At 23 Lê Thị Phỉ Street beside Chợ Hàng Bông, Bánh Bèo Bì Cô Xuân stays open until 10pm, serving up plate after plate of steamed rice cakes topped with golden toasted rice powder, in either savory or sweet fillings — a late-night snack the locals know well.
Reported by a Ho Chi Minh City women's newspaper and a tourism magazine, cross-confirmed by several independent outlets
Ho Chi Minh City's Báo Phụ Nữ (Women's Newspaper) ran a feature, "Đi Mỹ Tho ăn 'bánh bèo rắc thính,'" reprinted by the Ho Chi Minh City tourism magazine tcdulichtphcm.vn, and independent travel outlets mia.vn and Viet Fun Travel cross-confirm the address at 23 Lê Thị Phỉ Street and the shop's "Cô Xuân" name. It comes in savory and sweet fillings and costs only around 10,000–15,000 VND, making it an affordable, everyday snack and late-night favorite.
Honest clarification: bánh bèo itself originated in Hue, and the My Tho version is a local adaptation topped with toasted rice powder and served hot
It has to be said honestly that bánh bèo itself is a snack that originated in central Vietnam's Hue — the English Wikipedia entry "Bánh bèo" explicitly records this origin — and wasn't native to My Tho. What sets the My Tho version apart is "rắc thính" (topped with toasted rice powder) and being served hot, a way of eating clearly different from Hue's cold, small-dish version. This is a southern local adaptation, and this entry honestly notes it as a variant introduced from elsewhere rather than a My Tho invention.
How to Eat It Like a Local
- Try one savory and one sweet to compare — eating them hot brings out the crisp aroma of the toasted rice powder.
- Before 10pm is your best window; Cô Xuân's shop is located right beside Chợ Hàng Bông.
- Priced affordably, it makes a great late-night snack beyond a regular meal.
An Honest Look at This Snack's Origins
- Bánh bèo itself originated in Hue, as explicitly recorded on the English Wikipedia — it isn't native to My Tho.
- The My Tho version is topped with toasted rice powder and served hot, clearly different from Hue's cold, small-dish version.
- This entry honestly notes it as a local adaptation of a dish introduced from elsewhere, not a My Tho invention.
A plate of steamed rice cakes dusted with toasted rice powder arrives hot at the table, carrying a southern reinterpretation of a Hue classic. This dish's roots lie in central Vietnam's Hue, but My Tho locals took it, added a scoop of toasted rice powder, and turned it into the warmth of their own neighborhood late-night snack.