Cơm Tấm Sài Gòn: Vietnamese Food Guide to Broken Rice Stalls, Prices, and How to Order in 2026

A full plate in Ho Chi Minh City — often called cơm tấm sườn bì chả — costs about VND 35,000-80,000 (US$1.50-3.50) and typically comes with three proteins: charcoal-grilled pork chop (sườn), shredded pork skin (bì), and a steamed egg patty (chả trứng). A simpler plate with just sườn (grilled pork chop) is usually cheaper; prices vary by stall. The sườn is marinated in lemongrass, garlic, and fish sauce before grilling. Bì is thin strands of pork skin tossed with roasted rice powder. Chả trứng is a dense meatloaf-like patty with ground pork and wood ear mushroom. Cucumber, tomato, and pickled vegetables sit on the side.

Cơm Tấm Ba Ghiền at 84 Đường số 7, District 7, is the most famous Vietnamese food stop for charcoal-grilled sườn in Ho Chi Minh City. The pork chop gets a smoky crust over live coals and the plate comes with broken rice and fish sauce. It opens approximately 10:00-20:00, but it can close early once the meat sells out. Some maps list a second Ba Ghiền, so confirm you are heading to 84 Đường số 7 and check current hours on Google Maps before going. Cơm Tấm 25 at 25 Cao Thắng, District 1, is the easiest entry point for foreign visitors. The menu is in English and the counter staff are used to pointing at sườn, bì, and chả trứng so you can build a plate without Vietnamese. Expect a wait at peak lunch, but the line moves. Walk here from many hotels in the District 1 core or take a short Grab. Cơm Tấm Lam Sơn at 45 Lê Thánh Tôn, District 1, is lunch-only and draws long queues from about 11:00. Arrive before noon or plan to wait at the shared tables. The kitchen stops when the rice and grilled meat are gone, not at a posted time. This is a good choice if you are already near the Opera House or walking from Đồng Khởi. Street carts around Tân Định Market, District 1, start at 17:00 and are the cheapest way to eat cơm tấm after a day of sightseeing. Look for vendors turning pork chops over charcoal and a fast-moving rice pot. Expect VND 35,000-80,000 (US$1.50-3.50) for a standard plate; add chả trứng for VND 5,000-10,000, and drink iced tea or coconut water for VND 10,000-15,000 (US$0.50). Pick a stall with high turnover and freshly grilled meat. All four spots are reachable by Grab or taxi, and the three District 1 addresses are close enough to walk between.

At a cơm tấm counter, the fastest way to order is to point and name the protein: sườn is the grilled pork chop, bì is shredded pork skin, and chả trứng is a steamed egg patty. For a full plate, say "một dĩa cơm tấm sườn bì chả trứng." Staff at Cơm Tấm 25 (25 Cao Thắng, District 1) work from an English menu and will understand if you point at items. At Cơm Tấm Ba Ghiền (84 Đường số 7, District 7), the charcoal grill is near the front, so you can point directly at the sườn as it cooks; the stall opens around 10:00 and closes around 20:00.

At many counters you assemble the plate by choosing broken rice plus one or more toppings. Standard plates range from VND 35,000 to VND 80,000 depending on what you add. If you want the steamed egg patty, add chả trứng for VND 5,000-10,000 extra. If you like wetter rice, ask for extra fish sauce; pointing to the fish sauce bottle on the counter also works, and the staff will ladle more over the rice before handing you the plate.

Pair the plate with iced tea or coconut water for VND 10,000-15,000. Many stalls keep bottled drinks in plastic coolers next to the cash box, so you can grab one yourself and pay when you settle. At open-air carts around Tân Định Market, vendors often start serving at 17:00, and the drink cooler is a good place to stand while you wait.

If you want no meat, say "không thịt" and ask if the stall has cơm tấm chay options. Vegetarian stalls near temples often offer tofu, mock pork, and mushroom toppings in place of sườn and bì. These plates sometimes cost a bit less than the typical VND 35,000-80,000 range. At meat-focused counters, "không thịt" still works, but you may get just rice, egg, and pickles, so confirm what comes on the plate before paying.

