Before going to Saigon, I knew relatively little about vietnamese food .
sol I decided to reach out to you, by posting a video on my YouTube groove, asking what and where I should eat during my travel to Saigon, Vietnam .
I was overwhelmed with the response, and received many local suggestions for everything from restaurants to street food stalls to eat at within the city, and besides many favored dishes to try.
When I landed in Saigon, I had my notes compiled with information on what to eat and where, and I was eager to spend as little time in my hotel as possible, and a much meter on the streets eating and enjoying Saigon .
Thank you all for your incredible vietnamese food suggestions .
It turned out to be one of the most memorable food trips I ’ ve had in a retentive time, and my wife and I took photos and video of about everything that went into our stomach .
With this easily lead, I hope you ’ ll be able to taste, enjoy, and have some incredible food experiences when you ’ re in Saigon, Vietnam besides .
The follow steer, featuring 25 vietnamese dishes to eat in Saigon, is a resultant role of your kind tips and recommendations, kilometers of walking about and sweating, and a calendar month of eating food that I ’ ll never forget !
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How to use this food guide:
There are two parts to this lead : the 25 dishes, and the restaurant recommendations .
For the dishes included here, you can truly find them all over the place ( they are all extremely common ), and if you see a sign for one of the dishes, stop at the stall, order it, and try it out .
besides, most of the foods mentioned are single meals or single plate or bowl dishes, not so much the huge feasts, or more expensive vietnamese specialization dishes .
For the restaurants mentioned in this guide, many are places I was recommended to eat at, others I found from blogs and on-line articles, and others I just stumbled into while exploring the city .
Please use this guide as a resource and inspiration for what to eat and where, but it ’ s decidedly not the across-the-board complete guide. There are a countless number of early restaurants and dishes available in Saigon and throughout Vietnam, and I would encourage you to merely walk around and explore and try whatever looks delightful .
Hope you enjoy these restaurants in Saigon, I thoroughly did .
Note Again : This is by all means not an exclusive list of vietnamese foods to try when you ’ re in Saigon, that would probably fill a library wide of books ! preferably, this is more a tilt of dishes I truly enjoyed eat and trying during my travel to Saigon, and I think it ’ s a beginning, or a beginning, to exploring delectable things to eat in the city .
With all that being said, are you ready to start eating ?
1. Bánh mì (banh mi)
If you ’ re even the slightest bit into vietnamese food, you ’ ve credibly eaten numerous banh security service sandwiches .
Along with pho, easily the most export vietnamese peculiarity is banh security service. Although banh mi can mean a variety show of unlike things, and in vietnamese it actually good means bread, sometimes the term can be used to refer to any type of the beautiful vietnamese personal baguet sandwich .
Walking around Saigon you ’ ll see dozens of carts with signs selling banh myocardial infarction – it ’ s actually hard to go more than a block without seeing one – so it ’ second never hard to find .
There are many different varieties of banh mile, and hera ’ s a effective resource for seeing the different types, but the basic sandwich starts with a crusty baguet that ’ sulfur sliced in half ( sometimes using a scissors ) and stuffed with layers of pork, lunch meats, shredded cured pork skin, pâté, mayonnaise, vietnamese radish and carrot pickles, a handful of slice cucumbers, sprigs of coriander ( coriander ), and last but not least, an optional, so far in my opinion necessary, outdo of bracing pound chilies .
The union of these ingredients together is what truly makes banh mi such a brilliant sandwich. Coming from Bangkok, where I can ’ metric ton remember the last time I ate bread or a sandwich for that matter, I was reasonably happy to devour as many banh mi as I could when I was in Vietnam .
here are the three main restaurants I ate banh mi when I was in Saigon .
Bánh Mì Huỳnh Hoa (Banh Mi Huynh Hoa)
Mention banh michigan in Saigon, and it won ’ triiodothyronine be retentive before person brings up Bánh Mì Huỳnh Hoa ( Banh Mi Huynh Hoa ), what is easily the most celebrated place to eat banh michigan pate in the city .
During just about all commercial enterprise hours, Bánh Mì Huỳnh Hoa ( Banh Mi Huynh Hoa ) remains busy and feverish, and if you go in the even, you ’ ll actually need to be on the aggressive side to place your ordering and get your sandwich .
The banh security service was absolutely stuffed with multiple layers of different lunch meats, pate, and mayonnaise, but there were less pickles, cucumber, and coriander than on early versions I ate. So this is actually a kernel lovers dream come true .
For myself, the sandwich at Bánh Mì Huỳnh Hoa ( Banh Mi Huynh Hoa ) was actually about excessively heavy, and packed with excessively much fatso kernel, but then again, I have to admit it was reasonably tasty .
I can sure see why it ’ s so celebrated, and if you ’ re a banh nautical mile fan, this is a set you don ’ deoxythymidine monophosphate want to miss .
Address : 26 Lê Thị Riêng, Ben Thanh, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Open hours : About 3:30 pm – midnight daily
Price: 30,000 VND ( $ 1.40 ), more expensive than others, but worth it for the amount of kernel
Bánh Mì Hồng Hoa
I was just walking around Saigon one morning when I stumbled into a restaurant called Bánh Mì Hồng Hoa .
I noticed there were quite a few motorbikes rolling up, ordering sandwiches and bracing boodle, and some motorbikes loading up big bags of baguettes. That was adequate of a signal for me to need to eat there .
I ordered just the standard bánh mì, a bracing and crusty baguet filled with slices of pork, lunch kernel, pate, mayonnaise, some nicely flavorful chillies, and a handful of impertinently sliced cucumbers, and fragrant coriander .
What I specially loved about their version, was that it was heavy on the herb and fresh veggies .
The family running the occupation were all very dainty and helpful, and they were excited that I was eating there. It turned out to be one of my favored banh michigan sandwiches of my time in Saigon .
Address : 62 Nguyễn Văn Tráng, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Open hours : I think open in the good morning, I arrived at 8 am, and they seemed to be at their bill serve, sol good topographic point for breakfast
Price: 17,000 VND ( $ 0.80 )
Banh Mi 37 Nguyen Trai
Another banh security service favored, located right in the affection of Saigon, and pretty democratic with both locals in the vicinity and tourists, is a stall that sets up in the late afternoon, known as Banh Mi 37 Nguyen Trai .
They specialize in banh nautical mile filled with fiddling broiled minced pork barrel sliders. The pork was seasoned and newly grilled, and when I ordered, the baguet was filled with barbecued pork barrel patties and lots of cucumbers and herb, and sauce that was about like teriyaki .
overall, very adept, and if you ’ re in the area, it ’ s a definite must-stop to eat nosh .
Address : 37 Nguyễn Trãi, Ho Chi Minh City ( though the address is 37, it ’ randomness properly at Hem 39 )
Open hours : From around 4:30 autopsy – 7:30 pm each day
Price : 16,000 VND ( $ 0.75 )
2. Ốp la (op la)
A beautiful option to the banh mile sandwich is a vietnamese dish called op lanthanum, or eggs cooked in a little personal pan, frequently supplemented by slices of kernel like ham, onions, and served with those fantastic crusted vietnamese baguettes .
good like some other dishes on this web log, op la offers a act of a fusion of vietnamese and western ingredients and cooking methods, all blended into a single meal .
Although there are many variations of op lanthanum, to me what actually makes it good is if the eggs are cheery side up, so the yolk is extra fluid, and what makes it evening better is if it ’ sulfur served top with caramelize onions and peppers .
Banh nautical mile op lanthanum makes a favored breakfast for many locals in Saigon, and it most decidedly hits the spot before a long day exploring the city .
Bánh Mì Hòa Mã
When I was in Saigon, one of the places I was very excited to eat at was Bánh Mì Hòa Mã, which a few of you recommended, saying I needed to try it .
After doing a piece more research, I found out another big web log, Eating Asia had already written about this touch .
It ’ s a popular breakfast seat, and, although they had a few different things on their menu, their main dish is banh security service op lanthanum, fresh toasted baguettes with eggs fried in a personal pan .
just a few moments after I ordered, my flaming hot ( you can literally hear the sizzle as it ’ south brought down the bowling alley to your table ) personal pan of fried eggs was rushed to my mesa, with an aroma that made my taste bud water immediately .
I ordered two fluid eggs, which were topped with a handful of classify fry lunch meats ( they taste exchangeable to SPAM ), and a handful of caramelize onions and green peppers .
Along with serving fantastic food, another bang-up thing about eating here is the open air, slope of the street dining atmosphere. The kitchen is located on the corner of the main Cao Thang road, but little fictile tables and chairs are set up along the quiet side of the alley, lined up in a row .
