Breakfast in Pleiku: what to eat and where

Pleiku eats breakfast early and sticks with one favourite shop, so a newcomer can lose a few mornings working out what to order. Here is the shortcut: the usual morning dishes, three central shops for phở, noodles and grilled pork rolls, and where to start if you only have one morning.

Your first morning in the highlands: what you will run into

You step out of the hotel hungry and have no idea what to eat. Start with sticky rice (xôi), sold in alleys all over town. The savoury version usually comes with pork floss, spring rolls, pâté, Vietnamese sausage, omelette and pickles. If you want something to eat on the move, Pleiku bánh mì is known for its pâté, pork floss and skewers of grilled meat, and long-running shops include Bánh mì Thu, Bánh mì Lệ and Bánh mì bà Nhứt. Bánh xèo (crispy pancakes) is sold by women from Bình Định on Wừu, Thống Nhất and Nguyễn Trãi streets.

If you prefer a bowl, there is beef phở in the Nam Định and Hanoi style, priced differently at every shop, so look at the price board when you sit down. Bún cá lóc (snakehead fish noodle soup) comes with finely sliced young greens and a plate of fresh herbs, with bean sprouts, and bún quậy, which comes from Phù Mỹ in Bình Định, lets you season the bowl yourself. The dish Pleiku is best known for is phở khô, with names such as Phở Ngọc Sơn and Phở Hồng. How to eat it and where to go is in phở khô Gia Lai.

If you are used to rice plates for breakfast, Pleiku has no Saigon-style one in the morning. For a filling start, pick sticky rice or a bowl of soup.

Show this to the staff

Point at the line you need at the counter or the cart.

Pleiku ward: for downtown, phở, bún and nem nướng around Nguyễn Thái Học

If you are staying in the centre and want to walk, the streets around Nguyễn Thái Học and Nguyễn Du in Pleiku ward have three shops close together: Phở Nữ at 48 Nguyễn Du, Bún Phương at 46 Nguyễn Thái Học and Phở Ngọc Sơn at 15 Nguyễn Thái Học. Phở Nữ is the friendliest first bowl, Bún Phương is for a late breakfast, and Phở Ngọc Sơn is the old name in town.

Quán Phở Nữ

Phở Nữ is the easiest place for a first two-bowl phở: the owner often comes to your table to chat and show newcomers how to eat it. The dry noodle bowl sells best: it arrives first so you can mix it with the shop’s own sauce, and the broth bowl comes a little later. The special bowl has plenty of toppings, tender juicy beef, a lightly sweet broth and fresh herbs on the side. Parking gets tight when it is busy, and the shop closes at 1 pm, so come early.

5:30 am to 1 pm daily · 48 Nguyễn Du, Pleiku ward

Bún Phương

Bún Phương is an old nem nướng (grilled pork roll) shop, so order the roll, then add bún thịt nướng or bánh cuốn. On your own, one bún and one bánh cuốn is enough to get the idea (the fourth line of the card above works for the rolls), and a big eater will find one portion of nem fills them up. Portions are generous, prices are modest, and at about 10 am there are still free tables. The fish sauce is a little salty, so pour slowly. It opens at 8:30 am, so this is brunch, not an early start.

8:30 am to 9:30 pm daily · 46 Nguyễn Thái Học, Pleiku ward

Phở Ngọc Sơn

Ngọc Sơn is a phở shop in the old highland style. You can have beef or chicken, and the broth is very light. If you want dry phở with black sauce, go elsewhere: the dry phở here comes without it.

6 am to 10 pm daily · 15 Nguyễn Thái Học, Pleiku ward

Diên Hồng ward and the night-market area: get up early for sticky rice

For sticky rice, get up early. Two spots are handy from the centre. The busiest cart stands at the corner of Hùng Vương and Võ Thị Sáu (40B Hùng Vương, Diên Hồng ward) and starts selling around 5:30 am. Chicken sticky rice is sold around the night market, near Nguyễn Thiện Thuật and Hoàng Văn Thụ.

A cart can move or take a day off, so try it once early before you plan a group breakfast around it. If it is not there, the alleys around still sell sticky rice.

Phở khô every morning? Quick picks by area

If you love phở khô enough to eat it every morning, these three are handy, and the full addresses are in phở khô Gia Lai. A fourth, Phở Nhớ Phố Núi at 10 Nguyễn Tất Thành, is clean with attentive service. Prices from October 2026.

With only one morning, we recommend phở khô: the broth is light and gently sweet with little seasoning, so you will not feel heavy with a day of sightseeing ahead. Next morning, switch to grilled pork noodles or nem nướng. The mixing steps are easy to remember. After breakfast, move on to coffee in Pleiku, or browse the rest of the Eat and drink section.