Elise Luong in Bars & Cafes
Hẻm Gems: Cù Rú, an Old Saigon Bar That Took Root in Da Lat
Editor's note: Cù Rú Bar, the artists' solace, was born in Saigon by a tightknit group of friends and lovers, fueling creative souls with delectable homemade rượu cocktails, the group relocated to Da Lat, filling their newfound home with art events and crafting a new community of cocktail swillers.
Saigoneer in Food Culture
Year in Review: Saigoneer's Picks for Favorite Hẻm Gems, Art (and More) of 2020
In 2019, when the world was not going through a global public health disaster, dining out seemed like the most natural activity in our daily routine. We drank, we relished, we munched, and we bantered.
Khôi Phạm in Street Food
Hẻm Gems: Saigon's Hakka Culture Lives in D5's Khổ Qua Cà Ớt
Stuffing food inside other food is an ingenious human invention on par with refrigeration, chopsticks, and Gmail’s “undo” button.
Mầm in Bars & Cafes
Hẻm Gems: Thời Thanh Xuân, the Special Saigon Cafe Run by Deaf Staff
Quán của Thời Thanh Xuân not only encompasses the youth of its founder, Võ Thành Luân, it’s also where hard-of-hearing Vietnamese can write their own story, learn, focus on self-development, and be a part of society.
Juliet Bao Ngoc Doling in Food Culture
When Life Gives You Flavorful Vietnamese Cashews, Make Vegan Cheese
“Firstly, I had to find my calling, but in the end, it all came down to creating something and then seeing others enjoy it."
Khôi Phạm in Street Food
Hẻm Gems: A Vietnamese Curry That Makes the Case for Coconut Milk
If you’re not usually a fan of Vietnamese curry, Cà Ri Gà 3T’s signature dish is a surprisingly well-balanced offering. And If you are indeed a fan, then you’re in luck.
Pavan Shamdasani in Bars & Cafes
Sipping Cocktails on Plastic Stools Is a Special Saigon Street Treat
Is there anything more synonymous with Saigon than the humble street cart? With stalls citywide on every corner, it’s our version of the public house — places where people come together and connect, as close as possible to the beating heart of the street.
Paul Christiansen in Bars & Cafes
Hẻm Gems: A Home for Live Music and Quietude Inside an Old French Villa
If Vừng Ơi Mở Ra Cafe were a person, it would be your older, more sophisticated and welcoming friend.
Khoi Pham in Food Culture
The Yin and Yang of Saigon Street Desserts: Black Sesame Soup and Bean Curd
In the back of my mind lives a chorus of street callings: the staccato pauses in a recorded advertisement “hot Saigon bánh mì, only thousand [dong] per loaf,” the clink-clank of ice cream bells, and t...
Saigoneer in Food Culture
[Video] Learn How to Make Bánh Chưng in Hanoi's Storied Tranh Khuc Village
It’s hard to find a Vietnamese who isn’t familiar with the a story behind the country’s sticky rice cakes: bánh chưng and bánh giày. After all, the legend of these ceremonial fares is intertwined with...
Michael Tatarski in Street Food
Hẻm Gems: A No-Name Chợ Cũ Food Collective to Satisfy All Your Snack Cravings
Some street eateries in Saigon are so good they don't need a name.
Thi Nguyen in Food Culture
Tet Tales: The Many Folk Stories Behind Vietnam's Sticky Rice Cakes
To me, there's nothing that screams Tet as much as sticky rice cake. However one wants to spice up the usual celebration by replacing some dishes with something new each year, sticky rice cakes remain...
Brian Letwin in Street Food
Hẻm Gems: Chu Se's 65 Years of Hủ Tiếu Mì by the Calmette Bridge
Saigon is home to a number of street food eateries that span generations, from a 100-year old vegetarian joint to a 70-year-old hủ tiếu Mỹ Tho restaurant right in the heart of District 1.
