SAIGON’S FAMOUS FOOD - Vietnam Food Tour - Best Banh Mi
- 6 years ago
We tried 5 of Saigon’s Famous Food items during a full day Vietnam food tour! We found the best Banh Mi sandwich in the city and checked out Anthony Bourdain’s favorite restaurant in Ho Chi Minh city for Banh Xeo. We snuck in an exotic food in Vietnam towards the end, so make sure you watch all the way through!
To fuel up, we got an Egg Coffee or Cà Phê Trứng. During the milk shortage, Vietnamese adapted to whip an entire egg yolk into their coffee for dairy and texture. Vietnamese egg coffee is served with sweetened condensed milk and nutmeg. It reminded me of an egg nog latte. Needless to say, it was incredible.
Our first food stop on the Vietnam food tour was to find the best banh mi in Saigon. We went to a Mark Wiens recommended spot and were NOT impressed, so we headed down the street to the famous Banh Mi Huynh Hoa. Of course, being one of Saigon’s famous food items we had to stand in a line to get our Banh Mi. Thank goodness we waited because this was the best sandwich I’ve ever eaten in my entire life! No joke. If you are looking for the best food in Saigon, this should be your absolute first stop.
Next up I wanted to try Banh Xeo. What better place to try it than the one made famous by Anthony Bourdain in Vietnam: Banh Xeo 46A. This place was located in district 3 Ho Chi Minh city and although it’s quite the tourist destination now, it was only half full mixed with both locals and tourists. If you’re wondering what to eat in Ho Chi Minh city, Banh Xeo will be on every local foodies list for you to try. It’s a thin rice flour pancake or crepe stuffed with prawns, bean sprouts and garlic. It was absolutely delicious!
At this point of our food tour Saigon I’m starting to get pretty full… but everyone says the best Vietnamese food in Saigon is, you guessed it, Pho. We headed to the famous Vietnamese food Pho institution called Pho Hoa Pasteur for a bowl of raw beef pho noodles. This wasn’t the Pho place I had in mind, but it was right around the corner in District 3 so I thought we’d give it a try. I was not overly impressed with the soup and I needed to put a lot of condiments in the bowl to make it flavorful. Pho is typically a street food in Vietnam and I felt that the steeper price of 70K dong for a bowl reflected the fact that we were in a restaurant vs. a street food stall. Pho Hoa Pasteur also has chain establishments in the US, however this is the only location in Ho Chi Minh city.
Last but not least for the best Vietnamese food in Saigon was an exotic choice: Snails! I tried eating snails in Vietnam for the first time because I couldn’t find live coconut worms. I wanted to eat live coconut worms and be a little more adventurous for you guys but the government is cracking down on the distribution of coconut worms, making it illegal. So, I settled for snails. First were sea snails fried in chili and salt which was a little overcooked but still great in flavor. Second was a Mekong Delta river sucking snail which was horrifying! Th
To fuel up, we got an Egg Coffee or Cà Phê Trứng. During the milk shortage, Vietnamese adapted to whip an entire egg yolk into their coffee for dairy and texture. Vietnamese egg coffee is served with sweetened condensed milk and nutmeg. It reminded me of an egg nog latte. Needless to say, it was incredible.
Our first food stop on the Vietnam food tour was to find the best banh mi in Saigon. We went to a Mark Wiens recommended spot and were NOT impressed, so we headed down the street to the famous Banh Mi Huynh Hoa. Of course, being one of Saigon’s famous food items we had to stand in a line to get our Banh Mi. Thank goodness we waited because this was the best sandwich I’ve ever eaten in my entire life! No joke. If you are looking for the best food in Saigon, this should be your absolute first stop.
Next up I wanted to try Banh Xeo. What better place to try it than the one made famous by Anthony Bourdain in Vietnam: Banh Xeo 46A. This place was located in district 3 Ho Chi Minh city and although it’s quite the tourist destination now, it was only half full mixed with both locals and tourists. If you’re wondering what to eat in Ho Chi Minh city, Banh Xeo will be on every local foodies list for you to try. It’s a thin rice flour pancake or crepe stuffed with prawns, bean sprouts and garlic. It was absolutely delicious!
At this point of our food tour Saigon I’m starting to get pretty full… but everyone says the best Vietnamese food in Saigon is, you guessed it, Pho. We headed to the famous Vietnamese food Pho institution called Pho Hoa Pasteur for a bowl of raw beef pho noodles. This wasn’t the Pho place I had in mind, but it was right around the corner in District 3 so I thought we’d give it a try. I was not overly impressed with the soup and I needed to put a lot of condiments in the bowl to make it flavorful. Pho is typically a street food in Vietnam and I felt that the steeper price of 70K dong for a bowl reflected the fact that we were in a restaurant vs. a street food stall. Pho Hoa Pasteur also has chain establishments in the US, however this is the only location in Ho Chi Minh city.
Last but not least for the best Vietnamese food in Saigon was an exotic choice: Snails! I tried eating snails in Vietnam for the first time because I couldn’t find live coconut worms. I wanted to eat live coconut worms and be a little more adventurous for you guys but the government is cracking down on the distribution of coconut worms, making it illegal. So, I settled for snails. First were sea snails fried in chili and salt which was a little overcooked but still great in flavor. Second was a Mekong Delta river sucking snail which was horrifying! Th