By Preserving Tradition, Honoring Creativity and Showcasing Sustainability, Young Vietnamese Chefs Excel at Ngon Challenge by Marriott International
The glossy menus, sleek decor, and iconic logos of international hotel restaurants often obscure the human stories behind each dish. While catering to global guests, these restaurants often serve meals with origins in family kitchens and regional culinary traditions. Young, local chefs balance nostalgic associations with contemporary techniques and creative expression to create these menus. Returning for its second year this past September, Ngon Challenge continued to celebrate and nurture Vietnamese culinary talent across Marriott International’s hotels and resorts in Vietnam.
Tim Doling in Saigon
Lycée Chasseloup-Laubat, the Saigon School That Taught Marguerite Duras, Norodom Sihanouk
Lê Quý Đôn High School (Trường Trung học Phổ thông Lê Quý Đôn) at 110 Nguyễn Thị Minh Khai Street is the city’s oldest surviving educational establishment.
Sác-Lô in Hanoi: How a Pre-Industrial Vietnam Captivated Charlie Chaplin in 1936
About 90 years ago, Modern Times was released. Its title carried a warning. The film railed against the new industrial age and the misery it inflicted on workers amid the Great Depression. Yet a film about the dangers of modernity was being told through an almost-silent medium, nearly a decade into the era of sound. Charlie Chaplin, who wrote, directed, produced, and scored the film, in addition to starring in it, was deliberately resisting Hollywood's shift into the future.
The Story of Cà Mên, Vietnam’s Living Fossil From the Wartime and Subsidy Eras
During lunchtime at work, I spot a few aluminum cà mên that my coworkers bring from home to keep their lunch warm. Cà mên was once an indispensable item in my family too, but now it’s rarely used; it's limited to the few occasions when my grandparents or parents pack lunch for the kids.
In 1992 Vietnam, the Streets Were Brimming With Love and Life
How has your life been transformed in the past 30 years? Changes might materialize overnight, but some tend to creep up on you at a glacial pace. Through this collection of images from 1992, mull over how Vietnam as a country has grown with every 12-month cycle.
Tim Doling in Saigon
A Brief History of Saigon's Art Deco Eye Hospital, Formerly the Clinique Saint-Paul
For those condemned to a long daily commute along that busiest of city arteries, Điện Biên Phủ Street, the clean, elegant lines of the Hồ Chí Minh City Eye Hospital offer a refreshing contrast to the surrounding urban clutter. The compound was formerly known as Clinique Saint-Paul, so many older Saigoneers still refer to it by the name Bệnh viện Xanh-Pôn.
Tuyết Nhi in Saigon
Exploring Chợ Quán Asylum, Saigon’s Oldest Prisoner-of-War Camp
In a secluded corner of Saigon’s Bệnh viện Nhiệt đới, or Hospital for Tropical Diseases, a prison continues its century-long existence hidden from public memory and discourse.
An Early View of a Barely Developed Saigon in the 1860s
Dropping a modern Saigoneer into the 1860s version of the city would be a wildly disorienting experience.
[Slideshow] 13 Old Pictures of Women in Saigon
With International Women’s Day coming up, we’ve compiled a slideshow of old pictures of women in Saigon. Women have always played a powerful role in Vietnamese society and we hope that as the country ...
Tim Doling in Vietnam
The Long Biên Bridge – “A Misshapen But Essential Component of Hà Nội’s Heritage”
Described by one writer as “a misshapen but essential component of Hà Nội’s heritage,” the Long Biên Bridge has clearly seen better days, but still commands such affection that recent government ...
Tim Doling in Saigon
The Spectacular Rise and Fall of Madame de la Souchère, Saigon's Rubber Baroness - Part 2
There can be few more fascinating figures in the history of colonial Saigon than Madame Janie-Marie Marguerite Bertin Rivière de la Souchère (1881-1963), the widow who defied the social conventions of...
Tim Doling in Saigon
The Spectacular Rise and Fall of Madame de la Souchère, Saigon's Rubber Baroness - Part 1
There can be few more fascinating figures in the history of colonial Saigon than Madame Janie-Marie Marguerite Bertin Rivière de la Souchère (1881-1963), the widow who defied the social conventions of...
