Ben Nghe Street Food Market: Complete Guide
Located centrally in the popular District 1 region of Ho Chi Minh City is Ben Nghe Street Food Market, an absolute food haven for foodies!
With over 20+ food stalls serving various types of international cuisine, drinks, and desserts, accompanied by live music, the Ben Nghe Night Market is the perfect place for an evening meal/snack in Ho Chi Minh City.
Here’s what you can expect to find food-wise: grills, meat skewers, banh mi sandwiches, pizza, burgers, Vietnamese, Mexican, Indian, fresh seafood, and much more. There’s also a stall operating as a bar serving all types of cocktails/beers.
Price-wise, you can expect to pay anywhere from 40K to 300K+ Dong/ $1.50 to $12 US, depending on what you order. Most food stands accept credit cards, but always have cash with you, just in case!
Don’t confuse Ben Nghe Street Food with the legendary Ben Thanh Market; they’re separate markets nearby but very different! Ben Thanh Market is a 100+ year goods market with fresh fruits, souvenirs, and other goods.
Where is Ben Nghe Street Food Market
The Ben Nghe Food Street is located in the heart of the Ben Nghe area in District 1 of Ho Chi Minh City, and the market is located nearest to this intersection.
D Nguyen Du & D Nam Ky Kho Nghia
Ben Nghe Food Street – Google Location
As you’re making your way to the market, you’ll most likely hear the live music from a distance and notice the market that way, too!
By the way, despite the market’s name, the market isn’t actually on the street; it’s conveniently located away from the street, with many food stalls next to one another.
Ben Nghe Street Food Market: Opening Hours
Despite the market positioning itself as if it was a classic night market that you would find in other places in Asia, it’s really an all-day street food market, but it seems to be more popular in the evening.
Opening Hours: 9:00 AM to 12:00 AM / Daily
Speaking to many of the vendors, they told me the market is far less busy in the day compared to after 5:00 PM and onwards.
So if you prefer less crowds but would like to experience this popular street food market, consider visiting during the day for some lunch!
I’m not sure whether they also have a live band performing in the day, but I visited a few times in the evening, and there was always a live band performing songs!
Food at Ben Nghe Street Food Market
Now that you know what the market is about, where it is, and what the opening hours are, let’s dive deeper into the many foods you can find at the Ben Nghe Food Market!
It’s not possible to list all the street food you’ll find at the Ben Nghe Street Food Market Market, and there are too many foods to try.
But here’s a short list of foods/stalls you can expect to find when visiting; as I said, there’s more, so I suggest you visit and see for yourself!
Once you’ve bought a few delicious foods to try, go find yourself a seat at one of the many benches in the market and eat away!
Vietnamese:
You’ll find plenty of Vietnamese foods at the market, from a Banhi Mi stall to many seafood dishes and stews.
With over 3+ Vietnamese food stalls at the market, each specializing in a category, I had a beef stew with noodles, spring rolls, and vermicelli soup from various stalls.
Grilled Meat/ Skewers:
A food market in Southeast Asia isn’t complete without meat skewers, and everyone knows that.
There are a few meat stalls at the market, one of them specializes in smoothered glazed grilled chicken, another has grilled pork bites on a stick, have a look around!
Mexican:
There’s one specific stand here speciazling in Mexican food, they have all the classics from tacos, quesadillas, nachos and much more.
Might I add, the foods authentic the tacos were served with cilantro/onions and a lime, not the fake TexMex way you’ll find in the US. The stand also serves flavored tequila cocktails as well!
Fresh Seafood:
If you love seafood, you must visit this market; you’ll find a wide variety of fresh oysters from all over Vietnam, fresh fish ready to be grilled, whole lobsters, clams, and so much more.
Pizza:
For those craving some pizza, there’s a pizza stall at the market serving a wide variety of traditional and unique pizzas.
From Japanese fusions like pizza with salmon, a five cheese type pizza, chicken pizza, and classics like Margherita pizza and white mushroom pizza.
But if you’re a pizza lover like myself and craving a good pizza while in Vietnam, you must check out Pizza 4Ps, it’s a Vietnam based pizza company with franchises in Vietnam/Asia. They serve delicious pizzas, pasta, and many more Italian favorites.
Indian:
Additionally to the many international flavors at the food market, you’ll find a food stall specializing in Indian food here.
You can find all the classics, from skewers of tandoori or butter chicken to roti, fish, mutton biryani, and much more!
For any vegetarian out there, they’ve got many options for you, so come have a look.
Bar & Smoothies
For anyone looking to have a drink or two, there’s a stand at the market operating as a bar, serving a wide variety of cocktails and beers for you to choose from.
They even have a happy hour special from 3:00 PM till 8:00 PM, buy one get one free on cocktails!
If you’re looking for a refreshing drink, there’s another stand at the market serving fresh fruit smoothies; you can get original flavors or mix/match.
Ben Nghe Street Food Market — Final Thoughts
If you’re visiting Ho Chi Minh City and are a food lover, Ben Nghe Street Food Market is worth visiting! It’s the perfect place to try many different foods in one place.
That being said, look I’ll be honest with you .. having tried many Vietnamese restaurants in my time in Vietnam, I did find this market to be a bit of a tourist trap.
But it’s worth checking out once, especially if you enjoy street food and crave a few international flavors when visiting places.
Some food stalls at the Ben Nghe Food Market operate as a promotion to actual restaurants in Ho Chi Minh City. The Mexican stall at the market is actually a restaurant in the city, Bandido.
I’m sure some other stalls are restaurants, too, but perhaps they didn’t mention it when I was buying food from them.
What time does the Ben Nghe Street Food Market open?
The market opens daily at 9:00 AM, though many don’t tend to visit until after 5:00 PM when the market is lively and has a more authentic market atmosphere!
But if you’re someone who would prefer a quieter setting when eating, visit the market before 5:00 PM to do so!
What are the top 5 foods in Vietnam?
5 must-try foods in Vietnam are Banh Mi, Pho, fresh/fried spring rolls, bun cha (roasted pork with noodles), and Bo Kho (Vietnamese beef stew, different from Pho).
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