Fodor's Expert Review Binh Tay Market

This wholesale market, in a colonial-era Chinese-style building about a half-hour drive from downtown, is not so much a shopping destination (unless you want to buy spices, herbal medicine, or textiles) as a spectacle to behold, particularly if you get here before 8 am to savor the frenetic atmosphere at its peak. With more than 2,000 stalls, Binh Tay can get pretty chaotic. In the central courtyard a small shrine honors the market's founder, Quach Dam (1863–1927), a disabled Chinese immigrant who started out collecting scrap before making his fortune. The food court inside serves a wide variety of Vietnamese street food and Chinese-influenced dishes—great for a replenishing brunch after an early arrival.