Top 5 Street Foods in Saigon in 2016

Top 5 Street Foods in Saigon in 2016

Cooking and eating play an important part in the life of the Vietnamese people. We have enormous foods to introduce to foreign visitors. Traditional Vietnamese foods such as Pho, Bun Rieu, Bun Bo Hue, Chung cake… are famous among tourists and you can find hundreds of posts about them. In this post, I’d like to write something new about the foods in Ho Chi Minh city which are well-known for being a paradise of street foods. I’d like to introduce to you Top 5 Street Foods in Saigon in 2016. If you have a chance to visit this busy city, do not miss tasting traditional foods and new street foods.

1. Banh Mi Nuong Muoi Ot (Grilled Vietnamese Bread with Salt and Chili)

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Banh Mi Nuong Muoi Ot has just appeared in Ho Chi Minh city in the middle of 2016 but it becomes the king of Saigon street foods. Everybody, especially foodies find out and share with each other best places to enjoy this amazing food. Hundreds of Banh Mi Nuong Muoi Ot shops open right on the streets. Le Quang Sung, Duong Ba Trac, Pham Van Chi, Su Van Hanh streets are full of Banh Mi Nuong Muoi Ot shops with the attractive smell from grilled Banh Mi on charcoal. This food is originated in An Giang province in Mekong Delta and has recently become popular in the region. Firstly a Vietnamese Banh Mi is pressed by a chopping board, then it’s covered by a sauce which is secret receipt of each cook. It’s usually made from salt, chili, butter, oil…Banh Mi becomes very crispy after being grilled on charcoal and will be topped with dried tiny shrimp, pork jerky, mayonnaise, chili paste, tomato paste, chopped green onion and oil mix. To serve, the ready Banh Mi is cut into medium piece and eat hot. You must try the first in the list of Top 5 Street Foods in Saigon in 2016.

2. Xoai Lac (Shaked Mango or Mixed Thickly Sliced Mango)

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The ingredients to make a perfect Xoai Lac are green mango, shrimp salt, fish sauce and sugar. Green mango is sliced thickly and shaken in a medium plastic covered by a lid with shrimp salt, fish sauce and sugar. You can imagine the way they make this food is similar to shaking a cocktail and street food vendors have become real artists to make the spices play off the mango. It can be eaten after being shaken but it’s also delicious if you put the shaken mango in the refrigerator for 2 hours. There are enormous Xoai Lac stalls on Saigon streets so that it’s easy to buy this food in the city.

3. Banh Flan Bi Do (Pumpkin Flan Cake)

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Pumpkin Flan Cake has been a new street food that all foodies in Saigon hunt for. This amazing cake is made from pumpkin, egg and milk which are very healthy. Banh Flan Bi Do is served cold in half of pumpkin and dinners use a spoon to eat it. Banh Flan Bi Do is tender, lightly sweet and attractive with the smell of Vietnamese pumpkin and beautiful yellow color. Pumpkin Flan Cake is added to menus of many dessert shops in Saigon so that it’s easy for you to find a place to eat in the city.

4. Khoai Lang Xi Muoi (Shaked Sweet Potato)

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Deep-fried sweet potato shaken with a mix of sugar, salt and Xi Muoi powder has just become a favorite snack in Saigon a few months ago. Xi Muoi is Vietnamese dried fruits (plump, apricot…) which are specialties of Hanoi. Normally, you could buy one more pack after eating the first pack. Do not miss trying it, you won’t find this taste out of Vietnam. If you walk or drive a motorbike around Saigon street, you can see many small metal carts where you can buy a pack of Shaked Sweet Potato.

5. Pho Cuon Bay Mau (Rainbow Pho Roll)

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Pho noodle soup – the national dish of Vietnam is famous all around the world for its great taste. A new dish made from Pho rice paper has just appeared in Saigon, attracts many people and become one of Top 5 Street Foods in Saigon in 2016. To make Pho noodle, we cut Pho rice paper into strips. To make Pho roll, we use the Pho rice paper to roll the fillings (shrimp, pork, vegetables). The highlight of Rainbow Pho Roll is that the cook adds beet juice, pandan leaves juice, gac meat and other juices to make the Pho rice paper purple, green, orange… All ingredients to make the rice paper are vegetables and rice so that you can feel the roll is very fresh. There are 7 colors of the Pho Cuon so that we call it Rainbow Pho Roll. The dish is not only tasty but also good looking. Similar to other Vietnamese rolls, Pho Cuon Bay Mau is served with a special dipping sauce. This food is a perfect mix of tradition and modern. You can come to the Pho shop at 14 Bui Vien Street, District 1, Ho Chi Minh city to enjoy this food.

Are you mouth-watering when you read my post about Top 5 Street Foods in Saigon in 2016? If you don’t know where to eat these exotic foods, let Scooter Saigon Tour drive you around the city and serve you Top 10 Street Foods in Saigon in 2016 which most tourists miss when they visit our city. Check out Saigon Food Tour for more details.

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