Hẻm Gems: Bánh Canh Hẹ Is Phú Yên's Homage to Chives and the Sea
Ever since I was a kid, I have had a general dislike towards vegetables, but green onion has always been an exception. I regard green onion as a garnish that can lighten up the whole dish, and it seems like whenever it’s absent from my cơm tấm or xôi mặn, I will instantly lose my enthusiasm to eat. But during my teenage years, my affection for scallion was challenged for the first time, when I encountered a photo of Phú Yên’s bánh canh hẹ online.
Khôi Phạm in Food Culture
Welcome to the New Age of Mass-Produced, Enshittified Plastic Bánh Giò
Do you always remember the first time you tried a new food? With common staples like hủ tiếu, bún riêu or cơm tấm, that might be difficult, but I can recall exactly the first time I had bánh giò: it was from a bike vendor with a very distinctive northern-accented street call of “chưng, gai, bánh giò.”
Linh Phạm in Food Culture
This Tết, Learn to Wrap Bánh Chưng in One of Hanoi's Oldest Villages
Much like the peach blossom or the lucky money envelope, bánh chưng is a staple part of Tết.
Hẻm Gems: In Đà Nẵng, Góc Nhà Tụi Mình Is Where Tea Time Feels Like Home
As a Đà Nẵng native, I often get asked where and what to eat and drink by friends who are in town. The tried-and-true list of places in my mind always includes Góc Nhà Tụi Mình, which I’ve frequented nearly constantly for the past six years.
Bánh Thuẫn Anchors Central Vietnam Kids' Tết Anticipation and Childhood Joy
Bánh chưng and bánh tét are the two reigning monarchs of Tết food, representing the north and south of Vietnam. Still, no...
The Year of the Horse Gallops into The Grand Ho Tram
Inspired by the spirit of the horse, The Grand Ho Tram encourages you to have a year of success, confidence, and new horizons. Traditional Tết performances and activities alongside special feasts and opportunities for revelry will usher in a year of remarkable achievements and memorable moments.
Hẻm Gems: Beloved in Korea, Dwaeji-Gukbap Is a Hearty Soup for Saigon's Cold Days
When the owner of a popular restaurant in South Korea specializing in dwaeji-gukbap, a dish widely beloved in Korea but little known outside, visited Vietnam for vacation for the first time around a decade ago, he saw a real possibility of bringing and introducing this special Korean dish to Vietnam. Fast forward to today, his vision has materialized into the quite remarkable scene of a restaurant in Thảo Điền bustling with Vietnamese customers who come to enjoy the humble dish.
Khôi Phạm in Saigon Hẻm Gems
5 Cozy Saigon Coffee Shops With Outstanding Cat Residents to Befriend
I almost never remember the faces of the employees at cafes that I’ve been to, but I am strangely attuned to the existence of their cats. I remember the textures of their fur when I gave them pets, the little squeaks when they jumped up and down the furniture, and the subtle ways they expressed their personality during our fleeting but memorable encounters.
Khoi Pham in Saigon Hẻm Gems
Hẻm Gems: Khoai Bistro Serves up a Mother Lode of Ribs and Breakfast Skillet
Praise be to those who bring the hearty wholesomeness of the breakfast skillet to every hour of the day.
Hẻm Gems: A Japanese-American Time-Warp on Binh Thanh’s Backstreets
Imagine a world where the 1950s never ended. Where Daddy-O’s race muscle cars all day and Peggy Sue’s dance the night away. Where it’s all one big small town of neon-lit diners and all-night gas stati...
Ngõ Nooks: Pandan Jelly and Tapioca Pearls in a Little Bowl of Chè
Chè, the mercurial Vietnamese dessert soup, is appreciated by Hanoians both young and old. Whether wheeled around narrow streets in the Old Quarter, carried on shoulder poles or served in shop fronts ...
How Drinking & Healing Made a Name for Itself
“No more spicy chocolate passionfruit cocktails…no more durian,” jokes a mixologist at Drinking & Healing when asked what they’ll do differently in its second year.
