GUIDE TO HCMC
Some travel tips to navigate the city and ensure your best travel experience.
RESTAURANT RECOMMENDATIONS IN HCMC
Belows are restaurants with middle to high quality with amazing food within District 1. To be on the safe side, just make sure you only eat at restaurants with decent establishment with lots of people dining there - and not a sidewalk stall (unless you’re up for it). People usually drink bottled water there (sadly), i haven’t heard of concerns about using tap water to brush teeth or shower. If you go to a restaurant or a nice-looking coffee shops, i wouldn’t worry about ice in the coffee.
For vegetarians, Vietnamese salads always have meat in it, so just check or ask them to make it without. Tell them when you order your food, they usually accommodate.
For easy/quick bites with great quality, check out food options in shopping malls in the district center like Vincom, Takashimaya - should be within your walking distance. They have 3-4 floors full of food options.
[Links to tripadvisor might need app refresh if you have the app installed on your phone]
Ngon 138 - a good option with a variety of local dishes from rice, noodles to meat and seafood, and VEGETARIAN-friendly
Rice Field - great home-cooked options - VEGETARIAN-friendly
Cuc Gach Quan - highly-recommended for local traditional dishes - VEGETARIAN-friendly
Ngon Villa - menu here -fancy all-you-can-eat for high-quality food served to your table for $25/ person
Secret Garden - good-quality home-cooked meals (Menu here) - a little hard to find cause it is located on an old apartment building but the rooftop space is amazing - not sure if it is VEGETARIAN-friendly
Den Long - good-quality home-cooked meals (Menu here) - VEGETARIAN-friendly
REGIONAL/ SPECIALTY FOOD
The Hue House - Dishes from Mid Vietnam regions known for its delicacy - VEGETARIAN-friendly
Bep Nha Xu Quang - Dishes from Mid Northern Vietnam - VEGETARIAN-friendly
Nang Ganh - Dishes from rural southern Vietnam (Menu here)
Banh Xeo An La Ghien - Banh Xeo (Vietnamese Crepe) - VEGETARIAN-friendly
You should also check out fancy cafe places - major hangout spots that serve food, desserts and other drinks
Runam d’Or
L’Usine
She Cafe
The Vintage Emporium
Miyama Cafe
Morico - Matcha Japanese desserts - love love love
MEAT-LOVERS
Barbecue Garden - outdoor BBQ grill - chill and awesome ambience
5ku Station BBQ - outdoor relaxing BBQ grill with beer
Nam Vietnamese Rooftop Kitchen - rooftop relaxing BBQ with good seafood options
VEGETARIANS (CHAY)
Chay Garden - Vegetarian food fancy restaurant
Co Noi Restaurant - Vegetarian buffet - recommend making reservation ahead
STREET FOOD OPTIONS (If you are up for it - these should be safe options)
Food court in Ben Thanh market would be a good and the closest option to start with
Banh Mi Huynh Hoa - well-known Banh Mi store or you can grab banh mi from any stalls - i find them usually good
Bui Vien - backpacking district with lots of drinking food and beer - Chevy and I love drinking here
WHAT TO PACK FOR YOUR TRIP TO VIETNAM
CLOTHING - It will be hot and some rain is expected. Fashion-wise, young people in HCMC are open-minded and well-dressed in general. You can wear minimally or cover all, depending on where you want your tan lines to be.
-sun-protection: a light jacket (when your skin starts burning under the heat), hat, sunglasses
-poncho/ lightweight rain jacket (I always find umbrellas ridiculous and difficult to maneuver on crowded streets)
-summer clothing, sandals, flip flops
-bathing suits (if your hotel has a swimming pool or you’re travelling to the beach)
OTHERS - Please don’t bring valuables on your trip if you can avoid it
-a small day pack to travel with (might be cross-body, backpack, or fanny-pack but make sure it attaches well to your body - NOT RECOMMEND totes or purses)
-sun block
-hand sanitizer, tissue paper
-band-aids, basic medicine (for upset stomach - your stomach might not be used to foods from other places)
-face mask (if you have a sensitive respiratory system, can be quite polluted in the city)
-mosquito repellant spray
-universal power adapter (for those from North America)
-extra cash (you can get local money at the Vietnam airport, but bring some extra US dollars just in case)
-bring photocopies of important documents with you in addition to the original copies
WHERE TO STAY IN HO CHI MINH CITY
There are lots of good hotel options ranging from $50-$80. I would recommend staying within the city core in District 1 (or Q1) as drawn above for more food/ sight seeing options.
Agoda, Booking are reliable sites for hotel booking. Here are some recommendations:
Papaya Saigon Central - $50
Millenium Boutique hotel - $56
Liberty Central Saigon - $87
Norfolk hotel - $82
M Hotel - $100 (Chevy and I will stay here for 2 nights after the wedding)
GETTING AROUND HCMC
Transportation: Using Grab app (Uber-equivalent) https://www.grab.com/vn/en/
Public transportation is not very pleasant in HCMC and Grab car is pretty cheap.
For your food adventure, download Foody app (Yelp-equivalent) - they have English option and the rating for restaurants is pretty reliable https://www.foody.vn/
CASH is preferred for all transactions. You can exchange at the airport or read more in the link below
https://www.itourvn.com/blog/money-exchange-spots-in-ho-chi-minh-city
SAFETY
Ho Chi Minh City is a highly urban and chaotic city.
It's not the safest place on Earth, but safety is not a real concern if you can be smart about it.
Do NOT use your phone or loosely carry it in your hands while walking on the street. Find a safe spot or be aware of your surroundings before you pull your phone out. Backpacks, messenger bags and jacket pockets are much more theft-proof than purses and bags. Do not leave your stuff unattended even at restaurants.
You don't need IDs to get into bars/clubs/order drinks - I would not carry important documents around in my bag.
HAVE FUN!!!
Let Chevy and Vy know if you have any questions.
Additional resources:
Best Vietnamese vegetarian (Chay) Restaurants
The city also has a huge collection of cafe / coffee shops