Ban Co market in District 3 is the place to head for if you are feeling hungryish and fancy a delicious bite or two. 

Pancakes (banh xeo)

Inside Ban Co market at 664 Nguyen Dinh Chieu Street, one can find the crunchy pancake, the Vietnamese cousin of the crepe that is popular in the central and southern regions. The filling consists of pork, pawn, bean sprouts, and a crunchy juicy fruit called jicama, which tastes a bit like a pear but is less sweet and thicker. 

The spirit of this tropical dish lies in the sweet and sour dipping sauce that has slices of papaya and carrots. A banh xeo costs VND7,000 ($0.3). 

Crispy mini-pancake (banh khot)

A delicious bite-sized treat, banh khot is a combination of rice flour with a pinch of turmeric, which gives it a yellow coat, and coconut milk that make it creamy and rich. The topping is usually shrimp and green onion.

Banh khot is served with raw vegetables such as broccoli, lettuce, and perilla. Just like for banh xeo, a bowl of fish sauce is the key. A serving of five is VND20,000 ($0.86). 

Hue treats

At Ban Co Market is a stall selling savory rice cakes banh beo from central Vietnam for 30 years. A serving with a mix of options costs VND30,000 ($1.3). 

The stall also serves Hue-style grilled pork rolls and crispy pork skin. The small space is always crowded and so there are many waiters around. It opens at 1 p.m. and immediately all its plastic chairs are taken. 

Lotus root salad with pork and shrimp (goi ngo sen tom thit)

A healthier option than the earlier ones, the salad gets its unique taste from lotus root, carrot, tender pork, shrimp, shallot, coriander, mint, onions, and roasted peanuts. The main ingredients are topped with a dressing.

At Hanh's stall, located at the entrance to the alley leading to the market, the salad costs VND30,000 ($1.3) a portion.

Pork skin noodle (bun bi)

Quan Tu Loan shop is famous for this Mekong Delta dish. It is made from fresh noodles, raw vegetables and a crunchy, indispensable ingredient: pork skin. The stall is open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day. A serving of pork skin noodles costs VND25,000 - 35,000 ($1 - 1.5). The restaurant also serves grilled pork and spring rolls with vermicelli. 

Tieu’s porridge (chao Tieu)

In 1942 the first bowl of such porridge was sold by street vendors from Chaozhou, China, on Nguyen Thien Thuat Street, also in District 3, which later became a stall in Ban Co Market.

It contains green onion, ginger and the aroma of ground pepper and an optional egg topping. A serving with all the ingredients costs VND65,000 ($2.8), other options cost VND40,000 ($1.7). Open from 3:30 pm to 11:00 pm, but its peak time is 7 pm. 

Sour pho (pho chua)

Selling a specialty from Lang Son Province up in the north, the stall offers a completely different variety of the iconic pho noodles. With no broth, the dish is served with an appetizing sweet and sour sauce and pork, shrimp and green onions. It costs VND45,000 ($1.9). 

Fried rice flour cake (bot chien)

Dat Thanh shop opens at 4 p.m. every day, and is rarely ever not crowded. The crispy dish is made by chopping rice flour cakes into chunky squares and fried on a large flat pan before being topped with whipped eggs and chopped spring onion. You can find the stall near the market at 277 Vo Van Tan Street. The dish costs VND26,000 ($1) per serving.