Saigon’s Delicious Dishes Are Most Recommended By Locals To Tourists

Ho Chi Minh City is a place that brings together rich and diversified food. It gathers the essence of unique and delicious dishes from all over the country. It not only has domestic local food but also combines exotic cuisine to create unique South Vietnam dishes. Some classic dishes have become Ho Chi Minh City delicacies that you must eat when you come to South Vietnam!

1. Broken Rice – A common delicacy in Saigon (Com Tam)

If I choose one of the special foods of Ho Chi Minh City to introduce to foreign tourists, I would first choose broken rice. For Vietnamese people, rice is the staple food and the most common, the only difference is what ingredients it is served with. Rice is not only a familiar food but also a product of a production system, deeply forming a lifestyle and a culture. But why is it broken rice? Broken rice is finely broken rice, usually, whole grains of rice are screened out and sold at a high price, and the remaining broken rice is sold at a low price. In the past, it was mainly bought by the poor.

Nowadays, people eat broken rice with grilled pork chops, pork skin shreds, fried eggs, and meat patties, but the main thing is still grilled pork chops. Broken rice has no soup, but there is scallion oil, pickles, cucumbers, tomatoes, etc. The sauce to go with it can only be sour and sweet fish sauce, and some chili can be added after dilution. Tender and juicy charcoal-grilled thick-cut pork ribs are marinated with delicious spices and served with broken rice. It can satisfy your cravings and fill your stomach.

The most special of this delicious dish is the broken rice. After conditioning, the broken rice has a delicate texture and is easier to chew, which makes it a unique dish. The grains of broken rice are distinct, and the texture is completely different from ordinary white rice. Rice grains, paired with fragrant pork ribs, you can eat it one bite after another!

Delicious rice with rice should be hot and smoky to enhance the taste of pork chop. The pork chop in rice with rice must be tenderloin, not short ribs or pork belly. Before putting it on the charcoal grill, use an appropriate amount of sugar, salt, pepper, garlic, or lemongrass to marinate, not too much, otherwise, it will lose the original flavor of the pork chop. The fish sauce should be diluted, and minced garlic, minced chili, and lemon should be added. It is salty and sweet, and the red chili powder is suspended in the sauce, which arouses the appetite of diners.

A plate of delicious rice with rice should also be visually pleasing. Put the rice in a bowl and flatten it, then turn it upside down and put it on the plate. Put the pork chop on it, spread a layer of green scallion oil, and surround it with tomato slices, cucumber slices, pickled radish shreds, etc. It looks harmonious and exquisite. If you like, you can also pair it with pork skin shreds, meat patties, and fried eggs.

Eating a plate of broken rice and drinking a cup of black coffee before going to work in the morning can be described as a comfortable but not extravagant enjoyment, which still retains the harmonious and down-to-earth civilian characteristics. If you want to entertain foreign tourists by tasting Saigon’s street food, there are many choices, such as French bread, sticky rice, steamed corn, desserts, various snails, etc.

Broken rice can be regarded as street food, but it can still be a dish in a high-end restaurant. Broken rice is a combination of civilians and luxury, and it is also the food of the poor and the rich. It is both agricultural life and urban life, and it is both fast food and traditional food. The above unique features have made broken rice last for hundreds of years in Saigon and spread to the central and northern parts, as well as overseas countries where Vietnamese people live.

Recommended places to enjoy this dish in Ho Chi Minh：

• Com Tam Ba Cuong

Address: 263 Tran Quang Khai, Tan Dinh Ward, District 1

Opening hours: 7 am – 9:30 pm

• Com Tam Minh Long

Address: 607 Nguyen Thi Thap, District 7, HCMC

Opening hours: 7 am – 9 pm

• Com Tam Huyen

Address: Alley 95 Dinh Tien Hoang, Ward 3, Binh Thanh District, HCMC

Opening hours: 5 pm – 4 am

• Com Tam 419

Address: Alley 419 An Duong Vuong, District 5

Opening hours: 7 am – 9:30 pm

2. Sugarcane Shrimp – An irresistible street food (Chao Tom)

Sugarcane shrimp is a rustic dish of the Southern people. Each sugarcane shrimp roll has a golden color and a fragrant aroma, a combination of the sweetness of fresh shrimp and the light taste of sugarcane and extremely delicate spices. The light sweetness of sugarcane enhances the deliciousness of minced shrimp, and when grilled, the aroma is extremely attractive. Shrimp rolls are crispy, chewy, and naturally fragrant, not dry or crumbly. After grilling or frying, you can drizzle hot spring onion oil on the rolls, and sprinkle some roasted peanuts and fried onions, you will find it hard to refuse.