Eating a delightful breakfast of banh security service op louisiana, sitting following to the cool shaded wall, could barely get any better for me .
It was one of the best breakfasts I had .
Address : 53 Cao Thắng, District 3, Ho Chi Minh City
Open hours : 7 am – 10 am or thus, until they sell out
Prices : For a full banh mi op la the price is somewhere approximately 30,000 – 40,000 VND, our entire bill for two of us, with two meals, tea, bread, and pate came to 91,000 VND ( $ 4.21 )
3. Phở (pho)
No topic if you ’ ve been to Vietnam before or not, you ’ ve likely listen of pho, if not already eaten it many times before .
The attic soup didn ’ t become so celebrated for nothing – it in truth is one of the most coarse dishes in throughout the state, and it makes the vietnamese food menu at closely every sit-down restaurant besides .
Pho is the combination of soft rice noodles in a soup broth, normally prepared with either bo ( gripe ) or tabun ( chicken ) – both of which can be extremely delicious, but I ’ meter normally more of a beef kind of guy .
The noodles are blink of an eye boiled until soft, topped with your choice of kernel, and often finished with a scattering of chop green onions and sometimes angelic onions as well .
But what I truly love most about eating pho in Vietnam is the fresh plate of herb, typically including sawtooth herb, mint, and vietnamese coriander, along with house-made chili sauce, that ’ s on your table for self-service when you eat it .
While I did enjoy a roll of pho from time to time when I was in Vietnam, I think pho is screen of the launching pad thai of vietnamese cuisine, in that, yes it ’ s very good, however there are besides so many other delightful dishes to try – possibly it has a small undeserved fame, when compared to indeed many early delicious vietnamese dishes ?
Pho So 1 Ha Noi
After visiting the cathedral of Notre Dame and walking around the parking lot for a while, I continued walking along the street, and all of a sudden I felt myself getting extremely hungry .
I looked up, and there was a pleasant looking restaurant called Pho So 1 Ha Noi .
It was a nice assailable breeze restaurant, with clean alloy tables, and stashed piles of herb and condiments. I ordered pho bo ( gripe pho ) and Ying had the pho tabun ( chicken pho ), both of which were simple, and flavorful .
I particularly loved the all-you-can-eat herb, pickled garlic, and chilies. The owner, was quite a friendly valet arsenic well .
Pho So 1 Ha Noi is a great simpleton restaurant to eat pho at if you happen to be in the area. After eating here and looking this place up, I found Jodi besides loves this target .
Address : 25 Nguyễn Thị Minh Khai, Saigon, Vietnam
Open hours : All day and nox – they are open 24 hours
Prices : 28,000 VND ( $ 1.29 ) for a bowl
Phở Phượng 25
There are countless restaurants in Ho Chi Minh City to devour a bowl of pho, from the bantam of street food stalls, to indoor air conditioned restaurants .
I think credibly the best versions of pho ( and possibly the best versions of many dishes throughout southeast Asia ), come from the restaurants that are somewhere in-between – the open air, family run establishments – sometimes in shophouses, sometimes in the movement of homes, and sometimes at the bottom of apartment buildings .
I was browsing through Vietnam Coracle, when I found Phở Phượng 25, and I was in the area one day, so decided to try it. I ordered the pho thai, the rare beef interpretation of pho .
The broth was a fiddling on the angelic side for me, but it was nicely balanced, just slightly greasy, but rich and flavorful, with a subtle trace of spice. The gripe, after dipping it in the roast chili sauce, was delectable .
Address : 25 Hoàng Sa, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam ( it ’ south located very conclusion to the celebrated Lunch Lady of Saigon )
Open hours : 6 am – 9 prime minister daily – big for any meal
Prices : 40,000 VND ( $ 1.85 ) for my bowl
early suggestions for pho in Saigon I received but wasn ’ metric ton able to eat at ( so far ) :
4. Bún riêu (bun rieu)
Vietnam is a land of attic soups, and many enjoy at least one bowl of noodles a day, some, possibly even a few .
After trying many different types of vietnamese noodle soup during my stay in Saigon, I “ think – and I say that because I change my food judgment quite often ” I can say my front-runner is bun rieu .
The broth is made from a cancer base malcolm stock, and another key ingredient are tomatoes, which create a broth that ’ s slenderly seafood taste, yet has a beautiful natural sweet and acerbity from the tomatoes. I think there ’ s besides frequently some rice vinegar included in the recipe to give it a lovely sour and all-around spirit .
Along with the wonderfully flavorful broth in a stadium of bun rieu, the noodles are much like in determine and size to spaghetti noodles, except soft rice noodles .
Topping the noodles are pieces of gold fried bean curd, sometimes meatballs, hearty chunks of pork barrel, squares of congealed pig ’ mho blood, and last a slab of rich crab paste .
The smasher reminded me of a few alike Thai dishes like northerly Thai nam ngiao, a tomato stew .
To eat bun rieu, you normally garnish it with runt paste or crab spread, then load it up with chili sauce, a squeeze ( or I like multiple squeezes ) of calcium oxide juice, and then devour it with a little mountain of herb and shredded vegetables .
For attic soup in Vietnam, I actually think it can ’ t get a lot better than a steaming hot bowl of bun rieu cua .
Bún riêu Nguyễn Cảnh Chân
Another recommendation from the YouTube television, was a restaurant called Bún riêu Nguyễn Cảnh Chân .
It proved to be an insanely delicious restaurant, that not only served an excellent bowl of bun rieu cua, but the staff were all friendly, and I like that the restaurant was located on a pleasant wide side road in Saigon, shaded by nice big trees .
My stadium of bun rieu cua at Bún riêu Nguyễn Cảnh Chân was perfectly balanced, with a gorgeous cancer season, a tip of bitter, and a easy bouquet from the always simmer tomatoes .
The kernel and other ingredients in the soup were liberally added, and the condiments were pungent and flavorful. This was indeed one of my most memorable bowl of noodles during my trip to Vietnam .
Address : 18/5 Nguyễn Cảnh Chân, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City
Open hours : 11 am – 7 prime minister daily
Prices : 45,000 VND ( $ 2.08 )
hera are some other commend places :
5. Bún mắm (bun mam)
Graham Holliday, an author and technical on vietnamese food labels bun mam, despite its pungent smell, as his wholly favorite vietnamese attic dish .
Bun mam is specifically a southerly vietnamese cup of tea, and just like most other attic soups, you ’ ll find it at both sit down restaurants and portable street food stalls around town – though it ’ s not about vitamin a coarse to spot as some other noodle dishes on this web log .
The floor of any bowl of bun mam ( bún mắm ) is a dark colored broth train with ferment fish sauce ( which I believe is like to Thai pla right ascension ) .
The ferment fish sauce gives the soup broth a well rounded, balanced season, and it ’ s honestly not about american samoa fishy as it might sound or smell .
Along with the broth, bun, or rice vermicelli noodles, are loaded into the bottom of the bowl, before the entire assortment of meats like squid, prawns, and pork are all scattered on top of the noodles .
last, a slice or two of eggplant, which soaks up all the broth, is another necessity part of a bowling ball of southerly Vietnamese bun mam .
In addition to the glorious pisces flavor, the broth of a bowl of bun mam is normally sweetened with tamarind juice and carbohydrate .
Although bun mam was honestly a little excessively sweet of a flavor for me ( I ’ five hundred go with a bowl of bun rieu most of the time ), it is widely popular, and it ’ s a vietnamese food you decidedly need to try when you ’ re in the city .
Bún Mắm Phan Bội Châu
Recommended by both from Mark from Sticky Rice Hanoi ( one of the top Vietnamese food blogs specially covering Hanoi ) and Jodi from Legal Nomads, Bún Mắm Phan Bội Châu is a longstanding restaurant, located right across the street from Benh Thanh Market, that serves hot fresh bowl of bun mam .
Their broth was benighted and beautiful, and along with the noodles, the concoction of goodies, like runt, a piece of pork belly, and a few bites of tangly squid were fantastic .
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probably my favored morsel out of my entire bowl of bun mam, was not even the meat, but it was the eggplant, which was extremely lush and blue .
Despite enjoying my bowl of bun mam, I thought their broth was overall much excessively gratifying for my personal preference. I ’ m not sure if it ’ sulfur always like this, or if this particular restaurant serves their bun mam on the sweetly slope ?
however, Bún Mắm Phan Bội Châu is in a capital location, then if you happen to be shopping at Benh Than Market, you can easily stop by to sample it .
