We may have told you a lot about high buildings, sumptuous hyper-stores… But there is also another perspective-that of small corners with simple but delicious dishes, which we baptize with the name “Plats de rue” in French or “Street Food” in English. Located at the crossroads of trade, Saigon has the advantage of being the place of convergence of the best culinary flavors from different regions. And above all, these dishes, often very fresh with exquisite tastes, are very affordable in terms of price.
the top 8 best dishes you should never miss in Ho Chi Minh city:
1. Goi Cuon:
Goi Cuon is one of the favorite roll-type dishes of Saigonese. But the rolls in here are quite different from those of other regions of the country: the rice sheets are all fresh; the stuffing is made mainly of shrimp, rather greasy pieces of pork, and all kinds of fresh vegetables…
Madame Hue’s restaurant located on rue Chau Van Liem, Arrondissement 5 is an address known to many Saigonese for the exceptional quality of this dish. There are also many street vendors of this dish.
2. Com Tam
Com Tam is one of the most typical street food in South Vietnam, Saigon a priori, and it has been ranked among the top ten best Asian record dishes. Served on a plate, this dish consists of cooked “broken rice” believed to be the most nutritious part of rice seeds, with pieces of grilled pork, pork rind sprinkled with ground grilled rice, fried eggs, carrots, pickled white radishes and cucumber slices).
Good addresses where you can get some are Com Tam Cali at 222 Hai Ba Trung Street, in the 1st District, or Com Tam Bui at 378 Le Van Luong Street, in the 7th District…
3. Fried dough:
Don’t think these are European pancakes! The Saigonese have enough imagination and creativity to make their very own pancakes: they are a very appetizing yellow rice flour pancake stuffed with lots of things, especially prawns, pieces of pork and sprouts mung bean. The way to use it is quite special: rolled up in a leaf of mustard or salad, it is eaten by hand after being dipped in a sauce prepared with garlic and chili with a strong concentration of flavors and scent! Be careful, a good Banh Xeo must be very crispy!
We recommend these addresses to taste this dish:
– 46A D Dinh Cong Trang | District 3, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
– 74 Suong Nguyet Anh St., Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
4. Grilled meat skewer:
Saigon is one of the Asian countries that have the best skewers, including those meat. You can taste this type of dish everywhere in this city: skewers of quail, chicken, pork… These are different spices, such as garlic, chili, and fragrant leaves… which give very varied flavors to these dishes. saigonese. Saigonese have a preference for sweet and spicy tastes.
– BBQ 5k – 137, Đường 9A, KDC Trung Sơn, Bình Chánh (tạp chí địa điểm ăn uống đi chi nhánh 2 cho gần
– Quan Nuong: 29-31 Ton That Thiep Street | District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam – menu in English
– Lang Nuong Nam Bo: 285/C145 Cách Mạng Tháng Street 8, District 10
5. Crab soup:
Restaurants famous for crab soup in Ho Chi Minh city are:
– The Quán Súp Cua Hạnh restaurant, on Nguyen Huu Cau street, next to the Tan Dinh market
– Sup Cua Nha Tho restaurant (Notre Dame Cathedral Crab Soup) at 84 Nguyen Du Street-1st District- the oldest restaurant serving this dish in Saigon, with different preparation recipes.
Pigeon fried in butter: with the skill of Saigonese street cooks, a pigeon or a quail in fried butter becomes very crispy and fragrant: you can eat everything, even its bones. This dish is often taken with Vietnamese xoi, a cooked sticky rice dish.
6. Bun cha
While Hanoi is known for its bun cha – grilled pork noodles, bun thit nuong is served in a special way: everything is put in a single bowl and has no accompaniments: rice vermicelli, pieces of Shoulder of grilled pork, lettuce leaves, minced cucumber, bean sprouts, basil, carrots… You can add cha gio (egg nem) or nem nuong (grilled minced pork balls).
Bun Saigon at 73 Ly Tu Trong Street | Ben Thanh Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
7. Pho 24:
If Pho – a well-known Vietnamese rice noodle soup – is rather a specialty of North Vietnam, the Pho 24 brand restaurants which are also established in Ho Chi Minh city are highly recommended, because in a bowl of Pho 24 you can find enough of flavors needed for a bowl of typical Vietnamese pho: sweet liquid, pieces of ground beef, green onions, coriander leaves, spicy sauce,… In Ho Chi Minh city, you can find a Pho restaurant 24 at 72 rue Le Thanh Ton, 1st District.
8. Banh Mi or Fresh Saigon Sandwiches:
It is one of the indisputable successes of the Vietnamese to make certain Western dishes their own. At any time during your visit to this city, you may come across a mobile stand selling this dish. Compared to other regions of the country, this Saigonese sandwich is lighter, and crispier. Its garnish is made of butter, soy sauce, young white radish, thinly sliced carrots, cucumber, and cilantro. Many more solid ingredients with local flavors can be added: cha ca (fried fish with turmeric and dill), cha lua (steamed pork), heo quay (roasted pork), pho mai (cheese of laughing cow type), paté (pâté), xiu mai (various meatballs), boiled chicken, grilled pork tenderloin,…