Most tourists and visitors to HCMC often end up in Ben Thanh market in District 1. All under one roof, stalls in Ben Thanh market offer a considerable range of products. On each trip to HCMC, I go to Ben Thanh to buy fabrics, eat che (halo-halo), or buy char sui (xa xiu). But for real serious food shopping like getting 6 kg of pistachio nuts, cashew nuts, dried jackfruit and taro chips, I head to another direction and go to another market behind the Sun Wah bldg, two blocks behind Duxton Hotel. The locals refer to it as the old market but this is more like a street market which starts at the corner of Huynh Thuc Khang and Thot That Dam Sts. Much smaller than Ben Thanh, this market is where the locals go. Unlike Ben Thanh where your success in getting the best price is a function of your bargaining skills, here there is no need to haggle because most prices are fixed. I have a favorite stall which sells pistachio and cashew nuts at VND110,000/kg (US$6.90), depending on the season. It is from my favorite stall where I sometimes ask for an empty box for my goodies. Many shops sell PX grocery items such as imported peanut butter, honey, chocolates, canned ham, cosmetics, etc. Fresh beef, pork, fish, veggies, fruits, rice and even roast duck and char sui are also sold in this market.
Nhu Lan food shop
At the end of the Thot That Dam St., turn left and you will find Nhu Lan food shop about three shops away. Nhu Lan is a Saigon landmark for food. It bakes many kinds of bread -- baguettes and croissants, and offers sandwiches with different fillings -- pate, chicken, hotdog, hamburger, and cheese. Nhu Lan also sells roast chicken, roast suckling pig (lechon de leche), boiled corn on the cob, boiled cassava, cakes and pastries, moon cakes, peanut butter, different kinds of sausages, and the Vietnamese meat rolls like the Philippine embutido.
The sandwich (VND8,000 or P22.50) is a meal by itself as you will find a layers of lettuce, pickled cucumber slices, shredded carrots and radish, a spread of pate, ham and cheese, and even slices of red hot chili. You can ask the seller to use a baguette, a bun or white bread slices and put the filling mix of your choice. For the non-Vietnamese speaker, anything can be had by just pointing with your finger. Inside Nhu Lan is a restaurant section that offers different kinds of pho, rice toppings, spring rolls, fresh fruit juices, soya milk and countless other dishes. It is where many locals go for a quick meal at affordable prices so the place is crowded at peak times.
