Feeling Peckish at the End of the Work Day? Have a Bánh Chiên, or Two, or Four.
The rainy season is upon us in Saigon. Bouts of rain from ferocious to gentle have helped tempered the searing heat of summer. At one corner of the city, amid the moisture of freshly rained-on atmosphere is the bittersweet caramel scent of sugar syrup bubbling on the stove and of fried dough. It fills me with both nostalgia and a craving for golden, crispy bánh chiên hidden at every market and alley across Saigon.
Paul Christiansen in Dishcovery
The Shrimps Are to Die for at This Riverside Nhậu Spot on the Outskirts of Saigon
“We eat so many shrimps, I got iodine poisoning,” rapper Pimp C famously proclaimed . But how many shrimps would that requ...
Khôi Phạm in Dishcovery
Gỏi Khô Bò Lê Văn Tám Connects Generations of Saigoneers Over Papaya Salad
My favorite genre of Saigon food places is most definitely address-less street vendors. With no name, no fixed location, no menu, no contact information, before Google Maps and smartphones, whether you can satisfy your craving for their food purely depended on the strength of your memory (to find them again) and the level of luck the universe bestowed on you that day.
Hẻm Gems: Wake up Early, We're Getting Hủ Tiếu Cá for Breakfast
When I used to live in Hanoi, I always knew that if an eatery only opens for half a day, the food is probably certified, at least by the locals, to be not only good, but excellent. There is something written in the local traditions that specific dishes should be served at particular times of the day.
By Preserving Tradition, Honoring Creativity and Showcasing Sustainability, Young Vietnamese Chefs Excel at Ngon Challenge by Marriott International
The glossy menus, sleek decor, and iconic logos of international hotel restaurants often obscure the human stories behind each dish. While catering to global guests, these restaurants often serve meals with origins in family kitchens and regional culinary traditions. Young, local chefs balance nostalgic associations with contemporary techniques and creative expression to create these menus. Returning for its second year this past September, Ngon Challenge continued to celebrate and nurture Vietnamese culinary talent across Marriott International’s hotels and resorts in Vietnam.
Sugar, Ice, and Everything Nice: On the Mekong Delta's Love for Trà Đá Đường
The pitcher of miền Tây-style sweet tea is like a boat ride taking me away from the exhaustion of the city back to the memories of my hometown amongst the canals of the Mekong Delta.
Khôi Phạm in Dishcovery
Kem Vi Bổn's Popsicles Anchor 70 Years of Saigon's Summer Memories
Saigoneers have always been blessed with a thriving ice cream scene, perhaps an inevitable perk of living in a city that’s rarely not scorching hot. Amid a thriving scene of inventive gelato and soft serve flavors, one frozen treat place has stood the test of time for nearly 70 years: Kem Vi Bổn.
Paul Christiansen in Dishcovery
Bình Thạnh’s Best Budget-Friendly Off-Menu Bánh Mì by the Canal
I trust the philosophy that, to find the best places to eat, look for those crowded with locals. Such logic would lead you to Xôi Thị Nghè near the five-way intersection close to Chợ Thị Nghè in the former Bình Thạnh District.
MasterChef Thailand Sparks Outrage for Cooking Endangered Spotted Eagle Ray
Rare spotted eagle rays are believed to have been part of the cooking challenge and viewers took offense that the use of an alleged endangered species on mainstream media is normalized.
Paul Christiansen in Saigon Hẻm Gems
Hẻm Gems: Making Good Life Decisions With Midday Rice Wine and Hanoi Deep-Fried Food
The Subcommittee for Sustainable Fishing? The Office of Dipterocarp Record-Keeping? The Directorate of Synthetic Rubber Quality Control? Ride-Share Hygiene Board? It was difficult to assess who exactl...
Ngõ Nooks: Vintage Sound Systems and Birds of Prey Coexist in Café Nhac Xua
A quaint melody drifts out of Nhac Xua and over to one side of West Lake, where café owner Nguyen Duy Binh and I sit. The calming, classical, Vietnamese-style guitar-driven music, is soothing.
The Distinctly Da Lat Comfort of Bonding Over Coffee Beans
After a two-year stint as an English teacher in Saigon, Nick Melhuish decided that it was time to call it quits. He moved to Da Lat with his partner Brianna and his dog Sausage to open a bed & breakfa...
