Thuy's stall

The air is thick. It clings to your skin, leaving a salty sheen on your lips and a heaviness in your lungs. Which explains the shirtless passer-by ambling through the scene, seemingly unfazed by the drizzle or the curious lens aimed in his direction. The damp pavement mirrors the neon from nearby shops, making streaks of red and blue that shimmer at your feet.

In among all that chaos, a row of makeshift market stands lines both sides of the street. Under one of the few that are lit, an overhead bulb casts a warm halo over Thuy's stall, showing large cuts of beef, marbled flanks destined for tomorrow's pho, while the faint smell of raw meat mingles with the savoury notes of broth simmering at the neighbouring stands.

There's a visceral energy here. The taste of the city lingers in the back of your throat, a heady mix of exhaust, spice and the electric promise of street life.

Chợ Tôn Thất Đạm

Tôn Thất Đạm Street runs through Saigon's old centre, close to the river, and for decades its footpaths have held a market of stalls and kiosks. People call it chợ cũ, the old market.

How old it is depends on who you ask. Saigoneer traces the name back to the first Bến Thành market, which traded along the Chợ Vải canal. The canal was filled in in 1887 to make what is now Nguyễn Huệ Boulevard, and once a new Bến Thành market opened on its present site, which Wikipedia dates to 1914, the traders moved to Tôn Thất Đạm. In that telling, the old market was known for imported goods, from American perfume to European cosmetics. The newspaper Sài Gòn Giải Phóng gives a shorter history: an informal market that sprang up in Nguyễn Thái Bình ward in 1967, moved to Hàm Nghi Street, and then settled on Tôn Thất Đạm. A 2022 Saigoneer piece also dates the kiosk market itself to the late 1960s.

The city has been trying to move it on for a long time. Relocation was first discussed in 2003. A closure was approved in 2013, but the documents guiding it were classified, and as of July 2023 the market still hadn't closed. In 2022 it had 201 registered vendors. It was still trading on the night of this photo.

What pho is

Pho is a soup of rice noodles in broth, with herbs and meat, usually beef or chicken. It began in northern Vietnam, with cooks from Nam Định usually credited, though sources place its start anywhere from the late 1800s to the first years of the 20th century. When the country was divided in 1954, many northerners moved south and brought pho with them. The southern version, the one you'll find in Saigon, has a sweeter, darker broth, and comes with bean sprouts, herbs such as Thai basil, hoisin and sriracha.

The broth is the slow part. Beef bones are simmered for hours, up to 12 according to National Geographic, with charred onion and ginger and spices such as star anise and cinnamon. In Hà Nội people mostly eat pho for breakfast, though it's sold all day.

The beef

A pho menu names its beef by the cut. Tái is rare steak, sliced thin and added just before serving, so the hot broth cooks it lightly. Chín is brisket or another tough cut that has been cooked in the broth. Nạm is flank, rough and chewy, and a different thing from Western flank steak. Gầu is brisket with a thick layer of fat. Gân is tendon, soft and gelatinous.