Hẻm Gems: Good Bánh Bèo Comes to Those Who Wait
The most memorable eating experiences are the ones that take time. Of all the meals Saigon’s sidewalks can offer, the best require a pilgrimage to some faraway district and a series of trial-and-error...
Khoi Pham in Saigon Hẻm Gems
[Video] Hẻm Gems: Fish Balls, Curry and Noodle Soup, a Perfect Storm
Some may say that good things in life come when you least expect them, and from my encounter with this week’s Hem Gem – curry fish balls and noodles – you can count me in as a firm believer in this pa...
Brian Letwin in Saigon Hẻm Gems
Hẻm Gems: Enter the Bánh Đúc Jungle
While many of our culinary adventures take us out of our downtown comfort zone, there are a few gems hidden among the office buildings and skyscrapers of District 1.
Hẻm Gems: For Good Phở in Saigon, a Dollar Is All You Need
You can really stretch a dollar in this country. That's two cà phê sữa đá or two bánh mì, a couple liters of bia hơi, a xe ôm ride, a well-bargained souvenir, enough snacks to constitute a meal or a s...
Hẻm Gems: The Best Bún Chả in Hanoi…in Saigon
The weather was truly Hanoian earlier this week. Outside, rain fell in sheets, flooding the pockmarked alley outside our office door. The sun had disappeared. Though a few particularly photo-obsessed ...
Brian Letwin in Saigon Hẻm Gems
Hẻm Gems: Maison Marou: The House That Chocolate Built
Across from Ben Thanh Market sits a massive, open pit that will eventually serve as the base for a set of gleaming, modern towers housing the likes of a six-star Ritz-Carlton Hotel. But just beyond th...
Hẻm Gems: The Legend of Baby African
You'll have to clear an afternoon to get to Baby African.
[Video] Hẻm Gems: The Long but Worthwhile Wait for Xôi Chiên
They say the best things in life are worth waiting for. In the case of the elusive xôi chiên, they're right.
Hẻm Gems: Binh Thanh's Delectable Bánh Căn
Located on a busy street in Binh Thanh District, Hai Ton Quan is a small, family-run restaurant that serves up Phan Rang-style cuisine, that glorious mixture of tasty, golden-brown rice cakes and fres...
[Video] Hẻm Gems: D5’s Glorious Goat Curry
One of the benefits or writing this column is that it allows us to sample some of Saigon’s best local eateries. We may be well versed in the ways of street noshing, but once in a blue moon, we come ac...
Hẻm Gems: Saigon's Sủi Cảo Street
Saigon is, in essence, a giant food court. From District 1 to Binh Chanh, the city streets are pretty much a macro version of the cooked food section at your local market, spread out over miles of une...
Hẻm Gems: Saigon's Street Food Unicorn
Not only are unicorns real, they are edible. In fact, these beauties are an animal of such mythic deliciousness that you should count yourself lucky to even catch a glimpse of one, much less feast on ...
[Video] Hẻm Gems: D5's Drop-Dead Delicious Xôi Mặn
Saigon street food tastes best when the whole experience feels like a secret. Head to some of the city's most successful street carts and there are no place names or proper business hours, no phone nu...
Hẻm Gems: Eat Your Way Through Nguyen Hue's Secret Street Food Alley
Nguyen Hue's heritage has been badly degraded over the years. Thanks to the city's neverending development, its older buildings have either been torn down, used as air-conditioning unit pedestals or t...
Hẻm Gems: A Perfect Saigon Breakfast
Most days, I roll out of bed 15 minutes after my alarm has stopped ringing, stumble downstairs, brush my teeth and leave the house just in time to grab my morning dose of caffeine before heading to th...
Hẻm Gems: On Eating (Chicken) Ass
Let’s play a game. I tell you a word and you tell me the first thing that comes to mind. Here goes: chicken.
Brian Letwin in Saigon Hẻm Gems
[Video] Hẻm Gems: D4’s Supreme Street Sushi
There’s no shortage of solid international fare in Saigon. From Italian to Japanese, Indian to Korean, local diners are well covered. However, since most options in this category are relegated to indo...
