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Private tailor-made journeys of a life time
Jun 3, 2020
By Linh Vu
Ho Chi Minh City, or also known as Saigon, is a paradise for food lovers with fantastic restaurants serving the combination of Vietnamese, Chinese, and French cuisine. The combined influence of culinary all around the word made Vietnamese food so famous and brings visitors flocking to try some of the best restaurants in Ho Chi Minh City every year. In this blog, we summed up a few of the best dining places in Ho Chi Minh City from Vietnamese fine dining restaurants to street food venues. The list features expertly, fancy dishes in diligent ambiance and mouth-watering street food that only locals would know about.
Quan An Ngon is one of the most renowned restaurants in Saigon because of its reasonable price, delicious meals, lovely colonial villa setting, and great ambiance. Moreover, with great team staff, it is chosen as one of the best restaurants in Saigon by both tourists and locals. Quan An Ngon is designed with a classical style mixed with Chinese influence. It features elephant ivory, exotic paintings, and cooking stations where chefs make fresh seafood, spring rolls, or drinks for clients. That’s why Quan An Ngon is busy every day with locals and foreigners tasting authentic dishes from those small stalls replicating to a quaint market.
Their menu is made with both English and Vietnamese accompanying pictures for description. You can taste all the specialties of Vietnam in one sitting at Quan An Ngon. There are “oc len xao dua” (mud snails in coconut milk), “goi cuon” (fresh spring rolls) from the south. From the central, there are many types of noodles such as “bun bo Hue” or “banh bot loc”. And from the north, there are “pho” and "banh tom Ho Tay". Make sure you try some “che” as dessert (Vietnamese sweet soup) before leaving.
Quan An Ngon Restaurant
The Refinery Bar and Restaurant is one of the best restaurants in Ho Chi Minh City thanks to its great location, colonial design, an amazing menu of French-style dishes. But clients claim that the main reason for coming here is because of the comfortable atmosphere. The restaurant is located inside a secluded courtyard also named The Refinery and the chilled out vibe here is perfect for a dinner with a few drinks.
The menu with European dishes blends really well with the laidback atmosphere at The Refinery Bar and Restaurant. The set menu for launch is excellent with two courses and one of the most popular dishes here is the Sunday brunch. The Refinery also offers a wide range of cocktails in which the mojito is the most famous one. Happy hour begins from 4 PM to 9 PM when all drins are discounted by 30%.
The Refinery Bar and Restaurant
After the visit of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie in 2010, Cuc Gach Quan quickly jumped onto the top list of Saigon’s best restaurants. As becoming more popular, the restaurant opened another space across the road to serve more customers. Despite the crowdedness, Cuc Gach Quan still has its charm and it is worth visiting for the food and atmosphere. This restaurant belongs to an architect who is also a foodie. The owner aims to mix modern life and old countryside by emphasizing fresh ingredients and Vietnamese flavors.
They offer an English menu only with a variety of dishes to choose from. Therefore, it is very easy for tourists to choose the dish to eat or to ask the friendly staff for some recommendations. Out of the most famous dishes, make sure you try the thit kho to (pork stewed in a clay pot) and ga kho gung (chicken stewed with ginger) with hot rice. Besides, you should also make reservations in advance because it gets crowded at dinner time.
Cuc Gach Quan
Established in 1996, Lemongrass Restaurant is one of the oldest dining places in Ho Chi Minh City. This restaurant offers authentic Vietnamese food at a reasonable price – that’s why it’s selected as one of the best restaurants in Saigon by both locals and tourists. Lemongrass Restaurant is located inside a French building set up with a brasserie-style.
They offer a selective menu of Vietnamese cuisine and their signature dishes include the baked prawns with garlic butter and almond, grilled pork ribs and lemongrass steamed clams. For drinks, you can have some local or imported beers; cocktails are also available with a signature cocktail is Lemongrass Cocktail. And for dessert, finish your fantastic meal in Lemongrass Restaurant with homemade ice cream or a tropical fruit platter. If you feel like eating in a breathtaking view, come to another branch of Lemongrass Restaurant at the Palace Hotel for the view of Nguyen Hue Boulevard and Saigon River.
Lemongrass Restaurant
“Banh da xuc hen” is an enjoyable and delicious snack for you. The dish features a large and crispy rice paper (banh da) with sesame and coconut on a plate served with baby clams (hen). The rice paper is placed on top of the clams fried with lemongrass, coriander, chili, onion, and garlic. The street food in Vietnam often has simple ingredients but the way food vendors make them is what makes those dishes rich in flavor. It will bring you a completely different taste than any other Western dishes. There is also another version of this plate named com hen (rice with baby clams) which includes rice topped with baby clams and served with a bowl of clam broth on the side. It is also a great dish to try when thinking about street food in Saigon. One of the best places in Ho Chi Minh City to eat “Banh da xuc hen” is at 17A Nguyen Thi Minh Khai street, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City.
