Hẻm Gems: At Bún Thang 50, Unexpected Hanoi Flavors in a Phú Nhuận Corner
When I was growing up in California, every couple of months, plastic containers of sliced fried egg, chicken, and chả lụa would line the kitchen counter. This medley of ingredients would usually mean bún thang for dinner — which, in turn, signaled that the dinner was a special occasion.
Paul Christiansen in Hanoi Ngõ Nooks
Ngõ Nooks: At Vietnam's Only Palestinian Eatery, Eating Maqluba and Dreaming of Peace
“If you have a heart and you have a mind, you must support Palestine,” Saleem Hammad emphasized as we sipped sweet tea overlooking Hanoi’s Old Quarter from the balcony of his restaurant, Oliva. The dinner we had just finished was delicious, but the visit to Vietnam’s only Palestinian restaurant felt more significant than a simple meal. Learning about Saleem’s journey, his personal relationship with Vietnam, and his efforts to deepen ties between Palestine and Vietnam underscored how cuisine can foster cultural exchange and understanding towards peace.
Hẻm Gems: Atop a Beef Bowl Eatery, the Hidden Cozy World of Shochu Bar Mitsuboshi
Looking back at my days in Japan, I cherish most the moments I decided to get lost in yokochos — small and narrow alleys filled with shops, often bars — and push on a random door, not knowing what could await me behind it. It could be a wooden stall illuminated by blinding lights, its noisy customers showered with beer; or a 19th-century-style Manhattan bar, where the only movements come from trails of smoke off the customers’ cigarettes and streams of light going through bottles of whisky behind the counter.
When Rush Hour Hits, The Straits Offers a Singaporean Alternative
Saigon’s streets snarl with hot, sticky knots of traffic every evening. As people finish their workdays and look ahead to quality time with families at home, precious hours pursuing hobbies and meeting with friends around the city, they must first contend with horrific congestion. This rush hour period, when movement is slow and frustrating, coincides with peak skyline beauty.
Hẻm Gems: Tokyo Moon Cafe Introduces Homey Korean Flavors to Japan Town
Stepping into Tokyo Moon is like venturing into a world of wonders, neatly packed within a mere 35-square-meter space.
Văn Tân in Saigon Hẻm Gems
Hẻm Gems: Inside a Modernist Abode, O Phương’s Bún Bò Harks Back to Huế Flavors
“O” is the affectionate way central Vietnamese call their sisters and aunties. For children of Central Vietnam like me, it has taken root in me like the most natural anchor of home. Sometimes when I’m out and about, glimpses of the accent of my hometown would pull me back home.
Hẻm Gems: Bánh Canh Hẹ Is Phú Yên's Homage to Chives and the Sea
Ever since I was a kid, I have had a general dislike towards vegetables, but green onion has always been an exception. I regard green onion as a garnish that can lighten up the whole dish, and it seems like whenever it’s absent from my cơm tấm or xôi mặn, I will instantly lose my enthusiasm to eat. But during my teenage years, my affection for scallion was challenged for the first time, when I encountered a photo of Phú Yên’s bánh canh hẹ online.
Khôi Phạm in Food Culture
Welcome to the New Age of Mass-Produced, Enshittified Plastic Bánh Giò
Do you always remember the first time you tried a new food? With common staples like hủ tiếu, bún riêu or cơm tấm, that might be difficult, but I can recall exactly the first time I had bánh giò: it was from a bike vendor with a very distinctive northern-accented street call of “chưng, gai, bánh giò.”
Paul Christiansen in Saigon Hẻm Gems
Hẻm Gems: Making Good Life Decisions With Midday Rice Wine and Hanoi Deep-Fried Food
The Subcommittee for Sustainable Fishing? The Office of Dipterocarp Record-Keeping? The Directorate of Synthetic Rubber Quality Control? Ride-Share Hygiene Board? It was difficult to assess who exactl...
Ngõ Nooks: Vintage Sound Systems and Birds of Prey Coexist in Café Nhac Xua
A quaint melody drifts out of Nhac Xua and over to one side of West Lake, where café owner Nguyen Duy Binh and I sit. The calming, classical, Vietnamese-style guitar-driven music, is soothing.
The Distinctly Da Lat Comfort of Bonding Over Coffee Beans
After a two-year stint as an English teacher in Saigon, Nick Melhuish decided that it was time to call it quits. He moved to Da Lat with his partner Brianna and his dog Sausage to open a bed & breakfa...