Netizens Call for Boycott of 'Racist' Hoi An Cafe for Refusing to Serve Vietnamese
Many netizens are calling for a boycott of a coffee shop in Hoi An after anecdotes emerged online accusing the place of discriminatory service.
KFC Malaysia Launches Fashion Collection for Fried Chicken Fans
A collaboration between KFC Malaysia and local streetwear company Pestle & Mortar Clothing (PMC) puts familiar logos, slogans and images from the iconic fried chicken brand on shirts, hoodies, ha...
Ngõ Nooks: Cháo Sườn Proves Sometimes the Simplest Snacks Are the Most Satisfying
Hanoi’s summer days are unforgiving. On the most intense days, a bullish sun forms thick layers of heat between cement roads and tall, oppressive buildings. Yet here I was, standing in the epicenter o...
The Importance and Evolution of Mooncakes During the Mid-Autumn Festival
Like most holidays, the origins of Tết Trung Thu, or Mid-Autumn Festival, remain clouded by myth and uncertainty.
Hẻm Gems: Tasty Char Kway Teow and Sisig Where You Least Expect It
"They have bak kut teh. And what do you call that...Singaporean Hokkien fried noodles? The Korean businessmen go there for gatherings too," a friend told me during a casual chat at a craft beer joint ...
Michael Tatarski in Saigon Hẻm Gems
Hẻm Gems: A Delicious Journey on the Caribbean Clipper at Jamaica Jamaica
By this stage of my life in Saigon, I'm not particularly surprised when an outpost of some unexpected cuisine appears in the unlikeliest of places.
Khoi Pham in Saigon Hẻm Gems
Hẻm Gems: At Sara Ethiopian, a Chicken Stew for the Soul
Before the existence of Sara Ethiopian Restaurant in Saigon, my knowledge about the African country could fit squarely in a child’s palm: its capital, Addis Ababa; the tragic Ethiopian Airlines crash ...
Vandalized by Loan Sharks, Pho Hoa Pasteur Announces Temporary Closure
The shop owner's brother-in-law is suspected of racking up the debts that attracted the vandalism.
Hẻm Gems: An Ancient Chinese Meat Sandwich, 3,000km Away From Home
In the landlocked Chinese city of Xian, the legendary Terracotta Army of more than 8,000 soldiers with distinct facial features, weapons, chariots and horses finds their eternal home. This article, ho...
Hẻm Gems: Hiding From Influencers in an Old-School Saigon Cafe
"Saigon in its golden age was a time to be remembered and passed down to younger generations. The vintage aesthetic trend in Vietnam has been around for a couple of years now and for me, it is a cause...
Hẻm Gems: The Greasy Extravaganza of Deep-Fried Bột Chiên and Egg
Bột chiên is a familiar comfort food for many Vietnamese people.
Hẻm Gems: It's a Pagoda, It's a Restaurant, It's Superb Vegetarian Food
The revered 92-year-old Vietnamese Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh sums up his teachings on food and the first meal of the day like this: “I asked some children, 'What is the purpose of eating breakfast...
Khoi Pham in Saigon Hẻm Gems
Hẻm Gems: For the Love of Hanoian Snacks and Streetside Iced Tea
During the day, the dining area at 89 Nguyen Du houses a bún bò restaurant, but once the afternoon comes to an end and the sun starts to set, the area turns into a boisterous nhậu spot filled with nor...
Paul Christiansen in Food Culture
Vietnam Loves Drinking Beer. What About Cooking With It?
The craft beer craze that originated in the west has arrived in Vietnam in full force, but the trend of incorporating the beverage into local food recipes hasn’t yet followed.
A Brief Guide to Vietnam's Lesser-Known Sweet Sticky Rice Dishes
You may have tried the famed mango sticky rice from Thailand and wondered, “How on earth does this rice go so well with the sweetness of mango and coconut milk?” Usually, some would think of rice as p...
In Malaysia, If You Want Fresh Seafood, Join a Facebook Livestream Auction
Customers eager to avoid wet markets are increasingly turning to live social media auctions to satisfy their seafood needs.