Address : 22 Phan Bội Châu, across from Ben Thanh market, Saigon
Open hours : not certain precisely, but they are loose for breakfast, lunch and throughout the good afternoon
Price : 65,000 VND ( $ 3 ) per bowl
6. Bún bò Huế (bun bo Hue)
probably one of the dishes most mentioned that many of you suggested I should eat in Vietnam was bun bo Hue ( I think there ’ s an entire vietnamese culture surrounding this dish, and it may be gaining some grip against pho ) !
Alright, bun bo Hue is not actually from Saigon, it originates in Hue – a city on the coast of cardinal Vietnam, which unfortunately I haven ’ thyroxine been able to visit even – but I included it on this vietnamese street food lead because it ’ sulfur one of the most beloved attic soups in Saigon equally well .
Bun bo Hue is beef based, and in Vietnam it ’ sulfur known for being hot and flavorful .
The broth, which if made to specification, should be full of beef bone season, and fragrant with lemongrass, has a fantastic taste, like a citrusy gripe soup .
The noodles are normally rice vermicelli noodles, of the sphagetti size, and a bowl of bun bo Hue is frequently served with slices of gripe, a hunk of either ox tail or pork barrel knuckle, cha lua ( vietnamese blimp and overact ), and a handful of green and gratifying onions .
again barely like every early attic dish, the extra herb, flash boiled vegetables, and chilies, give bun bo Hue an add property of delectability .
one am a food blog calls bun bo Hue, a smasher “ you never knew you loved, ” and that was true for myself, having never had it before going to Vietnam, but I loved it ( by the means, check out her amazing recipe for the smasher ) .
For myself, after bun rieu, bun bo Hue is credibly my next favorite vietnamese soup, and I haven ’ deoxythymidine monophosphate even been to Hue so far .
Bún bò Chú Há
I ’ ve consume noodles for years and years in Asia, and throughout multiple countries, and I have to say, Bún bò Chú Há was the first gear stadium I ’ ve always had served in a clear diaphanous bowl .
It was pretty cool, like eating out of a pisces aquarium where I could see what was swimming in my soup .
All jokes aside, I thought the bun bo Hue at Bún bò Chú Há restaurant was fantastic. The broth had a superb umami depth to it, was salty and just slightly sweet, with a citrus touch .
The slices of beef were lightly chewy, as they should be, but the actual foreground was the hunk of ox tail ( I think ? ), which was sensitive and juicy, and equitable slid off the bone .
Along with serving a delightful roll of bun bo Hue ( and those amazing guileless methamphetamine bowl ), the duet of ladies who served me ( whom I assume are the owners of the family run restaurant ) were extremely kind .
After she dished out my hot bowl of soup, I took approximately 50 pictures from all angles, and after photographing my bowl, I then sat down to make a video recording and eat it .
But barely as I was about to start seasoning my roll, the owner ran up to me, and said something and snap up my bowling ball. next she proceeded to dump out all the broth ( which was cold by then ), and filled it up with trade name new hot steaming broth .
She handed it back to me with a smile. now that ’ s vietnamese cordial reception .
Address: 300 Võ Văn Tần, District 3, Ho Chi Minh City
Open hours: 6 am – 10 autopsy casual
Price: 60,000 VND ( $ 2.77 ) per bowl, a bit expensive, but extremely generous on the kernel
besides check out these spots :
7. Bún mọc (bun moc)
On one of my final days in Saigon, I was walking around a local neighborhood grocery store and decided to try yet another vietnamese attic soup cup of tea – this prison term, a smasher called bun moc .
The noodles, bun, are the thinly easy rice vermicelli noodles, which are therefore easy to eat and go down sol well a well .
The broth in bun moc is normally pork based, a simple and soothing soup, that ’ s not spicy at all, but good comfort. It ’ s the type of noodle soup you might want to eat relax showery day .
Along with the rice vermicelli noodles and pork barrel broth, a bowl of bun moc besides typically includes some chunks of pork barrel kernel, possibly evening a bone, meatballs, and vietnamese blimp .
Although bun moc is said to have originated in the north of Vietnam, it ’ s highly popular throughout Saigon deoxyadenosine monophosphate well .
Bun moc street food stalls
Since I had so many other vietnamese foods to try, I actually alone managed to eat bun muc once, at a minor bantam little street food booth in the middle of an alley near Chợ Bàn Cờ market ( I put the small food booth on the map, but this place is not deserving going out of your room precisely to eat, because you ’ ll find the same matter all over the city ) .
The lady serving the bun moc was extremely friendly and generous, and I ordered up just her normal bowl of bun moc .
The noodles were slippery and satiny, and my stadium included a decent hunk of pork, some slices of vietnamese sausage, and what very made it for me, a handful of crisp deep fried shallots thrown on clear .
I seasoned my stadium of bun moc with birdlime juice, plenty of black pepper, herb, and crushed chilies, and it was a fantastic vietnamese street food breakfast .
Price: 30,000 VND ( $ 1.38 )
8. Hủ tiếu Nam Vang (Hu tieu Nam Vang)
however another cup of tea, that has a huge follow of vietnamese cuisine lovers, is Hu tieu Nam Vang .
Nam Vang, as I understand, is the vietnamese parole for Phnom Penh in Cambodia, and Hủ Tieu has connections to Teochew in China .
so what does that have to do with this vietnamese darling food ?
As I ’ ve read, Hủ Tieu Nam Vang is a cambodian and taiwanese pork barrel based noodle soup, that contains slices of all sorts of organs, and a shrimp or few, plus an assortment of early additions .
Hủ Tieu Nam Vang was a fiddling on the plain side for my personal preference bud, but I did like it when spiced up with some chili glue, loaded with chilies, and combined with that huge clean plate of herb and vegetables that it ’ sulfur always served with .
I often saw local Vietnamese season their Hủ Tieu Nam Vang with the diaphanous looking chili sauce and dark soy sauce as well .
Hu Tieu Nam Vang on the street
just a few minutes walk from where I was staying at Le Blanc Hotel in Saigon was Cao Thang road ( where there are a number of fantastic restaurants including the outstanding op lanthanum restaurant # 2 on this food guide ), I was walking around when I noticed a crowd huddled around a noodle stall on the street .
Dangling from a tree branch was a sign that said “ Hủ Tiếu Nam Vang – 22,000 ” – and the price and the standard atmosphere made it closely impossible for me not to sit down for a bowling ball .
Since it was quite a budget price for a stadium of noodles specially in central Saigon District 1, it wasn ’ t all that heavy on the kernel, yet it was a nice mixture of noodles, hog parts, a shrimp, and a nice basket of herb and vegetables to garnish .
It was childlike, but good normal, and quite tasty, plus the street food atmosphere here was perfect .
Address : It ’ second on Cao Thang road just by Nguyen Dinh Chieu
Open hours : unfold for lunch for certain from about 10 am – 2 phase modulation or so
Price: 22,000 VND ( $ 1 ) – it ’ sulfur pretty cheap but didn ’ triiodothyronine include much kernel
Hủ tiếu Nam Vang Nhân Quán
Another roll of Hủ tiếu, this time a different dash, was at another restaurant not far from where I stayed, at a celebrated place called Hủ tiếu Nam Vang Nhân Quán .
The bowl of noodles at this restaurant was more expensive than at the street food booth above, but it included at least doubly the amount of kernel, and it indeed was better timbre .
This time around, I ordered yellow egg noodles and rather of the soup inside, I got the soup on the side. I have to admit, this was a improbable bowl of noodles, stacked with toppings and season .
Address : I think there are a number of different placement, but I ate at the branch on 72 Nguyễn Thượng Hiền
Open hours : About 5 pm – 10 phase modulation
Price : 65,000 VND ( $ 3 )
other suggestions which I haven ’ thyroxine tried :
9. Bún chả (bun cha)
just like bun bo Hue, another serve on this number that ’ s not from Saigon, but this time quite from Hanoi, is bun cha .
The reason I included it on this Saigon food article is because I plainly love it – if there ’ s always a restaurant with a country wide vietnamese food menu, I would credibly jump at bun cha .
When I visited Hanoi, years ago back in 2010 or sol, I had bun cha at one of the most well know spots, and it blew my heed with how full it was .
For years I dreamed about another bowl of bun cha, until finally I returned to Vietnam this time-round, and I needed to satisfy my crave .
Bun cha is a smasher that uses bun, fresh rice vermicelli noodles, the lapp noodles used in bun thit nuong, which are cushy and easy to chew .
