Top 10 reason why you should not miss Ho Chi Minh City Food Tour: Ho Chi Minh City Food Tour is a perfect choice for travelers who would like to do something different and unique from popular tours such as Saigon sightseeing tour, Cu Chi Tunnels tour, Mekong Delta tour. In fact, a large number of tourists stay and travel around District 1, they also eat in there. All they know about the diverse, colorful, and multicultural city is wrapped in District 1. Some tourists may reach Saigon China Town which is included in many tours. First, tourists on Ho Chi Minh City Food Tour can weave many districts to have a full view of the entire city. Secondly, it is amazing to try different local dishes in the city which is known as the paradise of Vietnamese foods and street foods. Let me share with you the highlights of Ho Chi Minh City Food Tour.
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Top 10 reasons why you should not miss Ho Chi Minh City Food Tour
Amazing street foods reflect culture and tradition
Street food features an important part in Vietnamese cuisine. What is street food? Street foods are ready-to-eat foods sold by vendors in public places. In some country, street food is not popular due to many reasons such as few places with very high population density and eating habits of local people. However, in our country, high population, eating out habit, and many other reasons. Street food preserves tradition and culture through culinary, street food adventure is the best way to learn more about local cuisine and local life. Especially, Ho Chi Minh City is one of the best cities in the world for street food, each street food stall has at least one signature dish.
Top 10 reasons why you should not miss Ho Chi Minh City Food Tour
Delicious street foods
The tastes of street foods in Ho Chi Minh City are great. Most of the dishes are not simple but cooked from five ingredients. For example, Pho beef noodle soup consists of the clear broth cooked from bones, star anise, cinnamon, black cardamom, Pho rice noodles, toppings such as well-done/rare/medium beef, beef ball, beef tendon. This amazing Pho noodle soup is served with bean sprouts, vegetables, common herbs in Vietnamese cuisine, fermented soybean paste, fish sauce, chili sauce,… The mix of the comfortable broth, tender or pretty chewy toppings, juicy, fresh, and aromatic herbs is really perfect and the dish is very healthy. Pho are sold popularly in luxurious restaurants, casual restaurants, street food stalls, food kiosks in Vietnam.
Banh mi is perhaps the most famous street food in Vietnam thanks to great recipes. The must ingredients are bread in Vietnamese style, with crispy crust, light and airy texture, pickles, cucumber. Sauce is the soul of Banh mi, some vendors use tomato sauce and soy bean sauce, others make special sauces from various ingredients. They can fill Banh mi with grilled pork, cold cuts such as pork sausage, beef sausage, pork floss, char siu pork, meat ball, chicken,…
There are many other amazing Vietnamese street foods including savory cakes, sweet cakes, rice noodle soups, noodle soups, rolls, sticky rice dishes, sweet soup,…
Top 10 reasons why you should not miss Ho Chi Minh City Food Tour
Being easy to eat for foreigners
Some tourists are not familiar with eating local dishes when traveling for some reasons. Local cuisines have their own characters, there are some features that are new to foreigners. Some cuisines such as Mexican, Indian, Thai, Szechuan, Korea cuisines are spicy. Some foods smell bad or strange. Some people have said that stir-fried and braised Chinese dishes are too oily. In Vietnam, most of the street foods have good smells and great tastes. A few foreigners can not eat fish sauce. However, this sauce is usually served separately and you can choose not to eat with it. If local chefs season local dishes with fish sauce, it is not easy for foreigners to recognize it. In my experience, may foreign travelers love to eat spring rolls, fried rolls, Vietnamese pancake, noodle soups, and many other Vietnamese dishes with dipping fish sauce. Most of the street foods in Saigon have no strange and unpleasant taste. They are completely tasty and comfortable, foreigners find them easy to try.
Top 10 reasons why you should not miss Ho Chi Minh City Food Tour
Diverse choices
Street food stops are abundant on Saigon streets, in back alleys, local markets, food areas, and on food streets. There are dozens of Saigon street foods for your choice. It has been said you can not try all of foods in Ho Chi Minh City in one month. Here are the list of the most popular Vietnamese street foods in Saigon:
- Noodle soups: Pho, Hue beef noodle soup, Soup cake, Clear rice noodle soup, Crab noodle soup, Seafood noodle soup, Fish noodle soup,…
- Noodle salads: noodle salad with grilled pork/spring roll/grilled beef
- Sticky rice dishes: savory and sweet steamed sticky rice, with beans, topped with mung bean paste, crushed peanuts, shredded coconut meat, pork floss, pork sausage, Chinese pork sausage,…
- Sweet soups: various sweet soups cooked from beans, agar agar, coconut milk,…
- Savory cakes: Vietnamese pancake (Banh xeo), Vietnamese mini pancake (Banh khot), Fried steamed rice flour and egg cake,…
- Broken rice with grilled pork, steamed egg and pork, shredded pork skin,…
Fresh ingredients
Almost 40 percent of Vietnam’s total land area of is dedicated to agricultural production. Almost Vietnamese dishes are cooked from fresh ingredients which have just harvested and shipped to markets, restaurants, and street food stalls. Consuming fresh, local produce is more sustainable and healthy. This is one of the greatest parts of Vietnamese cuisine.
