Sái Gòn
After consuming a healthy amount of vitamin sea on an island, my group reached the Southest city of our itinerary. Popularly known as Sái Gòn, Ho Chi Minh City has a very high population of about 9 million inhabitants. In this final destination of our trip in Vietnam, where there was a lot attractions to see, countless memories to get closure with, and evidently more to eat.
Ho Chi Minh City Hall
Saving this special stop for last, it was an emotional trip for my parents who left considerable childhood memories here. Somehow, the heat and humidity didn’t take part of their memories. It was too hot! I was sweating doing literally nothing. Struggling with the humidity was exhausting and reduced my appetite. No that fun…
☀ | 35˚C
Traffic flow: Extremely busy
Traffic anxiety level: Moderate with caution
With a location in district 1, I believe it was the best area to spend a few days before wrapping up our Vietnam trip. We were nearby mostly everything that we wanted to visit. It was charming during the weekend when the main street of our hotel was closed off for pedestrians. It was lively at night.
Neighbourhood: District 1
📍Saigon Prince Hotel
Within a constraint timeline, I would have liked to visit more sites in the city. Our location was right in the centre and I wish I could take more advantage of it. It was a walk away from:
Sái Gòn River
Independence Palace
Museum of Ho Chi Minh City
Ho Chi Minh City Museum of Fine Arts
Saigon Japan Town
Botanical Garden
Other districts
There was a lot to do in so little time. And the heat and humidity was unbearable to me. It was 35˚C in November. I’m just not used to it. I wouldn’t know how I’d manage in their peak season.
I took a nice walk on a street full of book shops and cafes lining up on each side of the path. All the books were in Vietnamese. Even with the lack of fluency, I was tempted to buy a book to then practice my Vietnamese at home. Or at least try. I did this once when I was in Italy; I fell under the romantic spell of ‘la dolce vita’ and bought myself an Italian book about cinema.
📍 Ho Chi Minh Book Street
Coffee & Tea
It’s hard to skip a coffee order when in Vietnam. It’s just so good. I had to create an opportunity to visit this coffee shop that sold flower arrangements for special occasions and that was also a homestay. Besides the beautiful romantic garden aesthetic of their boutique, their creative tea selections caught my attention. They combine tea with fresh fruits. I was also very tempted to order something from their mocktail list. My tea was an infusion of green tea, ginger, lemongrass, and rose petals. Đẹp trai’s coffee was served on a bed of rocks with a plant. It was extravagant in a good way and reminded me of cocktails that are beyond cocktails you get at BarChef in Toronto.
Padma de fleur
89/12 Hàm Nghi, Phường Nguyễn Thái Bình, Quận 1, Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam
Drinks
As I mentioned in previous posts of my trip to other cities in Vietnam, I had the luxury of enjoying fresh exotic fruits through smoothies or freshly pressed juices. I wasn’t confident that my body could hold up eating fruits from the market, so that’d be for another time. I’m a big fan of sugarcane juice. I knew I’d be in the sugarcane paradise in Vietnam, but had to control my consumptions as it’s sugar. I foud this sugarcane juice shop that serves other blends such as sugarcane with clementine or even sugarcane with durian. There were so many flavours on the menu.
Nước Mía Ngon
406 Hai Bà Trưng, Phường Tân Định, Quận 1, Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam
Chè
Now, how can I describe Vietnamese chè? This term refers to any dessert mostly in liquid form such as a fruit cocktail or sweet soup. There are dessert types that combine fresh and dried fruits, others that are coconut milk-based with mung beans, or even tapioca balls with a splash of coconut milk.
My favourite one is the chè sâm bổ lượng bắc qua. It consists of dried lotus seeds, pearl barley, dried seaweed, dried longan, dried jujubes, and dried goji berries. With some ice, this makes a fruit salad perfect for the summer.
Chè bưởi combines green pomelo, mung beans and coconut milk.
