The Best Street Foods in Ho Chi Minh City, PLUS Local Recommendations!
A sizzling skillet of sliced steak, eggs, pate, and sausage. The Vietnamese street food breakfast of champions
Few cities reward hungry travellers quite like Ho Chi Minh City. From early-morning noodle stalls to smoky seafood restaurants that stay busy late into the night, food is woven into the rhythm of everyday life here. The best street food in Ho Chi Minh City is often served in simple surroundings, with plastic stools, crowded pavements, sizzling pans, and recipes that have been refined over generations.
In this blog post, I’ll share with you the essential dishes to try, including phở, bánh mì, cơm tấm, grilled pork noodles, crispy bánh xèo, Vietnamese snails, sweet chè desserts, and strong iced coffee. Alongside each dish, I have included local restaurant recommendations, typical prices, and practical tips to help you explore Ho Chi Minh City street food with confidence, whether this is your first visit to Vietnam or your fifth trip back to Saigon!
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Why Ho Chi Minh City Has the Best Street Food in Vietnam
Ho Chi Minh City’s street food culture is woven into everyday life. From bowls of phở eaten before work to plates of cơm tấm at lunch and late-night seafood feasts in District 4, these are not dishes created only for tourists. They are the meals locals return to every day, served from pavement carts, market stalls, open-front restaurants, and family-run shops that often specialise in just one recipe.
I fell in love with the food here, which is clearly evident if you’ve watched my YouTube video here. What makes the street foods in Ho Chi Minh City especially exciting is the city’s layered culinary identity: southern Vietnamese cooking brings fresh herbs, coconut, seafood, sweeter seasonings, and bold sauces, while the Chinese communities have shaped everything from noodle soups to dumplings and fried rice cakes. French influence appears in the iconic crusty bánh mì baguettes, pâté, coffee, and techniques that were adapted into something unmistakably Vietnamese.
For food lovers rejoice! Saigon offers the rare chance to eat incredibly well without planning every meal or spending much money. A filling bowl of noodles, plate of broken rice, or freshly made bánh mì often costs around 30,000 to 100,000 VND.
Ho Chi Minh City street food is truly the greatest in Vietnam and so, if you’re hungry, then join me as I share with you the best street foods in Ho Chi Minh City!
Also this is quite the article as I go quite detailed on each dish, so I recommend you bookmark this blog post or you can save this as a Pinterest pin via hovering over the top left of the picture above, which I designed to be a perfect Pinterest pin image, just for you :)
My YouTube Video on Ho Chi Minh City Street Food
If you’d like you can check out my YouTube video above where I explored the Vietnamese street foods in Ho Chi Minh City. And if you enjoyed the video how about subscribing to my YouTube Channel? I’m just branching out to YouTube and I’d really appreciate your support!
Cơm Tấm (Broken Rice)
A variation of the classic Com Tam with marinated pork belly
Few street foods in Ho Chi Minh City are as iconic as Cơm Tấm (broken rice), the backbone of Saigon, the dish that fuels the people of this lovely city all throughout the day.
Originally, broken rice grains were considered too small or imperfect to sell at premium prices, so they became an affordable meal for farmers and working families in southern Vietnam. Gradually, this humble dish evolved into one of the most beloved examples of Vietnamese street food, enjoyed by both the working class and the elites.
A typical plate of Vietnamese Cơm Tấm starts off with fragrant streamed broken rice grain topped with smoky grilled pork chops (sườn nướng), shredded pork skin (bì), steamed egg loaf (chả trứng), fresh cucumber, tomato, and pickled vegetables. Though various combinations do exist, such as with with grilled pork belly or a fried egg instead of the loaf.
Served alongside the all important fish sauce with fresh crushed chilies. The flavors of Cơm Tấm is in perfect harmony. The balance of salty fish sauce, spicy chilis, sweet marinated pork and egg, combined with the itty-bitty textural sensation of the broken rice grains. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner, this Ho Chi Minh City street food specialty is a classic in which every hearty mouthful is joy to experience.
Recommendation: Cơm Tấm Ba Ghiền
That is one delicious looking marinated pork chop, what a plate of com tam!
This legendary local Vietnamese street food favourite has earned a reputation for serving some of the biggest and juiciest grilled pork chops in Ho Chi Minh City, drawing long lines of both locals and visitors every day.
The pork is charcoal grilled until beautifully caramelised with that smokey flavor, and somehow, with all that hot fire searing the outer surface, the meat is still juicy. When you’re here, no doubt, I recommend you order their signature Cơm Tấm Sườn with a grilled pork chop, shredded pork skin, steamed egg meatloaf, and a fried egg. The whole shebang for the full Vietnamese street food experience.
Portions are generous, and the price is around 70,000 - 120,000 VND. A bit on the pricey side for Cơm Tấm sure, but one bite and you’re wallet will forgive you.
Details for Cơm Tấm Ba Ghiền
Phone: +84 28 3846 1073
Location:84 Đ. Đặng Văn Ngữ, Phú Nhuận, Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam
Opening Hours: 7:00 AM - 10:00 PM | Mon - Sun
Pricing: ~90,000 VND | $$
Bánh Mì (Vietnamese Baguette Sandwich)
A Banh Mi loaded will all the things you’d ever want, pickles, pate, pork floss?
