Uyên Đỗ

in Saigon Hẻm Gems

Hẻm Gems: In the Mood for Lẩu? A Ngưu Offers Hong Kong Vibes and Tasty Bites.

I visit Tiệm Lẩu A Ngưu on a rare wintry Saturday evening in Saigon, the perfect occasion to fill one’s stomach with warm broth, noodles, and a host of other tasty accouterments.

in Eat & Drink

From Delta Winds to Highland Soil: A Plant-Based Odyssey

A restaurant where vegetables speak of home.

in Snack Attack

Nem Chả Diên Khánh, a Match Made in Khánh Hòa's Coastal Heaven

During my journey to explore the culinary specialties of Khánh Hòa, I was delighted to discover the nem chua and chả lụa from Diên Khánh, a centuries-old ancient town that’s just 10 kilometers from downtown Nha Trang.

Văn Tân

in Snack Attack

Huế's Bánh Pháp Lam Turns Backyard Fruits Into a Celebration of Ngũ Hành

“Everything must be really fresh, made-to-order, colorful, and fragrant. Everything has its place, and is arranged exquisitely!” The food in the 2008 feature film Trăng nơi đáy giếng, adapted from a short story by the same name of Trần Thùy Mai, is a vivid depiction of Huế’s culinary creations — rustic, delicate, and ever-enticing. It’s evident in the tuber that Hạnh meticulously carves and then scents using pandan; in the bowl of lotus soup that she makes by wrapping in flowers the night before.

Oliver Newman

in Hanoi Ngõ Nooks

Ngõ Nooks: In the Same Hanoi Building, a Music Fan's Essentials — Vinyls and Cocktails

Sharing a building, Montauk and LP Club might initially appear to be just another cafe and another record store, but their goals are far loftier than selling drinks and vinyl.

Tâm Lê

in Ănthology

Built on Immigrant History, France's Vietnamese Food Scene Is Onto Something Special

France’s Vietnamese population is one of the largest outside Vietnam. From colonial assignments to refugee migrations, the community has grown, shifted, and evolved since its beginnings in the 1860s. Meet the new generation of French-Vietnamese creatives — chefs, authors, cultural consultants — who are reimagining and representing Vietnamese culture in Paris in fresh and deeply personal ways.

in Eat & Drink

Integrating Spanish Culinary Traditions into Local Lifestyles

Paella’s elevation of humble countryside ingredients into an extravaganza of flavors united by fluffy rice; soft and creamy Torta del Casar sheep’s milk cheese; intense Pimentón de la Vera paprika made with smoked peppers, and nutty, earthy iberico ham sliced whisper thin: Spanish culinary treasures are becoming increasingly common in Vietnam. As more Spanish restaurants open and Spanish products occupy more space on grocery store shelves, people here are also discovering how Spaniards like to eat.

in Saigon Hẻm Gems

Hẻm Gems: Bánh Đa Cua Hải Phòng, a Rare Northern Treat in D10

On the way to Phú Thọ Indoor Sports Stadium in District 11, make a turn off 666/74 Ba Tháng Hai, go all the way to the far corner, and you’ll discover Triển Chiêu Quán’s bright yellow sign. Park underneath the canopy, walk up the ramp, and you’ll notice something stands out, but you might not know why — bunches of caramel-colored noodles in the kitchen area waiting to be enjoyed.

Back Eat & Drink

in Eat & Drink

How Farming Technology Could Improve the Quality of Vietnamese Produce

As farmers struggle to keep up with demand for fresh produce in Vietnam, safe and effective farming technologies may be the answer.

in Food Culture

Phở Furor: American Chef Blasted for Telling People How to Eat Phở

By now you have probably heard of, or even watched, the notorious Bon Appétit (BA) phở video that has spread like wildfire on social media over the last few days.

Khoi Pham

in Food Culture

Bánh Trung Thu: From Traditional Festive Fare to Asia’s Answer to Fruitcake

While Saigoneer’s previous installment in our Food History series touched on the evolution of bánh xèo, a light, airy crepe that screams summer with every bite, this week’s dish belongs to t...

