Vietnam 2025
December 27, 2025 - January 2, 2026
The last time I visited Vietnam was in 2007. Too young to appreciate the privilege of traveling across the world to the motherland. We had the opportunity to visit Vietnam again for our friend’s wedding. This time around, I made it an effort to take it all in, and to be grateful for this opportunity to connect back to my roots as a Vietnamese American. A week was too short to explore all of Vietnam, but it was enough to experience a bit of Ho Chi Minh City.
This post will be a long one, as Ho Chi Minh City was such a fun place to photograph. It will be broken down into sections:
Motorbike Food Tour
Sites
Cafes
Food
Miscellaneous Photos
Motorbike Food Tour
One of the highlights of our trip was going on a motorbike food tour. It was an encapsulation of what Ho Chi Minh City has to offer in one: riding on a motorbike, sampling tasty Vietnamese food, and exploring the different districts. The tour was recommended to us by a friend who experienced it just a week prior. It was a 4 hour eating and sightseeing excursion through different districts of Ho Chi Minh City. Half the excitement was the transportation, which was on the back of a motorbike. Prior to this, we had never been on a bike, so it was a good primer on how to get on and off a bike safely. Our first stop was district 3, where we indulged in Banh Xeo and Banh Khot.
As a Vietnamese American who lives in the Bay Area where a large population of Vietnamese immigrants have settled, most of the foods on this tour were not new, but our tour guides Khoa and Nhung kept things engaging by teaching us a few things we did not know at every stop. Nhung went through each of the herbs that accompanied the Banh Xeo, and showed us a trick to get rid of the fish sauce smell out of our hands by rubbing mint between our fingers.
Our next stop was to Nguyen Thien Thuat apartment buildings, originally built in 1968 to house American Soldiers. The 3 story buildings now house Vietnamese families, with businesses on the first floor.
While walking through the neighborhood, we observed details such as the stairwell ramps used for motorbikes that made this building unique to Vietnam. Throughout the city, sidewalks are sloped, allowing for motorbikes to easily park. Our tour guide made a joke about Vietnam’s ‘Black Noodles’, not a Vietnamese delicacy, but the tangled wires found strung around the neighborhood. The tangled mess is a result of unregulated building, which makes it hard to identify and presents a safety risk. The government has proposed to demolish this neighborhood to start anew, but that would displace families who have grown up in these homes since the 60s.
We were able to walk past residential apartments and got a glimpse of how locals lived. A strong sense of community was observed, with little privacy between neighbors due to the close proximity of each unit. This felt like a stark contrast to living in some parts of America where individuality and privacy seems to have eradicated any communication between neighbors, making community harder to establish. There are trade-offs to both ways of living.
Next on the tour was the Ho Thi Ky flower market and street food market.
The vibrant and bustling night market was filled with colorful arrangements of flowers from neighboring regions, and a plethora of interesting street foods cooked fresh to order.
Here we were able to sample ‘Vietnamese Pizza’, Banh Trang Nuong, Lemongrass beef or pork skewers, and refreshing sugar cane/kumquat and other fruit juices.
Our tour guide Nhung gave us a short demo and background of the lotus flower, Vietnam’s unofficial national flower that symbolizes purity, beauty, resilience, and optimism. We had a fun activity folding the lotus flowers to make it ‘bloom’, and were fascinated learning that the fibers of the stem could be used to make clothing.
During our demo, we could hear and observe loud drumming, and were told that we were witnessing a tradition in Vietnamese funerals.
After the flower market, we road our motorbikes to enjoy Banh Canh Cua, a comforting crab noodle soup dish.
During our trip, a constant was being peddled by locals trying to sell us things like massages, lottery tickets, sunglasses or cigarettes. While we were eating, an elderly woman tried to sell us lottery tickets, which sparked a nice conversation with our tour guides about the lottery system in Vietnam and in the U.S. Nhung mentioned that we would usually see the elderly, disabled, or children selling lottery tickets because they get commission for each ticket sold. There is a nightly drawing for their lottery.
After our warm meal, we cooled off with Coconut ice cream, street side. The ice cream was topped with cherries, peanuts, corn, and coconut flakes.
Our last stop of the tour was in District 4, where we enjoyed fresh seafood and beer.
Sites
People’s Committee Building (Ho Chi Minh City Hall)
The French colonial style building marks the beginning of the long Nguyen Hue Walking Street.
Buu Dien (Saigon Central Post Office)
Another building with French Colonial architecture, this post office still functions, but is also filled with souvenirs for the many tourists that walk through. It is located next to the Notre-Dame cathedral, which is being renovated.
Bookstreet
Located next to the Notre Dame and Buu Dien is ‘Book Street’, a pedestrian only stretch filled with bookstores and cafes.
Tan Dinh Church
This Roman Catholic Church was built in the 1870’s during the French colonial period.
Ben Thanh Market
A bustling market offering souvenirs, clothes, and more. Aggressive merchants and haggling tourists.
Cafe Apartments
A unique multi-story complex filled with cafes and boutique stores.
The 8 story building gives great views overlooking the aforementioned Nguyen Hue Street. It looks like they were preparing for the New Years festivities, with Tiger beer sponsored stages being built.
Saigon Princess Dinner Cruise, Saigon River Skyline
We opted for a dinner cruise along the Saigon river for our first night. This gave us a great view of Ho Chi Minh City’s beautifully vibrant skyline. The dock was filled with other themed boats.
Admittedly, the food was not great.
The Saigon Princess boat had 2 main levels, a formal dining room in the bottom floor, and an open air floor with bar and live band up top.
