Originally from Cambodia, made popular by Chinese vendors and enjoyed by local diners, hủ tiếu Nam Vang captures the essence of Vietnamese history in one hearty bowl of noodles. Madame Vừng shouts my name — to my slight embarrassment and the other patrons’ shock — when she spots me around the corner. She mans a cart selling an assortment of delicious hủ tiếu dishes, including hủ tiếu Nam Vang, in the alley leading to my house. Is there a better way to fuel a writing session on hủ tiếu than by diving into a bowl of the mouthwatering subject itself? I order my usual portion and sit on a p ..read more

Hometown treats encapsulate within them the flavors of memories, reminding us of a land we haven’t visited for a long time. I open the jar of coconut candies from my mother and my hometown, and immediately breathe in a familiar scent reminiscent of our kitchen back then. I thought to myself: so this is the feeling of yearning people often talk about when referring to home.  To me — and perhaps many other “former children” hailing from Vietnam’s capital of coconut, who grew up under the shade of coconut fronds — coconut candies, or kẹo dừa, are not just a piece of home, but also the life ..read more

As a kid, my mom would often buy me chè when the weather was too hot to keep me from drinking Coca-Cola. Chè made by Hoa people always got my attention, thanks to its distinctive presentation. Though, to get to it, I would usually drive to Chợ Lớn, which is fine, but it often involves traversing through traffic jams. So when I discovered Chè Sâm Bổ Lượng 399 on a random Google search, a long-established chè shop run by a Hoa family just 7 minutes from my office, I had to check it out. While the eatery is tucked in alley 399 of Nguyễn Đình Chiểu Street, it remains noticeable due to its Chines ..read more

Some simple delights can capture the flavor of an entire region. The toddy palm tree flourishes throughout southern Vietnam, yet it’s in An Giang where it’s most deeply intertwined with daily life. The Khmer people of the Seven Mountains region aptly call it a divine gift. This member of the palm family can be found everywhere — dotting the landscape, casting shade over ancient temples, and playing a role in almost every facet of the community. Its wood is used to craft boats and its fronds are turned into ropes and roofing, but most prized is the sweet sap harvested from its blossoms, skill ..read more

You know a dish is special when it can spark conversation with a stranger on a bus. Halfway through the scrumptious bánh củ cải (radish cake) from our last-minute trip to the market, I shared the other half with my mom. "You're full?" asked a lady in the bunk next to us, which was then followed by a long discussion. I came home with several handy tips on how to recreate and elevate the already flavorful treat. If one ever find themselves in Bạc Liêu Province, the name bánh củ cải points to two different things: bánh củ cải Tiều, which was the radish cake I had on the bus, also known as  ..read more

Rarely have I gone into a meal with such anticipation. Through a combination of bad weather and conflicting schedules, my dinner at District 10’s finest duck noodle spot was postponed several times before it actually happened. In the interim, we dispatched our film crew to create the food envy-inducing video below and our photographer, Brandon, made a visit or two on his own to capture the photogenic noodles. But while everyone else was getting in on the braised duck goodness buried down an alley off Nguyễn Tri Phương, I was only hearing about it. “You’ve gotta check out this duck spot,” Br ..read more

Hợp Tác Xã Thịt Xiên is more than just a bánh mì eatery, it’s a place to rekindle your childhood nostalgia and take in the ambiance of the street. For me, amongst the countless number of bánh mì thịt xiên nướng joints in Hanoi, one really stands out. Lê Hoàng Đức set up Hợp Tác Xã Thịt Xiên — or the meat skewer co-op — in 2011 when he was just 21. After quitting his regular job, Đức pursued his dream of starting his own business and settled on a small, homemade food operation. It began as a humble stall in alley 66 off Chùa Láng Street, with only a few plastic stools. This skewer place ..read more

It started with tamarind, and ended with crab. Gazing up from central Saigon sidewalks, one will notice thick canopies consisting of small pinnated leaves: an arrangement that calls to mind the spikes splayed on stegosaurus tails. Tamarind trees are native to Africa but have been part of the city’s urban makeup since the French brought centrally planned streets arranged in a neat grid pattern to Indochina. Being pallid vampires, they required constant shade. Tamarind trees were selected as the ideal trees to provide it, because their roots wouldn’t destroy the concrete and they blocked signi ..read more

Another Trung Thu season is just around the corner, and bakeries across Vietnam are busy at work churning out thousands of mooncakes to be given out as gifts or relish at home with family and friends. One meticulous local baker, however, had a different idea. Thùy Dương, a 29-year-old baking instructor living in Hanoi, practically became a mini celebrity overnight after she posted a set of photos detailing her latest mooncake project in a Facebook forum for cooking enthusiasts. Titled “Hồi ức” (Nostalgia), the project is a 30-kilogram diorama of a northern-style country house that’s made fro ..read more

If I have to use one word to describe the food philosophy of Saigoneers, it would be maximalist. Those who have had the gluttonous joy of hunkering down on a plastic chair on the sidewalk and demolishing a giant tumbler of full-topping bubble tea will know what I’m talking about. In the eyes and mouths of Saigoneers, just a bowl of noodles or plate of rice simply doesn’t cut it, so phần đặc biệt — the most expensive permutation of toppings at any given local eatery — exists as a reminder that the people of Saigon loves to let their palates dance. A cơm tấm đặc biệt comes with a pork chop, a ..read more