Some must-try foods in Ho Chi Minh City

If you want to find out the best place to stay and relax, Vietnam is the best nation to do that, especially, Ho Chi Minh City is one of the beautiful cities to retire. Because there are many activities in night such as visiting the best rooftop bars or staying in the best Singapore hotels in district 1, coffee shop, etc.

When we visit a nation in the world, we always want to find some places where have many delicious must-try food. With some easy guide below, we are easy to try Vietnamese dishes in Ho Chi Minh City. Now, let's go! 

1. Bún Mắm

22 Phan Bội Châu Street, across from Ben Thanh market. Bún Mắm Phan Bội Châu is a longstanding restaurant, located right across the street from Benh Thanh Market, that serves hot fresh bowls of Bun Mam. This place is open for breakfast, lunch and throughout the afternoon. Price of per bowl is 65,000 VND ($3).

Their broth was dark and beautiful, and along with the noodles, the mixture of goodies, like shrimp, a slice of pork belly, and a few bites of tangly squid were wonderful. Probably my favorite bite out of my entire bowl of bun mam, was not even the meat, but it was the eggplant, which was extremely succulent and juicy.

Despite enjoying my bowl of Bun Mam, their broth was overall much too sweet. Nevertheless, Bún Mắm Phan Bội Châu is in a great location, so if you happen to be shopping at Benh Than Market, you can easily stop by to sample it.

2. Bún Bò Huế

When the first time you come to Ho Chi Minh City, you should try Bun Bo Hue. There's an entire Vietnamese culture surrounding this dish, and it may be gaining some traction against Pho.

Alright, Bun Bo Hue is not actually from Ho Chi Minh City, it originates in Hue - a city on the coast of central Vietnam. This plate is included on Vietnamese street food guide because it's one of the most beloved noodle soups in Ho Chi Minh City as well.

Bun Bo Hue is beef based, and in Vietnam it's known for being spicy and flavorful. The broth, which if made to specification, should be full of beef bone flavor, and fragrant with lemongrass, has a wonderful taste, like a citrusy beef soup. The noodles are normally rice vermicelli noodles, of the sphagetti size, and a bowl of Bun Bo Hue is often served with slices of beef, a hunk of either ox tail or pork knuckle, Cha Lua - Vietnamese sausage and ham, and a handful of green and sweet onions.

Again just like every other noodle dish, the extra herbs, flash boiled vegetables, and chilies, give Bun Bo Hue an added dimension of deliciousness.

3. Bún Bò Chú Há 

If you have eaten noodles for years and years in Asia, and throughout multiple countries, and you will say Bun Bo Chú Há is the first bowl which is served in a clear see-through bowl. It was pretty cool, like eating out of a fish aquarium.

The broth had a superb umami depth to it, was salty and just slightly sweet, with a citrus touch. The slices of beef were lightly chewy, as they should be, but the real highlight was the hunk of ox tail, which was tender and juicy, and just slid off the bone. Along with serving a delicious bowl of Bun Bo Hue and those awesome transparent glass bowls.

There are many tourist who took a lots of photos as well as make many video before eating a Bun Bo Hue bowl. But just as I was about to start seasoning my bowl, the owner ran up to me, and said something and grabbed my bowl. Next she proceeded to dump out all the broth (which was cold by then), and filled it up with brand new hot steaming broth.

Address: 300 Võ Văn Tần, District 3, Ho Chi Minh City

4. Bún Mọc

There is one of the Vietnamese noodle soup dishes which is called Bun Moc. The noodles, Bun, are the thin soft rice vermicelli noodles, which are so easy to eat and go down so easily as well. The broth in Bun Moc is normally pork based, a simple and soothing soup, that's not spicy at all, but just comforting. It's the type of noodle soup you might want to eat relaxing rainy day.

Along with the rice vermicelli noodles and pork broth, a bowl of Bun Moc also typically includes some chunks of pork meat, maybe even a bone, meatballs, and Vietnamese sausage. Although Bun Moc is said to have originated in the north of Vietnam, it's extremely popular throughout Ho Chi Minh City as well.

Bun Moc appears on street Vietnamese food stalls, people can try it everytime. There is a small tiny little street food stall in the middle of an alley near Bàn Cờ market. The lady serving the Bun Moc is extremely friendly and generous, and guests order up just her normal bowl of Bun Moc.

The noodles is slippery and silky, and a bowl included a nice hunk of pork, some slices of Vietnamese sausage, a handful of crispy deep fried shallots thrown on top. A bowl of bun moc with lime juice, plenty of black pepper, herbs, and crushed chilies, and it was a wonderful Vietnamese street food breakfast.

5. Hủ Tiếu Nam Vang

Just a few minutes walk from where tourist was staying at Bay Hotel in Ho Chi Minh City. They can see Hu Tieu Nam Van stalls on the streets. Especially, there is a Hu Tieu Nam Vang restaurant on Cao Thang Street. It's a number of wonderful restaurants in Ho Chi Minh City.

It's very easy to see a crowd huddled around a noodle stall on the street. Dangling from a tree branch was a sign that said "Hủ Tiếu Nam Vang - 22,000" - and the price and the atmosphere made it nearly impossible for me not to sit down for a bowl.

Since it was quite a budget price for a bowl of noodles especially in central Ho Chi Minh City, District 1, it wasn't all that heavy on the meat, yet it was a nice mixture of noodles, pig parts, a shrimp, and a nice basket of herbs and vegetables to garnish. It was simple, but just normal, and quite tasty, plus the street food atmosphere here was perfect.

Finally, If you've made it to the bottom of this post, that means you're serious about eating delicious local Vietnamese food in Ho Chi Minh City. Moreover, there are many useful informations about the interesting places in this city such as the best rooftop bars, If you want to know these informations, please click here.