One of the biggest highlights of any trip is to fill your stomach with so much food that it defies the laws of physics. After all, what’s a better way to understand a new country than to drink and eat your way through them! Well with the sheer quantity of food stands and restaurants in Saigon, navigating the streets to find the best fare is an arduous endeavor.
Websites like foody.vn have a large language barrier and aren’t particularly reliable. Other times, foreign friends have recommended me places that are either westernized versions of Vietnamese cuisine or are simply overpriced.
So I’ve taken it upon myself incessantly bother my local friends for a comprehensive list of their favorite food joints. I then went out to personally verify each restaurant to create this list. I did this for you, my readers, so you can go out and eat cheaply, culturally and not have to comb through the hundreds of food vendors that Saigon has to offer. In no way did I do this to satisfy my own food cravings.
Quick Side Note
Get used to nước mắm.
This is a serious prerequisite to enjoy Vietnamese food. This sauce is made from fermented fish and used as a topping for what must be 99% of Vietnamese dishes. Nước mắm is the soy sauce of China, the ketchup of America, the mayonnaise of Belgium and whatever terrible topping the British think is acceptable to put on food (vinegar?).
Nước mắm like many other good foods take some time to adjust to if you have a western palate. But just like sushi and beer, it’s worth trying nước mắm in small doses until you’ve learned to enjoy its fishy goodness. I may not be selling the flavor very well, but you’ll have to take my word that it’s hella good and it compliments most Vietnamese dishes fantastically.
Now my dearies, which places are worth a stop to fill up that empty belly with scrumptious food?
Yep, that’s an entire pitcher of fish sauce
Bún Thịt Nướng Chị Tuyền
195 Cô Giang, Quận 1, Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam
Located not too far away from the busy tourist street Bui Vien, this little restaurant offers great priced Bún Thịt Nướng. What exactly is Bún Thịt Nướng? It’s rice-vermicelli noodles topped with various herbs like basil and mint, a chunk of grilled pork, salad, bean sprouts, spring rolls and sometimes fish mint. All of this is topped with side of Nước mắm.
If it sounds good, it’s because bún thịt nướng is essentially a meat salad! I believe it’s one of the most overlooked dishes that should rise to the ranks of popularity with phở or the Vietnamese baguette sandwiches known as bánh mì. A bowl here only goes for 40,000 VND ($1.76), so it’s worth a quick jaunt out here to experience this majesty.
Served with a nice side of nước mắm
Bún Bò Gánh 110
110 Lý Chính Thắng, phường 8, Quận 3, Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam
While we’re on the subject of overlooked dishes, I’d like to go over bún bò huế. This dish originates from the ancient city of Huế with the cooking style of the old royal court. How could you pass up the chance to literally eat like a king/emperor?
Bún bò huế is also a beef-based broth similar to phở but varies in that it also has a balance of sweet, spicy, sour and salty flavors. The most overpowering flavor that makes up this dish is usually lemon grass. Often it will be served with slices of Vietnamese ham, beef brisket or even a chunk of pork bone complete with a hunk of fat and meat clinging to it, asking to be gnawed off.
Bún Bò Gánh 110 is in district 3 and just a little bit off the beaten track, but is certainly a quick and worthwhile visit to try out the famous bún bò huế. It’s a bit more expensive than the average local price since it’s a nicer restaurant, but most westerners will find that a large bowl of bún bò huế going for 50,000 VND ($2.20) is a pretty fair price.
Oh, if you like coconut, try out the chè. It’s a dessert made from ice and coconut milk mixed with assorted beans and chunks of soft tapioca. Also very cheap, with most chè varieties at this restaurant costing around 15,000 VND ($0.66).
Lemongrassy
Ốc Loan
102 Lôc Nguyễn Thiện Thuật, phường 8, Quận 3, Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam
OR
102 Lô C Nguyễn Thiện Thuật, phường 8, Quận 3, Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam
This street food restaurant is so unknown that Google Maps can’t even pinpoint the correct location. You may have to use the second address for google to even find the general vicinity. This place is located in a tightly packed maze that’s masquerading as a neighborhood. If you can successfully navigate your way through, you’ll be rewarded with this wonderful grilled shellfish restaurant.
The actual location is at the blue dot
Ốc translates directly to snails. This place specializes in various sea snails, oysters and clams cooked in a giant variety of styles. I know sea snails are odd to us westerners, but it’s time to put aside those reservations! Vietnamese are a coastal people and have found ways to turn any kind of shellfish into a delectable treat.
When you arrive, you’ll be seated in little plastic chairs on the side of the road. You’ll notice that most people are enjoying a few beers with their food as they pick at everything and just have a casual night hanging out. This is a quintessential part of Vietnamese culture: eating, drinking, chatting and watching the world go by. So even if you don’t like shellfish (and you will change your mind after eating here), it’s worth it for the cultural experience.
