Saigon Secrets: The Less Well-Known Must See Alleyways of Saigon

Saigon is an exciting, dynamic and youthful city, but there are more to visit than touristic architectures and locations. To experience the best of this city, you should focus on its little details. And for many people, the network of narrow alleys will always be the best place to explore a maze of exciting yet intimate lives of the local, in stark contrast to the hustle and bustle of anything you may have experienced roaming on the main streets. Here are the most impressive alleys that we recommend you visit at least once during your stay in this cosmopolitan city!

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Graffiti Alleys

Nowadays, the prejudice of Graffiti as “nonsensical doodles on the wall” has converted to “the Art to every brick”, gaining attention and love from the public even the elderly. The uniqueness of these graffiti has gradually been accepted and welcomed by the neighborhood as they beautify grey cement walls and the overall look of the alleys.

These works originated from the project ‘Graffiti in the alley’ organized by two groups ZeroStation and Click 9. At the end of the alley is the famous over-50-year-old Phở Dậu diner where you can have a chance to taste the original Northern style Pho which is served without vegetables, black soybean paste and beef meatballs.

The alley is more than 100 meters long with one side being households and the other side filled with graffiti paintings, which were previously cold cement.

These two alleys are where visitors may be taken aback by brilliantly painted pictures on the walls along the path leading inside. They are not so much graffiti pieces as simple artworks, not too complicated or artistic, bringing colors to everyday life. The owner of these over 40 paintings is Mr. Nguyen Van Minh (the man in red shirt below), a 75-year-old passionate painter kindly regarded by the locals as the gentlest and kindest man in the neighborhood.

Painting Alley

Although it looks like a walkway under an old apartment building, this is actually an alley selling inexpensive paintings or handicrafts. Above the alley is the L’Usine café which is a famous location for tourists and expats to grab a cup of coffee and shop for clothes and fashion items.

Though Ben Thanh  Market is the most well-known and symbolic market of Vietnam, Ho Thi Ky Flower Market is also the market that you should not miss out if you want to have an authentic experience. This alley is the largest-scale flower market in Saigon, operating 24 hours a day, with flowers transported from the mountain city of Dalat, Hanoi and Tien Giang. They are loaded from trucks early in the morning, so this is also the most appropriate time to buy the freshest bouquets. There is also a Cambodian Market inside where you can buy many kinds of dried fishes and ask the people to make Cambodian salad with these fish while watching the making process and tasting the Cambodian sweet gruel or pumpkin custard at just 12,000VND.

Zen Alley (aka Meditation Alley)

Believed by the monks to be lying on a dragon land or a spiritual alignment of landforms, Zen alley is where one can regain peace and happiness in the mind and soul. Its name ‘Zen’ came from the association of 6 temples stand within the reach of the alley, one of which is Ngoc Phuong Vihara recognized as the National Historical and Cultural Heritage of Vietnam in 1994. Yet, during religious festivals, this alley gets more crowded and busier than ever.

Free Alley

Local people also call this place ‘Samaritan Alley’, where real Samaritans exist in the ordinary world – giving little but more than enough comfort to warm the hearts of the unfortunate in Saigon. There are 6 free services available for the poor and the handicapped here: free iced tea, free motorbike repair, free motorbike rides, free medicine, free coffins and free vegetarian meals on 4 days every lunar month. It is worth mentioning that the first person to get started with all these things is also a poor person, Mr. Do Van Ut (aka Viet) who fixes motorbikes and operates free rides at the entrance of the alley.

Street Food Alley

Saigon alleys are perfect places for truly homemade Vietnamese food with numerous food stands. Come and enjoy it while sitting on a five-inch stool!

This is a common destination to enjoy Hue street cuisine that is hard to find elsewhere as it is home to many Hue families in Saigon so go there to try authentic Hue dishes and noodle soups like water fern cake, steamed rice pancake with shrimp, beef noodles, mussel noodles or sweetened porridges at a cheap price.

Appearing in one of Saigon’s oldest eating zones, the dishes here never fail to attract food devotees such as grilled pork noodles, fried fish balls, and sausages, mini savory pancakes or dumplings. And the most famous dish is ‘khổ qua cà ớt’ consisting of meat-stuffed bitter melon, okra, chili, tomato, eggplant and fish balls.

Xom Chieu area is generally a gastronomic paradise, yet satisfying the most diners is nowhere else but the alley 200. After about 6:00 pm, along both sides of the alley is filled with food stands selling all kinds of food from the main dish to snacks such as ‘bò lá lốt’, porridge, noodles, sticky rice, spring rolls, stir-fried snails, caramelized bananas and lots more!

If you are a sweet food lover, then this alley should be on your food list. This place is known for delectable desserts like coconut jelly, cheese jelly, khúc bạch sweet gruel a famous flan with 1 layer of flan and 1 layer of coconut milk at only 2,500VND. Here you can dip a small slice of baguette bread into iced cocoa and enjoy it.

Hào Sĩ Phường’ Chinatown Alley

In Vietnamese, ‘Hào’ is chivalrous, ‘Sĩ’ is a writer and ‘Phường’ is a trading ward, explaining what the culture of the Vietnamese and Chinese has in common is trading with companion and trading in wards. This alley has been home to the Vietnamese-Chinese for more than a century; that’s why you might hear a lot of people speaking Chinese when visiting here. The entrance is usually dim so people must turn on the lights even in the daytime and the common courtyard at the front is often used to set up a small café and parking places for their motorbikes. On entering, you might be amazed at houses built close together with identical Chinese architecture but different eye-catching colors. Also, make sure to give it a try at the old-fashioned Chinese-style glass noodles dinner at the end of the alley.