Hẻm Gems: In a D3 Hẻm, 40 Years of Bún Ốc and Other Northern Treats
Saigoneer - Eat & Drink
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5d ago
As a resident of Saigon, I’m well-acquainted with the city's vibrant food scene, which features cuisines from various regions of Vietnam, and how these dishes blend local recipes with flavors that resonate with Saigon locals. But Bún Ốc Thanh Hải is quite the opposite. Its dishes, snacks, drinks, and even atmosphere carry a distinct northern identity, so much so that upon visiting the place, I felt as if I was on a culinary adventure within my own city. The eatery is located inside the alleys off the Nhiêu Lộc Canal in District 3. It’s quite easy to find; just wander through the narrow lanes ..read more
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Hẻm Gems: While the Day Away Under the Green Canopy of Cỏ Cafe
Saigoneer - Eat & Drink
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1w ago
Under a thick canopy of verdant vines and minuscule pink flowers, it’s easy to indulge in the cooling comfort of a glass of iced tamarind juice and while the day away. Nguyễn Hữu Cảnh Bridge connects two of Saigon’s most orderly riverbanks. On one side, tube houses of a sleepy Bình Thạnh neighborhood tower over the Nhiêu Lộc–Thị Nghè Canal; on the other side, luxuriant foliage fills the space as part of the Saigon Zoo. Standing on the pavement in front of Cỏ Café, one can make out the shape and the languid rotation of the zoo’s new Ferris wheel. "Cỏ" means grass in Vietnamese, but there’s n ..read more
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Hẻm Gems: Come up, We're Watching Old Movies on the Neighbor's Wall
Saigoneer - Eat & Drink
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2w ago
“Thank you for contacting Khôngtrung.bar. Our business hours are 6pm to 1am, Monday to Sunday. Open doors. Cocktails, craft beer, outdoor screening — Thursday and Sunday. Thank you and we hope to bump into you in Không!” During an earlier visit to my friend’s office, I was introduced to a hidden bar on top of the building, where we can hang out, have a sip of beer, and watch movies together. The bar uses a projector to screen films a few times a week on the empty wall of the neighboring building. I was intrigued by what I could find out about this special place online and by the cryptic gree ..read more
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This Tết, I'm Finally Learning Our Family Recipe for Candied Coconut 'Flowers'
Saigoneer - Eat & Drink
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2M ago
Tết is the perfect occasion of the year to go ham on the sugar. Forget juices, forget smoothies, forget yogurt bowls — if you love fruits, these healthy renditions do not have a place during Tết. Instead, every lunar new year, your favorite fruits will magically transform into a candied version of themselves in the form of mứt. Pineapple, soursop, kumquat, or even cherry tomato, you name it, there’s probably a candied version of it. Mứt dừa is my family specialty. My mom has perfected it into an art and finally passed the recipe down to me this year. For the average Joe, any freshly scraped ..read more
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“Burgers Chose Me”: The Journey of Pingu's Burger and Healthy Fast Food
Saigoneer - Eat & Drink
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2M ago
On an intimate, tree-lined street in the middle of Thảo Điền sits Pingu's Burger. By outward appearance, it seems like your run-of-the-mill burger joint, but there’s more intention here than one would expect. Though she’s always cooked from her heart, Pingu's Burger’s chef Oanh isn’t sure exactly why she picked burgers as the focus of her business, simply telling Saigoneer, “Burgers chose me as a fate – it came to my mind for no particular reason.” Perhaps it was her dog Pingu, described as a burger-loving canine and the eatery’s moniker, that manifested their owner’s culinary dreams and led ..read more
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Dishcovery - Sparkling Oysters: Champagne Meets Caviar at Social Club Restaurant
Saigoneer - Eat & Drink
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3M ago
Caviar, oysters and Veuve Clicquot Champaign champagne are all special on their own, but imagine them combined in one luxurious mouthful. This extravagant coalescence is exactly what Hôtel des Arts is serving during their weekly Sunday Brunch at the Social Club. Head chef Ivan Barone explained to Saigoneer that the original plan was to delight diners each week with a changing selection of items prepared on a cart navigated through the dining room. However, his first idea, the sparkling oysters, proved so popular it has become a mainstay. Barone’s recipe supports the theory that a dish ca ..read more
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Hẻm Gems: Hủ Tíu Mực Ông Già's Squid Game Is to Die For
Saigoneer - Eat & Drink
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3M ago
It’s safe to say that one of the most authentic culinary experiences one could have in Vietnam is to sit on a stool, in an eatery that feels very much like someone’s house, and slurp on a bowl of piping hot noodles. The noodles here can be any dishes from the plethora of noodle dishes so dominant in Vietnamese cuisine, and this hủ tiếu mực, or squid vermicelli, establishment has got all of the above to offer. As a local who has spent all her life in Saigon, I always took pride in the unique culture of this city and how well-versed I am in it. So when I was introduced to Hủ Tíu Mực Ông Già by ..read more
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Hẻm Gems: Reading Cabin Sells Stationery, Serves Drinks, and Builds Friendships
Saigoneer - Eat & Drink
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4M ago
If I had to describe Reading Cabin in one phrase, it would be “every cafe in Saigon all at once.” The first time I heard of Reading Cabin, I realized immediately that it shares a hẻm with my childhood home, a not-so-narrow alley in Saigon. Beside serving drinks, Reading Cabin is also a mini collective attracting the city’s creative youths from all disciplines, from music, design, writing, to cinema. Similar to any other coffee shop in Saigon, one can bump into hordes of office workers chasing deadlines at Reading Cabin. But sometimes, curious middle-aged neighbors in the hẻm would pay a visi ..read more
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A Flaky Pâté Chaud That's Been a Saigon Institution Since 1930
Saigoneer - Eat & Drink
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4M ago
It took me 37 years to have my first pâté chaud. Such a delay wasn’t by design. The uniquely Vietnamese-via-French-colonialism pastry item wasn’t served anywhere around where I grew up, and in all my years living in Saigon, I never got around to ordering it. Thankfully, I seemed to have picked an ideal place to enjoy it for the first time last week. Quán ăn SGC first opened in 1930 and its current proprietor represents the fourth generation of the family operation. During the taping of a special Hẻm Gems video project earlier this year, he shared that it was one of the first restaur ..read more
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Hẻm Gems: It's Impossible to Resist Bún Riêu Cô Yến's Crispy Fried Tofu
Saigoneer - Eat & Drink
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5M ago
A few years ago, my family’s Christmas Eve tradition of making gỏi cuốn was swapped out for a special competition, one that would decisively end a longstanding rivalry: who, out of the aunts and uncles, could make the best bún riêu? For reasons still unknown, the entirety of my mom’s side worshiped at the altar of the tomatoey, crabby soup. We were scattered from Sacramento to Pomona to New York City. But in every Dao household, the adults made bún riếu, and the children loved it. Bún riêu was one of the few dishes that united us all. The 2014 bún rieu battle, then, was as much a cut-throat ..read more
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