Few dishes represent Vietnamese street food better than the Bánh Mì, a crispy baguette sandwich influenced from the culinary colonialist culture of the French. Local bakers adapted the baguette into a local variant using a mix of wheat and rice flour, which gives the Vietnamese baguette much more air and crispy.
In the relatively modern day, the Bánh Mì has become one of the most popular street foods in Ho Chi Minh City. Inside this delectable sandwich is a plethora of ingredients such as a combination of grilled pork, Vietnamese ham or cold cuts, pâté (minced liver paste, usually chicken), pork floss, butter, mayonnaise, pickled carrots and daikon, cucumber, fresh coriander, chilli, and much more depending on the vendor.
While this may seem like a random spread of ingredients, much like roads of Ho Chi Minh City, there is an order to this chaos. The contrast in every bite, the crunchy bread, the rich and decadent pâté mixed with the butter and the sweet mayonaise, the juicy grilled meats and the salty pork floss, the fresh citrusy snap of the pickled vegetables.
This Vietnamese street food icon is perfection, and if you’re hankering for a midday snack or a meal, this sandwich is a quintessential must try street food in Ho Chi Minh City.
Recommendation: Bánh Mì Huỳnh Hoa
Look at how much meat you get with this Banh Mi! Incredible
I fell in love with Bánh Mì Huỳnh Hoa.
One of the most famous stops for anyone exploring the street foods in Ho Chi Minh City. This local Ho Chi Minh City street food institution opened in 1989 and it’s known for its generously huge Bánh Mì sandwiches,
Their home made Vietnamese baguette is STUFFED with layers of Vietnamese cold cuts, pork ham, the richest pâté and butter mixture, mayonnaise, pickled vegetables, fresh herbs, cucumber. The amount of meat stuffed inside the bread is no joke, absolutely monsterous.
The Bánh Mì Thập Cẩm (special mixed bánh mì) is THE must-order item and they serve it in 2 sizes, medium and large, but medium is always sold out (perhaps on purpose as to upsell you on the large). The large costs 78,000 VND and is enough to share for 2 people.
I am not kidding about the falling in love part, I’ve visited this shop twice on my short 3 days in Ho Chi Minh City, second time was to purchase 4 large Bánh Mìs to bring back on my flight home. It’s honestly one of the best spots to experience this iconic Vietnamese street food in Ho Chi Minh City.
Details for Bánh Mì Huỳnh Hoa
Phone: +84 338 044 646
Location: 26 Lê Thị Riêng, Bến Thành, Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam
Opening Hours: 6:00 AM - 10:00 PM | Mon - Sun
Pricing: 78,000 VND | $$
Phở (Vietnamese Noodle Soup)
A little sriracha on my bowl of pho here
If there's one bowl of Vietnamese street food that almost everyone recognizes, it's Phở. This is THE noodle soup. One of the most beloved street foods in Ho Chi Minh City and the rest of Vietnam, served everywhere from tiny family owned roadside stall with the plastic ankle high stools, to multi-billion Dong chain restaurants that have been perfecting the same recipe to a science.
A bowl of Phở starts with a base of soft rice noodles are served in a fragrant broth that's slowly simmered for hours with beef bones, onions, ginger, and aromatic spices like star anise, cinnamon, cloves, and cardamom. Depending on what you order, it's topped with thinly sliced rare beef, brisket, meatballs, or shredded chicken, then finished with fresh herbs, bean sprouts, lime, and chili to suit your taste.
Phở has a bit of a mystery surrounding it’s exact origins but it’s generally believed that Phở originated in Northern Vietnam dating back to the early French colonial period of the early 1900s. But the Phở of Hanoi is quite different from the Phở in Ho Chi Minh City.
Briefly, North Vietnam’s Phở is more savory with added MSG. Southern Vietnamese Phở is sweeter, more herbs and more condiments, such as the use of fish sauce, lime chilies, Hoisin sauce, chili paste, and of course the Sriracha. This is a style that has become a signature of southern Vietnamese street food, especially in Ho Chi Minh City.
This is a NEED TO EAT dish, you might’ve had Phở abroad before, but trying an authentic bowl of Phở is one of the best ways to experience the rich flavors and traditions behind the unforgettable street foods in Ho Chi Minh City.
Recommendation: Phở Việt Nam
These are wider noodles for pho but they taste delicious as always!
I am recommending a chain restaurant. I know it’s not very “adventurous“ but Phở Việt Nam truly has one of the best Phở in Ho Chi Minh City. A highly popular Michelin Guide restaurant that has perfected this cozy noodle dish, and a great introduction to for of you dipping your tongues into the wonderful world of Vietnamese street food.
I recommend the shop located in Bến Thành.
A slow-simmered broth and consistently high-quality ingredients is what makes the noodle soup here a favorite not just amongst both locals and touists.
Their Full Bowl Phở (90,000 VND) is what I recommend if you want the whole shebang. A noodle soup with topped with a mix of beef shank, beef flank, oxtail, and beef ribs. But for a dish with more spectacle, they have Wagyu Beef Phở (160,000 VND) served as a DIY experience alongside a sizzling hot stone bowl where you combine all the ingredients together.
