Phu Quoc's food is built on the sea. The dishes to look for are bun ken, a coconut-and-fish noodle soup; goi ca trich, a raw herring salad; flower crab at Ham Ninh fishing village; and grilled sea urchin. The island is also famous for what you take home: fish sauce, pepper and sim wine. The big change in 2026 is that the famous night market in Duong Dong closed at the start of the year and has been dismantled, so evening food now centres on VUI-Fest Bazaar in Sunset Town and the Grand World area in the north.
Phu Quoc lies off the Cambodian coast, and its cooking mixes southern Vietnamese, Khmer and fishing-village traditions. Since the 2025 reforms it is a special zone of An Giang province, although many menus and shops still say Kien Giang.
What to eat in Phu Quoc
| Dish | What it is | Typical price (2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Bun ken | Rice noodles in a coconut-milk and turmeric fish broth, with crispy fish, green papaya and herbs | 30,000-40,000 VND a bowl |
| Goi ca trich | Raw herring salad with grated coconut, shallots, chilli, herbs and fish sauce, wrapped in rice paper | 100,000-150,000 VND a plate |
| Bun quay | Noodles made to order in a pork-bone and shrimp broth; you mix your own dipping sauce | 30,000-50,000 VND a bowl |
| Banh canh cha ca | Thick tapioca noodles with mackerel fish cakes in a fish broth | 30,000-40,000 VND a bowl |
| Ghe Ham Ninh | Flower crab from Ham Ninh, steamed or grilled | 300,000-500,000 VND a kilo |
| Nhum nuong | Sea urchin grilled in the shell with spring onion oil | Priced per piece; varies widely |
Bun ken is the one dish to seek out: its name comes from a Khmer word, and you will rarely find it on the mainland. It is a breakfast and lunch dish, sold at small shops in Duong Dong from early morning. Goi ca trich is the island's celebration dish, eaten wrapped in rice paper with herbs and a dab of fish sauce. For sea urchin, prices vary so much by size and venue that you should always ask first.
Seafood: where and how to order
Seafood is sold by weight almost everywhere. The best-known place for crab is Ham Ninh, a fishing village on the east coast about 20 km from Duong Dong, where restaurants on stilts serve flower crab caught nearby. Crab costs roughly 300,000 to 500,000 VND a kilo as of 2026, depending on the season, well above the prices of a few years ago.
The rules are the same as anywhere on the coast:
- Ask the price per kilo before you choose.
- Watch your seafood being weighed, and agree the cooking style and price before it goes to the kitchen.
- Check the bill for extras, such as charges for herbs, wet towels or peanuts, that were not mentioned.
The night markets in 2026
The Duong Dong night market has closed. For a decade, the market on Bach Dang street by Dinh Cau rock, known to most visitors as the Dinh Cau or Phu Quoc night market, was the island's evening food street, with about 100 stalls along 500 m. Its 10-year lease expired on 31 December 2025, traders stayed until 28 February 2026, and in late April the investor was dismantling the stalls, as Tuoi Tre reported. The special zone's leaders have said Phu Quoc will have a night market at a new site, but none had been confirmed at the latest reports. Many travel sites still describe the old market as open.
For now, the evening options are:
- VUI-Fest Bazaar, Sunset Town. Sun Group's market in the south, near An Thoi, open from about 16:00 to midnight with over 40 stalls, street food and souvenirs, and close to the Kiss Bridge.
- Grand World, in the north. The walking streets of the Grand World complex near Ganh Dau have food stalls and restaurants into the evening.
- Duong Dong town. The local day market on Tran Phu street and the town's seafood restaurants are still there, even without the night market.
At tourist markets, grilled seafood skewers cost about 20,000 to 30,000 VND each, and prices overall run about 20-30% above local restaurants.
Fish sauce, pepper and what to take home
Fish sauce. Phu Quoc's fish sauce is made from anchovies fermented with salt in big wooden barrels, and it was the first Vietnamese product to receive a national geographical indication, in 2001, and the first to win Protected Designation of Origin in the European Union, in 2012. It is graded by its protein strength, from about 40 to 60 degrees, with higher grades stronger and more expensive, and sells for about 50,000 to 200,000 VND a litre as of 2026. Several traditional fish sauce houses in and around Duong Dong let visitors in for free, including Khai Hoan, listed on the island's official tourism portal, and Hung Thanh, which dates from 1895.
Pepper. Phu Quoc's pepper farms, mostly free to visit, sell black pepper at about 220,000 to 300,000 VND a kilo, and red and white pepper at about 280,000 to 380,000 VND, as of 2026. The harvest runs from about December to March.
Sim wine and dried squid. Ruou sim, a sweet wine made from rose myrtle berries, costs about 140,000 to 200,000 VND for a 600 ml bottle, and dried squid about 700,000 to 1.3 million VND a kilo, depending on size.
Flying with fish sauce. There is no blanket ban, but rules differ by airline. Vietnam Airlines accepts up to 3 litres in checked baggage if it is in sealed plastic bottles inside a taped foam box, but not on its ATR72 flights and not in the cabin, and Vietjet's conditions say it may refuse strong-smelling foods, naming fish sauce. Buy factory-sealed bottles and check your airline's rules before you pack. Our souvenirs guide covers other things to take home.
How to plan a food day
- Morning: bun ken or banh canh in Duong Dong, then a fish sauce house and the local market.
- Midday: a drive to Ham Ninh for crab, or a pepper farm on the way.
- Afternoon: a beach, and one of the day trips from Phu Quoc.
- Evening: sunset on Long Beach, then VUI-Fest Bazaar in the south or Grand World in the north, depending on where you are staying; our where to stay in Phu Quoc guide explains the areas.
For hygiene and what is safe to eat, see our street food safety guide, and for mainland comparisons, our street food prices guide.
Limitations
Prices are 2026 figures from local and travel sources and vary by season, venue and size, especially for seafood sold by weight; the sea urchin prices we found varied too widely to quote. The night market situation is changing, and a new market may open after publication. Opening hours for the fish sauce houses and Grand World's food streets were not confirmed with the operators.
Workaround: ask your hotel where the current evening market is, agree seafood prices before cooking, and check your airline's rules before buying fish sauce.