If you miss some American style bakery and cafe in Ho Chi Minh City, here’s one for you to enjoy. We learned about this place from Lonely Planet. You can find cinnamon rolls and bagels there. It’s a cute little place on Bui Vien Street, a very happening street with many restaurants, bars and some shops where it seems to be another tourists hang-out besides Dong Khoi Street. Bui Vien is very close from where we stayed, Asian Ruby 3 Hotel. The night we went to Sozo, we walked from Dong Khoi Street near Sheraton to Bui Vien. It’s a walkable distance although it’s a long walk.
SOZO
176 Bui Vien St, District 1
Tel: 095 870-6580
086 2719176
www.sozocentre.com
Open everyday 6:30 am – 10:30 pm
PHO
If you go visit Vietnam, you have to try Pho there, right? I could’ve had Pho everyday. We all loved it!!
My friend went to Ho Chi Minh City in December with her husband. She told me that they tried many pho noodle soups at different places and they concluded that their favorite was pho at PHO24. So, the first pho I had was at PHO24. It hit the spot!! Then my husband’s friend who lives there told us about PHO2000. He said that the difference between PHO24 and PHO2000 was that PHO2000 used less MSG. I think that they are both good. I personally liked PHO2000 better. I liked the broth they make. I usually like to order Pho Ga (Pho Chicken) and the meat you get at PHO2000 is chicken breast and you get a lot. Price wise PHO24 and PHO2000 are about the same. They both can be found all over the city.
STREET FOOD
Banh Mi
One thing I regret is that I didn’t try more street food in Ho Chi Minh City. I just didn’t know where to go. I saw this one vendor and decided to try a Banh Mi. It was delicious!!! I wish I had more Banh Mi during our stay in Ho Chi Minh City. Maybe next time!!
This is one place our friend recommended and we wanted to go, but we didn’t. I’m kicking myself for not trying hard enough to find this place. It’s a modern cafe and gallery. I looked at their website and it looks just like a place I would love to hang out. This gives me a reason to go back to Ho Chi Minh City!!
WINE BAR
Sheraton Hotel
Ho Chi Minh City
My husband read on Lonely Planet (we love this guide-book!) that Wine Bar on the 23rd floor of Sheraton Hotel was a famous place for Ho Chi Minh City’s night view, so we decided to give it a try. If you are wondering if it’s worth it or not, you won’t miss much if you skip this one. To my sweet husband’s credit, it was definitely lovely and the view after it got dark was pretty. We went there during the happy hour, which many bars in Dong Khoi area do, but we didn’t realize that it required to order “2 of the SAME cocktails” to get a happy hour pricing. Since my husband and I ordered different drinks, we didn’t get happy hour prices and our drinks ended up being $10 each that night. So much for the view! What I had is called “Love Potion No. 9”. Holy Cow, that was strong! There was no way I could’ve ordered another one of my drink. I would’ve ended up on the floor. My husband called it Pepto-Bismol. Thanks, honey, that’s quite appetizing!
We had dinner at this cozy French restaurant where my husband’s friend and his family who resides in Ho Chi Minh City (they gave us recommendations and we tried most of them) like going. If you crave some western food and want something casual, this might be a good place. It is kid friendly as well. We got there earlier than the usual dinner time, so it was easy to get a table, but the restaurant filled up quickly and it was busy.
AUGUSTIN
10 Nguyen Thiep, District 1
(Dong Khoi Area)
Ho Chi Minh City
Phone: 08 829 2941
Email: nguyenan_071074@yahoo.com.vn
K Cafe
Sushi & Grill
As you might already know, we like Japanese food. We decided to have some Japanese food in Ho Chi Minh City. Our friend who lives there said when they wanted Japanese, K Cafe was where he and his wife liked going. It is an authentic Japanese food restaurant owned by a Japanese person. We were so hungry and the food looked great that I forgot to take photos of our dinner!! We had salmon sashimi and it was tasty. By the time I noticed that I hadn’t taken any of our photos, our plates were empty!! I took photos of the dessert that was complimentary to the dinner. Isn’t that nice that you get free desserts?
