Word Vietnam May 2015

NH XUT BN LAO NG
W
OR
DV
IE
TN
AM
.C
OM
CHUYN DU LCH, M THC

VIETNAM EDITION / TP 5 2015
MAY 2015
NOT FOR SALE
contents
wordvietnam.com
MAY 2015
064
106
060
THE TALK
INSIDER
010 / Who Owns Vietnamese

Food?
056 / Another Green World
016 / The Best Road in Vietnam
Our infrastructure gets a boost
022 / Mystery Quest
A journey into the unknown
032 / Saigon Dodgeball

Tournament
Game of Throwdowns!
032
Making your teeth hurt since 2005
060 / Conserving Vietnams

Coastline
011 / The Big Five
BRIEFINGS
102 / The Vietnam Pastry Cup
We go inside the terrarium
Where intellectual property gets

complicated
Events to look out for this month
EAT & DRINK
106 / Hanois Best Pho
We settle the debate
Its a process
064 / Our Favourite Things
The month in cravings
090 / Making It a Reality
Crowdsourcing takes hold in Vietnam
ART
096 / Vietnams Got Talent
On hand for the finale
098 / Glee Club
A musical theatre troupe takes the stage
114 / Mystery Diner Hanoi
We smell the rarified air in Vietnams

tallest steakhouse
116 / Mystery Diner HCMC
Zombie BBQ gives dead pigs new life
FASHION
118 / The Golden Imprint
Guest creator Viet Ha Tran demonstrates

Vietnams age-old elegance
118
FUNDAY &
OPEN DAY
RENAISSANCE TALENT
TALENT SHOW
RENAISSANCE
SHOW
Saturday, 23
23rd May,
Saturday,
May, 2015
2015
09:00 am
09:00 am
rd
EARLY YEARS
PRIMARY
SECONDARY
EARLY
YEARS
PRIMARY
74 Nguyen
Thi Thap, District
7, HCMC SECONDARY
74 Nguyen
Thi3171
Thap,- District
7, HCMC
(08) 3773
ext: 120/121/122
(08)
3773 3171 - ext: 120/121/122
admissions@renaissance.edu.vn
admissions@renaissance.edu.vn
www.renaissance.edu.vn
www.renaissance.edu.vn
contents
124
136
194
HCMC
TRAVEL
124 / Into the Mangrove
Three photographers, a swamp and a

million birds
132 / Destination Zero
Victoria Can Tho Resort anchors our

Mekong trip
134 / Travel Promos

136 / The Motorbike Diaries
Part 2: Stuck in Laos
HANOI
044 / To-Do List
052 / Overscene
140 / Hanoi City Guide
142 / Bar Stool
144 / Coffee Cup
146 / Top Eats
149 / Food Promos
4 | Word May 2015 | wordvietnam.com
034 / To-Do List

042 / Overscene
158 / HCMC City Guide
166 / Coffee Cup
168 / Top Eats
COLUMNS
148 / The Alchemist
150 / The Therapist

154 / Medical Buff
156 / Book Buff
162 / Business Buff
164 / Body and Temple
172 / The Empty Wok
184 / Student Eye
186 / A World of Good

187 / Tieng Viet
FINAL SAY
190 / You Should Learn
Vietnamese
Its opening up a whole new world for Ed

Weinberg
192 / You Shouldnt Learn

Vietnamese
But that world is pretty much pointless to

your daily life, Niko Savvas argues
194 / The Inside Story of the

Guerrilla War
Chapter 8: An explanation
200 / The Last Call
The Lunch Lady keeps serving up the soup
200
CONTRIBUTORS
This month we asked Word contributors:

Whats your regular food spot?
HOA LE
Staff Editor
Kinh Do Caf (252 Hang Bong, Hoan
Kiem, Hanoi). I go there whenever I
feel like a simple, casual lunch with
close friends in a home-like atmosphere.
The owners are friendly and usually look
very relaxed as well. Great pastries and yogurt!
OWEN SALISBURY
Contributing Writer
Espy Pizza (154 Cong Quynh, Q1,
HCMC) for sure. Owner Khai is a great
guy, always willing to take a few minutes
to shoot the breeze. The staff are friendly,
and know exactly how I like my slices. I tutor some
students nearby, and Espy is where I go for a quick
bite, to chill out, to see familiar faces. Its especially nice
since Espy was my first review for the Word.
NICK ROSS
Chief Editor
Chis Cafe (40/31 Bui Vien, Q1,
HCMC). Ive been coming to this place
ever since it opened, and prior to that,
Cafe Van, its predecessor. Chi is a great
host, but even better are her staff, some of whom Ive
known for almost 15 years.
NIKO SAVVAS
Online Editor
Zeus (164 Cong Quynh, Q1, HCMC)
feels just like home because of the burly
mustachioed man who shouts at me in
Greek, and the overpowering smell of onions.
ED WEINBERG
Deputy Editor
Ploughmans Garden (58 So 1, Tran
Nao, Q2, HCMC) is my spot. Off a quiet
street in District 2, the grounds are owner
Seikos home and garden, the cat is her
cat. The hospitality is real, and the roof eating
space just has a paradisiacal feel. Try the green smoothie
and veggie burger with egg aka, the Eddie.
HARRY HODGE
Contributing Writer
I like Banh Xeo 46A (46 Dinh Cong
Trang, Q1, HCMC), a place made
famous by Anthony Bourdain. Before the
baby came, my wife and I went there twice a month.
I left my credit card on the table and left, and when I
returned later that month, the owners were waiting for
me and handed it over! Too bad Id already cancelled it.
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EDITORIAL
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JON ASPIN
Staff Writer
Daks Chicken and Hof (S8-1, R16-2
Hung Vuong, Q7, HCMC) is my spot
for a bit of late night anonymity. Noone speaks any English, the staff are
quite frankly pretty rude, but when they
bring that boneless honey roasted chicken out with all
the Korean trimmings, I know Im in the right place.
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The prelude
What do the people
here like to eat?
And that is the
question we attempt
to answer this month.
What Vietnamese
dishes do people truly
love? What stories do
we have to tell about
each of these dishes?
Yet the idea for our
cover story came from a
different, non-Canadian
source The Sound of
Music. My daughter
was watching the
50-year-old movie
for the nth time. As I
walked in the room,
Julie Andrews was
singing one of the
epics best known
tracks:
Cream coloured ponies

and crisp apple strudels
Doorbells and sleigh
bells and schnitzel with
noodles
Wild geese that fly
with the moon on their
wings
These are a few of my
favourite things
Like this movie did
when I was young, that
final line stuck in my
head and refused to go
away. These are a few
of my favourite things.
The next day I
received an email about
plans for future cover
stories. One of the ideas
was to do something on
food the last time we
dedicated these pages
to cooked flesh and the

destruction of plants
was in late 2013.
Somehow, that line
from The Sound of Music
and the concept of
food merged together.
If there is one thing
that makes the faces of
almost every human
light up, its food. Both
when we talk about
it, and when we eat.
Food is one of the few
universal pleasures, one
of our favourite things.
So, with me
now salivating and
contemplating lunch,
time to go north of
the border and get a
poutine. Nick Ross,
Chief Editor
CHUYN DU LCH, M THC

VIETNAM EDITION / TP 5 2015
MAY 2015
NOT FOR SALE
W
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n the introduction
to this months
cover story,
we poke fun at
Canada. To all you
Canucks out there,
this is a joke, okay?
Like American
travellers stitching the
Canadian flag to their
backpacks, its a joke.
Heres what we
write:
Everybody likes
food in some form or
another, even people
from Canada, so
long as it is covered
in cheese and maple
syrup. But this is not
Canada this is a
different socialist
republic: Vietnam.
NH XUT BN
BN LAO NG
NG
N
THIS MONTH'S COVER

Cover by DH Advertising
Photo by Julie Vola
HAVE YOUR SAY

DO YOU HAVE ANY COMMENTS? THEN LET US KNOW ON FACEBOOK FACEBOOK.COM/WORD.VIETNAM OR VIA TWITTER, @WORDVIETNAM.
NO MATTER HOW POSITIVE OR NEGATIVE YOUR THOUGHTS, WE LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING FROM YOU.
inbox
DO YOU HAVE ANY COMMENTS THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO AIR? IF SO, REACH OUT AND TOUCH US
AT EDITOR@WORDVIETNAM.COM WERE AT YOUR FINGERTIPS.
50 Shades of Expat
Brand Ambassadors
Read last night the 50 Shades of Expats

article in your latest edition (April 2015).
Brilliant and sooo true! JM
(February 2015)
I finally had the chance to sit down and look at the Bia
issue (February 2015). Really liked the cover photo and
loved a lot of the cover stories (hello, infographics!),
but I have a bone to pick with your fashion section
(page 108).
Youre all journalists there, so when I saw this bit, I
couldnt help but wonder, wheres the journalism?
Firstly, it did establish the beginning of a storyline
as it was titled: Brand Ambassadors.
Anyone with half a brain knows what the intended
purpose of a female beer brand ambassador is in
Vietnam. That said, we come to expect that kind
of treatment of women within lowbrow marketing
schemes focused predominantly on men.
Yet, for a cover story on beer written by classy,
intelligent and forward-thinking journos like I know
you guys can be, I had this question.
Whats the point of including this section if its a) not selling any fashion items, and b) has
nothing to say beyond hey, look at these girls in tiny clothes.
Could we have perhaps talked to them? Asked them what their experiences are when
working in these environments? Perhaps dig into the history of brand ambassadors in
Vietnam and Asia, and how beer branding carries over into fashion and walking billboards
like brand ambassadors are often expected to be.
I mean, seriously. Anything! Any story at all!
Bigger, better and more dynamic angles when it comes to stories about women,
please. Dont allow the magazine to go hand-in-hand with women buying into their own
disempowerment by not having a voice. Karen Hewell
Lets Call Him Peter

I heard about this story from a friend and
looked it up in the mag (April 2015, page
76). Hysterical. That is so funny! Who is
that guy? AS
The Apron
I dont want to explain my reasons as I
respect what you do, but I hate this story
(April 2015, page 75). Really hate it. MK
The Photography Issue

(March 2015, page 8)
Is my guess correct that I was the friend
in Hanoi who suggested guest editorial?
Glad the idea had some legs. It was good to
see Word mixing it up a little. I do think it
would be even better if you went the whole
hog, though. But not easy, I know. If you
did want any feedback on the issue, never
ever double spread great photography. It
turns an image into a physical object in a
magazine as opposed to an inspired piece
of work. Dorian Gibbs, Work Room Four
the talk
THE TALK
LEAD
Who Owns
Vietnamese Food?
It seems everyone wants a piece of Vietnamese cuisine these days
n September 2013, Pho Holdings, the

company behind the then eight-strong
chain of Pho Vietnamese cafs in the UK,
sent a legal letter to similarly named
competitors in the country asking them
to change their name. The reason? Pho
Holdings were trademarking the word pho.
Pandemonium followed both the
legal action and the trademark were
quickly dropped. But imagine what would
have happened if this had gone through.
Vietnam would have been in uproar. How
can some lowlife, exploitative foreign
company trademark this countrys national
dish? Its unthinkable!
That so much currency is placed
internationally on Vietnamese cuisine
represents a sea change. 15 or even 10 years
ago, finding authentic fare outside of the
Vietnamese-inhabited areas overseas was
almost impossible. This writer remembers
eating at a Vietnamese restaurant in
Londons Soho. The owners were in situ,
but except for a few words, they didnt
speak Vietnamese. They were Chinese. But
the tell-tale sign was the cuisine. It had
no connection whatsoever with the fare
produced in Vietnam.
Times have changed, and now together
with nail salons, coffee, catfish and rice,
Vietnams cuisine is one of its best-known
and loved exports. Also, compared to other
more established Asian cuisines overseas, it

gets premium prices.
country to taste authentic, to taste as it does

here.
Get it Right, Please
Authenticity?
One reason for the quality upgrade in

Vietnamese cuisine is that so many people
have now visited Vietnam in recent years;
the knowledge is out there. Foreign arbiters
of taste know the difference between the
real thing and all that is fake.
As UK-born food blogger, Uyen Luu,
says in an article in the UKs Telegraph,
When I eat out and notice people have
used the wrong herbs or the wrong size
noodles, it drives me mad.
This writer is equally frustrated when the
restaurants overseas get it wrong.
A recent trip to a certain Vietnamese
restaurant in North London demonstrated
the errors that can be made. We ordered
thit kho tieu claypot pork with pepper
but the meat, while tasty, was all wrong.
It was braised, braised in the same way
as it would be for thit kho tau, another
Vietnamese staple. With claypot dishes,
the meat or fish is quite literally cooked in
the claypot. Likewise, when restaurants
overseas serve bun thit nuong with pho
noodles rather than bun noodles an all
too common occurrence this particular
writer feels let down. Something inside
me wants the cuisine I eat outside of this
Yet, this obsession with authenticity is a

fickle friend. Why should a Thai curry,
for example, have to be made to the same
recipe used in Bangkok? And why do banh
xeo, or Vietnamese pancakes, have to be
cooked in the same way they are in Hue?
They dont have to.
Variations are fine, but labeling
something wrongly isnt. One of my
favourite Thai restaurants in the UK,
Busaba Eathai, gets this spot on. They
cook the dishes as they would be cooked
in Thailand, but with their own little twist.
It works to a T. Everything is correctly
labeled. And oh does it taste good!
No one person can own a particular
type of food. Its like saying only Italians
can cook Italian cuisine, or that the only
authentic Vietnamese food youll ever eat
will be in Vietnam. Both assertions are
absurd.
Providing what youre serving up is
what you say it is, then forget authenticity.
Theres no such thing. Its a case of how
well or how badly the dish is created. As for
trademarking the words pho, banh xeo and
pizza? Now, thats just utter madness.
Nick Ross
the big five
09
SATURDAY
10
Hanoi
Photo provied by EUROCHAM
2
1
THE EUROPEAN FOOD FESTIVAL
EuroCham will be holding the ninth

annual European Food Festival on
Saturday May 9 in the gardens of the
National Library (31 Trang Thi, Hoan Kiem,
Hanoi). Celebating 25 years of diplomatic
16
SATURDAY
relations between the EU and Vietnam, this

free event is expected to draw in up to 1,000
people.
For more info email marketing@eurochamvn.
org or go to our article on page 44
HCMC
ESCAPE: NEXT INVASION
We know; you didnt want to

unleash the beast so soon after
your hols. But here we are with
Saigons biggest dance party making a return,
riding in on the gilded beats of Toc Tien, Long
Halo and DJ Hoang Touliver. Taking place in
the Amazonian wilds of District 7 where
beer flows freely from noon to 6pm its a
show you dont want to miss.
Book your tickets at facebook.com/escape.
vn, or by calling 0909 404490. The party takes
place in Lot 13, Tan Trao, Q7, HCMC
27
SUNDAY
HCMC
ORGANIC FARMERS
MARKET
La Holista health guru Chiara

Squinzi is organising Saigon
Outcasts first-ever farmers market, and
its going to be a good one. Partnering with
Organik Dalat Vietnams only EU-certified
organic farm theyre inviting farmers,
ranchers, fishermen, food artisans, flowers
shops, honey sellers, gluten-free Nutella
treat crafters, yoga practitioners, health
coaches, cooking demonstrators, free-range
eggs providers, bakers, organic beer makers,
kombucha hawkers, fresh juices experts, cheese
lovers, organic coffee slingers and YOU!
You might not have noticed, but lately
Saigon Outcast has jumped the internetbiting shark, so get there early. Theyre
expecting around 700 families and health
seekers on the day.
The Saigon Outcast Farmers Market goes
from 9am to 6pm at Outcast 188/1 Nguyen
Van Huong, Q2, HCMC. For more info, go to
facebook.com/outcastsfarmersmarket
29
FRIDAY
Hanoi
WEDNESDAY
HCMC
LITTLE BARRIE RETURNS
Remember the best night youve ever

had at Apocalypse Now? No, not
the night you kissed that Swedish
gymnast the night that Dengue Fever
played an emergency show on their ground
floor, and UK blues rockers Little Barrie
nearly blew the doors off in their opening set.
Loud Minority is seeing its first-ever
returning alumni with Little Barries
forthcoming set in the more comfy confines
of Cargo Bar. And its a good time to be
seeing guitarist Barrie Cadogans brainchild

on the heels of their critically-acclaimed
album Shadow, and their mainstreaminfiltrating score to the show Better Call Saul.
Well, maybe anytime is a good time to be
seeing Barrie Cadogan, the man who talent
scout Edwyn Collins has called the best
guitarist of his generation.
Little Barrie is going on at Cargo Bar (7
Nguyen Tat Thanh, Q4, HCMC), 7.30pm. Tickets
are VND350,000 in advance, VND450,000 at
the door available at ticketbox.vn and Asian
Kitchen (185/22 Pham Ngu Lao, Q1, HCMC)
ALY AND FILA
World-renowned Egyptian trance

act Aly and Fila will be playing at
outdoor venue Eden Club (Alley
264 Au Co, Tay Ho, Hanoi). Brought in by
Vibration Events and Excite Entertainment,
expect the duo to spin the tunes into the
early hours.
For more info go to page 46 or check out the
Eden Hanoi Facebook page
wordvietnam.com | May 2015 Word | 11
Photos by Mads Monsen
briefings
BRIEFING
HCMC
The Blooms
of May
Dining for a good cause at BLOOM Restaurant Saigon
ear the canals of Binh Thanh, a

French colonial mansion sits nestled
into an intimate neighborhood.
The elegant white faade is well
camouflaged to the first-time visitor.
Somehow, the biggest building in the area
is also the least conspicuous. By night, dim
golden light pours out of its many windows.
Its a stretch to call the ambience Parisian,
but not that much of a stretch.
The mansion was once home to May
Cloud, a restaurant appreciated by Saigon
foodies for its charming dcor, elegant (and
moderately priced) dishes, and friendly
service. Last month, the winding staircases
and candle-lit tables became home to a new
gem: BLOOM.
Like the mansion itself, the dishes are
Vietnamese with hints of French influence.

Two chefs, Jacqueline Kieu and Hung Tu,
both of whom once plied their trade in the
US, have worked diligently to craft EastWest dishes. Typical of the joint influence is
the shaking beef bo luc lac, a succulent pile
of wok-stirred filet mignon cubes sure to
satisfy the most ravenous carnivores. Lighter
dishes such as the fried tofu with lemongrass
provide a pleasing balance to the menu,
and like its predecessor, May Cloud, all
dishes are prepared without MSG or other
additives.
The food isnt the only reason to visit
BLOOM, however. As an Aid to Children
Without Parents (ACWP) Culinary Training
Facility for Disadvantaged Youth, BLOOM
Restaurant Saigon provides employment
opportunities and job training for

Vietnamese youth from underprivileged
backgrounds. The organisation, which began
in Hue, aims to empower young people
with practical skills and documentable job
experience that will allow them to succeed in
the real world.
Benjamin Lee, Chairman of ACWP, says
that the goal of the restaurant is to train its
employees for later success in three and
four-star kitchens, the kind normally found
in upscale hotels and expensive restaurants.
For diners seeking that type of premium
experience at a fraction of the price, BLOOM
is well worth the trip. Niko Savvas
Visit bloom-saigon.com for more information
about the restaurant and the ACWP
programme
briefings
briefing
HCMC
Casting Call
Following on from last months article about Dragonfly Theatre Companys dinnertheatre event next month, An Evening with Tennessee Williams, Jon Aspin interrupts
rehearsals to see how its going, and ask if he can score a last-minute spot in the cast.
The answer? Not a chance
alking to him are directors, producers

and cast members Aaron Toronto,
Belinda Smith, Ryan Burkwood
and Mandi Manson:
Word: Belinda, youre putting on five oneact plays by Tennessee Williams. Its an
ambitious undertaking. How are rehearsals
going?
Belinda: Well, thanks Jon. With all of
our productions we always spend time
exploring our characters before we even start
rehearsing, so were in the middle of that
process now.
Word: How intense does it get? A little
birdy told me things were heating up the
other night
Belinda: It is intense, but it makes the final
product so much more believable. Otherwise
its just a bunch of actors standing on stage
reading lines. By the time we start rehearsing

scenes, we understand how our characters
might behave in any situation.
Word: Sounds interesting. Speaking
of situations, Mandi, youre playing
Blanche Shannon in Interior: Panic, one
of Tennessees most famous, and damaged
characters. Hows that been going?
Mandi: Both of my roles are demanding:
physically, technically and emotionally. In
terms of intensity, lets just say there will be
sweat and there will be tears.
Word: Glad to hear it. Prior to this weve
seen you playing Snow White around
town. Are there any parallels?
Mandi: [Laughs] Yes, they are quite
different. The only common theme perhaps
is the awareness of the power of a womans
beauty. Snow White is of course the fairest in
the land Blanche, she lives in torment and

panic as hers fades.
Word: Whats the best part about playing
this type of character?
Mandi: Whats not to love? She hears
voices, hallucinates and lives in and out
of delusional fits of panic. The majority of
the play is centred on Blanches struggle,
so I guess the best part is getting to walk in
the shoes of a person who is so thoroughly
tormented.
Word: Aaron, you and Ryan are directing
and acting in these plays. Whats it like
working with this cast?
Aaron: When you have such a tiny
community of artists, you get a wide
range of experiences. Personally, its been
wonderful working with actors such as
Ryan and Mandi, who are as professionally
Photo by Adam Astley

Images from the recent Dragonfly production, Waiting for Godot
trained as any actor I know.

Ryan: Shucks, thanks Aaron. I never fail
to be humbled by the dedication and
commitment of our actors. Weve all got
wildly different schedules, so it means
rehearsals at odd times, usually long into
the night. But thats what we all signed
up for!
Word: When will you guys know that
youre ready to perform?
Ryan: Well know when its five minutes
before the performance! Ideally Id like to
rehearse like some avant-garde European
companies do, for five to 10 years. Sadly we
dont have that luxury, we have a deadline!
Mandi: We will be ready when the lights go
down and we are cued to start the show. We
have to be.
Word: Mandi, youre one of the more
experienced of the cast, do you still get
nervous?
Mandi: I do get nervous, but I know Im
ready when I dont have to think about what
I am doing. Thats when the character lives
and breathes without conscious acting.
Thats when Im ready to go out there and
perform in front of an audience.

Word: And you Aaron?
Aaron: To paraphrase a quote, a play is
never finished, it just runs out of time and
money. Youve got to do the best you can to
prepare, then when it comes time to perform,
bring it.
Word: Bring it eh? I can bring it. What are
my chances of getting a walk-on in this?
Have you guys seen my beer commercial?
All: [Sound of crickets]
Word: Not ringing any bells? There was
a story about it in the last issue of this
magazine...
Aaron: ... err, no sorry Jon, were not really
readers. Weve got nothing.
Word: Well this is awkward. Can I show
you the ad?
Belinda: umm, not really. Is there another
question?
Ryan: Hang on, I think we could fit you in
Jon. Dont we need a good-looking guy to
wait the tables Belinda?
Belinda: [Whispering] But hes not
good-looking!
Word: I can hear you.

Ryan: Ahem, best just to move on, Jon.
Word: Thanks Ryan. Belinda, the dinnertheatre concept is still a new one for
Saigon. Are you worried someone might
get wine spilled on their playbook and
write a bad review on TripAdvisor?
Belinda: Good question, I hadnt thought of
that. I think the reviews that Dragonfly gets
say that people appreciate what were doing,
although none on TripAdvisor yet. I think
dinner-theatre is the perfect combination for
this show. We wanted to make this a whole
event rather than just coming to see a play.
Ryan: Yeah, its not something we usually do,
but Im really excited about the food well be
serving. Proper southern Mississippi Delta
style expect mud pie. Its just a shame I
wont get to eat it!
Word: I look forward to it. Thank you all for
your time. Remind us how we can get a seat?
Belinda: If people want to enjoy the whole
dinner-theatre experience they must book
seats in advance. To do this they should
go to our Facebook page [facebook.com/
dragonflyvietnam] to get the ticketbox.vn link.
Hope to see you at the show!
briefings
And the award goes to

[Sound of envelope
being opened. Silence from
the audience.]
The NHAT TAN-NOI BAI
HIGHWAY!!!
eyond cutting the journey time

to the airport by 15 minutes, at
first sight the new road over Nhat
Tan Bridge in Hanoi to Noi Bai is
hardly revolutionary. Indeed, the fixed
fare taxi drivers from the airport still
charge the same rates to and from central
Hanoi. In the past it was 26km into town.
Now the journey is 17. A bum deal.
But judging by the amount of people
stopping on the bridge to take photos,
theres a buzz that goes beyond reduced
journey times (and non-reduced taxi
fares). Families and friends step out of
cars and pose, with the structures
triangular trusses spanning across
the Red River behind them.
Heres me on Cau Nhat
Tan, they will boast to
their friends or write on
Facebook. The likes
will flood in as
well as the odd
comment. Wow,
little Tuan has
got really
big what
milk
BRIEFINGS
HANOI
The Best Road

in Vietnam
product are you giving him, tell me? Where did
you get that new anorak?
Yet where the new road is social media
friendly, the local media has been silent.
Eerily so. Normally they rev themselves
up into a scandal-driven frenzy when
constructions or projects are badly
implemented. Check out the cracks in the
tunnel under the Saigon River. Oh my god!
The sky, no, the river will fall on our heads!
Its a field day. Its a scare factor. Its a
Vietnam has gone to the dogs affair. With
Nhat Tan, all is quiet on the Eastern Front.
With the angle-less media lodged in their
trenches, and with every person I speak
to coming up with the same adjective
Amazing it only reinforces what my
own bicycle, motorbike and taxi journeys
along this highway have already impressed.
This four and sometime five-lane
Japanese-Vietnamese construction is the best
road in Vietnam.
A Model Road
Yet, its a road. Asphalt over gravel over clay.
So who gives a damn? It gets you from A to
B. Yes its faster. But so what?
Lets take the standard highway in
Vietnam. Trucks, cars and motorbikes all
struggle for driving space on the same piece
of asphalt. Journey times are slow. Accidents
are numerous and, although the official
death toll of the last calendar year was the
lowest in years, it still hovered around
9,000 fatalities. Despite the fact we have
to use them every day, the roads are a
pretty dangerous place to be.
Numerous efforts have been
made to speed up journey times
and increase safety the
Trung Luong and Long
Thanh Expressways in
the south, the Thang
Long and Hanoi-Lao
Cai Highways
in the north.
Two-wheeled
vehicles
have often
been
completely banned from these expressways,

allowing for four-wheeled vehicles to hit
higher speeds. Or if not, they have been
relegated to a side section. Anyone who has
driven down the Thang Long Highway out
of Hanoi will know how dangerous the side
lanes are. The traffic goes in two directions,
but with no clear road markings to separate
out the wheat from the oncoming chaff. Its a
scrap collectors dream.
Yet the Nhat Tan-Noi Bai Road seems to
have solved all this. Crossing the bridge
motorbikes are on the same road as the
cars, but at the first opportunity they are
relegated to the side lanes. And yes, these
side lanes are well-signposted and wellpaved, as is the highway itself. Its even been
beautified, with women in non la in daily
attendance of the flower beds, palm trees
and vegetation. As for pedestrians not
even the canniest or fleetest-of-foot Thong,
Duc and Ha will risk a quick crossing.
Tunnels under the highway have been
set aside for this as they have for U-turns
and quick cuts across lane to turn left. Yes,
those goddamn left-hand turns. And on the
highway itself, the exits are all organised
into spaghetti-like intersections. Not a traffic
light or roundabout in sight.
Growing the Capital

There are more superlatives to add to the
growing list, for this is more than just a
road. Running through Dong Anh District
in northeast Hanoi, together with the newly
completed Highway 5 it has created fast
access to the least developed area of the city.
Paddy fields, vegetable farms, small
towns and villages presently battle for
open space in this Never Never Land, or
as one person describes it, the bread bowl
of the capital. Expect all this to change
over the next five years. If theres going
to be new development, much of it will
be out here. Never Never will become the
new frontier.
Lets just hope theres a strategy. The mass
development in My Dinh to the west of the
city is bereft of urban planning. Here they
can hopefully get it right. Nick Ross
briefings
BRIEFINGS
NATIONAL
The Ta Lai Trophy

City athletes go to the jungle to test their endurance
ast month, just under 100

competitors descended on Nam
Cat Tien, Vietnams second-largest
national park, to take part in
this years Ta Lai Trophy. A jungle-style
triathlon that includes biking, running
and, for Extreme competitors, kayaking,
the grueling competition is the equivalent
of a Vietnamese-style Iron Man, except in
a jungle setting.
Its all about creating an event in a
beautiful biosphere, says co-organiser
Francois Bouvery. It gives competitors the
chance to experience a back-to-nature-style
tournament.
He adds: We have a good community
here. More than 50 percent of the
competitors know each other. Every year
we have newcomers. Ultimately, we want
more people to come to the park.
Finishing first place in the Extreme event
were Joachim Poirier and Jean-Baptiste
Campion, both ending with a time of 5:58.
The shorter Challenge race was won by

