If someone has ever set foot in Saigon, if someone has ever heard of the land here and if someone has relatives, relatives living and working in this land ... certainly will not be impossible know the very familiar and famous name: Ben Thanh market.
Ben Thanh Market has long existed in the life of the city people as an indispensable part, it is not only a place for trading activities but also a place to preserve the traditional cultural features of the people. clan. Especially the culinary culture.

So what is the culinary culture of Ben Thanh Market? And why is it just a market and it becomes something that cannot be missed when it comes to the city called Uncle Ho. Ben Thanh Market, also known as Saigon Market more than a century ago, was established on the side of the Ben Nghe River close to Gia Dinh citadel. According to the recorded documents, at first Ben Thanh market was in the east of Binh Duong district (at that time Binh Duong was still a district of Gia Dinh citadel). Because the market is located along the river wharf in front of Phien An citadel (Gia Dinh), it is called Ben Thanh market (meaning the market on the river wharf of Gia Dinh citadel).

Over time, the market was repeatedly relocated. Currently, Ben Thanh Market is located in the city center and has become a very familiar place for Vietnamese people and international visitors.

Like Dong Xuan Market in Hanoi, the goods in Ben Thanh Market are plentiful and varied, seem to have enough items, domestic products and modern technology goods in the world. But prominent among them are dishes bearing the impression of home. When mentioning Ben Thanh market, if you ignore the cuisine here, you will lose a lot of interesting, attractive and meaningful parts.

Stepping into the market, passing the souvenir shops, clothes, shoes ... we will come to the place to sell the food. Coming here, everyone will easily notice the abundance of dishes. With the presence of a full range of dishes from all over the country, the culinary culture of Ben Thanh Market is a skillful and delicate combination of regional culinary culture, creating a medium culture. diverse and unique: from the sweet scent of pho to the rich and supple taste of duck cake, spring rolls, from the aroma of crispy fried pancakes, spring rolls, silk rolls to beautiful smoke rises up a whole corner of the market with a tiny smell ... It all gives people a sense of something very new but also sounds too familiar.

And if you hear hungry stomach, maybe a plate of broken rice with braised fish, sour soup or a dish of ram cha, a bitter melon stuffed with meat will make the heart warm.

The space in the market is a bit cramped, crowded, giving us an unpleasant feeling but maybe somewhere, it gives us a cozy feeling. From food to the limited space, it could make people come closer together. Maybe from the slight bumps they will turn to each other, smile and talk openly to each other. They recognize each other again in the taste ...


When it comes to Ben Thanh market it will be very lacking if not for the night market. The food is sold a lot and the space of the night market is somewhat more spacious and airy. The shops were expanded and at this time, it was also bustling and bustling by the laughter of adults and children in the family atmosphere ...

If the day market has limited time for city people, the night market is an ideal place. After a hard working day and stress of daily life, family members have little time to sit together, friends have little chance to meet and chat, the night market is a reasonable choice. .

Ben Thanh Market has long been an indispensable part of the people of the city and is also a familiar place for people from far away. And also for a long time Ben Thanh Market has become a place to attract tourists, contributing to the attraction of city tourism.

If space, food safety, and price issues are concerned with reasonable implementation along with expansion, creating more diversity in dishes, in the future market Ben Thanh will become a famous place with unique culinary culture of Vietnam.