Banh bao, the steamed bun with an egg inside
On this page
Banh bao is the steamed bun of Vietnam. Soft white dough wraps a fist-sized ball of seasoned pork, with a whole quail egg buried in the middle. It costs about the same as a coffee and it is breakfast for a great many people who have to eat it walking.
The bun is a Chinese dish that settled in and changed. The changes are the reason to try it here rather than assume you already know it.
What is inside a banh bao?
A classic pork bun holds minced pork seasoned with fish sauce and pepper, plus wood ear mushroom for crunch. Glass noodles bind it, and a peeled quail egg sits at the centre. Many add a slice of lap xuong, the sweet Chinese sausage, or a wedge of salted duck egg.
| Banh bao | Filling | Street price, 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Nhan thit | Pork, wood ear, glass noodles, quail egg | 10,000-25,000 dong |
| Xa xiu | Red char siu pork, as in the photograph | 25,000-35,000 dong |
| Chay | Plain dough, or tofu and vegetables | 12,000-20,000 dong |
| Nhan dua or dau xanh | Sweet coconut or mung bean paste | 15,000-25,000 dong |
| Kim sa | Runny salted egg custard | 30,000-45,000 dong |
The pork version is the one people mean when they name the bun without qualifying it. Start there, and break it open before the first bite to find where the egg is.
How is banh bao different from Chinese bao?
The Vietnamese bun is bigger, sweeter and softer than most Chinese baozi. Its dough carries milk, sugar and baking powder along with the yeast, so it steams up white and fluffy rather than chewy. A good one is close to eight or ten centimetres across.
The filling is cooked before it goes into the dough, which makes it dense rather than juicy. The quail egg is the real tell. Few baozi carry one, and almost every Vietnamese pork bun does.
The dish arrived with Chinese migrants, and the char siu version still says so. The bakeries of Cholon, around Binh Tay market in Saigon's District 5 and 6, make the buns that sit closest to the original.
What does a banh bao cost?
A banh bao from a street cart costs around 10,000 to 18,000 dong in 2026. That is well under a dollar at about 26,000 dong to the dollar. A neighbourhood bakery charges 15,000 to 25,000 for a bigger bun with more in it.
Convenience stores sell them packaged and warm for 20,000 to 35,000 dong, any hour of the day. The convenience store guide explains why that counter is where a lot of late snacking happens. Airport stalls charge several times the street price for the same bun.
Where do you buy banh bao?
The best buns come from a shop that makes nothing else. Look for a stacked aluminium steamer on the pavement and a sign reading BANH BAO. Those signs are common enough that one appears on our shop signs guide, and they mean the buns were made that morning.
Street carts are the second source and often the better one. Bakeries in glass-fronted chains are the third, and the buns there are reliable rather than memorable. In Hanoi the carts gather around the Old Quarter markets; in Saigon, around Cholon and the backpacker streets.
When do people eat banh bao?
The bun is a breakfast first, eaten between about 6am and 9am on the way to work or school. Carts sell out by half past nine. The Vietnamese breakfast guide sets the bun among the other things the city eats before ten.
The second shift is late at night. A bicycle with a steamer box on the back rides the residential lanes after dark, playing a recorded call through a speaker. That bicycle is one of the sounds of a Vietnamese city at eleven o'clock, along with the other street vendors who work the same hours.
Is there a vegetarian banh bao?
The vegetarian bun exists and has its own name, banh bao chay. Chay can mean a plain bun with nothing inside, eaten as bread, or a bun filled with tofu, mushroom and vegetables. Both are sold near pagodas, especially on the first and fifteenth of the lunar month.
Check the dough as well as the filling if you avoid animal products entirely. Some recipes use milk or lard. The vegetarian guide has the phrases for asking.
How do you eat one without making a mess?
Hold the bun in its paper and tear the top open first, so the steam escapes. A filling straight from the steamer is hot enough to burn, and the egg holds heat longest.
Nothing goes with it at a cart. Some shops offer chilli sauce or soy, and a bun with a glass of soy milk or an iced coffee is a full breakfast. At 15,000 dong it is one of the cheapest ways to eat that the cheap eating guide lists.
FAQ
What is banh bao?
Banh bao is the Vietnamese steamed bun: a soft, slightly sweet white dough wrapped around seasoned pork, wood ear mushroom, glass noodles and a whole quail egg. It came from southern Chinese baozi and is eaten as a breakfast or a snack on the move.
How much does banh bao cost in Vietnam?
Around 10,000 to 18,000 dong from a street cart in 2026 and 15,000 to 25,000 at a bakery. Convenience stores charge 20,000 to 35,000 for a packaged bun, and airport counters several times the street price for the same thing.
How is banh bao different from Chinese bao?
Banh bao is usually larger, sweeter and softer, because the dough carries milk and sugar as well as yeast. The filling is cooked before it is wrapped, so it is dense rather than juicy, and the whole quail egg in the middle is the Vietnamese signature.
Is there vegetarian banh bao?
Yes. Banh bao chay means a plain bun with no filling, or a vegetarian one with tofu, mushroom and vegetables, and both are sold near pagodas on the first and fifteenth of the lunar month. Ask whether the dough or filling used fish sauce if that matters.
When do people eat banh bao?
Mostly at breakfast, between about 6am and 9am, when carts sell out on the way to work. A second trade runs late at night from bicycles with a speaker on the back, and convenience stores keep packaged buns warm around the clock.