For a food outing in District 4, choose phá lấu at Cô Thảo if you enjoy offal, shellfish noodles at Dì Lan for a filling bowl, or rice-paper snacks at Bà Bắc for something smaller. Ngọc Nga is a useful dessert stop. If you prefer an air-conditioned restaurant and a full meal, Đậu Homemade serves Northern Vietnamese food at 42 Nguyễn Trường Tộ.
District 4 is still a useful neighborhood name when planning a visit to Ho Chi Minh City, though current addresses also use Khánh Hội and Xóm Chiếu ward names. The six food stops below are spread across several streets. Choose a main meal and one snack or dessert, then check the route between them rather than treating the whole area as one short food street.
Decide what kind of meal you want
- A local offal dish: Cô Thảo’s phá lấu, with bread or noodles. Skip this choice if you do not eat organ meats.
- A noodle meal: Dì Lan, with a choice of shellfish toppings and dry or soup preparations.
- Seafood to share: Ốc Tô on Xóm Chiếu. Order a few dishes first and check how each serving is priced.
- Small snacks: Bà Bắc for rice-paper rolls and mixed rice paper; Ngọc Nga for flan afterward.
- A seated restaurant meal: Đậu Homemade for noodles, tofu and a choice of meat additions, with the dipping sauce served separately.
Six food stops to consider
Cô Thảo: phá lấu bò in the Tôn Đản alleys
Address: 243/29G Tôn Đản, Khánh Hội, Ho Chi Minh City.
Phone: 0907 917 345.
Phá lấu bò is a dish of beef offal, commonly including different parts of the stomach and intestines, cooked with aromatic spices and coconut. The pieces have different textures, from tender to springy. This is not beef jerky, a steak stew or simply a cup of beef broth.
At Cô Thảo, a bowl with bread is a straightforward first order. Dip the bread into the sauce and try the offal a little at a time. If you want a more substantial meal, ask for mì phá lấu, noodles with phá lấu, instead of ordering both a noodle bowl and a separate full serving automatically.
The complete address matters here: 243/29G identifies a place inside the alley network, not a restaurant directly at number 243 on the main road. Several nearby stalls sell phá lấu. Match the Cô Thảo sign and full address, and ask your driver for a suitable drop-off before walking the final section.
Best for: an afternoon food stop for travelers comfortable with offal. Ask which pieces are in the serving if you want to avoid a particular texture.
Mì Ốc Hến Dì Lan: choose your noodles and toppings
Address: 20/23 Nguyễn Trường Tộ, Xóm Chiếu, Ho Chi Minh City.
Dì Lan’s menu centers on noodles with shellfish, with options that can include small clams, razor clams, shrimp or octopus. Despite the word ốc in the name, this is not necessarily a bowl containing only snails. Hến refers to small clams; ốc móng tay means razor clams.
Choose the preparation as well as the toppings. Mì khô is a dry or sauced noodle dish, while mì nước is served with broth. If you want only one shellfish or want to leave out octopus, say so before the kitchen prepares the bowl.
Useful phrase: Cho một tô mì khô ốc hến, không bạch tuộc means “One bowl of dry noodles with shellfish and small clams, without octopus.” Point to the menu item as well, because topping combinations can differ.
Use the Nguyễn Trường Tộ location when setting a map pin. The alley number is part of the address, so leave time to find the entrance rather than expecting a large storefront on the main road.
Best for: a full noodle meal for someone who enjoys shellfish, with more control over the combination than simply ordering the largest mixed bowl.
Ốc Tô: shared shellfish on Xóm Chiếu
Address: the 224B Xóm Chiếu location, Khánh Hội, Ho Chi Minh City. The map pin for Ốc Tô may show 224 Xóm Chiếu; match the restaurant name when you arrive.
Choose Ốc Tô when you want to share several shellfish dishes. Tô means bowl, but the restaurant’s name does not establish a fixed serving size or a single price for every seafood item.
Ask what is available that day, then choose a cooking method. Hấp sả means steamed with lemongrass, xào me means cooked with tamarind sauce, and xào tỏi means stir-fried with garlic. Pick contrasting preparations instead of ordering every dish in the same rich sauce.
For two people, begin with two dishes and ask what rice, noodles or bread can turn the order into a full meal. This is a starting suggestion, not a promise about portion size. Check whether each price applies to a bowl, plate, weight or individual item, and confirm the cost of extras before ordering.
Best for: a shared seafood meal with enough time to work through shells. It is a less straightforward choice for someone who needs to avoid shellfish entirely.
Bánh Tráng Bà Bắc: rolled and mixed rice-paper snacks
Address: 40 Đường Số 11, Khánh Hội, Ho Chi Minh City. Search for Bánh tráng cuốn Bà Bắc and include the old District 4 area in your search.
