Paul Christiansen

in Dishcovery

Bored of Mundance Date Spots? Try Tân Sơn Nhất's Romantic Star Cafe.

I know a little place. 

in Food Culture

The 50 Shades of Cháo on the Palette of Vietnam's Regional Cuisines

Cháo, or congee in English, is a diverse genre of Vietnamese dishes in both executions and flavor profiles — from humble versions like pandan congee, red bean congee to more substantial and complex meals like offal congee, chicken congee and catfish congee. Each dish is a different variation, but they all share a reputation for being nourishing and a richness of regional culinary characteristics.

Brian Letwin

in Saigon Hẻm Gems

Hẻm Gems: Kura Bar, a Veritable Treasure Trove of Rare Japanese Sakes Amid Saigon

Saigoneers are spoilt for choice when it comes to Japanese eateries in the city. Dozens, if not hundreds, of sushi, ramen and izakaya spots dot its districts. And if you're in the mood for something special, more obscure delicacies like tsukemen, Tokyo abura soba and Okinawa taco rice are readily available. Over the years, the epicenter of such eateries, especially those run by Japanese owners, has been slowly shifting from the upper stretches of Lê Thánh Tôn to Bình Thạnh District’s Phạm Viết Chánh neighborhood.

in Saigon Hẻm Gems

Hẻm Gems: Go Back in Time to Chợ Cũ's Golden Days via Cô Chánh's Hủ Tiếu Mì

In the memory-scape of children growing up in the countryside like me, there always exists the familiar sight of old wet markets and the mornings we spent there, toddling behind our moms on the hunt for snacks, CDs, and lollipops. In the afternoons, I often tagged along with my grandma to buy meat and veggies, sneaking a toy or two inside her basket. Sometimes, if I was particularly sweet, she would allow us to have lunch there instead of at home.

Khôi Phạm

in Food Culture

How Cá Cắt Khúc Becomes My Personal Touchstone of Vietnamese Cuisine

It was 13 years ago when Christine Ha auditioned for and eventually won the third season of MasterChef US. Then a grad student from Texas, Christine’s victory was a watershed moment in the history of reality TV in the US and even globally. She’s visually impaired, a daughter of Vietnamese immigrants, and has a palate that even established chefs would envy. Back then, everything about Christine’s MasterChef run left an indelible mark on me, a budding food enthusiast from Vietnam, but as I grew older and embarked on my own cooking journey, there’s something about her audition that has always tugged on my heartstrings.

in Saigon Hẻm Gems

Hẻm Gems: A Night of Love, Poetry, and the Pursuit of the Sublime at Emme Bar

“So what makes Emme House different?” the head bartender Dũng asked during our earlier conversation with Trực, the bar’s owner. “Emme House is not a bar,” he explained. I further inquired then about the layers of storytelling embedded into every detail, to which he replied with a smile, “I’ll tell you the whole story.”

in Dishcovery

Fried Floating Rice with Dried Cá Chốt and Lotus Tells a Complete Vietnamese Narrative

Chef Peter Cường Franklin shared a powerful narrative to introduce the dish he prepared for Saigoneer. Rice symbolizes the nation’s most important carbohydrate and its agrarian culture; cá chốt represents the ubiquity of local seafood and vital waterways; and lotus provides a metaphor for Vietnamese resilience because it grows in the mud and produces a beautiful, useful flower. 

Back Eat & Drink

Dana Filek-Gibson

in Saigon Hẻm Gems

Check out the New Street Food Mecca Behind Ben Thanh Market

Barely more than a week old, Ben Thanh's brand-new street food market is already turning heads with its souped-up version of the standard roadside dining experience.

in Saigon Hẻm Gems

Saigoneer's 5 Best Hẻm Gems of 2015

From legendary chicken and rice to finger-licking fried buns to an unbeatable hủ tiếu served with a side of sass, Saigoneer revisits our favorite street eats from 2015. Chúc ăn ngon miệng!

in Food Culture

Interactive Book 'Art of Phở' Brings Saigon to Life One Click at a Time

When foreign visitors arrive in Vietnam, one facet of local culture that tops every must-do list is cuisine. Since the outside world has only recently been introduced to the magic of Vietnamese food, ...

in Food Culture

Archaeologists Discover Roman Fish Sauce off Italian Coast

In Vietnam, you can't swing a dead cat without finding a bottle of fish sauce. The stuff is everywhere: on dining tables and in street food stalls, on supermarket shelves and in kitchens across the co...

