The Australian writer showered praise on the street food that he savored during his bruef stay in HCM City, Vietnam’s vibrant hub, before boarding a Mekong River cruise to Phnom Penh in Cambodia.

Ben arrived in HCM City at night and after checking into his hotel, took a walk on the bustling sidewalks to Co Lieng eatery in District 3, a Michelin-recommended spot.

Co Lieng, located on Vo Van Tan street since 1995, offers a 14-item menu, including bo nuong la lot (grilled beef in lolot leaf) or ‘beef in a leaf’, bo nuong mo chai (Grilled Beef in Caul Fat), banh hoi nem nuong (Grilled Pork Crepe Noodles), cha dum mo chai (Vietnamese Steaming Meatballs), ca loc nuong (Grilled Snakehead Fish), and bun thit nuong (Vietnamese barbecue pork with vermicelli).

A serving of beef in betel leaves costs VND80,000, nearly double the city’s average.

Ben said the “classic, no-frills Saigon eatery” had a charcoal grill, a glass display case outside, and simple tables in a cramped space. 

“The specialty is beef in lolot leaves with minced, seasoned beef, wrapped in leaves, grilled, and served with herbs, pickled veggies, and thin rice paper,” he wrote.

He noted the dish’s sweet, sour, salty flavors and smoky aroma—a perfect start to his Vietnamese food journey.

Next, Ben stopped by Banh Mi Huynh Hoa, a famed HCM City sandwich shop packed with international tourists. He ordered a baguette stuffed with pate, mayonnaise, smoked pork slices, pickled daikon, carrots, and the shop’s signature shredded dried pork. 

He called the sandwich an “umami bomb”. 

The next morning at 6, Ben strolled to nearby cafe TrungNguyen Legend for iced milk coffee, and later returned to his hotel for a breakfast buffet, enjoying a bowl of steamed beef pho.

Hours later, he visited a lively bun rieu (Crab noodle soup) stall on Nguyen Canh Chan street. He noted that it was “not for the faint of heart”: a broth of tomato and freshwater crab, with pork, pig’s trotters, sliced banana blossom, herbs, rice noodles, and a chunk of blood pudding atop.

That evening, he dined on banh canh cua (crab thick rice noodle soup) at Banh Canh Cua 87 in District 1.

For his final breakfast before leaving HCM City, he chose the eatery Phu Vuong Pho, which he described as “not exactly Ho Chi Minh City’s most basic purveyor of noodle soup, but certainly not its fanciest. The tables are made of thin sheet metal, the seats plastic, the service brusque. And the soup is astonishly, transcendentally good.”

“I know pho. I love pho. And this pho is the best I’ve ever had,” he said, adding that of all his meals during his short visit, “it’s the pho that will stay with me forever, the one I will always be chasing. Breakfast will never be the same.”

Linh Trang