in Saigon Hẻm Gems

Hẻm Gems: Mơ Đi Hội, When Florists Dream of Opening a Cafe

When book lovers open a café, we are blessed with book cafes; when animal lovers open a café, we are given a myriad of animal cafes; what happens when florists open a café? This is the case of Mơ Đi H...

in Saigon Hẻm Gems

Hẻm Gems: Milo Dầm Is Decadence, Childhood and Street Culture in a Spoon

Growing up in Saigon before the surge of foreign dessert trends like milk tea, cheese tarts, and bingsu, the humble and affordable Milo powder found in almost every grocery store and street vendor was...

in Development

Hanoi to Spend VND500bn in New Plan to Renovate Old Apartment Buildings

Between 2021 and 2025, Hanoi plans to spend VND500 billion (US$28.1 million) on inspecting and assessing the quality of old apartment buildings in the city.

in Travel

Exploring the Green Oases Hidden Inside D5's Old Apartment Buildings

Spare some time one slow afternoon for a stroll around District 5’s old apartments, and one might discover many interesting things — it could be a hidden residential area amidst a labyrinthine hẻm, th...

in Hanoi Ngõ Nooks

Ngõ Nooks: Cu Xa, the Cafe That Awakens Your Childhood Self

“Where is home?” is a question that at some point has probably nagged everyone who feels caught between worlds. To the owner of a retro cafe in Hanoi’s southern Dong Da District, it’s Cu Xa.