Although the shape of sugarcane shrimp is odd, the taste is very good. The tender shrimp meat and sweet sugarcane, which are mixed, will bring a different feeling to your taste buds.

This dish is not difficult to make. You can try it at home. The ingredients are fresh shrimp and sugarcane. Wrap the peeled sugarcane sticks with tender shrimp paste, put them in a pan, and fry them until both sides are golden brown, then put the shrimp on a plate, pour a little water, and bake them in the oven for ten minutes.

If you like fish sauce, you can drizzle a little fish sauce on the sugarcane shrimp. Sugarcane shrimp is simple to make and can be made for your family. However, delicious food should be accompanied by beautiful scenery. It is best to go to Vietnam to taste the authentic sugarcane shrimp in person.

Recommended places to enjoy this dish in Ho Chi Minh：

• Quan Ngon 138

Address: 138 Nam Ky Khoi Nghia – Ben Nghe Ward – District 1

Opening hours: 8 am – 10:30 pm

• Anh Thuy

Address: Ba Chieu Market, Binh Thanh District

Opening hours: 7 am-5 pm

3. Fermented fish soup with Vietnamese vermicelli noodles (Bun Mam)

When talking about Saigon cuisine, it is impossible not to mention the Western region’s vermicelli with fish sauce – a dish rich in the flavor of the river.

Bun mam is a typical dish of the Southwest region, widely loved when introduced to Saigon. This dish is famous for its rich flavor from the broth, simmered from fish such as “Linh” fish, snakehead fish, and “Sac” fish, then carefully filtered to get the clear water and seasoned to taste. A bowl of fermented fish soup with Vietnamese vermicelli noodles usually includes fresh vermicelli, fish cakes, shrimp, roasted pork, and squid, and is combined with many typical raw vegetables such as banana flowers, split morning glory, lotus flowers, and bean sprouts. The special thing about this dish is that when dipped in pure fish sauce and chopped fresh chili, it adds an attractive, irresistible flavor.

Restaurants in Saigon serve from traditional fermented fish soup with Vietnamese vermicelli noodle bowls to special versions, bringing a rich culinary experience to diners. Recommended places to enjoy this dish in Ho Chi Minh：

• Bun Mam 144

Address: 144 Khanh Hoi, District 4

Opening hours: 06:00 – 22:00

• Bun Mam Co Ba

Address: 451 Phan Huy Ich, Ward 14, Go Vap District

Opening hours: 11:00 – 21:00

• Bun Mam 444

Address: 375 Le Quang Dinh, Ward 5, Binh Thanh District

Opening hours: 09:00 – 21:00

4. Nam Vang noodles – Famous Saigon cuisine (Hu Tieu Nam Vang)

Nam Vang noodles originated from Cambodia and were prepared in a Chinese style with a slight change to suit Saigon. Therefore, this dish is both strange and familiar to those who come here to enjoy this dish for the first time.

Nam Vang is another name for Phnom Penh – the capital of Cambodia. Due to the geographical proximity, Vietnamese and Cambodian cuisines can be considered “close”, dishes are often exchanged between people of the two countries, and Nam Vang noodles with the sound of the land of pagodas is one of them. The characteristic of Nam Vang noodles is the elaborate way of cooking the broth.

