Thai Binh Market is a food market in Pham Ngu Lao, Ho Chi Minh City.
Thai Binh Market sits on the edge of the backpacker district, a workaday produce market whose corner stalls turn out cheap noodle salads, che and snacks.
Editorially verified July 1, 2026 by Lewis Vaughan, TableJourney editor. Source.
Must order: A cheap noodle salad or a cup of che from the corner stalls.
Tip: It is a two-minute walk from Bui Vien; the food stalls at the entrances are the reason to stop.
Address: 5 Pham Ngu Lao Street, Pham Ngu Lao Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City
Ba Chieu is one of Binh Thanh's oldest markets, a sprawling local hall best known among eaters for the dense ring of street-food stalls that surround it.
Order: Grilled snacks and che from the surrounding street stalls.
Tip: The food is around the outside, not inside; the night market from 18:00 is the liveliest time.
Ben Thanh is Saigon's landmark market, a 1914 hall of produce, dry goods and a busy food court by day that spills into an open-air night market.
Order: A bowl of bun mam or che from the covered food court.
Tip: Prices are marked up for tourists; the food-court stalls at the back are the real reason to come.
Binh Tay is the grand market at the heart of Cho Lon, a 1920s Chinese-built hall of wholesale goods ringed with food stalls serving Teochew classics.
Order: A bowl of hu tieu or a Cho Lon-style dumpling from the outer stalls.
Tip: The wet market outside runs earliest; come at dawn to watch Chinatown do its shopping.
Ben Thanh Street Food Market is a covered food hall a block from Ben Thanh, gathering stalls of Vietnamese and Asian street dishes around shared tables.
Order: Grilled seafood and a plate of banh xeo from adjacent stalls.
Tip: It is more polished and pricier than the street, but a comfortable air-conditioned sampler.
Ho Thi Ky is Saigon's best-loved night food street, a maze of alleys behind the flower market crammed with stalls of banh trang, snails, grilled skewers.
Order: Banh trang tron and a plate of grilled snails.
Tip: Come hungry after dark and graze from stall to stall; it is busiest and best from 19:00.
An Dong is one of Saigon's oldest and largest indoor markets, a wholesale fashion hall in District 5 whose basement food court draws locals for Cho Lon eats.
Order: A bowl of che or a plate of banh from the basement food court.
Tip: Skip the upstairs clothing floors and head straight to the basement food stalls.