The next component of bun cha, are little seasoned pork barrel patties ( kind of like pork sliders ), that are grilled over charcoal .
A plate of bun is served alongside a bowl of broiled pork patties, which after being grilled, are served in a smokey sour soup, and finally a plate of herb and green vegetables are served to accompany everything .
The independent way I saw most vietnamese consume bun cha, was to add a snatch of rice vermicelli to the pork barrel patty soup, trim with garlic, chilies, and herb, and then recur .
Bun cha is an absolute sensational dish, and if you don ’ t visit Hanoi, even though that ’ mho decidedly where the best is, you can hush try it in Saigon .
Bún Chả Ánh Hồng Hà Nội
From some inquiry on many vietnamese food blogs and websites, on one of my final examination days in Saigon, I last decided to try and get a relish for the cup of tea I had missed for so retentive since my previous trip to Hanoi .
I settled on a place called Bún Chả Ánh Hồng, because it wasn ’ t besides far, and I had tried to visit a few places closer to Benh Thanh Market that seemed to be closed .
anyhow, when I arrived to Ánh Hồng, I could smell the olfactory property of pork barrel fastball pouring from the entrance. From the front it looked just like a bantam restaurant, but walk into the alley, and inside the restaurant opens up into a large court with batch of tables and staff .
The grill pork barrel was fantastic, highly smoky, and the soup was salty and a little sweet. The bun and herbs were delightful .
overall, it wasn ’ thymine equally effective as I remember in Hanoi, but it was distillery pretty tasty and decidedly worth corrode .
Address : 140b Lý Chính Thắng, District 3, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Open hours : 6:30 am – 8 autopsy casual
Prices : bowl of normal sized bun cha combinations are 38,000 VND ( $ 1.75 )
10. Bánh canh cua (banh canh cua)
Banh canh, according to Wikipedia, actually means soup cake in vietnamese, that ’ s the misprint translation .
That ’ second probably because the noodles are therefore hearty and so thick .
Banh canh is quite exchangeable to japanese udon noodles, except I thought the noodles, which are typically made with a combination of rice and tapioca starch, were more sticky and a little chewier than udon, which are typically made with wheat flour .
Although there are a few different versions of banh canh, the one I ate, and amply enjoyed was banh canh cua, the dense starchy noodles with crab .
alternatively of being a distinctive attic soup with a reduce livestock, banh canh cua is more like a hearty stew, the broth is thickened like gravy, about like Thai cuisine style radna .
The boom normally has quite a mellowly crab relish, but what ’ s truly impressive are the nuggets of crab kernel that come in a bowl, and the toppings, including chilies and limes .
If you ’ re a crab lover like I am, this is a vietnamese dish for you .
Bánh Canh Cua Trần Khắc Chân
A few of you said that this was your favorite translation of banh canh cua in all of Saigon, so I knew it was a target I needed to try .
Trần Khắc Chân only opens in the afternoon, and I thought I was going to beat the crowd by arriving at a random time, about 3 phase modulation in the in-between of the good afternoon. But I arrived to find closely the entire restaurant was already packed out .
I ordered just the normal bowl of banh canh cua, which was pretty beneficial sized, and came brimming to the top of the bowl with boom, twirl of noodles, and an impressive solicitation of crab and meatballs. A collision of lime juice and chilies made things even better, and I absolutely loved it .
On top of a improbable roll of banh canh cua, all the staff and the owner of the restaurant were all very kind and smiled when we said we were from Thailand .
Address :87 Trần Khắc Chân, Ho Chi Minh City
Open hours : 2 promethium – 9:30 prime minister daily
Prices : 35,000 VND ( $ 1.62 ) per stadium, and then I had a plate of Chinese donuts for just – 3,000 VND, estimable price for capital food
11. Bún thịt nướng (bun thit nuong)
vietnamese cuisine is brilliant for combining a contrast of flavors and textures into a unmarried dish, and I think bun thit nuong, or better even bun thit nuong cha gio, is a great case of this .
The dish normally begins with a handful of chopped up herbs and boodle at the bottom of a roll, then in goes fresh rice vermicelli noodles ( similar to Thai khanom jeen noodles ), then a few skewers of grill pork barrel are layered on that, and last a sweet and piquant fish sauce, and a outdo of greasy chives and park onions, and pickles are all added on top .
If you get the bun thit nuong cha gio, in addition to everything already mentioned, you ’ ll besides get a fried spring or two chopped up on circus tent, which bumps the delicious-meter up another notch .
The noodles are voiced and satiny, the pork is offer, salty, and fresh, and the egg rolls ( cha gio ) add a beautiful crunch to everything .
When I was in Vietnam, I enjoyed dousing my bowl of bun thit nuong with a few scoops of impertinently ground chili ( which should normally be on your table ) to balance out the pleasantness and make it fiery .
Bun thit nuong is a dish you should for sure not miss when you ’ rhenium eat in Saigon .
Chị Thông Bún Thịt Nướng
Chị Thông is a well known spot in Saigon for bun thit nuong. I was in the first place tipped for this point from Eating Saigon, a great food blog if you ’ ra looking for delicious restaurants to eat at in Saigon .
They open starting in the dawn and don ’ triiodothyronine close until the night, so you can go to get your specify of this celebrated dish reasonably much anytime you ’ ra craving it. I decided to go for a mid-morning breakfast – I think we arrived at about 9 am. There were barely a few other diners, so it wasn ’ t excessively busy, but they still had plenty of fresh food .
I ate bun thit nuong cha gio, including rice vermicelli noodles, some chopped herb and lettuce, and then on clear, a couple of grill skewers of pork barrel, plus a chopped fried spring roll ( cha gio ). ultimately, a soap of sauce, a spoon of vietnamese pickles, and a trim of green onions and pork rinds, to top it off .
The bun thit nuong at Chị Thông was identical tasty, adept quality, and it ’ s a courteous clean restaurant .
In addition to delicious food, everyone there was so friendly – when I was taking photograph and a video, they were fabulously courteous to me .
Get all the details here .
Address : 195 Cô Giang, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City
Open hours : 7 am – 10 phase modulation daily
Prices : 40,000 VND ( $ 1.85 )
12. Bánh tằm bì (banh tam bi)
Bánh tằm bì is a food that ’ s entirely available in the south of Vietnam, and if you love the season of coconut milk, you ’ re going to in full enjoy banh tam bismuth .
just like banh canh cua ( food featured above ), banh tam bismuth is a dish that uses a like chummy attic – however the season and the toppings are much different .
A plate of banh tam bismuth much begins with a handful of approximately cut herb, including lots of sweet basil and vietnamese coriander on the bottom, topped by a pile of midst gluey rice noodles, a outdo of both finely shaved farrow skin and pork barrel kernel, a garnish of green onions, and finally a ladle of slurred coconut cream sauce .
The noodles are sticky and soft, the herb add a nice fresh touch, and the gravy is typically dessert and buttery from the coconut milk .
While I did think banh tam bismuth was pretty dependable, it ’ s not a dish I in truth loved because it was on the sweetness side for me, and lacking a strong or blue spirit .
however, it was very enjoyable and I did like it, but it would be more of an casual dish on my vietnamese menu repertoire. But again, if you love coconut milk, you should by all means try banh tam bismuth .
Bánh Tằm Bì Đồng Tháp
Bánh Tằm Bì Đồng Tháp was a restaurant I was recommended to try, and after exploring Chinatown in the good morning, we weren ’ t besides far from the restaurant, so we checked it out .
From the away, I could see the noodles in the display cabinet, and again, they looked about like japanese udon noodles.
Read more: Banh Mi Pizza.
The short denounce was homely and small. At the front were a few display cabinet street food carts, serving both banh tam bismuth and some vietnamese desserts ( which I didn ’ metric ton judge but looked quite popular ). Behind the street food carts was a full dining board with fiddling stainless steel tables and chairs .
I ordered just the normal plate of banh tam bismuth, with was assembled by one of the kind ladies there .
It was rich and creamy, and although as I mentioned already, it was a little fresh for me, I did very like the shuffle of clean Vietnamese herb, and the ample coconut milk .
They besides serve a total of other dishes like cha gio ( fried spring rolls ) and banh secret intelligence service ( sandwich ) .
Address : 352 Nguyễn Trãi, District 5, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Open hours : 9 am – 11 phase modulation casual
Prices : All together we ate 2 plates of banh tam bismuth, 1 banh nautical mile, 1 plate of goi cuon ( fresh summer rolls ), plus a couple of drinks, and our total price came to 126,000 VND ( $ 5.86 ) – so I ’ thousand guessing the plates of banh tam bismuth were about 30 – 35,000 VND each
13. Bánh cuốn (banh cuon)
I ’ m a huge fan of vietnamese bánh cuốn, and though in the first place comes from the northern separate of the country, it ’ s highly popular throughout Saigon .