And if you’re worried about the prices due to all the seafood, it’s quite affordable with each plate of shellfish going for 30,000 VND ($1.76) to 60,000 VND ($2.64). Of course this style of eating won’t be as cheap on the budget as a simple noodle bowl, but it’s quite a great way to spend the night out.
That’s some big ass shellfish
Bánh Mì Lan Huệ
400 Lê Văn Sỹ, phường 14, Quận 3, Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam
Bánh mì, easily one of Vietnam’s largest cultural exports. I’d put the top three cultural exports as phở, bánh mì and PTSD from gruesome jungle warfare. All kidding aside, these sandwiches consist of French baguettes filled with anything from meat slices, pork belly, sausages, pork liver pâté, mayonnaise quail egg, cucumber slices, cilantro or pickled carrots and radishes.
Bánh mì vendors can be found on almost every block and vary drastically in flavor and price so it’s hard to find a reliable vendor. There are many other great bánh mì shops out there, but I can say without a doubt that that Bánh Mì Lan Huệ is one of the better vendors.
Their bánh mì goes for a fair price at 20,000 VND ($0.88) a sandwich, is made from fresh ingredients, and most importantly, has a great pâté, which often makes or breaks a good sandwich. It’s a hole in the wall vendor that sells sandwiches to go in the heart of district three. It’s far off the tourist trail, but worth a visit if you have time.
There’s always someone waiting in line when I visit
Bún Riêu Nhà
19E Kỳ Đồng, Phường 9, Quận 3, Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam
If Vietnam is creative about one thing, it’s how to continuously vary up their vermicelli noodle soups. Instead of sticking with their usual beef-based broth, it’s made from tomatoes and crab, and sports a slightly sour flavor. Common toppings for this dish can include tomatoes, fried tofu, hunks of crab, crab cakes, congealed pigs blood, shredded banana flower, water spinach stems and bean sprouts.
It’s a little more exotic than phở and caters more to the seafood lover. It’s another staple of Vietnamese cuisine that many have overlooked. Bún Riêu Nhà specializes in just this dish, and this cute little restaurant isn’t too far away from the popular and touristy district one. Prices are affordable with each large bowl costing roughly 50,000 VND ($2.20), but that is on the higher side for Vietnam.
I really like this dish, but I’ll honestly say that I’ve seen few westerners feel the same way
Cơm Tấm Bụi Sài Gòn
100 Thạch Thị Thanh, Tân Định, Quận 1, Tân Định Quận 1 Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam
http://www.comtambuisaigon.com/
This restaurant is actually a chain, but it’s a damn good one. The address listed is at the edge of district one and the closest for most people. If you’re looking to find other locations that may be more convenient for you, just go to their website for a comprehensive list of their stores.
Now what exactly is cơm tấm? It translates directly to broken rice. This is a generic name for a staple dish in Vietnam. It’s simply broken rice grains served with a side of meat and vegetables. In the case of this restaurant, its rice served with marinated and grilled pork or chicken, a steamed egg, Vietnamese shredded pork skin, sliced cucumber, pickled radish and carrots and an optional side of Vietnamese soup.
While there are many cơm tấm restaurants are around town, like bánh mì, many of these are mediocre vendors. Cơm Tấm Bụi Sài Gòn excels due to their excellent grilling of their meats, some fairly unique types of Vietnamese soups, and their fair price with dishes going from 40,000 VND – 50,000 VND ($1.77 – $2.20).
Protip: Steamed egg and the shredded pork skin (named bi) is usually extra and not listed on the menu. You have to request it separately. Bi is a particularly unique Vietnamese topping and worth going through the rigors of ordering off menu with a waiter that most likely doesn’t speak English.
One day I will remember to take the picture before I start eating. Food still looks good though.
Bún Đậu Mắm Tôm
46 Cao Bá Nhạ, Phường Nguyễn Cư Trinh, Quận 1, Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam
I’ll include this one in the list for those who are truly the adventurous sort. I’m not even a big fan of this dish, but if you’re not a picky eater and want to try something more exotic, check out this restaurant in the middle of District 1.
You’ll be served a plate of packed rice noodles, meats, tofu, salad and various herbs. You take these ingredients in any order you choose and dip them into their signature sauce, mắm tôm. This sauce is made from dried and fermented shrimp and then added with sugar, kumquat juice and other ingredients to make a saucy paste.
This savory sauce is without a doubt very fishy and makes nước mắm seem like the catch-of-the-day. And when I say mắm tôm is fishy, I definitely mean it has the fish-left-out-in-the-sun-for-far-too-long flavor. It’s an undoubtedly hard dish for the western palette, but those inclined for a more adventurous experience or desire to try the local flavor can give this place a shot.
I guess you can just eat the food without the fishy sauce
That’s everything that I have dug up so far. It’s quite a few items and I will happily make another continuation post if I find more restaurants that are worth mentioning.
Until next time.