Bruno Thiernard and Meriem Kellou, who
completed the circuit in 2:21.
Says race co-organiser George Abraham,
The first edition of the race had around
45 racers, whereas this year we had just
under 100 so it has doubled in size,
which is great. After the first editions
success we felt this year had to be bigger,
better and, of course, more of a challenge
for our racers.
And more of a challenge it certainly was.
Ross Jaxx, a Jakarta-based American,
prepared for the event by doing a trail
run in Indonesia a few weeks ago, twice
up and down a volcano. That was a
three-and-a-half hour slog. If this is more
difficult than that I'll be surprised. He
finished 13th in the Extreme race, with a
time of 7:43.
Another competitor, British International
School student Simon Arts, fared much
better.
These events are a lot of fun compared

to a triathlon, where you approach it kind
of like Tai Chi, said the Belgian. You
start canoeing at night. You never know,
you might blow a tyre on the track you
just never know what's going to happen in
a race like this.
Simon finished second in the Extreme
race with a time of 6:01.
With all the proceeds going to the local
ethnic minorities living in the confines of
the national park, George Abraham has
one regret.
I would love to see more Vietnamese
racers taking part as we dont get many
signing up to participate, which is a
shame, he says. Cat Tien is so beautiful.
They are missing out on a hidden gem in
their own backyard.
Next year, George. Next year.
Check out talai-adventure.vn for the next
challenge
briefings
BRIEFINGS
NATIONAL
Cleaner Air
Battling air quality in Vietnam
ccording to a recent Yale University

report, Vietnams air quality is ranked
170 out of 178 countries. Using
three measurements air pollution,
exceedance of safe limits and household air quality
it is difficult to know how they reached this
conclusion. Few official air pollution statistics, both
indoor and outdoor, are released in Vietnam, and
only a handful of private individuals take regular
readings.
Yet air quality in this country is a concern. It
doesnt take data to tell you one thing in the
past decade its gotten markedly worse. Cases
of asthma are on the rise and air quality in the
major cities, particularly Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh
City, can sometimes be so bad that its difficult to
breathe.
With this in mind, in February 2013 Word ran
a survey of the air quality in Ho Chi Minh City.
It was far from conclusive, but it showed that
outdoor air pollution is often between two and
five times the WHO-recommended safe level. In
August of the same year, we brought a ParticleScan
Pro a handheld laser particle counter up to
Hanoi and took measurements at various locations
around the city. We compared results. On average,
the air pollution in the capital was around 160,000
fine particles per litre of air. In Saigon it was
140,000. The upper threshold, according to WHOs
guidelines, should be 60,000.
Taking on Bad Air

Since 2013, Aron Szabo, the Vietnam distributor
of IQ Air, a Swiss company producing indoor
air purifying machines, has noticed an increased
interest in the countrys air quality. Two years ago
no-one seemed to really care, he says. But now
the embassies are starting to contact me. Theyre
very concerned.
But its not just the embassies that are contacting
Aron, its businesses as well.
As individuals we cant do much about the
outdoor environment change has to come on
the macro level. It requires nationwide policy and
enforced regulation.
However, air pollution is often worse indoors.
And since these environments are the places we
live and work, we can have an immediate effect on
their quality.
Says Aron: You would expect the air quality
inside to be better than outside. But its not. All
air-conditioning in a closed environment does is
circulate the air, keeping it within the same space.
We spend 90 percent of our time indoors, which
is why indoor air pollution is so much more
dangerous than its equivalent outdoors.
A number of Vietnam-based companies
including diabetes care company Novo Nordisk
Vietnam and diamond manufacturer Rydiam

Saigon have already installed air purifiers on
their premises, at their own expense. Elsewhere,
the United Nations International School (UNIS)
in Hanoi has created a protocol for taking daily
air quality readings in their school. Over a fourday period in March their measurements moved
between moderate (50,000 to 100,000 fine particles
per litre of air) and unhealthy (150,000 to 200,000
fine particles per litre of air).
For the Kids

The International School of Ho Chi Minh City
(ISHCMC) is also taking daily readings. Says
deputy headmaster Adrian Watts, I do the tests at
7am. And weve had a student take regular tests
she does them at 9am, noon, 2pm and 4.30pm.
He adds: When its rainy and windy, the
readings go down. They go up and down during
the cycle of a day as well. Theyre higher in the
morning, then they decline into the early afternoon,
and mid-afternoon they start to rise again.
ISHCMCs concern with air quality has led
them towards the conclusions Novo Nordisk
Vietnam and Rydiam Saigon have already arrived
at. The school recently installed a hospital-quality
air purifying system in the Early Years and
Kindergarten classrooms, as well as in an open
space called the Atrium.
The type of pollution here, which is smallparticle pollution, is most dangerous for the
youngest students in the school, explains Adrian,
who confirms that the institution is committed
to extending the programme to the rest of the
school. So the decision was made to have purer
air for their classroom areas, as thats where they
are working most of the time, and to make those
environments as nice as possible for the students.
For us its about protecting the students weve
got at the school, its about child welfare and child
wellbeing. Our mission is to energise, engage and
empower, because if the children are breathing
poor air, then it makes them less energised, and if
theyre less energised it makes their engagement
less.
Vietnam is a country still dealing with the big
problems infrastructure and development
which means the details, such as regulating
factory emissions and exhaust fumes will take
time.
For the time being, to ensure the health of
ourselves, our families and our places of work,
we need to take the air quality issue into our own
hands. The only problem is the expense.
As Adrian says, its not cheap. However, he
adds, if you have a centralised air system and put
everything in at source when youre building a
building, it is much much cheaper to install.
Air Quality Index

Measured in fine particles per litre of air
0 50,000 Good Air Quality
50,000 100,000 Moderate
101,000 150,000 Unhealthy for
Sensitive Groups
151,000 200,000 Unhealthy
201,000 300,000 Very Unhealthy
300,000 and above Hazardous
Photo by Francis Xavier
ISHCMC students measure air quality in a controlled environment
In August 2013, the average air quality in

Ho Chi Minh City was 140,000. In Hanoi it
was 160,000.
briefings
BRIEFING
HANOI
Mystery Quest
Quest took to the hills for their latest experiment
he first thing we noticed after our

2.5km hike into the festival grounds
were the giant penis statues. The
work of artist Dao Anh Khanh,
these things were 50 feet tall. One of them
had a ballsack.
I dont remember if reggae was playing, but
there was definitely a chilled-out vibe. The few
hundred people were calmly milling, sipping
beers and drinking in the wondrous mountain
valley around them. All around were limestone
karsts, unexpected streams, waterfalls, freakycostumed types and the surreality that Khanh
is carving into his slice of paradise.
Electronic music parties in Vietnam often
tend towards that dark-hearted disco
feel take some house records, some sexy
people and a desperate need to forget the
workweek, and see where it gets you by
5am. Quests atmosphere was a blast of fresh
air. It showed on everyones faces.
I ran the hills. Not having been in such

an endless landscape for months, it felt
exhilarating.
Night descended, and the party went
on. Party things happened. On a rock
jutting out of the hillside the Ambient
Altar I took it all in with my partner
in sound sculpting, Alex McCarl (the guy
with the freaky face-paint). We set the
spoken words of Alan Watts to a rolling
ambient soundtrack, passing around iPads
programmed with learning-curve-less
audio sequencer app NodeBeat. It was an
experiment in weird bliss.
Watching the sun come up, survivors
of the night journeyed to our rock. And,
watching the sunrise on another day, we
felt like wed actually gotten somewhere.
Ed Weinberg
Get into the Quest pipeline at facebook.com/
questfestival
BUILDING OF THE MONTH
HCMC
Uncle Hoa's Mansion

One of Ho Chi Minh City's best known landmarks
has a storied history
ou might know the buildings that the

Hui Bon Hoa Company built in the
early 20th century. The most famous,
Uncle Hoas Mansion, is currently
the site of the Ho Chi Minh City Fine Arts
Museum. The crowded walls of art displayed
inside look like something the real estate and
pawnshop tycoon might have accrued in his
life, material proof of his enormous wealth.
But Hui Bon Hoa died nearly 30 years
before work on these buildings started. It was
the second generation of his clan that built the
four original buildings only three of which
remain.
Construction of the residential
quarters of his son Thang Hung Hui Bon
Hoa now the main exhibition space
of the museum began in 1929 and
went through to 1934. Influenced by the

Indochine Style then in fashion, the building
fused traditional Asian features and trendy
Art Deco elements for a look that was a
hit in the Chinese-speaking world. People
even started telling ghost stories about the
building a building so extraordinary
should hold secrets, and their guesses were
of an obvious sort.
While the exhibition spaces of the museum
are decently upkept, the same isnt true for
the whole complex. Their memories are left
to decay naturally, paint chip by flaking paint
chip. Ed Weinberg
These photos are part of a collection of images
by Alexandre Garel which will eventually be
turned into a book. To see more of his work go to
instagram.com/saigonsnaps
briefings
A Pig Called Julian
Charity
of
the
Month
Based in Hoi An, the Vietnam

Animal Welfare Organization
(VAWO) is on a mission. They're
trying to improve the standard of
care for animals in this country.
Words by Jon Aspin
ave you ever taped a birds wings back

together after it kamikazed into your freshly
cleaned front windows? Have you befriended
a thirsty possum? Or gone home with a gecko
in your top pocket? If so, you might love animals,
which is great, because we do too.
We also know someone else who does, a lot. Her name
is Emma Bolton, and by a lot I mean she currently lives in
a house with 42 rescued cats. 42. Thats a big bag of kitty
litter, and it doesnt stop there. Also splitting bills with her
are seven dogs, four chickens, three ducks, a pig called
Julian and one extremely understanding Vietnamese man
a man Emma met within three months of being here
six years ago, a man she now calls her fianc.
Notwithstanding happy nuptials, the situation is

not her ideal one. That, she explains, would be when
she doesnt have to do this job at all as manager and
co-founder of the Vietnam Animal Welfare Organization
(VAWO), the animal rescue and veterinary clinic in Hoi
An she set up two years ago with her friend Catherine
Besch.
Completely self-funded, they were both inspired into
action by some early experiences taking on stray cats.
These included Emmas first, a mother of five kittens that
was stolen to the meat trade yes, cats are on the menu
here too.
Activism
When we catch up over Skype, Emma has competition
for the mic I can hear her extended brood. However
this doesnt stop her from some fast-paced words about
everything her growing cadre of animal activists have
been up to. Its their mission to not only rescue and
repatriate lost kittens, but to educate, lobby for change and
improve the standard of care for animals in this country.
Emma explained that the volume of animals theyve
taken in, mostly cats from tourists and expats who find
them dumped along the road, has left the organisation
without any room to give. Were overcrowded, weve got
too many, she says.
This immediate need for space has seen them target a
much bigger property, but without funding

for an appropriate fence, theyre stuck in the
current situation. The logic goes that with a
bigger space and a cat caf also planned
more people will be able to come to the
house, learn about responsible pet care, and
adopt more pets. This is the ultimate goal,
she explains, and the primary focus of their
current fundraising effort.
Vets Without Borders
Photos provided by VAWO
Another part of the VAWO programme sees

volunteer vets come from around the world.
At present theyve got two, working mostly
with locals to cure sick pets, teaching them
how to properly care for their animals. Its a
service that generates huge word of mouth,
Emma says, as news spreads fast of foreign
animal doctors working in the area.
Its the need for education and awareness
that also saw the VAWO team take part in
the recent International Say No to Dog Meat
Day. Emma has lost multiple dogs and cats
to the mysterious trucks and often violent
men on bikes who swoop in during the
night, stealing peoples pets for slaughter.
Ultimately, she says, it will take a change
in the law for this to stop, and thats what

the march on Apr. 4 was about. Cycling
through town, handing out fliers to
restaurants and their diners, holding up
banners, VAWO represented Vietnam on a
global stage and were happy to add their
presence to the international voice against
the dog trade. And Emma was happy to see
so many young Vietnamese get behind it.
But thats a long game, she admits, with
implications beyond the rank and file. Right
now, she has a fence to build, quite literally,
a clinic to keep running and a caf to plan
for. On top of that, shes got the twicedaily cleans she performs for her beloveds,
feeding, hand-rearing new arrivals
coupled with a day job selling clothes and
a night job taking care of fundraising. If, as
Mahatma Ghandi once said, The greatness
of a nation and its moral progress can be
judged by the way its animals are treated,
Vietnam has a huge ally in Emma Bolton and
her team at VAWO.
To support Vietnam Animal Welfare
Organizations fence fund, go to life.indiegogo.
com/fundraisers/new-home-for-vietnam-s-rescuecats or visit vnanimalwelfare.org
briefings
Sports Digest
SPORTS DIGEST
NATIONAL
The SEA Games
Vietnam's national basketball team prepares for the forthcoming

Southeast Asian Games. Words by Harry Hodge. Photo by Kyle Phanroy
asketball has made massive

strides in Vietnam in the last four
years, and the return of the mens
national team to the regional
sporting scene means the skys the limit
for the sport.
With Saigon Heat taking part in the
ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) and
playing to packed houses, they made the
playoffs for the first time last year. Now
head coach Anthony Garbelotto has added
to his duties since being named skipper

of the mens national team. Absent from
regional competition for several years, the
squad will get thrown into the deep end next
month as part of the Southeast Asian Games
in Singapore.
The two projects are quite different,
Garbelotto said. National team tournaments
are always intense and the preparation is in
some ways shorter.
You have to arrive in great shape and
then hope that your team can get some

momentum. Saigon Heat and the ABL is in a
league format where you have more chances
to scout and make adjustments over a period
of time.
The national team will play Cambodia
twice at the Canadian International School
in Ho Chi Minh Citys District 7 as part of
its preparations. Those games take place on
Friday, May 15 and Sunday, May 17, with the
opening tip set for 7.30pm.
Thailand, Vietnam to Square Off

at SEA Games
Vietnams football team will play against
archrival Thailand during the upcoming
28th Southeast Asian Games in Singapore
this June, according to Vietnam News.
Just a day after the draw of the World
Cup qualifier, the two teams will meet
each other again in Group B, along with
Malaysia, Laos, Brunei and East Timor.
Thailand, the defending champions,
are the top-seeded team in the group.
In Group A, hosts Singapore are the top
seed. Also in their group are Indonesia,
Myanmar, Cambodia and the Philippines.
Vietnam Set for Summer

Motorbike Festival
With the theme Make Your Ride More
Colourful, the 2015 Vietnam Motorbike
Festival will be launched in Ho Chi Minh
City on Jul. 11, with numerous events and
activities for riders in Vietnam.
An international motorcycle show will
also display more than 100 motorbikes
of well-known brands. Represented at
the event are Benelli, Ducati, Keeway,
KTM, Kawasaki, Royal Enfield and Indian
Motorcycle.
More Match-Fixing Charges in

V-League
The Ministry of Public Security has
wrapped up investigations of several
Dong Nai players accused of manipulating
the result of a V-League football match last
season, according to Thanh Nhien.
The clubs captain, Pham Huu Phat,
got five other players involved in fixing
their away match against Than Quang
Ninh on July 20, which Dong Nai lost 5-3,
investigators alleged.
They have proposed charges of
gambling and organising gambling against
Phat. The other five Nguyen Thanh
Long Giang, Dinh Kien Trung, Nguyen
Duc Thien, Ha Niem Tien, and goalkeeper
Phan Luu The Son face gambling
charges. Tran Van Ba, the bookie that Phat
contacted, and four of his accomplices also
face charges of organising gambling.
Athletes to Watch
While basketball and football are always
the two main team sports to watch in any
big competition, here are some individual
performers from Vietnam you should watch
as part of our SEA Games primer:
Swimming: Vietnams top female swimmer
Nguyen Thi Anh Vien won a gold medal
in the womens 200m medley at the
2015 United States National Swimming
Championships. She beat 190 competitors
to take the lead with a time of 2:16.06. In the
womens 100m backstroke, the 18-year-old
swimmer also won a silver medal with a time
of 1:04.07.
Last year, Vien won two Asian Games
bronze medals that were Vietnams first ever
at the Games. She also set seven records
at the ASEAN Swimming Championships,
and dominated the national tournament with

18 titles and 14 records.
Athletics: Hoang Van Thai triumphed in the
mens 800m event, finishing the race in
1:52.95 at the 92nd Malaysia Open Track
and Field Championships, which closed
in Kuala Lumpur last month. Do Thi Thao
stood second in the womens 800m race,
with a timing of 2:08.95. Le Thi Huyen
topped the womens 400m race a timing
of 53.34. Quach Cong Lich won the mens
400m category in 46.99.
Gymnastics: A bright star on the
gymnastics side, Phan Thi Ha Thanh won
the gold medal in the womens beam
event in the 8th FIG Artistic Gymnastics
Challenge Cup in Qatar.
Vietnam Weightlifter Wins Silver

at Junior Worlds
Weightlifter Nguyen Tran Anh Tuan
pocketed three silver medals at the IWF
Youth World Championships in Lima, Peru,
according to Vietnam News.
Tuan, competing in the mens 56kg
category, came second in the snatch
(115kg), clean-and-jerk (145kg) and total
(260kg).
Chinese Lin Zhixiang
bagged three gold medals
(116kg, 146kg, and 262kg).
tes
upda
The bronze medal in
Sendout yourp or
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the snatch event went
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Vinh with a lift of 105kg.
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briefings
BRIEFING
HCMC
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Which bad pun-named

team will win this year?
he fifth times a charm for the

Saigon Dodgeball Tournament, as
this colourful staple of the sporting
calendar returns to District 3 this
year, with eight teams vying for the citys
dodgeball crown.
I think the costumes and competitiveness
get people excited, says long-time organiser
Daren Cheng. (The teams) have a couple of
months to prepare and then say theyre the
best.
Cheng played in the first tournament,
stepped back to take on organising duties in
editions two and three, and returned to the
court as a competitor in number four. (Full
disclosure: Ill be MCing this tournament for
the third year in a row). Hes still smarting
over being defeated by last years champs,
The Game of Throws, who played with a
medieval theme.
Every tournament is different, Cheng
says. Teams come up with really fun
names.
He also says that no matter what, as long
as a team has one player remaining on the
court, they always have a chance to win. A
novice player can stage a comeback from one
catch.
As the club has grown, the Vietnamese
membership has steadily increased.

Numbers-wise, locals and expats are
now on an even footing. Cheng also
pointed to the growth of a scene in Phnom
Penh, Cambodia, where a former Saigon
dodgeballer helped establish a club in that
city. Harry Hodge
The 2015 Saigon Dodgeball Tournament will
be at Rach Mieu Stadium, 1 Hoa Phuong Street,

Q3, HCMC on May 23. Registration closed at
the beginning of May, but spectators are invited
to take in all the fun.
To play in the regular club nights, head to 75
Nguyen Dinh Chieu, Q3, HCMC Mondays
and Wednesdays at 8pm. For more info, visit
their Facebook page or saigondodgeball.org
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08
Ho Chi Minh City
FRIDAY
TRAVEL MASSIVE MEETUP

If youre a travel pro, this
networking event is one to
check. Southeast Asias most
experienced travellers are
descending on Saigon this month
for a free event open to everyone
in the industry: destination
managers, agents, airlines,
hoteliers and anyone else with
an interest. The event takes place
in the new KOTO location in
Kumho Plaza.
Travel Massive Saigon starts at
7pm, at the new KOTO location,
upstairs at Kumho Plaza, 39 Le
Duan, Q1, HCMC. Admission
is free but the organisers request
you RSVP at facebook.com/
travelmassivesaigon
09
SATURDAY
DRUM CLINIC
DREAMWORKER
Southeast Asias leading drum

clinician Kenny Hogan
world-music artist, Singapore
International Foundationsponsored cultural emissary is
coming to Saigon Outcast in
May to teach Saigon some highlevel pop, rock, jazz and fusion
moves. The two-hour clinic will
cover hand and foot technique,

linear exercises, listening to other
musicians and soloing in odd time
signatures. Saigons aspiring Alex
Van Halens need look no further
Kenny is going to school you.
Kenny Hogans drum clinic
happens at Saigon Outcast 188/1
Nguyen Van Huong, Q2, HCMC
16
CELTIC FESTIVAL
SATURDAY
MID-MAY
The next Gouel Breizh or Breton

Day will take place in Ho Chi
Minh City at Cargo Bar. The
Breton society in Vietnam has
invited musicians from all over
the world to present all aspects of
Celtic music. More than 40 artists
and seven bands will perform,
among them The Kemperle Pipe
Band, Lang Dzu Band, Alan
Pennec and Turbo Sans Visa. The
Breton Society in Vietnam aims
to promote the knowledge of
Brittany, its culture, its history
Craig Thomas Gallery brings

art to Hi Chi Minh City. In
mid-May, theyll present a
solo exhibition of the work of
Saigon-based photographer
Le Nguyen Duy Phuong.
Displaying work from two
of his most recent series
titled Holding Water and
Dreamworkers, this work wont

go unnoticed. Theres also two
amazing pieces left in their
online auction.
Craig Thomas Gallery is at 27i
Tran Nhat Duat, Q1, HCMC, or
online at cthomasgallery.com. To
arrange a viewing call Ms. Thu on
0937 112341
and its economy.

Ticket are available for pre-sale
from Cargo for VND100,000 or at
the door for VND150,000. Cargo

Bar is at 7 Nguyen Tat Thanh, Q4,
HCMC
Fifty Shades of Expat
Tanktop
Romeo
For more info on Score Tech click on score-tech.net

to do list
Ho Chi Minh City
The Month in Observatory

Saigons dark-hearted disco has been stacking up the jams lately, and this month is no exception. All parties take place at
Saigons favourite late night hub 5 Nguyen Tat Thanh, Q4, HCMC, starting around 10pm
Japanese people mover, DJ Yogurt, to play at Observatory on May 16
Saturday 2
Friday 15
Pepperpot
Joakim
Greg Pepperpots passion for sound is

unique in its depth and power. This is
the Rex Club in Paris residents second
visit to the city and his first gig at The
Observatorys new venue. You can expect
his organic-sounding electronic rhythms
from the worlds of house and techno to
capture and direct the dance floor in a
way that makes people move on and on.
Joakims productions and DJ sets cannot

be described by genre names. Coming
from a background in classical music and
jazz, he fuses a vast array of influences
and vocals into his sound, resulting in a
high-powered and synth-heavy aesthetic
that shakes dance floors.
Friday 8
DJ Yogurt
Horasse
Eclectic electro specialist Horasse has
featured on the lineups of the most prestigious clubs in Switzerland, serving up
a highly specialised dish of vinyl-plated
audio goodness from house and techno to
disco. This will be precise and powerful
not one to miss.
Saturday 9
MadderModes
One half of Saigon-based Observatory
resident Nic Ford the other Manchester-based Andy Harper MadderModes
has just had a release on the highly acclaimed Millions of Moments label that
has won plays and plaudits by the likes of
Nick Hoppner. This night will see the two
production partners spinning together for
a techno-soaked night of deepness.
Saturday 16
A key figure in the Japanese and Tokyo
electronic music scene, DJ Yogurt is a
prolific people mover who has played
alongside the likes of Todd Terje and
Derrick May. Hell be bringing his big bag
of house, disco and techno bombs to set
the floor on fire with his signature partystarting attitude.
Friday 22
Ben La Desh
Cutting edge house is the name of the
game on this night. Holland-based Ben
La Deshs roots in Africa have infused
his productions and sets with a coat of
tropical attitude that makes for a simply
irresistible sound cocktail.
Saturday 23
Local Flavor w/Starchild, Lotus
Disco and Nic Ford

The monthly night dedicated to the talent
present in our own city, Local Flavor will
witness the disco-flare of Lotus Disco, the
house and groove power of Starchild and
eclectic electronic precision of Nic Ford.
All will come together for a mixed salad
of serious sound to bump up the dance
floor.
Friday 29
Clich Records Night w/VISA and
Hibiya Line
The Clich boss and major Observatory
ally VISA is back in town to join Observatory resident, co-founder and Clich
member Hibiya Line for a night of disco,
house and techno. Get ready for a showcase from an emerging power of the East
Asian electronic sound axis.
Saturday 30
EA&OC Loft Party w/Nic Ford,
Dan Lo and Hibiya Line
The trio that brought you the rumble
in the jungle, the Elisa Boat party and
countless other good times throughout
the city are back in force after their twoyear anniversary last month. For this
installation, theyre going old-school and
keeping the night to themselves. Expect
Afrobeat and funk to intertwine with
serious house and techno as the night
progresses.
16
SATURDAY
LYSISTRATAS TOGA PARTY

THE AMERICAN SCHOOL OPEN HOUSE
Its never too early to introduce
your child to the highfalutin
world of top hats and coattails
that enrollment in The American
School will no doubt gain
them admission to. And so,
The American School presents
its annual Ice Cream Social,
a classy event serving the
luxuriously toothsome delicacies
of Baskin Robbins, Binggrae
23
and Fanny for breakfast. In

addition, there will be student-led
tours, teacher meetings, student
council displays and music and
drama department performances.
For more information on the
festivities, write to admissions@
tasvietnam.edu.vn. The Ice Cream
Social goes from 9am to 11.30am,
at 117A, 172-180 Nguyen Van
Huong, Q2, HCMC
Saigon Players is mixing it up

a little more than they usually
do, inviting the whole phalanx
down to take part. Lysistrata is the
protagonist of an Aristophanes
play a sexual strategist who
convinces the women of ancient
Greece to withhold 'services' from
their men as a means of forcing
them to negotiate an end to the
Peloponnesian War.
Grab your fanciest white bed
sheet and get down to Saigon
Outcast for a night of arm
wrestling, live music, dancing,

slave auctions and prizes for the
best dressed. Leave your swords
at home unless you, um, need
them and prepare to raise a cup
to Bacchus!
Doors open at 6pm and a
performance is scheduled for 7pm
at Saigon Outcast, 188/1 Nguyen
Van Huong, Q2, HCMC. Tickets
are VND150,000 and benefit
the HCMC Womens Charity
Association. For more info go to
facebook.com/saigonplayers
SATURDAY
SPRING CHARITY
BAZAAR
Its that time of year again, the
biannual Charity Bazaar at The
Deck in District 2. With over
55 unique vendors bringing
their latest wares to the table
quite literally, theres bound to
be something for all tastes. As
always the event is in support
of Heartbeat Vietnam, funding
crucial heart surgeries for
children from disadvantaged
backgrounds. Vietnam Quilts,
Mekong Creations and
Operation Smile are among
the crafters and charities
participating.
Entrance is free, the event runs
from 9.30am until 3.30pm. The
Deck is at 38 Nguyen U Di, Q2,
HCMC
to do list
23
Ho Chi Minh City
30
SATURDAY
INDOCHINE CUP
Now in its 16th year of
competition, the Indochine Cup
is a 10-a-side full contact rugby
and six-a-side touch tournament
held on an annual basis between
Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos.
For the first time since 2011
its Saigons turn to host, with
Myanmar also invited to take
part. Having gone back-to-back
since 2011, and with longtime
SATURDAY
2015 BOURBON STREET JAZZ FESTIVAL

servant Tom Percasky soon
moving on, its sure to be a
memorable weekend for the
Saigon Geckos rugby team, who
have promised to do everything
they can to hang onto their
trophy.
Check out all the action at
RMITs South Saigon Campus
702 Nguyen Van Linh, Q7, HCMC
between 11am and 6pm
The Bourbon Street Jazz Festival

is back at Q4, a fusion of
everything thats good about
jazz, funk and blues. The
headliner this time is the much
sought after Paris-local Nina
van Horn and her International
Blues Band, wholl be using
Saigon to kick off their Asian
tour. Supported by new funk
phenoms the Brooklyn Funky
Blues Band as well as Claudio

and the Bad Neighbors, you can
be sure that theyll tearing down
the house as usual. Support
Kids First and Arts for Mobility
by getting your tickets
VND500,000 for this one soon!
For advance and group ticket
sales enquiries, email rogerf@seanet.
com and watch for updates on
bourbonstreetjazzfestival.com
Rescue of the Month: Peaches
ur Rescue of the Month is the

irrepressible chicken Peaches, whos
needed quite a bit of rescuing in her
short time with Hoi Ans Vietnam
Animal Welfare Organisation. She first came
to co-founder Emma Boltons attention as she
was playing the part of a very inappropriate
cat toy:
The cat was chasing the chicken, I was
chasing the cat, the other cats were chasing
me and our dogs were chasing the cats.
Anyway, the poor thing had a nasty wound
on her leg. We have a volunteer vet here at the
moment, and we had the option of putting
this chicken to sleep or attempting to operate
on her to stitch her up. Our vet had never
done a chicken op before but we thought we
would give it a go.
Unsure if she would wake up from the
anaesthesia we gave it a shot, and sure enough
she pulled through. Now, her leg has almost
healed fully. The vet named her Peaches. She is
still with us and away from the cats!
If youre in Central Vietnam and youd like to
adopt Peaches or perhaps one of the furrier friends
in Vietnam Animal Welfare Organisations stable
visit vnanimalwelfare.org. To donate directly to their
work, visit gofundme.com/vnanimalwelfare.org
SAVE
The
Date
06+07
JUN.
CELEBRATION
Dancenters last 200-person
spectacular was tremendous,
and this one will be no less
so. Featuring 200 Dancenterschooled performers tapping
their way through jazz, ballet,
hip hop, contemporary, tap,
flamenco, belly dance and high
heel routines, its a celebration of
the true meaning behind dancing

to go out there and shake
what youve got.
Celebration takes place at the
Youth Culture House, 4 Pham Ngoc
Thach, Q1, HCMC 7.30pm on
Jun. 6, 3pm on Jun. 7. Tickets start
at VND150,000. For more info, go
to dancenter.vn
just in
Ho Chi Minh City
GREENS SALAD DELIVERY SERVICE

