in Hanoi Ngõ Nooks

Ngõ Nooks: Xóm Hạ Hồi's 30-Year-Old Bún Thang Stands the Test of Time

If you peel through the peaceful residential areas around the Quang Trung and Trần Hưng Đạo crossroads, you might just chance upon Bún Thang 11 Hạ Hồi, a humble, household noodle spot.

in Hanoi Ngõ Nooks

Ngõ Nooks: Căng Tin Cafe, a Gateway to the Past for the City's New Youth

Hanoi’s café scene is saturated with cafés selling a vision of the past.

in Hanoi Ngõ Nooks

Ngõ Nooks: Blue Crab and Beer for a Bodacious Snack on the Hanoi Sidewalk

Of all seafood in Vietnam, ghẹ (blue crab) is among the most expensive. Even at wholesale markets, these crustaceans can fetch from VND300,000 to 400,000 a kilogram and any buffet deal that boasts their presence naturally comes with an exorbitant price tag. It was a personal surprise for me to find this highly sought-after delicacy right on the pavement at Quán Ghẹ Cô Tươi.

in Hanoi Ngõ Nooks

Ngõ Nooks: A Blissful Fish Feast at Bún Cá Sâm Cây Si

As hot as it gets, Hanoi’s scorching summer is no match for delightful fish rolls and refreshing sour soup.

in Hanoi Ngõ Nooks

Ngõ Nooks: Cozy up at Ẩn Cà Phê With Morning Coffees and Night Cocktails

In the Mood for Love , Wong Kar-wai’s elegantly restrained movie about married lovers resisting adultery, offers up a del...

Paul Christiansen

in Saigon Hẻm Gems

Hẻm Gems: Cà Phê Sữa and Cơm Tấm With a Side of Espionage History

Kimchi is not a common cơm tấm accouterment. The extra helping of chili pepper heat, palate-cleansing bitterness and cabbage leaf crunch doesn't taste out of place beside a fully loaded plate of broken rice, it’s just not a common feature of the southern staple. This is not so at Cà Phê Đỗ Phủ-Cơm Tấm Đại Hàn, where the story behind kimchi’s existence on the plate is more interesting than the meal itself.

in Saigon Hẻm Gems

Hẻm Gems: Tân Định's Tried-and-True Bánh Canh Cua for a Late Breakfast

Bánh canh, at times described as Vietnamese udon or even “mouse-tail noodles,” is a great mystery on its own. Etymologically speaking, bánh canh translates to “soup-cake,” and these thick, cylindrical noodles made with tapioca and rice flour of varying ratios do invoke a sense of cognitive dissonance.

in Saigon Hẻm Gems

Hẻm Gems: The Midnight Hủ Tiếu Only for Saigon's Most Patient Night Owls

As a Saigonese who has lived abroad for half of her life, I have a huge craving for hủ tiếu khô (dry noodles), my go-to breakfast meal and a dish my family always made sure to get on our way to my mother’s hometown in the Mekong Delta. Something special about the combination of the rich rice noodle, bone broth, and pork slices made us return for more. Though I later moved to the US and was exposed to other versions of dry noodle dishes and flavorful cuisines from different parts of the world, the memory of savoring a rich and topping-full hủ tiếu khô bowl from the motherland still remains in my mind. 

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Brian Letwin

in Food Culture

Video: Gordon Ramsay Explores Vietnam and its Cuisine

Gordon Ramsay has made it clear that Vietnamese cuisine is on the top of his list. His love was on full display in the most recent season of Master Chef US, where he tasked the final 5 contestants to ...

Brian Letwin

in Food Culture

London Restaurant Trademarks ‘Pho.’ Social Media Battle Ensues.

It may be hard to comprehend how a company can trademark a word as generic as ‘Pho.’ Apparently the British Intellectual Property Office disagrees as 6 years ago, they allowed a glitzy London chain, ‘...

in Food Culture

Free Barbecue Sunday @ Saigon Outcast

Sharing is in the air in Saigon and I like it, especially if the sharing in question is about food.  The crew at Saigon Outcast invites you on Sunday to a free BBQ (limited, first come first ser...

Brian Letwin

in Food Culture

Vernissage @ Shop 100%

Shop 100% is a great new shop that just opened in D2. It prides itself on being able to trace the sources of its produce to ensure that they are 100% organic. In addition, they are supporting Vietname...

Brian Letwin

in Food Culture

Snakes and Rats and Scorpions, Oh My! The Unique Offerings of the Mekong

During the typhoon season, the women of the West River hunt for bounty in the wildlife-filled swampland. For most of us urban dwellers, the idea of eating scorpion, rats and snakes probably isn’t on t...

Brian Letwin

in Food Culture

Three of Saigon’s Oldest Banh Mi Shops

Banh mi has been an iconic Vietnamese staple since French colonization brought bread to the region in the 18th century. Though the French have come and gone (and come and gone again), the soft, airy b...

Brian Letwin

in Food Culture

A Look Inside a Saigon Rice Noodle Plant

Over the past month, the news has been full of reports about chemically-laced bun noodles. Though recent tests have shown a decrease in the cancer-causing additives, the issue is still top-of-mind fo...

Brian Letwin

in Food Culture

Vietnam’s Development Through the Lens of Iron Chef

The Atlantic recently published a piece on Vietnam’s increasing development and westernization. Instead of looking at economic statistics and trends, they chose to examine this through the lens of one...

Brian Letwin

in Food Culture

Can Coffee Save the Vietnamese Economy?

As inefficient state-owned business drag down Vietnam’s economy with bad debt, other sectors must pick up the slack. In times of economic stagnation, the country has one fallback - agriculture.

Brian Letwin

in Food Culture

Vietnam is Turning into a Country of Yogurt Addicts

At the rate yogurt is gaining popularity in Vietnam, it soon may be the preferred currency in the black market. According to VietnamNet, the Vietnamese yogurt market is expected to reach VN...

Brian Letwin

in Food Culture

Phở-Flavored Cocktail Makes Its Debut. Seriously.

Pho is a universally adored dish (yes, even aliens love it), a melody of simple ingredients that yield abundantly complex flavors. Bottom line - it's goddamn delicious. So it's no surprise that people...

Brian Letwin

in Food Culture

For Foreigners, Eating in Vietnam not Always as Easy as it Looks

Vietnam is world renowned for its food, confirmed by the likes of Anthony Bourdain and Gordon Ramsey who have dedicated entire TV specials to the country’s culinary soul. And for those of us who live ...

in Food Culture

Bugs & Flowers

On a typical day in Cai Lay District, about 90 KM outside Ho Chi Minh City, farmers toil in the field tending to their rice paddies. But today is special, and like any special day in Vietnam it will e...

Brian Letwin

in Food Culture

Nuoc Mam: Ketchup’s Great-grandfather

Ketchup has an interesting lineage. Nuoc mam, or fish sauce, is a staple condiment in Asia where it has been used for hundreds of years. Its flavor-enhancing characteristics make it akin to ketchup i...

Brian Letwin

in Food Culture

Pho Real? Wassup Pham

Pho Life. When the masses of refugees from southern Vietnamese arrived to the US after the American War, they brought their traditions, music and food with them.