Ho Chi Minh City is known to have tons cafés filling up the streets, in stark contrast to its numerous street vendors and local eateries. During my trip, I found some cafes which rival those found back home in Singapore, especially since it's a lot cheaper over there and the quality of food holds up.

 Also, catching up to the trend, HCMC has a few of their own breweries brewing serving their own craft beers! Definitely a draw for the young and hip (alcoholics) and foreigners. 

I'll be sharing a few of the places which I've visited and recommend!

East West Brewing Co.

Address: 181 - 185 Lý Tự Trọng, Bến Thành, Quận 1, Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam

Probably the most famous street vendor in Saigon, Nguyen Thi Thanh (aka the Lunch Lady) propelled to international fame after she was featured in Anthony Bourdain's No Reservation episode in Vietnam. She's known for her noodles dishes and she serves a different noodle dish every day of the week. There is no menu, but from what I understand, she serves the same noodle dish the same day of each week. Plus she's only open during lunch time.

For a complete guide to all the noodles she serve and the days each are served, visit: http://vietnamcoracle.com/the-lunch-lady-a-diary/

I went on a Saturday and the noodle dish served is Bánh canh cua. It's a bowl of thick noodles in thick and rich fish soup reminiscent of the texture of tomato soup. There are hints of lemongrass and garlic, and you can temper the spiciness of the soup by adding chilli. It's an extremely colourful dish with lots of ingredients such as prawn, (huge slab of) crab meat, quail eggs and beef. I really love this Bánh canh cua. It's extremely delicious and it leaves me with a warm fuzzy feeling, especially in my tummy.   

One interesting thing for me was how people would just swarm over to your table once you sit, and place lots of other food on your table. Seems like these come as a 'package' with the noodles. For example, I was served both fresh and fried spring rolls (yay!) and dough fritters. You can of course indicate to them that you do not want them. I highly recommend that you have the fried and fresh spring rolls- they're one of the best I had in my 5 days in Ho Chi Minh.

When I was there, I observed that there was a good mix of tourists and locals. Most locals would just do a takeaway and zip off on their motorbikes. The Lunch Lady would also approach you to sell her book (in English of course) if she knows that you are a foreigner. I recall that it costs about US$5 a book, and she would autograph it as well. You also get to take a commemoratory photo with her!

The Lunch Lady
Address: Phường Đa Kao, District 1 (Quan 1), Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam

How to get there: Since her stall is along the street, it may be tricky to get there. But I got there fine using Grab and keying in the address. Make sure you look out for the stall still so you get dropped right at the place. In fact, I've been using Grab without any problems in Vietnam (Ho Chi Minh, Da Nang and Hoi An thus far). I find it a lot easier to copy and paste the address rather than communicate it to the taxi drivers. I can't, for the love of god, pronounce Vietnamese words.  

Singaporeans are well versed with the usual Vietnamese cuisine which consists of Phở (noodles)

A trip to Ho Chi Minh revealed that the city is filled with Vietnamese cuisine from the streets and heavily contrasted with sprawling cafes and hipster hangouts which rival those found in Singapore and Bangkok. It has an extremely interesting food scene where the classics co-exist with the new age food.

This post focuses on the classic Vietnamese cuisine which you should definitely try when you're in the area.

1. Phở

I found that beef phở is a lot more common than chicken phở, which is interesting given that the major religion in Vietnam is Buddhism. A quick google would reveal that the best phở in District 1 (and perhaps one of the best in Ho Chi Minh) is a little family owned restaurant called Pho Hoa. This restaurant has been run by generations of the same family and is extremely popular amongst both locals and tourists.

 A bowl of beef phở costs about S$5 and it comes in a huge bowl with generous amount of beef slices. The broth is super good. It's light and sweet. However, I recommend that you only try the beef phở and nothing else. For Singaporean standards, the fried dough fritter is poor as it's soggy, chewy and very thick. My Vietnamese spring rolls were disappointingly hard because they weren't served fresh but pre made and left out in the open for too long.  

 Pho Hoa

Address: Pho Hoa, 260C Pasteur Street, District 1

2. Bánh mì

I've always found bánh mì an extremely interesting food. It's basically a French baguette stuffed with Vietnamese flavours. Fusion food at its best actually. Unsurprisingly, bánh mì was introduced in Vietnam during the French rule. And because this is a simple dish to make, you can find it very easily along the streets. I've tried a few all around District 1 and the undoubted best, hands down (and which the internet agrees!) has to be Bánh Mì Huỳnh Hoa.

You are staring at one of the most delicious sandwiches ever. It is stuffed full with all sorts of meats and assorted vegetables, complete with mayonnaise. Their baguettes are freshly made at the shop, which you can get a glimpse of while joining the extremely long queue outside the shop. The baguette is crispy on the outside and extremely soft and fluffy on the inside. This shop has quite a following and you know it's good when it's mostly locals.

Total damage? 35,000 dong (i.e. S$2) per sandwich!
  

Bánh Mì Huỳnh Hoa 

Address: Bánh Mì Huỳnh Hoa, 26 Lê Thị Riêng, Bến Thành, District 1

Note: This shop only opens in the afternoon onwards

3. Cơm tấm

Cơm tấm (broken rice) is made from broken rice grains (hence the name), which is one of the cheapest grades of rice. Nonetheless, the Vietnamese have made it an extremely delicious dish, especially when served with grilled pork chop, which is one of the most popular meats.

