11pm
+ Price: 20,000 - 25,000 VND/ serving
- Dalat grilled spring rolls
+ Address: No.69 Van Kiep street
+ Opening hours: 10am - 10pm
+ Price: 20,000 - 60,000 VND/ serving
- Rice noodle soup (Vietnamese Banh Canh)
+ Address: No.53 Van Kiep street
+ Opening hours: 9am - 11pm
+ Price: 20,000 - 30,000 VND/ serving
10 - Su Van Hanh Street - District 10
Su Van Hanh Street is not only famous for karaoke bars but also has a lot of attractive street food. The top famous dishes for a perfect Saigon street food walking tour includes Khuc Bach sweet soup, pancakes, sweet soup served on a tray, fried fish balls, fried rice flour cake
- Phuc Beo - Nha Trang fish noodles soup
+ Address: No.772C Su Van Hanh Street
+ Opening hours: 7:30am - 9:30pm
+ Price: 20,000 - 60,000 VND
- Nguyen Huong sweet soup
+ Address: No.29 Lot H Ngo Gia Tu Apartment, Su Van Hanh street
+ Opening hours: 4pm - 11pm
+ Price: 8,000 - 35,000 VND
11 - Phan Van Han Street - Binh Thanh District
Phan Van Han Street, located at the foot of Thi Nghe Bridge, has long been a destination for students when they want to enjoy cheap food. Two of the must-try dishes here are 20-year-old fried dough located on the corner of Phan Van Han and Xo Viet Nghe Tinh streets or the famous duck noodle dish of Luong Ky Mi Gia restaurant.
III - The best street food tour in Saigon
If you want to have more experience with the locals and have a passion for finding something new and unspoiled, booking a food tour is the way better.
1 - Saigon Food Tour
- Address: R604, No.133 Ba Trac Street, District 8, City. Ho Chi Minh City
- Website: https://www.saigonfoodtour.com/
- Phone number: 0349 201 427
2 - Intrepid Urban Adventure - Saigon street food by night
- Website: https://www.urbanadventures.com
- Phone number: +84 (0) 909 904 100
- Email: info@hochiminhcityurbanadventures.com
3 - XO Tours - local Saigon Food Tours
- Address: Alley 611, No.611/111 Dien Bien Phu street, Ward 1, District 3
- Website: https://xotours.vn/tours
- Phone number: 093 308 37 27
Enjoying street food in Saigon Vietnam is also a way for tourists to have the opportunity to discover the lifestyle and culture here: Saigon is crowded, everything is always operated in a hurry but very harmonious and delicate.
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— Giang Pham
