Saigon Street Food: Dishes to Try and Where to Eat Them

Saigon street food is generous, sweet-savory and available at almost any hour: broken rice with grilled pork for breakfast, noodle soups and banh mi through the day, and snails and grilled seafood late into the night. This guide from our Vietnam travel blog covers the dishes to try, the best food streets, snacks and drinks, and how to eat well and safely.

Knowing what to eat in Saigon, officially Ho Chi Minh City, is easiest by neighborhood. Pair this guide with our Ho Chi Minh City guide, and if you need a visa, apply for a Vietnam e-visa online.

Dishes to try

The city's cooking draws on the Mekong Delta, Chinese and Khmer influences, and lots of herbs. Start with these.

Com tam

Com tam, broken rice, is Saigon's signature meal: grilled pork chop on fragrant broken rice, with a steamed egg and pork cake, shredded pork skin, pickles and sweet fish sauce. It is eaten from breakfast to late at night.

Hu tieu and noodle soups

Hu tieu, a clear pork and seafood noodle soup with roots in the Mekong Delta, is a favorite breakfast. Bun bo Hue and pho are also everywhere. Our guide to Mekong Delta food explains the southern noodle tradition.

Banh mi and banh xeo

Saigon's banh mi are large and loaded with cold cuts and pate; our banh mi guide compares regional styles. Banh xeo, crispy rice pancakes with shrimp and pork, are wrapped in lettuce and herbs and dipped in sweet fish sauce. Look for stalls cooking them to order in large pans over an open flame.

Saigon street food areas

Saigon's best street food is concentrated in a few areas, each busy at different times. The table lists where to go.

Vinh Khanh, the snail street, across the canal from the old center, is the place for oc: dozens of kinds of snails and shellfish cooked with garlic, butter, tamarind or chili, eaten on plastic stools. Order a few plates to share, point at what neighboring tables are eating, and ask the price of seafood by weight before it is cooked. Weekends are busiest, so arrive early in the evening for a table.

Snacks, drinks and desserts

Between meals, Saigon snacks on grilled rice paper (banh trang nuong), fried rice cake with egg (bot chien) and fresh spring rolls. Sugarcane juice, squeezed fresh with kumquat, and coconut water cool the heat.

For dessert, try che, sweet soups and drinks with beans, jelly and coconut milk, and iced coffee with condensed milk; our guide to Vietnamese coffee culture covers bac xiu, the Saigon favorite. Two final tips help: food tours and eating safely.

Eating well in Saigon

A little guidance turns street food into a highlight. These tips help.

Food tours

Evening food tours by scooter or on foot take you to markets and streets across several districts, with a guide who orders for you. They are a good first-night introduction, as Vietnam's tourism site suggests.

Eating safely

Choose busy stalls with fresh, hot food and high turnover, drink bottled water and wash your hands before eating. Seafood is best at busy places where it is kept on ice.

VietnamVisa-Easy.com is a private visa service operated by H2 Global Travel JSC since 2012, not a government website, and you can apply directly at evisa.gov.vn for US$25. If you would like your application checked first, start your application with us.