The broth is cooked by simmering marrow bones with squid and dried shrimp over low heat, constantly skimming the foam so that the broth does not become cloudy and remains clear and clean. Nam Vang noodles are loved by many people because of the characteristic sweet taste of stewed bones, squid, and dried shrimp. In addition, this dish is also often distinguished by the following accompanying ingredients: minced meat, shrimp, and quail eggs. These are three dishes that must always be included in a bowl of Nam Vang noodles. In addition, some dishes such as lean meat can be added… Many people jokingly call Nam Vang noodles a “multi-ethnic” dish.

Over time, thanks to the talented and elegant hands of the Vietnamese people, noodles have become a delicious dish and are increasingly popular in the Southern region.

Saigon noodles – a harmony of flavors is a multi-style dish, prepared in many different ways, from noodle soup, dry noodles, crispy fried noodles to stir-fried noodles, noodles cooked in soup… each dish has its class. Among them, it can be said that the “mobile” noodle shop is one of the “means” that makes Southern noodles famous from the beginning of the street to the end of the alley.

Instead of the traditional Nam Vang noodle bowl with only minced and sliced ​​pork, in Saigon, it is flavored with liver, shrimp, quail eggs, and vegetables which are also more attractive with celery, water spinach, bean sprouts, and chives. The important thing about Chinese noodle soup in Cho Lon is that the soup must be naturally sweet, cooked with marrow bones and squid that are both sweet and fatty. The soup bone part called “xi quach” is a favorite dish of drinkers.

In Saigon, you can eat noodle soup at any restaurant, even a noodle cart right on the sidewalk. Recommended places to enjoy this dish in Ho Chi Minh：

• Hu Tieu Chu Tun

Address: 57/21 Ho Thi Ky, Ward 1, District 10, Ho Chi Minh City

Opening hours: 11:30 – 22:00

• Hong Phat

Address: 389 – 391 Vo Van Tan, Ward 5, District 3, Ho Chi Minh City

Opening hours: 06:30 – 22:00

• Tran Quang Khai

Address: 40 Tran Quang Khai, Tan Dinh Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City

Opening hours: 06:00 – 13:30 | 15:00 – 23:00

5. Goby Fish Hotpot – Ho Chi Minh’s culinary elite (Lau Ca Keo)

Goby fish hotpot is one of the popular dishes in the bustling of Ho Chi Minh City. What could be better than the feeling of slurping a hot pot with friends on windy days in Ho Chi Minh City?

Goby fish hotpot is a dish originating from the provinces of the Southwest. Goby fish (goby fish, goby fish…) is a type of catfish, small like a loach, living naturally in river areas, so it has a very delicious and unique flavor. Goby fish has almost no fishy smell, the fish meat is fragrant and chewy, and the sweet taste is slightly bitter, typical of fish liver. In addition to hotpot, goby fish can be processed into many other typical dishes, such as grilled goby fish and goby fish braised in coconut milk… Goby fish hotpot is still the most popular because drinkers love it, and tourists coming to the Southern localities always try it and are impressed.

Saigon goby fish hotpot is highly appreciated for its hotpot broth. The broth is simmered from bones with the sour taste of “Giang” leaves, which is very unique. In particular, the fish hotpot does not have a strong fishy smell because the chef has the skills to suppress the fishy smell of the fish. If you are afraid of fishy smells, you do not have to worry about this problem at all.

Recommended places to enjoy this dish in Ho Chi Minh：

• Lau Ca Co Thu

Address: Alley 252 Ly Thuong Kiet, District 10, HCMC

Opening hours: 08:00 – 23:00

• Lau Ca Co Hue

Address: 1341 3/2 Street, District 10, HCMC

Opening hours: 11:30 – 22:00

• Lau Ca Ba Hien

Address: No. 2 Pham Ngu Lao, Go Vap District, HCMC

Opening hours: 16:00 – 22:00

Hopefully, this post will provide you with more possibilities for your trip. In addition to Ho Chi Minh City, visitors can sample a variety of delectable and distinctive dishes in Phu Quoc, Nha Trang, Hoi An, and Da Nang. These are all popular tourist destinations in Vietnam. While in these destinations, staying at hotels and resorts is an excellent decision, especially if you want a luxurious travel experience. From the minute you arrive, you will be handled with the utmost care and attention.