tan-dinhDaily 05:00-18:00
Tan Dinh Market, trading since 1926 by the pink Tan Dinh Church, is a local produce and fabric market whose surrounding stalls serve fine street food.
Order: Banh canh cua or a snack from the stalls ringing the market.
Tip: Skip the fabric floors and graze the food stalls around the market's edges in the morning.
pham-ngu-laoDaily 06:00-18:00
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.
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.
binh-thanhDaily 05:00-19:00
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.
district-1Daily 06:00-18:00, night market 18:00-23:00
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.
district-6Daily 06:00-19:00
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.
district-1Daily 06:00-24:00
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.