Each order comes with a bounty of fresh herbs and vegetables, which you can asks for free refills. Seriously some of the best street foods in Ho Chi Minh City.
Details for Phở Việt Nam
Phone: -
Location: 14 Phạm Hồng Thái, Bến Thành, Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam
Opening Hours: 6:00 AM - 3:00 AM | Mon - Sun
Pricing: 90,000+ VND | $$$
Bún Thịt Nướng (Grilled Pork and Vermicelli)
It may look kind of plain but don’t judge this Vietnamese street food by its looks!
If you're looking for something fresh, filling, and packed with flavor, Bún Thịt Nướng is one of the street foods in Ho Chi Minh City you shouldn't miss. This classic southern Vietnamese food combines cool rice vermicelli noodles with smoky charcoal-grilled pork that’s to die for.
A typical bowl is layered with tender grilled pork, rice vermicelli, crisp lettuce, cucumber, pickled carrots and daikon radish, fresh herbs such as mint and Vietnamese coriander, roasted peanuts, and crispy fried shallots. But the best part is when everything gets drizzled on with that sweet and sour nectar known as nước chấm (A citrus-y version of fish sauce) that is the real kicker
But it gets even better, Some vendors also add crispy fried spring roll for that extra crunch. Every bite delivers a mix of smoky, sweet, savory, crunchy, and refreshing flavors, it’s easy to see why Bún Thịt Nướng has become a standout of the Vietnamese street food repertoire and one of my favorite street foods in Ho Chi Minh City.
Recommendation: Bún Thịt Nướng Kiều Bảo
Add a bit of fish sauce and chilis and it’s the best bite of food you’ll have
For an affordable local favorite, head to Bún Thịt Nướng Kiều Bảo, a popular Ho Chi Minh City restaurant known for serving generous portions of grilled pork noodles at several branches across the city, I went to the location on Đề Thám Street in District 1.
They got all you want, smoky marinated pork, crisp vegetables, roasted peanuts, fresh herbs, and the all important sweet-savory nước chấmfish sauce. I recommend ordering the Full Bowl (34,000 VND) with a piece of grilled pork, minced pork patty, and a crunchy chả giò (fried spring roll) for the best mix of flavors and textures.
Oh and I forgot to mention, vegetables are noodles are FREE! Yes you can order extra portions of noodles and veg, but only the first additional portion is free, the subsequent ones you need to pay. In the past all extra orders were free but I guess that’s the current world economy for ya.
Bún Thịt Nướng Kiều Bảo is a very budget-friendly shop while exploring the best street foods in Ho Chi Minh City, and if you need a refreshing noodle dish then it’s worthy of a stop
Details for Bún Thịt Nướng Kiều Bảo
Phone: +84 782 307 001
Location: 139 Đề Thám, Cầu Ông Lãnh, Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam
Opening Hours: 11:00 AM - 9:00 PM | Mon - Sun
Pricing: ~40,000 VND | $
Bún Bò Huế (Beef Noodle Soup)
A bowl of noodle soup perfect for meat lovers, I’d say Bun Bo Hue is even better than Pho
I’ll say it, Bún Bò Huế is better than Phở, just that it’s not as famous, which is a real crime. A central Vietnamese noodle soup from the city of Huế, This bold, fragrant, and unapologetically spicy, beef noodle soup is so dang good.
The broth, made from a deeper combination of simmered beef bones, lemongrass, chili, and fermented shrimp paste. The noodles, thick and round, soaking up much of the rich broth. Bún Bò Huế has become one of the most popular street foods in Ho Chi Minh City, where local restaurants serve their own versions of this classic Vietnamese food.
But for me, the best part are the toppings, a beef overload, including things like sliced beef shank, pork knuckle, Vietnamese sausage loaf, cubes of congealed pork blood, crab meat balls, braised ox tail, onions, and fresh herbs. All served alongside sour juicy limes and an extra dash of crush roasted chilies.
I love how each spoonful moves between citrus-y, spicy, salty, and meaty flavors. It’s seriously an underrated Vietnamese noodle soup dish, and I implore anyone exploring Vietnamese street food in Ho Chi Minh City to try Bún Bò Huế. This noodle soup needs to be shared.
Recommendation: Bún Bò Huế Tý Loan
This might be the most tender piece of beef knuckle I’ve ever had
I discovered Bún Bò Huế Tý Loan by accident. My girlfriend was having her eyelashes done at a nearby salon while I went out to explore the surrounding area. I come aross this little family-run restaurant in an inconspicuos alley of Ho Chi Minh City’s District 7 and the smell of the bubbling beef cauldron got me interested. After my girlfriend was finished with her appiontment, we both dined there.
The restaurant is popular for its fragrant lemongrass broth, thick rice noodles, generous meat toppings, oh my goodness gracious, the toppings! It was literally my first meal since I landed in Vietnam, and it was incredible.
There are cheaper bowls on the menu but I ordered the Mixed Special Bowl for 75,000 VND which includes 6 different types of meat. Tender beef slices, pork knuckle, Vietnamese sausage, and crunchy beef cartilage rib, and plenty of other things. The portion was huge, and it was delicious and satisfying as heck.