Khoi Pham

in Saigon Hẻm Gems

Hẻm Gems: Lão Hương Thân, One of Saigon's Oldest Cơm Gà Xối Mỡ Restaurants

Is there anything quite as glorious as beautifully done fried chicken?

in Eat & Drink

McDonald's Faces Stagnant Growth in Vietnam As Local Fast Food Fad Cools Down

Back in 2014, during its first month in Vietnam, McDonald’s seemed set for success, as its first location in Saigon managed to attract some 400,000 curious patrons to sample its American dishes.

in Food Culture

Vietnamese Government to Sell All Stakes in Nation’s Biggest Brewers

The Vietnamese government announced last week that it will sell all of its shares in the country’s two biggest beer companies by the end of 2017, an unprecedented move.

Dana Filek-Gibson

in Food Culture

The Evolution of Bánh Xèo: A Street Food History

While phở, bánh mì and now, occasionally, bún chả hog the spotlight in Vietnamese cuisine, everyone in Vietnam is familiar, to some degree, with bánh xèo. On street corners and in tiny, mode...

in Food Culture

Vinacafe CEO Admits to Past Impure Coffee Products

In a surprisingly candid moment during a conference held last month, Nguyen Tan Ky, the incumbent CEO of Vinacafe, admitted to mixing soya beans into some of the company’s products in the past.

in Saigon Hẻm Gems

Hẻm Gems: Bún Sứa Serves Up a Jellyfish Medley Without the Sting

The menu at Bun Sua Co Hanh is geared towards diners with a hankering for seafood, and not just your regular fish and company. They serve something out of the ordinary at this slightly drab river...

in Food Culture

Famous Civet Coffee Often the Result of Animal Abuse: Study

A study in Indonesia has found that kopi luwak, the world’s most expensive coffee, is often produced using caged civets kept under inhumane conditions.

in Eat & Drink

Ice Cream Wars: Japan's Frozen Treat Makers Take on European Firms in Southeast Asia Market

Southeast Asia’s dessert market is getting some healthy competition as Japanese companies join the fray, hoping to take a piece of the pie from their European counterparts.

Dana Filek-Gibson

in Saigon Hẻm Gems

Hẻm Gems: Slurping Mì Ốc Hến in District 4 With Công 'the Enforcer'

Shuffling along in flip-flops and a pair of baggy shorts, Công the Enforcer arrives at our table.

Dana Filek-Gibson

in Food Culture

Chowing Down on Crickets: Vietnam’s First Mass-Market Edible Insect Business

Crickets look a lot different when they’re fried and doused in seasoning.

in Food Culture

High Rent, Competition Challenge Saigon's Coffee Chains

Despite being well-received in Vietnam’s metropolises, coffee chains still encounter business problems due to high rent costs and a crowded market.

in Food Culture

Vietnam Set to Become World's Top Pork Consumer

Before the next decade is through, Vietnam stands to become the world’s top consumer of pork.

in Food Culture

Foreign Brewers Hope to Tap Into Myanmar Beer Culture

After decades of being closed off to the world, Myanmar’s newfound economic boom is attracting a slew of foreign breweries hoping to cash in on the country’s nascent beer culture.

in Eat & Drink

[Photos] A Midnight Romp Through Saigon’s Wholesale Seafood Market

Around midnight, as most Saigoneers are heading off to bed, District 8’s Binh Dien is the place to be if you’re in search of seafood.

in Eat & Drink

Officials Attempt to Trademark Bún Bò Huế

Officials in Thua Thien-Hue province are causing quite a stir after attempting to enact a regulation that would place trademark restrictions on the province’s signature soup, bún bò Huế.

in Food Culture

Bia Hanoi Makers Suffer Post-Obama Marketing Fail

Three months after President Barack Obama’s historic visit to Vietnam last May, the country’s “Obama fever” seems to have subsided. However, for the folks behind Bia Hanoi, a product of the Hanoi...

in Food Culture

The Rise and Fall of the Great Japanese Unagi

Last weekend, as Vietnam was dealing with a bout of particularly bad weather – we’re looking at you, Typhoon Mirinae – Japan was celebrating a long-held tradition: Doyo no ushi no hi, or the Mids...