HCMC II Day 2: Saigon Center & Ben Thanh Market

We woke up to gloomy skies this morning! 🌧️

View from our room window

We hailed a Grab car to Phở Thịnh for our pho noodles breakfast. You can't visit Vietnam without eating pho!!

Pho Thinh

The majority of its patrons were locals so we had a good feeling about the food. Although the tables were tiny and could barely accommodate our big family, the price was very reasonable! You can choose different types of beef for your pho: round steak, flank, brisket, tendon and beef balls!

The menu showing the types of beef you can add to your noodles. The price is very reasonable! Extra beef was only VND 30k so we ordered a lot of it! 😋

Flank noodles for the kids

We loved the noodles! Such a satisfying breakfast! 😋 

I had planned to bring the family for a Mekong River tour like the one I did previously but they were not keen. We headed instead to Saigon Centre for shopping.

Exterior of Saigon Centre

Interior of Saigon Centre

Popmart and Takashimaya

We decided to walk back to our hotel since Saigon Centre was located just a 10-minute walk away.

Busy traffic

Silverland Ben Thanh, the building on the left, was located right next to the famous Ben Thanh Market

Group photos with the famous entrance

You can see the Bitexco Financial Tower (right), which used to be the tallest building in Saigon until it was overtaken by Landmark 81

Super crowded inside Ben Thanh Market

The rainy weather made shopping in Ben Thanh Market a lot more bearable (it's typically very hot and stuffy!). 

We were very hungry after buying souvenirs and snacks and took a Grab to Bahn Mi Pho Co, only to find that it was closed!

Bahn Mi Pho Co

The Hubby found another bahn mi stall but we had to walk for about 15 minutes back in the direction that we had come from! 😅 

We passed by the Phu Dong Thien Vuong Statue along the way!

We were famished by the time we had arrived at Bahn Mi The One! So hungry! 

Typical local Vietnamese stall by the road with short plastic chairs and tables

Interesting way to dine! 😏

The boss prepared the bahn mi while we ordered a drinks from the stall next door

Super crispy bahn mi

They were the best bahn mi we ever had! Definitely my favourite so far! 💗

We returned to our hotel for complimentary afternoon tea for all guests.

Headed to the top floor of the hotel

Simple spread of afternoon snacks

Love the decor of the restaurant, which was very aligned to the rest of the hotel

We got a table beside the window!

Lovely view of Ben Thanh Market below!

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After an enjoyable afternoon tea, we headed to the rooftop pool for a swim! The pool was tiny so thankfully it was just us at that time!

Small infinity pool with a nice view of the neighbourhood

We ordered some snacks from the restaurant to eat by the pool

We spent the rest of the afternoon lazing in the room before heading to Hoang's Kitchen in the evening for dinner.

The mum-in-law really likes fresh coconut juice!

Fried noodles and spring rolls

Rice spring rolls were not my favourite as the skin was pretty hard

We need to have at least two kinds of vegetables at dinner

Group photo taken by the staff

Interesting pancake that was cut up to be included in the spring roll that you DIY

Making my own spring roll
(Am not a fan of the hard rice paper though)

The meal was ok but definitely more catered to tourists than to the locals. We're not fans and most likely won't return. 

The Eldest and I ended the night with relaxing leg massages at the shop just next to our hotel! What a great way to end the day! 💆

Continue to >> Ho Chi Minh City II Day 3-4: Saigon City Tour, Cafe Apartments & Flight Home
<< Back to Ho Chi Minh City II Day 1: Silverland Ben Thanh

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