Ngõ Nooks: The Dish That Smells Like Regret but Tastes Like Happiness
If you’re a food lover, there is one dirt-cheap, aromatic Hanoi snack that you must try: bún đậu mắm tôm.
Fresh Catch: Mediterranean “Boat-to-Table” Concept Breathes New Life into Modernist Villa
District 1’s Phan Ke Binh Street only spans two blocks, yet it contains an assortment of culinary gems. In an alley on the edge of Nguyen Dinh Chieu sits a handsome modernist villa that is now home to...
Hẻm Gems: A Masterful Osaka-Style Okonomiyaki in Binh Thanh
An honest-to-god Japanese izakaya is a beautiful thing. Dark and smoky, often decked out in wood furnishings and yellowing travel posters, its flawless blend of bar and restaurant often involves nothi...
Butter-Aging: The Newest Trend in Steaks Hits Saigon
I won’t be able to eat another steak for at least two months; not until the taste of Level 23 Signature restaurant’s tenderloin fades from my memory.
Ngõ Nooks: De Tam Café Adds a Contemporary Touch to a Familiar Retro Aesthetic
As soon as you walk into De Tam’s leafy entrance courtyard, a familiar vintage theme becomes apparent. An entire wall is covered in shelves containing over 100 film cameras and lenses, while record pl...
Hẻm Gems: A Bowl of Hanoi's Southern-Style Bún Bò in the South
Fabien from France and Trang from Hanoi led a very different life just a year ago. They were running a Vietnamese restaurant nearly 12,000 kilometers away from Saigon, in Morocco.
Da Lat, the Unlikely Home of El Salvador's Rare Pacamara Coffee Beans
In a previous life, Nguyen Van Son was an auto parts salesperson. As a gift of appreciation for his wife, he acquired a seemingly trivial plot of land in Da Lat and made it a place where the family co...
In Saigon, a Quest for Sustainable, Healthy Coffee Consumption Is Brewing
The first moment I spotted the crisp blue door on Truong Dinh Street in District 3, I was drawn to it. I wanted to go in. And so I did, not knowing that I was opening the door into the world of sustai...
Paul Christiansen in Food Culture
A History of Rice Wine, Part 2: A Traditional Craft Slowed to a Trickle
Rose-tinted shades and long swept-back hair tickling the collar of a half-unbuttoned maroon shirt that revealed a dangling peace-sign pendant: at age 27, Minh was the epitome of 70s Saigon cool. More ...
Hẻm Gems: Lost in the Half-Childlike, Half-Adult World of 'The Little Prince'
Remember the tale about a little boy who travels planet to planet on a quest to discover and retrieve lessons about the adult world? This cafe is yet another untold chapter of that story.
Savoring Phu Quoc’s Beauty with a High-Tech Cocktail in Hand
The translucent balls one would normally identify as caviar held a secret.
The Lush Da Lat Cottage That Houses Unexpected Italian Delights
As Da Lat’s wet season comes to a close, cool weather and sunshine greet local and foreign visitors on a daily basis. People from colder cities such as Hanoi appreciate Da Lat’s comfortable average of...
The First Annual Saigoneer Golden Plastic Stool Awards for Best Hẻm Gems
As the planet-wide dumpster fire that was 2018 comes to a close, we’d like to take a moment to look back at the year in Hẻm Gems through our first-ever Golden Plastic Stool Awards. These will honor so...
Saigoneer's 5 Best Ngõ Nooks of 2018
In 2018, Hanoi certainly saw its fair share of the good, the bad and the surprising, but it was, as always, a wonderful year for eating and drinking. Across the city, we delighted in finding decades-o...
[Illustrations] From Street Snacks To Homecooked Meals, Vietnam's Diverse Cuisine Illustrated
While bánh mì or cơm tấm are considered quintessential Vietnamese dishes, bowls of homecooked cà ri gà (Vietnamese chicken curry) or thịt kho tàu (caramelized pork and eggs) are also central...
Polish-Vietnamese Student Becomes Latest Winner of MasterChef Poland
Following in the footstep of the previous winner of MasterChef US Christine Ha, a Polish-Vietnamese student recently won the top prize of Poland’s version of the cooking show.
Vietnam Officially Designates December 12 the Day of Pho
Vietnam has officially marked every December 12 the Day of Pho in celebration of the nation's most well-known dish.