Bà Bắc is associated with rice-paper snacks, including bánh tráng cuốn and bánh tráng trộn. The first is rolled; the second mixes pieces of rice paper with savory ingredients and dressing. These are different from the soft steamed rice sheets called bánh cuốn.
The rolls are served with a tamarind-based dipping sauce. Start with one portion if you are continuing to another food stop, then decide whether to try a second preparation. Ask how many rolls make up the serving rather than using an old photograph to estimate the portion.
Rice paper does not make the dish vegetarian. Fillings and toppings can contain dried meat, seafood, quail egg or other animal ingredients, while sauces may contain fish sauce. Rau răm, a herb used in this style of snack, is Vietnamese coriander.
Best for: a snack between meals. Because many neighborhoods have a “Street 11,” save the named restaurant pin rather than typing only the street number into a ride app.
Bánh Flan Ngọc Nga: a dessert stop on Đường 20 Thước
Address: 88F Đường 20 Thước, Khánh Hội, Ho Chi Minh City, in the Hoàng Diệu residential area.
Ngọc Nga serves flan and other chilled desserts. Traditional flan is a soft egg-and-milk custard with caramel; it is not a sponge cake. If you want a simple starting point, ask for the traditional flan, then choose additional flavors or toppings from the menu available that day.
Check whether a mixed order is several separate desserts or one serving with added jelly and toppings. For two people, ordering one dessert each first makes it easier to judge sweetness and portion size before adding more.
Keep the letter in 88F when searching. The surrounding area uses block and lot-style addresses, so “Hoàng Diệu” alone is not a precise drop-off. Save the shop’s name and the Đường 20 Thước location together.
Best for: finishing a savory meal with a small dessert. Check ingredients if you avoid eggs or dairy, including when choosing a flavored or jelly-topped option.
Đậu Homemade: a Northern Vietnamese meal at Nguyễn Trường Tộ
Address: 42 Nguyễn Trường Tộ, Xóm Chiếu, Ho Chi Minh City.
Branch phone: 0931 088 284.
Đậu Homemade’s District 4 restaurant has moved from 104 Hoàng Diệu to Nguyễn Trường Tộ. The current space is air-conditioned and suits a seated meal when you want a break from outdoor snack stalls.
Bún đậu combines compact pieces of rice vermicelli with fried tofu and herbs. One option adds steamed pork and chả cốm, pork patties containing young green rice. These patties are not vegetarian rice cakes. Larger house platters contain more components, so check the contents and intended number of diners before choosing one.
Mắm tôm is fermented shrimp paste, served as a strongly flavored dipping sauce. If you do not want it, ask about an alternative before the meal arrives. The basic tofu-and-noodle option can be ordered with soy sauce for a vegetarian meal; make your dietary requirements clear rather than ordering a mixed meat platter and removing its toppings.
Best for: a more complete meal with a choice of tofu, noodles and additions. Use the branch phone if you need to confirm seating or a particular dietary arrangement.
Build your outing around one part of District 4
Nguyễn Trường Tộ: choose Dì Lan for shellfish noodles or Đậu Homemade for a tofu-and-noodle platter. They solve the same main-meal decision; most visitors do not need a full meal at both.
Tôn Đản and Xóm Chiếu: choose Cô Thảo if you want phá lấu, or Ốc Tô if your group prefers shared seafood. Check the route between any extra stops and keep appetite for the main dish. Alley numbers matter as much as the street names.
Rice paper and dessert: Bà Bắc and Ngọc Nga work as smaller stops, but they are not side-by-side stalls. Plot both pins before deciding to walk between them. In rain or strong afternoon heat, one snack stop near your other plans may be more enjoyable than a long food circuit.
For a relaxed main meal plus dessert, allow roughly two to three hours including travel within the neighborhood. This is an itinerary estimate; queues, your arrival point and the number of dishes change the timing. Check the opening hours of the specific places you choose, especially if heading out early or late.
Small ordering details that make the visit easier
- Confirm the serving: Một phần gồm những gì? means “What does one portion include?” Ask before assuming bread, noodles or drinks come with the dish.
- Ask for a smaller first order: one bowl, one plate or one dessert is easier to assess than several unfamiliar mixed portions.
- Keep chili separate: Cho ớt riêng means “Chili on the side.” A sauce already cooked with chili may still be spicy.
- Prepare for payment: bring some Vietnamese cash. A shop accepting a local bank QR payment does not necessarily accept a foreign card.
- Choose the exact shop: show the Vietnamese name and full address to your driver. Do not substitute a similarly named restaurant or a different branch.