Ngõ Nooks: The Dish That Smells Like Regret but Tastes Like Happiness
If you’re a food lover, there is one dirt-cheap, aromatic Hanoi snack that you must try: bún đậu mắm tôm.
Fresh Catch: Mediterranean “Boat-to-Table” Concept Breathes New Life into Modernist Villa
District 1’s Phan Ke Binh Street only spans two blocks, yet it contains an assortment of culinary gems. In an alley on the edge of Nguyen Dinh Chieu sits a handsome modernist villa that is now home to...
Hẻm Gems: A Masterful Osaka-Style Okonomiyaki in Binh Thanh
An honest-to-god Japanese izakaya is a beautiful thing. Dark and smoky, often decked out in wood furnishings and yellowing travel posters, its flawless blend of bar and restaurant often involves nothi...
Butter-Aging: The Newest Trend in Steaks Hits Saigon
I won’t be able to eat another steak for at least two months; not until the taste of Level 23 Signature restaurant’s tenderloin fades from my memory.
Ngõ Nooks: De Tam Café Adds a Contemporary Touch to a Familiar Retro Aesthetic
As soon as you walk into De Tam’s leafy entrance courtyard, a familiar vintage theme becomes apparent. An entire wall is covered in shelves containing over 100 film cameras and lenses, while record pl...
Hẻm Gems: A Bowl of Hanoi's Southern-Style Bún Bò in the South
Fabien from France and Trang from Hanoi led a very different life just a year ago. They were running a Vietnamese restaurant nearly 12,000 kilometers away from Saigon, in Morocco.
Da Lat, the Unlikely Home of El Salvador's Rare Pacamara Coffee Beans
In a previous life, Nguyen Van Son was an auto parts salesperson. As a gift of appreciation for his wife, he acquired a seemingly trivial plot of land in Da Lat and made it a place where the family co...
In Saigon, a Quest for Sustainable, Healthy Coffee Consumption Is Brewing
The first moment I spotted the crisp blue door on Truong Dinh Street in District 3, I was drawn to it. I wanted to go in. And so I did, not knowing that I was opening the door into the world of sustai...
Paul Christiansen in Food Culture
A History of Rice Wine, Part 2: A Traditional Craft Slowed to a Trickle
Rose-tinted shades and long swept-back hair tickling the collar of a half-unbuttoned maroon shirt that revealed a dangling peace-sign pendant: at age 27, Minh was the epitome of 70s Saigon cool. More ...
Hẻm Gems: Lost in the Half-Childlike, Half-Adult World of 'The Little Prince'
Remember the tale about a little boy who travels planet to planet on a quest to discover and retrieve lessons about the adult world? This cafe is yet another untold chapter of that story.
Savoring Phu Quoc’s Beauty with a High-Tech Cocktail in Hand
The translucent balls one would normally identify as caviar held a secret.
The Lush Da Lat Cottage That Houses Unexpected Italian Delights
As Da Lat’s wet season comes to a close, cool weather and sunshine greet local and foreign visitors on a daily basis. People from colder cities such as Hanoi appreciate Da Lat’s comfortable average of...
The First Annual Saigoneer Golden Plastic Stool Awards for Best Hẻm Gems
As the planet-wide dumpster fire that was 2018 comes to a close, we’d like to take a moment to look back at the year in Hẻm Gems through our first-ever Golden Plastic Stool Awards. These will honor so...
Saigoneer's 5 Best Ngõ Nooks of 2018
In 2018, Hanoi certainly saw its fair share of the good, the bad and the surprising, but it was, as always, a wonderful year for eating and drinking. Across the city, we delighted in finding decades-o...
[Illustrations] From Street Snacks To Homecooked Meals, Vietnam's Diverse Cuisine Illustrated
While bánh mì or cơm tấm are considered quintessential Vietnamese dishes, bowls of homecooked cà ri gà (Vietnamese chicken curry) or thịt kho tàu (caramelized pork and eggs) are also central...
Polish-Vietnamese Student Becomes Latest Winner of MasterChef Poland
Following in the footstep of the previous winner of MasterChef US Christine Ha, a Polish-Vietnamese student recently won the top prize of Poland’s version of the cooking show.
