At Saigon's Oldest Ornamental Fish Market, Fish Are Friends, Not Food
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- Published on 14 March 2025
- Written by Trần Duy Minh. Photos by Trần Duy Minh, Lê Thái Hoàng Nguyên and Đỗ Anh Chương.
It is a street, not a river, that comes to mind when people talk about vibrant fish in Saigon. Located in District 5, Lưu Xuân Tín Street is only approximately 500 meters long, but it is home to dozens of aquarium businesses.
Guilt, Mortality, and Hope in 'Khát Vọng Cho Con' by Poet Du Tử Lê
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- Published on 13 March 2025
- Written by Hoa Đỗ. Graphic by Hương Đỗ and Hannah Hoàng.
“We are like fruits forcefully ripened, a generation of premature adults, a generation of misery.”
— Du Tử Lê.
Đuông Dừa, the Mekong Delta's Unique Squishy Snack and Enemy of Coconut Trees
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- Published on 12 March 2025
- Written by Thảo Nguyên. Graphics by Ngọc Tạ.
Towards the deep end of our home, several coconut trees’ fronds started browning and falling off, straight from the bud. For the last few weeks, tiny holes have gradually appeared on the coconut trunk and shoot, from a few to numerous, giving off an unpleasant funk of rotten sap. My dad says that these trees are infested with đuông, and we must chop them all down lest we lose the entire grove.
Vietnam's Central Highlands Imagined in ‘Angin Cloud’ at National Gallery Singapore
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- Published on 11 March 2025
- Written by An Trần.
Amidst shifting social currents, industrialized landscapes, and a fast-paced world, how does a community preserve its heritage, rewrite histories, and confront colonial legacies? In this long-term collaboration with the Jrai community, ‘Angin Cloud’ by Art Labor explores these questions through a multi-floor installation at National Gallery Singapore that poetically intertwines Gia Rai (Jrai) beliefs, traditions, and environmental change.
Hẻm Gems: Go Back in Time to Chợ Cũ's Golden Days via Cô Chánh's Hủ Tiếu Mì
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- Published on 10 March 2025
- Written by Đăng Khương. Photos by Ben Nguyễn.
In the memory-scape of children growing up in the countryside like me, there always exists the familiar sight of old wet markets and the mornings we spent there, toddling behind our moms on the hunt for snacks, CDs, and lollipops. In the afternoons, I often tagged along with my grandma to buy meat and veggies, sneaking a toy or two inside her basket. Sometimes, if I was particularly sweet, she would allow us to have lunch there instead of at home.
6 Saigon Streets That Were Named After Lesser-Known Female Historical Figures
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- Published on 09 March 2025
- Written by Khôi Phạm. Top graphic by Dương Trương.
Any place is a great learning opportunity if you know where to look. A brisk walk in Saigon can be amazing fodder for history aficionados to exercise their brain muscles — just look at street titles and the amazing people they were named after.
Music Is My Release: Behind the Anger That Fuels the Fiercely Indie Group COCC
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- Published on 08 March 2025
- Written by Michael Howard. Top image by Ngọc Tạ.
“I don’t make happy songs,” says Phúc, the lead singer and guitarist of Saigonese rock group COCC. He and I are sitting in the middle of the band’s “cave” — a homemade recording studio they began putting together ten years ago. “I dreamed about it for a long time,” Phúc says of the studio. “In 2015, when I finished this house, the vision came true. We invest in it all the time, buy a little bit here, buy a little bit there. We’re still adding and improving the system and the equipment.”
The Harrowing History of Vietnam's Rubber Plantations
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- Published on 07 March 2025
- Written by Paul Christiansen. Illustrations by Hannah Hoàng.
"Oh it’s easy to go to the rubber and hard to return, / Men leave their corpses, women depart as ghosts."
How Did Vietnam Start Celebrating International Women's Day on March 8?
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- Published on 06 March 2025
- Written by Saigoneer.
In the hyper-commercialized world we now live in, it might be impossible to associate anything but overpriced flower bouquets and corporate sponsorships with International Women’s Day (IWD), but the widely celebrated occasion actually has a rich history of over 100 years of the women’s rights movement.
How Thoughtful Design Boosts Educational Outcomes: Australian International School Undergoes Multi-Million-Dollar Renovations
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- Published on 05 March 2025
- Written by Saigoneer. Photos by Australian International School.
