Phu Quoc Night Market – A true foodie’s paradise on Phu Quoc Island

Phu Quoc night market’s Entrance (Source: Unknown)Phu Quoc night market is an attractive destination you should not miss when traveling to this beautiful tropical island. Here you can savour the local cuisine, comfortably shop and eat, and immerse yourself in the hustle and bustle of Phu Quoc at night. Join Vinpearl for a walk around Phu Quoc night market right now!

1. About Phu Quoc Night Market

• Location: The market is located at 6 Bach Dang street, in the heart of Duong Dong Town, Phu Quoc Island (now Phu Quoc Special Zone under An Giang Province)
• Note: Previously, there was Dinh Cau Night Market on Vo Thi Sau Street, about 150m away from Bach Dang night market. However, in October 2016, Dinh Cau Night Market was officially closed and it merged with Bach Dang night market to form the current Phu Quoc night market.
• Since the merger, the market area has become a more open and clean space, as there is much more room, the stalls are more spacious and offer a wider range of items. The new market can also welcome more visitors at the same time than they did previously.
• Opening hours: daily 6:00 – 11:30 PM. The stalls start selling at about 3:00-4:00 PM, but the market only becomes the most vibrant with its nightlife scenery starting from 8:00 PM. Depending on the weather and number of customers, opening hours may be shorter or longer, sometimes it can be crowded even until 2-3 am the next day.

Phu Quoc night market has a total of more than 100 stalls, divided into 2 zones:

• Zone 1 is located at the beginning of the market. consisting of courteous food stalls and local carts that sell seafood and dried specialties as gifts (fish sauce, sim wine, dried seafood, etc.)
• Zone 2 is situated at the end of the market. there are souvenir stalls with handicrafts, Phu Quoc pearls, etc. at reasonable prices.

2. Best things to do in Phu Quoc night market

2.1. Exploring Phu Quoc cuisine

One travel experience that you should remember is that you should go to stalls and vendors that gather many locals. Because in those places, you will find most of the great local specialties. In particular, you can learn about the culture and lifestyle of the local people right at the market.

Just walk along the market, you can see all these eateries.

• Seafood: Fresh, diverse, served with specific sauce. The aroma and flavor are irresistible. All the vendors both allow eating directly at the booths or takeaway. Every dish is cooked in various ways such as deep-fried, pan-fried, grilled, boiled, and steamed.

The most recommended cooking ways are steamed and grilled (Source: Unknown)

• Street Snacks: We highly recommended Ice cream rolls, Vietnamese grilled bananas wrapped in sticky rice with coconut cream, Vietnamese pizza, Chouchou peanuts.

Jaggery bò cake with coconut cream at Phu Quoc night market (Source: Unknown)

• Beverages: Fresh juices, smoothies from local farms, soft drinks, local wines, and beers.

Waxed coconut palm jaggery is priced from 30,000 – 40,000 VND/piece (Source: Unknown)

2.2. Shopping

At the stalls at Zone 2 of the market, you can buy souvenirs or Phu Quoc specialties as gifts for family and friends.

Phu Quoc’s most bought souvenirs:

• One of the island’s most bought gifts by tourists is pearl

However, you have to check carefully when buy pearls, since Phu Quoc pearls have many types, different quality, and different prices. (Source: Collected)

• Besides pearls, you can buy other souvenirs such as bracelets, keychains, printed shirts, wind chimes, engraved wooden paintings, tote bags, handbags, handmade passport cases, etc.

Souvenir stalls in Phu Quoc night market (Source: @yune_huynh)Phu Quoc’s specialties as gifts:

• Myrtle wine

When hunting for Phu Quoc specialties, don’t miss the opportunity to enjoy this delicious one-of-a-kind myrtle wine. Phu Quoc myrtle wine is made from ripe myrtle fruit, picked from Ham Ninh forest. This special wine is only available in Phu Quoc pearl island, often bought as gifts by tourists.

Phu Quoc myrtle wine (Source: Unknown)

• Dried squid with tamarind sauce 

This is the No.1 tasty snack among all specialties in Phu Quoc. The rim squid here is sophisticatedly processed with a sweet and chewy texture from squid, spicy from chilli, and sour from tamarind. Before your purchase, pay attention to choosing packages with a long shelf life and fresh looking sauce. That’s a good pack of squid right there!

A plate of dried squid with tamarind sauce (Source: Unknown)

• Phu Quoc fish sauce

Phu Quoc fish sauce has long been famous both in its home country and abroad, not only because of its high protein content, characteristic color, fragrant scent, and delicious taste but also because of the long-standing tradition of making fish sauce. Just taste it once and you will forever remember the special taste of this delightful fish sauce.

Phu Quoc fish sauce (Source: Unknown)

• Phu Quoc pepper

Cuisine in Phu Quoc is extremely diverse, from delicious dishes to famous spices. In particular, Phu Quoc pepper is very popular because it is more fragrant and delicious than in other regions and can be easily brought back as gifts for relatives. Mothers at home will surely love this gift.

Phu Quoc pepper (Source: Unknown)

3. Top tips for visiting Phu Quoc Night Market

To complete your handbook for discovering Phu Quoc night market, keep the following points in mind:

• The best time to visit Phu Quoc is during the dry season which lasts from October till March.
• Check the weather.
• The night market only operates in the evening, most crowded often from 19:00 to 22:00.
• You should rent a hotel in Tran Hung Dao, Ba Muoi Thang Tu, and Bach Dang streets, … to easily walk to the Phu Quoc night market.
• Have some knowledge to pick fresh seafood.
• Keep a close watch on your belongings in the peak season.

Now that you know all the information about Phu Quoc night market, what are you waiting for? Book a plane ticket, carry your backpack, and discover this beautiful Phu Quoc island!