I didn't research on the best cơm tấm in District 1, but instead, stumbled into Com Tam Cali Restaurant, a restaurant known for their cơm tấm, after a tiring night of shopping at Bến Thanh night market at 9.30pm.

I find the broken rice dish here delicious. The rice is soft and the meats are well marinated and full of flavor. They pair really well with the very plain broken rice. I also had a few of their appetizers and drinks which were all good as well. The spring rolls were thankfully fresh and I like the deep fried fish cake with quail egg, which was very juicy.

I will honestly say I don't know what amazing broken rice tastes like as I've only had authentic broken rice once. And when the only other comparison I have is the one served in Singapore's Vietnamese food chain, Con Nam (which by the way, is bland and terrible), the ones served at Com Tam Cali Restaurant is objectively delicious. Plus there were groups of locals there as well so I take it as a good sign!

Com Tam Cali Restaurant

Address: Com Tam Cali Restaurant, 32, Nguyen Trai, Ben Thanh Ward, District 1

4. Seafood (crabs for me!)

Given that half of Vietnam is geographically surrounded by the sea, seafood would be a local delicacy to try. One of the better known seafood places (crabs specifically, because I love crabs), is Quán 94 Đặc Sản Cua Biển. And no, I don't think this shop has an English name so I suggest you hail a cab or grab/uber and key in the local address. Do not attempt to pronounce.

Đặc Sản Cua Biển translates to sea crab specialties, so you can bet that's what is good there. It's pretty much like the "zi char" you find back home in terms of the kitchen, and menu. We have fried rice, noodles and all sorts of seafood. I was told to try the crab meat vermicelli and soft shell crabs.

The soft shell crabs are nothing like those served back home where they sell you parts of a whole crab for like $20. Here, they serve 3 whole crabs for only S$15. They're crispy and I like the batter which was of the right thickness. The (real) crab meat fried rice is also good and fragrant.  I can't say much for the crab meat vermicelli. I believe it's because I ordered the soup version. All the locals ordered the dry version which must be the nicer one.

The only qualm I have with their crab meat is that they come with cartilage which I found was a hassle to eat. Unless you're supposed to actually consume the cartilage, which I'm not used to. It was great that they were generous with their crab meat portions but that also meant I had a lot of cartilage to 'spit out'.

Price wise, it's not the cheapest given that the fried rice and vermicelli were S$5 each. And a quick look at the menu showed that the fresh seafood was about S$20 and above.

Address: Quán 94 Đặc Sản Cua Biển, 94 đinh tiên hoàng ,bình thạnh, District 1

Note: There are 2 Quan 94 stalls side by side. I went to the one nearest to the street corner which I was told is the original.

 

 

5. Vietnamese Coffee

Now this is a must, unless you can't take coffee, in which case, try their refreshing teas as Vietnam does have its own tea plantations.

My first coffee from Trung Nguyen

 

The slow drip coffees are a trade mark of Vietnamese coffee. They're thick and strong (and really bitter so I must always have mine with condensed milk). There are 3 very famous coffee chains which can be found everywhere in the city: Trung Nguyen Coffee; Highlands Coffee; and Phuc Long Coffee & Tea Express.

 

My personal favourite however, is none of the above 3. Instead I really like the coffee found at Café Vy. I find that their coffees have the right balance of "strong-ness", thickness and bitterness.  Plus, unlike the above 3 cafes which are reminiscent of the Starbucks concept, Café Vy is a street café. It is by the street, non air-conditioned and customers sit on the short stools found on the usual streets in the City. This place is extremely popular with locals especially on weekend afternoons.

You can also choose to buy their coffee beans and they'll ground them into air tight sealed packets for you to bring home. I have one at home and my parents absolutely love it.
 

Café Vy

Address:  277E Lê Thánh Tôn, Bến Thành, District 1

 Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica

Built by the French when Vietnam was colonized.

The Post Office

Inside of a brick burning furnace in Ben Tre Province

Exploring the Mekong Delta and the Ben Tre Province

Independence Palace (also known as the Reunification Palace)

The home and workplace of the President of South Vietnam during the tragic Vietnam war. This also happened to be the site of the end of the Vietnam war when a North Vietnamese army tank crashed through its gates. A negotiation followed between North and South Vietnam, reuniting the country.

War Museum

Where you can visit to learn all about the Vietnamese war but be warned that the pictures can be quite graphic. The outside of the museum are lined with US army war machines.

Ho Chi Minh city is named after Ho Chi Minh himself, the revolutionary leader of Vietnam. The city is busy, noisy and full of motorcycles. It is estimated that there are about 9 million motorcycles in the city alone.

The city attractions are largely buildings built by the French back in the days when Vietnam was colonized. They are all actually within walking distance from each other. You can start at Notre Dame Cathedral and walk from one attraction to another from there.

Do note that most of the attractions are only open till 5pm. If you visit religious places, do dress appropriately or you will be turned away (i.e. no sleeveless tops, no shorts).

While in the city, plan for 1.5 days of adventure just right outside the city. Spend 1 day exploring the Mekong delta and the Ben Tre Province. The boating experience is extremely fun. Spend another half a day exploring the famous Cu Chi Tunnels- a network of connecting underground tunnels located in the Củ Chi District. This was the base of operation for the Viet Congs (Vietnamese communists) when they were battling against the Americans during the war. Try walking through those tunnels and be amazed by how the Viet Congs were able to survive in those tunnels for years. I booked both of my adventures through my hotel's tour desk. They were organized by a tour agency called Ginko Voyage and I find them really good at explaining the history and culture of Vietnam.