Saigon is considered as the intersection of the other regions, coming to this city, you not only explore its culture, historical relics, but also the opportunity to discover the Saigon Foods. There are a countless number of other restaurants and dishes available here. Saigon is a city that prides itself on its local cuisine. The dishes with typical flavors of Saigon which make you never forget.
VN Bike Tour would like to introduce you the list:
No matter if you have been to Saigon or not, you have probably heard of Pho. Pho is so famous that it has been added to the Oxford Dictionaries. Pho is also regarded as one of the typical dishes of Vietnamese cuisine. Pho is the combination of soft rice noodles in a soup broth, particularly prepared with either beef or chicken, and supplemented with spices, including soy sauce, pepper, lemon, fish sauce, chilies, and herbs, typically including mint and Vietnamese coriander.
Pho So 1 Hanoi
Address: 25 Nguyen Thị Minh Khai, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Open hours: All day and night – they are open 24 hours
Prices: 28,000 VND ($1.29) for a bowl
2. Banh mi
While pho might be the first dish that many people think of when they think about Saigon Foods, the second would probably be Banh mi. It always has special appeal not only to the local people but also to the tourists visiting Saigon. That’s why a famous UK newspaper has voted for "banh mi" as one of the 10 most delicious and popular street foods in the world. It is a fast food for students, workers and intellectual class in Vietnam with a reasonable price. Walking around the streets in Saigon, you will see many bakeries and dozens of glass cabinet full of breads and other ingredients. There are many different varieties of banh mi you can choose.
Banh mi Huynh Hoa
Address: 26 Le Thi Rieng, 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 meat
3. Hu Tieu Nam Vang
Vietnam is home to noodles dishes like pho, bun bo, etc. In particular, there is a dish that only in Saigon can bring the flavor of its original which is Hu Tieu Nam Vang. Not many people know that the name "Nam Vang" comes from Cambodia, and Vietnamese have called it so long ago. It would be better to eat Hu Tieu Nam Vang with chili, black pepper, parsley and herbs. In addition to Hu Tieu Nam Vang, most of people also like to eat Hu Tieu with many types of processing such as stir-fried Hu Tieu, fried Hu Tieu, wontons soup, etc. at an affordable price.
Hu Tieu Nam Vang Nhan Quan
Address: 72 Nguyen Thuong Hien, District 3, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Open hours: About 5 pm – 10 pm
Price: 65,000 VND ($3)
4. Bot Chien
There are many versions of Bot Chien in many Southeast Asian countries. In Singapore and Malaysia it is known as a carrot cake, in Thailand it is called as kkanom pak gat, and in Vietnam it is known as Bot Chien. But all versions have many similar features to Chai Tow Kway in China. In Vietnam, Bot Chien is often made of just rice flour and tapioca starch. The rice flour cakes are sticky, thick, and starchy. The cakes are then sliced into little cubes or rectangles, fried in a flat pan with great amount of oil until it turns from white to crispy and golden brown on the outside.
Bot Chien Dat Thanh
Address: 277 Vo Van Tan, District 3, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Open Hours: 14:00 - 23:00
Price: 20,000 VND ($1)
5. Com Tam
=> Read more: Is Banh mi the world's best sandwich?
Vietnam is a rice-exporting country, so it is no surprise that Vietnamese rice is very good, and processed into delicious rice dishes. One of the most popular Saigon Foods, also one of the most loved dishes in the South of Vietnam, is Com Tam. It is especially tasty when served with grilled rib, a thin grilled pork chop, accompanied by fish sauce dressing, cucumber pickles, green onion oil, and chilies to garnish. Com Tam is available all over in Saigon, especially at small street food stalls and markets throughout the city.
Com Tam Ba Ghien
Address: 84 Dang Van Ngu, Phu Nhuan District, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Open hours: 6 am – 10 pm daily
Prices: About 30,000 VND ($1.5) for normal rice and pork.
=> Click here to book : Saigon Street Food Tour
=> Read more: Why I Love Saigon
Bo Kho, particularly in Saigon Foods and Vietnam cuisine in general, is a beef stew. So the beef is very soft, not crushed, cooked with tasty spice mixture, carrots, chives, and herbs. It would be better to load up to load up the beef stew with cilantro and add in a bunch of chilies for extra flavor. Saigonese people usually eat bo kho with either bread or a type of noodles.
Bo Kho Ut Nhung
Address: 109/7 Nguyen Thien Thuat, District 3, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Open hours: from 1 pm to 10 pm.
Price: 35,000 VND ($1.62)
Banh Trang Tron is basically a junk food, but very popular with young people, especially high school and college students because it is cheap and available. Banh Trang Tron is a snack of thinly sliced rice paper, chopped with chilli sauce, coriander and basil, added with shrimp, dried squid and liver, quail eggs and mango cuttings. There is nothing better to do when socializing at night than to chit-chat with your friends, have some drinks and eat Banh Trang Tron.
Banh Trang Tron Chu Vien
Address: 38 Nguyen Thuong Hien, District 3, Ho Chi Minh City,Vietnam
Open hours: 3 pm – 9 pm daily
Prices: 20,000 VND ($0.92)
8. Banh Canh Cua
Banh Canh Cua is quite similar to Japanese Udon noodles, except the noodles, which is stickier and a little chewier than udon, is typically made with a combination of rice and tapioca starch, while Udon noodles is regularly made with wheat flour. The gravy soup normally has quite a mellow crab flavor, but it is really impressive with crab meat and the toppings, including chilies and limes.
Banh Canh Cua Tran Khac Chan
Address: 87 Tran Khac Chan, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Open hours: 2 pm – 9:30 pm daily
Prices: 35,000 VND ($1.62)
9. Goi Cuon & Cha Gio
Goi Cuon are made with rice paper, known as banh trang, that’s slightly moistened, then filled with, typically a mixture of rice vermicelli noodles, pieces of pork, shrimp, and then stuffed with leaves and herbs like basil and lettuce before being wrapped. Cha Gio is a completely different taste than Goi Cuon, with a combination of mung bean noodles, minced pork (sometimes with crab meat), mushrooms, mixed with spices and wrapped in rice paper, finally deep fried to crisp.
Goi Cuon Ngon Ngon
Address: 190A Tran Binh Trong, District 5, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Open hours: 17:00 - 21:00
Prices: 10,000 – 30,000 VND ($0.5 – 1.5)
10. Sui Cao
Sui Cao is one of delicious Chinese Vietnamese dishes, which is very popular with Saigonese. It has a similar, but larger, shape to Wonton dumplings due to its stuffing of fresh shrimp and minced meat. Sui Cao is plentiful and varied in kind, including original Sui Cao, fried Sui Cao, steamed Sui Cao, Sui Cao with noodles, etc. Sui Cao is normally accompanied with its soup, typical sauce, and vegetables.
Sui Cao Thien Thien
Address: 193 - 195 Ha Ton Quyen, District 11, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Open hours: 17:00 - 23:00
Prices: 30,000 - 45,000 VND ($1.5 - $2)
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