There is a brand new food street about to appear right in the center of Ho Chi Minh City.

After getting a new look, Phan Xich Long food street, Phu Nhuan District (HCMC) is extremely bustling. Along both sides of the street, there are many food brands from luxury restaurants to popular eateries. Notably, not only food businesses but also many other services and entertainment activities are available here.

Phan Xich Long Food Street is more than 1.5km long, stretching from the Phan Xich Long - Phan Dang Luu intersection to Van Kiep Street in Phu Nhuan District. Although it has not officially opened, business activities at this food street are extremely bustling.

A large billboard was erected right at the beginning of Phan Xich Long Street, at the intersection with Phan Dang Luu (Phu Nhuan District).

THAO PHUONG

THAO PHUONG

Arriving at Phan Xich Long food street on a weekend evening, the writer was overwhelmed by the crowdedness and bustle of the shops. The sidewalk area in front of the restaurants is very wide, so despite the large number of customers and vehicles, there is still enough space for pedestrians. At the restaurants and cafes, customers come and go continuously, with almost no empty space.

In the evening, Phan Xich Long food street is very bustling.

THAO PHUONG

THAO PHUONG

Customers' motorbikes are parked tightly in front of restaurants and eateries.

THAO PHUONG

THAO PHUONG

While busy guiding customers to their tables, Phuong Anh (23 years old), a receptionist at a Japanese restaurant, said that the restaurant is very crowded, especially on weekends. “I have worked at this branch for a year. Since Phan Xich Long Street became a culinary street, the appearance has changed a lot, so the number of customers has increased significantly. There are a lot of customers, there are almost no empty tables on weekends, and at night I probably welcome a few hundred customers,” Phuong Anh said.

Japanese restaurant staff busy welcoming and guiding guests

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The shops are crowded with young people, almost no empty seats left.

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Along both sides of the street are a variety of food stalls with very prominent and eye-catching decorative signs. A variety of stalls from hot pot buffet, grilled, Japanese, Korean, Thai dishes to typical Vietnamese dishes.

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Living near this food street, Ms. Tran Bich Phuong (32 years old), residing on Tran Huy Lieu Street, Ward 8 (Phu Nhuan District), shared: “Sometimes my family also comes here to eat. Here I have many familiar restaurants such as vermicelli with tofu, vermicelli with grilled pork... specialties of my hometown. The prices here are a bit higher than other places, but in return, the food is of good quality, clean and the service is very good. Recently, I have seen many other restaurants opening, more crowded and bustling”.

Motorbikes are neatly arranged to leave a path for pedestrians.

THAO PHUONG

THAO PHUONG

THAO PHUONG

Coming here with friends to eat and experience the services at the food street, Nguyen Huong Giang, a student at the Foreign Trade University, shared: “We just went out to eat. The first time I came here, I was overwhelmed because there were so many shops and diverse foods to choose from. After eating, we parked our cars at the restaurant and went for a walk because this street was so bustling and crowded, the sidewalks here are quite wide and comfortable to walk.”

Besides eating and drinking, there are other services such as karaoke, shopping, hotels, beauty salons...

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Mr. Nguyen Manh Hung (50 years old), a security guard at a coffee shop in this food street, shared that in the past few months, this area has been very busy and crowded, especially in the evening. “I heard that the food street will officially open in a few days. There is a variety of services here, from food, coffee to karaoke, hotels, banks, convenience stores... After the pandemic, this area was not as crowded as before, there were many signs for renting premises. The business situation has just started to improve again, before there were many vacant premises but now they are all rented out,” said Mr. Hung.

The popular hot pot restaurant in the culinary street is also very crowded.

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Besides the luxury restaurants, there are also affordable eateries with prices suitable for students.

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Just coming out of a hot pot restaurant, Nguyen Hoang Minh (24 years old), living on Nguyen Kiem Street, Ward 9 (Phu Nhuan District), shared: “It's quite close from my house to here. From now on, this will probably be a place we often visit every weekend. Everything is available here, with a variety of food and drinks with prices ranging from a few tens to a few hundred thousand dong. In addition, there are also entertainment and shopping services. In general, I think it's quite reasonable to go out here without having to travel far because everything is available in this area.”

Thanhnien.vn