Cơm tấm chay, the vegetarian side of Ho Chi Minh City's Vietnamese food scene, appears most reliably near Buddhist temples, where cooks replace grilled pork with fried tofu, mock pork, and mushroom-based toppings. Look for the word 'chay' on the sign: that marks a vegetarian kitchen. These temple-area stalls often cook without fish sauce, but you should still confirm before you order.

At standard meat stalls, such as Cơm Tấm 25 at 25 Cao Thắng, District 1, say 'không thịt' (no meat). The cook will usually swap in tofu or mushrooms for the sườn nướng, but you must also skip bì (shredded pork skin) and skip chả trứng if you're vegan, since that steamed egg patty contains egg. Cơm Tấm 25's English menu makes the request easier, though the kitchen may not have dedicated vegetarian toppings on busy days. After ordering, ask for 'không nước mắm' (no fish sauce) and request 'nước tương' (soy sauce) instead. Most stalls will pour soy sauce into a separate bowl for you.

Vegetarian cơm tấm usually costs slightly less than the standard meat plate range of VND 35,000-80,000, though location drives the actual price. A temple-area tofu and mock pork plate often falls at the lower end of that range, but confirm with the stall. A drink of iced tea or coconut water runs VND 10,000-15,000 (US$0.50), the same as at meat stalls. If you see a plate with chả trứng, note that this egg patty adds VND 5,000-10,000 at many places, but it is not vegan.

Street carts, including the Tân Định Market carts that start at 17:00, rarely carry vegetarian cơm tấm because their grills run almost entirely on pork. Even if a cart displays a 'chay' sign, check whether the cooking surface is separate. For strict vegetarians and vegans, a temple-area cơm tấm chay stall or dedicated chay kitchen is the safer choice. Those places usually keep utensils and pans separate from meat, which reduces cross-contamination risk.

A standard broken rice plate runs roughly VND 35,000-80,000 (US$1.50-3.50) in 2026, depending on toppings and which stall you pick. What is included varies by stall: many places serve a sườn or sườn bì plate at the lower end, while a full sườn + bì + chả trứng combination — also called cơm tấm sườn bì chả — sits at the upper end. If you want chả trứng as an add-on to a plainer plate, it usually costs VND 5,000-10,000 extra. Most local diners order the full sườn + bì + chả trứng combination instead of leaving off the egg.

Vegetarian cơm tấm chay is a lower-cost alternative near many temples. These stalls replace meat with tofu, mock pork, and mushrooms. Ask for cơm tấm chay or add không thịt (no meat) at an omnivore stall. Prices for vegetarian versions run slightly lower than the meat plates, but exact numbers vary by cook and district. If you want the full meat combination at a stall, say cơm tấm sườn bì chả; it usually lands at the upper end of the VND 35,000-80,000 range, before any optional extra egg patty.

Eating Vietnamese food from a cơm tấm stall in Ho Chi Minh City is low-risk if you pick one with high turnover and freshly grilled meat. A busy charcoal grill means sườn chops go from flame to plate in minutes, not hours. Cơm Tấm Ba Ghiền at 84 Đường số 7, District 7 is a good benchmark: it opens around 10:00-20:00 and the queue usually keeps the pork moving. If you see trays of pre-cooked meat sitting out, move on.

Bottled drinks are the safer choice. Many stalls sell bottled iced tea or coconut water for VND 10,000-15,000 (US$0.50), and that price includes a sealed container, so you can skip tap water entirely. If your stomach is sensitive, avoid the raw herb plate and raw vegetables. Cooked and pickled toppings, like chả trứng, bì, or pickled carrot and daikon, are lower risk. Ask for fish sauce on the side if you are unsure about the shared bottle.

Timing is part of safe eating. Cơm Tấm Lam Sơn at 45 Lê Thánh Tôn, District 1 is lunch-only, so do not plan an evening meal there. The Tân Định Market street carts start at 17:00, which makes them a dinner option after the market slows. Ba Ghiền stays open until around 20:00. Check Google Maps reviews on the day you plan to visit; stalls close on holidays or when ingredients run out.

Before heading out, note that some cơm tấm stalls, including Ba Ghiền, can have two locations or shift hours. Confirm the exact address and recent reviews. If a place looks empty at peak meal time, it is usually empty for a reason. This rule applies to any Vietnamese food stall, not just cơm tấm.