Ho Chi Minh City has been crowned the world’s best city for street food in Time Out’s latest ranking, according to Thanh Nien, which says the Vietnamese metropolis edged out Kuala Lumpur and beat out Jakarta and Taipei on resident approval. The result is based on a survey of about 24,000 city dwellers, weighing quality, affordability and the range of places to eat, while Hanoi also made the list at seventh. Time Out’s broader 2026 food-city rankings, however, place Ho Chi Minh City sixth overall for food and Bangkok first in Asia, underscoring how strongly the region is now competing on culinary appeal.

For visitors, the city’s appeal is not a staged attraction but a way of life. As Lã Quốc Khánh of the Vietnam Culinary Culture Association told Thanh Nien, the street food scene is woven into daily routines: breakfast on pavements, coffee in alleyways, lunch at modest eateries and supper at market stalls or from roadside carts. That closeness is what makes eating in the city feel so immediate and memorable. Travellers are not only buying a bowl of phở or a banh mi; they are stepping into the rhythm of neighbourhood life.

The city’s depth comes from history as much as flavour. According to Dương Thanh Đảo of the Ho Chi Minh City Culinary Association, the metropolis has long absorbed people, ingredients and techniques from across Vietnam and beyond, then adapted them into something recognisably local. Chinese, Khmer, French and more recent influences have all left their mark, but the defining feature is how quickly the city absorbs outside ideas and turns them into everyday food that fits its pace, prices and tastes. That is why Ho Chi Minh City can feel both familiar and endlessly varied.

For travellers, the practical takeaway is simple: this is a city to explore with an appetite and some time. The best way to experience it is not through one neat food precinct, but through markets, old alleyways, late-night corners and long-running family shops. Local experts say the next step is to protect that character while improving standards on hygiene, pricing, waste and service. If done well, that could make the food scene easier to navigate without stripping away the bustle and informality that made it famous in the first place.

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Source: Noah Wire Services