Savor Saigon's Diverse Grilled Cuisine

During the rainy season in Saigon, evenings turn chilly after the rain. The greatest pleasure is indulging in the fragrant, flavorful grilled dishes. There are countless grilled food stalls with a wide variety of options to satisfy everyone's preferences. Mytour highlights some unique locations that cater to everyone's tastes.

Super Budget-Friendly Grilled Chicken Street

Along Le Quang Dinh Street, stretching from the intersection with No Trang Long to the Industrial University (Phu Nhuan District - Go Vap), there are over a dozen grilled chicken stalls. The grilled chicken here is quite cheap, around 100K VND per chicken, and the size is just right for one person. The seasoning is just right, especially the dipping sauce used for chicken, which is sweet and sour, quite unique. The busiest stall on this grilled chicken street is Anh Tu's. The stall has small tables for customers to sit at, the grilled chicken is tender and fast, so it's always crowded. Another plus point is that the stall sells from the afternoon until late at night, so there's no worry about running out of food in the middle of the meal.

Specialty Grilled Seafood Restaurant in Phan Thiet

Often mentioned as a go-to spot for delicious grilled fresh octopus. Located in the Nguyen Thien Thuat apartment building, at the end of alley 212 Nguyen Thien Thuat, District 3, it's very convenient.

The most famous dish here is the grilled octopus. The large octopus is grilled to a golden perfection and then cut into bite-sized pieces, topped with a layer of scallion oil and sprinkled with peanuts. For those who like, it can be evenly mixed. The octopus is sweet, crispy, with the roasted peanuts finely ground and fragrant, and the scallion oil rich and unique. The restaurant also offers some other grilled seafood dishes such as scallops, razor clams, garlic snails... and crispy fried squid tentacles. The prices are acceptable, a large plate of octopus for 2-3 people, half a kilogram, around 90K VND, while scallops are 45K VND per large rectangular tray. The restaurant opens around 4:30 PM.

Innovative Grilling

While most other eateries are on the roadside or indoors, Grilled Seated takes a rather innovative approach, just as its name suggests. Guests who come to dine can sit cross-legged on bamboo mats on the rooftop terrace of the restaurant, enjoying the breeze while grilling their own food, reminiscent of a home gathering. Here, you'll find many traditional grilled dishes such as chicken feet/wings, grilled shrimp, razor clams,... along with some new seasoned grilled dishes like grilled periwinkle snails with fish sauce... Priced around 40-50K VND per grilled portion. Address for you: 52 Street 10, Dai Ra Da residential area, Ward 13, District 6.

Russian-style Grill

For many grill enthusiasts in Saigon, This Evening is a familiar name. As a full-fledged eatery, located right in the heart of District 3, adjacent to the war remnants museum on Vo Van Tan Street, This Evening has been around for about 10 years. The grilled dishes here carry a Western style with a variety of meats ranging from exotic ones like crocodile, lamb... to familiar ones like pork, beef,... served with salad and French fries. Each dish is priced around or below 100K VND, but worth it. The flavors are aromatic, intricate, the grilled meat tender, and flavorful. The restaurant opens at 4:30 PM but closes quite early due to always being crowded.

Canal-side Skewers

Located right by the cool breeze of Nhiêu Lộc canal, beneath Trần Khánh Dư Bridge, Skewer Haven (117 Trần Khắc Chân) attracts customers with its self-grilling dishes priced around 19-20K VND per skewer. The menu boasts a variety of options from pork, chicken, beef, quail, squid, octopus, all pre-marinated, allowing customers to choose their preferred dish and grill it themselves right at their table. The specialty here is the garlic-fried son ga fish, a rather rare fish that often requires advance ordering.

Northern Sea Rolls Beef

For just 20-30K VND per portion, the eatery is considered quite affordable, offering rolls filled with tender and sweet beef. Besides beef in betel leaves, they also serve grilled fat beef, and Central Vietnamese pancakes. The fish sauce dip is rich and flavorful. Each grilled beef portion comes with rice paper, vermicelli, herbs, and pickled vegetables. A budget-friendly spot, conveniently located near Le Thi Rieng Park (at the corner of Bac Hai and CMT8), hence, evenings here tend to be crowded with slightly slow service.

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Source: Travel guide Mytour.