Quan An Ngon
Add: 138 Nam Ky Khoi Nghia street
Tel: 829 9449
Mains: 10,000-60,000d
Two people can sample a feast of traditional, regional Vietnamese food for US$5 to US$6 each. Poke around the outside edge first, where cooks at individual stations make their specialities, and let the lovely fragrances whet your appetite.

Tib Restaurant
Add: 187 Hai BaTrung street, District 3
Tel: 829 7242
Mains: 45,000-55,000d
Housed in a Sino-French villa down a quiet alleyway, Tib does good Hue-style dishes and a mean jackfruit salad with grilled sesame. It offers a tasty variety of vegetaria;. specialities as well.

Tan Nam Restaurant
Add: 60-62 Dong Du street
Tel: 829 8634
Mains: 30,000d
With appealing traditional decor and fine food, Tan Nam has good atmosphere and service.

Nam Giao
Add: 136/15 Le Thanh Ton street
Tel:825 0261
Mains: 6000-10,000d
Tucked away in an alley of cosmetic shops near Ben Thanh Market, Nam Giao is delicious and always packed with locals. The food here is Hue-style and superb. There's a simple photo menu.

Bo Tung Xeo
Add: 31 Ly Tu Trong street
Tel: 825 1330
This popular indoor-outdoor eatery in the city centre serves tasty Vietnamese barbecue. The house speciality is tender marinated beef (30,000d) that you grill over charcoal right at your table. It's served with salad. There are also good seafood dishes on the menu and the cheerful staff speak English.

More good Vietnamese food:

Nam An
Add: 22-36 Nguyen Hue street
Tel: 822 0246
Mains: 30,000d
Modelled on a Buddhist temple, with indoor-outdoor seating.

Restaurant 19
Add: 19 Ngo Buc Ke street
Tel: 829 8882
Mains around: 25,000d
Try the very tasty variation on Hanoi's fish cakes (cha ca) and decent Thai dishes.

Restaurant 13
Add: 13 Ngo Due Ke street
Tel: 823 9314
Highly popular with locals and expats alike.

Cool (Kinh Bac)
Add: 30 Dong Khoi street
Tel: 8291364

Lac Thien
Add: 28/25 Bui Vien street
Tel: 837 1621
Mains 10,000-20.000d
Cloned straight from the trio of travellers restaurants run by deaf people in Hue, Lac Thien serves excellent food. Its Hue-style dishes are recommended.

Pho Bo
Add: 96 Bui Vien street
A classic hole-in-the-wall that whips up tasty bowls of beef noodle soup (5000d).

Banh Xeo 46A
Add: 46A Dinh Cong Trang street
Tel: 824 1110
Banh xeo, the Vietnamese rice -fluor crêpe stuffed with bean sprouts, prawns and pork (there's also a vegetarian version), has been known to induce swoons of gastronomic delight. Come here to try some of the best Banh Xeo (17,000d) in Ho Chi Minh city.

Huong Lai
Add: 38 Ly Tu Trong street
Tel: 822 6814
Email: jins@hcm.fpt.vn
Set lunch/ dinner: 50,000-90,000d
Upstairs in this airy loft with an open-beamed ceiling, big windows look onto the park and shade trees along Ly Tu Trong street. Diners are treated to soothing jazz accompanying lovely multicourse Vietnamese meals. The kitchen and waitstaff here are disadvantaged or former street children, who receive valuable job training, education and a place to live if they're homeless. Jin, the owner, distributes diners' donations among local orphanages (check out his donation book) and creates a peaceful, delicious haven.

Sésame
Add: 153 Xo Viet Nghe Tinh street
Tel: 899 3378
Email: triangleghvn@hcmc.netnam.vn
Set meals: 90,000-120,000d
Opened hour: 11.30am-2pm and 6.30-9.30pm
Another hospitality training school for disadvantages! or orphaned children, Sésame was set up by the French NGO Triangle Generation Hu-manitaire. Outside on the flagstone patio, bamboo-strip tables await, adorned with candles and gerbera daisies. The butter-yellow walls in the dining room are brightly inviting as well. French-Vietnamese dishes made with fresh local ingredients are delicious and beautifully presented, and the sweet staff are eager to please.