15/10/2021
Places to sell souvenirs should not be missed in the city
In the city center there is a wide range of wonderful handicraft shops, delectable agricultural products and unique items from local brands. This makes it difficult to decide what to buy because there are so many interesting things. Let us guide you to choose the best souvenirs in Saigon.
Souvenirs in the style of propaganda paintings
Propaganda paintings are associated with Vietnam's revolutionary history, contributing to raising the people's spirit and arousing the patriotism of the people. The main image is President Ho Chi Minh, workers, farmers, soldiers and pigeons drawn with bright colors, highly symbolic lines and rhythms, creating a strong impression on viewers. Besides, the semantics of the sentences in the pictures are clear and easy to understand and remember. There are many places in the city that sell both paintings and souvenirs decorated in the style of propaganda examples: T-shirts, cups, watches, pen cases,... such as the Independence Palace, the Saigon Central Post Office and Ben Thanh Market. Or you can also buy at:
Saigon Kitsch Store, No. 43, Ton That Thiep Street, Ben Nghe Ward, District 1.
Hoa Sen propaganda poster, No. 25, Dong Khoi street, Ben Nghe ward, District 1.
Dan Sinh Market, Yersin Street, Nguyen Thai Binh Ward, District 1.
Coffee and tea
“Tea and coffee are parts of Saigonese life. Both types of drinks are available throughout the city, commonly found in iced milk coffee, black coffee and lotus or jasmine tea.”
Tea and coffee are great souvenirs that you can buy to take home at an affordable price. If you are afraid to bargain and worry about quality, you should visit the stores of trusted brands such as Trung Nguyen Legend, The Coffee House, Phuc Long Coffee & Tea, La Viet Coffee and Highlands Coffee. Most stores sell a set of stainless steel coffee filters and packaged ground coffee. If you like the kind of coffee and tea that are handcrafted by locals, you can visit the O Tong Ky Tea Shop that has been sold for 104 years on Phan Chau Trinh Street, near the West Gate of Ben Thanh Market. Or Ba Lu racket coffee shop has been selling for 67 years in Phung Hung market, District 5. At the shop, there is a set of small coffee beans and packaged roasted coffee beans for sale.
Ceramics and lacquerware
Souvenir ceramics are loved for their quality and meticulous decoration by the artisans who make them. Similarly, traditional lacquerware with 3 shades of brown, black and vermilion, elaborately and meticulously crafted by artisans, is the ideal suggestion to decorate your home or give it to your loved ones. Pottery and lacquerware are available at the tourist site and Ben Thanh Market. You can also visit Authentique Home at 113 Le Thanh Ton Street, District 1, to find some beautiful pottery and lacquerware, or Sadéc District at 63 Xuan Thuy Street, Thu Duc City to search for contemporary style handmade ceramics.
If you visit Cu Chi Tunnels, you can visit the 27/7 Handicraft Workshop to buy lacquerware that is completely handcrafted by disabled artisans. And at Minh Phuong Lacquerware at 40 Phung Khac Khoan Street, District 1, in addition to choosing to buy unique lacquer products, you can admire the entire process of artisans creating the finished product. The most special brand is the domestic ceramic brand Minh Long has more than 100 years of producing many lines of high-class ceramics, rich in culture and with high artistic value. The unique style of teapots crafted by Minh Long help separate each layer of the flavor of the tea leaves, keeping the pure taste of the water from the beginning to the end. You can buy it at Minh Long I store at 17 Ba Huyen Thanh Quan street, District 3.
Silk and Ao Dai
Silk has existed in Vietnam for thousands of years, they are premium garments with shiny, smooth and aristocratic beauty. Raw silk will make a great gift for parents and ladies, or fashion connoisseurs. In the city, you can find silk at local markets such as Tan Dinh Market, Tan Binh Market or Soai Kinh Lam Fabric Market. If you have no experience in choosing or are afraid to bargain, you can buy at stores with trusted brands such as Thai Tuan Silk or Toan Thinh Silk.
Sewing ao dai according to size is one of the souvenirs you should buy in the city, especially the traditional ao dai. It usually takes about a week or more to choose the fabric, style and tailor. However, there are a few sewing shops that only take about 4 hours to complete, you can visit the tailors on Mac Thi Buoi, Dong Khoi, Pasteur streets:
Miss Ao Dai Store, 21 Nguyen Trung Ngan Street, Ben Nghe Ward, District 1.
Ngoc Chau Ao Dai Shop, 148 Nguyen Thien Thuat Street, Ward 3, District 3.
Lien Huong Ao Dai Shop, 111 Pasteur Street, Ward 6, District 3.
Paintings and hand embroidery products
Hand-embroidered paintings and products are a harmonious combination between talented embroidery techniques and creative painting art. Embroidery fabrics, thread rolls and thread dyeing of traditional hand-embroidered paintings and products are all hand-woven and hand-sewn, handed down for hundreds of years. There are tens to thousands of different thread colors interwoven in a hand-embroidered work depending on the size and pattern. Artists have to spend a lot of time, meticulous effort, ingenuity to complete the work.
“ The most unique is the line of double-sided hand-embroidered paintings, which means that both sides of the picture, whether left or right, are embroidered paintings, dedicated to the nobility in the past. To embroider two-sided paintings requires the artist to have seniority, high imagination and spend many times more time than ordinary single-sided embroidery.”
If you are interested in the line of paintings or fashion clothes, wallets, tablecloths, etc., in hand-embroidered style, you can buy them at the following addresses:
Saigon XQ Store, 106 Le Loi Street, Ben Thanh Ward, District 1.
Kim Phuong hand-embroidered sewing shop, 98 Le Loi street, Ben Thanh ward, District 1.
Ninh Khuong Hand Embroidery Shop, 34 Le Loi Street, Ben Nghe Ward, District 1.