Aisyah Llewellyn in Food Culture
Pandan, Southeast Asia's Humble Leaf Set to Take the World by Storm
Pandan, an aromatic plant native to Southeast Asia, could soon have its moment in the international spotlight thanks to British chef and food writer Nigella Lawson, who extolled its virtues in an inte...
Mervin Lee in Food Culture
[Photos] Saigon's Forward-Looking Cafes on the Future of Coffee
In the first part of our two-part photo project on Saigon's coffee shops, Saigoneer paid a visit to two old-school cafes with decades of heritage. In the second part, we're shining the limel...
Khoi Pham in Food Culture
Milk Tea-Flavored Water Is Here. Is the Apocalypse Near?
The stark, clinical fluorescent lighting inside the convenient store casts an air of ominous dread all over the shop’s beverage section. With a glance, I find it. The blue package stares back at me me...
Michael Tatarski in Street Food
Hẻm Gems: Fine Dining at a Budget Price in Binh Thanh's Mai Sen Bistro
When it comes to dining in Binh Thanh District, most Saigoneers probably think of street food, or perhaps the strip of Japanese establishments on Pham Viet Chanh Street.
Mervin Lee in Food Culture
[Photos] Saigon's Old-School Cafes Hold Fast to Time-Honored Traditions
In a city of rapid change, there is no doubt that opinions on many subjects vary with passion and, sometimes, noticeable subtlety.
Khoi Pham in Food Culture
An Ode to Vietnam's Cooling, Affordable and Ubiquitous Trà Đá
In Saigon, trà đá vendors don’t exist, simply because every single eatery is in itself a trà đá vendor.
Saigoneer in Food Culture
Bangkok's First Michelin-Starred Street Stall Struggles to Keep up With Newfound Fame
Just a few weeks after the prestigious restaurant guide Michelin bestowed Jay Fai's street food stall in Bangkok a coveted star, she's already struggling to keep up with her business's newfound fame.
Saigoneer in Food Culture
Quan Ut Ut Acquired by Restaurant Operator Red Wok Cuisine
Saigon’s popular American BBQ chain, Quan Ut Ut, has recently been acquired by Red Work Cuisine.
Brian Letwin in Food Culture
Hẻm Gems: In Thao Dien, a Modernist Building Houses D2's Best Bánh Canh Stall
For many Saigoneers, central Thao Dien is known for its plethora of high-end restaurants catering to the neighborhood’s large expat population. However, if one looks closely enough between the scores ...
Saigoneer in Food Culture
[Video] Japan's Maple Leaf Tempura Tastes as Beautiful as It Looks
Saigon officially has another reason to be jealous of regions that experience autumn: these dazzlingly colorful leaf tempuras that make for delicious snacks!
Khoi Pham in Food Culture
Cơm Âm Phủ: Hue’s ‘Purgatory Rice’ That Tastes Like Heaven
Throughout the Vietnam’s decades of development from a war-torn nation to one of Asia’s fastest-growing economies, rags-to-riches stories are a dime a dozen. This is especially true in the country’s c...
Saigoneer in Food Culture
Vietnam Spends $354m on Snacks in 2017: Report
We consumed a lot of snacks last year.
Saigoneer in Street Food
Saigoneer’s 5 Best Hẻm Gems of 2017
In 2017, Saigon certainly saw its fair share of the good, the bad, and the controversial, but it was without a doubt a wonderful year in eating. Across the city, we delighted in finding decades-old st...
Saigoneer in Food Culture
[Video] The Story of Japan's Only Sushi Restaurant Run by All Female Chefs
A group of intrepid female chefs has been defying the laws of tradition to combat sexism in Japan’s sushi community.
Dana Filek-Gibson in Food Culture
Tracing the Lineage of Da Lat's Delicious Bánh Mì Xíu Mại
Every morning, the corner of Da Lat’s Hoang Dieu and Tran Nhat Duat streets is a mess of plastic tables and rubbish bins, bánh mì crumbs and bodies hunched over small bowls. This particular patch of s...
