My favorite genre of Saigon food places is most definitely address-less street vendors. With no name, no fixed location, no menu, no contact information, before Google Maps and smartphones, whether you can satisfy your craving for their food purely depended on the strength of your memory (to find them again) and the level of luck the universe bestowed on you that day.

While Gỏi khô bò Lê Văn Tám’s schedule is a little more dependable than the average street vendor, a tiny jolt of delight still swells in me whenever I turn the corner at Hai Bà Trưng Street to find their usual glass display filled with shredded papaya there. Also known as xắp xắp or xấp xấp — an onomatopoeia for the clanking of scissors cutting pieces of beef jerky — gỏi khô bò is one of Saigon’s oldest street snacks.

According to dì Sáu, the main proprietor of this cart, she started working here as a young lass about half a century ago, when it was run by her aunt and a plate was 50 xu (VND0.5) — this currency denomination doesn’t even exist anymore, just to show how historic the place is. After the aunt retired, she took over and has been serving countless papaya salad portions since, right at the same spot on Hai Bà Trưng Street overlooking the lush foliage of Lê Văn Tám Park.

The cart’s longevity has turned it into a rare culinary intersection of generations of Saigoneers: my Gen X dentist knows it, my Gen Y friends know it, and my Gen Z coworkers have also shared plates with her classmates. Everybody went through the exact same experience: settle down on the park sidewalk across the street, yell out your orders, and someone will cross the traffic to deliver your food.

Today, the operation has been upgraded to include a park-side satellite serving station run by her relatives for dine-in guests, and dì Sáu’s original cart is only for takeaways. The “dining area,” however, is still the raised cement edges of the street trees, and the “seats” are cut-out pieces of linoleum. Less than five minutes after we order, the gỏi khô bò arrives on iconic aluminum plates, as timeless as the operation itself.

Gỏi khô bò comprises finely shredded young papaya, chunks of black five-spiced marinated beef, a heap of golden shrimp crackers, a sweet-and-sour soy dressing, and optional chili sauce. At VND28,000 a plate in 2026, it’s not meant to be a full meal, but a refreshing snack to quell the summer heat. Here, the papaya is shredded more thoroughly, allowing it to soak up the sauce wonderfully — an excuse to consume a somewhat excessive amount of lip-smackingly umami dressing.

We finish our plates just in time for a bout of drizzle to sweep through the area. The street is suddenly filled with a rainbow of raincoats. Metallic plates of leftover sauces clank under the trees. This is the quintessential Saigon street food scene unfolding right before our eyes, like a carefully reconstructed museum diorama.

To sum up:

• Opening time: 12pm–8pm
• Parking: Use the park's parking lot
• Contact: N/A
• Average cost per person: $ (under VND100,000)
• Payment: Cash, Transfer
• Delivery app: ShopeeFood