Remember when it used to be damn near
impossible to get quality salads in Ho Chi Minh
City? Well, the last year has seen a sea change,
with the build-your-own mainstay Beets (111
Ham Nghi, Q1, HCMC) competing with an
across-the-board increase in lunchtime options.
Well, grass-munchers, your office hours
just got easier to sort. Starting at VND30,000,
GreenS offers seven preset salad options,
couscous salad and mushroom soup along
with a crazy amount of customisable options.
If you want to put a little spring back in your
step, give these guys a lunchtime look.
GreenS is at facebook.com/GreenS.com.vn, or call
01264 856772
TAU SAIGON
Some people are born entrepreneurs, and
Jochem Lisser is one of them. Together with
his partner, Hanh Nguyen, the man behind
vietnammm.com has now extended his business
savvy reach to include boat tours on a
beautiful open boat plying the murky depths
and palm tree-lined banks of the Saigon River.
Comfortably seating up to 28 people, Tau
Saigon is set up for river tours, birthday
parties, weddings and business events,
with a range of catering options (barbecues

and lunches all served up with draft beer)
available on board. All making it perfect for
that intimate kind of event that is difficult
to find on the various other boat services
around town.
To find out about the routes available and
the various catering options, click on the boat
services website tausaigon.com/en or
alternatively call 0909 844813
Hue, across from the old Tax Center, the

boutique will showcase Harmonys Asian
sensibilities and global material sourcing.
With Italian leather, French crystal and
Chinese jade as well as a host of
other natural, locally-sourced materials
Drors necklaces reflect her quest for

beauty and desire to gracefully unite
elements.
Harmony Necklaces flagship location is
at the corner of Nguyen Hue and Le Loi, Q1,
HCMC harmonynecklaces.com
HARMONY NECKLACES GOES SOLO

Well-loved local artisan Dror Lam the
star of our June 2013 Last Call interview
is finally giving her creations the
space they deserve with the launch of the
Harmony Necklaces flagship store. Set to
open on the walkable stretch of Nguyen
ITS SPRING/SUMMER IN RB&K STYLE
THE SHARKS COURSE SIGNS

ROBERT ROCK
Five months after taking part in its grand
opening exhibition match, two-time
European Tour winner Robert Rock has just
signed a three-year partnership agreement
with The Bluffs golf course at The GrandHo Tram Strip. The deal between the
acclaimed Greg Norman-designed links
course and the Englishman with one of the
sweetest swings on tour marks the first time
a Vietnamese course has sponsored a touring
pro of such calibre.
Its a match made in heaven, says
general manager Ben Styles. Robert is not
only a great golfer, hes a class act. The
signing is another step in the development
of the whole area, with three more five-star
hotels, an oceanfront condominium tower
and luxury villas on the golf course all in the
works.
For enquiries contact Matter Horn
Communications on (08) 3911 2162 or email
tram.nguyen@matcomvn.com
RB&K is back for the season shift with a

new line of dashing threads, comprised
of three mini-collections: trendy/urban,
pop art and casual. This collection
named Geometrip is based on designerfounder Rebecca Bargas recent move to
Berlin, through her observations of the
new architecture and people. Born on the
crossroads of European and Asian culture,

RB&K has emerged with a combination
style, using untraditional fabrics to capture
the breezy simplicity that comes in shifting
worlds effortlessly.
Check out RB&Ks new Spring/Summer
Collection at rbkandco.com, or browse through
their styles at 81 Xuan Thuy, Q2, HCMC
IB STATUS FOR EIS

The European International School has
announced its accreditation of International
Baccalaureate programmes for all students at
its Kindergarten through Year 12 campus in
Ho Chi Minh Citys District 2. In so doing EIS
becomes one of very few schools in Southeast
Asia to offer the worlds leading educational
curriculum to students of all ages.

The IB programme brings virtual universal
acceptance for tertiary education for graduates,
and indeed has become the preferred
university track for students, says Dr. Nguyen
Thi Quynh Lam, the schools president.
For more info, go to eishcmc.com
overscene ho chi minh
existens fashion
show
Photos by Francis Xavier

Mad House hosted Existens
Mother and Daughter fashion
show, to support the Thymus Cancer
Foundation
zero station f Lea

market
Photos by Glen Riley

The Saigonese art hub is helping
to define the crossroads of art,
commerce and cute little knickknacks
in situ
Photos by Kyle Phanroy

Galerie Quynh hosted HTA+pizzini
Architects high-concept responses
to the evolution of Saigons built
environment
If you have a noteworthy event which you think

would fit into our coverage, please email
news@wordvietnam.com and we'll take a look
anzac music night

Photos by Nick Ross
Down Under represented itself
at Cargo Bar, with the help of
headliners Tiki Taane and Anika
Moa
daytime disco

Saigon Outcast said hello to the bigtime with a sold-out, circus-themed
daytime boogie
beyond the clouds
Photos by Ed Weinberg
San Art christened its new space with a
translucent pink sky of a conversation
piece
to do list
06
hanoi
WEDNESDAY
08
FRIDAY
QUEER DISCO #7
Hankering for the hits of Madonna,
Prince and Kylie? Back for May, this
free-for-all night of glitter and glamour
will take you on a disco adventure, with
all the best pop and underground hits
of the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s brought to
you by resident DJs Analogeliza and La
Pham Nikita. House rules are simple: be
fabulous and dance.
Queer Disco will be held at CAMA ATK,
73 Mai Hac De, Hai Ba Trung, Hanoi. For
more information, visit the CAMA ATK
Facebook page
HANOI SLAM
Hanoi Slam returns for the first time this
year with Word Ninjas. Tell a story, recite
poetry or perform stand-up for up to five
minutes for the chance to win great prizes
and killer street cred. Non-performers also
welcome. Admission is VND50,000 with all
proceeds going to the Humanitarian Services
for the Children of Vietnam.
Word Ninjas will descend on the Red River
Tea Room, Tu Hoa Lane, 25 Xuan Dieu, Tay
Ho, Hanoi. Interested performers can register by
emailing athanoistoryslam@gmail.com. Doors
open from 7pm
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
THE EUROPEAN FOOD FESTIVAL

EuroCham will be holding the ninth annual
European Food Festival on Saturday May 9
in the gardens of the National Library.
With chefs from different hotels and
restaurants presenting their takes on classical
and contemporary European fare, the
festival will also celebrate not only Europe
Day, but 25 years of diplomatic relations
between the European Union and Vietnam.
800 to 1,000 people are expected to attend.
As well as offering a culinary adventure,
there will be live music, entertainment
and childrens activities, including a
bouncing castle, a lucky draw and scientific
experiments using food.
The National Library is at 31 Trang Thi, Hoan
Kiem, Hanoi and the festival kicks off at 4pm on
Saturday May 9. Entrance is free of charge. For
more information email marketing@eurochamvn.
org or call (08) 3827 2715
22
Photos provied by EUROCHAM
15
09
FRIDAY
WHEN WE MEET
Feast on a musical collage of talent, when
two of Malaysias leading saxophone and
voice improvisers, Yong Yan-Sen and Kok
Siew-Wai, perform with Hanoian electronic
artist Luong Hue Trinh.
When We Meet will be held at CAMA
ATK, 73 Mai Hac De, Hai Ba Trung,
Hanoi. Admission costs VND100,000, with
performances starting at 8pm. For more
information, visit the CAMA ATK Facebook page
CELTIC MUSIC FESTIVAL @ LESPACE

Feast your ears on the Celtic sounds of
this touring music festival featuring fusion
artist Lang Dzu, pipe band Bagad Bro
Kemperle, Celtic folk artist Breman and
Celtic rocker Diaouled Saigon. Doors open
at 8pm.
The Celtic Music Festival is organized by
the Breton Society in Vietnam and will be held

at the LEspace French Cultural Institute, 24
Trang Tien, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi. Pre-sale tickets
can be bought at LEspace, Biniou Creperie,
The Kitchen and Chez Xuan for VND100,000.
Normal admission is VND150,000 at the door
free for children under six
The road to clean air
Swiss quality air in your home, kindergarten, school, office, and

hospitals.
to do list
23
hanoi
SATURDAY
ARTHUR RUSSELL TRIBUTE
NIGHT
Celebrate the anniversary of American
musician Arthur Russells birthday with a
documentary film screening, followed by
a dance party featuring his non-stop hits.
The Arthur Russell Tribute Night will be
held at CAMA ATK, 73 Mai Hac De, Hai Ba
Trung, Hanoi. For more information, visit the
CAMA ATK Facebook page.
MOTION WITH BEN LA DESH

MoTioN, the regular night at Madake that
combines video mapping and music, returns
on Saturday May 23 with guest DJ, Ben La
Desh.
A deep house, techno DJ and producer
from The Netherlands, Ben La Desh is
known for known for his mid-tempo deep
house productions and slow-mo disco
edits. Having released a range of work on
different record labels including Sleazy
Beats Black Ops, Dirt Crew Recordings and
Outernational Recordings, to hear more of
Ben La Deshs work, do a search for him on
Soundcloud.
Entrance is VND100,000 and the event starts
at 10pm. Madake is at 81 Xuan Dieu, Tay Ho,
Hanoi
29
FRIDAY
KIDS COOKING CLASS

@ HANOI COOKING
CENTRE
Any budding junior
masterchefs out there?
Let your kids roll up their
sleeves and try their hand
at making fun and simple
dishes at a supervised
session hosted by the Hanoi
Cooking Centre.
The Kids Cooking Class
will start at 3.30pm and the
cost is VND320,000 per
child. Advance bookings
are required email info@
hanoicookingcentre.com or call
(04) 3715 0088
ALY AND FILA

Trance fans get out your
neons because worldrenowned Egyptian
trance act Aly and Fila are
coming to Hanoi. Courtesy
of Vibration Events and
Excite Entertainment,
the Egyptian duo will
be spinning at the newly
revamped Eden Club
into the early hours of the
morning.
Aly and Fila will be held at
the Eden Club, Alley 264 Au
Co, Tay Ho, Hanoi. For more
information on tickets, visit
the Vibration Hanoi and Eden
Garden Facebook pages
to do list
hanoi
SAVE
The
Date
ASEAN PRIDE
Photos by Aidan Dockery
The US Embassy in Hanoi and

CAMA Vietnam are joining
forces once again to bring the
day-long celebration of diversity
back to the capital on Saturday
Jun. 20.
Headlined by US-Vietnamese
queen of indie-rock Thao
Nguyen, alongside Malaysian
electro-pop sensation O.J. Law,
also on stage will be Saigon
rockers COCC, DJ Lotus Disco,
To Lam and his high-heel
dancers and a host of other local
and international acts all to be
announced in the weeks ahead.
ASEAN Pride 2015 is already
shaping up to be one of the

musical highlights of the year.
With art space, a local makers
market and of course top-quality
food and drink, the festival will
once again showcase the quality
and diversity of the regions
emerging underground, while
creating a safe space to celebrate
sexual and gender diversity.
Last years event drew in over
4,000 people to the American
Club in Hanoi. This years
offering is shaping up to be even
bigger and better.
For more details head to
camavietnam.org
Image provided by Les Phapbulateurs
PALACE
Image from the production Mademoiselle Bonsoir
The French theatre group, Les

Phapbulateurs will be returning
on Jun. 3 and 4 to LEspace with
a French language performance
of the Jean-Michel Ribes comedic
play, Palace.
With a multi-nationality
acting troupe the actors come
from France, Vietnam, Belgium,
Italy and Belarus if previous
performances of Mademoiselle
Bonsoir and Le Dindon are
anything to go by, expect tickets
to go fast for this one. If you

dont speak French, no need to
worry. Palace will be staged with
Vietnamese subtitles perfect
for all those Anglophiles out
there who forgot to focus on
their language studies.
For more information check out
the troupes Facebook group Les
Phap'bulateurs or click on
phapbulateurs.com. LEspace is at
24 Trang Tien, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi.
Doors open at 8pm
just in
hanoi
MAJCEN AND REID VICTORIOUS AT THE HANOI

VERTICAL RUN
it further than some several

thousand others who entered
the international competition.
His story has been published in
the bestselling Science Fiction
anthology series L. Ron
Hubbard Presents Writers of the
Future Volume 31.
Volume 31 is now available
online at Amazon.com, Kobo.com
and BN.com
Rolf Majcen of Austria won

the third edition of the Hanoi
Vertical Run last month, setting
the overall fastest time up
Landmark 72 Vietnams tallest
building.
Majcens first victory in Hanoi,
the Austrian finished in a time
of 10 minutes and 38 seconds to
take home the overall title.
In the womens division,
Australias Cindy Reid
climbed to her first win of the
year, finishing in 14 minutes
33 seconds, beating USAs
Samantha Young by 53 seconds.
I had to dig deep today

to win, she said. To be
crowned the Hanoi Vertical Run
champion is a great honour.
Vietnams only stair
climbing race was selected as
an exhibition race on the 2015
Vertical World Circuit (VWC).
The worlds premier skyscraper
racing circuit, the VWC unites
some of the worlds most iconic
skyscraper races, including the
Empire State Building Run-Up in
New York City.
For more information go to
runhanoi.com
MGallery has now opened

its first upscale property in
Hoi An Hotel Royal Hoi
An. Standing on the banks of
the Thu Bon River, the hotel
is blessed with a wonderful
vista of the low-rise cityscape.
The hotels architecture draws
upon ancient Vietnamese and

Japanese influences in a display
of quasi-European style with a
contemporary twist.
With 119 dark woodadorned guestrooms, all with
handcrafted furnishings and
fixtures, the property also has
several food and beverage

venues including Faifo Caf
and Japanese food outlet Wa
Ka Ku, as well as a 250-person
capacity ballroom and a spa.
For more information go
to mgallery.com or email
reservation@hotelroyalhoian.com
HANOI-BASED WRITER HONOURED IN HOLLYWOOD

AWARDS
Hanoi-based Australian writer,
Tim Napper, was honoured last
month at the 31st Annual L. Ron
Hubbard Achievement awards.
The annual live-streamed
event celebrates the winners in
the L. Ron Hubbard Writers and
Illustrators of the Future Contests
before a packed hall of over
1,000 guests. Tim was one of
the 12 writer winners making
HOTEL ROYAL HOI AN

If you know Hanois Hotel de
lOpera then you may know
MGallery, the Accor-owned
management company behind
the hotel.
Not content with properties
in Hanoi, Phu Quoc and
elsewhere in Vietnam,
AIR QUALITY IN THE CAPITAL

The U.S. Embassy in Hanoi has
installed a monitor to measure
the air quality at its building
on Lang Ha in Hanois Ba Dinh
District.
With the Air Quality
Monitoring programme in its
initial phase, the embassy will
initially provide a 24-hour
average of the Air Quality
Index. However, over time the
diplomatic arm of the American
government will provide more
frequent and timely readings.

At present the readings are
showing the pollution levels
in the vicinity of the embassy
be unhealthy, a concern for
residents of the capital.
To see the readings, go to
vietnam.usembassy.gov/air_quality_
monitor.html. The Vietnamese
Ministry of Natural Resources
and Environment also provides air
quality data for Hanoi. This can be
viewed at cem.gov.vn
THE BEER GUIDE TO VIETNAM

If youve ever met ex-Hanoi
resident Jonathan Gharbi, then
youll know hes obsessed with
beer and in particular Vietnams
microbreweries.
The Swede has taken this
one step further with the
publication of his book, The
Beer Guide to Vietnam. Available
on Amazon and published by
Vulkan, the guide has pictures
and details of more than 45
microbreweries. Based on more
than 300 visits and brewery
tours that were made between
2012 and 2014, the book starts

with the breweries in Ho Chi
Minh City before covering
every known destination up
to Hanoi, which is the capital
of beer with more than 20
breweries. Most of these
establishments are unknown,
hard to find and only attract a
local crowd. More than 30 of
them are making Czech-style
beer but with a local twist.
For more information or to get
your copy, do a search on amazon.
com
NEST LOUNGE
Tay Ho now has its very own
Vietnamese-style bar and
nightclub with last months
opening of Nest Lounge.
Sat a stones throw from The
Sheraton on the sixth, seventh
and eighth floor, floor six is
reserved for dancing, with DJs
spinning mainly deep house.
Floor seven is the chillout
lounge while the top level is the

cigar and shisha-smoking VIP
area.
Besides boasting great views
of the lake and beyond, Nest is
one of the few late-night joints in
the area.
Nest Lounge is at 9 Xuan Dieu,
Tay Ho, Hanoi or online at facebook.
com/Nest.Lounge.09XuanDieu
overscene hanoi
Art for the People
Photos provided by Workroom Four

After a successful exhibition at
Workroom Four, the homegrown
Hanoi Design Now moved to Ecopark
Motorbike Pop
Photos by Julie Vola

Boy band Racket Riot and girl band
were among the live acts to rock the
rafters of CAMA ATK
25 Years Later

Art Vietnam opened an exhibition
of Catherine Karnows photographs
showing the photographers work over
the last quarter of a century
If you have a noteworthy event which you think

would fit into our coverage, please email
news@wordvietnam.com and we'll take a look
hanoi sound stuff
Photos by Trung Del

The Van Ho Exhibition Centre played
host to the third day of the annual
experimental sound and arts festival
Hanoi Sound Stuff. Day one was at Manzi
Artspace, while day two hit Hanoi
Creative City
On the Catwalk

Hanoi-based designer Ha Truong
showed off her latest collection at the
French Embassy
Rockin on the
Sidewalk
Photos by Nick Ross

Hanois longest running weekly event,
Friday Night on the Terrace, still draws the
revellers into the Press Club
Insider
Another Green World // Conserving Vietnams Coastline // These are a Few of Our
Favourite Things // Making it a Reality // Vietnams Got Talent // glee club // The
Vietnam Pastry Cup // Hanois Best Pho // mystery diner hanoi // mystery diner hcmc //
Fashion // Into the Mangrove
Photo by julie Vola
insider
MANY FACES
HANOI
Another
Green World
Hanoi city dwellers who dont have space for gardening
can now enjoy a different way of creating their own
green worlds, through a class in terrarium making.
Words by Hoa Le. Photos by Julie Vola
fter first arriving in the popular

consciousness last year, the
terrarium a way of growing
small plants and creating an
ecosystem in a glass container has
quickly become popular and attracted
a wide range of practioners. One of the
pioneers of this movement in Vietnam is
Hanoi-born Nguyen Tien Dung, a 25-yearold architect.
On a Sunday morning in April, we
visited Green Oasis, a coffee and terrarium
shop owned by Dung, located in a quiet
alley near the Opera House. This cute little
green space is decorated with various kinds
of ferns, sphagnum moss and succulents
grown in pots ranging from used bathtub
fragments to pretty glass containers all
were planted by Dung.
This morning he holds a class for 12
participants, who are about to make their
own terrariums for the first time. Please
come up and pick your plants, and glass
vessels if you dont have one, says Dung,
holding up a pretty terrarium that he made
recently. He has a small tattoo of a tree on
his right wrist.

Every Sunday morning, participants in
the weekly class are encouraged to bring
their own re-used glass containers and be
as creative as they want with their plant
arrangements. They are provided with
tools such as spoons, long tweezers and
other materials including several kinds
of gravel, soil and even little pieces of
wood for decoration.
Under Dungs instruction, everyone
starts the process in excitement.
From Eco-Architecture to
Terrariums
Growing up in the southernmost reaches of
Hanoi, Hoang Mai District where there
were once many trees, lakes and other
natural features Dung has always been
comfortable living in green space. When he
was an architecture student at the National
University of Civil Engineering, he became
interested in eco-architecture, participating
in some design competitions, with most
of his work focused on green buildings.
One of his works gained him third prize in
As the plant absorbs light, it can photosynthesise, recycling

nutrients and converting sunlight into all the energy needed
for growth. Planted in 1960, and only watered once in 1972, the
plant managed to stay healthy for 53 years
a competition a tube house filled with
trees in the citys centre. His dream after
graduation was to work for a Vietnamese
eco-architecture firm such as Vo Trong
Nghia Architects.
But life happened, and he ended up
working for an interior design company
that didnt let him do what he had longed
for. There were many reasons that I
couldnt do green building as much there;
the contractors didnt want to do that
because of the [high] expenses, says
Dung.
But that didnt stop him from following
his passion, and he finally decided to quit
the job and set up his own green project.
A Green World in a Bottle

The story of an amateur gardener named
David Latimer, who kept his plants healthy
inside a giant sealed glass jug for over
50 years made headlines in 2013. As the
plant absorbs light, it can photosynthesise,
recycling nutrients and converting sunlight
into all the energy needed for growth.
Planted in 1960, and only watered once in
1972, the plant managed to stay healthy for
53 years. This was a perfect example of a
self-sustaining ecosystem.
While the terrarium was created a

long time ago back in 1842 by English
botanist Nathaniel Bagshaw Ward
Latimers story generated great curiosity
and inspiration for many people, including
Dung.
When I read about his story, I became
very excited, says Dung. I thought it
would be amazing to be able to create a
wonderful eco-system that doesnt get
affected by Hanois pollution or weather.
Promising Business
In January last year, he made his first
terrarium with different kinds of moss.
After that, he made more to give to
friends as presents, uploading the photos
to Facebook. His terrariums started to
gain a reputation, and became so popular
that people started ordering his products
online.
As Vietnam is a tropical country,
says Dung, we have so many kinds of
moss and plants that do well in mediummoisture environments, which are suitable
for a terrarium. His travels around the
country at this time were motivated by his
search for new kinds of plants. He mostly
chose to ship native species from the areas
around Dalat and Sapa.

In September of last year, Dung decided
that he needed a space to display his
artworks, so he opened the Green Oasis
coffee/terrarium shop, which has quickly
become popular, and now has nearly
20,000 followers on its Facebook page. He
says the business brings him revenue of
several thousands of dollars a month, and
hes aiming to expand it.
Many people have come to me to learn
about terrariums and have gone on to open
their own businesses, he tells me. But
I dont take it as a pressure. In fact, Im
happy to see that terrariums have become
the favourite hobby of so many young
people.
As he fills up a spray bottle for one
of the classs participants, he adds with
a smile, Ill always try to create new
designs to diversify my products and meet
the taste of my customers.
Green Oasis is at Ngo 6 Le Thanh Tong,
Hoan Kiem, Hanoi, and on facebook.com/
CayViet. Terrarium workshops take place every
Sunday at 9:30am and are free of charge. You
will need to pay for the plants and the glass
containers. Call or send a text to 0948 588819
to register in advance
insider
INSIDER
VIETNAM
Conserving
Vietnams Coastline
As Vietnams rich coastline gets carved up into marketable slices,
Katie Jacobs talks with some brave souls fighting an uphill battle
ilence. The sound of my breathing,

puffed from walking uphill, feels
obtrusive. A soft wind picks up,
as does the faint sound of lapping
water on the beach below. A flock of birds
squawk as they ascend from the canopy
and are gone. Thatched roofs and a small
patch of rice paddies, just visible amongst
the Casuarina trees and coconut palms,
are the only signs of the luxury Bai Cham
Hideaway Resort that lies below. I feel as
though I have found the last undisturbed
beach in Vietnam.
Southeast Asia is endowed with a rich
network of marine and coastal ecosystems,
brimming with biodiversity. With over
3,000km of coastline and numerous
islands, Vietnam plays a critical role in
the health and productivity of the region.
Coastal features, such as sandy beaches
and bays, mangrove forests, seagrass beds,
coral reefs, mudflats and islands provide
vital habitat and breeding grounds for a

plethora of coastal and marine species.
Not only rich in environmental
value, Vietnams coast is high in
economic potential. With abundant
natural resources, the coastal areas are
an important contributor towards the
countrys GDP. They also support the daily
livelihoods of millions. Environmental
pressures such as overfishing,
unsustainable resource management,
pollution and the destruction of the natural
coastal environment not only threaten
ecosystems, but also risk damaging the
local and national economies.
Equating Economy with Ecology

Balancing coastal environmental issues
with economic priorities is by no means
an issue unique to Vietnam. According to
the 2012 international study Valuing the
Oceans led by the Stockholm Environment
Institute, Ocean services contribute in

very tangible and substantial ways to local
livelihoods, as well as national economies
and foreign exchange receipts, government
tax revenues and employment. Yet the
trillions of US dollars generated globally
each year by ocean services are often
overlooked, in favour of unsustainable
development and alternative conservation
priorities.
Despite their ecological importance,
only 2 percent of the worlds oceans are
designated under Marine Protected Areas
(MPAs), much less than the 15 percent of
protected terrestrial land.
This discrepancy between terrestrial and
marine conservation is even more acute
in coastal countries, such as Vietnam (one
of the worlds largest seafood exporters),
where the economy relies upon a healthy
coastal and marine environment. Despite
this, funding and knowledge of how to
Photo by Francis Roux / Word Vietnam
Photo provided by UICN
This park is important for the community, says Dang, director of

Action for the City in Hoi An. It shows that we can respect nature,
instead of cutting trees and putting in resort-like plants and grass
tackle marine-based issues are severely
lacking.
I try to stay optimistic for the
future of Vietnams coastal and marine
environment, says Bui Thi Thu Hien,
Marine and Coastal Program Coordinator
for the International Union for the
Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in
Vietnam. But sometimes I feel as though
we are floating alone in the middle of the
ocean that our efforts are too small
in comparison to what is happening
in Vietnams coastal and marine
environment.
Marine Protected Areas

IUCN the worlds largest conservation
organisation, famous for its endangered
species Red List and management of
natural World Heritage Sites (such as
Halong Bay) defines an MPA as an area
of intertidal or subtidal terrain, together
with its overlying water and associated
flora, fauna, historical and cultural
features, which has been reserved by law
or other effective means to protect part or
all of the enclosed environment.
Or, put more simply, a pocket of ocean
protected to allow biodiversity to flourish.
In heavily fished countries, such as
Vietnam, MPAs are critical to ecosystem
rehabilitation and ensuring healthy fish

stocks.
In 2002, the Vietnamese government
proposed a network of 15 MPAs to be
launched by 2015. By 2010, Vietnam had
exceeded its goal, with 16 MPAs legally
established. But, despite this success, clear
legislation for MPA management is still
lacking. Moreover, representatives from a
national MPA conference held in October
2014 in Hanoi reported that only six
MPAs maintained an official management
presence. Sponsored by the Asia-wide
initiative Mangroves for the Future, and
attended by Ministry representatives
and coastal provincial leaders, the
conference identified challenges facing the
management and expansion of MPAs.
Inconsistent policy, inadequate resources
and a lack of leadership designation were
problems highlighted by MPA managers.
Knowledge of marine conservation is
definitely lacking, says IUCN Program
Coordinator Hien. But I was disappointed
to hear that this is not what the MPA
leaders are complaining about their
incentives are much more focused on
increasing power and economic financing,
not awareness.
Despite these setbacks, conferences
and discussions such as this are critical to
strengthening Vietnams MPA network.