Dana Filek-Gibson

in Saigon Hẻm Gems

Hẻm Gems: The Universal Truth of Fish Sauce Fried Chicken

There are few indisputable facts upon which good, reasonable people the world over can agree. Here are three: the sky is blue, the earth is round and fried chicken, in any form, is delicious.

in Saigon Hẻm Gems

[Video] The Story of Saigon's Classiest Street Food Restaurant

While the city is a cut above when it comes to delicious outdoor dining, most local streetside restaurants stick to traditional Vietnamese and opt for low-cost ingredients, passing on those savings to...

in Food Culture

[Video] Thai Chef Gives Stink Face to Gordon Ramsay's Pad Thai

You may know Chef Gordon Ramsay from his role on the popular reality show Hell's Kitchen, where he spends an hour each week crushing the dreams of aspiring chefs. Whether you love him or hate him, the...

in Food Culture

[Photos] The Ultimate Guide to Chinese Dumplings

From savory bowls of sủi cảo and steaming hoành thánh to the delightfully chewy há cảo dispensed by street vendors, Vietnamese have borrowed both the terminology and flavors from a wide array of Chine...

in Food Culture

Six Reasons Why You Should be Slurping Your Noodles

Has anyone ever judged you for slurping (húp) your noodles? Well, Vietnam Coracle has come up with a list of six reasons why you shouldn’t be ashamed for showing an elevated understanding of soup inta...

in Saigon Hẻm Gems

Hẻm Gems: Golden Bún Bò Huế

Walking into this temple of bún bò Huế, I was surprised the lady recognized me from my last visit from quite a while back. Even with my attempt at growing a beard for no-shave November, god has blesse...

in Food Culture

How One Company is Turning Trees into Noodles

With all the talk of tainted noodles in Saigon, we’re always on the lookout for alternative sources of bún. One Japanese textile company is experimenting with a technology that may provide such a...

in Food Culture

Le Dîner en Blanc Comes to Saigon Next Month

If your fantasies involve droves of white-clad socialites showing up to a secret location to dine and drink, Le Dîner en Blanc should be right up your alley.

in Food Culture

[Video] Ben Tre Man Shows You How to Perfectly Husk a Coconut

Husking a coconut is one of those things that looks deceivingly easy. But if you’ve ever tried to remove its thick green shell, it quickly becomes obvious that is a task of precision, one mastered onl...

Dana Filek-Gibson

in Saigon Hẻm Gems

Hẻm Gems: District 1's Delightfully Decrepit Bia Hơi

UPDATE: It is with heavy hearts that we inform our readers that the Thi Sach bia hơi has permanently closed. We will miss its regular crowd and grimy, beer-stained walls. In a city that pretty much r...

in Food Culture

[Video] Nosh Food Week Kicks off at GRAIN

Over the next week, Luke Nguyen’s Grain will be home to Nosh Food Week Saigon, a week of food events centered on collaboration between local chefs.

Dana Filek-Gibson

in Saigon Hẻm Gems

Hẻm Gems: Bánh Căn and the Elixir of Life

In the world of hẻm gems, gritty is a good thing. The more battered the tables, the more precarious the seating, the more dubious the location, the more we feel at one with the chaos of Saigon street ...

in Saigon Hẻm Gems

Hẻm Gems: We Found Xôi Gà in a Hopeless Place

Stand outside a market at closing time and you'll bear witness to the daily routines of its swift, unceremonious demise. After sunset, Binh Thanh District's Ba Chieu Market transforms before your eyes...

in Saigon Hẻm Gems

Hẻm Gems: Tan Dinh's Hue Food Heaven

The area around Hue O Xuan is pretty busy, making it easy to miss the address amid its neverending traffic. Though the local chain that takes up two storefronts opposite Tan Dinh Market at 18 Nguyen H...

in Saigon Hẻm Gems

Hẻm Gems: An Assembly Line of Bún Thịt Nướng

After warming up our tastebuds with last week's bột chiên, we continued exploring the wonders of Thi Nghe's evening street food scene. Amid the sinh tố shops, snack carts and rice stalls, my nomming c...

in Saigon Hẻm Gems

Hẻm Gems: Thi Nghe's Gold Mine of Snacks

We found a hẻm gem goldmine.