Bún Bò Huế Tý Loan is one of my favorite foodie experiences while in Ho Chi Minh City, because it set a precedent for the rest of my time there as to how incredbile the Vietnamese street foods there can be.
Details for Bún Bò Huế Tý Loan
Phone: +84 931 807 194
Location: 57 Mai Văn Vĩnh, Quận 7, Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam
Opening Hours: 6:00 AM - 11:00 PM
Pricing: ~50,000 VND | $$
Cà Phê Sữa Đá (Vietnamese Iced Coffee)
A shot of Robusta, condensed milk, and ice. What more could a man want?
If you’ve been following me in any capacity, you would know I am a sucker for a good cup of bean juice (or coffee if you’re a normal person). Vietnam is known worldwide as THE center for coffee in Asia, and no drink is more recognizable for local denizens of Saigon as Cà Phê Sữa Đá, Vietnamese Iced Coffee.
An order of Cà Phê Sữa Đá starts with a shot of concentrated coffee, usually made via the nation’s brewing method of choice, the Phin. Robusta is bean of choice, strong, bitter, and quite frankly unpleasant if drunken pure.
That’s where the uniquely Vietnamese addition comes in, A heavy dollop of condensed milk as well as evaporated milk to sweeten the ordeal. The elixir is then stirred and poured over plenty of ice, creating a drink that is creamy, sweet, bold, refreshing, and much stronger than its innocent appearance suggests.
Coffee was introduced to Vietnam by the French during it’s colonial years, but locals gradually transformed this foreign bean into something distinctly Vietnamese. Nowadays, coffee is as Vietnamese as the Nón lá (triangular straw hats).
While you’re strolling about eating the best street foods in Ho Chi Minh City, how about stopping by for a coffee break?
Recommendation: Cafe Nắng
Ho Chi Minh City seems to have an obsession with sitting on the side walks
If you want a local recommendation, this is as local as it gets, Cafe Nắng is a simple coffee shop hidden in an alley in District 7. It’s very low-key, maybe too low-key… I wandered into ths shop to discover that there are only locals reitred men here, sipping on coffee and idling away… The menus were in Vietnamese and I had to use Google translate to communicate with the shopkeeper.
But once I got my order through, the Cà Phê Sữa Đá I got was sublime. Rich, creamy, decadent. And despite the stronger robusta beans, the bitterness was perfectly balanced by the copius amounts of condensed milk. It was also here where I learnt that portion sizes for coffee are very small, you’re suppose to drink slowly and wait for the ice to melt, so don’t be surprised when you’re serving doesn’t even reach half the cup.
Drinks at casual cafés in this part of Ho Chi Minh City typically cost around 30,000 VND. While a bit further from the bustling District 1, Cafe Nắng is a great stop to pair with the street foods in Ho Chi Minh City, especially when you need a cold caffeine hit after a hot morning of exploring.
Details for Cafe Nắng
Phone: +84 28 6682 9636
Location: 36 Đường số 85, Tân Hưng, Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam
Opening Hours: 6:00 AM - 10:00 PM | Mon - Sun
Pricing: ~30,000 VND | $
Bánh Tráng Nướng (Vietnamese Pizza)
This Vietnamese pizza was the most delicious bite I’ve had in Vietnam, I’m not exaggerating
Bánh Tráng Nướng is a thin sheet of rice paper grilled over hot charcoal until crisp, then covered with a colorful mix of savory toppings, otherwise known as the “Vietnamese pizza”. The snack is a familiar sight at roadside carts and evening markets across Saigon. And the first I’ve had this snack, it quickly became one of my favorite street foods in Ho Chi Minh City. It was surprisingly good, if you watched my YouTube video at the beginning of this blog post, you’ll know.
Recipes vary but vendors usually crack a quail or chicken egg directly onto the rice paper before spreading it across the surface with scallions, Sriracha chili sauce, and butter or margarine. Depending on the stall, you might also find minced pork, dried shrimp, shredded chicken, Vietnamese sausage, cheese, crispy shallots, or mayonnaise piled on top.
The taste is great, texture AND flavor. The contrast between the brittle and crispy rice paper, and its savory, slightly messy toppings is delicious. It is usually folded in half like a taco, and served fresh from the grill, so you can hear the rice paper crack with every bite. Among the many street foods in Ho Chi Minh City, this is one of the easiest snacks to grab while wandering through a night market or exploring the city after dark.
Recommendation: BÁNH TRÁNG NƯỚNG GIÒN GIÒN
A messy concoction of eggs, green onions, pork floss, and various other things makes this classic street food
Now, I apologize, I could not give you an exact location of where to try Bánh Tráng Nướng as it’s a dish that is usually sold at night markets or from the carts of wandering street vendors. The one I had, was from a vendor I came across purely by chance. We were wandering near Bui Vien Walking Street and it was honestly a gift from the gods that the vendor just so happened to cross our paths that day.
But from quick research, BÁNH TRÁNG NƯỚNG GIÒN GIÒN seems to be a fairly popular local spot, a humble aunty who setup a street food stall selling this crispy snack. She serves two types, with cheese (25,000 VND) or without (20,000 VND). Now I’ve never had her Bánh Tráng Nướng, but looking at the reviews, 4.8 stars with 40+ reviews, auntie’s little street food stall is doing very well. And she seems to be a hard working lady, so support a local while you can.