Banh cuon, which directly translates to rice cakes, are sort of like attic wrapped, non-deep fried spring rolls, packed full of mouth-watering ingredients .
To prepare the recipe for banh cuon, a thin layer of rice and tapioca flour batter is steamed into a attic like crape. It ’ s then filled, often with a combination of lightly seasoned minced pork barrel, modest dried runt, and wood-ear mushrooms, and served with finely shaved boodle and blanched attic sprouts on the english .
ultimately, you can ’ t eat banh cuon without dipping it into sugared fish sauce, known as nuoc cham, the stuff many people say is the lifestream of vietnamese cuisine, and I personally can ’ thyroxine populate without chilies .
What I love about banh cuon are the soft fresh attic wrappers, and since I ’ m not a huge desserts or sweets fan, I like the piquant mix of pork barrel and prawn on the inside .
When I was walking though local fresh wet markets in Saigon, I noticed banh cuon being made all over the identify, particularly in modest tightly packed alleys. indeed keep an eye out for banh cuon all over the place .
Bánh Cuốn Hải Nam
One of the most well known restaurants to eat banh cuon in Saigon is Banh Cuon Hai Nam .
The restaurant is not hard to miss, with its huge boastful amobarbital sodium bless and crimson pop characters, and at night, the signal lights up with near objectionable flashing lights, and a host of pink shirted waitresses and cooks .
On the front patio of Banh Cuon Hai Nam you can watch the the rice batter crepes being steamed, and then impertinently assembled into the delicious rolls .
They actually have a full menu of unlike vietnamese attic dishes you can regulate, but the main and most popular dish is their banh cuon. I besides tried their version of banh beo, small bowl sized cakes topped with the same occupy as the banh cuon, which were besides very tasty as well .
On my first visit to Banh Cuon Hai Nam, I came along with KyleLe.net, who said it was one of his favorite spots in Saigon for banh cuon .
Address : 11A Cao Thắng, District 3, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Open hours : 7:30 am – 10:45 promethium daily
Price : A normal denture of banh cuon is 30,000 VND ( $ 1.38 ) here
14. Bánh xèo (banh xeo)
kind of like a crape, and classify of like a Thai huitre omelet, a vietnamese banh xeo is a crisp savory nosh that ’ s a favorite for many .
just like banh mile sandwiches, banh xeo is a bit of a french inspired vietnamese polish creation .
A thin layer of clobber is fried in a bunch of vegetable oil, then combined with your choice of ingredients, frequently including slices of pork belly, prawn, and onions, then folded over with a handful of lightly cooked bean sprouts in the center .
By far the best part of eating banh xeo for myself is getting to dress and garnish each bite with a bounty of herb and toppings ( are you seeing the model with herbs and vegetables in vietnamese cuisine ! ? ) .
You can in truth eat banh xeo however you want, but the common method acting is to take a few leaves of lettuce or mustard leaves, load in a piece of the golden crisp crape, top it with some more herbs like fresh basil and perilla leaves, add some chili ( or a set of it ), roll it up like a green spring bankroll, and then dip the integral cover into the dulcet vietnamese pisces sauce dress .
From what I understand, banh xeo in the south of Vietnam are normally larger in size, about approaching south amerind dosa condition, while in other parts of Vietnam they are normally smaller .
Banh Xeo 46A
undoubtedly the most well known restaurant in all of Saigon for devouring hot and huge banh xeo is Banh Xeo 46A, and just like the celebrated Lunch Lady, Anthony Bourdain feed here and made it extremely celebrated .
Their menu is written in Vietnamese, English, and japanese, and they might even have a few early languages as well – so you can tell how well known they are – they ’ ve been included in just about every Vietnam change of location guide and food guide .
nowadays Banh Xeo 46A remains one of the most popular spots in Saigon for the serve. It ’ s a nice open air restaurant, tucked down a side street. The cook is all done in the front of the restaurant, and you can see your crape being fix right in front of you – and they still use charcoal .
Ying and I ate here with Kyle, and we ordered the particular sized banh xeo, a huge crape filled with runt and pork belly. The herb and vegetables were my favorite part of eating banh xeo .
Address : 46 Đinh Công Tráng, Tan Dinh, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City
Open hours : 9 am – 9 phase modulation daily
Prices : We ordered the giant special banh xeo which was pretty big and pretty expensive at 110,000 VND ( $ 5.09 ) – prices are identical high hera due to fame I think
- I also tried the banh xeo at a more upscale restaurant called Banh Khot Co Ba Vung Tau – it was alright, nothing too spectacular
- Also you might try Bánh Xèo Ăn Là Ghiền
15. Bánh khọt (banh khot)
While banh xeo is the crepe of vietnamese cuisine, banh khot are the little pancake sliders .
I have to say that for myself personally, I enjoy eating banh khot probably better overall than banh xeo – banh khot makes a delicious little light meal or bite .
The clobber of banh khot is made from rice flour, sometimes even leftover rice like in Helen ’ sulfur recipe, coconut milk, and a hint of turmeric gunpowder to give it that slightly yellow color .
The batter is then fried in a hot griddle, the lapp pan used to make Thai khanom krok ( little coconut griddle cakes ) .
As the buffet is sizzling away in batch of oil, a prawn is placed in the center of the griddle pancake along with a sprinkle of k onions, which cooks into the top of the batter. The banh khot is finished when the dinge is cooked, and the outside is golden and crisp .
Banh khot, precisely like banh xeo, is served with a healthy categorization of lettuce and mustard leaves, and herbs and green leafy vegetables .
ultimately, banh khot wouldn ’ deoxythymidine monophosphate be complete without the sweet pisces sauce dress .
Chợ Bàn Cờ market stall
Banh khot is an excellent vietnamese street food, and as I was walking approximately local markets in Saigon, I noticed banh khot being made in a phone number of different places, constantly quite popular, and at about every carrel there were people waiting to order .
While exploring Chợ Bàn Cờ market one morning, I stopped at a banh khot stall ( which I ’ m not certain of the name, but I did include it on the map ) .
She quickly made her banh khot, pouring in the batter, and the smell and sizzle could be detected from across the market .
One of the things I loved about the banh khot here is that after I ordered a home plate, she asked if I wanted some extra coconut cream on peak. I got half of them with coconut cream, but after tasting it, I wish I would have gotten all of them topped with it .
anyhow, they were newly fried, silent hot and highly crisp, and one of the best things was the amaze market environment ( watch the video recording if you haven ’ t already ) .
Address : somewhere in the embroil of Chợ Bàn Cờ market
Open hours : No certain, but I think for most of the day
Price : 20,000 VND ( $ 0.92 ) for a plate that included about 10
Bánh Khọt Cô Ba Vũng Tàu
When I ate at Co Ba Vung Tau, a nice end restaurant, I had no clue it was celebrated for banh khot. But by a random probability I happen to order banh khot, among a few other dishes .
Overall the food was good, the service was friendly, and it is a very popular restaurant with local Vietnamese .
I thought the banh khot at the street food carrel topped with coconut cream was overall more my style, but Bánh Khọt Cô Ba Vũng Tàu is a nice clean restaurant to eat banh khot .
Their menu besides includes all sorts of other dishes, and vietnamese desserts .
Address : 102 Cao Thắng, District 3, Ho Chi Minh City ( but there are a couple of locations )
Open hours : 7 am – 10 phase modulation, if you go during point mealtimes it can get pretty busy
Price : Ying and I had a entire meal of about 3 – 4 dishes for around the 200 – 300,000 VND ( $ 9.23 – $ 13.85 ) range
16. Bột chiên (bot chien)
In Singapore and Malaysia it ’ s known as a carrot cake, in Thailand it ’ south kkanom pak gat, and in Vietnam it ’ randomness known as bot chien. But all versions have taiwanese Teochew chai taoist kway to thank .
Bot chien is basically fried rice cakes. The rice cakes are made from rice flour and tapioca starch, and although Chinese and some early southeast asian versions include radish radish in the cakes, I think they are normally fair rice in Vietnam .
The cakes are sliced into bite sized pieces, then fried, normally on a hot frying pan in lots of lard, along with some light seasonings, until crispy and golden brown on the edges. once cooked, the rice cakes are topped with an egg and a handful of green onions before being served .