Banh da xuc hen
Basically “Banh canh” is a Vietnamese version of udon with thicker noodles made of tapioca flour or rice flour or a mix of those two types and “cua” in this dish means crab. Therefore, “Banh canh cua” is a crab soup with thick noodles. You will never have another chance to taste soft and fresh crab this delicious, this cheap in other places. In fact, the crab-based dishes are very common in Vietnam but the best place to try “Banh canh cua” is definitely Ho Chi Minh City. This meal will satisfy those who like their food to be flavorful and tasty. One of the best places in Ho Chi Minh City to eat “Banh canh cua” is at 80/68 Tran Quang Dieu street, District 3, Ho Chi Minh City.
Banh canh cua
“Bot chien” is basically rice flour cake cut in small bites and then fried in a flat pan with whipped eggs and green onions bring clients a greasy flavor. If you know about “chai tow kueh” of Singapore, this dish is very much similar but it’s included rice instead of radish. It tastes best when served hot and crispy with sweet rice vinegar, soy sauce, and some papaya salad to balance the flavor. It’s available everywhere in Ho Chi Minh City and usually sold on the street. However, one of the best restaurants in Saigon that you can try “Bot chien” is Bot chien Dat Thanh at 277 Vo Van Tan street. They have an indoor long table for clients but not all the staff can speak English, you may have to communicate via Google translate or body language.
Bot chien
“Bun thit nuong” is very famous in Ho Chi Minh City and can be found throughout the city. Unlike the similar version of “Bun cha” in Hanoi, “Bun thit nuong” is a cooled dish so it’s perfect for Ho Chi Minh City sweating weather. It includes all the tastes and textures you would expect for a happy lunch in just one bowl of noodle. “Bun thit nuong” is normally served with vermicelli noodles, grilled pork, spring rolls, fresh lettuce, and fish sauce. When eating, you will need to pour the sauce over those ingredients, add some chili, and let the rich flavor mix to bring a perfect dish. There are many famous restaurants and places in Ho Chi Minh City to eat “Bun Thit Nuong” but one of the best places is Bun Thit Nuong Chi Tuyen, District 1. They used to be a small food stall in Co Giang street and has been developing strong through the decades. Coming here, you will see they barbecue the pork continuously in front of the restaurant and smell the grilled pork from hundred meters away.
Bun thit nuong
Among the dishes mentioned above, “Com tam” is one of the most famous dishes and is considered the iconic rice dish of Saigon. It is a rice dish served with smoky grilled pork chop, vegetables, egg, meatball, shredded pork skin, and pickles. Especially, the rice used in this dish is “broken rice” which is cracked rice grains.
Being a common dish in Ho Chi Minh City, it can be found anywhere but one of the best restaurants in Saigon to eat Com Tam is Com tam ba Ghien. Established since 1995, Com tam ba Ghien is famous for its giant pork chop freshly gilled over smoldering coals. A sunny-side egg will add the rich flavor and bring your dish to the next level of amazing.
Com tam
Ho Chi Minh City has a tropical climate which is typically hot and dry or hot and wet weather. The best time to visit Ho Chi Minh City is from December to March when the weather is dryer and the temperatures vary from 21 to 34oC. This is comfortable weather for any outdoor activities, sightseeing or walking tours. This is also the period for Vietnamese Lunar New Year from January to February. During this period, many shops will be closed and people will join the festivals. Therefore, the price of traveling during this period tends to be higher than in other months, and getting around may be more difficult because of the crowds.
From May to September, there are more chances of rainfalls but they ten to come in short bursts. Therefore, remember to bring along an umbrella or raincoat when visiting Ho Chi Minh City in this period.
From July to November, the typhoons tend to appear more and the rainfalls are heavier. Therefore, it’s not an ideal period to visit Ho Chi Minh City. However, if you happen to be here during this time, just be sure of bringing an umbrella or raincoat to avoid being wet!
We hope that this guide of Best restaurants in Saigon will spice up your trip to Vietnam or its southern region. Saigon is a dynamic, large city, and of course, the dining places we suggested were not all of them. They are just restaurants or stalls most famous for tourists and locals. Should you have any doubts about the list, do not hesitate to tell us. Vietnam Escape Tours is always available at your service.
