Rice Dish • 55,000 – 95,000 VND
Com Tam Saigon (Southern Broken Rice with Grilled Pork Chop) (Cơm Tấm Sườn Bì Chả Sài Gòn) — Ho Chi Minh City Dish Guide
Caramelized lemongrass-honey charcoal pork chop over fluffy fractured rice grains drizzled with scallion oil
What Makes Com Tam Saigon (Southern Broken Rice with Grilled Pork Chop) Special
Originally a humble Mekong Delta farmers’ meal using rice grains fractured during milling, Com Tam has small, tender grains that absorb scallion oil (mo hanh) and sweet garlic fish sauce far better than whole jasmine rice.
How to Eat Like a Local: Order "Cơm Tấm Sườn Bì Chả Ốp La" for the full four-topping combination and eat it with a fork and spoon (never chopsticks) just as Saigonese do.
Key Ingredients
Fractured jasmine rice grains (gạo tấm)Charcoal-grilled lemongrass pork chop (sườn nướng)Shredded pork & toasted rice powder (bì)Steamed pork-and-crab egg custard (chả trứng)Scallion oil, pickled daikon/carrots & sweet fish sauce
Food Areas & Culinary Hubs in Ho Chi Minh City
Vinh Khanh & Xom Chieu Street Food Quarter
Five minutes south of District 1 across Calmette Bridge, famous for charcoal seafood, Pha Lau, and Com Tam.
Best hours: 17:00 – 23:30