The leave of bot chien are small bite sized nuggets of crisp sticky rice flour, enriched with egg, and with a nice smoky season .
It ’ s not the healthiest vietnamese delicacy, that ’ south for certain, but it indisputable is tasty once in a while .
Street food stall at Chợ Bàn Cờ market
Again, just like some other dishes on this guide, for bot chien I headed to Chợ Bàn Cờ commercialize, largely because it was near where I was staying, and it ’ s a fantastic local market ( but there are many other exchangeable markets scattered in abundance throughout the city ) .
Within a lane, there was a table set up, surrounded by motorbikes, like so many early street food dining establishments in Saigon, and as I approached I could smell the sizzle rice cakes .
The bot chien was served on a plate, along with a side sauce which I think was a largely soy sauce and vinegar that had a sweet undertone to it .
What I truly liked about this version of bot chien was that she served it topped with a handful of thinly shredded green papaya, giving it a nice fresh refer .
Address : somewhere around Hem 174 Nguyễn Thiện Thuật, equitable off Ban Co street
Open hours : I ’ m actually not sure, but I ate this plate of bot chien at about 10 am and she was open. I think she ’ mho open from morning to flush.
Prices : 25,000 VND ( $ 1.15 ) for a plate
For a more model down bot chien experience, check out Bột Chiên Đạt Thành .
17. Gỏi cuốn & chả giò
While pho might be the first dish that many people think of when they think about vietnamese cuisine, for myself, it was and constantly has been goi cuon, the fresh, non-deep-fried summer rolls ( though I much call them fresh spring rolls ) that are omnipresent is Vietnam .
Goi cuon are made with rice paper, known as banh trang, that ’ s slenderly moistened, then filled with, typically a mix of rice vermicelli noodles, pieces of pork barrel, shrimp, and then stuffed with leaves and herbs like basil and boodle before being wrapped .
last, vietnamese summer rolls are often served with a nutty hoisin dipping sauce and accompanied by newly grind chili .
I could probably eat goi cuon all day farseeing and with every meal, so I was reasonably felicitous to see them available about everywhere I looked in Saigon. From street food stalls to fancy restaurants, you ’ ll never be army for the liberation of rwanda from goi cuon .
Cha gio, are wholly different taste-wise than their goi cuon counterparts, and they partake few characteristics other than their testis bun form and the fact that they ’ re often sold side by side at many restaurants and street food stalls .
Cha gio are vietnamese deep fried form rolls, and though I ’ ve try spring rolls ( or egg rolls ) in many places around the world, Vietnam makes some of the best I ’ ve ever had .
The testis rolls are frequently a combination of mung bean noodles, minced pork barrel, and sometimes crab if you can find them, blend with a insidious blend of piquant spices, wrapped in rice composition, and then deep fried to a wrinkle .
What I love most about cha gio is the wrapping, which is typically train with rice newspaper, that when deep fried, about has the crunch and thinness of baklava .
Where to eat them
literally, you ’ ll find both goi cuon and cha gio at all sorts of dining establishments, from street food stalls to fancy restaurants, they are served all over the place .
When I was food exploring in Saigon, my darling place to eat goi cuon and cha gio was deep within local fresh markets, tucked into alleys, and all of a sudden I ’ d see a dame rolling up clean summer rolls and I could hardly resist sitting down for a bite .
18. Bánh tráng trộn (banh trang tron)
I received a number of recommendations to eat a vietnamese bite called banh trang tron, which as you might remember from above, banh trang is the thin rice newspaper .
Banh trang tron is a relatively recent vietnamese creation, a bite of shred rice composition, seasoned with a chili sauce, and filled with herbs like vietnamese coriander and basil and supplemented with pieces of squid, salty fish, and quail eggs. There are probably about ten-spot more ingredients I ’ m forgetting to mention in the mix a well .
It ’ s basically a bite or junk food, and when I was in Saigon, I noticed that it ’ randomness specially democratic with youth and the younger coevals, and much available at parks and populace places, and about always served in a plastic pocket .
I ’ meter not a huge nosher, I prefer to eat big meals and not indulge in little snacks, but when in Saigon, there ’ s no choice but to try banh trang tron – it seems the entire younger genesis LOVES it .
Bánh Tráng Trộn Chú Viên
For my inaugural taste of banh trang tron, I stopped at Bánh Tráng Trộn Chú Viên and I actually ordered, what seemed to me like the carb-less interpretation of banh trang trong ( possibly it was even just mango salad ? do you know ? ), including all the ingredients without the rice newspaper .
But anyhow, though I made a mistake ordering, they for surely have banh trang trong available vitamin a well .
Starting around 3 autopsy, this celebrated stall opens up along the busy side of the street, and motorbikes pull up to make their bite orders – it ’ mho screen of like an highly busy drive-through, everyone athirst for banh trang tron .
Address : 38 Nguyễn Thượng Hiền, District 3, Ho Chi Minh City, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Open hours : 3 phase modulation – 9 autopsy daily
Prices : 20,000 VND ( $ 0.92 )
Notre Dame Cathedral and Turtle Lake at night
Another one of the most popular places to eat banh trang tron in Saigon is outside both the Notre Dame Cathedral and Turtle Lake at night. It ’ s a huge social haunt sphere for young people, and there ’ south nothing better to do when socializing than eat some snacks .
Banh trang tron is served all over the place here, by and large from improvised street food stands and popup stalls. Sitting around the iniquity Turtle Lake at night munching on bites of bah trang tron from a fictile bag, was quite enjoyable .
Another exchangeable park nosh in Saigon is banh trang nuong, sometimes referred to as a vietnamese pizza .
A sheet of rice wallpaper is thrown over a grill, topped with a quail testis, some green onions, and casual early ingredients, then folded over into a crisp greaser .
It ’ randomness smoky and crunchy, and makes a good vietnamese leisure nosh, and it ’ s besides widely available across these two social haunt spots .
19. Cơm tấm sườn nướng (com tam suon)
You ’ ve seen all the previous attic dishes mentioned in this guide, but vitamin a much as I love noodles, I love rice more .
so permit ’ s move onto a few of the celebrated and most beloved vietnamese rice based dishes .
One of the most coarse meals I noticed throughout my stay in Saigon, specially known as a southerly favorite, is the combination of rice ( which is often broken rice, which are partially break grains of rice that occur in the mill process ), topped with a broiled pork barrel chop .
The most basic translation is known as cơm tấm sườn nướng, the break rice and a flimsy broiled pork barrel chop, served on a plate and accompanied by pisces sauce dress, cucumber pickles, green onion petroleum, and chilies to garnish .
Starting from the most basic version of com tam suon nuong, you can then upgrade with all sorts of improbable extra things like a fry testis, vietnamese meat loaf, hog peel, excess pork, more sausage… the list goes on .
Com tam suon nuong is available all over in Saigon, particularly at small street food stalls and markets throughout the city .
I loved eating it for lunch and dinner, and a few times for breakfast a well .
Cơm Tấm Ba Ghiền
Cơm Tấm Ba Ghiền is probably the most celebrated invest to eat vietnamese break rice and grilled pork barrel in all of Saigon .
sol this was a restaurant I knew I couldn ’ thyroxine miss .
I could literally smell the food from the front of the street as I approached the restaurant – a angelic porky smoky olfactory property that immediately made my taste buds begin to water .
When I arrived to Cơm Tấm Ba Ghiền they were grilling up a mind-blowing quantity of pork barrel, literally buckets of marinade meat, and two huge grills were endlessly churning out delightful thick swerve pork barrel chops for the dozens of hungry customers .
I decided to order the full carnivore platter, what I called the grand-slam of vietnamese food, known as cơm tấm bì chả sườn trứng ốp la, which is literally a small bite of all things kernel, plus an egg, all over a small layer of piping blistering fail rice .
The pork chop was meaty, odoriferous and piquant, and densely trimmed .
The kernel loaf and other classify meats were besides fantastic, combining to create what was well the best version of com tam suon I had during my stay in Saigon .
I have to admit, the food at Cơm Tấm Ba Ghiền was a little on the greasy english, but it was so worth it, and such a hearty plate of delightful protein .
Thank you all for the recommendations to eat hera .
Get more details here .
Address : 84 Đặng Văn Ngữ, P. 10, Quận Phú Nhuận, Ho Chi Minh City
Open hours : 6 am – 10 phase modulation daily, but I ’ d say it ’ second best as a lunch smudge, but dinner or breakfast would besides be fantastic
Prices : We ordered 1 combination plate, 1 regular plate of rice with just a pork barrel chop, and a pair of drinks and our entire bill came to 104,000 VND ( I think my combination plate was about 60,000 VND – $ 2.77, but I think just rice and pork was more about 30,000 VND )
Other Com Tam Stalls
If you catch a puff of pork barrel grilling on the side of the street, they are most probable serving com tam suon nuong – you ’ ll find it literally everywhere .
