The city is a rich cultural centre with a storied history and unique cuisine.
But when you get tired of eating all the banh mi and the pho, you might just hanker for a taste of home. And surprisingly enough to some, there are places in the city where you can find Malaysian food to sate your appetite.
Here are three places to go should you need your fix of Malaysian food while in Ho Chi Minh City.
1. Lesung Authentic Malaysian Cuisine
The newest of Ho Chi Minh City’s Malaysian food spots, Lesung is a rather classy establishment, perfect for the business traveller.
From menu to décor, the place oozes Malaysian, with P Ramlee films playing in the background and roti jala and rendang prominently occupying the menu.
The restaurant is owned by someone who should be familiar to FMT Lifestyle readers, Eden Daus.
He said that when a job opportunity took him to Vietnam two years ago, he quickly realised the potential for a Malaysian eatery there.
“I opened Lesung to showcase a slice of Malaysia’s heritage and to say thank you to the Vietnamese people,” he said.
To that end, he takes extra care to make his food as authentically Malaysian as possible, importing petai, asam keping and bunga kantan from Malaysia.
He even uses his grandma’s recipes and her mortar and pestle. In fact, that’s how the restaurant got its name.
But he’s not above adding twists to Malaysian classics. For example, he uses coconut water in his cendol durian.
The cendol is probably among the best you’ll ever have, making Lesung a definite contender if there’s a competition for Best Cendol Spot in Southeast Asia.
2. Jamilah Halal Food & Coffee
It’s not easy to find halal food in the city, but there are spots where you can eat in comfort and with assuredness.
For the discerning Muslim traveller, Nguyen An Ninh Street is a lifesaver as most of the eateries there are run by Muslims from Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore.
Jamilah’s is one such spot. But oddly enough, it shares the space with a garments shop.
Regardless, the menu consists of classic Malaysian dishes such as roti canai, nasi lemak, mee mamak and cassava cake.
Also worth trying is the Penang Char Kway Teow, served with surprisingly crunchy fried onion bits. It’s a valiant attempt at recreating the Penangite fare.
Prices at Jamilah’s are reasonable and language is no issue. The Cham Muslim staff can speak some Bahasa Melayu.
3. The Daun
Right around the corner from Jamilah’s is The Daun, a small, quaint restaurant with a whopping total of six tables, but with business going on at a steady pace.
It’s definitely a recognised Malaysian food spot, as evidenced by the newspaper clippings on the wall. These are from Malaysian newspapers like Berita Minggu and Berita Harian.
The menu offers more than just Malaysian food. There are offerings from Brunei, Japan, Indonesia and Singapore. Each menu item is adorned by a small flag that indicates its origin.
In addition to the usual nasi goreng and roti canai, the restaurant also serves pisang goreng and teh tarik for tea.
The Singapore born owner, Soffian Abdullah, said he opened the restaurant in 2012 to offer Vietnamese locals tastes from the surrounding region.
“We wanted to target three generations with our menu,” he said. “Kids love western food, teens want to be hip with Korean and Japanese food, parents will just stick with Vietnamese and grandpas will probably want that hard-to-find Malaysian treat.”