But if you’re ever around Bui Vien Walking Street at night, I hope you encounter a lady manning a street food cart with a bright yellow future board with the words “BÁNH TRÁNG NƯỚNG“ in red plastered on it. I don’t know who she is, but is wandering around cooking up one of the best street foods in Ho Chi Minh City, that I’ve ever had the pleasure of snacking on.
Details for BÁNH TRÁNG NƯỚNG GIÒN GIÒN
Phone: -
Location: 44 Ngô Đức Kế, Sài Gòn, Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam
Opening Hours: Whenever auntie feels like it?
Pricing: 25,000 VND | $
Bánh Cuốn (Fresh Spring Rolls)
Me proudly showing off my attempt at a Banh Cuon Vietnamese spring roll
One surprising dish that I didn’t think I would enjoy but end up absolutely loving are fresh spring rolls, otherwise known as Bánh Cuốn in Vietnamese. While these are available everywhere in Vietnam, no place does it better than Saigon and it’s one of the lighter street foods in Ho Chi Minh City.
The Bánh Cuốn spring roll actually starts off with the Bánh Ướt Which are the thin, almost translucent rice wrappers made from fermented rice flour that has been steamed.
Then a variety of fillings such as seasoned minced pork, finely chopped wood-ear mushrooms, Vietnamese sausage, shrimp, herbs, vegetables and more are added. Wrap it all up and served alongside some dipping sauces, and you got yourself a Bánh Cuốn.
It’s one of the more simple street foods in Ho Chi Minh City, but with all the ingredients, herbs, and sauces combined, the flavor is actually quite complex. The steamed rice wrappers themselves are slightly chewy and gummy, while the customized array of ingredients within provides a punchy kick of any kind of flavor you’d like, savory, fragrant, spicy, etc…
Bánh Cuốn is a popular breakfast or light meal, and if you’re craving something refreshing, then it’s an ideal choice when exploring the street foods in Ho Chi Minh City.
Recommendation: Bánh Ướt Ban Mê Giang Vương
A spread of ingredients to build your own Banh Cuon Vietnamese spring rolls
During my 3 day trip to Ho Chi Minh City, one of the more delightful meals I’ve had was at Bánh Ướt Ban Mê Giang Vương, A restaurant that specializes in freshly made Bánh Cuốn. And when I say “freshly made“, I mean FRESHLY MADE, as it’s a whole DIY experience.
You’re given a tower of plates of Bánh Ướt (steamed rice paper), and then you order the meat filling separately (vegetables and sauces are free). Then you’re given free reign to make your own spring rolls, the rice wrappers are your creative culinary canvas.
I recommend ordering the grilled pork, Chả Lụa pork sausage, fermented pork, and the rolls of fried tofu skin. Most meat toppings cost around 33,000 - 34,000 VND per plate, with rice sheets costing 2,500 VND per sheet. My personal favorite combo is anything that includes the fried tofu skin, that crunch is a much needed texture profile.
This eating experience is best enjoyed with a group of people but I went as a duo with my girlfriend and we had a heck of a time enjoying our spring rolls. It’s one of the most fun experiences I’ve had eating street foods in Ho Chi Minh City.
Details for Bánh Ướt Ban Mê Giang Vương
Phone: +84 906 714 608
Location: 86/23 Vũ Huy Tấn, Gia Định, Hồ Chí Minh 72317, Vietnam
Opening Hours: 9:00 AM - 9:30 PM | Mon - Sun
Pricing: ~120,000 VND | $$
Bò Né (Sizzling Beef Skillet)
The most perfect breakfast is found along the streets of Ho Chi Minh City
Bò Né is a breakfast street food in Ho Chi Minh City that I was most looking forward to trying. I am a self proclaimed carnivore so the idea of a juicy sizzling slices of meat in the morning sounds perfect for me.
Vietnam’s answer to steak and eggs, served on a scorching cast-iron skillet and served with loaves of freshly baked Banh Mi (Vietnamese Baguette). The dish is especially associated with southern Vietnam.
Thin slices of marinated beef are seared in butter or oil alongside a fried egg, onions, and a spoonful of rich pork-liver pâté. Many stalls add extras such as Vietnamese sausage, meatballs, and if they’re crazy enough, even ooey gooey melty cheese.
This beloved Vietnamese breakfast roughly translates to “dodging beef”, referring to the way diners lean back to avoid the sizzling droplets jumping from the pan. Tear off a piece of the Banh Mi, drag it through the runny egg yolk and buttery meat juices, then pile on a slice of tender beef or pâté. It is smoky, salty, rich, and wonderfully messy.
It’s truly one of the most satisfying street foods in Ho Chi Minh City for when you need a substantial breakfast before a long day of exploring
Recommendation: Bò Né Bà Nũi
Those are some intense flames! Wow!
For a classic sizzling breakfast in central Saigon, Bò Né Bà Nũi is a popular local restaurant on Nguyễn Thái Bình Street in District 1, known for sending cast-iron skillets to the table loaded with beef, fried egg, onions, pâté, and rich pan juices.
The dish I ordered is their signature Bo Thap Cam set (83,000 VND) which includes all the works, steak, eggs, sausage, and chicken liver pate, served with a fresh bánh mì for tearing apart and dipping into the runny yolk and buttery sauce. There are cheaper options available too, with less meats of course, if you think the signature is too heavy for breakfast.
