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in Saigon Hẻm Gems

Hẻm Gems: Amid Saigon's Heat, a Wintry Ambiance in Xocoati's Cozy Cocoa Drinks

Amidst Saigon’s year-round scorching heat, I crave coziness — a feeling that often comes with snuggling under heavy blankets in my Hanoian winter. I was searching for some comfort and “winter vibe” sp...

in Vietnam

With Thriving Coffee Culture, Vietnam Has Half a Million Cafes, Data Shows

Taking into account global and national chains, small brands, independent cafes and street vendors, a recent report estimates that Vietnam is home to more than 500,000 coffee shops that generate US$1....

Khôi Phạm

in Saigon Hẻm Gems

Hẻm Gems: Sip on Mugwort Lattes, Make Ceramics, and Unwind at Haru Cottage

“I’m basically Demi Moore from Ghost,” this intrusive thought plagued my mind occasionally during our visit to Haru Cottage to participate in the cafe’s ceramic class.

in Saigon Hẻm Gems

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.

Khôi Phạm

in Saigon Hẻm Gems

Hẻm Gems: While the Day Away Under the Green Canopy of Cỏ Cafe

Under a thick canopy of verdant vines and minuscule pink flowers, it’s easy to indulge in the cooling comfort of a glass of iced tamarind juice and while the day away.

in Vietnam Hẻm Gems

Hẻm Gems: Đà Lạt's Nomadic 'Cafe' Has No Menu, No Store, and One Table

During a recent trip to Đà Lạt, a friend invited me for coffee at 5:30am. The frosty climate of the Central Highlands mornings concerned me, but upon hearing the pitch about a whimsical cafe that oper...

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: 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 delicious cocktail of emotions. At least, that is the concept behind the drinks men...

Paul Christiansen

in Saigon

Vignette: For Cafe 81 and the '404 Not Found' Places of Our Lives

We all have them.

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 broke...

in Architecture

Amid Bảo Lộc Hills, a Wooden Cafe Floats Amongst the Clouds

In the middle of nowhere Bảo Lộc, perched on the side of an alternative national road is the wooden carapace of Nguyen Coffee, a veritable “Noah’s ark” welcoming travelers in for a short break to enjo...

Khôi Phạm

in Saigon Hẻm Gems

Saigoneer's Picks of Saigon's 5 Best Cafes to Poop At

What brings you to coffee shops? Novelty beverages, mellow playlists, a feeling of home, proximity, or just simply convenience — all are valid attributes that have endeared me to many of my favorite c...

in Architecture

[Photos] Katinat Cafe's Gò Vấp Location Is an Industrial Glass Fortress

Cement, air, water, sand, and gravel: concrete is a simple material. Same for glass, that spread of super-heated quartz sand. 

in Vietnam

Đà Nẵng Cafe Sparks Heated Online Debate for Refusing to Serve Children Under 12

A seemingly innocuous notice by a coffee shop in Đà Nẵng has sparked polarizing responses from netizens across Vietnam.

in Hanoi

Hanoi Railway Cafe Gets Into Trouble for Hosting Dortmund Footballers

A photo of players from the Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund enjoying coffee on the tracks running through Hanoi's shuttered train street circulated earlier this week, prompting authorities to say th...

in Hanoi Ngõ Nooks

Ngõ Nooks: The 'Tiny' Cafe That Contains Multitudes

Hidden down a quiet alley opposite the B-52 Victory Museum on Đội Cấn in Ba Đình District is the gateway to Tiny Cafe. Make sure you look carefully, as the sign is easily missed, and this isn’t somewh...

in Saigon Hẻm Gems

Hẻm Gems: A Cafe-Snack Bar Hybrid in Bình Thạnh Offers Portals to Japanese Nostalgia

Bình Thạnh’s Ward 19 is snuggled between Xô Viết Nghệ Tĩnh and Nguyễn Hữu Cảnh, creating a surprisingly quiet area just across from District 1. As a neighborhood, it offers an eclectic mix of local an...

