Le Van Tam Park in District 1, the festival venue, was already packed at 6 p.m., an hour before the festival's official opening, while vendors were busy preparing fresh bread for customers.
The festival featured more than 150 stalls, an increase of over 30% compared to the previous two seasons.
Many stalls were operated by well-established brands with over 50 years of history, as well as restaurants offering side dishes, suppliers of spices and ingredients, and companies showcasing bread-making technology.
Ngoc Nhi, 25, from HCMC's Tan Phu District, decided to attend the festival for the first time after learning about it on social media.
She arrived at 6 p.m., but the stalls were already bustling with visitors.
She waited in line for over 15 minutes to enjoy bread at Huynh Hoa stall, one of the city's most famous brands.
“Even though the line was quite long, enjoying bread amidst the festival atmosphere was a unique experience,” Nhi said.
Tang’s bakery was bustling with customers, served by nearly a dozen staff members.
Established in the 1950s, the shop is renowned for its grilled pate and meatball sandwiches, priced at VND30,000–35,000 each.
Owner Tang Chieu Quan, who has participated in the festival since its inception, remarked on this year's larger scale and increased number of visitors. By midday alone, the shop had sold over 500 loaves. As crowds continued to grow in the afternoon, he had to bring in additional supplies to keep up with demand.
On the first day, Quan's stall sold twice as many loaves as in previous years, with the Chinese-style pâté and meatball sandwich emerging as the best seller.
Yating Sun, a tourist from China, said she had heard her friends talk about Vietnamese bread many times.
Attending the festival for the first time, she was truly impressed by the variations of the popular street food.
“From grilled meat and meatballs to vegetarian options, each type of fillings has its own distinct flavor,” Sun said.
In addition to serving bread, many booths also featured live demonstrations of the bread-making process.
The ACB booth, for instance, brought in a full production line and oven to make and bake bread on-site, drawing attention from visitors.
A representative said the booth had been busy since 10 a.m. To meet growing demand, the team plans to prepare twice as many loaves over the next three days compared to the previous two editions of the festival.
Tourists line up in front of the Xua and Nay bread stall.
The stall serves bread dipped in milk, steamed, and stuffed with meatballs, combined with coffee and drinks, priced from VND15,000 to 35,000.
Visitors pose for photos at the "past and present bread" exhibition area, introducing the history of the development of Vietnam's famous dish.
At 8 p.m., the Bay Ho sandwich stall stopped serving after running out of ingredients.
A representative said the number of customers on the festival’s first day had exceeded expectations.
Founded in 1930, Bay Ho has been run by three generations, preserving the original recipe, and is a well-known name among Saigonese.
Each loaf costs VND25,000. The bread is sourced from a private oven, while ingredients like pate, meatballs, sausage, pork, and pork floss are all homemade by the family-run bakery.