The presence of over 100 participants from
government ministries, departments and
provinces throughout Vietnam clearly
shows a desire to address these issues.
Coastal Buffers
MPAs alone will not save Vietnams coastal
and marine environment. According to
scientific consultant and conservation
specialist Julia Shaw, threats come from a
multitude of sources, such as wide-ranging
pollution, unnatural landscape change and
over-fishing.
Shaw initially moved to Vietnam to
assist with the establishment of the NGO
Wildlife at Risk. After working on an
awareness-raising video about declining
fish stocks in the Hon Mun MPA, Shaw
decided to shift her focus to marine
conservation and building alternative
livelihoods for fishermen. I quickly
realised how relatively little marine
research and conservation was evident
in Vietnam and how desperately it is
needed, she says.
Power for the People

Local communities can pose both a
challenge and an asset to the success of
coastal and marine conservation. While
Photo by Francis Roux / Word Vietnam
Despite their ecological importance, only 2 percent of the worlds

oceans are designated under Marine Protected Areas, much less
than the 15 percent of protected terrestrial land
local impacts such as pollution from
villages and resource exploitation can
exacerbate environmental degradation,
community support for conservation is
invaluable. They are the eyes and ears of
the MPA, says Hien.
The Cu Lao Cham Marine Park,
situated off the Quang Nam coastline, is
an example of where local communities
and government authorities have both
recognised the value and vulnerability
of an area heavily reliant on marine
resources.
There are 3,000 people living in the Cu
Lao Cham MPA, they must be involved,
says Chu Manh Trinh, from the Cu Lao Cham
MPA Authority. Successful management
of the MPA relies upon the participation of
the community. Their involvement not only
helps in protecting the ecosystem but it also
diversifies their livelihoods and strengthens
community resilience to natural disaster and
climate change.
Dragonfly Park
On a recent visit to Hoi An in Quang Nam
Province, I took an early-morning bike ride
to a new nature park along the Cua Dai
coastline. Watching waves crash against
cement beachfront barriers, I was surprised
at how dramatically the beach had eroded
in the year since my last visit. Ironically, in

a situation where the economy is relying
upon the natural environment, resort
developers are both aggravator and victim.
Working to tackle this issue is the new
Dragonfly Park, a community and local
NGO-led project that aims to change
the pattern of unnatural development
along the coastline. The project has taken
a beachfront plot of land that would
otherwise have been developed into a
resort and turned it into a coastal park and
education centre for the local community.
Keeping the memory of the original
landscape is very important, explains
Dang, director of Action for the City in
Hoi An. She argues that unless parents
can show their children what the natural
land is supposed to look like, it will be
impossible for future generations to
protect the environment.
By planting native Casuarina trees
and keeping development to a minimum
(the only permanent building is a
self-sustaining restroom that collects
rainwater), the park respects the natural
environment rather than trying to
manipulate it.
This park is important for the
community, says Dang. It creates space
for children to play and adults to rest and
enjoy nature. It also shows that we can

respect nature, instead of cutting trees and
putting in resort-like plants and grass.
MPAs are the key to protecting
Vietnams coastline, not just for
environmental reasons but for the health
and security of people, says Hien. But
effective legal zoning and the inclusion of
local communities are critical in making
a marked difference in environmental
quality.
Back at Bai Tram, I make my way down
the hill and towards the beach. At the
resort entrance, I pause to study a large
display sign with a topographical map,
outlining future plans for the resort. The
natural scenic location on which the sign
is located is surrounded by residential lots
that include spas, beach clubs, speciality
restaurants and exclusive estates ringing
the now forested hillsides.
Economy and ecology once again
seem at unnecessary loggerheads, and
I sigh as I remember Hiens comment
comparing marine conservation to
floating in the middle of the ocean.
Remaining optimistic, I can only hope
that this planned development follows
a sustainable model with community
inclusion. In the meantime, I think its time
for another swim.
cover story
hink of the worst person you know. Picture

her stupid, punchable face. Feel her shrill
voice raking your eardrums. See her pressing
the close button as you race towards the
elevator.
Now imagine her eating a mint chocolate chip ice
cream cone.
She is probably smiling a stupid, punchable smile
to be sure, but technically a smile nevertheless. She
might be making small wet gurgles of happiness
annoying, but undeniably joyful. Somehow, despite
her bridge-trollian nature, she becomes sympathetic
almost human, if youre feeling particularly generous.
Its hard to hate someone whos eating.
Food brings us together because it is one of the few
universal pleasures. Everybody likes food in some
form or another, even people from Canada, so long as
it is covered in cheese and maple syrup. But this is not
Canada this is a different socialist republic: Vietnam.
What do the people here like to eat?
Practically everything, as it turns out. There is no fish
we will not pluck from the sea, no tuber we will not rip
from the soil, no seed we will not grind into dust in our
rapacious hunt for our next feeding. We will steal the
unborn children of defenseless birds and fry them in
pans. We will call this breakfast.
In Vietnam there are many ways to eat the diversity
of nature. The number of choices can be overwhelming
at times. Word cares about its readers so much that it
wants to help you narrow the options to a manageable
number.
Each of the following dishes holds a special place
in somebodys heart, or stomach. These are foods that
excite passions foods that inspire entire magazine
snippets. The pages to come are full of stories about
those foods, about why we love them, about why they
are special.
Bon apptit.
Ed's
Pick
M I Q UANG M Y
S ON @ 38 Dinh
Tien Hoang, Q1,

HCMC miquangmyson.
com.vn
F OR T HOSE IN
H ANOI : Try Q UAN
M I Q UANG @
2C Quang Trung,
Hoan Kiem
usually go for mi quang on days like tomorrow is

shaping up to be hungover. I usually wake up
and play with the computer for an hour or two,
hold my head for another 10 minutes, then head to
my favourite specialist. It just so happens that theyre
right across the street, the perfect distance for me to
travel in this delicate state.
The shop in question Mi Quang My Son, the Da
Kao branch of a five-store chain doctors their noodles
in a deeper way than Ive yet seen. It has a vaguely
comforting moms chicken soup thing about it. The
turmeric is strong in this one.
Mi quang has a complexity about it. The eating is a
sensory experience: the warmth on your face, the tingly
yet wholesome smell then the prickle of lime-accented
spice, the aftertaste of fatty, slightly medicinal broth. Its
a tour de force.
Some mi quang variations dont stress the turmeric.
Even the fairly savoury scoops in The Mi Quang Song
which went viral on YouTube last year dont quite make
the cut (and whats that yellow egg doing in there?). To
be honest, Im not crazy about the Danang version
even though its a ways closer to Quang Nam Province,
where the dish originally came from.
The Buon Ma Thuot version, on the other hand,
opened my eyes to other possibilities. It was light on the
turmeric-y broth, but heavy on the noodles, which were
more cylindrical than flat. Doused in chilli, hiding meats
in every crevice, this wasnt the dish I was expecting.

Nor was I expecting the entire restaurant family to
congregate on the two metal stools across the table
from me, smiling expectantly at my poised chopsticks,
pulling rank when it looked like I was going to ignore
the sesame cracker thats customarily added. I added the
sesame cracker, in the same way I usually add the greens
half now, half later. One wedge of lime, and of course
the whole chilli-soy mixture.
We bonded over the Lionel Messi poster on the wall,
and soon the man got on his cellphone and invited
another spectator to watch me eat a round-faced girl
with groceries hanging from her bike hook. She sat there
smiling, as her presumptive sister cradled a baby, and
the man raised his eyebrows in suggestive ways.
As the man kept saying hotel and winking
archly, I started to appreciate all the adventures these
unpredictable noodles have taken me on. And still I ate,
ate to my hearts content. Ed Weinberg
Hoa's
Pick
he silky white and translucent rice flour sheet

is lifted off of a steamer filled with boiling
water by a long and flexible piece of bamboo,
bringing with it a smoggy steam. Mrs. Cois
movements are swift and professional as she ladles
another layer of liquid onto the steamer, spreads it
equally on the covering cloth to prepare for another
sheet, then fills the cooked one with stuffing.
She rolls the sheet into a perfect shape, brushes a thin
layer of liquid fat on top, and finishes the process by
adding some freshly fried shallots she looks just like a
skillful street artist in her little shop in an alley across from
Mo Market. Her stall is simple with only one long wooden
bench, a table and a few wooden stools because she needs
to make space for the alleys residents to pass by.
At one time, her stall had only enough space for five
or six customers. But Mrs. Coi was once well-known
among everyone who lived on Minh Khai Street. She
was a skinny woman, in her 60s, with one leg always
perched on her little wooden stool when she was making
banh cuon for her customers. The rice flour sheet was
made extremely thin which is the key to the dish
and requires skillful attention the stuffing was a mix
of minced pork, wood-ear mushrooms and onion, the
dipping source just right, the home-made shallots always
fresh and crunchy.
Eating Mrs. Cois banh cuon is a memory that Ill never
forget. It has been some time now since Mrs. Coi passed
B ANH C UON
H ANG G A @ 14
Hang Ga, Hoan
Kiem, Hanoi
F OR T HOSE IN
S AIGON : Aaah,
banh cuon down

south isnt quite
the same. For
Hanoians the
fish sauce is just
that little bit too
sweet. However,
away, but when talking about my favourite banh cuon,

hers always comes to mind.
These days, when I go for banh cuon on the weekend,
I still prefer little stalls where the food is made on the
spot, hot and steamy. In most alleys in Hanoi, you
can find such places. But if youre looking for a more
established option, try banh cuon at Banh Cuon Hang
Ga (14 Hang Ga, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi), Banh Cuon Ba
Hoanh (66 To Hien Thanh, Hai Ba Trung, Hanoi) or the
less busy Banh Cuon Phuong (68 Hang Cot, Hoan Kiem,
Hanoi). Hoa Le
B ANH C UON H AI
N AM @ 11A Cao
Thang, Q3) is a
winner. Theyve
been going for
three or four decades now, and
their offering is
the closest youll
get to banh cuon
from Hanoi
Jon's
Pick
B ANH X EO 46A
@ 46 Dinh
Cong Trang, Q1,
HCMC
F OR T HOSE
IN H ANOI :
TripAdvisor
recommends,
erm, Q UAN A N
N GON (18 Phan
Boi Chau, Hoan
Kiem). But we
think B ANH X EO
Z ON @ 25 Lo Su,
Hoan Kiem does
it better
cant remember exactly when my relationship

with this morsel of greasy goodness started. I may
have flirted with its rich pancakey curves on my
very first visit. Possibly Ive forgotten that a more
food-savvy mutual friend introduced us ages ago, or
perhaps I simply sat down at the busiest street quan I
could find, smiled ridiculously at everyone involved,
and gestured my way into eating what everyone else
was eating.
Whatever our history, its been a happy one, because
this classic dish which literally translates to sizzling
cake has never let me down. It is what I call comfort
food of the highest order, a little too naughty to eat every
day, but when the mood strikes theres no better food
than this to turn my belly frown upside down.
Made famous around the globe by Anthony Bourdain
(and, since then, everyone with a camera and access to
the internet) the banh xeo is a pan-fried and folded
savoury pancake, with an infusion of pork oil and
coconut juice into the rice flour batter to give it that
tropical edge. Cooked by grandmothers everywhere, its
like a warm hug filled with pork, shrimp, saffron and
bean sprouts. Its always served with a healthy side of
fresh lettuce, Thai basil and mint leaf for wrapping, an
essential amount of fish sauce for dipping and of course,
chilli and limes. Sometimes it even comes with rice paper
to make it easier to wrap. With so much colour and
texture on offer, its the kind of feast for the senses that
has foodies waxing lyrical and using cheap platitudes

like, ermfeast for the senses.
This all makes it a highly sought after by tourists
kinda deal, and any search of TripAdvisor brings up
one of the most famous restaurants in the country
Banh Xeo 46A the place where I eat mine, and the
originator of the Saigon version of the dish. When I was
there recently I met Linda and Keith from Christchurch,
New Zealand. Theyd travelled up and down the
country trying the many variations of this dish yes
there is a healthy debate going on but having arrived
here, were happy to declare a winner.
The banh xeo is like the country itself, proclaimed
Keith, noisy, a little challenging, but multi-layered and
rewarding you just have to dig in and get your hands
dirty. Jon Aspin
hen I was a little girl I ate my first bowl of

bun rieu cua. There was something about
this dish, with its crabmeat, blood pudding,
morning glory, spice and tomato-flavoured
broth that I just loved. So obsessed was I by this noodle
soup that I used to dream of having my own bun rieu
stand when I was an adult.
My dream came true when I was 19. Together with
my mother we decided to set up a noodle soup stand
in our front garden. At the time we were living in Vung
Tau and, of course, the dish we decided to sell was bun
rieu.
I helped my mum cook and sell the soup. Because
our house was close to the central market in Vung Tau
and in a busy part of town, it was a good business.
Since we opened at 6am and closed at 9am, it didnt
affect my studies my lessons at the local tourism
school were in the afternoon.
When I came home from school every day, I had
to prepare things for the next mornings show
particularly the broth. And every morning after our
stand was closed, I had to go to the market to buy the
ingredients for the next batch of soup. Mornings and
early evenings were the busiest time of my day.
A few years ago, my husband and I went on a
business trip to Hanoi and by chance stopped at a
streetside bun rieu place on the corner of Hai Ba Trung
and Quang Trung. On small plastic stools that doubled
Bao's
Pick
B UN R IEU C UA
as both seats and tables, I took one spoonful of the

broth and I was entranced.
Now, every time I fly up to Hanoi I frequent this little
joint. The street food in the capital is fantastic, but this
little nameless, makeshift place remains my favourite.
And I sometimes still cook bun rieu at home, but its
no longer to sell to the public. These days I serve it only
to my friends and family. Duong Vy Bao
@ cnr. Quang
Trung and Hai
Ba Trung, Hai
Ba Trung, Hanoi.
The bun rieu cua
in Saigon is not
as good as it
is in Hanoi, but
the place on the
street in front of
Nghia Beauty, 20
Phan Boi Chau,
Q1 is probably
the best
Simon's
Pick
N HA H ANG
N GON @ 160
Pasteur, Q1,
HCMC
F OR T HOSE IN
H ANOI : Try U T
T HUY just over
the river @ 227

Ngoc Lam, Long
Bien
e need to go back, I said to my

girlfriend. We were stretched out on
a grassy bank beside the East River
eating lunch, the Manhattan skyline
hanging like a mirage on the opposite shore. It was
the summer of 2013 and a record-breaking heatwave
had turned New York City into a furnace.
Back where? she said.
I held a half-eaten goi cuon aloft and my point was
made.
Prior to that day, with decent AC, Netflix on-demand,
and a cracking pizzeria nearby, the basement apartment
we were renting in Brooklyn had become our own little
hideout, away from the heat and away from the world.
Wed just finished a 12-month, round-the-world trip
and staying at home had never felt so good. But it took
one Sunday afternoon visit to an antiques market in
Williamsburg to drag us back to reality and back to
Vietnam.
The Brooklyn Flea is home to dozens of seriously
good international food vendors. That day, the choice
was overwhelming. But then I saw it. Goi cuon. On what
looked to be his mums kitchen table set out beneath
a cheap plastic gazebo, a Viet Kieu guy was frantically
wrapping roll after roll at the head of a very long line of
people. Roaring through a stack of rice paper pancakes,
he skilfully arranged the ingredients; tender slices of
slow cooked pork, fresh prawns, garlic chives, rice
vermicelli and plenty of leafage.

With a scoop of homemade peanut sauce, one bite was
all it took to transport us back to our last night in Saigon.
Wed had one final blowout feast at Nha Hang Ngon on
Pasteur Street. The oil lamps were flickering, the Saigon
Special was flowing and we were saying goodbye to
what would become our favourite country of the trip.
It was the spark we needed. Less than a year later, we
were living in Vietnam. Simon Stanley
o you know what its like when youve

discovered something no-one else knows
about, and you want to be its champion
but you dont exactly know how? Say its
a food (as it is in this case). You take friends to go
eat at restaurants that serve it, watch their faces as
they take that first bite, make a show of enjoying it
yourself, dream about it. If youre a food writer, you
write about it, and sneak in little references to its
greatness in unrelated articles. Okay, I cant hold out
any longer were talking about banh tam bi, and my
unrelenting obsession with the Mekong-originated
dish for the last 18 months.
It started out innocently enough. Chief Editor Nick
had been working on our last street food issue (November
2013), and in the course of doing so discovered the dish
in question. Back then it was his secret, and when three
of our Hanoi colleagues came down to Saigon that same
month he decided to share it.
He took us to one of the two eponymously named
joints in the city, and we slurped down the silkwormlooking noodles in an orgy of discovery (the name
banh tam means silkworm noodle). It seemed like
wed stumbled onto one of the rare things in cuisine
a food so extraordinarily unique that it couldnt be
from anywhere else, that it could define a region. In
the shredded pork skin cuddled next to thick tapioca
noodles swimming in sweet coconut milk, shreds of
Ed's
Pick
B ANH T AM B I
T O C HAU @ 271
Nguyen Trai, Q1,
HCMC
carrot nudging against the two, it seemed wed found

the taste of the Mekong.
In the time since, Ive returned often, and not usually
solo. And Ive kept these addictive noodles in mind.
In California this summer, I took an old schoolmate to
the top-rated Vietnamese resto in San Jose, called Vung
Tau. When I saw banh tam bi on the menu, I jumped
on it. Nevermind that it was the best banh tam bi Ive
yet had, what I really appreciated about it was the
expression on Gregs face Id shown him something
hed never known about, made him really understand
one small part of my life. That damn noodle paid me
back for all the faith Id shown in its deliciousness.
One of these days, when banh tam bi is even better
known than that other banh, just remember that you
always knew it was going to be a star. Oh banh tam bi, I
would love you even if you werent crazy good. Ed
Weinberg
IF
YOU RE
US:
V UNG T AU
R ESTAURANT
IN THE
@ 535 E Santa
Clara St, San
Jose, CA 95112
vungtaurestaurant.com
Nick's
Pick
B ANH D A T RON
(6 Ngo 31 Xuan
Dieu, Tay Ho,
Hanoi). Nowhere
in Saigon seems
to sell this dish
yet. So for all
those southerners
out there, youll
just have to wait
hen I first came to Vietnam I tried any new

street dish I could get my chopsticks into. But
as time has worn on, Ive become a food eater
of habit. I rarely try anything new.
Recently I felt it was time for a change. When Im in
Hanoi, on the street I only ever seem to eat a few dishes,
usually with the word pho or bun in their name. But even
thats no longer a given. Ive overdosed so much on bun
cha one of northern Vietnams best-known dishes
that the rice noodle and barbecued pork staple has
slipped off my ever-decreasing list of favourites.
The dish I decided to use to break my chains was banh
da tron. With the broth served on the side together with
green kumquat (tac xanh) and bun cha-style fresh herbs,
the flat brown-coloured noodles known as banh da come
in many forms. This version the dry type is served
up with tofu, fried fish, peanuts, cha ca, what looks like
rau muong (morning glory), bean sprouts, fresh herbs,
peanuts and pickled cucumber.
But it took a conversation with one of our
photographers, Trung, to make this happen.
Where do you live? he asked over a cocktail.
I explained.
Oh, he said, his eyes lighting up with joy. Theres an
amazing place selling banh da tron just right by where you
live. Every time Im in West Lake I go there.
So one morning, using the excuse of having breakfast
with one of my colleagues, I gave it a try.

Vietnamese cuisine is as much about texture as it is
about matching contrasting flavours. On the texture front
banh da tron runs the full spectrum. From the softness of
the noodles, tofu and fish cake through to the different
types of crunch provided by the morning glory, the
peanuts, the fried fish and the cucumber, there is a little
bit of everything in this dish.
As for taste. Ive now been back to the same joint three
times. Banh da tron is not the kind of dish I would eat
every day its too rich and wholesome for that. But it
has already made it to the top of my eat-on-the-street list.
Nick Ross
his was the first Vietnamese dish I ever ate. I

still remember the fear as we walked down the
street from our hostel in Hanoi towards the
little pink dot drawn on a photocopied map
given to us by the hostels manager. You will love
it! shed said.
What is it? I asked.
Just go! You see!
Im not a fussy eater, but when youre heading to a
place that has no menus, serves only one thing, and you
have no idea what that thing is and youve only been
in that country for a matter of hours you might feel
some apprehension.
The tiny shopfront in the Old Quarter would have
been easy to miss were it not for the beautiful smell of
the pork being grilled over crackling coals outside.
We hesitantly sat at a table, wide-eyed and as green
as the mountain of leaves that was placed before us. The
owner was a super friendly lady who seemed to sense
our anxiety. I doubt we were the first tourists the hostel
had sent her way. She delivered each element of the
meal with a huge grin. Bowls of flavour-packed broth
and pickled vegetables, a generous portion of vermicelli
noodles, and then the chargrilled pork belly and ground
pork patties. We had no idea where to begin. She
reappeared beside us yielding a giant pair of scissors and
plunged them into our noodles, snipping the mound into
manageable clumps. With chopsticks she demonstrated
Simon's
Pick
N EM C UA B E
@ 59 Hang Ma,
Hoan Kiem,
Hanoi
F OR T HOSE
IN S AIGON :
B UN C HA H A
N OI @ 26/1A Le
Thanh Ton, Q1 or
B UN C HA A NH
H ONG @ 140B
Ly Chinh Thang,
Q3
the bun cha ritual. This, then this, then that, she
mimed. Then you eat.
It quickly became my favourite Vietnamese dish. It
still is. The deceptive simplicity of it all, the smoky meat,
the aromatic herbs and leaves, the refreshing noodles.
Above all, I think the pickled green papaya is the secret
of bun cha. Its such a tiny addition but its just not right
without it. Simon Stanley
Vy's
Picks
O C D AO (Alley
212B Nguyen
Trai, Q1, HCMC),
O C Q UANG
A NH (189 To
Hien Thanh,
Q10, HCMC) or
O C O ANH (534
Vinh Khanh, Q4,
HCMC)
I am obsessed with seafood, especially the smaller

types that take a lot of time to eat. Its a strangely
addictive feeling, like eating seeds you already know
how theyll taste from the previous one, but you cant
stop eating them.
Where I live in Saigon, it seems others share my
obsession. There is every kind of shrimp, crab, snail,
clam, scallop, squid and octopus on offer, from every
region of Vietnam. Seafood is Saigons most popular
street food, scattered over 24 districts, offering different
styles and prices.
And curiously, others seem even more passionate
about seafood than I am. When I was in Hoi An last
month, I heard cries of Ai le oc khong? does anyone
want snails? coming from street vendors. Their
bicycles were carrying coolers filled with millions of
button-shaped snails (oc ruoc) cooked with chilli and
lemongrass, and I saw quite a few people buying from
them. Curious, I paid VND10,000 for a small plastic bag,
with some spiky branches used for taking the flesh out. I
gave up after more than 45 minutes leaving two-thirds
behind.
There was a time I thought everyone shared my
obsession. Going to Australia a couple years ago, I
thought there would be even more seafood there their
coastline is over 11 times longer than Vietnams. But I
realised how wrong I was when a housemate told me
that people there dont even eat octopus.
Back in Vietnam, the seafood varieties are

uncountable. And to us, all of them are edible and can
be cooked in many different styles, from stir-fried with
butter to grilled with chilli and salt, from steamed with
lemongrass to grilled with cheese. Combined with
different sauces such as muoi tieu chanh (salt, pepper and
lime), nuoc mam chua ngot (sweet and sour fish sauce)
and tuong ot xanh (green chilli sauce), they make for a
combined flavour and texture only existing in heaven.
Vu Ha Kim Vy
efore the Doi Moi era, when it was hard to get

proper hair shampoo, my mother used to boil
pomelo leaves to wash the hair of my sister
and I. We so loved it, the scent lasted a long
time and it also made our hair soft and smooth. We
were even more surprised when she showed us what
else could be made from pomelo che buoi.
After peeling off the green skin boiled for washing
hair my mom sliced the white layer covering the
fruit into many small pieces. She mixed them with two
teaspoons of salt and rinsed them out, then squeezed
them to dry them out. She ground up some alum a
powder used for cooking mixed it with water and
poured it into a pot. When the water reached its boiling
point, the white pieces were put into the pot for a short
time, taken out again and put into an ice bowl to make
them crunchy and more delicious. Together with mung
beans, these sliced crunchy pieces were cooked to make
the beautiful che buoi. A small spoonful of coconut milk
made the dessert even more beautiful.
I had a chance to flashback to my moms che buoi at
a small street place. The owner is so nice and kind, and
her che buoi is traditional, without any additives. The
place opens from 10am to 6pm, and her main customers
are desk-workers and students. While the che buoi is so
wonderful and nice-smelling, the price is reasonable, and
shes always busy.
Giang's
Pick
5 Duc Vong,
Hoan Kiem,
Hanoi
F OR THOSE IN
S AIGON : You
Each bowl she makes for customers is a masterpiece.

When I had my first spoonful, the combination of
pomelo and mung bean melted in my throat, leaving a
light sweetness on my lips.
I have been to many places in Vietnam and tried many
dishes, and che buoi is still my favourite dessert. Chau
Giang
may not be able

to get che buoi,
but you can
certainly find a
number of joints
serving up che.
Besides B EN
T HANH M ARKET ,
a couple of the
better joints can
be found at 111
Bui Thi Xuan,
Q1 and 33 Dinh
Tien Hoang, Binh
Thanh
Francis's
Pick
C OM T AM T U
Q UY @ Junction
of Hai Ba Trung
and Nguyen Huu
Cau, Q1, HCMC
(Tan Dinh Market)
F OR T HOSE
IN H ANOI :
C OM T AM S AI
G ON N AM
P HUONG @
102E6 Bach
Khoa, Hai Ba
Trung
hat street food dish can you get in Saigon

at any time of the day, anywhere in the
city; for breakfast, lunch or dinner? It can
only be com tam. If youre lazy and a nightcrawler like me, youll appreciate this. Sure, there are
plenty of other kinds of exotic and interesting dishes
around, but the most delicious and easiest to get is my
pick.
Com tam literally means broken rice. Small grains of
white rice like couscous wait steamy-hot on the roadside,
paired with countless toppings of your choice. From the
classically flavourful juicy pork ribs and egg meatloaf
(kind of like a frittata), to newer variations like crab cake,
fish cake, fried chicken and caramelised pork, they are all
there to wash away your hunger and satisfy your taste
buds. The most typical combination is definitely suon
bi cha, pork ribs, pork skin and the egg meatloaf. Its a
Saigon classic.
Eating rice for breakfast may not be a common
thing for most people, but for Saigonese like me, it is. I
remember walking to school in the early morning with
my grandma, and she would take me to a com tam place
to eat before my classes. Freshly cooked, steamy-hot rice,
juicy pork ribs coated with honey marinara sauce on the
grill everyone passing felt the pull of those com tam
stalls.
When I grew up I got more familiar with the western
diet low carbs and healthy eating. White rice is not in
the healthy list of course, It makes you fat, they say.

