Can Tho doesn't get enough credit as a serious food city. Most visitors come for Cai Rang floating market and leave — but if you're staying overnight, the local bowls of "hu tieu My Tho" are reason enough to linger through breakfast.
What Makes Can Tho's Version Different
Hu tieu My Tho originated in My Tho city, about 100 km northeast, but the Mekong Delta (메콩 델타 / 湄公河三角洲 / メコンデルタ) has a habit of absorbing dishes and quietly improving them. Can Tho's rendition leans sweeter than the Phnom Penh-influenced styles you find further south, with a pork-bone broth that's been simmered long enough to go slightly cloudy and rich. Toppings typically stack: thin-sliced pork, whole shrimp, a halved quail egg, and sometimes a hit of dried squid for depth. The noodles themselves are the thin, slightly translucent rice variety — not the thicker strands you'd get with "bun" — and they arrive either in broth or dry (kho) with broth on the side.
Order kho if you want to taste the components properly. The broth comes in a small bowl for sipping, and you toss everything in a tablespoon of pork lard and fish sauce before eating. It's better than it sounds.
The Shortlist
Quan Hu Tieu Ba Lua
Address: 23 Nguyen An Ninh, Ninh Kieu District Hours: 5:30 AM – 11 AM Price: 35,000–45,000 VND
This is the one regulars point to when you ask where they actually eat. Ba Lua has been operating out of the same narrow shophouse for over two decades. The broth is on the sweeter end — some people find it too much, but that sweetness is balanced by a proper hit of white pepper and a pile of raw bean sprouts that you drop in yourself. The quail eggs are always cooked right: firm white, runny yolk. Get there before 8 AM or you'll be eating whatever's left.
Hu Tieu Kho Co Tam
Address: 47 Tran Phu, Ninh Kieu District Hours: 6 AM – 12 PM Price: 30,000–40,000 VND
Co Tam is the dry-bowl specialist on this list. She's been at the same corner spot for years, and the kho version here is the one to benchmark everything else against. The noodles arrive undressed — you mix in the lard and condiments yourself, then spoon in broth as you go. The shrimp are small but fresh, the pork slices thin enough to be tender. Cash only, plastic stools, no English menu. Point at what the person next to you is eating.
Stalls at Cai Rang Floating Market (on the water)
Getting there: 6 km south of central Can Tho (껀터 / 芹苴 / カントー) via Cai Rang Bridge Hours: 5 AM – 8 AM (boats serving food thin out fast after this) Price: 40,000–55,000 VND
Yes, it's the tourist market, and yes, the prices reflect that. But the hu tieu (후띠우 / 粿条 / フーティウ) boats — usually two or three of them, easy to spot by the broth pots — are serving the same bowl that the wholesale vendors on neighboring boats are eating for breakfast. Hire a small rowing boat from Ninh Kieu pier (around 150,000–200,000 VND for 90 minutes) and ask your rower to pull alongside the noodle boats. Eating on the water at 6 AM, with the fog still sitting on the river, is the kind of experience that actually earns the description. The broth here tends to be lighter than the shophouse versions — the floating-market cooks seem to know tourists want something gentle.
Hu Tieu My Tho Thanh Xuan
Address: 119 Ly Tu Trong, An Hoa Ward Hours: 6 AM – 1 PM Price: 35,000–50,000 VND
A bit further from the riverfront, which means the crowd is almost entirely local. Thanh Xuan is the place if you want a more complete bowl — they add fried shallots, a spoonful of minced pork fat, and thin ribbons of dried squid to the standard toppings. The broth has a deeper, slightly smoky note from what I suspect is charred onion in the stock base. The owner's son handles the morning rush and moves fast. Good iced "ca phe sua da" from the cart next door if you need caffeine to start.
Quan Hoa – Hu Tieu Chay (Vegetarian Option)
Address: 88 De Tham, Binh Thuy District Hours: 6:30 AM – 11 AM Price: 25,000–35,000 VND
Not everyone wants pork at 6 AM, and Quan Hoa does a vegetarian hu tieu that doesn't feel like a compromise. Mushroom-based broth, tofu, fried shallots, and the same thin rice noodles. It's lighter but surprisingly complex — they use dried shiitake and kombu in the stock. Worth noting for anyone traveling with vegetarians or observing Buddhist meal days (the 1st and 15th of the lunar month, when many locals eat chay).
Photo by Duy Nguyen on Pexels
Skip This One
The large hu tieu spot on the corner of Hai Ba Trung near the night market — it's easy to find because it has photos on the menu and someone standing outside waving people in. The broth tastes like it came from a packet, the shrimp are frozen, and the price (65,000–75,000 VND) is nearly double what you'd pay two streets over for a better bowl. The location preys on people who've just arrived and haven't oriented yet.
Photo by FOX ^.ᆽ.^= ∫ on Pexels
Practical Notes
All of these places except the floating market close by early afternoon — hu tieu is firmly a breakfast and brunch dish in the Mekong Delta. Bring small bills (10,000 and 20,000 VND notes); the shophouse stalls rarely have change for 500,000. If you're pairing this with a visit to Can Tho's central market area, the Ninh Kieu riverside spots are walkable from most guesthouses in the district.
Last updated · May 26, 2026 · independently researched, never sponsored.