Com tam suon is credibly the meal I ate most frequently when I was in Saigon, promptly available, more fill up, in my opinion, than a bowling ball of noodles, and I ’ m a huge rice lover .
At many street side stalls in Saigon a plate of com tam suon nuong, with just the broken rice and pork barrel chop should run around 30,000 VND and with an egg around 35,000 VD – 40,000 VND .
Other place to try:
- Cơm Tấm Hoàng Gia – This place looks good and is highly rated (thanks to … for the suggestion)
20. Cơm bình dân (com binh dan)
possibly as readily available as com tom suon around Saigon, is another one of the most typical rice meals you can eat, com binh dan, which literally translates to commoner ’ south rice .
It ’ s basically the khao gaeng ( rice and curry in Thailand ) or nasi campur ( rice and curry of Malaysia ), style dining experience of Vietnam .
Com binh dan is one of the most fill meals you can buy in Saigon on a budget – easily the best abdomen filling meal for rate .
At any com binh dan stall you ’ ll first see a glaze cabinet filled with the day ’ s supply of pre-cooked dishes, all waiting to be ordered .
The food normally ranges from braised pork barrel belly, any number of fish dishes, and one of my favorites, tofu stuffed with mince pork barrel and covered in tomato sauce ( if you see it, you ’ ve got to try it, I ’ thousand sill dreaming about it ) .
To order your meal at a com binh dan street food stall, you can just point and choose to whatever dishes look good .
frequently a plate of rice with 2 or 3 dishes on top will cost 20,000 – 30,000 VND ( $ 0.92 – $ 1.38 ), and if you get rice with dishes on the side in break bowl, it will run a little higher, but you normally get bigger portions .
For myself, being a lover of rice accompanied by multiple kernel and vegetable sides dishes, com binh dan is one of my favorite vietnamese meals to eat for lunch in Saigon .
Com Binh Dan on the street
Walking around one day, I headed down a side street and was greeted by a delicious looking issue of pre-made dishes filled into a glass cabinet, and since I was quite athirst right then, I stopped for lunch .
This restaurant was identical typical, sol actually you ’ ll find this demand character of food at thousands of stalls throughout Vietnam .
The class serving the food were all very nice and the ladies dishing out the meals were smiling and happy that I was so enthusiastically taking photos of their motherly cook .
I had a identical satisfy com binh dan lunch here, and I tried everything from fry pisces, to pork barrel and beef, and my especial darling, again, the bean curd stuffed with mince pork and topped with tomato sauce .
Address : Right off Vuon Chuoi on So 2
Open hours : I came for lunch at about 11 am
Prices : Everything we ordered came to 70,000 VND ( $ 3.23 ) for my wife and I
There are a near infinite total of com binh dan stalls throughout Saigon and you ’ ll find spot wherever you walk. Make indisputable the food looks fresh, and then rate what you like .
21. Cá kho tộ (ca kho to)
available at both Vietnamese sit down restaurants and com binh dan street food buffets ( featured above ), ca kho to is a vietnamese food of wolffish braised in a sweetly caramel sauce, traditionally served in a clay-pot .
Ca kho to is highly common, often prepared at home, and served at motherly style restaurants throughout Saigon .
The dish goes extremely well with a home plate of hot rice, and I ’ megabyte quite certain many Vietnamese would consider it a comfort food ( at least I sure did when I took my first pungency ) – offering the flavors of home plate in each bite .
The catfish is cut into steak sliced pieces, then braised in a midst and rich gravy made from soy sauce, fish sauce, boodle, shallots, and garlic, among a few early light spices and seasonings. here ’ s a recipe I want to try when I have a chance .
Because ca kho to is braised, the aroma of the dish frequently fills the area around where it ’ sulfur being made, so you might smell it before you see it !
Rice and curry street food stall
Down another bowling alley ( that seems to be where many good foods are found ), this time somewhere along Hem 39 in between Nguyen Dinh Chieu and Vo Van Tan streets, is where I had my beginning taste of ca kho to, and I decidedly smelled this locate before I saw it .
The food stall, though not the clean of places, had some great character to it, and from the teem of customers, who were chowing down on massive plates of rice topped with all sorts of unlike dishes piled on top, I knew it was going to be an unforgettable meal .
arsenic interfering as it was, the very reason I stopped was because I smelled, then saw their beautiful arrangement of ca kho to, sitting in their clay-pot homes, braised and oily, and ready to be eaten .
The ca kho to was fabulously delectable, sugared and caramel flavored, and the pisces was fatso and meaty. The onions and garlic countered the bouquet, and it was a on-key harmony of flavors .
Address : This claim restaurant was on Hem 399, in between Nguyễn Đình Chiểu and Võ Văn Tần
Open hours : I think from about 10 am – 2 phase modulation for lunch
Prices : Our wax meal for 2, came to 68,000 VND ( $ 3.15 ), and we must have eaten about 4 or 5 different dishes
I ran out of time before I was able to eat at Đông Hoa Xuân, but I in truth wanted to go, therefore if you have the clock time, you could make the travel. I ’ thousand hoping to eat at this restaurant on my adjacent visit to Saigon .
22. Cháo (chao)
about every asian nation has their own version of rice conge – a comfort rice porridge, much supplemented with some meat for spirit, and typically consumed for breakfast, but in truth at any time .
Cháo is the name for vietnamese rice congee, and though there are many different types, with pork barrel and slob organs ( cháo lòng ) being extremely popular, there ’ sulfur another version I in truth loved called cháo vịt, congee made with duck .
Cháo Vịt Thanh Đa (Gốc Nhà Lá)
Along with Kyle, this time we headed to one of Saigon ’ s most well known chao vit restaurants, known as Cháo Vịt Thanh Đa, located a little outside of the center of town, but well worth the drive .
Seeing an integral brace of ducks, already braised and hanging, fix to be ordered, I abruptly became intensely hungry .
We ordered quite an impressive unfold of food, including the rice congee, which came in a big communal roll, along with a plate of sliced up hedge and duck organs .
Something I in truth loved is that the conge and hedge were served with a plate of vietnamese salad, a mix of finely sliced herb and vegetables, dressed in a light sweetly and dark dress. The vegetables went extremely well with the salty rice porridge and the lush dip .
This was not only one of the best rice conge meals I had in Vietnam, but among the best congee I ’ ve ever had anywhere – strictly excellent food .
Address : 118 Bình Quới, P. 27, Ho Chi Minh City – it ’ second located north of Saigon, on the modest horseshoe shaped island
Open hours : 7 am – 11 prime minister casual
Price : We paid a total of 283,000 VND ( about $ 13 ) for three of us, but rather than a light breakfast, we had an entire family sized meal, which probably should have fed more than three of us ( but I wasn ’ t complain, that ’ mho for certain ). So I thought for the prize of the food we got, it was a great distribute .
alternatively, when you travel to Vietnam, just walk around the streets and you ’ ll spot dozens of both restaurants and roaming street food stalls that sell chao, particularly the pork barrel organ adaptation .
It ’ mho specially common in the good morning for breakfast .
23. Ốc (oc)
even though I was excited to eat everything else you ’ ve seen on this food guide so far, possibly one of meals I was most excite to eat was a feed of vietnamese seawater snails and shells .
Ốc ( oc ), as they are known in vietnamese, can basically refer to any type of snails, normally seawater, and they are so popular, they could be considered a major region of the vietnamese culture of Saigon .
When you go to a quan oc, or a snail restaurant, there are typically dozens of unlike snails to choose from, equally well as other shells like rake cockles, clams, and often prawn and crab ampere well .
The seafood choice of the day is normally proudly displayed at the battlefront of the food procrastinate or restaurant, and you proceed to choose whatever look good to you .
After you choose the type of natural snails you ’ d like to eat, then choose a method acting for it to be cooked – like grill, sautéed, coated in strategic arms limitation talks and chili, steamed, curried, and indeed on – I think there are often about 5 – 6 different cooking methods .
Ordering can get a little jumble, but precisely keep in judgment that evening though you might not have a clue what you ’ re about to get on your dinner mesa, that ’ s separate of the fun .
Shells are normally prepared on modest plates, a bunch of different types of snail are all ordered, each cooked in a different method acting. Eating oc with family, friends, or co-workers, and enjoying a pair beers, is a favorite Saigon way to socialize .
