Pleiku Night Market: food street guide

Ask where the Pleiku night market is and you can get two answers, because the name has stuck to a long-running produce market, the food stalls that grew around it and the food street rebuilt on the same ground. If you just want to eat tonight, head for Nguyễn Thiện Thuật; the rest of this page explains where you are and what to order.

What the night market is, and why it is now a food street

It began as an informal farm-produce market on Trần Phú street, moved to Nguyễn Thiện Thuật street and part of Hoàng Văn Thụ in 1996, and from 1998 became a wholesale hub supplying Pleiku and nearby areas. In those days trading ran from 5 pm to 6 am the next morning, and the food vendors among the produce sellers made the area a long-standing street-food district.

After 26 years the produce traders stopped selling here on 1 April 2024, to make room for the night food street. They moved to a temporary market in the car park on Nguyễn Văn Linh street, Ia Kring ward. The city then invested in the grounds, including a car park, two public toilet blocks and movable canopies. By March 2026 Diên Hồng food street, the successor to the night market, had finished its paperwork and opened for business.

The province prepared to open two night markets: the Chợ Nhỏ (“Small Market”) night street in Pleiku ward and the food street and night market in Diên Hồng ward. Chợ Nhỏ is covered in our late-night eating in Pleiku guide.

Two places called night market

Go to the first for dinner. The second is only for the curious.

Pleiku Night Market (Chợ Đêm Pleiku Gia Lai)

Good for friends or family who each want something different: the food is spread across many stalls rather than one famous counter. Expect lụi (grilled lemongrass pork skewers), cơm hến (baby-clam rice), southern-style bún mắm (fermented-fish noodle soup), fruit cups and grilled rice paper. The market is not big, but there is a good choice of stalls, with noodles and rich ice cream among plenty more. Wander and pick as you go; this is not a place to sit at one stall all evening.

On money, carry small notes and order one dish at a time. A street-snack stall runs about 20,000 to 50,000 VND, and a fruit cup with durian and coconut cream 50,000 VND (September 2026). Sóc Con, a phở stall at the end of an alley inside the market, charges 30,000 to 50,000 VND for two bowls. There is no posted menu, so point and use the first line of the card below, and it is cheap compared with night markets aimed at tourists elsewhere. If you want a specific dish, Pleiku dry phở and bún cua thối (stinky crab noodle soup) are both tied to this market.

Facilities are decent: a car park, public toilets, lighting and movable canopies. The toilets charge 3,000 VND per person and are clean. At weekends, public holidays and Tết there are cultural and music programmes, so go then if you want something to watch after eating.

Open 6 pm to 2 am daily · 40 Nguyễn Thiện Thuật, Diên Hồng ward

Open in Maps

New Pleiku Night Market (Chợ Đêm Pleiku Mới)

Seen “Chợ Đêm Pleiku (Mới)” on the map? It is on Trần Xuân Soạn street, Diên Hồng ward, with no hours listed, and it is a different kind of market: a produce wholesale market, especially for fruit and vegetables, and also stalls with everything from clothes and accessories to food. Prices are described as fair and local.

A few clothing stalls price a little high, and weekends get crowded, with hard-going walkways and a car park that needs improving. Come on a midweek evening, with some cash for haggling. No hours are posted, so ask a stallholder when they close (the last line of the card below).

Open in Maps

Show this to the staff

Hours and the old numbers

The food street is open 6 pm to 2 am, while the old produce market ran from 5 pm to 6 am, so ignore the old hours in early articles. The first phase has 73 stalls, 54 for food and 19 for OCOP products, specialities and souvenirs; a second phase adds 20 stalls for clothes, shoes and souvenirs. Hours are listed to 2 am, so phone or check on the map if you plan a very late visit.

Is it for you?

Great for a light dinner, snacking on foot and plenty of choice, especially with someone who cannot decide what to eat. For a quiet table and a long menu, look elsewhere: the market is not large and weekend crowds make it hard to move. If it is late and you are hungry, see our late-night eating guide; and for every other Pleiku dish, the Eat and drink section has them all.