in Saigon Hẻm Gems

Hẻm Gems: Café Slow Cultivates a Natural Habitat for Creature Comforts

It's incredibly challenging to set yourself apart in Ho Chi Minh City's overcaffeinated café scene. The city's narrow streets and hẻms are brimming with beans.

in Saigon Hẻm Gems

Hẻm Gems: The Secret Realm of Good Vibes Behind the Doors of Passengers Cafe

Like any person born after the year 1990, I am chronically affected by the condition of dawdling at a coffee shop for a supposed boost in productivity and “the vibes” when the clock strikes close to a...

in Architecture

Biên Hòa Cafe Embraces Industrial Design for a Transient Existence

If your dwelling is temporary, how much care do you pay to your surroundings?

in Hanoi Ngõ Nooks

Ngõ Nooks: The Peculiarity of a Coffee Sanctuary With No Menu and No Address

"SOLitude" — At first glance, the word conjures a sense of melancholic privateness in my ever-anxious soul. But not in a pessimistic way, fortunately.

in Hanoi Ngõ Nooks

Ngõ Nooks: Cafe Yên, Where the Line Between Coffee Shop and Alley Blurs

Yên (adj): quiet, unmoved.

in Saigon Hẻm Gems

Hẻm Gems: Hide From the Monsoon Rain at Đặng Thị Nhu's Lost & Found Cafe

Lost & Found Café is a newly opened sister establishment to the popular Lost & Found Bar. Both adopt a pre-1975 Saigon vibe that I, as a Gen-Z Saigoneer who is nostalgic for old Saigon, immediate...

Khôi Phạm

in Saigon Hẻm Gems

Hẻm Gems: The Dream of the 2010s Is Alive at Pacey Cupcakes

Pick your favorite cupcake flavor; perhaps a pitcher of hot fragrant tea too. Ascend the dizzyingly steep flight of stairs. Mind your head. Tread gently on the wooden attic floor. There your friends a...

in Architecture

[Photos] T3 Architects Turned a Modernist Villa Into a Celebration of Chocolate

Looks like we'll be working remote today.

in Architecture

[Photos] A D4 Cafe Inspired by a Bird's Nest Cradled by Wind

Birds sleep in nests in trees, and humans relax with coffee in houses and shops. But what if the two were mixed?

in Culture

Sài Gòn Ơi, Let's Meet for Cà Phê Once the Pandemic Is Over

For various reasons, some city activities that I’ve long shunned are now replaying in my mind like footage of an old home video during these days of working from home.

in Food Culture

Phuc Long Coffee and Tea to Open First US Store in California in July

A Saigon youth staple is venturing beyond Vietnam with an ambitious expansion to the United States.

in Saigon Hẻm Gems

Hẻm Gems: In a Converted Classroom Lives the Unique Open Space of Nhà Phạm

Having ventured into Saigon's food scene for a while, I have one guiding principle: the best spots are always the ones circulating via word of mouth. Quiet corners, culinary rarities and communities t...

in Architecture

[Photos] Colorful New Coffee Shop Brings Cargotecture to Can Tho

Do you sometimes find vintage coffee shops too cluttered and just want to experience something different?

in Hanoi Ngõ Nooks

Ngõ Nooks: Lily Coffee, a Hideaway for When Life Gets Overwhelming

Nestled in a nook so small that not many Hanoians even know of it, Lily Coffee is a true hideaway, with its entrance tucked on the side of an alley. The gate held ajar separates two worlds — one ...

Khoi Pham

in Vietnam Hẻm Gems

Hẻm Gems: Da Lat's Ngàn Cafe Is as Comforting as an Embrace

Walking down Da Lat’s Robin Hill amid emerald pine trees and languid fluffs of cloud, one’s eyes will inevitably encounter a visual disturbance in the form of bright orange plastic maple trees. They a...

Linh Pham

in Hanoi Ngõ Nooks

Ngõ Nooks: Quán Nhạc Cầm Nurtures the Soul Like a Love Song

Albeit ostensibly a coffee shop, Cầm’s specialty is actually old Vietnamese music.

in Music & Arts

Crate-Digging for Audio Gold at the Second Hanoi Records Day

In September of this year, Quan Cam played host to VOC Record’s second Hanoi Records Day. Saigoneer met with the organizers and collectors to learn more about Vietnam’s growing culture of crate digger...

in Hanoi Ngõ Nooks

Ngõ Nooks: Sonder Cafe, a Home for Whimsical Drinks and Cool Beans

sonder (n): the realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own.