So I stopped eating rice for a while.
And I didnt start again until working all-night shifts
at a restaurant, finishing at 2 or 3 in the morning, tired
and starving. The only accessible food at that time
was com tam. After a long night I found it was the best
thing, our only option was our best option. I realised
that all these nutritional facts and calories dont matter,
its how the food makes you feel inside that is the
most important. And com tam makes me feel like a true
Saigonese. Francis Xavier
hen I first arrived in Hanoi, I didnt

know where or what to eat, so I would
just follow my friends and order just like
them. I dont remember the first time I
had com rang dua bo, but it probably wasnt difficult to
discover.
Its not one of the most remarkable dishes in Vietnam.
You never hear anyone rave about the wonderful com
rang dua bo they have eaten, nor trade the addresses of
their favourite places to eat it at. Somehow any kind of
noodle soup will overshadow com rang dua bo. I dont
know if its linked to my first drunken years in Vietnam
(for me, its the perfect amount of rice to suck up all the
alcohol I drink in one night), my intolerance to MSG or
just because I like rice more than soup, but I will always
prefer com rang dua bo over of a bowl of pho.
It is always great to see the cook prepare the com rang
dua bo each ingredient is fried separately, and if the
cook is athletic you can see them jumping up and down
with the wok. I usually have it already all mixed on one
plate, but you can have it served separately rice in one
plate, the dua (pickled cabbage) and beef on another, and
make your own mix.
Its a simple dish, but if the place you go to is really
good then you can taste how the beef has been marinated
in ginger and fried with vegetables, which adds amazing
flavour. I personally always add lots of lime juice and
garlic vinegar, but thats just me.
Julie's
Pick
KCC (Kien Can
Cook) @ 57
Quoc Tu Giam,
Dong Da, Hanoi
F OR T HOSE IN
S AIGON : This is
You can order it everywhere as most places will make

it the same way. This lets me have my favourite dish
anywhere, and know it will taste good even if I dont
know the particular recipe. Julie Vola
a true northern
dish. So, yes,
you can get it
down south but
its not the same.
The Saigonese
version is com
chien, but
beyond a wok,
rice and oil,
dont expect any
similarities
Vy's
Pick
N HA H ANG
N GON @ 160
Pasteur, Q1,
HCMC)
F OR T HOSE IN
H ANOI : Naaah,
wait till you get
down south for
this one.
hen I was 14, I had my first bun mam,

cooked by my eldest sister-in-law. As my
sister-in-law is a foodie from Ben Tre
where bun mam landed after emigrating
from Cambodia that bun mam was unimaginably
tasty.
As her life became busier, the bun mam at Nha
Hang Ngon became my bun mam source while I
attended university. Twice a week for four years,
Ngon played host to my friends and I and bun
mam was my usual choice.
Smelling of mam ca (fermented fish paste)
which turns off some people, though here it
provides a key element in the deep-rounded flavour
the bowl always attracts me from a distance.
Depending on the restaurant and the style, the bowl
has different ingredients. But it usually contains
vermicelli noodles, eggplant, shrimp, squid, fried
pork cubes and sliced fish, accompanied by heaps
of sprouts, knotgrass, mint and chilli. These all give
it a quirky combination of salty, sweet, sour, tangy,
smelly and pungent flavours.
While not a daily mainstay, bun mam is still my
favourite noodle soup. Simply, I just love it. Vu
Ha Kim Vy
lived in Vung Tau, the seaside oil and holiday town

close to Saigon, for way too long. Yet in the four
or so years I called this peninsula city my home, I
never once tried banh khot, the only dish that can
truly be credited with being invented there. That all
changed when I moved to Saigon.
For a long period I used to take the hydrofoil almost
daily between Vung Tau and Ho Chi Minh City, and I
remember seeing an eatery spring up close to the port at
the end of Ham Nghi called Co Ba Vung Tau. Then close
by Co Hai Vung Tau opened shop. Both specialised in
banh khot, and my interest was piqued. Quickly the rivals
opened additional branches around Saigon.
It was only on a weekend trip back to my former home
that I finally tried this dish. I remember it well. We went
to the joint that invented banh khot Banh Khot Goc Vu
Sua sat on plastic stools at the low, chrome-topped
tables, ordered two plates of the small, crispy pancakes,
then three, then four, then five. When we got up to leave
we were both stuffed and satisfied. I remember the word
Wow! crossing my lips more than once.
I could talk for hours about why I love this dish.
Maybe its the crunch of the lettuce leaf (or mustard leaf)
used to wrap up the pancake. Maybe its the small, friedup rice flour cake itself with its topping of both fresh
and dried shrimp. Or maybe its how the pickled papaya
and carrot strips create a perfect taste balance with the
sweetness and chilli spice of the fish sauce.
Nick's
Pick
Q UAN B ANH
K HOT G OC
V U S UA (14
Nguyen Truong
To, Vung Tau);
B ANH K HOT C O
B A V UNG T AU
But the key for me are three things, three things which
I believe are central to much of southern Vietnamese
cuisine. First is that despite the banh khot being
fried with the salad and fresh herbs thrown in this
is a healthy dish. Add to this the roll-it-yourself nature
of the dish there is something very satisfying about
preparing your own food.
But most important is how good these pancakes are to
share, to eat together in a big group. Thats the essence
of Vietnamese cuisine dining family-style with all the
food placed in the centre of the table. Few individual
dishes meet this dining concept as well as banh khot.
Nick Ross
(102 Cao Thang,

Q3, HCMC); B EN
N INH K IEU (78
Mai Hac De, Hai
Ba Trung, Hanoi)
Huyen's
Pick
You can find
delicious bo bia
ngot sold by
many vendors
along Thanh
Nien Street, Tay
Ho, Hanoi
or those who attended school in the 1980s like

myself, things were far different. Instead of
sitting at KFC, Burger King or a polished-glass
window caf, our ritual was gathering at the
school gates and buying cheap snacks.
Like many other girls, bo bia ngot was my favourite.
Now its making a comeback. A few years ago, I was
happy to see peddlers starting to sell bo bia ngot on
Hanois Thanh Nien Street. Nowadays, a lot of vendors
stand on the streetside with a white box on their bike
selling this old-time student snack.
I love buying bo bia ngot from a man who often stands
near the restaurant Banh Tom Ho Tay (on Thanh Nien
Street). He seems to be the only male peddler selling it
on the street. We are all living in the same village, he
told me. Leaving our hometown, we share slum-dog
apartments near Hanoi and sell this every day. I stand
here from morning until 11pm at night.
The first time I stopped my bike, I was impressed by
this mans appearance. He has a very gentle smile. He
makes me think of poor labourers in the countryside.
Every time I come back, I notice happiness and a smile in
his eyes. I keep coming back.
Its not a big deal when I buy one bo bia ngot (theyre
VND5,000 each), but this mans smiles make me feel
happy about life. Every week, I give myself one moment
of buying bo bia ngot, eating the wrapper in bites,
enjoying the sweet taste of old times. I chat with the bo
bia seller, enjoying the lake view along with the others
mingling on the bustling street. Huyen Tran
o be honest, when I first tried bu bo Hue it was

not a pleasant experience. Maybe it was the
place, it could have been the cook, perhaps
it wasnt fresh. For a very long time after, I
refused to touch the stuff.
But that was seven years ago. Several visits to
Vietnam have come and gone and the soup I once
considered rank is now my go-to meal, especially for
breakfast.
Theres a magic that occurs when you get the
seasonings just right. The slightly oily broth envelops
all these spices and the lime virtually glues itself to all
the ingredients in the bowl. I tend to go heavy on the
chilli oil, so the flavour overwhelms me.
I like these noodles much more than pho noodles.
They are more substantial and have a better texture
to my mind. They remind me of the noodles my mom
used to put in chicken noodle soup when I was under
the weather.
The choice of vegetables can change the flavour
yet again. The shredded greens, the leafy bits and
the best part of all, the stringy goodness of the
banana flower slowly cooks in the broth and adds
an extra dimension to the flavour. Patiently I wait
as the veggies sop up the broth. Finally, its time to
dig in!
Vietnamese food has the ability to change your
palate. I used to miss food back home. But, because of
Glen's
Picks
N AM G IAO @
189 Bis Bui Vien,
Q1, HCMC and
the place by the
pagoda on the
corner of Duong
So. 41 and Quoc
Huong, Q2,
HCMC
F OR T HOSE IN
H ANOI : Q UAN
B UN B O H UE @
16B Hang Ga,
Hoan Kiem, and
Q UAN B UN B O
H UE @ 38C, Mai
Hac De, Hai Ba
Trung
my love of bun bo Hue and many other dishes, I rarely

give home food a second thought. I could literally
eat bun bo Hue three times a day. Glen Riley
David's
Pick
B UN B O N AM
B O @ 67 Hang
Dieu, Hoan Kiem,

Hanoi
F OR T HOSE IN
S AIGON : Its just
not sold down

south. Sorry! But
if you go to a bun
thit nuong stand,
they might just
be able to knock
you out a bowl
of bun thit xao,
the version of this
dish from which
bun bo nam bo
was adapted
y love affair with bun bo nam bo began when

I came to visit a friend almost two years
ago. I was a newcomer in every possible
way. I knew next to nothing about Vietnam,
Vietnamese history or Vietnamese cuisine. The only
exceptions were the AUS$4 Vietnamese rolls, or banh
mi, that kept me alive through my university days,
which I would regularly get from a family-run shop
around the corner from my house. But that was pretty
much it.
Bun bo nam bo was the best introduction to Vietnamese
street food that I could have asked for. A Hanoi version
of a southern dish that is actually made with pork rather
than beef, it was easy on the eyes (no weird-looking
meats hanging in the windows here, folks), easy on
the stomach and a feast for the palate. A delicious
combination of salty, wok-tossed beef strips, rice noodles,
bean sprouts and a helping of fried onions, balanced by
a sprinkle of pickled carrots and vegetables, even though
this was hotel-made bun bo nam bo, it was more than
enough to spark my interest in Vietnamese food.
But my true religious awakening came when I visited
the famous Bun Bo Nam Bo shop on Hang Dieu, near
the Hang Da shopping mall. This shop, like many other
food shops in Vietnam, specialises in one dish and one
dish only. It introduced me to the way many food shops
in Vietnam operate: do one thing, do it well and do it
fast.
Within minutes, I was squeezing onto a bench

in between lunching locals engaged in high-speed
conversations that eclipsed my four-word Vietnamese
repertoire. Tucking into a steaming bowl of freshly
cooked bun bo nam bo, I noticed nearby locals giggling
at the victorious grin on my face. Em thich, I managed
through a mouthful of rice noodles, causing the table
around me to erupt with laughter.
To this day, I still make a weekly trip to the bun bo nam
bo shop on Hang Dieu. I sit on the same bench, speak
more than four words of Vietnamese and enjoy one of
the best dishes Hanoi has to offer. David Mann
anoians are proud people. And theyre

particularly proud of their food. After living
in Hanoi for almost 12 months I was already
happy to consider myself a bona fide resident
of the capital. I became even more proud of this when
during my first trip to Ho Chi Minh City the hotel
maid told me she couldnt understand my Vietnamese
because I spoke with such a northern accent.
Naturally, when I ventured down south, I regarded
the food with suspicion and an air of superiority. That
was until I tried bun thit nuong, a flavoursome blend of
barbecued pork, rice noodles, pickled vegetables and fish
sauce. For the next three days, I ate bun thit nuong every
day. I hounded my Vietnamese colleagues for the best
places in the city to eat it. Catch-ups with friends quickly
descended into aggressive cross-examinations over
where I could find the best bun thit nuong in the city.
What do you want to eat while youre here, Dave?
my friend Trang asked me on my second day down
south.
Bun thit nuong! Where?! Can we go now?
Calm down Dave, I will show you, she said,
laughing at my manic enthusiasm.
Fortunately, bun thit nuong is not a dish thats hard to
find in Ho Chi Minh City. Local restaurant Nha Hang
Ngon delivers consistently good bun thit nuong, while
those wanting a more authentic experience of sitting on
blue stools and inhaling mouth-watering smoke wafting
David's
Pick
N HA H ANG
N GON @ 160
Pasteur, Q1,
HCMC or T HAI
B INH M ARKET ,
Cnr. Cong Quynh
and Pham Ngu
Lao, Q1, HCMC
over from the barbecue can head to Thai Binh Market.

However, one place where you will struggle to find
this dish is Hanoi. When I returned, I went in search
for the southern delight only to be disappointed. Bun
cha, while kind of similar, doesnt even come close as a
replacement.
I hold out hope, though, that one day this will change
and I will stumble upon a hidden alley in Hanoi where
I can sit and tuck into my favourite dish in Vietnam.
David Mann
Trung's
Pho Tron
Tour
Start at 1 Ngo
Tat To, Dong Da,
Hanoi, then head
to 5 Phu Doan,
Hoan Kiem; 47
Ma May, Hoan
Kiem; 2 Hang
Hom, Hoan
Kiem; and 6
Luong Van Can,
Hoan Kiem
A ND I F Y OU RE
S AIGON You
IN
may need to wait

on this one
anoi is most famous for pho. Every day,

youll find countless people eating pho for
breakfast, lunch and dinner, in hundreds
of different ways.
When friends come to Hanoi and ask me for
food recommendations, my answer is always pho.
But Im talking about a very different kind of pho
pho tron.
Tired of having pho with fat soup and too
much MSG in the same bowl, I hated pho. But pho
tron changed my mind I once tried it in a small
restaurant on the pavement near the Temple of
Literature.
No fatty soup. No MSG. And the pho was
served dry with boneless chicken, bean sprouts,
salad and peanuts all the things that make
a difference. A small basket of fresh vegetables
comes on the side.
It looks so good, and so beautiful. I like
squeezing a kumquat on top and then mixing it all
up. Its now ready to enjoy, but wait, let me take a
photo first snap!!!
I cant eat two bowls of normal pho at a go, but
if you offer me two bowls of pho tron, Ill take
them down. Good taste and no fat thats the
source of my addiction. Trung Del
remember the first time I had pho cuon. One of

my good Vietnamese friends who I had a crush
on, a not-insignificant part of the story would
often take me out to lunch to discover new food.
And so, one day he brought me to a pho cuon place
in Truc Bach in Hanoi. I realised at first bite that pho
cuon would become one of my favourite Vietnamese
foods. I cant remember anything we talked about that
day, probably because I was busy memorising my first
taste.
I was quite embarrassed that I had gone a full year
without knowing about it. He wasnt helping he was
teasing me, making fun of me for not trying pho cuon
earlier. But I could see he was proud that he was the one
to show it to me.
Now, every time I am showing a visiting friend
around Hanoi, I make sure they try pho cuon.
Pho cuon is a roll made of wet rice paper, garnished
with cilantro, mustard leaf, lettuce and beef. The wet rice
paper is the pho noodles before theyve actually been cut
into noodles, and the dish is served cold with a great
sauce made from fish sauce, vinegar, carrots, radish and
garlic.
There are many great things about this dish. You can
find most of the pho cuon restaurants in Hanoi on Truc
Bach Island. Its a great area that feels like a little village,
quieter than the city, with children playing ball in the
middle of the street.
Julie's
Pick
P HO C UON
H UNG B EN @
26 Nguyen Khac
Hieu, Ba Dinh,
Hanoi
F OR T HOSE IN
S AIGON : Check
out H AI T HIEN
Pho cuon is only good when its very fresh. The sauce
is absolutely divine and well-balanced. The rice pancake
is soft and thick. The beef is juicy. Its healthy and full
of fresh herbs. It is cheap and perfect for sharing. Just
thinking about it makes me hungry! Julie Vola
@ 14 Bui Vien,
Q1. The pho
cuon has been
adapted to the
Saigon palate,
but theres a nice
novelty here
the pho cuon is
sold in different
colours
Nick's
Pick
D AT T HANH @
277 Vo Van Tan,
Q3, HCMC.
Apparently you
can also find bot
chien in Hanoi,
but youll have to
search for it
hen I first moved to Saigon I lived

down an alleyway off De Tham in the
Backpackers Area. At the time, little was
known overseas about Vietnamese food
and according to Lonely Planet, the closest thing
Vietnam had to a national dish was spring rolls. How
things have changed.
Intrigued by the various types of street food I saw in
the area, I began trying almost everything. For a while
I ate what I thought was pho every morning, to later
discover that it was actually hu tieu, and it was in this
same area that I discovered bun thit nuong and bo kho.
The one dish, though, that I always saw at night that
intrigued me were these pale yellow bricks of some
weird substance, fried on a black grill and served up
with a fried egg, pickled vegetables and chilli sauce. I
tried asking what it was, but no-one could explain. So
eventually I tried the dish myself. Its was bot chien.
I remember the first time I sat down on that small
plastic red stool in front of the chrome-topped table.
What would this taste like? Not knowing what I was
about to eat made me nervous. But what emerged on my
plate was perhaps the Vietnamese equivalent of the egg
and chip butty a British sandwich filled with chips
(French fries) and a fried egg. Cholesterol-heavy but
oozing with taste as I later discovered, the pale blocks
of substance were actually made from rice flour. Greasy,
fattening but damn tasty.
I havent eaten bot chien for years now. Originally

from Cholon an adaptation of a dish originating
in Chaoshan (Trieu Chau) in Southern China its
increasingly difficult to find in Saigon these days. But
my memories of that first taste will always raise a smile
to my lips. What was I so afraid of? Nick Ross
f I had to pick one dish to eat for the rest of my life,

it would have to be thit kho trung.
Everyone has one dish that their mother or
grandmother made as a child that just makes them
feel at home. Mine is thit kho trung. If youve never had
this dish, the best way I can describe it is: pork that
is so tender that it crumbles with the slightest touch,
hardboiled eggs that have been reheated for about the
umpteenth time leaving scissors for cutting through
the egg as more of a necessity than a suggestion and
broth which makes me salivate regardless of if its a cold,
gelatinous, Flubber-like mess or liquid gold.
Traditionally, thit kho trung is reserved for those
fortunate enough to have home-cooked meals. Once only
eaten during Tet, it isnt exactly the most difficult dish to
make, being that its just braised pork typically belly,
bum or shoulder boiled eggs and a caramel sauce
with a nuoc mam and fresh coconut water base. The only
drawback is it can take up to two-and-a-half hours to
make, which is why I dont eat it so often.
Every time I would visit my grandma she would insist
that I ate, even if Id eaten less than an hour prior. As
much as I hated it at the time, I always look back at these
times with nostalgia. I hated being force-fed, but I loved
the dish so I didnt actually mind. I can still hear it now
Muon an, khong? Khong, cam on.... An com di!
while shoving me into a chair.
While I could very well buy it on the street in Vietnam
Kyle's
Pick
His grandmothers kitchen
she loves
guests. If not,
pretty much any
rice restaurant
in Southern and
Central Vietnam
its never as good. To be honest, while nearly every com

tam and com binh dan restaurant in the south carries
thit kho trung, I couldnt recommend a single place to
try it. Now, this isnt because they dont make the dish
properly. Every family has a slightly different recipe
and no one makes it quite as good as my ba noi. Kyle
Phanroy
ut on your Honesty Cape and place

yourself in the following scenario:
After you save the life of a
Nigerian prince with the timely
provision of your US$7,500 wire transfer, he
invites you to his lavish palace in Abuja for
a celebratory feast. The prince decrees that
every notable dish from every global cuisine
will be provided for your dining pleasure, as
part of the worlds largest-ever buffet table.
There is a catch, however, as there always
is with Nigerian princes: you can only
have one plate. So, with all of the worlds
delicacies at your fingertips, how much
plate-space would you devote to Vietnamese
cuisine?
Your correspondents answer: zero
percent.
Make Ready the Torches

That doesnt necessarily mean your
correspondent has an irrational hatred of
Vietnamese food, though.
We are sloppy with our language. Not
in the sense of abbreviations or emojis (the
obese cats are adorable, and if you disagree
then youre a silly old coot), but in our word
choice. For instance, your correspondent
might say that he loves chao ga because it
reminds him of the ubiquitous chicken-andrice porridge-type gruel his mother used to
make.
What he means to say is that he has eaten
chao ga on multiple occasions and found it to

be agreeable, with a not-unpleasant flavour
and a familiar consistency. But if you asked
him to name his Top 50 favourite foods, and
he took the time to make the list properly,
chao ga would be nowhere to be found.
Unless, perhaps, he felt like presenting
himself as extra-sophisticated that day. Then
he might be tempted to pepper the Top 50
with any exotic food he could remember
eating. In that case he might also proclaim
his love of Vietnamese bo kho, Laotian aw
lahm AND Cambodian somlar mochu sachko,
instead of just saying that he likes beef stew.
He would overstate his enthusiasm in the
interests of appearing more worldly and
progressive.
In reality, your correspondents general
attitude w/r/t local cuisine can best be
summarised as:
Vietnamese food is a palatable option for
occasional meals, but as a daily diet it has
major shortcomings.
Attempted Analysis
Let your correspondent suggest four criteria
for evaluating a cuisine: cost, variety of
flavours, visual presentation and nutritional
value. He would argue that Vietnamese food
usually satisfies only the first criterion. Street
foods such as mi xao bo and bun thit nuong
are especially cheap, which is why he used
to eat them regularly. And theyre available
Lower your pitchforks and

let Niko Savvas explain
*Some estimates
go as high as
5,000 litres.
almost anywhere, which could be considered

another advantage.
Flavour and presentation are wildly
subjective things to discuss, but your
correspondent submits that a majority of
Vietnamese dishes appear limpid and sad on
the plate, which is often helpfully illustrated
by the blurrily magnified canvases stretched
across the restaurants front entrance. Also,
the 2pm remnants of a com tams slop pans
are a stark reminder of our own perishability.
Regarding flavour, your correspondents
main impressions of Vietnamese cuisine are
the following:
1) Many things are very sweet
2) They are not nearly as spicy as locals
claim.
3) There is a strong tendency towards
smearable meat pastes, ambiguously grey
foodballs and globs of pure fat.
4) Fish sauce is basically soy sauce, except
worse.
5) Rice =
Rice is, from an environmental and
nutritional viewpoint, a woefully inefficient
food to cultivate and eat. According to the
UKs Institute of Mechanical Engineers,
it takes more than 2,400 litres of water
to produce a single kilogramme of rice.*
Comparatively, it takes 287 litres to produce
a kilogramme of potatoes. At a time when
water rights are sparking armed conflicts
and encroaching megadroughts threaten
to destabilise regions from the Indian

subcontinent to the American Pacific
coast, the costs of rice production are
increasingly difficult to justify.
Nor does rice have an impressive
dietary resume. It is the edible equivalent
of packing peanuts. Deepak Pental, former
vice-chancellor of the University of Delhi
and one of the worlds most distinguished
nutritional scientists (Google it), says,
White rice is the most ridiculous food
human beings can cultivate. It is just a
bunch of empty starch, and we are filling
our bellies with it.
Vietnamese cuisine relies heavily upon
the emptiest kind of rice, too. Today the
nutritional advantages of unmilled brown
rice, with its bran and germ layers intact,
are widely known, but Vietnamese rice

is almost exclusively white, stripped
down to its starchy endosperm. It serves
little purpose other than to induce a
temporary satiety, yet it is the cornerstone
of Vietnamese cuisine.
Dont Panic
But enough with the humbug and
moodiness your correspondents most
enjoyable respites from everyday rice-andnoodlery occur at the following places:
In Saigon, visit Zeus on Cong Quynh.
The owner is a Greek man with a hearty
moustache. Ask for three kalamaki
pork and he may mistake you for this
correspondent.
In Mui Ne, visit Ratinger Lowe on
the end of the big street by the hill (your

correspondent suspects you will be too
drunk to remember street names, should
you be in Mui Ne). Order the Metzgerplatte,
which means butchers plate in German.
Enjoy the schnitzel and sausages. Fill your
pockets with leftover potatoes before you
leave.
In Nha Trang, visit Ana Beach House
and politely request the spice-rubbed
beef tenderloin. If the waiter says it is not
available, drown yourself in the nearby
infinity pool.
Call Zeus at (08) 3837 3248. Call Ratinger
Lowe at (062) 374 1234. Call Ana Beach
House at (058) 352 2222. Or just Google them,
you lazy bastards
insider
Makin
inside
r
g it a
Realit
y
Natio
nal
Crowdfunding is still relatively new to Vietnam.

Hoa Le speaks to three people who thanks to the
generosity of others have turned dreams into reality.
Photos provided by the campaign organisers
ast April, Thanh Phong, one of

the best-known cartoonists and
illustrators in Vietnam, launched
an online campaign for funding.
Working with his friend Khanh Duong, he
was hoping to get public support to make
a new cartoon series. The appeal went
viral.
People were curious. What did the
creative brains behind the popular collection
of comics, Sat thu dau mung mu (The
Murderer with a Pus-Filled Head) have in
mind?
But they were also curious about
something else. What was this new form of
investment called crowdfunding? At the
time they had little idea. But so attractive
was the prospect of seeing Thanh Phongs
new cartoon series, Long Than Tuong (The
Dragon General) developed, that a large
number of people put in funding.
The reaction was no surprise to Phong
and Duong. But whether the project was
successful, and the audience trusted them
enough to contribute to their target of
VND300 million (US$14,300) for the first
volume of the series was something they
couldnt predict.
There have been very few successful
crowdfunding projects in Vietnam, says
Duong, who initiated the idea and set up

the platform for the project. And VND300
million is quite a big amount of money in
fact it was the largest valued project in the
country at the time.
He adds: At the beginning my main
challenge was talking Phong into the
idea. The cartoonist was concerned that
if the project failed then it would affect his
reputation.
There are many reasons for a group of
artists to use crowdfunding to help them
turn ideas into reality. For Phong and
Duong, its the freedom and the authority
that they would have over their products
in this case, the comic series. Traditionally
publishing in Vietnam has always gone
through an authorised publisher the
authors have little control over their
products. As a trade-off for this freedom,
the success of the project depends on the
crowdfunding if they dont raise enough
money, the project will die.
In the case of the Echoes project, formally
known as Hanoi Soundwalk, musician Josh
Kocepek and his team initially received
funding from the Danish Embassy. But
they needed more money to continue the
project into its second phase and expand it to
another country.
Limited funding from international

foundations was also the reason that the
team behind Zone 9 A Documentary
decided last August to run a crowdfunding
campaign. The money they received from
the Goethe Institut wasnt enough to
finish the documentary. The team needed
an extra US$5,000 (VND105 million) for
post-production.
Crowdfunding through platforms such
as Kickstarter, Indiegogo, Gofundme and
Rockethub has become a very popular online
vehicle for people with ideas to finance
their project through product development
and market research. In Vietnam, though,

this is still a fairly new approach. In 2013, a
group of young enthusiasts started the first
crowdfunding platform in Vietnam called
IG9 and successfully raised money for a
few projects, but the site stopped running
after about a year. To secure the success of a
crowdfunding project in a new market like
Vietnam, you need more than just luck.
The Right Initiative
There are many reasons for a group of artists

to use crowdfunding to help them turn ideas
into reality. For Phong and Duong, its the
freedom and the authority that they would
have over their products in this case,
the comic series
Compared to other types of ventures, artistic

crowdfunding projects have advantages.
Because they are creative, interesting and
Compared to other types of ventures, artistic

crowdfunding projects have advantages. Because
they are creative, interesting and unique, they have
the ability to attract attention
unique, they have the ability to attract
attention. They stand out amongst all the
good causes campaigning for your dollars
a lot of them charities, dealing with
overwhelming issues by being more
hope-based than problem-based.
The Zone 9 A Documentary project
triggered peoples interest because of its
unique subject matter. The film tells of the
life of Zone 9, from its establishment to its
early closure at the end of 2013. Zone 9 was
a unique arts and entertainment complex
which emerged in early 2013 on the site
of an abandoned pharmaceutical factory.
It soon attracted a host of characters from
around the world, all hoping to share their
ideas and showcase their talents. The space
kept growing until December, when its
water and power were abruptly cut off
and eviction notices served, forcing all
establishments to shut down or relocate.
Zone 9 was short lived, but its legacy
survives to this day. The campaign for the
documentary successfully raised US$5,800
(VND122 million) in 30 days.
In the case of Echoes, which was recently
awarded the Tech in Asia prize, English
musician Josh and his team developed a
smartphone app and a map of sounds,
based on a mixture of historical sounds
from the past and contemporary music. As
participants walk around a pre-designed
route, they can hear the respective sound
for each particular location through their
headphones. After the pilot scheme in 2013,
the team wanted to expand the project to
both Hanoi and Copenhagen. The project
raised US$5,175 (VND109 million) in 30
days.
Long Than Tuong offers its potential
backers a chance to read interesting comics,
drawn by the talented artist Thanh Phong
and his team. They ran their campaign for
60 days and received a total of VND330
million. After that success, Phong and
Duong started an additional campaign to
make the second volume. They aimed to

raise VND200 million. By Dec. 31, 2014, the
last day of the campaign, they had received
over VND250 million.
In the West, people often start ideas
spontaneously, says Duong. A potato
salad-making campaign [by Zack Danger
Brown] received over US$55,000. But in
Vietnam, as people are generally not used
to crowdfunding, you need to have a
better idea.
Preparation
In the Long Than Tuong campaign, both
Duong and Phong didnt have a bank
account in the US, which is required to use
international platforms such as kickstarter.
com. So Duong had to build his own website
with the same functions, which took about
a month. The website provided Vietnamese
backers with a variety of payment options.
Not everybody in Vietnam has a
Mastercard or Visa to pay online, says
Duong. So in my system, we included
every possible payment option you can
think of: from transferring money through
Vietnamese bank systems to ATM machine
payments and Mobiphone credits, which
can be converted back into cash. With
people who didnt feel like going out, we
provided them with a phone number to call
and we sent someone over to collect the
money. As only Duong and Phong were
running the project at the time, they hired
a service called giaohangnhanh.vn to collect
the money for them.
Even if a team decides to use a preexisting international platform for their
campaign Echoes used Indiegogo Josh
says there are still plenty of other things to
be taken care of.
It requires a lot of preparation, he
explains. We worked really hard to make
sure our crowdfunding looked really good
and that we had interesting stuff to say all
the time.
Once the campaign started, the team

behind Echoes had to constantly sell the
product to through emails, face-to-face
conversations, or Facebook. His group also
prepared a live concert where people could
listen to the music and donate directly to
the project.
In most crowdfunding projects, there are
no products to sell yet. Therefore, preparing
a professional website, a Facebook page and
a clip that shows what the project is about
is a must.
In that two minute-clip, you really need
to show people who you are, days Duong.
If you dont do it right, youll just fail.
His team paid VND10 million for their
clips and to prepare their materials.
Dont Give Up
Once the project is up and running, you can
adjust as necessary. Duong and Phongs
target customers were 25 years old and
up, middle to high-income people living in
Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. But to reach
them they found themselves spending
VND50 million on advertising through
Facebook. This helped them filter and
approach those potential customers as well
as increase publicity.
The Long Than Tuong project also gave its
backers a variety of awards according to the
amount of money they contributed: from
a miniature of a character in the series to
becoming one of the characters in the book.
Yet, if at the beginning the project is slow,
you still need to stay positive. Ive seen
people getting upset or frustrated. But that
really doesnt help, says Josh.
The nature of a crowdfunding project
is that many people follow it and watch
its progress, only deciding to give money
towards the end of the campaign.
You need to get over the fear of losing,
says Duong. We were even prepared to
return all the money we had raised to the
backers. Fortunately we made it.
insider
ENTERTAINMENT
VIETNAM
Vietnams Got Talent

