Ho Chi Minh city is a bustling, dynamic city with continuous economic development. But when going to this city, it is impossible not to mention the cuisine, in the prosperous city of Saigon where there are countless delicious dishes that you will remember forever after trying even just once. For example: banh xeo, Le rice noodles , Duc cake, canh cake, crab soup, breaking beef, Mrs. Chieu sticky rice, Nam Vang noodle soup ...
I - Local markets
The local Saigon' markets are the best places to eat in Ho Chi Minh city where there is a lot of delicious food with a long reputation in Ho Chi Minh City. When you go there you will enjoy the full taste of the dishes, at extremely reasonable prices. Let's walk around one market round to see.
Ben Thanh Market - Source: Medium
1 - Ben Thanh Market
Ben Thanh market is located at Cua Nam, in Ben Thanh Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City. The market has 4 gates:
- East gate: located in the Phan Boi Chau street
- West gate: located on the side of Phan Chu Trinh street
- South gate: is the main gate of the market, overlooking Quach Thi Trang square.
- North Gate: located on the side of Le Thanh Ton street
The market is open from 4am, so you can leisurely go to the market early to avoid sunlight and traffic congestion. There are many dishes here for you to enjoy:
- Crab rice vermicelli: East door location: 55,000 VND / bowl ($2.4)
- Baby Tea: at the 7th gate in the food court: 30,000 VND ($1.3)
- Co Mai rice noodle soup: 70,000 - 80,000 VND ($3.04 - 3.47)
- Hue banh beo: Gate 7 in the food court: 20,000 VND ($0.87)
- The 7 colors sticky rice: 20,000 - 30,000 VND ($0.87 - 1.30)
- Fried flour: 25,000 VND ($1.08)
2 - Tan Dinh Market
Tan Dinh Market located at the intersection of Hai Ba Trung - Nguyen Huu Cau, Tan Dau Ward, District 1, is another best place to eat in Ho Chi Minh district 1. Highly recommended delicious dishes:
- Hanh crab soup: 45,000 - 50,000 VND ($1.95 - 2.17)
- Beef and beef salad - next to Le Van Tam Park: 20,000 - 25,000 VND ($0.87 - 1.08)
- Chicken sticky rice: 20,000 - 45,000 VND ($0.87 - 1.95)
- Coconut kumquat - fragrant coconut: 8,000 - 12,000 VND ($0.35 - 0.52)
3 - Ba Chieu Market
Ba Chieu Market is located at Bui Huu Nghia Street, Ward 1, Binh Thanh District. There are countless delicious dishes that you can enjoy:
- Ba Chieu chicken sticky rice: 25,000 VND ($1.08)
- Snails with milky dipping fish sauce: 30,000 - 45,000 VND ($1.30 - 1.95)
- Beef offal: 17,000 VND ($0.74)
- Huyen broken rice: 25,000 - 35,000 VND ($0.87 - 1.52)
- Mam Tai rice noodles: 45,000 VND ($1.95)
- Grilled spring rolls: 15,000 - 30,000 VND ($0.65 - 1.3)
II - The street vendors - best places to eat in Saigon while wandering for sightseeing
Street vendors - Source: Kenh14
Delicious dishes are not only found in markets or high-end restaurants, but you can also find at street vendors. Enjoying food at street vendors will give you more interesting experiences of the ordinary life of Saigonese. Top street food in Saigon to try:
- Broken rice: 25,000 VND ($0.87)
- Beef pasta: 25,000 VND ($0.87)
- Beef & egg pasta: 30,000 VND ($1.30)
- Strawberry cane juice: 10,000 VND ($0.43)
- Gotu kola juice: 10,000 VND ($0.43)
III - The food court
The food court is the best place to eat in Ho Chi Minh where you can try hundreds of dishes from different regions or countries. Here are the top 3 food courts in Saigon for food lovers.
177 Ly Tu Trong Alley (Source: Kenh14)
1 - Co Giang food street
The food court is located on Co Giang Street, in the heart of District 1. When you arrive there, you will be greeted with a variety of familiar dishes such as Mrs. Tuyen grilled meat vermicelli, beef guise leaves, and fat beef. Da Lat vermicelli, sticky coconut ice cream,... This neighborhood is open from 7am - 10pm, you will have plenty of time to fully enjoy the dishes here.
2 - 177 Ly Tu Trong Alley
If you go to Saigon, you will surely hear people mentioning a small alley with many delicious dishes, which is 177 Alley on Ly Tu Trong street. There are dishes with unique and characteristic flavors, attracting a lot of customers who stop there. It is very famous for its steamed dishes, fruit bowl or steamed dumplings... the stalls are placed next to each other so you will not have to struggle to move.
3 - 200 Xom Chieu Alley
In District 4, Xom Chieu has 200 alleys, which is very famous and is known as the "holy land" of popular cuisine of the people of Saigon. There are countless attractive dishes there, you will certainly not be able to resist the attractiveness of the taste and aroma of the dishes. It is very famous for such dishes as chicken rice, breaking hotpot, mussel noodles, crab vermicelli, snail bowl, crab soup, sweet banana, sweet gruel.
IV - At the restaurants
Saigon - a hub of culture and food which attracts millions of tourists every year, also a center of finest restaurants in Ho Chi Minh specializing in Vietnamese, Asian and European cuisine. And the district 1 is always recommended as the number 1 eatery for food enjoying.
Each region has its own unique dishes, expressing the strong flavor of that region. Visiting there, you can enjoy delicious dishes from restaurants to street vendors. For those who are wondering where to eat in Saigon, the answer is every corner of the city.
— Duy Linh
