Ho Chi Minh City: broken rice, banh mi and long hours

Southern Vietnamese cooking is sweeter than the north's, uses more sugar and coconut milk, and piles on fresh herbs. In Ho Chi Minh City that shows in the pho, which became sweeter and cloudier after 1954 and arrives with bean sprouts, Thai basil, culantro, lime and hoisin; in the banh xeo, which is large, thin and wrapped in lettuce; and in dipping sauces that lean sweet.

The city's own plate is com tam, broken rice. Once a cheap meal for farmers, workers and students, it is now known as com tam Sai Gon: broken rice with a grilled pork chop, shredded pork skin, a steamed egg-and-pork loaf, pickles and fish sauce. Banh mi is sold at every hour, from street carts to sit-down shops, and some accounts trace the modern sandwich to Saigon street stalls in the late 1950s.

The city is large, and since 2025 larger still, after Binh Duong and Ba Ria-Vung Tau were merged into it. Its former district names, such as District 1 for the centre, are still used by most people and most guides, though the official units are now wards.

Two to three nights is a reasonable planning estimate. The range of food is the widest in the country, the city is spread out, and the afternoon rains in the wet season can take a few hours out of a day. With two nights you can eat com tam at breakfast twice, banh mi in between, and spend two evenings on pancakes and grilled food.

If Ho Chi Minh City is your first stop, use the first evening for something simple near your hotel. Traffic is heavy and crossing roads to reach a stall takes practice.

Tan Son Nhat International Airport (SGN) has international and domestic flights, including frequent flights to Hanoi, Da Nang and Hue, and the north–south railway ends in the city. Check current timetables before you plan around a particular connection.

Inside the city, ride-hailing apps are the practical way to move between neighbourhoods. The UK Foreign Office recommends official apps such as Grab or XanhSM, warns about people posing as app drivers, and reports that bag-snatching by thieves on motorcycles is common: hold bags on the side away from the traffic, including while you sit at a pavement stall.

Ben Thanh market, in Ben Thanh ward in what was District 1, is in a building completed in 1914 on a site that has been a market for centuries. Food vendors near the northern gate sell pho, broken rice, bun bo Hue, grilled pork with noodles, banh beo and desserts. The market opens around 6 am and closes at 6 pm. After 6 pm, food stalls set up along Phan Boi Chau and Phan Chu Trinh streets beside it and stay until about 10 pm.

Market and night-market prices here are aimed at visitors more than in residential areas. The markets page explains how to eat in a market food hall.

• If heavy traffic stresses you. Reaching stalls means crossing busy roads, and pavements are shared with motorbikes.
• If you dislike sweet flavours. Southern cooking uses more sugar, in sauces, marinades and drinks.
• In Tet week, if street food is the main reason for the visit. The city empties and many stalls close.
• If you want a compact, walkable food town. The city is very large; Hoi An or Hue are easier on foot.
• If you will spend only an evening in the centre. The old District 1 area is the most visitor-priced part of the city.