Paul Christiansen

in Saigon Hẻm Gems

Hẻm Gems: A Home for Live Music and Quietude Inside an Old French Villa

If Vừng Ơi Mở Ra Cafe were a person, it would be your older, more sophisticated and welcoming friend.

in Architecture

[Photos] New Da Nang Cafe Serves up Special Blend of Old and New Design

Across Vietnam’s metropolises, loss of heritage continues to be a challenge during a time of overly eager demolition and real estate fever.

in Saigon Hẻm Gems

In Search of Charming Cafes Along Saigon's Train Alleys

Compared to Hanoi’s now-restricted Phung Hung “Train Street,” the neighborhoods bordering the railway in Saigon have neither the romanticism nor goosebumps-inducing adrenaline rush that turned the for...

Khoi Pham

in Saigon Hẻm Gems

Hẻm Gems: Lower Your Voice, the Hidden Elephant Is Reading

In Saigon’s indie cafe scene, there are household names and well-kept secrets; and then there are secrets that one might think are well-kept, but are actually household names. 

in Podcast

Saigoneer Podcast: The Gender, Generational Divides of Saigon's Civic Spaces

Episode 87 is ready for your ears!

Khôi Phạm

in Saigon Hẻm Gems

Hẻm Gems: In Saigon's Greenest Cafe, a Rabbit, Cotton and Succulents Galore

On a windy autumn day of 2019, I did what any existentially precarious millennial would eventually do some time in their 20s: I bought a houseplant.

in Hanoi Ngõ Nooks

Ngõ Nooks: In Phủ Cafe, Community Engagement Brings a Sense of Belonging

Three flights of stairs separate the street from Phủ Café’s timeworn interior. Their small sign won’t grab your attention if you’re passing by, but attracting new customers isn’t necessarily the aim.

in Hanoi Ngõ Nooks

Ngõ Nooks: Loading T Serves up Decadent Egg Coffee in a 1930s Architectural Gem

Travel back in time to a café within a charming 1930s building, only a few hundred meters away from St Joseph’s Cathedral.

Khoi Pham

in Saigon Hẻm Gems

Hẻm Gems: Saigon Retro Cafe Has Just the Right Amount of Sentimentality

It’s a teensy bit weird to say that my new favorite hangout is above a VinMart.

in Hanoi Ngõ Nooks

Ngõ Nooks: In Xoan Cafe, a Sanctuary for Art, Tea and Cats

Curious cats, steaming tea and art-lined walls make Xoan Café feel like a home away from home.

Paul Christiansen

in Saigon Hẻm Gems

Hẻm Gems: On the Nguyen Du Sidewalk, Connoisseur Coffee at Pavement Prices

Contemporary coffee culture in Saigon is largely one of extremes. On one end, enthusiasts at trendy shops source, grow, roast and meticulously prepare some of the finest beans in the wo...

in Architecture

[Photos] Blending in With Nature at a Rustic My Tho Coffee Shop

Set at canal-level, the serene coffee shop pays homage to the residents of the Mekong Delta who for centuries have built homes and communities betwixt channels, swamps and lakes.

in Hanoi Ngõ Nooks

Ngõ Nooks: Immerse Yourself in the Traditional Architecture of Cafe Nha San

Nestled deep in a dead-end street reached through a warren of alleyways from an almost impossible-to-see entrance is an ancient-looking building. This stunning traditional Vietnamese stilt-house is on...

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.

in Vietnam

Cong Caphe Will Open First-Ever Outlet in Seoul This Month

The popular pre-Doi Moi-style coffee chain is set to expand to Seoul, South Korea.

in Food Culture

[Photos] Saigon's Old-School Cafes Hold Fast to Time-Honored Traditions

In a city of rapid change, there is no doubt that opinions on many subjects vary with passion and, sometimes, noticeable subtlety.