What I Eat in a Week – Real Food, Real Life in Saigon

What I Eat in a Week – Real Food, Real Life in Saigon

Living in Vietnam – A Quiet Look Into Everyday Meals. What I eat in a week living in Saigon — real food, no filters, just everyday Vietnamese meals that nourish more than hunger. A slow, honest look at local life.

I don’t count calories.
I count the moments food brings me back to myself.
In a city like Saigon, where life rarely pauses,
meals — simple, local, unfiltered — are how I slow down.

Morning Begins with Warm Broth and Familiar Faces

Most mornings, I wake early.
Not for productivity. But for the quiet.
And for the bowl of phở down the alley — steam rising, motorbikes humming past, and the cô bán phở who always remembers to add extra herbs.

Sometimes it’s hủ tiếu. Sometimes bánh mì with egg and a thick iced coffee.
But it’s not really about the dish.
It’s about starting the day with something warm, real, and shared.

This is what I eat in a week in Saigon — not curated for Instagram, but lived.

Lunch That Reflects the City’s Soul

Lunch usually finds me near a cơm tấm stall. a staple in many Vietnamese daily meals.
Grilled pork. Pickled vegetables. A fried egg with a broken yolk.
And a glass of sugarcane juice with lime, cold and sweet, handed over with a smile.

On some days, it’s a plate of bún thịt nướng under a tree.
On others, just a bowl of cháo trắng with salted egg and pickled radish.

There’s no pressure to chase variety.
Only to eat what the day calls for — what the body asks, gently.

Dinner Is Where Slowness Returns

Evenings are quieter.
We often cook at home — canh chua, cá kho, trứng chiên, or just a warm bowl of mì gói with vegetables when we’re tired.

Sometimes, we walk out to a small bún riêu stall lit by a single bulb.
The owner’s radio hums old tunes.
She serves the soup with barely a word, but always with care.

There is no concept of “dining out” here.
There is only eating — with presence, with gratitude.

Snacks, Cravings, and Being Human

Yes, I have a sweet tooth.
Yes, I buy bánh bò from the lady near the market, or eat chè trôi nước when it rains.

Sometimes it’s dried mango.
Sometimes it's just a hot glass of gừng tea at night — spicy, sharp, and strangely comforting.

Eating in Saigon isn’t a lifestyle.
It’s life.

No Filters, Just Food That Feeds More Than Hunger

I don’t eat for content.
I eat to connect.
To pause.
To remember that in between plans and projects, there are meals —
and inside those meals,
there is care, culture, and something that feels like home.

What I eat in a week may change.
But what remains is this:
Food, when lived slowly, is more than nutrition.
It’s presence, warmth, and a quiet kind of joy.

👉 How I Eat Well on $10 a Day in Saigon – Honest Meals, Simple Joys
👉 Saigon – A Quiet Life in the Middle of Everything