It’s such a simple dish, meat, eggs, bread, and plenty of oil, but it’s oh so satisfying Since every ingredient has been sizzling in the same skillet, the juices will melt and fully absorb your banh mi. It’s so good,
Bò Né Bà Nũi is a filling and affordable place to sample one of the most satisfying street foods in Ho Chi Minh City.
Details for Bò Né Bà Nũi
Phone: +84 906 837 878
Location: 94 Nguyễn Thái Bình, Bến Thành, Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam
Opening Hours: 7:00 AM - 10:30 PM | Mon - Sun
Pricing: 60,000+ VND | $
Bột Chiên (Fried Rice Flour Cakes)
Greasy fried rice flour and eggs. Man I might have a heart attack just by looking at this…
Crispy around the edges and satisfyingly chewy in the middle, Bột Chiên is one of the most comforting, and also maybe the most unhealthy, street foods in Ho Chi Minh City.
Inspired by Chinese cuisine, a plate of Bột Chiên starts by steaming a firm cake from rice flour and tapioca starch, cutting it into small cubes, then frying the pieces in copious amounts of oil on a wide metal pan until perfectly golden and crispy. Eggs are then cracked over the top and cooked with chopped spring onions, binding everything together into a savory, slightly smoky “pancake” like creation.
All this fried carbs and oil is of course going to be very greasy so, the dish is often paired with shredded green papaya or pickled vegetables and a dark dipping sauce made from soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, and chili.
The contrast in every bite. The crispy and springy chew to the rice cakes, the tangy seasonings, the refreshing shredded green papayas.
It is filling without being too expensive, easy to share, and offers a glimpse into the Chinese-Vietnamese food traditions that have shaped everyday eating in Saigon.
Recommendation: Bột Chiên Đạt Thành
But I think I am willing to sacrifice my health for this street food in Ho Chi Minh City
For a classic taste of Saigon’s Chinese-Vietnamese food culture, Bột Chiên Đạt Thành is a long-running local eatery on Võ Văn Tần Street, an area that has been associated with fried rice cakes since the 1990s.
Bột chiên is, of course, the signature dish to order, the original (40,000 VND) features crisp-edged rice flour cakes fried with egg and served alongside shredded green papaya and a fragrant soy-based dipping sauce.
But if you want more, I would then recommend adding the fried taro cake or bánh hẹ chive cakes if you want to try something different; bò bía rolls and green papaya salad with dried beef are also popular snacks to share.
It’s a pretty greasy and quite frankly guilt ridden meal but if you have time, Bột Chiên Đạt Thành is an affordable stop to explore one of the greasiest street foods in Ho Chi Minh City.
Details for Bột Chiên Đạt Thành
Phone: +84 28 3833 4980
Location: 277 Võ Văn Tần, Bàn Cờ, Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam
Opening Hours: 2:00 PM - 11:00 PM | Mon - Sun
Pricing: 40,000 VND | $
Bánh Xèo (Savory Crispy Rice Crepes)
The crunchy shell of the Banh Xeo is the best part
Few street foods in Ho Chi Minh City announce themselves quite like Bánh Xèo, a sizzling Vietnamese rice crepe whose name is said to mimic the sizzling sound the batter makes when it hits a hot pan.
This dish is incredibly popular throughout southern and central Vietnam, but there are slight variations in each region, the version commonly found in Ho Chi Minh City is large, thin, and folded around a generous filling. Its golden colour comes from a batter made with rice flour, water, turmeric, and coconut milk. And while the shell is nice and crispy, it’s the inside that makes a good Bánh Xèo.
The filling inside is packed with shrimp, slices of pork, bean sprouts, and spring onions. Some stalls even add mung beans, mushrooms, or other seafood depending on the region and the cook’s own recipe.
Eating Bánh Xèo is half the fun. Tear off a crisp piece, wrap it in lettuce or mustard leaves with fresh herbs, then dip the whole bundle into sweet and tangy nước chấm fish sauce. The brittle crepe, juicy pork, plump shrimp, crunchy vegetables, and bright herbs create the kind of messy, hands-on meal that makes street foods in Ho Chi Minh City so memorable.
Recommendation: Bánh Xèo 46A
Loaded with crunchy bean sprouts, pork, and shrimp!
Few places are more closely associated with Bánh Xèo in Saigon than Bánh Xèo 46A, a long-running District 1 restaurant that has been frying its enormous Vietnamese crepes since 1945.
A special place, whose international reputation grew after Anthony Bourdain ate here during his travels through Vietnam, and the open kitchen still draws a crowd as cooks work several sizzling pans at once.
I recommend ordering the classic bánh xèo filled with pork, shrimp, mung beans, and crunchy bean sprouts, or choose the special version with larger peeled prawns and egg, then tear it apart and wrap each piece in mustard leaves and fresh herbs before dipping it into nước chấm.
The regular order costs 110,000 VND, while the one with extra peeled prawns go for 180,000 VND, it is quite an expensive version of this dish but the Bánh Xèo is large enough to share between a group of people.
