BINH TAY MARKET You’re going to hear most about Ben Thanh Market. But I actually found Binh Tay Market to have better prices, be a more local experience, and I overall enjoyed visiting it more than Ben Thanh. Binh Tay Market is one of the major official markets, located in the Cholon area of Ho Chi Minh City, what is Chinatown. It has a similar feel to it as Ben Thanh, and even many of the products that are sold - from clothes to food - are basically quite similar. However, from what I noticed in my few visit to both markets, Binh Tay Market caters a bit more to local Vietnamese, and therefore the prices are lower, and overall a little less touristy geared.
Before going to Binh Tay Market, I had read about it from Eating Asia that, there was a wet market in the morning behind the market.
If you go in the morning, anytime from about 6 am - 8 am, walk around the back streets of the official indoor market, and you’ll find an incredible fresh wet market, teeming with food and fresh Vietnamese ingredients.
This back lane fresh food market, was probably my favorite part of visiting Binh Tay Market, and one of the top places I would recommend seeing in Saigon.
And also, don’t miss the small food court, where you can get some delicious, simple, and affordable Vietnamese food.
I had a plate of noodles fried with beef (mì gói xào bò), and sitting on a stool in the morning while eating and drinking coffee, I was extremely happy.
If you are looking to do some shopping when you’re in Ho Chi Minh City, at Binh Tay Market you’ll find just about everything made or produced in Vietnam from clothes to snacks. There’s a huge section of Vietnamese cooking utensils, nuts, spices, and tools
HOW TO GET THERE
Bình Tây Market, 57 Tháp Mười, Quận 6, Hồ Chí Minh,
Vietnam Open hours: 6 am – 7 pm daily for the main indoor market section, 5 am – 9 am or so for the outdoor wet market
By Taxi: The market is located in District 5, and it’s easiest to just jump in a taxi to get there. From Ben Thanh Market it cost me 110,000 VND, and the ride took about 15 minutes.
By Bus:
- Take Bus No.01 on Tran Hung Dao street, District 1
- Go with bus No. 01 to Cho Lon station (Bến xe Chợ Lớn)
- Get off bus at Cho Lon Station Walk to Binh Tay Market.
