Luke Nguyen's Vietnam Food Tour: Day 9, daytime

We spent the day in HCMC on our own, which was fun because we could wander aimlessly and discover the unexpected.

Walking the city never gets old; it’s alive and seemingly constantly under construction. They actually built a subway since the last time we were here, which they sorely need because the traffic is hopeless.

We had a light lunch at a restaurant every tourist should visit in HCMC. It’s called Quán Ngon Sài Gòn, 138 Nam Kỳ Khởi Nghĩa, and it’s kind of a cooperative made up of street food vendors.

If you are tempted to try the food you see in those tiny sidewalk restaurants with the low tables and little plastic seats, this is the place to go.

You go into a large, multi-story building (sorry, no air conditioning) and sit at a normal table. You are surrounded by many small food vendors along the edges of the building, and the menu features a few dishes from each stand.

You can be assured that the restaurants are clean and that the food is safe to eat (unlike maybe some street vendors).

We had a simple lunch – dumplings and chicken wings because we were saving ourselves for a huge treat tonight: Luke’s farewell dinner at his elegant Vietnamese restaurant. Yum.