At the finale of one of Vietnams leading reality shows, Ed Weinberg finds out what it
takes to make it in front of the camera. Translation by Le Thuy Thao Suong
ere seated before the show,

and a very loud voice is yelling
at us:
What if the performer does
a good job? Clap your hands. What if the
performer does a not-so-good job? Clap
your hands!
The audience is split into cheering
sections, each pulling for one of the
finalists. Were on the stage proper, seated
among the friends of the finalists and
celebrity judges. To our right stage-left
crowds of performers are assembled,
wearing ao dais and hair-bows and little
red stickers on their cheeks to symbolise
their good cheer. Women in traditional
dress (one of whom is actually a man, as

the photog seated next to me says I
have his Facebook) practise their songs
sotto voce, as jets of fire and smoke are
given test runs. Its like a demented
version of The Ed Sullivan Show.
Little girls dressed from the Arabian Nights
section of the fancy dress market twirl
around, shirtless men hold each other in
the air and climb metal poles. The celebrity
judges come out, singing little ditties about
voting for your favourites. The pretty
young MC who Im sure is also famous
gives them a brief intro, the stage curtain
maybe collapses, maybe is just disassembled
in a super fast and violent way, and were off!
Emotions Run High

A group takes the stage in jean jackets and
Chucks, and does a synchronised dance
routine to traditional music-tinged EDM.
Those guys already lost, but now
another mess of people are on-stage,
part of the song-and-dance intro. Theyre
choosing the finalists in real-time, and the
tension is building.
The parents of the effeminate-looking
guy who climbed the pole before coming
onto the big screen at the back of the
stage his robust father looks like a
truck driver or an orthodontist say we
support you over and over. Then he gets
eliminated.
Theres a little girl who dressed like

Michael Jackson in the opening rounds.
Now she comes out dressed like an old
woman. Oh my god, says translator
Suong, its so cute!
Seated next to two traditional musicians,
she hits all her diphthongs. Then the
inevitable rock-and-roll breakdown comes,
the people in the animal costumes come
out, and the girl changes clothes behind a
cardboard tree three times to complement
the four musical shifts. Suong loses her
s***.
Later, the judges also do. If we had
another final round, you could show even
more. Your talent is unlimited.
*******
The second-to-last group, two more
child performers, come out and do a fun
choreographed number. To be honest,
its a little sloppy. But then again, theyre
children, without the years of muscle
memory that go into the finely-tuned
performances of adult dancers.
More suspect is a national talent
competition where three-quarters of the
finalists are children.
But the last contestant gets around
my ageist bias, dressing as a young wife
carried on the back of an old, papiermch man. Some young bucks come up
to flirt while the old man barks, which
our young competitor accomplishes with
a fan to his face. The child-centaur hops
around to traditional music, performing
a careful ballet that has been enacted in
different forms through the centuries,
and not always as well. When its over,
one judge calls him a genius, while
another says, Im scared of your talent.
*******
Three of the final groups selected are

composed of child performers. Cute child
hugs are exchanged among those who
survived the cuts. Who could vote against
that?
I message David Murray, the American
semi-finalist of last years edition, who
invited me tonight. Hes nervous. They
want me to sing a Vietnamese song and I
totally dont know it. Crying emoji. Oh
well, its just for fun.
Theres a commercial break, during
which the judges ham it up for the
photogs. Then they yell one more
minute! and we all scurry. The
performances are starting.
The Talents
Theres a man with a fabulous torrent
of greyish-white hair, arched salt-andpepper eyebrows and a full-on silver
beard. Hes space-evil, a George Clinton
fever dream of a Buddhist demon. At the
end of the comedy-opera that takes place
around him, he gets turned into a vacuum
cleaner.
The famous songwriter-judge says
something along the lines of, It wasnt
what I expected. I expected it to be much
better. But anyway youve made it to the
final round, so youre famous now.
Greybeard is still smiling his devilish,
slightly seductive smile.
Famous comedian-judge Thanh Loc the

Simon Cowell of the Vietnamese edition,
in a futuristic grey cloak that falls like a
loincloth down to his black stormtrooper
boots sits in the green room after the
confetti has fallen, answering questions.
But he doesnt even wait for the first one
to be asked before he ventures, This year
many children got to the final round, but its
nothing unnatural. They got there because
theyre talented.
Ive seen many talented children, but
this one is the first Ive seen perform this
sort of art, he continues, gesturing at
nine-year-old winner Nguyen Duc Vinh,
whos uncertain but shining, his makeup
smeared by all the tears. What he can do
is really valuable for Vietnam.
insider
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Jon Aspin
f you grow up in the west, you have

choice. So many possibilities are
thrown at you, that making a decision
can be overwhelming. Sometimes it can
take years, decades even, before a moment
of realisation occurs.
For musician and composer Matthew
Gardener, this couldnt be further from the
truth. Hes known since he was a young
child what he wanted to do.
My parents took me to see Phantom of the
Opera when I was seven, he recalls, smiling
as if it was yesterday. Its a long show,
quite scary for a kid, so I could have messed
about, I could have gotten bored, but I
didnt. As soon as that first orchestra started
up, it was chills down the back of my neck
stuff, spine-tingling, and I was hooked. After
that I knew this was what I wanted to do,
and since about the age of 10, I have.
Arriving in Ho Chi Minh City with his
soon-to-be wife Angela last June, and after
having done some initial research prior
to setting sail, Matthew saw a gap in the
market for young people here. Outside of
the international school system, people were
doing dance classes, people were doing
music, but no-one was doing both.
Getting his first break teaching a summer
course at Dancenter last year, it was this
opportunity that allowed him to establish
his own company Socio Muso. Running
with the tagline all things music, its core
value is spreading the passion of music
and the performing arts to individuals and
organisations. Through it, Matthew is now
bringing musical theatre to the youth of
Vietnam.
Skills for Life

His background in doing this is extensive.
Hes a graduate of Londons Royal Academy
of Music and hes worked all over the
world as a musical director, musician and
composer. Its a career that has taken him to
places as diverse as Dubai, the Caribbean,
Singapore, Switzerland and Thailand, where
he was living before here.
He also writes jingles for TV commercials
and plays piano at various locations around
town, mainly GEM Center. However, his
passion remains working with children,
putting on productions and seeing
personalities and life skills developed.
Yet Matthews keen to stress that this is
not about creating stars, but giving children
People who dont know about musical theatre

underestimate how many skills kids can
actually learn by being part of it. Confidence,
socialising, being organised, working towards
deadlines These are all things that they can
apply inside a normal academic curriculum
the opportunity to work together and create
from scratch a production they can be proud
of.
If people go on to have a career then
thats great, he says, but what I think is
more important is what the kids learn by
doing it.
He adds: People who dont know about
musical theatre underestimate how many
skills kids can actually learn by being part of
it. Confidence, socialising, being organised,
working towards deadlines These are all
things that they can apply inside a normal

academic curriculum.
Starting Small
I ask him if its been been tough to attract
enough children to start what is essentially
Saigons first private Glee Club? Enjoying
the reference to the television programme,
he says that while the schools have been
quite protective, once the word spread as
a result of that initial seven-week course
at Dancenter, the number of enrolments
Once the word spread

as a result of that initial
seven-week course at
Dancenter, the number of
enrolments began to grow
began to grow. Its already a far cry from

one his first experiences here. He describes
being asked by one of the smaller bi-lingual
schools to run a musical theatre workshop.
Only it was on stage and in front of 300
Vietnamese speakers. He tried without luck
to entice eight young participants to perform
on cue. It was a humbling beginning.
They just ran riot, he says giggling at
the memory. There was so much noise it
was impossible to do it justice. It was pretty
much a case of heres a microphone, youve
got 10 minutes, good luck. Luckily hes
moved on from there.
In starting the business hes also had some
good advice. A perfectionist, and a person
who loves to be in control, hes had to let
go a little bit. Its meant starting small, and
building on real world relationships with
parents, teachers and students. For this he
thanks his fiance, whos well versed in
helping businesses grow she works in the
advertising industry. Matthews also had
some experience working for companies
where quality has been sacrificed for
quantity, and its not a model he intends to
follow. As long as hes got enough money to

pay rent and eat, thats all he wants.
At first people didnt want to know
because I was an unknown, he explains.
But now, with the help of the network Ive
created on top of the musical youth theatre,
Im doing several summer-long workshops
for a couple of the international schools. It
feels like were going to be here a few years.
Getting into Character

So what of the ability to make children
perform in front of others? Is it only for
the most precocious and outgoing of kids?
Not at all, says Matthew. He talks about the
need to inspire, instill passion and create
a safe environment for young people to
experiment and be creative. He remembers
being inspired by his own teacher when he
enrolled in his first musical theatre class, and
hopes to do the same here.
I find kids are quite similar wherever
you go, he explains. If they enjoy it, and
if youre passionate enough about it and if
you can convey your passion, they will too.
Because expat kids are so used to moving
around and making friends, they are easier

to work with, and open to trying new
things.
Coming up at the end of May, Socio Youth
Musical Theatre will put it all to the test
when they perform a musical version of
Peter Pan. Staged at the International School
Saigon Pearl on May 30, this will be the first
time most of his students will be involved in
a real life production.
With the music composed by Matthew,
hes hoping that it will be a great chance
for the community to come together, to see
what Socio is all about, and hopefully attract
a few new budding actors, singers and
dancers to his burgeoning glee club troupe.
The evening is free, and promises to be an
hour-and-a-half of enthusiasm and passion
from the kids, mixed in with the enjoyment
of seeing children doing something they
really love, something they have created and
worked hard on together since January.
If you or your children are interested in
musical theatre, go to sociomuso.com and find
out how to get your tickets to Peter Pan the
musical on Saturday May 30
insider
National
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Eat & Drink
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Cup to see what Vie
Vietnamese Pastry
ou may think of Vung Tau

only for its beaches, roads and
nightlife. But for me this former
war-time RnR spot is the place
where the Vietnamese Pastry Cup happens
every two years, at the Pacific Pastry
Academy.
This may be hard to believe, but it
does exist. In fact this is the fifth time its
happened, and its our second Word article
on the subject.
The Vietnam Pastry Cup was inaugurated
10 years ago by the famous French chef Bruno
Pastorelli in order to promote Vietnamese
culinary arts and send the most talented to
France to train and compete in the Mondial
Des Arts Sucrs sort of like the World Cup
of pastry. All contestants must be Vietnamese,
and each two-person team must have a male
and female member, so both genders have an
equal chance to show off their talents.
We arrived late morning at the Pastry
Academy, inside an all-white room always
kept at 16C, contestants running back and
forth preparing their products. As for the
spectators, everyone was competing to take

pictures of their home team, while the film
crew and I pushed our way through to get
the best shots.
Caravelle Saigon won first prize with their

great overall performance and an impressive
sea-inspired sugar piece, which combined
multiple textures and shapes made of sugar.
Crunch Time
The Winners Circle
Coming back from lunch, the atmosphere

was getting tense. There wasnt much
talking or taking pictures. It was almost time
for the first tasting: chocolate bonbons.
Hours went by and the brutal summer
heat penetrated the white room. It was
definitely not 16C in here anymore. The day
got longer. We started to feel the fatigue.
Hung from Team Marriot Hanoi was
putting one of his sugar bubbles onto the
giant green sugar wreath he made, but when
he took his eyes off of it, it started to fall
off. Luckily, he was warned and he saved
the sugar bubble from falling, but not from
breaking. The heat made completing the
shaped sugar pieces into a challenge.
Despite the ferocity of the long day, all
the teams finished in time. The sun came
down and it was time to reveal the winner.
The Caravelle Saigon team held the

winners cup. Ms. Tran Thi Thuy Van and
Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Dung will represent
Vietnam at the 5th edition of the Mondial Des
Arts Sucrs in Paris in February 2016.
2nd Prize went to Marriot Hanoi. The
team members won an all-inclusive training
seminar in Hong Kong, under the tuition of
Master Chef Jeffrey Koo, to be sponsored by
Capfruit in March 2016.
3rd Prize went to Salinda Phu Quoc.
They will have the opportunity to join an allinclusive training programme at the French
Culinary School in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia,
under the tuition of a Master Pastry Chef
to be sponsored by Fonterra in October 2015.
4th Prize went to Sheraton Nha Trang.
They won a pastry book sponsored by
Valrhona chocolate.
insider
The Judges
S hahar (S hay ) L ubin
Chef-owner of Daluva, one of the

capitals most innovative restaurants,
Shay has a love affair with American,
Middle Eastern and Vietnamese
cuisine, and is particularly obsessed
with fish sauce, which he uses as
lavishly as possible. A frequenter of
Hanois alleyways, when it comes to
street food, Shay likes it local.
T u N guyen (C hef T u )
Executive chef at Dons Tay Ho, Tu

is one of Hanois best-known and
equally well-revered western-trained,
Vietnamese chefs. Known as much for
his cuisine as he is for his smile and
hospitality, Tus repertoire of dishes
extends from French, Italian and
North American all the way through to
pan-Asian.
H uyen T ran
Street food writer at Word, Huyen is

passionate about discovering the
stories behind the local people who
create the cuisine of Hanoi. A freelancer
and marketer, Huyen has been writing
the Street Snacker column for Word
since 2012.
C hau G iang
Area manager at Word, prior to entering

the world of magazines, Giang worked
in F&B, both at the Press Club and
later at Softwater. Boasting a wideranging knowledge of Vietnam, the
Hue-born mother of two has assisted
many generations of Word writers in
discovering the country since 2010.
eat & drink
Hanoi
Hanois
Best Pho
Where can you get the best

pho bo in Hanoi? As the old
Vietnamese saying goes,
ask nine people and youll
get 10 different opinions.
Courtesy of our four judges
we went in search of a
definitive answer. Words by
Huyen Tran.
Photos by Trung Del,
Julie Vola and Nick Ross
ike pizza in Italy, pho is synonymous

with Vietnam, but in particular with
Hanoi. The countrys best-known
dish is found everywhere from
humble streetside joints to classy hotels.
While the recipe varies from place to
place, and is often shrouded in secrecy,
the dish still maintains a distinctive taste.
With so many opinions out there on which
eatery offers up the best pho bo in Hanoi
the dishs spiritual home we decided to
find out for ourselves.
To do this we sent out four eager judges to
10 well-known pho joints in the centre of the
city. Sharing steaming bowls of pho tai chin
noodle soup with sliced well-done steak
and rare steak our courageous pho tasters
braved late spring humidity, Old Quarter
traffic and beef sweats to ravage their way
through more red meat than is healthy. Here
is their verdict.
Pho Tu Lun
Pho Ly Quoc Su
23 Hai Ba Trung, Hoan Kiem

VND50,000
10 Ly Quoc Su, Hoan Kiem

VND45,000 to VND70,000
A traditional pho joint popular

in the period just after the
Doi Moi reforms, the original
owner, Tu Lun, was famous for
his signature preparation of
pho. After he passed away, two
of his sons took over and have
divided the labour into two
shifts: morning and afternoon.
Their family formula offers up
a broth with a strong hint of
fish sauce, yet the taste remains
rich thanks to the braised beef
and bones. A bowl of pho here

has a fragrant aroma thanks to
the light scent of the noodles and
the thin-sliced green onion. The
homemade chilli sauce is a plus.
Overall Verdict
For diners who prefer their
broth salty, Pho Tu Lun is a great
choice. The meat is tender, the
quay breadsticks are crispy and
the eatery is quiet, clean and
friendly.
Another pho restaurant in the

top three, the fresh look and feel
of the pho here makes a bowl
of the good stuff perfect for the
morning diner. The broth is
clear, clean and tasty, although a
bit salty for some. But the stock
still maintains that true taste
of beef bone braised for long
hours. The broth tastes really
different, said Tu. Maybe its
due to this familys secret way
of selecting the right seasoning.
The beef here is another plus
point tender and perfectly
sliced.
Overall Verdict
The eatery is clean and
compared to other joints, more
upmarket. But the bring em
in, throw em out food chain
mentality can be off-putting,
especially in such a cramped
space. With customers waiting
for unoccupied tables, diners get
the impression theyre expected
to eat up and leave quickly.
While the noodles were a bit
bland, the quay was the best we
tasted. Price-wise this joint is a
bit expensive, but acceptable for
its quality.
Pho Gia Truyen Bat Dan

49 Bat Dan, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi
VND40,000 / VND50,000
Pho Gia Truyen Bat Dan is renowned for
offering subtle flavours, and a clear broth,
yet it is equally notorious for what some
describe as its arrogant service. Here you
have to stand in line and pay in advance to
get your bowl of soup. Thus the nickname
Pho Xep Hang or Line-Up Pho.
Known for serving a classic version
of Hanoi-style pho, the broth is light and
slightly sweet, while the noodles are thin
and cooked just right. The meat is fresh
the perfectly thin and tender sliced pieces
of beef are rich in taste while the bowl of
goodness is rounded off by fresh green onion
on top. Pho Gia Truyen Bat Dan is one of the

few joints that do not provide fresh lime as a
condiment. Say some diners, They think the
lime spoils the broth. Here eaters have to
make do with garlic vinegar and chilli.
Overall Verdict
Our judges rated Pho Gia Truyen Bat Dan as
one of the top three pho bo places in Hanoi. The
beef-sweetened broth and lack of MSG make
this place a winner. Price-wise its reasonable
too, and on a hygiene front, we gave pho xep
hang an 8. The only downer? The bread sticks
or banh quay werent crispy. Damn!
The Criteria
We used the following criteria to
assess the pho. Each category
was marked out of 10.
Broth
Meat
Noodles
Price
Hygiene
Condiments
Overall taste
Pho Vui
Pho Cuong
25 Hang Giay, Hoan Kiem

VND50,000
23 Hang Muoi, Hoan Kiem

VND35,000 to VND60,000
Another family-owned business,

despite serving up pho for 40
years, the broth is bland, with a
strong taste of ginger and onion.
There is also a distinct hint of
MSG. The noodles are soft and
taste good. However, the meat
only received 5 points out of 10
as it is badly cut; some pieces
are chewy and difficult to

eat. Hygiene-wise, Pho Vui
also performs badly, and the
condiments dont look fresh.
Overall Verdict
In terms of taste, mediocre.
As Shay put it: A hole in the
wall.
The only broth we encountered

with a strong whiff of cinnamon
and star anise. Yet, the taste also
has an annoying trace of MSG.
The meat is fragrant and tasty, the
noodles are quite good, but the
quay is not crispy. The condiments
are fresh and both the service and
dining area are fairly clean. As far
as overall taste, a 7 out of 10.
Overall Verdict
This spacious restaurant
creates a relaxed feeling for
diners. However, Pho Cuong
relies on a quick turnover of
customers, creating pressure on
the customer to eat and leave.
Reasonably priced.
Its context creates an old and traditional feeling, relaxed and chilled
Pho Suong
Pho Bo Cu Chieu
24 Trung Yen, Dinh Liet, Hoan Kiem

VND35,000 to VND80,000
48 Hang Dong, Hoan Kiem

VND45,000 to VND60,000
Located in a tight alley off Dinh

Liet, this eatery is comprised of
two dining spaces, both opposite
each other. Pho Suong stands
out as the only joint using a meat
slicing machine however, they
fall down on the broth, which
has a tough taste and a decided
hint of MSG we all marked
it around 5 or 6 out of 10. In
contrast, the meat is excellent.
The brisket is rich and moist,
and there are a range of other
beef options, too. If you go for
the special bowl at VND80,000

you get the full kit and caboodle.
Another nice addition are the
spring onion bulbs placed on top
of the pho.
Overall Verdict
The taste here is mediocre
when compared to its price
and the eatery isnt too clean.
Because of the alley location,
diners with bikes will have
trouble parking during rush
hour.
Another pho bo joint serving up a

broth with a strong emphasis on
fish sauce. But instead of tasting
salty, the broth has a clean flavour
and a fragrant aroma. The meat
is rich and tender, and there is
a nice selection of fatty meat for
those who are so inclined. Like
Pho Gia Truyen Bat Dan, this
place doesnt offer up lime as a
condiment. Said Shay, When
they choose not to offer lime on
the table, it means they are
confident that their broth is

already great and it does not need
any lime to bolster the taste. Its
kind of a statement.
Overall Verdict
The joint is small yet not always
crowded, so it never feels
cramped here. The condiments
are a bit limited and the quay is
not crispy, although the price
is acceptable and the service is
friendly.
Pho Bung Hang Trong
Pho Thin Bo Ho
On the sidewalk of Hang Trong,

near the crossing with Hang Bong
VND25,000
The word bung means to carry
something with your hands.
Add the word pho in front of this
and you get pho bung, or true
streetside pho. Open daily from
4pm to 8pm, here diners sit on
low stools and wait for their
servings, then self-serve without
having a table to put their bowls
on. The broth is especially
clear and light, like consomm.
However, the meat selection
is limited. Bunches of minced
green onion and coriander are
61 Dinh Tien Hoang, Hoan Kiem

VND50,000 to VND70,000
put on top of the bowl, spicing
up the broth. The noodles are
quite good and the quay was
crispy. 7 points for overall taste.
Overall Verdict
Pho bung is seen more as a snack
and at only VND25,000 for a
small bowl, you can understand
why. The eating-on-the-street
experience makes this place
super authentic. To me, its
places like this that maintain the
original spirit of street food.
Theres a place with the same

name on Lo Duc, which makes
it confusing to some diners,
since the pho at this joint is
traditional pho bo not the
sauted version you get in Lo
Duc. A food stand against the
wall of a small alley, the broth
here is clear, light and slightly
sweet thanks to braised bones
and good seasoning. The steak
is tender and rich in taste. The
noodles are also as good as the
meat. Onion and herbs spice
up the broth. The condiments are

good delicious garlic vinegar
and chilli sauce. 8 out of 10 for
overall taste.
Overall Verdict
For some diners, the joint feels
quite clean compared to its
alley context. Yet, some feel that
hygiene here may be an issue.
Its context creates an old and
traditional feeling, relaxed and
chilled, said Shay. To me, it was
over-priced.
The Final Scores
Pho Thin Lo Duc

13 Lo Duc, Hai Ba Trung
VND50,000
Okay, we know. This is not pho bo chin.
But Pho Thin is so good that we decided
we couldnt leave it out. The difference
here is the preparation of the meat.
Stir-fried with garlic it is added to the
noodles before the broth is poured over
the top. This seemingly minor difference
transforms the flavour, creating a
different dining experience. The shreds
of meat are aromatic and blended with
fresh green onions. The stir-fried beef
makes the broth rich and sweet, yet a bit
The scores below are averaged

and marked out of 10
fattier. Condiments here include fresh
lime, pickled chillies and home-made chilli
sauce. The quay tastes amazing after being
soaked up in the rich broth. For such a
big bowl of meat, the prices here are very
reasonable.
Overall Verdict
The overall taste of the pho bo at Pho Thin is
so good that it can more than hold its own
against its more traditional competitors
elsewhere.
When they choose not to offer lime on the table,

it means they are confident that their broth is
already great and it does not need any lime to
bolster the taste. Its kind of a statement.
1) Pho Gia Truyen Bat Dan 8.6

2) Pho Ly Quoc Su 8.5
3) Pho Thin Lo Duc 8.4
4) Pho Tu Lun 8.1
4) Pho Bo Cu Chieu 8.1
6) Pho Cuong 8.0
7) Pho Thin Bo Ho 8.0
8) Pho bung Hang Trong 7.4
9) Pho Vui 6.8
10) Pho Suong 6.7
Food & drink
MYSTERY DINER
HANOI
Grill 63
The newest kid on the block, Grill 63 in the Lotte Center is pitching for the high-end
steak market. So, how well does it fare? Photos by Trung Del
sk any local and they will

probably tell you that, like in
most big cities around the world,
steak is a competitive business in
Vietnam. Hanoi in particular plays host
to a heavyweight standoff between steak
juggernauts like El Gaucho Argentinian
Steakhouse, Jacksons Steakhouse and
French Grill. Between the three of
them, they cast a wide net across the
city, steaking their claim to cashed up
foreigners and locals wanting to sink their
teeth into a big juicy steak.
Grill 63 is the newest upscale steakhouse
to enter this high steaks game, hoping to

carve a niche in the emerging commercial
section of Ba Dinh. Housed in the new
Lotte Hotel and far away from its biggest
competitors, Grill 63 has hoped to set the
bar high literally as the new high-rise
dining hotspot in Hanoi.
A Numbers Game
Inside, Grill 63 has the hallmarks of a finedining establishment. The eye-catching
dcor is both modern and sleek with elegant
parquetry floors and opulent high ceilings.
But the real draw card is the view, and as
its name suggests, the restaurant is perched

way up on the 63rd floor, offering unrivalled
panoramic views of Hanois evolving
skyline.
The understated menu is a balance of
traditional and contemporary fare to suit a
wide range of palettes and cravings. Diners
can even have their pick of restaurant
specialties like the beef tartar Grill 63
100 gram tenderloin served with caviar,
brioche and an intriguing vodka crme
fraiche (VND320,000).
As youd expect, though, all of this
comes at a pretty high price, and then some
THE VERDICT
12.5
FOOD
13
SERVICE
(prices are not inclusive of VAT

or service charge). Appetisers
start at VND200,000 for a Nicoise
salad and go right up to the
more extravagant foie gras plate
served with blueberries and
brioche (VND650,000). Thankfully,
however, the delicious olive
focaccia bread with house made
butter is entirely complimentary
and self-replenishing.
For starters, we opted for the eyecatching Salmon 45, a texture-rich
blend of soft salmon confit and
caviar delivered on a fluffy bed of
cauliflower mousseline, and with a
side of crispy potato (VND350,000).
The texture of the salmon confit
was pleasantly smooth, while the
salty caviar and fried potato helped
balance the subtle taste.
Arriving next, the grilled
polenta medallions served with
ratatouille and shaves of Parmesan
(VND200,000) made for a nice
bridge between the subtle-tasting
salmon and the steak that followed.
Those less inclined towards meat
can choose from a neat selection of
pastas and risottos on the menu. A
healthy range of seafood options
are also on hand, ranging from the
succulent 200 gram sea bass fillet

(VND300,000) to the half a kilogram
of premium lobster tail available for
a cool VND2,300,000.
The Pice de Rsistance

For everyone else, you cant ignore
the steak. And you shouldnt. If
youve got money to burn, the 200
gram Wagyu beef tenderloin with
an impressive marble score of 8 (one
of the highest quality cuts of steak
in the world) will set you back a
mere VND2,600,000. Angus beef, rib
eye and New Zealand lamb options
are reasonably priced between
VND750 and VND890,000 a go.
We, however, decided to go
for the entry-level option: a
sensibly priced 200 gram prime
sirloin steak (VND420,000) with
a simple side of grilled asparagus
(VND70,000). Any guilt we were
harbouring about feeling cheap
instantly vanished once we saw
the handsome, lava stone-grilled
steak floating towards us from the
open kitchen. Perfectly seasoned,
cooked with precision and sleekly
presented on a modern butchers
block with complimentary Caf de
Paris and peppercorn sauce, each
mouthful was a big juicy knockout.

