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There's a growing trend in Ho Chi Minh City’s shopping scene of in-the-know locals and expats opening up enticing boutiques selling fair trade items, housewares, and very stylish locally made items, ranging from fashion to coffee cups.
Considered a traditional fine art of Vietnam, lacquerware is beautiful, long-lasting and—best of all for those with luggage weight restrictions—light. Most tourist shops and markets hawk the same kind of budget lacquerware. Higher quality items come at a price and are usually found in specialty shops. Some of the newer high-rise shopping complexes in downtown Ho Chi Minh City are home to high-end international brands, such as Versace, Jimmy Choo, and Prada. On the other end of the scale, markets offer a cheap and cheerful experience. They are generally open from sunrise until sunset, although some vendors just outside the markets stay open later.
By law, all transactions should be completed using dong, even if prices are quoted in U.S. dollars.
Beautifully soft handmade leather handbags, resort wear, and accessories (including jewelry using semiprecious stones) here are all one-of-a-kind, often featuring intricate details, such as fish leather and tourmaline. Items are ethically produced, made in Vietnam from sustainable materials.
One of Ho Chi Minh City's newest shopping complexes, Crescent Mall, in the Phu My Hung expat area, has just about everything you could want in one shopping experience: a supermarket, an eight-screen movie theater, fashion boutiques, specialty shops, restaurants and cafés, furniture and housewares, electronics, and a children's entertainment area.
Ho Chi Minh City's flower market is a vibrant and colorful affair. Busiest early in the morning when the bulk of the wholesale trade is conducted, the market continues to trade until midafternoon. The area is also home to a Khmer community, so break up your wandering with some Cambodian specialties like soup laced with the pungent prahok (fermented fish paste).
Finely crafted Vietnamese lacquerware in traditional and modern designs, as well as a range of wooden products, are all made at Nga's factory in District 9.
Established in 2016 by artist Ti-A, The Factory is dynamic destination for art, and home to curated exhibitions, workshops, live arts, talks, and film screenings. Check the website to find out what's on.
This teahouse and antiques shop offers an eclectic mix of small, large, and very large collectibles, objets d'art, art, silverware, and vintage furnishings from Europe, North Africa, and Asia, collected by globe-trotting Australian chef and hotelier David Campbell. David exercises his chef muscles in the teahouse.
Regular art exhibitions are hosted in this boutique art studio in District 2's Thao Dien area, and it also runs workshops for adults and children. It's particularly popular with expats for its regular Wine and Canvas painting evenings.
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