The British magazine Time Out has released its 2026 ranking of the world's best street food cities, and Ho Chi Minh City has taken first place for the first time. Bangkok came in ninth, and Singapore, long a fixture in the top 10, dropped out entirely. For Vietnam enthusiasts wondering how to plan their next street food route, this result offers a clue for narrowing down where to go.
The ranking combines a resident satisfaction survey with expert assessments, and Ho Chi Minh City scored a 63% approval rating. The gap at the top is narrow, so let's unpack what earned this city its praise, dish by dish and neighborhood by neighborhood.
Ho Chi Minh City takes first place with 63%, and Hanoi also makes the top 10 at No. 7
Time Out published the ranking on August 4, 2026. The index combines interviews with city residents and scoring from an expert panel, measuring food quality, price, and variety of eating styles through how locals actually experience it. Two Vietnamese cities made the top 10, with Ho Chi Minh City earning the highest score.
| Rank | City | Approval rating |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam) | 63% |
| 2 | Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) | 62% |
| 3 | Jakarta (Indonesia) | 59% |
| 4 | Taipei (Taiwan) | 59% |
| 5 | Mexico City (Mexico) | 58% |
| 7 | Hanoi (Vietnam) | 57% |
| 9 | Bangkok (Thailand) | 56% |
| 10 | Mumbai (India) | 55% |
Source: Time Out's 2026 ranking. Approval rating is the share of satisfaction based on the resident survey.
Alleys and markets are at the heart of the score, with a boost from six Michelin stars
What lifted Ho Chi Minh City in this survey wasn't its tourist attractions but the food of everyday life. The expert score came in at around 70%, and the share of local residents rating the local food “tasty” or “very tasty” reportedly topped 70%. The numbers reflect affordable prices and the sheer range of ways to eat, from alleys (hem) to markets to street corner stalls.
The dishes cited as central are pho, banh mi, and hu tieu. As for neighborhoods, alongside Ben Thanh Market in the center, the Chinese quarter of Cholon and Nam Ky Khoi Nghia Street, which runs north-south through District 3, were named. The high end runs deep too, with six Michelin-starred restaurants in the city. The emblem of that is Anan Saigon, which turns Vietnamese street food into fine dining.an $8 banh mi filled with wagyu beef— the dish that sparked debate reflects a Saigon where street flavors are now climbing the price ladder.
Local reaction backs up the ranking, too. Duong Thanh Dao, deputy chair in charge of public relations at the Ho Chi Minh City Culinary Association, explains the top spot by saying the city has nearly every element a modern traveler looks for — good taste, variety, easy access, affordable prices, and a lively experience. The foundation for that is people arriving from across the country and bringing regional flavors with them, deepening the range of options in the alleys. In a domestic vote on Vietnam's best food city among VnExpress International readers, Ho Chi Minh City also came out on top with Hanoi in second, out of roughly 1,600 votes.
What set Bangkok and Singapore apart
What stands out in this result is the slide of two cities long synonymous with Southeast Asian street food. Bangkok placed ninth with 56%, and Singapore didn't make the top 10 at all. It's not that either city's street food culture has declined. What created the gap was the measure of “how much everyday food remains out on the street.”
Singapore's food has shifted from outdoor stalls into indoor hawker centers, trading street-level energy for hygiene and comfort. Bangkok has been clearing out street vendors in tourist areas, and the more a street draws travelers, the more its stalls take on a “for show” character. Ho Chi Minh City, by contrast, turns the everyday sight of residents crouched down slurping pho each morning straight into a tourism asset. This No. 1 spot is different in kind from other cities' rankings, in that it recognizes food embedded in daily life rather than a manufactured street food district.
How should Japanese travelers plan their route?
To turn these numbers into an actual meal, a three-part route works well. Start the morning with a bowl of noodles around Ben Thanh Market — plenty of stalls there are used to tourists, and pointing at the menu gets the price across. From midday into the evening, head one street back from the main road to the stalls in the alleys. Places where local customers turn over quickly tend to be good bets, andif most of the customers are locals, the food is reliable— that local rule of thumb is a useful guide. In the evening, try Chinese-Vietnamese hu tieu or dim sum in Cholon, and you'll get a taste of a different food culture within the same city.
It's worth keeping hygiene and pricing in mind too. When choosing a stall, look for one that cooks food to order and serves noodles in hot broth rather than over ice — that's a safe rule of thumb. Confirming the price before you order avoids getting hit with a tourist markup. If you want to compare with Hanoi,a morning-to-night route through the Old Quarter of Hanoi, the world's No. 7 cityis worth reading alongside this one — it shows how different street food looks in the north versus the south.
Choosing your next meal on your next trip
Ho Chi Minh City's No. 1 ranking shows that what residents eat every day, not Michelin stars or a tourist-oriented street food district, rose to the top by a global measure. If you're planning your itinerary, starting at Ben Thanh Market and extending out to the alleys and Cholon, simply switching venues for morning, midday, and evening, lets you taste your way through the reasons this city was recognized. Chasing a bowl where the locals line up, rather than following famous names on a map — that's the route that makes the deepest sense of Saigon's street food.
