TP. Hồ Chí Minh Province

Broken rice with grilled pork chop, shredded pork skin, steamed egg meatloaf, and pickled vegetables - the defining dish of Sài Gòn, eaten from dawn to midnight at plastic-stool restaurants on every street corner, with a sweetened fish sauce that is unmistakably southern Vietnamese

The southern bánh mì - a longer, crispier baguette loaded with pâté, butter, cold cuts, pickled daikon, cucumber, fresh chilli, and coriander, eaten as a quick breakfast from street carts that set up before dawn and sell out by 9am

Phnom Penh-style noodle soup brought to Sài Gòn by Cambodian-Chinese immigrants - clear pork and dried squid broth with rice noodles, pork, shrimp, and quail eggs, served dry or in soup, eaten at Chinese-Vietnamese shophouse restaurants throughout Chợ Lớn

Shredded rice paper tossed with dried shrimp, quail eggs, green mango, fried shallots, and sa tế chilli sauce - a Sài Gòn street snack eaten at school gates and evening markets, assembled to order in a plastic bag and eaten with chopsticks while walking

Sizzling cast-iron skillet of pan-fried beef, fried egg, pâté, and baguette - the name comes from 'né' meaning dodge, because diners duck away from the spattering hot butter when the skillet arrives, eaten as a hearty breakfast at open-air stalls throughout Sài Gòn from 5am onwards

Chinese-influenced braised offal in five-spice and coconut water - pork or beef intestines, tofu, and eggs slow-cooked in a fragrant mahogany broth until meltingly tender, served on a skewer with bánh mì or eaten in a bowl with fresh herbs, a Chợ Lớn Chinese street food that Sài Gòn has made completely its own

Rice vermicelli with charcoal-grilled lemongrass pork - served cold with fresh herbs, bean sprouts, pickled daikon, crushed peanuts, and fried spring rolls, dressed with a sweet fish sauce, a Sài Gòn lunch staple eaten at dedicated shops that grill pork continuously from morning until the meat runs out

Giant sizzling rice crepe stuffed with shrimp, pork, and bean sprouts - larger and crispier than any other regional version, eaten wrapped in mustard leaf and rice paper with a sweet fish sauce, a southern Vietnamese institution best eaten at dedicated bánh xèo restaurants where the batter is ladled into enormous woks

Fried rice flour cakes with egg - cubes of firm rice flour cake pan-fried in lard until crispy on all sides then cracked eggs mixed in, topped with spring onion and eaten with a sweet soy and vinegar dipping sauce, a Chợ Lớn Chinese street snack that has become one of Sài Gòn's most beloved evening foods

Crispy fat-basted chicken rice - whole chicken repeatedly basted with hot rendered fat until the skin shatters like glass while the meat stays juicy inside, served over fragrant rice with ginger sauce and pickled vegetables, a Sài Gòn Cantonese-Vietnamese specialty eaten at dedicated shops in Chợ Lớn that have perfected the technique over generations

Thick tapioca noodle soup with fresh crab - mud crab shells slow-simmered into a deep orange, naturally sweet broth with handmade tapioca noodles, crab meat, and fried shallots, a Sài Gòn street food eaten at specialist shops that open only in the early morning when the crab broth is freshest

Sài Gòn's legendary snail culture - dozens of snail varieties stir-fried with lemongrass and chilli, steamed with coconut cream, or grilled with butter and spring onion, eaten at dedicated ốc restaurants that open at dusk and serve until midnight, with cold beer and the noise of the city as essential accompaniments

Seasoned minced beef wrapped in lá lốt wild pepper leaves and grilled over charcoal - the leaf chars and releases a distinctive peppery, slightly anise-like fragrance into the meat as it cooks, eaten rolled in rice paper with fresh herbs, green mango, and cucumber then dipped in a fermented soybean and peanut sauce, a Sài Gòn nhậu staple eaten at smoky open-air grills throughout the city from dusk until midnight

Grilled rice paper with egg, spring onion, dried shrimp, and chilli sauce - cooked over charcoal by street vendors on portable grills throughout Sài Gòn's alleys and night markets, the Sài Gòn version is larger and more generously topped than the Đà Lạt original, eaten folded in half while still hot

Sài Gòn's layered sweet soups - from chè thái with colourful jellies and coconut cream to chè bà ba with sweet potato and taro, eaten cold from street carts and dedicated chè shops throughout the city, the southern versions sweeter and more coconut-forward than their northern counterparts, served crushed ice as essential as the toppings