We found out from Mark Wein’s Migrationology which is a Food and Travel website, that there is another market, further out from the place we stayed (District 1), within the famous Saigon’s Chinatown, Cholon.
Binh Tay Market (known in Vietnamese as Chợ Bình Tây) is one of the major markets in Saigon. Constructed by the French in the 1880s, is located in the centre of Vietnam’s largest Chinatown district.
We woke up early in the morning as usual as the days before, we did not have our breakfast in the hotel, because we wanted to have our breakfast in the Binh Tay Market, thus we took the cab.
We were quite disappointed when we found out that the two-storey building Binh Tay Market or also known as Cholon Chinatown Market was in the renovation. All the vendors were relocated to the temporary market shelters across of the Thap Moui Street.
We walked straight to the back of the Main Building. We passed by the lanes, we noticed we there are about everything food-wise as we can imagine within the market, but mostly the dried and preserved types of ingredients, rather than fresh ingredients.
There were all sorts of interesting Vietnamese and Chinese ingredients, from varieties of rice and beans, spices, varieties of mushrooms, dried seafood such as sea cucumbers, Chinese herbs and snacks.
After exploring the stores outside, we were quite happy to find that there is a food court, which includes a long line of vendors.
We can see many sell takeaway food, or food to deliver to other markets sellers, but most have a few small tables, or bar countertops, where you can slurp down some delicious food on spot.
Within the same food court section, there were also some fresh meat vendors, and some Chinese sausage vendors as well.
After making multiple loops around the food court, contemplating what delicious Vietnamese food we wanted to eat, we finally settled on a stall that was selling noodles soup.
We ordered 1 bowl of bun mam (bún mắm) for Issac, 2 bowls of bun thai (bún thái) for Alvin and myself, and a plate of com tam for Annabelle which is from the next stall.
Bún Thái, a Vietnamese Thai noodle soup. On the bottom was a handful of bun, or rice noodles. On top of the noodles were some slices of beef or pork, a couple rings of squid, an assortment of chopped herbs and vegetables, and of course the pre-blanched prawns. The soup is sweet and sour flavour.
Bún Mắm, noodles in a dark murky broth, flavored with fermented fish sauce. Along with the noodles and broth, bun mam wouldn’t be complete without a huge collection of seafood, pork, eggplant, and chives, arranged on top.
One of the most fundamental parts of any Vietnamese plate of Com Tam Suon Nuong is the com tam itself, directly translating in English to broken rice. Annabelle loves to eat a plate of broken rice topped with some braised pork ribs.
Along with all the fresh colourful assortment of ingredients, there were also stalls selling pre-cooked food, most of which was for takeaway eating.
After we had our brunch, we were walking around and came to a stall which the lady selling some kind of snacks. It was something similar to our local Malaysian style of deep fried prawn cake, but she was using Banh Mi instead of wheat flour.
It was so tempting that we bought 1 piece to try and no kidding that there was only 1 prawn and the prawn was huge! She was using a quarter size of the Banh Mi.
After the food court, we turned out and began our exploration of Binh Tay outdoor wet market. After few days here in Saigon, the outdoor wet markets was one of my favourite places to check and visit.
Like Mark Weins said, “Vietnamese markets are always exciting!”
Indeed.
The market, which believe is only open in the morning, from probably 5 am or so until it wraps up around 8 or 9 am, is filled with all fresh ingredients you can imagine used to cook Vietnamese and Chinese food.
Unlike Ben Thanh Market in District 1, this market mainly serves the local population with its extensive range of fresh fruits, vegetables, poultry, meat and seafood from regions across Vietnam.
The market included a mixture of meat and seafood of all kinds, plus plenty of fruit and vegetable vendors scattered along the street, some selling off tables, others just selling off tarps on the ground.
After the wet market, we went to the temporary market shelter places which more on the assortment of handicrafts, lacquerware, and textiles that are sold in bulk, though goods are not varied compared to other (more touristy) markets.
The markets was well stocked with hundreds of vendors selling every type of Vietnamese clothing you could ever want. And if you’re looking for face masks, with everything from polka dots to Burberry, you’re in luck.
Face masks are important in Saigon, as the city itself which fulled of 9 millions of motorcycles on the road, everyone on the road is wearing a mask!
From what I saw, the prices seemed to be quite a bit lower than the prices I noticed at Ben Thanh Market for the same things.
It caters more towards local Vietnamese and Chinese shoppers, and less to tourists, so it has fewer souvenirs and more local Vietnamese products. That was the reason why we hardly see the tourists here, other than us that day.
We continued our journey and dropped by a shop selling varieties of coffee. Alvin bought some to bring back to Kuala Lumpur for his friends and colleague.
The lady prepared it, mixed with some pork sausages, and handful of shredded lettuce and blanched bean sprouts, and finally a sprinkle of fragrant crispy shallots.
It is surprisingly delicious! I did not know that Chu Cheong Fan can be a delicious delicacy prepare like this way apart from what we usually have back in Kuala Lumpur.
May be it was due to influences from Alvin, I started to love visiting markets and it is become one of the top things we would look forward to do when we travel.
May be it is because market is directly relates to street food and eating!
And, it is a great experience to look and feel the local lifestyle, culture and meeting with the people. I thoroughly enjoyed the Binh Tay Market!
