Top 10 Broken Rices in Ho Chi Minh City

Broken rice in Vietnam

Broken Rice (or Com Tam) is a specialty food of Ho Chi Minh City (or Saigon). Saigon people eat Broken rice (Steamed broken rice) for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or supper. Any visitor should not miss this amazing food on the trip to Ho Chi Minh. Because the food is very popular, you can easily find many places to eat it. On the streets, you can smell the grilled pork street food stalls serving this food. I would like to share with you Top 10 Broken Rices in Ho Chi Minh City as below. And I hope eating Broken Rice at these places will be one of the most impressive things you have done in Saigon.

Broken rice topped with grilled pork, cucumber, pickles

Diverse Broken Rice Dishes

Firstly, I would like to give you an overview of Broken Rice. The soul of this food is broken rice, which is 2 or 3 times smaller than normal rice. Many people say that eating broken rice is more comfortable than normal rice. This food has many versions with various toppings such as Grilled Pork Chop (Suon), Pig Skin Strips (Bi), Pork and Egg Cake (Cha), Braised Pork and Egg, Grilled Pork Patties (Nem Nuong), Grilled pork ribs, Fried fishes, Fish Pie (Cha ca).  Other toppings include Omelette, Grilled Chicken, Fried Crab Roll, and even Stewed Pork Organs (Pha Lau). However, daikon and carrot pickles, cucumber slices, and fish sauce dip are must accompaniments. The restaurants also offer various Vietnamese soups such as Stuffed Bitter Melon with Pork, Mustard Green Soup, Pumpkin Soup, Sweet and Sour Soup.

You can order any combination of the toppings on the menus at Com Tam restaurants. The most favorite Broken Rice is the one with Grilled Pork Chop. A combination of Grilled Pork Chop, Pig Skin Strips, Pork and Egg Cake is also a great choice. The grilled pork should be not too thin but not too thick. It is marinated with lots of spices and grilled on charcoal until smelling and well-done. The Pig Skin Strips are funny to eat, sometimes they mix the strips with thinly julienned pork belly and toasted rice powder. Pork and Egg Cake is tender and sweet-tasty and is one of the most favorite toppings for Com Tam.

How to eat Broken Rice?

After ordering, you will be served a plate of steamed broken rice, toppings, a fork, a spoon, and a dip bowl. At some restaurants, you will get the dipping sauce and at chili pepper (fresh or sauce) at your wish. The smells of broken rice and the toppings make you mouth-watering and could not wait for eating them. It is better to eat the dish when it is still warm. Use the fork to dip the toppings in the fish sauce dip and eat them. Use the spoon to pour the dip onto the steamed rice and eat it. Eat a spoon of rice with a piece of pork, a slice of cucumber and pickles. Some people prefer putting the pickles into the dip to make the dip a little sour.

Top 10 Broken Rices in Ho Chi Minh City

1. Com Tam Thu Thao

459 – 461, Le Dai Hanh Street, Ward 11, District 11, Ho Chi Minh City; Opening hours: 9:00 – 19:00; Prices: 40,000 – 65,000 VND.

2. Com Tam Thuan Kieu

26 Ton That Tung Street, Ben Thanh Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City;

114 Yersin Street, Nguyen Thai Binh Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City;

46 Dinh Tien Hoang Street, Da Kao Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City;

54 Thuan Kieu Street, Ward 4, District 11, Ho Chi Minh City;

52 Dang Duc Thuat Street, Tan Phong Ward, District 7, Ho Chi Minh City;

43 Nguyen Huy Luong Street, Ward 14, Binh Thanh District, Ho Chi Minh City;

17 Ut Tich Street, Ward 4, Tan Binh District, Ho Chi Minh City;

Opening hours: 10:00 – 20:45; Prices: 25,000 – 275,000 VND; Website: http://comtamthuankieu.com.vn.

3. Com Tam Tu Map

812 Su Van Hanh Street, Ward 12, District 10, Ho Chi Minh City;

89-91 Dong Den Street, Ward 12, Tan Binh District, Ho Chi Minh City;

Opening hours: 7:00 – 14:00; 17:00 – 21:00; Prices: 15 ,000 – 60,000 VND.

4. Com Tam Ba Ghien

291 Nguyen Tri Phuong Street, Ward 5, District 10, Ho Chi Minh City; Opening hours: 7:00 – 21:00; Prices: 35,000 – 85,000 VND.

5. Com Tam Nguyen Van Cu

167 Nguyen Tri Phuong Street, Ward 2, District 5, Ho Chi Minh City; Opening hours: 6:30 – 15:00; Prices: 50,000 – 130,000 VND.

6. Com Tam Bui Saigon

100 Thach Thi Thanh Street, Tan Dinh Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City;

72 Nguyen Thuong Hien Street, Ward 5, District 3, Ho Chi Minh City;

378 Le Van Luong Street, Tan Hung Ward, District 7, Ho Chi Minh City;

172C Dien Bien Phu Street, Ward 17, Binh Thanh District, Ho Chi Minh City;

1-4 Street D2, Ward 25, Binh Thanh District, Ho Chi Minh City;

48B Phan Van Tri Street, Ward 7, Go Vap District, Ho Chi Minh City;

Opening hours: 6:30 – 23:30; Prices: 35,000 – 52,000 VND; Website: http://www.comtambuisaigon.com.

7. Com Tam Moc

85 Ly Tu Trong Street, Ben Thanh Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City; Opening hours: 8:30 – 22:30; Prices: 45,000 – 80,000 VND.

8. Com Tam Kieu Giang

192E Tran Quang Khai Street, Tan Dinh Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City; Opening hours: 7:00 – 22:00; Prices: 40,000 – 70,000 VND.

9. Com Tam Cali

32 Nguyen Trai Street, Pham Ngu Lao Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City;

222 Hai Ba Trung Street, Tan Dinh Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City;

236 Le Thanh Ton Street, Ben Thanh Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City;

82 Nguyen Van Troi Street, Ward 8, Phu Nhuan District, Ho Chi Minh City;

125 Nguyen Chi Thanh Street, Ward 16, District 11, Ho Chi Minh City;

5th Floor, Parkson Shopping Center, 184 Le Dai Hanh Street, Ward 15, District 11, Ho Chi Minh City;

3rd Floor, Parkson Shopping Center, 35Bis – 45 Le Thanh Ton Street, Ben Nghe Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City;

5th Floor, Crescent Mall, 101 Ton Dat Tien Street, Tan Phu Ward, District 7, Ho Chi Minh City;

48 Nguyen Hue Street, Ben Nghe Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City;

4th Floor, SC VivoCity, 1058 Nguyen Van Linh Boulavard, Tan Phong Ward, District 7, Ho Chi Minh City;

GF Floor, Aeon Mall Celadon, 30 Bo Bao Tan Thang Street, Son Ky Ward, Tan Phu District, Ho Chi Minh City;

Opening hours: 7:00 – 21:00; Prices: 60,000 – 93,000 VND; Website: https://www.comtamcali.com.

10. Com Tam Ba Ha

389 Hung Phu Street, Ward 9, District 8, Ho Chi Minh City; Opening hours: 16:00 – 20:30; Prices: 32,000 – 47,000 VND.

Eating Saigon is a great thing to do on your trip. How to eat the city to its fullest? It is easy to eat at fine dining restaurants which are for rich people and tourists. However, the real Saigon is at local restaurants which are favorite places of many Saigon people. Reaching the local restaurants outside of District 1 sometimes is difficult to foreigners. A Saigon Food Tour is a great choice to immerse into the city life, enjoy all the exotic foods with your tour guides as friends.