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...
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 ...
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...
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...
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...
Hẻm Gems: Thi Nghe's Gold Mine of Snacks
We found a hẻm gem goldmine.
Hẻm Gems: The Best Bò Kho in the Business
This week, there was a rumor going around in our office about the best bò kho in the city. Because we take food very seriously at Saigoneer, I took it upon myself to determine the accuracy of this sta...
Hẻm Gems: The Lunch Lady You Haven't Met
In Saigon, there is no such thing as a one-stop shop. It's part of the city's charm: coffee in one place, lunch in another, dessert three blocks down and two alleys away. You can turn a single outing ...
Hẻm Gems: Hủ Tiếu With A Side Of Attitude
You know those vendors who are so good at what they do that no matter how rotten they may be to their customers, people still turn up in droves? Fickle as the world of street food may be, at the ...
Hẻm Gems: Bánh Bao Chiên @ Lý Chính Thắng Street Cart
Imagine it's around 4pm and a sprinkle of rain is just starting to fall outside. You sit in the office thinking about how wonderful it would be to have a small snack by your side.
Hẻm Gems: Bún Thịt Nướng Bà Tám @ 299 Võ Văn Tần
Though this indoor hem gem loses a few points for the bland, sanitary, air-conditioned environment, it starts to make up for the snooze fest in design with excellent renditions of some of Saigon’s mos...
Hẻm Gems: Mì Vịt Tiềm @ Mì Gia Tân Tòng Lợi
You can tell Mì Gia Tân Tòng Lợi has been around for a while by the faded hủ tiếu cart greeting you at the entrance. The eatery specializes in Chinese-style egg noodle soups and fried duck dishes...
Hẻm Gems: Crabs Galore @ Quán 94 Chính Gốc
For as long as I can remember, Quán 94 Chính Gốc (Crab 94 Original) has been famous for both its high prices and crab specialties. But hey, you know the place is doing something right when there's a d...
Meet Saigon’s "Other" Lunch Lady
Following years of international coverage from food bloggers and personalities such as Anthony Bourdain, Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh, Saigon’s “lunch lady” has officially gone mainstream.
Hẻm Gems: Bò Nhúng Dấm @ Anh Ba
At Anh Ba, it’s all about the beef. This eatery offers up four bovine dishes - lá lốp (beef wrapped in lolot leaves), mỡ chài (beef quasicrepinettes), nhúng dấm (vinegar based hot pot) and tái chanh (...
[Video] The Story of a Saigon Chè Master
Saigoneer has teamed up with Only In Saigon to bring you stories from the city’s streets. Our first episode explores the tale of Son, a District 1 chè vendor who, for 25 years, has maintained thi...
41 Awesome Dishes In Saigon And Where To Try Them
In what could be considered a more exhaustive follow-up to Mark Wiens’ Saigon street food guide, Hoi An Food Tour compiled an even more extensive list of some of the city’s best local eateries, from l...
25 Must-Eat Dishes In Saigon And Where To Find Them
Always on the lookout for a packed plate of cơm tấm or a saliva inducing bowl of bún riêu in Saigon?
Saigon Makes National Geographic’s Top 10 Food Cities List
It’s no longer a secret that Saigon has some of the best street food in the world. While throngs of foodies have been traveling to the city for years to cop a bowl of phổ tai or a classic bánh mì, the...
[Video] “Waterfall” Fried Chicken In District 3
Street food aficionado, Mark Wiens, made his way through Vietnam last December to sample some of the city’s famous culinary offerings.