If you’re traveling through Saigon following the steps of the late Anthony Bourdain, then you owe it to yourself to visit this famous spot and try this memorable street food in Ho Chi Minh City.
Details for Bánh Xèo 46A
Phone: +84 28 3824 1110
Location: 46A Đinh Công Tráng, Tân Định, Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam
Opening Hours: 10:00 AM - 1:50 PM and 4:00 PM - 8:50 PM | Mon - Sun
Pricing: 110,000+ VND | $$
Bánh Canh Cua (Crab and Shrimp Noodle Soup)
One of the more heartier noodle soups I’ve come across in Vietnam
I’ve talked about the meaty Bún Bò Huế beef noodle soup, but what if you want something from the sea? Well my friends let me introduce you to one of the most comforting street foods in Ho Chi Minh City. Bánh Canh Cua, a seafood noodle soup like no other.
Thick, glossy, and packed full of umami richness, this dish is built around fat, chewy noodles made from tapioca starch, rice flour, or a mixture of the two, giving those noods a springy texture similar to Japanese udon.
But the star of the bowl is the rich rich crab broth that is usually thickened until it falls somewhere between a soup and a light gravy. Furthermore, the bowl is topped with flaked crab meat, whole prawns, crab cakes, sliced pork, quail eggs, pork blood, spring onions, and crispy fried shallots.
The sweetness from the crab, the savoury depth from the broth, and that satisfyingly slippery bite from the noodles. A squeeze of lime and a spoonful of fresh chilli brighten everything up. If you love seafood, then Bánh Canh Cua is an excellent choice when exploring the street foods in Ho Chi Minh City.
Recommendation: Bánh Canh Cua 14
Oh look! A slice of beef in my crab and shrimp Banh Canh Cua
No shop is more famous in Ho Chi Minh City for this seafood noodle soup than Bánh Canh Cua 14, known for their generously loaded bowls, its thick crab broth, chewy noodles, and wide choice of toppings.
I recommend ordering their best seller (85,000 VND), which I don’t know the name of the menu item because their menus are in Vietnamese but you’ll know by the badge that literally says “Best Seller“. Anyways, the best seller comes with every seafood they offer, shrimp, crab, scallops, squids, and more.
And if the loaded bowls aren’t enough for ya, you can even order more seafood on the side. I got the extra crab claws which were incredibly flavorful and juicy but they are a bit expensive at 74,000 VND for 2 (honestly pretty big) claws. If you like seafood, then this spot is THE place to try this street food in Ho Chi Minh City.
Details for Bánh Canh Cua 14
Phone: +84 902 781 268
Location: 221 Trần Bình Trọng, Chợ Quán, Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam
Opening Hours: 6:30 AM - 10:00 PM | Mon - Sun
Pricing: ~100,000 VND | $$
Bánh Chuối Chiên (Deep Fried Banana)
I’ll take your entire stock of fried banana fritters!
Now this was a street food in Saigon that I didn’t expect at all. Bánh Chuối Chiên, or fried bananas are golden, crisp, dangerously easy to eat, and is a popular Vietnamese snack sold from street carts across Saigon.
I have never even heard of this dish, but now that I did, I am so glad to have discovered it. These fried banana fritters starts of by flattening a small ripe banana before dipping it into a batter made with rice flour, wheat flour, sugar, water, and sometimes coconut milk or turmeric for extra richness and colour.
The coated banana is then lowered into hot oil and fried until the outside becomes blistered and crunchy while the fruit inside turns soft, mushy, and intensely sweet.
Among the many street foods in Ho Chi Minh City, Bánh Chuối Chiên is the kind of snack that stops you in your tracks once you catch the smell drifting from the fryer, I know it stopped me when I walked past a stall.
It is incredibly good, especially when you got one that came straight out of the fryer. The shell shatters when you bite into it, followed by warm banana that has almost melted into caramel beneath the batter. It is cheap, portable, and it hits the spot especially during a late-afternoon wander through Saigon’s busy streets.
Recommendation: Vina Chuối
Look at that gooey center and crispy outer shell, fried foods are so good man
This was the stall that I accidentally came across while on my way to visit Saigon’s iconic Cafe Apartment, turns out that locals considered Vina Chuối as THE place where you go to get fried banana fritters.
A little street side shop clad in green and with a giant pot of oil out for display frying away a couple dozen banana fritters at once, the smell of which eminates throughout the street and makes for a good marketing tactic.
Their Bánh Chuối Chiên is known for it’s distinctive glass-like crispy batter, and ultra soft and sweet bananas. Each fried banana goes for 12,500 VND and while I only got one to try, I regretted not buying maybe half a dozen. Vina Chuối also sells fried sweet potato fritters, sugar cane juice, and banana chips as well, if you’re interested.
If you’re ever in the area, then I highly recommend you stop by for one of the best fried street foods in Ho Chi Minh City.
Details for Vina Chuối
Phone: +84 1900 0016
Location: 25 Huỳnh Thúc Kháng, Sài Gòn, Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam
Opening Hours: 8:30 AM - 10;00 PM | Mon - Sun
Pricing: 12,500 VND | $
Ốc (Vietnamese Snails & Seafood)
A nice spread of the most delicious mollusks and seafood you can have in Ho Chi Minh City
Once evening settles over Saigon, tables begin filling with plates of Ốc, the local name for snails and the broader seafood feasts built around them. Rather than referring to one specific recipe, Ốc can include sea snails, freshwater snails, cockles, clams, oysters, crab claws, prawns, and squid, all cooked to order in dozens of different styles.