10 Old Pictures of Cars in Saigon
Though cars have been present in the country since the turn of the 20th century, decades of war (1941 – 1975) and an economic stagnation (1975 – 1986) drastically reduced the number of automobiles in ...
[Slideshow] The Story of the Hanoi Defense Motorcycle Club
Before the American War was in full swing, the Hanoi Department of Defense founded the Hanoi Defense Motorcycle Club, a collection of young men and women who were trained to do various tricks and “fly...
The Saigon Monorail That Could Have Been (1966)
Saigon has been without an urban railway since the last streetcars were removed from its streets in 1957. With explosive population growth over the past 20 years, city planners commissioned a US$154 b...
Tim Doling in Saigon
Old Saigon Building of the Week: 14 Cách Mạng Tháng 8
The art deco style building at 14 Cách mạng Tháng 8 was inaugurated in 1937 as the headquarters of the Cercle Indochinois at 14 rue Verdun.
Slideshow: 15 Pictures of Vietnamese Children During Wartime
Vietnam Net recently published a set of photos from German photographer, Bill Thomas Hardt who documented the horrors of the American War.
Slideshow: How Saigon Changed From 1955 – 2005
In 2005, the French Consulate in Saigon commissioned a publication called Saigon 1955 – Ho Chi Minh City. As the title suggests, the book compares well-known Saigon locations from photo...
Tim Doling in Saigon
Old Saigon Building of the Week: Cercle des Officiers Building
The grand colonial old pile at 47 Lê Duẩn, right opposite the Diamond Plaza, is one of the oldest surviving buildings in the city.
Looking Back at Graham Greene's Saigon
Graham Greene’s The Quiet American is a must-read if one seeks to get a better picture of what Saigon was like in 50s or if you just enjoy a good novel (or both!). Saigoneer historian, Tim Doling rece...
Tim Doling in Saigon
Old Saigon Building of the Week: Liên Thành Fish Sauce Company HQ
Now one of the few surviving heritage buildings in District 4, the ornate colonial edifice at 243 Bến Vân Đồn was constructed in 1922 as the second Saigon office of the famous Phan Thiết-based fish sa...
Tim Doling in Saigon
Old Saigon Building of the Week: 141 Võ Văn Tần
The colonial villa at 141 Võ Văn Tần, next door to the Estar office building, is the house where acclaimed French writer Marguerite Duras (1914-1996) spent her last year in Sài Gòn.
10 Old Pictures of Art Deco Buildings in Saigon
Art deco is by far our favorite architectural style, one which luckily, Saigon has in spades. However, with each passing day, these buildings are being torn down to make way for modern structures whic...
10 Old Pictures of Workers in Saigon
As Vietnam's economy has become increasingly intertwined with the global free market over the past decade, some elements of Saigon's pre-war, western-oriented economy have reappeared - Factories aroun...
Tim Doling in Saigon
Old Saigon Building of the Week: French Masonic Lodge Le Réveil de L'orient
Saigon got its first French masonic lodge in the 1870s, when the Société civile le Réveil de l'Orient set up the Hôtel de la Loge Maçonnique Le Réveil de l'orient (Awakening of the East) at 17 rue d’E...
Tim Doling in Saigon
Old Saigon Building of the Week: Former Chambre de Commerce
Over the years, Mê Linh square – known immediately after the French arrived as the Rond-point and later as place Rigault de Genouilly – has lost many of its old buildings, including the imposing Commi...
10 Sketches of Indochina From the 19th Century
Though already in existence, cameras were not the main tool used by the French to make visual records of their holdings in Indochina during the 19th century. In their infancy during this time, th...
The History of The Nguyễn Văn Hảo Building, Saigon's Art Deco Flatiron
The Nguyễn Văn Hảo building is perhaps Saigon's best example of art deco flatirons. Standing just across from Ben Thanh market, many of us pass it each day with no knowledge of its history. We've agai...
