Does Ben Thanh market is the oldest market in Saigon?
Ben Thanh Market, located in District 1 of Ho Chi Minh City, is a symbol of Saigon’s past and present. However, is it the oldest market in the area?
The current Ben Thanh Market was newly constructed in 1914, following the French-built Saigon Market (Marche de Sai Gon) in 1868, which had a thatched roof. In the mid-1870s, the original market burned down and was rebuilt with an iron frame. This market was later relocated to the Boresse swamp. Since then, people have referred to the original location as the Old Market, while the newly built market is known as the New Market, which is today’s Ben Thanh Market.
Legendary the Old Market Ton That Dam
The Old Market initially retained its meat stall but moved it to the back, operating right on the sidewalk of De la Somme Avenue (now Ham Nghi) with a wide frontage similar to Charner Avenue. This new location provided convenient access to the Saigon River and a direct route to the new Ben Thanh Market, just a few hundred meters away. Over time, the old Ben Thanh Market became known simply as the Old Market, while the newly constructed market was referred to as the New Market.
Eventually, the meat stall was cleared. Despite lacking a market house or nameplate and existing only on the sidewalk, the Old Market thrived, extending its presence to Ton That Dam and Ho Tung Mau streets and even creeping into Hai Trieu and Pasteur streets.
In addition to popular goods, while the New Market has its strength in food, the Old Market also exploits the food and beverage industry. Originally a long-standing residential area of Cantonese residents, the Old Market has a rich Chinese cuisine that is not inferior to the restaurants in Cho Lon. Therefore, the Old Market easily becomes an indispensable culinary destination not only for Saigon people but also for people from the six provinces of the South if they have the opportunity to visit the city.
The remaining meat stalls of the past quickly “transformed” into many grilled meat and bread shops with crispy skin, sweet honey flavor but very soft meat… famous to this day. Not only that, there are also Cao Lau dishes of the Old Market, coffee dishes, noodles, meatball sandwiches… Is there any Saigonese who hears about them and does not want to immediately stop by to eat?
There is also potted rice served in blue-glazed pots, steamed in a multi-layered bamboo steamer, eaten with dried braised fish, and cabbage soup cooked with catfish at several shops on the corner of Ton That Dam – Ham Nghi (there is still one shop on Ton That Dam street). Each pot is about the size of a small bowl of rice, so some people who ride three-wheelers eat five or six pots at a time. People with money only eat one or two pots, but instead of ordering dried braised fish, they order grilled chicken, roasted pigeon, steamed fish… Rich or poor, they all sit next to each other and eat normally, chatting animatedly.
Don’t miss your chance to visit this historical and authentic Ton That Dam old market
For more than 200 years in Saigon, Ton That Dam old market has been through many ups and downs, and at times it was thought that it would no longer exist. But then that market revived strongly, and despite being on the sidewalk, it still exists to this day.