I’m not so much of a desert person, but I must say, damn—-I love Vietnamese desserts!
Chè Kỳ Đồng (chè sâm bổ lượng bắc qua)
16C Đ. Kỳ Đồng, Phường 9, Quận 3, Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam
97 Mạc Thị Bưởi (chè bưởi)
Bến Nghé, Quận 1, Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam
Bánh mì
Continuing with my hunt of the best bánh mì, I went to this popular place that has only one type of bánh mì on their menu. The lineup of customers was continuous. I had to find out what brings everyone there. They serve bread with the meats and pate already inside and a bag of vegetables (cucumber, pickled carrots and daikon) and fresh herbs separately. I picked the amount of veggies and herbs I wanted for my sandwich. They cut it in half for me. It was very tasty and meaty. Their pate was the best I had eaten so far.
Bánh Mì Huynh Hoa
26 Lê Thị Riêng, Phường Phạm Ngũ Lão, Quận 1, Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam
Cua lột chiên cốm
This dish of lightly fried soft-shell crabs in a batter of young rice is one the many excellent meals they offer at this Michelin-guide Vietnamese restaurant. Among the numerous occupied tables, I felt very lucky to have my family squeezed in for an evening meal without reservations. The food was inventive and very palatable. The location is very charming, situated in the heart of a building’s inner patio. Other restaurants, cafes, bars and clubs surrounded this courtyard.
Hoa Túc Saigon
74/7 Hai Bà Trưng, phường Sài Gòn, Quận 1, Hồ Chí Minh 700000, Vietnam
Salmon rice paper rolls
Topped with trout roe, these fresh salmon rice paper rolls were a nice alternative to the common pork and shrimp rice paper rolls as an appetizer. I’m a big fan of salmon in general and appreciated this version for sure.
Vietnamese House Restaurant
93-95-97 Đồng Khởi, Bến Nghé, Quận 1, Hồ Chí Minh 700000, Vietnam
Cơm tấm
One of the Southern specialties is broken rice (hence its name) served with grilled pork ribs, shredded pork skin (bì), Vietnamese sausage and Vietnamese-style steamed omelet with meatloaf. That’s the typical recipe. At the eatery my folks and I went to, we missed out on the grilled pork ribs as we arrived late. It was around noon. They offered us thịt kho trứng (caramelized pork and eggs). Đẹp trai was crazy about this meal. It was still delicious!
Cơm Tấm Trần Quý Cáp
260 Võ Văn Tần, Phường 5, Quận 3, Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam
Xôi Chiên
Most Vietnamese dishes are consumed at breakfast, which explains the scarcity of some ingredients by midday. In fact, there’s no true rule to Vietnamese food routine. People eat what they want whenever they want. Easy peasy! And so, my family and I looked up for a xôi chiên spot located within a labyrinth of houses and other xôi chiên shops at 7am. It was quite a story.
We showed up at this Vietnamese family’s place where they prepare deep fried sticky rice filled with minced pork for delivery as their daily business. The place was clearly not meant to welcome clients on site. Regardless, the woman asked us to sit and took out her table from her living room for us. Amazing scene! Another lady then joined and was surprised and so happy to see us there enjoying their xôi chiên.
Xôi Chiên Hẻm 50 Phùng Vn Cung (online food app order)
Trứng vịt lộn
Ready for the real street food? It’s not quite literal. Vietnamese people enjoy a delicacy called hột vịt lộn, fertilized duck eggs cooked in boiling water. With a dash of salt and pepper and fresh herbs, locals are used to this dish for, what they call, nhậu (drinking).
I grew familiar with this food at an age when I didn’t even understand fertilization. I learned that it tasted yummy without understanding the different textures inside my bite. I can’t help it nowadays. It’s something cultural that got inked in me. I enjoy it very much, but my brain has a blank switch when it comes to this experience.
Quán Ốc Vũ
37 Đ. Vĩnh Khánh, Phường 8, Quận 4, Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam
