Saigon Food Culture and Local Gems with Food Expert
From hidden café apartments that capture a glimpse of Vietnam’s unique café and coffee culture to a visit to one of Saigon’s oldest and largest markets to understand - this tour is an insight into Vietnam’s rich, vibrant and distinctive food culture. During this curated signature tour, you’ll not only find out what to eat but also why it matters and where it’s going.
Expect good food, vibes and drinks as well as lots of learning, industry intel, one-on-one with tastemakers and fascinating tidbits of history and food culture bundled into one exciting afternoon.
We start at a newly-opened café apartment modernizing traditional Vietnamese coffees to talk about Vietnamese coffee and its unique café culture influenced by the French. Then, we move onto an experiential experience where you get to witness one of Vietnam’s oldest brewing methods in the middle of Saigon’s oldest wet market before tasting an assortment of popular Vietnamese snacks and tidbits.
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A Taste of Saigon Food Culture and Culinary Gems with Food Expert
What's included in Saigon Food Culture and Local Gems with Food Expert
(Subject to Option Inclusions)Itinerary
We begin at Ca Zone Cafe, a newly-opened cafe located inside a vintage residential apartment in Ho Chi Minh City. The reason we're visiting this cafe is first and foremost witness and understand what a "Cafe Apartment" (a big part of Vietnamese cafe culture) is as well as its origin, how it has shared cafe culture in Vietnam as well as its future. This is also where we will taste different types of Vietnamese coffee - Hue Salted Foam Coffee, Egg Coffee from Hanoi as well Lemon Coffee. Here, I share about the different types of coffee and their origins as well as why new cafes nowadays aim to modernise these age-old recipes and how they're doing it. We end with understanding the importance of Robusta Coffee (Vietnam's main coffee bean type since it's the world's largest exporter of Robusta Coffee) and how it's changing.
Tao Dan ParkPass-by Only
Tao Dan Park has a long history, beginning ever since the 1860s when the French started invading Vietnam. The Tao Dan Park is located right behind the Reunification Palace and was repaired at the same time when the Palace was rebuilt by the French. In 1869, the French separated the Tao Dan land from the garden of the Reunification Palace and built Miss Cawell Street between them (also known as Huyen Tran Princess nowadays). Here, we'll enjoy the sights scenes and sounds of a typical morning in Saigon.
Ben Thanh Market
We take a 10-minute walk over to Ben Thanh Market - one of the earliest surviving structures in Saigon and an important symbol of the city. Ben Thanh Market is also the second largest indoor wet market in Ho Chi Minh City, home to over a thousand different stall vendors from food to clothes, souvenirs and more. Here, we also pay a visit to a young Vietnamese coffee stall owner modernising one of the oldest coffee forms - Ca Phe Vot or "Stocking Coffee" - in Vietnam and try a little bit of Vietnamese Stocking Coffee while enjoying some locals snacks, fruits and more. Here, tourists can also go shopping and admire the architecture of the market while soaking in the hustle and bustle of the main commercial activities that occur in Vietnam.
Inclusions
- Vietnamese artisanal chocolate tasting and gift chocolate bar
- An assortment of Vietnamese Pho
- A tasting of more than six different types of Vietnamese coffees
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Meet
Pickup and Dropoff
You will make your own way to the meeting points
Meeting Points
- Meet in front of a street food cart parked in front of a residential building apartment.
End Points
- We end right in the heart of District 1 at a casual unpretentious Pho restaurant called MamaPho located right across the famous Ben Thanh market.