K Cafe
Sushi & Grill
74 A4 Hai Ba Trung St., Dist 1
Ho Chi Minh City
Tel: 08 3824 5355 / 3212 7996
Email: k-cafe@hcmc.vnn.vn
We tried this tapas style Hue (city in the central Vietnam) restaurant where our friend likes to go as well. We liked the beef with noodle (the one on the bottom right) the best. As you can see, we have eaten most of it when I realized I hadn’t had a picture of it. Some dishes are unique to the region and it was fun to try something new. We liked all the dishes. It’s a place to savor each delicate dish. The prices are higher than what you pay for street food or at more casual joints.
MITAU
Hue Restaurant
52 Hai Ba Trung St., Ben Nge Ward, Dist. 1
Ho Chi Minh City
Tel: 08 3823 0767 / 0903 949496
Email: mitauhue@yahoo.com
www.mitauhue.com
Open 10:00 am – 10:30 pm
I hope this post will be of your help for your future traveling!
Lovely stories & lovely photos as always! I like the way you layout the photos & made them into scrapbook look. Do you know where to go to get good Pho in Jakarta?
Dina @ http://blog.sweetbatik.com
Thank you… I appreciate your sweet words!
Kiki, one of my readers, left me a comment saying that there are Pho 24 and Pho 2000 in Pondok Indah! I’m soooo excited. Maybe we can go out to get some pho in the future. 🙂
Fantastic Kaho! really it makes me want to go there and give it a try… I loved Hoi An, but it was complicated to get there and with 2 young kids we were not able to visit as many sites and temples as we initially planned.
My husband had an offer for a job in HCMC, but so far nothing has come up…. bouhhh, I would like the hustle and bustle of that city, kinda of reminds me Bangkok 🙂
Thank you for sharing so many pictures and good spots to visit!
Marie, thanks for the comment! If you move to HCMC, we might come visit HCMC during your stay! We want to go back. Now that I know what I want to buy and there are places I’ve missed, I definitely want to go back for at least another visit.
Wow, I believe you had a good time in Vietnam. I adore your blog and especially your two cute daughters.
I love pho too. Pho 24 and Pho 2000 are in Jakarta. Pho 2000 located at Pondok Indah Mall 2, and Pho 24 in Pondok Indah Plaza (across Pondok Indah Hospital). I like Pho 24 better. Looking forward for another post. Have a good weekend.
Thank you, Kiki!!!!! I got soooooo excited to to learn that there are Pho 24 and Pho 2000 in Pondok Indah Shopping Mall. So, 2000 is in the Mall 2 and 24 is in the Plaza. I can’t wait to have Pho again here!
I will definitely come back to this post again if I ever go to Vietnam!! I actually have been wanting to go visit there since more than a couple of my friends here went there over the past Christmas…. Do you think it’ll be hard with 4 little ones?
I think it’s totally doable with little kids. It is not a stroller friendly city though as the pavements are not always available with bikes and other stuff parked there, as a result blocks pedestrians. However, I did see some tourists with a stroller. People adore kids. Taxi fare is so cheap that you take taxi everywhere, which makes traveling with kids easy.
I´m so impressed by how you capture and remember everything from the places that you have been! I looks lovely and the food looks delicious.
I don´t have a blog recommendation for you when it comes to making a chalk board, but it´s very easy:
1: Buy a wood board in a size that you want( or cut it in the size that you want.)
2: Paint it with chalk board paint. ( It should be enough with one coat )
3. Cut mouldings in the right size, and glue them on. Treat them with driftwood stain afterwords before or after if you like the old look that I have on mine 🙂
Good luck!
Don´hesitate to ask me if you need more info on how to make a chalk board.
Hugs, Nina
Love the photos of your little girls chewing into the baguette and tucking into the noodles. They are making me crave for Vietnamese food.
Hi Kaho.
I will be staying close to Bui Vien Street in Ho Chi Minh. Could you let me know how long was the walk from Bui Vien to the Dong Khoi area? You did say that it was a long walk but how long of a walk was it, 45 minutes? Could you let me know?
Arigato!
Emy
Hi, Emy! Thanks for reading my blog!! So, my memory at this point is not so reliable since it’s been over half year that I looked up on Google. 🙂 It says 2.3 km on google map (I love google map!). I would like to say that with our 6-year-old and 3-year-old feet we walked for good 30 minutes, possibly 45 minutes… It only takes 6 minutes by car, so I wonder how long that would be on foot for adults. Probably 30 minutes? I’m sorry if this is no help! Are you going to Ho Chi Minh City on vacation? Have a great time!!