Be sure to check out this excellent Vietnamese shell eating lead by vietnamese Coracle .
If you love food ( which I ’ m quite certain you do ), and the culture that goes along with eat in Vietnam, a night of relaxing on little little chairs or stools, sipping beer, and slurping down snails and shells that you have no clue what they might be, is one of the finest ways to enjoy Saigon .
Ốc A Sòi
One night I was just wandering around, I came across Nguyen Thuong Hien street, which at the time I didn ’ thymine know was quite celebrated throughout Saigon as a escargot eating street .
After walking through the street a number of times, I decided to have dinner at a restaurant known as Ốc A Sòi .
I enjoyed a act of different escargot and shell dishes, including mud creeper snails in dessert coconut milk, Babylonia areolata coated in strategic arms limitation talks and chili, and Ốc tỏi, some kind of colossus garlic snails roasted and seasoned with chili crush .
hera ’ s everything I ordered .
There are many amazing places to eat fresh seafood and snails throughout Saigon, but I thought Ốc A Sòi restaurant, though possibly not the best in the city, was good, the staff were friendly during my act of meals there, and it was relatively easy to order .
Address : 327 – 329 Nguyễn Thượng Hiền, Quarter 3, Ho Chi Minh City
Open hours : 4 phase modulation – 10 prime minister casual
Price : Dishes can range from 40,000 – 100,000 VND ( $ 1.85 – $ 4.62 )
other escargot feasting restaurants to check out :
- Ốc Đào – One of the most famous in the city, many of you recommended this place, but I ran out of time before making it here. This restaurant looks amazing.
- Quán Ốc Hai Lùn
- Ốc Quang Anh
- Ốc Như
24. Bò kho (bo kho)
From Africa to North America, I ’ ve always been a lover of stew – it ’ s such a comfort and wholesome season method of cooking. Vietnam besides has a version of grizzle, bo kho, which means gripe stew .
Bo kho in Vietnam is normally a grizzle that ’ s tomato based, filled with nuggets of lusciously tender gripe, carrots, shallots, and early little vegetables, and slow simmered to pool all the flavors together .
precisely like vietnamese noodles, or about everything you ’ rhenium served in Vietnam, bo kho is typically accompanied with a basket of fresh herbs and vegetables to garnish .
I like to load up my gripe fret with coriander and sawtooth herb, and add in a bunch together of chilies for extra season .
Although I grew up normally eating beef stew with rice, in Saigon it ’ sulfur common to eat bo kho with either bread or a type of noodles .
Bò Kho Út Nhung
Walking around Saigon I noticed a number of signs for restaurants and street food stalls serving bo kho, but last when it came time to eat it, I decided to check out a recommendation I got from Eating Saigon .
The restaurant had a fantastic friendly feeling to it equally soon as I walked there. The restaurant is screen of half inside and half outside along the street, tucked equitable away from the chief road into a placid neighborhood .
At the battlefront of the restaurant was the mega, constantly simmering caldron of abstruse loss colored beef stew, with a nice level of oil bubbling on top that looked like magma .
My taste bud began to body of water, and the olfactory property was irresistible to my nostrils .
There were two different ways to order their bo kho, along with yellow testis noodles in the bottom, or served with banh secret intelligence service, the vietnamese personal sized baguettes. Ying and I decided to get one of each .
The stew was ladled into a bowl, dashed with clean pepper, and sprinkled with a handful of sliced onions, coriander and greens onions, and served with the mandatary condiments of more herb, and those fantastic piquant Vietnamese chili peppers .
The stew was mild in season, but rightfully warmly and comforting, slenderly tomatoey, with boastful tender chunks of blue gripe. I besides in truth loved the carrots, which were tender and naturally sweet .
For some rationality the bowl of bo kho with banh michigan included more petroleum in the stew than the bowl we ordered with egg noodles. So overall I preferred the egg noodles as it was less oily, but both were quite fantastic .
Address : 109/7 Nguyễn Thiện Thuật, District 3, Saigon
Open hours : Beef grizzle is served from 1 pm – 10 promethium, they are clear in the morning, but if you go during the day, they serve pho alternatively beef fret
Price : 35,000 VND ( $ 1.62 ) per stadium of beef stew – and it was a reasonably properly size part and included batch of beef
25. Thịt bò nướng lá lốt (bo la lot)
last but not least, I could not write a post about some of the best vietnamese food without including bo nuong la set, known besides a fair bo la lot… it ’ second one of my favorite foods in all of Vietnam, and if there ’ s one thing I could choose off this food number right immediately to eat, it would credibly be this .
Bo la fortune are short mince gripe rolls, lightly spiced and seasoned, which are then filled into lá lốt, or violent betel leaves ( called bai chaplu in Thai ), and tightly wrapped into thinly tubes .
They are then grilled over charcoal, typically with a pretty hot inflame so they cook through the middle, but are slightly charred on the outside and have an undeniable smoky relish .
A plate of bo la lot is then served with rice paper, a typical bounty of leaves and herb, a dip sauce which I think is frequently made with ferment pisces sauce, and ultimately, chilies, which should never be forgotten .
Everything is assembled, loaded with park herb and sauce, and each bite is pure joy. I love bo louisiana lot so much, my talk is watering as I write this .
Street food stalls
Bo lanthanum fortune is available throughout Saigon, and is particularly common for dinner .
One even I met up with friends Jodi and James, and we headed to a side of the road food stall, somewhere around Tôn Đức Thắng road, where there are a number of bo louisiana draw street food stalls .
The food was quite cheap and delicious .
Cô Liên Bò Lá Lốt
While bo lanthanum lot is often served for dinner, there is one restaurant in Saigon ( probably others excessively ), that serves it throughout the sidereal day called Cô Liên Bò Lá Lốt .
I had walked past the restaurant on the other side of the road many times, but had never thought anything of the restaurant. But after some on-line research on Foursquare, I realized Cô Liên served bo lanthanum draw and I needed to eat there .
deoxyadenosine monophosphate soon as I walked in, the owner of the restaurant and her staff were all extremely kind ( just like at so many other Saigon restaurants ), and the restaurant washington decorated and painted green excessively – it in truth got me in the bo la fortune eating temper .
adenine soon as I ordered, the small pre-wrapped fantastic betel leaf rolls were transferred to the blistering charcoal grill sitting veracious outside the door, and scorch grilled for a few minutes, giving them a promptly charwoman .
They were among the best bo latissimus dorsi set rolls I ’ ve always had in my life, the kernel was rich and salty, and the leaves were fleeceable taste, herby, and fair packed with flavor. The complementing herb and sauce were besides superb .
In summation to the bo louisiana lot, we besides got a plate of mỡ chài, another type of vietnamese blimp, without the leaf negligee, which were besides delicious .
Though the bo la distribute is more expensive at Cô Liên Bò Lá Lốt than at street food stalls, they included much more kernel and were bigger in size .
Address : 321 Võ Văn Tần, Quater 3, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Open hours : 10 am – 9:30 promethium daily
Price : A huge meal for two of us cost 132,000 VND ( $ 6.09 ), and we got an entire spread of bo louisiana bunch and sausages and leap rolls, and the owner even gave us some dislodge plates of some delicious extras a good
Alright, that ’ south it for the 25 dishes included on this tilt, but by all means there are many other vietnamese foods to try when you ’ rhenium travel ( or living ) in Vietnam .
here are barely a few more photos of early things I ate, but I didn ’ t include in this 25 dishes guide :
Conclusion
Vietnam is among the greatest food destinations in the global, a country that I believe is worth visiting with the purpose of just eating .
Before traveling to Saigon, I published a video asking where I should eat. I received many kind replies, with information about what and where to eat in Saigon .
When I arrived to Saigon, I was armed with batch of suggestions, and I could hardly wait to start exploring with my abdomen guiding the way .
I ate adenine a lot as I could, took photos and videos, and after eating dozens of meals, I downsized the list to 25 dishes, and this is the conclusion solution .
If you ’ ve made it to the buttocks of this post, that means you ’ ra dangerous about eating delicious local vietnamese food in Saigon – so that ’ s amazing to hear ( I hope you ’ ra hungry by now excessively ) !
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Have an incredible time eating in Vietnam!
ultimately, like I mentioned at the top of this guide, this is by all means not a complete number of vietnamese dishes, I chose to keep it at barely 25 so it ’ mho more accomplishable, but if you have a favorite vietnamese dish or restaurant, I would love to hear from you – please leave a comment below .
What’s your favorite Vietnamese food!?
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