It’s day 1 of our weeklong trip, we only have three full days here in Ho Chi Minh, and a day of our stay here will be in Vung Tau — a nearby seaside town outside the city.
Ho Chi Minh is mostly known for its rich historical landmarks, museums, food experiences, and night life. Our plan for this vacation is focused on local scenes and food experiences. That’s always been my philosophy when travelling — to experience life as close to how locals live. And with my love for coffee, I also made sure that I get to visit local cafes in the area and indulge myself with the variety of Vietnamese coffee selection.
For street walkers, Vietnam can be quite a challenge especially when crossing streets. The trick is to just have the confidence and take the steps, often the not, the motorbikes go around the pedestrians like it’s perfectly choreographed. We explored the streets of Ho Chi Minh by foot and motorbikes (using Grab app), options like taking the bus, train, and car are also possible but we preferred a more adventurous way of going around the city.
Our first stop is this coffee shop in a run-down building. We used Google maps in navigating, it’s reliable, but here’s a fun thing about Vietnam in general…most coffee shops are hole in the wall, and you get rewarded of how great the coffee is and how unique the vibe of the place is when you find it. Of the many coffee shops I visited in Vietnam, including the ones I went to in Hanoi, this is so far my favorite. Everything about it just makes it so dreamy, every corner has a character, and it was easy to just let the time pass by while we enjoy our coffee. For this trip, I heavily consumed sea salt iced lattes!
The cafe has this wall where the windows frame a perfect view of the church across the street. Aside from photographs of the building hanged on some walls, it’s adorned with these huge indoor plants that look like there’s a growing forest inside. I also like this corner where there are torn pages from books and artistically placed on walls. The music, although I couldn’t capture, goes along with a laidback afternoon. My friend and I had some things to wrap up in our work and this cafe made it so easy for us to get all the work done while feeling relaxed.
We live a couple of blocks from Bui Vien Street, which is famous for its night life. We went and walked along the bars and restaurants that come alive as the night comes. Despite the good music, it was too loud for my liking, and its offers aren’t really an interest of mine, so we concluded the day by having dinner on a street parallel to Bui Vien. My friend was very particular with having to cross out her checklist of must-try local dishes, I was also up for this food experience so it’s a win for me as a foodie.
We ate cơm tấm, famously known as broken rice, it’s a classic dish in Southern Vietnam. I like how my friend also gave bits of history on the food we tried. It wasn’t actually fancy, and from what I picked from her story is that it can be considered as a poor man’s meal. From its name, they use broken rice grains which is considered low-quality, this became a staple dish especially for the working-class. As a fan of balanced meals, this checks all the necessary macros and nutrients since it has the carbs, protein, fat, and fiber that our body needs for nourishment. It comes with grilled pork chop, fried egg, shredded pork skin, and pickled vegetables, the proportions can be improved especially if you want to cook this at home.
Since the night was young, we decided to go around and just walk more before heading to our hostel. In Asia, convenience stores are very famous, and I am also that kind of traveler who thinks that going to the grocery/convenience store is a cultural experience. I was surprised with the variety of snacks from 7-11, suddenly, I felt like I’m growing a sweet tooth with the stack of desserts to choose from. What’s even more surprising was seeing packed chicken feet, in a convenience store! I love this, in the Philippines, it’s a common street food.
The next day, we went out early for a morning walk going to our breakfast place. When I first visited Hanoi, I was always snacking bánh mì whenever I go for a long walk, I didn’t really know what were the ingredients and I would always be surprised on the flavors I would taste for the every stall I have tried, surely for me, it’s the coriander that makes it so good. I was so excited going to Ho Chi Minh since it’s the birthplace of bánh mì! It evolved from the French baguette sandwich during the French colonial period. Aside from the filling, another distinct difference of bánh mì from the French baguette is its lighter and crispier crust, which is perfect since the meats added in bánh mì can be really filling. For our breakfast, we went for this signature local dish, but also, with the twist as we went for a deconstructed version of bánh mì ốp la, where the bread was served separately with a small pan of fried meats and sunny-side-up eggs. It came with sides of cucumber and pickled vegetables. I really didn’t know how to eat it, instead of assembling a bánh mì, I decided to just tear the bread and dip it on the egg, spread pâté on it, and eat the meat and vegetables separately. It was definitely an experience, eating breakfast on the side of the street and watching people as the bustle started.
Vietnamese food is famously known for its healthy branding, their choice of carbs is light compared to rice, which is common in Asian countries. The last meal we had in Ho Chi Minh that I unexpectedly loved is this spread of leafy vegetables, spring rolls or chả giò, vermicelli noodle salad platter or bún, grilled meat wrapped in betel leaves or nem nướng lá lốt, and kikiam. The appetizer platter did not disappoint!
The vermicelli noodle salad platter or bún was also great, it was my first time adding fish sauce with noodles. My hesitation easily faded when I had my first bite, as I realized how it made sense since there are thinly sliced mango garnish on the noodles. We also usually pair mango with fish sauce in the Philippines and that made the bún a familiar taste.
We just roamed around the city while passing time before our flight to Da Nang. Luckily, we got the chance to visit a food festival before we left. It wasn’t just my heart that was full, but also my tummy, with all the new dishes I tried during our stay in Ho Chi Minh. A lot of people seem to pass on this city when visiting Vietnam, thinking it can be dull, except for the nightlife. But for a foodie like me, I’ll surely come back, not only to indulge in the cafés but even more in the food this city has to offer.
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