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Bib Gourmand is an award given by the Michelin Guide to restaurants that serve high-quality cuisine at affordable prices. While it is a tier below the Michelin stars, it remains a prestigious recognition for restaurants offering delicious and worthwhile dishes. This award is often given to local eateries and casual dining spots. Beyond fine dining establishments, the Michelin Guide also acknowledges outstanding culinary gems hidden in small kitchens.
Food prices in Vietnam are already cheap, and in Ho Chi Minh City, they are even cheaper. Photo: Travellive
In the latest Bib Gourmand list for Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City stands out with 24 entries, making it the city with the most eateries on the list. The generosity and open-mindedness of Southern people are perhaps also reflected in their dishes. Which com tam, banh xeo, hu tieu, etc. spots have Michelin recognized? Asia King Travel will introduce you to the best food spots in Ho Chi Minh City that will make you in-treated without breaking the bank.
Skip the toast and bacon, and hit the streets for a local-style culinary adventure. Bun Bo Hue 14B is the only bun bo Hue stall that appears on the list. Located on the quiet 46th Street in District 4, this eatery has only one or two tables, with most orders being takeaway. The Michelin Guide also commented on its dish:
"This takeaway-only spot specializes in bun bo with sliced beef and beef tendon. The broth, made from onions, beef, and pork bones, is rich and flavorful. Diners can customize their bowls with bean sprouts, chili, lime, and fish sauce to suit their taste."
A small eatery but has been highly rated by Michelin. Photo: Migo Travel
The broth is meticulously simmered with beef bones, creating an irresistible aroma. It blends harmoniously with the spiciness of satay chili and the slightly pungent flavor of fermented shrimp paste, delivering a well-balanced taste experience. The eatery sells two options: one with pork trotters for VND 60,000 and one without pork trotters for VND 45,000.
A "safer" choice, more foreigner-friendly, is Pho Minh, tucked away in an alley just a few streets from The Myst and Park Hyatt. While it’s easy to locate, finding the entrance requires a bit of guidance as it sits within a small lane on Pasteur Street. This eatery has been a beloved spot for generations of Saigonese for over 80 years.
The unique feature of each bowl of pho here is that it follows the Northern style of preparation, but the ingredients and seasonings are adjusted to suit Southern tastes. The broth at Pho Minh is richer than most pho spots in the South, with the depth of flavor coming mainly from the bone broth. The beef is carefully selected to ensure freshness and tenderness. You can request your meat to be rare, well-done, or with tendon depending on your preference.
It looks very much like Northern pho at first glance, but the flavor is more similar to Southern pho. Photo: Dan Viet
The elegant greenhouse has enough space to serve only 20 guests at a time. The owner has no intention of expanding the space to maintain a light and not too noisy atmosphere. People are packed every day, so by 10 AM the restaurant is already sold out. In addition to pho, diners also praised that the homemade pate chaud and yogurt are delicious.
Lunch is the main meal for Vietnamese people, so it’s best to eat something rich in carbohydrates. Of course, com tam - the symbol of Saigon - will leave you with a full stomach after lunch. Tourists in Saigon can easily spot the image of charcoal grills operating at full capacity, emitting the aroma of grilled meat that lures passersby into the restaurant. In Phu Nhuan District, Com Tam Ba Ghien stands out for serving "giant pork rice."
One serving is enough for two people due to the relatively large portion size. Photo: VnExpress
True to its name, the pork takes up half the plate of com tam, stretching as wide as an adult's handspan. Priced at around VND 70,000, many customers wonder if the restaurant even makes a profit selling this dish. It can be that this place best fits the "delicious and reasonably priced" criteria of Bib Gourmand.
Sticky rice is another hearty option. Though it's a familiar food in Vietnamese cuisine, it’s quite unpopular with many foreigners. Just a few roads away from the com tam stall above, Xoi Bat is a restaurant recently opened by a young owner but has quickly gained fame thanks to its keen understanding of customer preferences.
Instead of just serving the usual side dishes, the restaurant also offers creative additions like kimchi, pig ears, and carrot soup. A bowl of sticky rice costs no more than VND 60,000, yet both the portion size and quality are highly rated. The spacious setting, decorated with beautiful mini landscapes like a café, is another great reason to visit at least once.
The dish is served with kimchi and carrot soup, which help aid digestion of the sticky rice. Photo: VnExpress
Stopping by Banh Xeo 46A on Dinh Cong Trang Street in the late afternoon, it’s not hard to spot some expats riding Vespas with the same intention as you. To earn such admiration, because of the meticulous attention to every step of making the pancakes, each one is assigned to a dedicated team.
Banh Xeo 46A is recommended by many local guides to foreign visitors. Photo: Dan Viet
Customers often praise the restaurant’s pancakes for their consistent crispiness and fluffiness. The secret recipe for the pancakes and the dipping sauce, which has been passed down through four generations over the past 80 years, is the magnet that draws people in. And it’s not just about the pancakes, the menu is incredibly diverse, featuring dozens of Southern Vietnamese specialties.
At the foot of the Ngo Gia Tu apartment on Su Van Hanh Street lies a stall selling beef stew, a dish rarely found elsewhere in the city’s street. Michelin Guide reviewers praise the beef stew here for its rich, slightly sweet broth. The beef is typically served with bread, noodles, or rice.
The eatery bears a retro, simple style. Photo: Bo Kho Ganh Sai Gon
The meat is simmered in an earthen pot until tender, and infused with the fragrant aroma of Chinese herbs. The bread is lightly toasted over a charcoal grill before serving to ensure it’s warm and crispy. The most popular dish at*Bo Kho Ganh is beef ribs. Foreign visitors might be surprised to find they can enjoy a large, flavorful beef rib for less than USD 5!
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After wandering into the small alleys of District 3 and sipping on a refreshing herbal drink, head to Hong Phat, a restaurant specializing in hu tieu Nam Vang, a Chinese dish adapted by Cambodian cuisine and later introduced to Vietnam in the 1970s. Hu tieu is the specialty of this family-run eatery, which started as a small street-side kitchen but has now grown into a large restaurant.
The restaurant has another branch in Vancouver, Canada. Photo: aFamily
The shrimp and crab spring rolls are a perfect appetizer to start the meal. When ready, a steaming bowl of hu tieu accompanied by fresh herbs is served. What sets Hong Phat’s hu tieu apart is its broth and boiled pork blood. This is the only restaurant that adds pork blood to its dish. May be hesitant at first, but those who try it often end up liking it so much that they order an extra serving on the side.
For those craving authentic Vietnamese cuisine, head back to District 1 and visit Bep Me In. From a small entrance near Ben Thanh Market, you'll be led into a unique and cozy culinary space. Bep Me In will make you feel like you've stepped into a home, where a mother is cooking in the kitchen. You'll find many traditional dishes in a typical Vietnamese family meal.
Every dish at Bep Me In is taste like it was cooked by your caring mother. Photo: Lao dong
Finding delicious, affordable, and nutritious eateries in Ho Chi Minh City in particular and Vietnam in general is not too difficult. Outside the Bib Gourmand list, countless small restaurants will leave you impressed. To experience the wonderful flavors of Vietnamese cuisine, contact Asia King Travel and get your taste buds ready for this unforgettable journey!
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