Cho Lon — “Big Market” in Chinese — is Saigon’s Chinatown and one of the oldest and largest Chinese communities in Southeast Asia. The Cantonese and Teochew communities that settled here over centuries brought their food with them, and that food has embedded itself so deeply into Saigon’s culinary identity that many dishes Saigonese consider “their own” have Chinese roots. The best way to understand Saigon food is to spend a morning eating through District 5.

The food character of Cho Lon

Chinese food in Cho Lon doesn’t look like the Chinese food in the restaurants of most Western cities. It’s not Cantonese-American or British takeaway Cantonese. It’s Teochew (Chaozhou) and Cantonese cooking that developed in a tropical climate with Vietnamese ingredients available — so you find dishes that use rice paper alongside wonton wrappers, fresh Vietnamese herbs alongside traditional Chinese aromatics, and a sweetness in the cooking that reflects both Southern Chinese and Vietnamese flavour preferences.

Self-guided food tour: morning route

Stop 1: Dim sum breakfast (7–9am)

Lãnh Ký Mì Gia (51 Nguyễn Trãi, District 5) — one of the oldest Chinese noodle restaurants in Saigon, serving wonton noodle soup (mì hoành thánh) and other dim sum items from 6am. The wontons are hand-made and the broth is clear pork bone stock. Price: 50,000–75,000 VND.

Stop 2: The market (9–10am)

Bình Tây Market (57A Tháp Mười, District 6, adjacent to District 5) — the wholesale market that supplies much of Saigon’s retail food sector. Walk through for dried goods, Chinese preserved foods, spices, and the ground-floor food stalls selling congee, banh bao (steamed buns), and fresh tofu. Not a food stop so much as a context stop — seeing the ingredients before you eat the dishes.

Stop 3: Chinese-Vietnamese lunch (11:30am–1pm)

Cháo Gà restaurants on Châu Văn Liêm — the street along the southern edge of District 5 has a cluster of restaurants specialising in Chinese-style chicken rice congee (cháo gà), roast duck rice, and soy chicken. The roast duck versions (vịt quay) here are among the best in the city, with properly crispy skin and moist meat. Price: 65,000–90,000 VND.

Stop 4: Dessert (2pm)

Chè Cantonese stalls near Phùng Hưng Street — Cantonese-style sweet soups and desserts, including black sesame soup, tofu pudding with ginger syrup, and almond jelly. Price: 20,000–35,000 VND per bowl.

Getting to District 5

By Grab from District 1: 20,000–35,000 VND (10–15 minutes). By walking: 30–40 minutes from Ben Thanh Market. The neighbourhood is best explored on foot once you arrive.

What to know before you go

District 5 is still predominantly Chinese-speaking in its older commercial areas — Cantonese and Teochew more than Mandarin. Some older stall owners may speak more Chinese than Vietnamese. Prices are generally lower than District 1, and the further you walk from the main tourist-adjacent streets, the cheaper and more local the food gets.