Day-by-day eating plans for Ho Chi Minh City. weekend classics, family routes, vegan plans, on-a-budget editions.
Day-by-day plans
Saigon in a weekend: the essentials ★ 4.6
First-time visitor, two days2 days
A first weekend built around the dishes Saigon does best: a dawn bowl of pho, a com tam lunch, a Michelin dinner and the snails-and-beer ritual after dark.
Day 1: Saturday: pho at dawn, market lunch, Michelin dinner
Morning
Start with a 7am bowl of beef pho at Pho Hoa Pasteur, the Bib Gourmand corner in District 3, then a slow filter coffee upstairs at The Workshop Coffee off Dong Khoi.
Afternoon
Browse the food court and stalls of Ben Thanh Market, then head to Phu Nhuan for the oversized grilled pork chop over broken rice at Com Tam Ba Ghien.
Evening
Dinner at one-Michelin-star Anan Saigon on Ton That Dam, then cocktails high over the city at Chill Skybar on the AB Tower.
Day 2: Sunday: charcoal coffee, a long lunch, snails after dark
Morning
Charcoal-brewed ca phe sua da at Cheo Leo, one of the city's oldest cafes, then steamed banh cuon at Banh Cuon Hai Nam in District 3.
Afternoon
A long, unhurried lunch of Southern home cooking in the old villa at Cuc Gach Quan in Tan Dinh.
Evening
Plates of snails and cold beer at Oc Dao, then a nightcap at the hidden cocktail bar Drinking and Healing.
Cho Lon: a day in the Chinese kitchens ★ 4.4
Return visitor, one day in Chinatown1 day
A full day in Districts 5 and 6, the twin city of Cho Lon, eating the Cantonese and Teochew food that Saigon's Chinese community built.
Day 1: Dim sum, market noodles and Peking duck
Morning
Start with steamed and pan-fried dumplings at the packed Tan Nguyen Thai Dimsum, then wander the grand 1920s hall and food stalls of Binh Tay Market.
Afternoon
A bowl of Phnom Penh-style hu tieu Nam Vang at Chu Se, followed by a warm Cantonese sweet soup at Ha Ky in central Cho Lon.
Evening
End with Peking duck and a spread of dim sum at the Bib Gourmand Dim Tu Tac on Tran Hung Dao.
A Saigon food-and-drink crawl ★ 4.3
Drinks-led visitor, one day1 day
A day that starts with egg coffee and ends deep in Saigon's bar scene, taking in craft beer, natural wine, a speakeasy and a late-night bowl of pho.
Day 1: Egg coffee to a late-night bowl
Morning
Ease in with a cup of whipped egg coffee at Runam Bistro, in a French-style mansion facing the cathedral.
Afternoon
Craft-beer flights at the East West Brewing taproom on Ly Tu Trong, then a glass of French wine in the courtyard at The Refinery.
Evening
Cocktails at the hidden Snuffbox, grazing on grilled snacks along Ho Thi Ky Food Street, and a 1am bowl of pho at the 24-hour Pho Ha.
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