Popular preparations include grilling shellfish with spring onion oil, stir-frying it with garlic or tamarind sauce, steaming it with lemongrass, or coating it in salted egg yolk, coconut milk, chili, and butter. District 4, particularly the lively Vĩnh Khánh Street, is famous for being the center for seafood street foods in Ho Chi Minh City.
What makes an Ốc meal special is the variety. You order several small plates for the table, pull the meat from the shells with tiny forks, mop up the sauces with bread, and wash everything down with cold beer. I recommend trying grilled scallops with spring onion oil, clams steamed with lemongrass, snails stir-fried in coconut sauce, and crab claws coated in spicy tamarind.
Some varieties are pleasantly chewy, while others are tender and sweet, but the punchy sauces keep every plate interesting. It is messy, noisy, and meant to be shared, which is exactly why an evening at a busy snail restaurant feels like one of the most genuinely local ways to explore the street foods in Ho Chi Minh City.
Recommendation: Ốc Đào
A giant shell with all the shellfish you can ever want!
Ốc Đào is Saigon’s best known seafood street food restaurant with many chains throughout Ho Chi Minh City, and they have a branch at the highly recommended the Vĩnh Khánh seafood street, Ốc Đào 2
Popular for its huge seafood selection, fast-paced atmosphere, and boldly seasoned sauces. They have every seafood mollusc under the sun, horse snails, blood cockles, mussels, clams, and of course, snails.
You can have them grilled with spring onion oil, steamed with a fragrant lemon grass water, topped with melty mozzarella cheese, coated in a rich coconut sauce, fried in copious amounts of butter, and so much more…
Prices vary for different seafoods of course, but expect to pay anywhere from 55,000 VND to 140,000 VND, So quite a bit expensive but it’s to be expected for seafood. Also don’t forget a nice glass of cold beer, the local Bia Saigon being a favorite
With plastic tables, clattering shells, cold drinks, and plates arriving one after another, a late night seafood meal at Ốc Đào captures everything that makes the street foods in Ho Chi Minh City so energetic and sociable.
Details for Ốc Đào
Phone: +84 352 499 883
Location: 123 Đ. Vĩnh Khánh, Khánh Hội, Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam
Opening Hours: 11:00 A - 1:00 AM | Mon - Sun
Pricing: 150,000+ VND | $$$
Chè (Dessert Beverages and Puddings)
A variation of Che, sort of like shaved ice
What better to end this massive list of the best street foods in Ho Chi Minh City than with dessert? Colorful, refreshing, and almost impossible to define with a single recipe, Chè is the Vietnamese name for a broad family of sweet soups, puddings, and dessert drinks served either hot or cold.
Some versions are thick enough to eat with a spoon, while others arrive over crushed ice in a tall glass. But they mostly share common ingredients such as mung beans, red beans, black-eyed peas, sticky rice, tapioca pearls, jelly, lotus seeds, taro, sweet corn, tropical fruit, coconut milk, and fragrant pandan.
In Saigon, popular desserts include three-color chè, pomelo chè, banana and coconut pudding, and fruit-filled chè Thái, each bringing its own mix of sweetness, creaminess, and chewy textures.
After a humid afternoon exploring the street foods in Ho Chi Minh City, a cold glass of Chè feels like an edible air conditioner. One spoonful might contain creamy coconut milk, soft beans, slippery jelly, crunchy water chestnuts, and shaved ice, making every bite slightly different from the last.
I especially recommend trying chè ba màu, the striped three-color dessert layered with beans, jelly, syrup, and coconut milk, or chè bưởi, made with chewy pomelo rind and mung beans. It is inexpensive, easy to share, and a great way to experience the playful sweeter side of Saigon’s street food culture.
Recommendation: Khánh Vy Sweets
The signature 16 platter of Vietnamese sweets and desserts
For dessert, Khánh Vy Sweets, better known locally as Chè Mâm Khánh Vy, is a long-running sidewalk shop in District 10 famous for serving a colourful tray of 16 miniature Vietnamese desserts.
The business has been passed down through several generations, and evenings here are often busy with groups sharing small bowls around plastic tables beside the Ngô Gia Tự apartment complex.
I recommend ordering the full chè mâm a platter of 16 small samplings of their most popular sweets like the chè bà ba, mung bean chè, black sesame soup, sweet corn pudding, glutinous rice balls, flan, coconut jelly, and sticky rice. Of course, I also recommend sharing this with a group of at least3 people, but if you are really hungry then I suppose you can tackle all 16 bowls yourself…
A complete 16-item tray currently costs about 142,000 VND, while individual bowls generally cost around 10,000 VND, which makes Khánh Vy an inexpensive and playful way to explore the sweeter side of the street foods in Ho Chi Minh City.
Details for Khánh Vy Sweets
Phone: +84 918 969 727
Location: 032 lô H, Vườn Lài, Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam
Opening Hours: 3:00 PM - 10:30 PM | Mon - Sun
Pricing: ~10,000 VND | $
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