The grilled asparagus also added
a nice burst of freshness to the
saltiness of the steak.
Overall, Grill 63 performs
strongly on most fronts. But there
were moments where we felt
that the execution felt a little bit
inconsistent. The amuse bouche,
for example, was a simple fresh
spring roll with a bland-tasting
fish cocktail sauce. The pecan nut
brownie that we ordered for dessert
(VND180,000) tasted dry and
was served at room temperature.
The complementary petit fours, a
Belgian chocolate and a strangetasting macaroon, tasted store
bought and left an unpleasant taste
in our mouth after the opulent
steak and hearty appetisers.
Granted, these are little things,
but they contribute to the overall
feel of a restaurant, and in this
tier of the market, theres little
margin for error. That aside, Grill
63 provides a compelling for those
special occasions that call for a
mean steak and an even meaner
view.
Grill 63 is on Floor 63, Lotte Centre,
54 Lieu Gai, Ba Dinh, Hanoi
13
DCOR
Food, Decor and

Service are each
rated on a scale
of 0 to 15.
13 15
extraordinary to
perfection
10 12.5 very
good to excellent
8 9.5 good to
very good
5 7.5 fair to
good
0 4.5 poor
to fair
The Word reviews
anonymously and
pays for all meals
Food & drink
MYSTERY DINER
HCMC
Zombie BBQ
Just before its move to new premises, our undercover reporter heads to Zombie to get
the scores on the doors. Photos by Nick Ross
onfronted by a mountain of meat,

we sit, shocked into silence. The
smell of pork ribs, tangy, charred
and sweet, taunts us: can we finish
this meal? I settle a napkin over my lap,
and loosen my belt. My stomach growls.
My date shakes her head.
American barbecue, I tell her, knowing
this is a battle we cannot win.
Who cares? Going down fighting is good
enough.
Welcome to Zombie BBQ in District
2, where going home hungry takes
sincere effort. Ho Chi Minh Citys newest
American barbecue spot goes by a few
crucial US rules: offer tonnes of food at
good prices, watch your customers waddle
home, and profit.
Its but one of a number of American
BBQ places spreading like grave-mould;
the (relatively) venerable Quan Ut Ut
with its excellent beer is opening a second
location, and of course TNT BBQ rallies on
in District 4. Restaurants from Al Frescos
to Skewers offer American-style BBQ

ribs, landing all over the map in terms of
quality and style. Zombie, however, seems
to strive for the middle ground, balancing
expat and local tastes atop a mountain
of grub. In my opinion, good food at
good prices good meat, especially
transcends borders, however you slice it.
Vegetables Need Not Apply

Zombies menu bulges with burgers,
chicken, tacos and ribs; in a nod to local
tastes, it goes beyond standard beef,
pork and chicken, offering local delights
like pork belly and alligator, as well as
resurrecting local favorites such as Willie
Woos southern fried chicken and waffles.
Whats a food guy to do? After sampling
the pots of house-made BBQ sauce slyly
offered at the start, we bowed to the
inevitable, ordering the sampler platter
Plane Crash (VND350,000) with Carolina
sauce, whose sausage, ribs, chicken and
pork belly could have fed us both. But no,
we also had to cram in the half-rack of ribs

(VND230,000) with Kansas City sauce,
the smoked rabbit (VND180,000) with
Devils Dream sauce and Mexican Street
Corn (VND30,000). Sides also attended
each entre cornbread, baked beans and
coleslaw. You name it, we couldnt finish it.
For dessert, we gorged on the Rice Krispy
Treat Smores (VND80,000), a crispy,
sticky concoction oozing with melted
marshmallow and chocolate sauce. Just
to put the nail in our over-indulgence, we
topped it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream
(VND39,000). We cleared that plate alone,
and I still feel my pancreas crying.
Pleasures of the Flesh

Trying new western BBQ places has been a
recent hobby, and Zombie stacks up well.
Zombie cooks the ribs just right fatty
meat redolent with woodsmoke not quite
falling off the bone, offering just enough
resistance to remind yourself that youre
tearing into animal flesh. The chicken is
more tender, the rabbit smoky-sweet and

low priced. I wish the sauce came a bit
thicker, or sides of it came with the entrees,
but I truly appreciate the authentic slowcooked style. Its a rarity, but Zombie has it.
Meat may dominate the menu, but
the range of sides complements it well.
Grilled corn, cornbread, mac n cheese,
baked beans, coleslaw all the expected
accompaniments plus onion rings, fries,
potato salad, nachos and authentic hush
puppies.
The drinks menu is fine, though cocktail
options are limited; really, though, if
people come for BBQ, then chances are
theyll be chugging brewskis. Teetotalers
can sip on the array of fresh juices and
smoothies.
Service was prompt and friendly, but a
warning about the sheer volume of food
we unwittingly ordered would have been
nice. Still, the servers did their job, carrying
out platter after platter, and packing up our
leftovers with amused smiles.
In Transition
Judging a restaurants look right before
a move to new premises is a bit odd
how does one judge decor when its
barely present? The old French villa is
certainly nice, with a clubby, cabana-like
atmosphere in the courtyard. The specials
signage seemed like a rush job, hard to
read and awkwardly designed. Overall, it
felt like a place in transition. Even the old
McSorleys sign still hangs outside.
I can say the pictures of the new place in
Parkland look nice, and I will want to see
it for myself. Regardless, a BBQ joints soul
resides in its food, and Zombie has that
covered.
Ultimately, well have to see what
Zombie BBQ does after their move. That
doesnt answer my most heartfelt question:
why arent there brains on the menu?
Zombie BBQ is located at 4 Thao Dien,
Q2, HCMC, but moves to Parkland 628A Vo
Truong Toan, Q2, HCMC on May 4
THE VERDICT
13
FOOD
12
SERVICE
10
DCOR
Food, Decor and

Service are each
rated on a scale
of 0 to 15.
13 15
extraordinary to
perfection
10 12.5 very
good to excellent
8 9.5 good to
very good
5 7.5 fair to
good
0 4.5 poor
to fair
The Word reviews
anonymously and
pays for all meals
fashion
THE
GOLDEN
IMPRINT
Making her Word debut in our March 2015 Photography Issue, Madrid-based
Viet Ha Tran is one of the fashion worlds hottest young creators. A self-taught
photographer, she started her professional career just two years ago balancing 12hour shoots for Vogue Italia with full-time employment as a director of admissions
at IE Business School in Madrid, martial arts and travelling. Of course, she speaks
Vietnamese, English, Japanese and Spanish.
The Golden Imprint is an art photography project between Viet Ha and Ho Chi Minh
City-based fashion designer Van Thanh Cong, which aims to promote Vietnamese
tradition and fashion to the world. The handmade costumes were inspired by the
phoenix motifs on 2,000-year-old Dong Son bronze drums, and the shoot location
was a temple in Ho Chi Minh City.
I don't take photos, I try to paint

a world of feelings, poetry and
philosophy with my camera.
Viet Ha Tran
Van Thanh Congs designs have appeared in competitions

like Miss World Universe and Miss World Vietnam, as well
as in most of the major Vietnamese fashion magazines.
The photo shoot also had

the participation of three
internationally-known
Vietnamese supermodels
Dieu Huyen, Quanh Di and
Nhu Van and the renowned
accessory designer Do Van Tri.
Photographer: Viet Ha Tran

Fashion Designer: Van Thanh Cong
Accessory Designer: Do Van Tri
Models: Dieu Huyen, Quanh Di, Nhu Van
Makeup and Hair: Dat Le (Ghy Trang Diem), Donald,

Duy Derek Yuan
Assistant Photographers: Thiet Vu, Dong Hung, Vu
Nguyen, Kirby Vu
travel
TRAVEL
NATIONAL
Into the Mangrove
In search of fresh air and

wildlife, Kyle Phanroy,
Francis Xavier and Nick
Ross take a day trip out
of Ho Chi Minh City by
speedboat and get charmed
by the often under-rated
district of Can Gio
h its so nice to get out of

the city, says Kyle with a
yawn, as he stretches out on
the boat.
Were on our way back from a hot but
well-worth-the-effort day trip to Can Gio,
the mangrove swamps to the southeast of
Ho Chi Minh City. Often called the lungs
of Saigon due the abundance of untouched
jungle, the islands of Can Gio act as a buffer
between Vietnams largest metropolis and
the sea. They are also home to a diverse
array of wildlife.
Unfortunately for this outer district of Ho
Chi Minh City, Can Gio is known by many
for its waste-of-time beaches mixtures

of river silt and sand that are best left
undeveloped. Monkey Island, although a
typical stop-off point, should also feature
low on the must-see list. The macaques are
vicious, the penned-up crocodiles hungry.
The place is so badly set up that rarely will
you see a visitor leaving with something to
write home about, unless its negative.
But our trip by Les Rives speedboat is
different. Starting at the temporary port on
Ton That Thuyet in District 4, we race past
shanty houses before speeding along the
canal towards Trung Son, RMIT and Phu
My Hung. Then we head south into the
Mekong Delta and the market town of Can
Giuoc.
Leaving the road behind us is liberating.

It allows us to experience a part of the city
that you never see by car or bike. And with
the wind blowing through our hair and the
cooler air, you realise that Ho Chi Minh
City is not just a growing mass of concrete,
metal and glass.
The Market
Market trips for the over-initiated are of the
been-there, done-that variety. In Vietnam,
once youve seen one, youve seen them
all. But this little excursion to Can Giuoc,
the first part of our trip, is different. The
reason? The people. The market area is
clean, too. Surprisingly clean.
Unlike your typical, acerbic market
trader in Vietnam, here the stall-holders are

full of smiles and laughter. Not fake smiles,
like you may get in other nameless nations
elsewhere in Southeast Asia. This is real.
Our visit excites interest. As we wander
On the Boat
We took our trip to Can Gio with Les
Rives lesrivesexperience.com.
The speedboat-cum-tour company
runs a range of trips on the Saigon
River and along its tributaries,
including sunset cruises, trips to Cu
Chi Tunnels and the Mekong Delta.
Check their website for details.
through the various sections of the market,

our guide Kha points out a range of fruit
and vegetables that most of us even
hardened Vietnamophiles have never
seen before. Quickly you become struck by
the diversity of this country. Its a diversity
that is easily missed in the big city.
As we leave I regret not buying anything.
After taking pictures of the betel nut seller,
we moved on. Hundred-year-old eggs
anyone?
Wildlife and River

We then boarded the boat and zoomed our
way into the confines of Can Gio, passing
swift farms concrete and windowless,

these air-conditioned buildings are used to
harvest bird nests before arriving at Vam
Sat, the other and by-far-superior of the
tourist traps in Can Gio.
What we saw in the two Vam Sat sites we
visited went something like this:
Poison mangrove trees
Birds
Fruit bats hanging upside down in trees
More birds
Mangroves
More mangroves
Long-tail macaques
Fish that have gills and lungs and can
walk on land
More birds from a 72-step-high
watchtower
Crocodiles
Deer
But lets take a step back. Despite the
amazing abundance of wildlife and
we were here only at the start of the bird
season the sites that make up Vam Sat
lack organisation and are in need of repair.
Yes, we all know that Vietnam needs to
work on its state-run tourist sites. Its not a
secret. Yet there is a weird kind of pleasure
to the lack of slickness of here. Not every
tourist attraction on this planet needs to
be glossy and designed with space age

precision to make it worth a visit. Vam Sat
is typical of old Vietnam, the country we are
losing so fast. Visiting it was like walking
into another world.
Back to Reality
As we head back into town I am strangely
tired. I lie down on the speedboat and try to
sleep. But after 10 minutes I raise my head.

Take your eyes off the river for just a second
and you may miss something. The sites
here are such a feast on the eyes that I dont
want to miss even the smallest rowing boat
or the latest high-rise development.
We were only out of the city for seven
hours. But as we return to Ho Chi Minh
City, it feels like it could have been days.
Competition
W ORD is running a competition to win
two (2) one-day trips for a family of four

to Can Gio with Les Rives. The prizes are
worth from US$200 (VND4.3 million) each.
For information on how to enter, please
turn to page 33
travel
Our distribution outlets. Look for the colour closest to you for a
copy of Word magazine. It's free just as all other good things in life.
travel
DALAT / AROUND HANOI / HANOI - INTERNATIONAL / HANOI MID-RANGE / HANOI BUDGET /

HCMC - INTERNATIONAL / HCMC - DELUXE / HCMC - MID-RANGE / HCMC - BUDGET / HOI
AN & DANANG / HUE & LANG CO / NHA TRANG / PHAN THIET & MUI NE / PHONG NHA / PHU
QUOC / SAPA / VUNG TAU & HO TRAM / TRAVEL SERVICES HANOI / TRAVEL SERVICES ELSEWHERE
DALAT
ANA MANDARA VILLAS
$$$$
Le Lai, Dalat, Tel: (063)
3555888
anamandara-resort.com
DALAT PALACE
$$$$
12 Ho Tung Mau, Dalat, Tel:
(063) 382 5444
dalatpalace.vn
tours of the serene Halong

Bay, aboard reproduction
wooden junks. Two or three
night trips with a wide range
of cabin styles: standard, deluxe, or royal.
CUC PHUONG
$
Cuc Phuong, Nho Quan, Ninh
Binh, Tel: (030) 384 8006
cucphuongtourism.com
EMERAUDE CLASSIC CRUISES,

HALONG BAY
DALAT GREEN CITY HOTEL
172 Phan Dinh Phung, Dalat,
Tel: (063) 382 7999
dalatgreencityhotel.com
Located in central Dalat,
this is the perfect place for
budget travellers. Quiet,
newly refurbished with
beautiful mountain and city
views from the rooftop, features free Wi-Fi, a TV and
snack bar in all rooms with
a downstairs coffee shop
and computers in the lobby
for guest use.
$$$$
Tel: (04) 3935 1888
emeraude-cruises.com
Reproductions, of 19th
century paddle steamers,
trawl around Halong Bay
in colonial style. A classic
experience, complete with,
overnight accommodations
in impeccable cabins suites.
LA FERME DU COLVERT
$$
Cu Yen, Luong Son, Hoa Binh,
Tel: 02183 825662
etoile-des-mers.com
LA VIE VU LINH
$
Ngoi Tu Village, Vu Linh, Yen
Bai , Tel: (04) 3926 2743
lavievulinh.com
MAI CHAU ECOLODGE

DALAT TRAIN VILLA
Villa 3, 1 Quang Trung, Dalat,
Tel: (063) 381 6365
dalattrainvilla.com
Located near the Dalat Train
Station, the Dalat Train Villa
is a beautifully restored, colonial era, two-storey villa.
In its grounds is a 1910
train carriage which has
been renovated into a bar
and cafe. Located within 10
minutes of most major attractions in Dalat.
TRUNG CANG HOTEL
$
22 Bui Thi Xuan, Dalat, Tel:
(063) 382 2663
AROUND HANOI
BEST WESTERN PEARL RIVER
HOTEL
$$$
KM 8 Pham Van Dong, Duong
Kinh, Hai Phong, Tel: (031)
388 0888
pearlriverhotel.vn
BHAYA CRUISES, HALONG BAY
$$$
Tel: 0933 446542
bhayacruises.com
Experience breathtaking
Na Phon, Hoa Binh, Tel: (04)

6275 1271
maichau.ecolodge.asia
Occupies a private hill in Na
Phon Village in Mai Chau,
Hoa Binh a beautiful valley
roughly 135km southwest of
Hanoi Mai Chau Ecolodge
is a new four-star property
featuring 21 bungalows built
and operated with ecological
principles in mind.
MAI CHAU LODGE
$$$
Mai Chau Town, Hoa Binh,
Tel: (0218) 386 8959
maichaulodge.com
NOVOTEL HA LONG BAY
$$
Ha Long Road, Bai Chay
Ward, Ha Long City, Quang
Ninh, Tel: (033) 384 8108
novotelhalong.com.vn
TAM COC GARDEN RESORT

Hai Nham, Ninh Hai, Hoa Lu,
Ninh Binh. Tel: (030) 249
2118
contact@tamcocgarden.
com
tamcocgarden.com
Surrounded by rice fields
and spectacular karsts,
Tam Coc Garden is a haven

of peace, an oasis of serenity and understated luxury.
Spacious rooms with rustic
and chic dcor, a pool with
breathtaking views, a beautiful garden, and panoramic
views over the fields and
mountains. The perfect place
to relax.
HANOI - INTERNATIONAL
CROWNE PLAZA WEST INTERNATIONAL
$$$
36 Le Duc Tho, My Dinh Commune, Tu Liem, Hanoi, Tel:
(04) 6270 6688
crowneplazawesthanoi.com
This premier five-star
property lies beside the My
Dinh National Stadium and
Convention Centre. Boasts
two swimming pools, a spa,
and a fitness centre in its 24
stories.
DAEWOO HOTEL
360 Kim Ma, Ba Dinh, Tel:
(04) 3831 5555
www.hanoi-daewoohotel.
com
This enormous structure
offers the most modern of
amenities, and with four
restaurants and two bars,
the events staff is well
equipped to handle any occasion. Close to the National
Convention Center, and a
favourite of the business
traveller, Daewoo even
boasts an outdoor driving
range. Shortly to become a
Marriot property.
FORTUNA HOTEL HANOI

6B Lang Ha, Ba Dinh, Tel: (04)
3831 3333
www.fortuna.vn
This 350-room four-star set
up in the heart of Hanois financial district has a variety
of rooms on offer, a capital
lounge and three restaurants that serve Japanese,
Chinese and international
cuisine. And like youd expect, theres a fitness centre, night club and swimming pool, too, and even a
separate spa and treatment
facility for men and women.
Set to the west of town, Fortuna often offers business
deals on rooms and spaces
to hold meetings, presentations and celebrations.
HOTEL DE LOPERA
29 Trang Tien, Hoan Kiem,
Tel: (04) 6282 5555
contact@hoteldelopera.com
Resting just a step away
from the Opera House, the
hotel mixes colonial architectural accents and theatrical interior design to create a contemporary space.
The first boutique five star
in the heart of Hanoi, the
lavish, uniquely designed
107 rooms and suites contain all the mod cons and
are complimented by two
restaurants, a bar and complimentary Wi-Fi.
HILTON GARDEN INN HANOI

20 Phan Chu Trinh, Hoan
Kiem, Hanoi, Tel (04) 3944
9396
hanoi.hgi.com
With 86 fully-equipped
guestrooms and suites, this
is the first Hilton Garden
Inn property in Southeast
Asia. Centrally located and
a short stroll from the historic Old Quarter, the hotel
offers a full service restaurant, a stylish bar, along with
complimentary business and
fitness centres making it
perfect for the international
business or leisure traveller.
HILTON HANOI OPERA

1 Le Thanh Tong, Hoan Kiem,
Hanoi, Tel: (04) 3933 0500
hanoi.hilton.com
Situated next to the iconic Hanoi Opera House and a short
stroll from the Old Quarter,
this five-star hotel is a Hanoi
landmark. With 269 fullyequipped rooms and suites,
theres plenty for the discerning business and leisure
traveller to choose from.
INTERCONTINENTAL HANOI
WESTLAKE
1A Nghi Tam, Tay Ho, Tel: (04)
6270 8888
www.hanoi.intercontinental.
com
This stunning property built
over West Lake falls in between a hotel and a resort.
Beautiful views, great balcony areas, comfortable,
top-end accommodation and
all the mod-cons make up the
mix here together with the
resorts three in-house restaurants and the Sunset Bar,
a watering hole located on a
thoroughfare over the lake.
Great gym and health club.
JW MARRIOTT HANOI
8, Do Duc Duc, Me Tri, Tu
Liem, Hanoi, Tel: (04) 3833
5588
jwmarriotthanoi.com
From the expressive architecture outside to the
authentic signature JW
Marriott services inside,
this Marriott hotel in Hanoi
is the new definition of contemporary luxury. Lies next

door to the National Convention Centre.
Surrounded by lush gardens, sweeping lawns and

tranquil courtyards, this
peaceful property features
picturesque views of West
Lake and is less than 10
minutes from downtown.
In addition to the luxurious
rooms, the hotel offers an
outdoor swimming pool and
great relaxation and fitness
facilities, including a tennis
court and spa. There are well
equipped conference rooms
and a newly refurbished Executive Club Lounge.
MAY DE VILLE OLD QUARTER

43/45/47 Gia Ngu, Hoan
Kiem, Hanoi, Tel: (04) 3933
5688
maydeville.com
The largest four-star hotel
in Hanois Old Quarter, 110
rooms, a swimming pool, a
top floor terrace bar and a
location just a stones throw
from Hoan Kiem Lake make
this a great choice for anyone wanting a bit of luxury in
the heart of the action.
MELIA HANOI
44B Ly Thuong Kiet, Hoan
Kiem, Tel: (04) 3934 3343
www.meliahanoi.com
Excellently located in central
Hanoi, Melia Hanoi draws
plenty of business travellers and is also a popular
venue for conferences and
wedding receptions. Stateof-the-art rooms, elegant
restaurants, stylish bars,
fully equipped fitness centre with sophisticated service always make in-house
guests satisfied.
MVENPICK HOTEL HANOI

83A Ly Thuong Kiet, Hoan
Kiem, Tel: (04) 3822 2800
www.moevenpick-hanoi.
com
With its distinctive French
architecture and top end service, Mvenpick Hotel Hanoi
is aimed squarely at corporate travellers. An all-day
restaurant and a lounge bar
are available to satiate their
clientele while the kinetic gym
and wellness studio offer an
excellent range of equipment.
Massage and sauna facilities
are available for guests seeking to rejuvenate. Of the 154
well-appointed rooms and
suites, 93 are non-smoking.
PULLMAN HOTEL
$$$$
40 Cat Linh, Ba Dinh, Tel: (04)
3733 0808
pullman-hanoi.com
With deluxe rooms and
suites, a contemporary
lobby, an excellent buffet,
and a la carte restaurant,
this Accor group property
is prestigious and close to
the Old Quarter.
SHERATON
K5 Nghi Tam, 11 Xuan Dieu,
Tay Ho, Tel: (04) 3719 9000
www.sheraton.com/hanoi
SOFITEL LEGEND METROPOLE

HANOI
15 Ngo Quyen, Hoan Kiem,
Tel: (04) 3826 6919
www.sofitel.com
The finest hotel of the French
colonial period is probably
still the finest in todays Hanoi. Anyone who is (or was)
anyone has stayed at this elegant oasis of charm, where
the service is impeccable
and the luxurious facilities
complement the ambiance of
a bygone era. Definitely the
place to put the Comtessa up
for a night.
SOFITEL PLAZA HANOI

1 Thanh Nien Road, Ba Dinh,
Tel: (04) 3823 8888
Boasting Hanois best views
of West Lake, Truc Bach Lake
and the Red River, Sofitel
Plaza Hanoi soars 20 storeys above the city skyline.
The 5-star hotel features
317 luxurious, comfortable
guestrooms with spectacular lake view or river view
ranking in 7 types from Classic Room to Imperial Suite.
HANOI MID-RANGE
6 ON SIXTEEN
16 Bao Khanh, Hoan Kiem
www.sixonsixteen.com
Another boutique hotel to
grace Hanois Old Quarter,
the six rooms here mix contemporary and fresh with
handicrafts and antique.
Breakfast is included and in
the long, lounge restaurant
on the second floor, homestyle Vietnamese fare is
served up with fresh fruit
juices and Lavazza coffee.
GOLDEN SILK BOUTIQUE HOTEL
$$$
109-111 Hang Gai, Hoan
Kiem, Hanoi, Tel: (04) 3928
6969
goldensilkhotel.com
Located in the centre of the
Old Quarter, this little slice of
heaven offers complimentary sundries and a replenishable minibar. The Orient
restaurant, serves the finest
in international and Vietnamese cuisine.
MAISON DHANOI HANOVA HOTEL

$$$
35-37 Hang Trong, Hoan
travel
Want to add more information to your listing? Get in touch and

let us see what we can do. Email us at listings@wordvietnam.com
Kiem, Tel: (04) 3938 0999
hanovahotel.com
A minute from Hoan Kiem
Lake, this glowing pearl in
the heart of Hanoi provides
tranquility with an art gallery
and piano bar.
MAY DE VILLE
24 Han Thuyen, Hai Ba
Trung, Tel: (04) 2222 9988
Set in the old French Quarter
a short walk from the Opera
House, May de Ville City Centre is a welcome new addition to the capital. Combining
contemporary architecture
with traditional Vietnamese
style and materials, this elegant property has 81 wellappointed rooms including
four suites.
HANOI BUDGET
HANOI BACKBACKERS HOSTEL
48 Ngo Huyen, Hoan Kiem,
Tel: (04) 3828 5372
www.hanoibackpackershostel.com
Probably the cheapest, European-style hostel in town,
with bunk-style beds mixed
or single-sex dorms starting at VND150,000, plus
a couple of double suites
from VND250,000. A place
to meet like-minded fold in
the Old Quarter.
HCMC - INTERNATIONAL
CARAVELLE HOTEL
$$$$
19 Lam Son Square, Q1, Tel:
(08) 3823 4999
caravellehotel.com
Winner of Robb Reports
2006 list of the worlds top
100 luxury hotels, the Caravelle houses the popular
rooftop Saigon Saigon bar,
and the restaurants Nineteen and Reflections.
DUXTON HOTEL
$$$
63 Nguyen Hue, Q1, Tel: (08)
3822 2999
saigon.duxtonhotels.com
Famous for its daylong
rotatingmenu buffets, the
Duxton deserves luxury appellation with a pool, gym,
spa, and fine dining.
hotelnikkosaigon.com.vn
The five-star hotel and serviced apartment complex
offers: 14 instant offices,
seven meeting rooms, a
600-capacity ballroom, spa,
outdoor swimming pool, a
gym, 24-hour fine dining,
24-hours room service, and
limousine services.
INTERCONTINENTAL ASIANA
SAIGON
$$$$$
Hai Ba Trung and Le Duan,
Q1, Tel: (08) 3520 9999
intercontinental.com/saigon
In the heart of Ho Chi Minh
City, resides the Asiana with
signature dining options,
an innovative cocktail bar,
exclusive spa and health
club, together with luxury
boutique arcade.
LOTTE LEGEND HOTEL SAIGON
$$$$
2A4A Ton Duc Thang, Q1,
Tel: (08) 3823 3333
legendsaigon.com
Immaculate architecture,
spacious rooms, and a fine
selection of fine dining, with
buffets specialising in Americana and Pan-Asian cuisine.
NEW WORLD HOTEL
$$$$
76 Le Lai, Q1, Tel: (08) 3822
8888
saigon.newworldhotels.com
Former guests include U.S.
presidents two Bushes,
Clinton and K-Pop sensation Bi Rain. An ongoing event
as well as a hotel, New World
is one of the best luxury
stops in town.
PARK HYATT
$$$$$
2 Lam Son Square, Q1, Tel:
(08) 3824 1234
saigon.park.hyatt.com
Fabulous in style, prime in
location, everything one
would expect from the Hyatt.
The Square One and Italianthemed Opera restaurants
have garnered an excellent
reputation, as has the landscaped pool.
PULLMAN SAIGON CENTRE
$$$
242 Tran Binh Trong, Q5, Tel:
(08) 3839 7777
equatorial.com/hcm
This massive property
boasts seven dining and
entertainment outlets, a
business centre, meeting
rooms and a comprehensive fitness centre and spa.
The Equatorial also has an
on-site casino.
$$$$$
148 Tran Hung Dao, Q1, Tel:
(08) 3838 8686
pullmanhotels.com
Recently completed on the
site of the old Metropole,
this upscale, contemporary
property boasts 306 signature rooms combining
design, comfort and connectivity. Innovative cuisine,
a great downtown location
and high-tech meeting venues able to host up to 600
guests make up the mix.
HOTEL NIKKO SAIGON
REX HOTEL
EQUATORIAL
$$$$$
235 Nguyen Van Cu, Q1, Tel:
(08) 3925 7777
$$$$
3829 2185
rexhotelvietnam.com
Brimming with history the
Rexs openair fifthfloor
bar is Saigon highlight. A recent renovation, of this now
five-star property, boasts
designer fashion and a shopping arcade.
RIVERSIDE APARTMENTS
53 Vo Truong Toan, Q2, Tel:
(08) 3744 4111
riverside-apartments.com
Situated on the banks of the
Saigon River, a 15-minute
scenic boat ride or 20-minute bus ride from town,
Riversides complementary
shuttle services take you
right in the city centre. With
152 fully equipped serviced
apartments, the property
offers special packages for
short-term stay starting at
VND2.1 million per apartment per night for a onebedroom facility.
RIVERSIDE HOTEL
$$$$$
1819-20 Ton Duc Thang,
Q1, Tel: (08) 3825 1417
riversidehotelsg.com
This distinct French architectural wonder offers
complimentary Wi-Fi, airport
pickup or drop off, a 4th floor
ballroom, and authentic Vietnamese cuisine at the River
Restaurant.
SHERATON
$$$$$
88 Dong Khoi, Q1, Tel: (08)
3827 2828
sheraton.com/saigon
Sheraton boasts one of
the best locations in town,
with firstclass facilities,
an openair restaurant 23
floors above the city and
a live music venue on the
same floor.
(08) 3829 9201

continentalhotel.com.vn
This charming old hotel has
been fted in literature and
in film. In the heart of Saigon,
this is the first choice to highlight Vietnamese culture.
Airport. With spectacular

city views and a comfortablydesigned outdoor swimming
pool, there is little reason not
to choose this shining star.
NORFOLK HOTEL
ROYAL HOTEL SAIGON
$$$
117 Le Thanh Ton, Q1, Tel:
(08) 3829 5368
norfolkhotel.com.vn
Intimate atmosphere and excellent service, this boutique
business hotel is located
minutes from famous landmarks, designer shops, and
is renowned for its fabulous
steaks at its in-house restaurant, Corso.
NOVOTEL SAIGON CENTRE
$$$
167 Hai Ba Trung, Q3, Tel:
(08) 3822 4866
novotel-saigon-centre.com
Novotel Saigon Centre has
a contemporary feel, an
international buffet The
Square a rooftop bar, and
a wellness centre including a
swimming pool, gym, sauna
and spa.
STAR CITY SAIGON HOTEL
$$$
144 Nguyen Van Troi, Phu
Nhuan, Tel: (08) 3999 8888
starcitysaigon.vn
The newly-built hotel is near
Tan Son Nhat International
HCMC - MID-RANGE
$$
3822 5914
kimdohotel.com
that overlook the bank of

the Saigon River, this is truly
someplace special.
THE ALCOVE LIBRARY HOTEL
$$$
133A Nguyen Dinh Chinh,
Phu Nhuan, Tel: 08 6256
9966
alcovehotel.com.vn
HCMC - BUDGET
EMM HOTEL
DUC VUONG HOTEL
157 Pasteur, Q3
A sleek, contemporary threestar hotel that mixes vintage
appeal and modern chic
thanks to a subdued palette
of white and grey around two
pop colours: azalea pink
and green hot pepper. Part
of the Thien Minh Group that
includes Victoria Hotels and
Buffalo Tours.
$
195 Bui Vien, Q1, Tel: (08)
3920 6992
ducvuonghotel.com
Free WiFi offered in every
room. Low prices, friendly
staff, clean rooms. This modern oasis is only a few steps
from the backpackers area.
LAN LAN HOTEL 1 AND 2
$$$
46 and 73-75 Thu Khoa
Huan, Q1, Tel: (08) 3822
7926
lanlanhotel.com.vn
THAO DIEN VILLAGE
$$
195 Nguyen Van Huong, Q2,
Tel: (08) 3744 2222
thaodienvillage.com
A colonialstyle hotel and
spa offers fine Italian, Thai
and Japanese dining. Manicured gardens and a view
DUNA HOTEL
$
167 Pham Ngu Lao Q1, Tel:
(08) 3837 3699
dunahotel.com
HONG HOA HOTEL
$
185/28 Pham Ngu Lao, Q1,
Tel: (08) 3836 1915
honghoavn.com
SINH HUONG HOTEL
$
157 Nguyen Du Q1, Tel: (08)
3827 4648
sinhhuonghotel.com.vn
Josephs Hotel
Foreign-run,boutique hotel
Next to the cathedral
SOFITEL SAIGON PLAZA
$$$$
17 Le Duan, Q1, Tel: (08)
3824 1555
sofitel.com
This 20story building in
downtown Saigon, caters
to upscale business and
leisure travelers seeking a
classic yet contemporary
stay in Saigon.
WINDSOR PLAZA
$$$
18 An Duong Vuong, Q5, Tel:
(08) 3833 6688
windsorplazahotel.com
The full ensemble with its
own shopping hub (including
a bank), fine dining, a sauna,
health club, and superb
panoramic views of the cityscape. Also hosts the largest
Oktoberfest in the region.
HCMC - DELUXE
CONTINENTAL
$$$
132-134 Dong Khoi, Q1, Tel:
Free wi-fi, international breakfast,

spacious and airy, lift, plasma TV,
multi-shower, friendly service
www.josephshotel.com
5, Au Trieu, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi | Phone: 04 3938 1048 | Mob: 0913 090 446
DESTINATION ZERO
VICTORIA CAN THO RESORT
ur taxi transitioned onto gravel

as we approached the wide-open
entrance of Victoria Can Tho, a
shock after the clean asphalt of
the airport road. Wooden pillars held up a
thatch-covered roof, the air beneath stirred
up by a dozen synchronised fans. We sat
down on wicker-backed chairs, receiving
a cool towel, a welcome drink and a
10-minute shoulder massage. The day was
still, the only sounds were the womp-wompwomp of the ceiling fan and the delicate
snores of the sunbathers just outside.
We walked up to our room, through the
generous lobby, up the alabaster staircase.

