Saigon or Ho Chi Minh City is one of biggest cities in Vietnam. Lifestyle in Ho Chi Minh City is very active and bustling. People are more into “on-the-go” routine to catch up the fast and moving forward lifestyle. They use to eat on street to save time and save money other than cooking at home and dining in restaurant. Street foods in Saigon are really cheap and delicious. With only $1 or $2, you can have full meal with tons of options for you to choose. However, there top 5 dishes that you should try in Saigon.
1. Broken rice
Com tam, or broken rice, used to be called "poor people's rice” since it was made from grains that broke during harvest or cleaning and were sold cheap. Over the years it has become a popular dish for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It is usually served with grilled pork ribs, bì (thinly shredded pork mixed with cooked and thinly shredded pork skin) or cha (a mix of steamed eggs, crab meat, ground pork meat, Jew's ear mushroom, and vermicelli) or both. It can be found almost everywhere in Ho Chi Minh City in street stalls with plastic stools and tables.
2. Fried rice flour cakes
Bot chien (fried rice flour cakes) is a dish that originated in China and has become a popular street snack in Saigon. It is made from rice flour cakes chopped into chunky squares and fried in a large flat pan with whipped eggs and green onion. It’s served crisp with sweet rice vinegar and soy sauce concoction and some shredded pickled young papaya and carrot to cool down the dish.
3. Mixed rice paper
Banh trang tron (mixed rice paper) is the favorite snack of teenagers in Saigon. It is like a salad made of shredded rice paper mixed with jerky, dried shrimps, roasted peanuts, boiled quail eggs, shredded mangoes, fried onions, and herbs. It is seasoned with chili sauce, salt, cashew oil, and onion oil until it is sour, spicy, salty, and sweet at the same time. The dish can be found anywhere in Saigon but the most famous street for banh trang tron is Nguyen Thuong Hien in District 3.
4. Papaya salad
Goi du du (papaya salad) is made of shredded papaya, rice crackers, sliced jerky, roasted peanuts, and herbs seasonaed with chili sauce. It is usually sold on carts pulled by street vendors. The most famous spot to buy this dish is in front of Le Van Tam Park on Hai Ba Trung Street.
5. Pha Lau
Pha lau is pig/cow intestines boiled down to a soft texture in a salty broth. It can be served with bánh mì (Vietnamese sandwich) or noodles. You can find it around any school area in Saigon. Students love Pha Lau because it cheap and tasty.