Top 10 reasons why you should not miss Ho Chi Minh City Food Tour
Secret recipes
Why should we try street foods instead of eating in fine dining restaurants? In the past, fine dining concept is too strange to most Vietnamese people, especially farmers and house keepers. In Vietnam’s countryside, eating out is eating at street food stalls in local markets or on the streets. A few rich people eat at luxurious restaurants. Secret recipes, best chefs, and the most amazing foods can be found at street food stalls.
Immersing in the real local life and learn more about Saigon culture
Saigon street food a better representation of people’s culture. Food markets, food streets, hidden street food stalls in back alleys, long standing street food vendors are the best places to not only enjoy exotic foods but also learn more about Vietnamese culture, Saigon culture, and the real local life in Ho Chi Minh City. You will get to see how it is crowded, hustle and bustle at these places, how local people eat and chat leisurely, order refreshing drinks and drink while eating, enjoy their lives to the fullest,… It is a chance to explore the city’s vibrant street food scenes.
Street food is the first step on the way to unveil the culinary wonders of Vietnamese cuisine
Saigon street food is a delectable journey for food enthusiasts. Enjoying Vietnamese dishes at restaurants is not the only and perfect way to learn more about Vietnamese cuisine. Street food is something hidden but important and must-try in a country and Ho Chi Minh City with the special and diverse cuisine.
Discover other districts than District 1
A large number of tourists travel to Ho Chi Minh City and do not know that they only visit District 1 – the center of Saigon. Most of the must-see tourist attractions are located in District 1: Independence Palace, War Remnants Museum, Notre Dame Cathedral, Saigon Central Post Office, Jade Emperor Pagoda,… Some full day Ho Chi Minh City tours include Saigon China Town (Cholon) which covers some parts of District 5,6,10,11, but they only take tourists to Binh Tay Market, Cha Tam Church, and Thien Hau Temple. Hidden parts in districts, including brilliant gems in District 1,3,5,6,8,10,11 are not shown on popular tour routes. On street food tours, they usually take tourists to less-known eating places in hidden corners, poplar places for local people, not for tourists. You may notice that they serve you meals at touristy restaurants on normal tours.
Top 10 reasons why you should not miss Ho Chi Minh City Food Tour
Eat like local people
Most local people love to eat street foods in Ho Chi Minh City. Some Saigonese people usually eat at expensive and budget restaurants. Others usually enjoys their meals and suppers at street stalls. Famous and rich people sometimes eat street foods and sip some beers right on the streets for chilling out and having fun. Coming to Ho Chi Minh City, you should not eat at top restaurants for tourists but try sampling some street foods like local people.
Affordable prices
A take-away Banh mi (Vietnamese sandwich) costs about $10 USD, the most expensive Banh mi in the city costs about $25 USD. Some Banh mi is cheaper but they are not recommended because of poor quality ingredients and bad tastes. A bowl of rice noodle soup, a plate of broken rice, a Vietnamese pancake, a set of 10 Vietnamese mini pancake, a portion of Stuffed rice rolls and toppings costs from $15 USD. You can see that prices of good street foods in Ho Chi Minh City are not too expensive, they can help you to save money on your trip to the city. So prices of Ho Chi Minh City Food Tours are not too high. The most expensive choice costs about $75 USD. In my opinion, there is no need to choose such expensive Saigon food tour. The reasonable price is $40 – $50 USD/person. Saigon food tour with Ao Dai female riders is a little more expensive because of the higher cost of Vietnamese traditional long dress and only female tour guides. Ho Chi Minh food tour with local student is cheaper because undergraduated students are not completely trained and sometimes they speak English influentially.
Top 10 reasons why you should not miss Ho Chi Minh City Food Tour – Which Ho Chi Minh City Food Tour for your choice?
- Saigon Night Food Tour: classic and popular choice, great street foods
- Saigon Sightseeing & Food Tour: a great mix of tourist attractions and street foods
- Saigon Unseen & Food Tour: a great mix of tourist attractions and street foods
- The AoDai Foodie: traveling with nice female riders in Ao Dai traditional dress
- Street Food Tour with local students: budget choice, going with talented local student, more simple but impressive menu
Please contact Tracy Do & Bill Bui at +84938314386 (Whatsapp/iMessage/Viber/SMS) for detailed information about food tours in Ho Chi Minh City and best prices for your group.