According to a 2018 study by the University of Salford in Manchester, carefully considered classroom environments can improve students’ academic progress by up to 16%. Researchers and educators alike have increasingly emphasized how well-planned physical spaces can spark curiosity, nurture creativity, and enhance engagement. In other words, a school’s architecture and interior layout aren’t merely aesthetic choices; they can and should be powerful catalysts for better educational outcomes. The Australian International School (AIS Saigon) recently took this global insight to heart, embarking on an ambitious renovation project to ensure its facilities serve as an active partner in the learning process.
Chạm Vào Xanh, the Social Enterprise Normalizing Joy for People With Disabilities
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- Published on 03 March 2025
- Written by Oliver Newman. Top graphic by Ngọc Tạ.
Hồng’s parents took her out of school in Grade 5. They weren’t facing financial issues, her grades weren’t bad and she had no behavioral setbacks. It was just because she has cerebral palsy.
Korean Culture Has Stolen Vietnam's Hearts. What About Korean Literature?
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- Published on 27 February 2025
- Written by Paul Christiansen. Graphic by Dương Trương.
If you were a book publisher and saw a sudden spike in sales for a book published years ago, how would you explain it?
A Collection of Illusory Saigon Nightscapes From 1938 by Eli Lotar
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- Published on 27 February 2025
- Written by Saigoneer. .
A rare glimpse into colonial Saigon after sunset.
How Cá Cắt Khúc Becomes My Personal Touchstone of Vietnamese Cuisine
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- Published on 26 February 2025
- Written by Khôi Phạm. Graphics by Ngọc Tạ.
It was 13 years ago when Christine Ha auditioned for and eventually won the third season of MasterChef US. Then a grad student from Texas, Christine’s victory was a watershed moment in the history of reality TV in the US and even globally. She’s visually impaired, a daughter of Vietnamese immigrants, and has a palate that even established chefs would envy. Back then, everything about Christine’s MasterChef run left an indelible mark on me, a budding food enthusiast from Vietnam, but as I grew older and embarked on my own cooking journey, there’s something about her audition that has always tugged on my heartstrings.
'I Wander Alone' and 'Your Shirt Button,' Two Poems by Nguyễn Quang Thân
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- Published on 24 February 2025
- Written by Paul Christiansen and Thi Nguyễn. Illustrations by Hannah Hoàng.
“You told me not to look at you, it’s silly / Yet I want to gnaw you the way I gnaw bread ... the pack of ravenous dogs looked at me with night sea eyes / I wish they could gnaw me piece by piece.”
Hẻm Gems: A Night of Love, Poetry, and the Pursuit of the Sublime at Emme Bar
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- Published on 23 February 2025
- Written by Garrett MacLean. Photos by Mervin Lee.
“So what makes Emme House different?” the head bartender Dũng asked during our earlier conversation with Trực, the bar’s owner. “Emme House is not a bar,” he explained. I further inquired then about the layers of storytelling embedded into every detail, to which he replied with a smile, “I’ll tell you the whole story.”
Đờn Ca Tài Tử Captures the Soul of Southern Vietnam in Every Melody, Every Word
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- Published on 22 February 2025
- Written by Thảo Nguyên. Graphic by Ngọc Tạ.
“It’s not something unfamiliar, but it’s been a few years since I last heard it. Stumbling upon this beautiful bucolic scene now has made me fall in love with the Mekong Delta’s đờn ca tài tử melodies again.”
Đàng Trong Cafe Marries Gò Công's Nhà 3 Gian Design With Modern Cafe
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- Published on 19 February 2025
- Written by Saigoneer.
Major metropolises like Saigon and Hanoi might boast the most concentrated distributions of coffee shops in Vietnam, but a new crop of fresh faces in other up-and-coming towns have emerged in the scene, offering sterling brews, spacious seats, and, in some cases, delightful interior design that blends modern cafe conventions with uniquely local flairs.
Fried Floating Rice with Dried Cá Chốt and Lotus Tells a Complete Vietnamese Narrative
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- Published on 16 February 2025
- Written by Saigoneer
Chef Peter Cường Franklin shared a powerful narrative to introduce the dish he prepared for Saigoneer. Rice symbolizes the nation’s most important carbohydrate and its agrarian culture; cá chốt represents the ubiquity of local seafood and vital waterways; and lotus provides a metaphor for Vietnamese resilience because it grows in the mud and produces a beautiful, useful flower.
A Folk Symbol and Cash Animal, King Cobras Just Really Want to Be Left Alone
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- Published on 14 February 2025
- Written by Paul Christiansen. Graphic by Ngọc Tạ.
The king cobra, or rắn hổ mang chúa in Vietnamese, has great personal branding. For proof, one need look no further than the recent flower display on Nguyễn Huệ celebrating the Year of the Snake: the largest, most impressive statue bore the telltale hood of a cobra.