The tall bright skyscrapers were a reminder that Ho Chi Minh City has gone through a lot of development since the last time I visited in 2007. As an outsider, the city felt like it was in a transitionary period of development, with views like these showing modernity. While grateful and hopeful that these developments improve the lives of local Vietnamese, I hope it finds a way to preserve it’s unique charm, while resisting the influences of western civilization and catering to tourists.
Bui Vien Walking Street
Speaking of catering to tourists, Bui Vien walking street felt just that. A caricature of night-life, with its loud music, dancing on tables, and tons of lights.
Independence Palace
The site of the Fall of Saigon in 1975 that ended the Vietnam War.
Saigon Opera House
Cafes
With strong ‘Vietnamese Coffee’ being known worldwide, it is not a surprise to learn that Cafe culture is alive and well in Ho Chi Minh City. Expanding from simple drip coffee, Vietnamese have creatively crafted unique caffeinated drinks, and with it the rise of cafes that showcase creativity of the community.
King Koi Coffee Cafe
Thanks to social media, Koi fish cafes have gained popularity. Ethically questionable, but King Koi cafe was a unique experience. Customers enjoy coffee in sunken booths, and can buy fish food to feed the Koi.
You mostly come here for the koi fish, but that gimmick quickly wears off. The service was not that great and the coffee was not worth the elevated prices. The location is a bit far from the city center.
Tonkin
Tonkin was our first stop in Vietnam. A great introduction to egg coffee, and coconut coffee.
Meraki Cafe
This cafe is found inside the Cafe Apartments. Coconut coffee and ice cream were great.
Good Day Cafe
Another cafe found inside Cafe Apartments
Eggyolk
A modern cafe in District 1 specializing in egg coffee. Their cold brew was equally great.
Highland Coffee
This coffee chain was found all over Ho Chi Minh City. They serve drip coffee.
Food
Growing up in the Bay Area where a large population of Vietnamese immigrants have settled, we take the wide array of great tasting Vietnamese food for granted. What better way to connect back to my roots than to taste all the different foods I grew up eating, made from local ingredients where they were invented.
Banh Mi Me In
Our first meal was a banh mi from Banh Mi Me In. A hole in the wall, accessible down a narrow alley, this busy eatery had a flavorful chicken banh mi. You can find Banh Mi food vendors on the street for very inexpensive banh mi’s, but it was hard to find one that offered chicken.
Pho Pasteur
We started our second day with a goal in mind: to have our first bowl of Pho in Vietnam. Pho Pasteur delivered. The restaurant does not shy away from free toppings, and at $3-$4 per bowl, the value was unbelievable. It was so good, we revisited a second time, for our last meal of the trip. It receives extra gratitude for serving Chicken Pho. Many pho restaurants in Ho Chi Minh City serve beef only pho.
Hong Phat
This next restaurant felt extra special to visit, as it was recommended to me by my Dad who remembers enjoying it while he lived in Vietnam. Since 1975, Hong Phat has been serving Hu Tieu Nam Vang along with other noodle dishes. It is now on the Michelin Guide. Again, the value was shockingly unbeatable.
Pho Vietnam
Also on the Michelin Guide is Pho Vietnam. They serve pho with fresh wide noodles. I personally preferred Pho Pasteur.
Bep Nguoi Hoi An
A personal favorite Vietnamese dish of mine is Mi Quang, a tumeric-infused flat rice noodle dish with a savory broth topped with shrimp, pork, qual eggs, peanuts, and served with rice crackers and fresh herbs. I am happy to have stumbled upon this Michelin recommended restaurant on Google Maps.
Bep Me In
Bep Me In serves Vietnamese comfort food that you would typically eat for a weeknight dinner. Growing up my dad would cook these familiar dishes.
Pasteur Street Craft Beer
It was interesting to see craft beer in Vietnam. I enjoyed the Vietnamese inspired twists, such as Jasmine and Kumquat Beer.
Pizza 4P’s
When researching for this trip, Pizza 4P’s was frequently mentioned. During our trip, our friends referenced the restaurant as well, noting that reservations were required for this popular restaurant. Initially, I was wary of wasting a valuable meal in a foreign country in Asia on pizza, but after experiencing Pizza 4P’s I stood corrected. The restaurant did an excellent job with fusing Vietnamese flavor profiles to Italian favorites like Pizza, Risotto, and Pasta. A standout was the Tom Yum Pizza. Herby, Citrusy, and all around unique, it inspired us to experiment with our new pizza oven that we got for Christmas.
A perfect example of fusing flavors from different regions was the crab tomato pasta. It was Bun Rieu in pasta form.
Ben Nghe Street Food
A food hall geared towards tourists, where you can find stalls selling all kinds of Vietnamese dishes.
Chuoi Nep Nuong
This street side stall serves grilled banana with coconut cream sauce. For $1.
Assorted Street Vendors
Miscellaneous Street Photos of Ho Chi Minh City
Architecture
Streets and Alleyways
Motorbikes
The city’s infrastructure is built around this mode of transportation. As time has gone by, more cars can be seen on the roads, but the motorbikes are still the best way to get around the city. After our first introduction to riding motorbikes on our food tour, we were instilled with confidence to ride the motorbikes around using Grab, a ride sharing app used in the city. I will look fondly back at our memories riding on a motorbike through the city.
A week was too short to explore all that Vietnam has to offer. But our time in Ho Chi Minh City was inspiring and we had a great experience. We’ll be back someday to explore the rest of Vietnam.