Potted plants lined our way as we walked
down silent hallways that felt like they could
date from the colonial period not just its
relatively removed 1990s vintage. It felt like
the hotel in The Shining, but in a good way.
As we entered our room for the next two
days, we were fairly struck. The feeling is
hard to describe, but it had something to do
with the angles of light hitting the earthy
colours of the dcor. It was peaceful and
intoxicating all at once.
A bonsai tree thrived on a sideboard table.
A container of house-made preserves waited
on the drawing table, a token of appreciation

for our stay. A little card described the
natural occurrence of little geckos invading
our room, offering to remove them if they
proved a bother.
Later, as we were settling in, we heard a
knock at the door our turndown service.
The customary chocolates were branded with
Victorias logo, and accompanying them was
a scroll containing a Vietnamese fable, tied
with a red ribbon. That night before bed, I
read about the The Hundred-Knot Bamboo Tree,
the Vietnamese atmosphere in the room so
thick you could cut it with a knife.
travel
Leaving the Room

As Can Tho was our last destination on a
five-stop trip, we spent our share of time
in this suite, the nicest room wed yet
encountered. We sat by the pool, indulged
in the happy hour (gulping down the
dinner-ruining canaps on offer) and took
in the sights of the lobby, which included a
traditional loom-weaver teaching her skill
to a young woman in hotel-issue slacks. We
even played a round of chess on the glasstopped table wed been snacking upon. Dad
killed me, of course.
We went on a couple of river cruises
mostly geared for tourists, things like the

rice noodle factory visit interested me more
in an anthropological way than anything
(our guide telling us we had to try the rice
noodle pizza speciality was particularly
rich). But interspersed in the package-tour
stuff were the quirky, nowhere-else-inthe-world highlights I look for, like the
untouristed 300-year-old Khmer temple
complex just a few clicks away, housing a
15-metre reclining Buddha in the early stages
of construction. We also met an adorable
grandmother on another riverside walk, who
forced jackfruit seeds into my hands until I
said no more then she put more into my

shirt-pocket.
Returning to the hotel, walking through
the diverse garden that meets the river
access where the complimentary river
taxi to downtown Can Tho also docks we
saw the hotels lit-up aspect, overhanging
balconies hugging the sides of the pool. And
it occurred to us that this was the true face
of the hotel, just another beautiful stop on
the course of a long and winding river. Ed
Weinberg
Check out Victoria Can Tho at victoriahotels.
asia/cantho
travel
TRAVEL PROMOS
La Residence in Hue
Mothers Day
@ Novotel Nha Trang
novotel-nhatrang.com
Youve got the best Mom in the world,
dont you? Well, the sympathetic folks at
Novotel Nha Trang think theres nothing
more shed like to do than take in a
little cure by the shore on May 10 a
wellness combo clocking in at VND900,000
net that includes a buffet dinner at The
Square restaurant, a 60-minute massage at
Vous Spa and a flower. Afterwards, pop by
Le Bar for a free cocktail, you good kid you.
La Residence Hue Hotel & Spa

la-residence-hue.com
Youve wanted to check out La Residence
forever now, with their summer deal,
take 30 percent off of their best unrestricted
room rates. Youll be glad you did as you
take in the Perfume Rivers gentle curves,
and enjoy a real vacation for once.
Sheraton Nha Trang

sheraton.com/nhatrang
Sheraton Nha Trang has a fun family holiday package booking from now
through the end of the month starting
at VND2.7 million++ per room/night.

Breakfast for two adults and two under-12
kids is included, when booking a twonight stay.
Pullman Danang
pullman-danang.com
Picture it: youre sitting by the beach,
watching the waves roll in, and all the
delicious creatures of the deep bob along as
if they were apples in an apple-bobbing carnival game. But you cant just go bobbing
for seafood; a shark will bite your face off.
Trust the expert skewerers at Azure Beach
Lounge offering up all the local grilled
seafood and meats you can eat. And if that
werent enough, Azure makes a guarantee:
no face-biting sharks VND590,000 net,
including beer free flow.
Victoria Hotels Summer Specials

victoriahotels.asia
Never pay retail for luxury when you can
get a discount. Accommodation is now
available starting from VND1.2 million per
night for a twin share including breakfast.
Theres never been a better time than this
summer to start exploring exotic locations
like Sapa, Hoi An and further afield to

Luang Prabang in Laos.
Launch Promotion
@ Hotel Royal Hoi An
mgallery.com
To celebrate its grand opening, Hotel Royal
Hoi An MGallery Collection is offering a
special promotion with rates starting from
just VND2,600,000++ per deluxe room, per
night, including daily breakfast for two.
Valid until September 2015, for more info
email reservation@hotelroyalhoian.com.
UNTIL FRIDAY 15
Lucky Wildlife Photo Exhibit
@ Mango Bay Phu Quoc
mangobayphuquoc.com
Mango Bay in Phu Quoc is an eco-resort
with a message, and the ongoing photo
exhibition Lucky Wildlife shows that
message in full colour. Including photos
of about 40 species of endangered wild
animals, the exhibition aims to convey the
message of endangered species protection
and the related legislative controls to the
general public.
Looking for something? Missed a previous issue? Find it all online at www.wordvietnam.com. Only a click away.
HOI AN & DANANG

AN BANG BEACH RETREAT
An Bang Beach, Hoi An
www.anbangbeachretreat.
com
CUA DAI
$
544, Cua Dai, Hoi An, Tel:
(0510) 386 2231
hotelcuadai-hoian.com/
DANANG BEACH RESORT
$$$
Truong Sa, Hoa Hai, Ngu
Hanh Son, Danang, Tel:
(0511) 396 1800
danangbeachresort.com.vn
FURAMA RESORT AND SPA
$$$$
Vo Nguyen Giap, Khue My,
Ngu Hanh Son, Danang, Tel:
(0511) 384 7888
furamavietnam.com
THE NAM HAI
$$$$
Hamlet 1, Dien Duong Village,
Quang Nam, Tel: (0510) 394
0000
ghmhotels.com
Includes three massive
swimming pools, a gourmet restaurant and elegant
spa on a lotus pond. Each
massive room has its own
espresso machine, pre
programmed iPod and both
indoor and outdoor showers.
VICTORIA HOI AN BEACH RESORT

AND SPA
Cua Dai Beach, Tel: (0510)
392 7040
victoriahotels.asia
HUE & LANG CO

ANGSANA LANG CO
$$$$
Hoa Hai, Ngu Hanh Son, Da
Nang, Tel: (0511) 398 1234
danang.regency.hyatt.com
The Hyatt Regency Danang
Resort and Spa is beachfront
with a stunning view of the
Marble Mountains. There
are 182 luxurious residences and 27 private ocean villas, each with a private pool.
$$$$
Cu Du Village, Loc Vinh Commune, Phu Loc, Thua Thien
Hue, Tel: (054) 369 5800
angsana.com/en/lang_co
Located on Vietnams South
Central Coast, Angsana Lang
Co commands an unrivalled
beach frontage of the shimmering East Sea. Traditional
Vietnamese design encompasses the resorts contemporary buildings and chic
interiors.
LE DOMAINE DE TAM HAI
BANYAN TREE LANG CO
HYATT REGENCY DANANG RESORT AND SPA
$$$
Tam Hai Island, Thon 4, Nui
Thanh, Quang Nam, Tel:
(0510) 354 5105
domainedetamhai.com
LIFE RESORT HOI AN
$$$
1 Pham Hong Thai, Hoi An,
Tel: (0510) 391 4555
life-resorts.com
MERCURE DANANG
$$$
Lot A1 Zone Green Island,
Hoa Cuong Bac, Hai Chau,
Danang, Tel: (0511) 379
7777
mercure-danang.com
$$$$
Cu Du Village, Loc Vinh Commune, Phu Loc, Thua Thien,
Hue, Tel: (054) 369 5888
banyantree.com/en/
lang_co
Built on a crescent bay, The
Banyan Tree offers privacy
and unparalleled exclusivity
with all-pool villas reflecting
the cultural and historical
legacy of past Vietnamese
dynastic periods.
LA RESIDENCE
$$$$
5 Le Loi, Hue, Tel: (054) 383
7475
laresidencehue.com
PHUONG HOANG HOTEL

PULLMAN DANANG BEACH RESORT
$$$$
Vo Nguyen Giap, Khue My,
Ngu Hanh Son, Danang
Tel: (0511) 395 8888
pullman-danang.com
Located on the stunning
white sands of Bac My An
Beach, the stylish Pullman
Danang Beach Resort is
an oasis of activities and
facilities for the modern
traveller. With an idyllic setting, this luxury property is
perfect for a family holiday
or romantic beach getaway.
And with extensive function
facilities, Pullman Danang
also provides the a great location for your next incentive
getaway or event.
$
66 Le Loi, Hue, Tel: (054) 382
6736
hoangphuonghotel.com
NHA TRANG
EVASON ANA MANDARA AND SIX
SENSES SPA
$$$$
Beachside Tran Phu, Nha
Trang, Khanh Hoa, Tel: (058)
352 2222
sixsenses.com/evasonresorts/ana-mandara/
destination
2.6 hectares of private
beachside gardens and
villastyle accommodation
furnished in traditional native woods, this resort offers verandah dining, a pool
bar and the signature Six
Senses Spa.
JUNGLE BEACH RESORT
$
Ninh Phuoc, Ninh Hoa, Khanh
Hoa, Tel: (058) 362 2384
junglebeachvietnam.com
On a secluded promontory north of Nha Trang, this
budget place is all about
hammocks, the sea, the jungle and nature.
MIA RESORT NHA TRANG
$$$$
Bai Dong, Cam Hai Dong,
Cam Lam, Khanh Hoa, Tel:
(058) 398 9666
mianhatrang.com
NOVOTEL NHA TRANG
$$$
50 Tran Phu, Nha Trang, Tel:
(058) 625 6900
novotel-nhatrang.com
This four-star hotel with
154 guestrooms, all with
a terrace and sea view.
Complete with a pool, spa,
restaurant, bar and meeting room that caters for up
to 200 delegates.
SIX SENSES HIDEAWAY NINH

VAN BAY
$$$$
Ninh Van Bay, Ninh Hoa,
Khanh Hoa, Tel: (058) 372
8222
sixsenses.com/resorts/
ninh-van-bay/destination
The upmarket Tatler magazine voted top hotel of 2006.
The location is stunning, on a
bay accessible only by boat.
SHERATON NHA TRANG HOTEL

AND SPA
$$$$
26 28 Tran Phu, Tel: (058)
388 0000
sheraton.com/nhatrang
SUNRISE BEACH HOTEL AND SPA
$$$
1214 Tran Phu, Nha Trang,
Tel: (058) 382 0999
sunrisenhatrang.com.vn
PHAN THIET & MUI NE

NINH CHU BAY BEACH CLUB &
BAR
Hwy 702, Ninh Hai, Phan
Rang, Ninh Thuan, Tel: (068)
627 2727
ninhchubay.com
Enjoy the private beach with
excellent facilities and have a
massage. Evenings are sublime at this beach club, soon
to become a fully fledged
resort. Grilled seafood, European sausages, sangria,
draught beer, and specialityinfused vodka all make this
one of a kind destination.
ALLEZ BOO BEACH RESORT AND

SPA
$$$$
8 Nguyen Dinh Chieu, Mui
Ne, Phan Thiet, Tel: (062)
374 3777
allezboo.com
This resort offers exotic
Balistyle, thatched roof

honeymoon villas, 55 spacious suites, deluxe rooms,
fresh seafood, Vietnamese
cuisine, Thai and international cuisine, kite surfing
and parasailing.
BLUE OCEAN RESORT
$$$$
384 7322
blueoceanresort.com.vn
life-resorts.com
COCO BEACH
$$$$
384 7111
cocobeach.net
With charming wooden
bungalows, a private beach,
a swimming pool (both with
attached bars) and a French
restaurant, Coco Beach continues to be run by those who
opened it in 1995.
MIA RESORT MUI NE
$$$
Ne, Tel: (062) 384 7440
miamuine.com
PRINCESS DANNAM RESORT

AND SPA
$$$$
Khu Hon Lan, Xa Tan Thanh,
Ham Thuan Nam, Binh Thuan, Tel: (062) 368 2222
princessannam.com
VICTORIA PHAN THIET RESORT

AND SPA
$$$$
Mui Ne Beach, Phan Thiet,
Tel: (062) 381 3000
victoriahotels.asia
Another beachfront Victoria
chain, the thatchedroof
bungalows and family villas
are set in exotic gardens
with an infinity swimming
pool, a seafood restaurant, spa, beauty salon and
jacuzzi.
PHONG NHA
EASY TIGER AND JUNGLE BAR
$
Son Trach, Bo Trach, Quang
Binh, Tel: (052) 367 7844
easytigerphongnha@gmail.
com
A hostel and street-front bar
all in one. Has a pleasant,
airy atmosphere in the bar
and restaurant area while
the 52 dorm beds four
beds to a room go for
US$8 (VND168,000) each a
night.
HO KHANH'S HOMESTAY
$$
Binh, Tel: 01299 597182
phong-nha-homestay.com
PHONG NHA FARMSTAY
$$
Hoa Son, Cu Nam, Bo Trach,
Quang Binh, Tel: (052) 367
travel
5135
phong-nha-cave.com
The first western-run farmstay in Phong Nha, this wellappointed travellers joint has
a great bar and restaurant
area, a swimming pool out
back and views overlooking
paddy fields and mountains.
Rooms start at VND600,000
for a twin or double, with a
family room for five costing
VND1.4 million a night.
SAIGON - PHONG NHA
$$$
Binh, Tel: (052) 367 7016
sgphongnhahotel@yahoo.
com.vn
PHU QUOC
BEACH CLUB RESORT
$$
Ap Cua Lap, Xa Duong To,
Long Beach, Phu Quoc Island, Tel: (077) 398 0998
beachclubvietnam.com
A quaint and popular island
guesthouse featuring a
beachside restaurant, and
includes free Wi-Fi. Motorbike rental, boat trips and
tours are easily arranged.
Discount rates during rainy
season.
CHEN SEA RESORT AND SPA
$$$$
Bai Xep, Ong Lang, Cua
Duong, Phu Quoc, Kien Giang,
Tel: (077) 399 5895
centarahotelsresorts.com
MANGO BAY
$$
Ong Lang Beach, Phu Quoc,
Tel: 0903 382207
mangobayphuquoc.com
An ecofriendly approach
with a gorgeous beachside
location, the bungalows are
made of rammed earth, no
TVs or telephones (although
Wi-Fi is available). Excellent
sunsets from the beach bar.
SALINDA PHU QUOC ISLAND,

RESORT AND SPA
Cua Lap Hamlet, Duong To
Commune, Phu Quoc, Tel:
(077) 399 0011
salindaresort.com
A five-star luxury beach
resort, hotel and spa right
on the beach of Phu Quoc
island in the peaceful town
of Duong To, just 4km from
the international airport of
Phu Quoc.
SAPA
CAT CAT VIEW HOTEL
$$
Cat Cat Road, Tel: 0203
871946
catcathotel.com
The best view in town from its
bar restaurant, the Cat Cat
Guesthouse is paradise at
very reasonable rates. The
rooms have big windows,
balconies, and log fireplaces.
TOPAS ECOLODGE
$$$
Thanh Kim, Sapa, Lao Cai
Tel: (04) 3715 1005 (Sales)
topasecolodge.com
With its panoramic views of
the surrounding mountains
and valley, Topas Ecolodge
is the perfect place to experience the remoteness and
quiet of the Northern Vietnamese mountains the
landscape, the fresh air and
the ethnic peoples. Guests
stay in private bungalows
with dinner served in a local
stilt house restaurant.
TOPAS ECOLODGE
$$
24 Muong Hoa, Sapa, Tel:
0203 872404
topasecolodge.com
For the environmentally
conscientious, 25 individual
lodges rest on hills overlooking valleys. Employing solar
technology and a wastewater facility, the Topas also
organises treks and bicycle
tours.
VUNG TAU & HO TRAM

BINH AN VILLAGE
$$$$
1 Tran Phu, Vung Tau, Tel:
(064) 335 1553
binhanvillage.com
CON DAO RESORT
$$
Nguyen Duc Thuan, Con
Dao, Vung Tau, Tel: (064)
383 0939
condaoresort.vn
HO TRAM BEACH RESORT AND

SPA
$$$$
Tel: (064) 378 1525
hotramresort.com
This attractive property is
the ideal getaway from Ho
Chi Minh City. 63 uniquely
bungalows and villas promise a local experience complete with an excellent spa
and two swimming pools.
HO TRAM SANCTUARY
$$$$
Ho Tram, Ba Ria-Vung Tau,
Tel: (064) 378 1631
sanctuary.com.vn
The spacious villas come
with their own pool and have
direct access to the beach.
Extras include tennis courts,
a mini supermarket, and cycling and motorbike tours.
REX HOTEL
$$
1 Le Quy Don, Vung Tau, Tel:
(064) 385 2135
rexhotelvungtau.com
SIX SENSES CON DAO
$$$$
Dat Doc Beach, Ba Ria-Vung
Tau, Tel: (064) 383 1222
sixsenses.com/SixSensesConDao
THE MOTORBIKE DIARIES

PART 2: LAOS
Filmmaker and long-time Hanoi expat Matt Dworzanczyk recently packed up his
life and set off on a solo motorbike trip across the world
DAY 9
Another Piece of the Puzzle
Bedbugs = no chance of oversleeping =
early visit to the Vieng Xai Caves.
Somebody on the road once told me
that every sight and every city here in
Indochina held a piece of a larger story
to be collected. Well, the stories of the
caves here, which used to serve as the
headquarters of the Pathet Lao leaders,
are pretty harrowing.
One airstrike every eight minutes, for
nine years. In total, nearly 10 tonnes of
explosives per each Lao citizen dropped
in the region by the Americans. For nine
long years, some 50,000 people used this
complex of caves not only as shelter but
as a home. There were schools, hospitals,
stores and even a theatre in those caves.
Today, not much but stories and tonnes
of UXOs Sad.
DAY 15
Chinatown?
I thought the Chinese (much like the
Vietnamese) stay with their families

during New Year. Nope! Apparently
they all come to Luang Prabang! Chinese
license plates everywhere. Theres not
even a single open bed in a 10km radius.
But actually, I dont mind. Gives me the
nudge I needed to finally make use of my
tent.
DAY 16
Visa
Woke up to a Chinese tourist taking
selfies, with a selfie stick, in front of my
tent *rolls eyes*
Applied for my Myanmar visa in Luang
Prabang saves me a trip to the embassy
in Vientiane, which wasnt on my way.
Should have it in four days.
DAY 18
Shadow of the Colossus
According to legend, todays region of
Phonsavan or the Plain of Jars was
once inhabited by a race of giants. After a
long war against their enemy, their king
created hundreds of stone jars to brew and

store rice wine in, to celebrate their victory.
The archeological theories suggest
that the jars were likely used in burial
practices. Though that theory dates back
to the 1930s, even then they werent
certain.
No-one knows for sure what purpose
the jars played and how they came to
be. I like the giants story. The place
feels magical. The landscapes here are
yellow, brown and hilly different to
the tall green mountains Ive been driving
through so far; there are barely any
tourists. Its one of my favorite places in
Laos.
DAY 24
No Visa
A week later, my Myanmar visa is still four
days away from being ready
DAY 26
On a boat!
Needed a break from driving. Took a day
travel
boat to Pak Beng. Thought Id drive the

bike onto the boat, but 10 guys just picked
it up and carried it. Fun!
DAY 35
Womens Day
Me: Hi, Its been 3 weeks, is my Myanmar visa
ready?
Them: No, delayed because of holiday.
Me: Which holiday?
Them: Womens day.
Me: Thats a week from now..?
Them: Yes. Thats why its delayed.
Well, considering that I must leave Lao
within 3 days, itd be nice to have my
passport back just saying.
DAY 38
A Childhood Fantasy
A wooden, multi-level treehouse, 50 metres
off the ground, in deep jungle unreal!
Access only by zipline. I can see the height
through the floor cracks! Crazy open-air
toilet; certainly the wildest place Ive ever
showered! Jungle noises. Pretty sunset. Sadly
no gibbons in sight, but still a perfect ending
to a fun month in Laos.
For more on Matts films and travels, check
out the Etherium Sky Production Blog at
EtheriumSky.com/ProdBlog
travel
THE PORTRAIT
AN PHUOC
n Phuoc is seven years

old and belongs to the
Cham Minority in Ninh
Thuan Province. A greatgreat-grandfather was French
her father, brother and sister
have blue eyes as well.
Last month, I decided to visit this
area because I had never met the
Cham and wanted to know about
their culture. A Vietnamese fan on
my Facebook fan page wrote to me
about her neighbour, which is how
I came upon this family.
First they were not so
welcoming. I soon learnt that a
journalist came before and took
a not-great photo of her sister
and wrote that she never smiles
(which is not true). They want to
protect their daughter, and now
they dont allow people to take
her photo.
I put my camera in its bag
and took the time to listen to
their story. When I came back
the second day, they invited me
to eat. Then they allowed me to
take some photos. An Phuoc was
smiling. I came back the third
day and brought some clothes, a
bicycle and a few things for the
family, to say thank you for their
warm welcome.
Ive decided to give them part
of the proceeds from the photo,
and invited them to come to Hoi
An to visit me in June. They are
looking forward to it and me,
I feel Ive become a member of
their family. They even call me
sometimes.
Ive met many people during
my trips, but felt something special
with this family. I know that we
will stay in touch. A few days ago,
the mother told me that the two
girls decided to learn English for
better communication in the future.
This news made my day!
This photo of An Phuocs blue
eyes was one of my most liked on
Facebook, with 10,000 likes. And
even if some Vietnamese say her
look is strange or not nice, for me,
she is one of the nicest girls Ive
ever met!
Rhahns gallery Couleurs dAsie is
at 7 Nguyen Hue, Hoi An. See more
of Rhahns portraits at facebook.com/
Rehahn.Photography
Photo provided by Rhahn Photography
BY RHAHN
travel
THE GRAND-HO TRAM STRIP
Phuoc Thuan Commune,
Xuyen Moc, Ba Ria-Vung
Tau, Tel: (064) 378 8888
thegrandhotramstrip.com
The Grand - Ho Tram Strip
is Vietnams first large
scale integrated resort and
ultimately will include a
1,100-room five-star hotel,
a world-class casino, restaurants, high-tech meeting
space, an exclusive VIP area,
as well as a variety of beachfront recreation activities.
The first 541-room tower
of this development opened
in July 2013 with its casino
including 90 live tables and
614 electronic game positions. The second 559-room
tower is on track to open in
2015.
TRAVEL SERVICES HANOI

BUFFALO TOURS AGENCY (BTA)
94 Ma May, Hoan Kiem Dist.,
Ha Noi, Tel: (04) 3828 0702
travelagency.hn@buffalotours.com
www.buffalotours.com.vn
A boutique Travel Agency at
the service of all Vietnamese
and expatriate residents
in Vietnam offering easy,
hassle-free travel around
the world and in Vietnam,
with the highest standards
of customer care. This
premium Travel Agency
has been created to help
travelers select their destinations and organize their
trips, take care of the timeconsuming procedures and
ensure that all journeys are
enjoyable and successful.
BTA customizes leisure and
corporate travel plans while
offering a selected range of
small group tours.
EXO TRAVEL
66A Tran Hung Dao, Hanoi,
Tel: (04) 3828 2150
exotravel.com
A one-stop, all-in-one travel
agency with an extensive
operational track record in
the Indochina region and
beyond. Providing up-market
services, Exotissimo brings
their clients close to culture
through personalised tours.
Also find travel desks at the

Hilton, Sofitel Plaza and Intercontinental hotels, which
are open on weekends and
holidays.
HANDSPAN TRAVEL
78 Ma May, Hanoi, Tel: (04)
3926 2828
www.handspan.com
Established in 1997, Handspan provides customers
with safe, high quality, diverse, small-group adventure tours to both popular
and isolated locations in
Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. Has a focus on off-thebeaten-track sustainable
and responsible tourism
initiatives. Also provides to
excursions to more wellworn destinations.
HG TRAVEL
Kiem, Tel: (04) 3944 8844
www.hgtravel.com
Travel company specialising
in small-group tours around
Vietnam and further afield in
Indochina. Is also the sole
representative agent for
Kenya Airways (for 40 cities
in Africa www.kenya-airways.com), American Airlines
(www.aa.com) and Turkish
Airlines (www.thy.com).
INDOCHINA LAND
61 Cua Bac, Ba Dinh, Tel: (04)
3715 2852
www.indochina-land.com
Indochina Land is a French
local travel agency for
expatriates and tourists
who want to see northern
Vietnam in a personal and
tailored way. Think small
knowledgeable teams of
Vietnamese and French
who share their passion for
discovery during varied itineraries, usually focused on
freedom, family, health trips
and classic home stays. They
will show you around Ha Giang, too.
INTREPID TRAVEL VIETNAM

57A Nguyen Khac Hieu, Ba
Dinh, Tel: 0904 193308
www.intrepidtravel.com/
vietnamsales
Intrepid Travel Vietnam is
an international travel company operating in Vietnam
since 1992, offering innovative day tours, short breaks
and small group adventures.
With expert guides and guaranteed departures, Intrepid
focuses on real life experiences in Ho Chi Minh City,
Hanoi, Mekong Delta, Halong
Bay, Sapa and beyond to get
you up close to Vietnams
people, cuisine, history and
culture.
SYRENA CRUISES
51 Xuan Dieu, Tay Ho, Tel:
(04) 3719 7214
www.syrenacruises.com
If youre thirsty for a Halong Bay experience while
enjoying luxury comfort,
Syrena Cruises could be the
quencher youre looking for.
Forget drinking games and
backpackers by relaxing on
one of the two wooden boats
from the fleet. Alone, as a
couple or with a group, 34
luxurious cabins and suites
are all ready for action. All
you have to do is decide on
how long you want to holiday for.
TRAVEL SENSE ASIA

Suite 8, 2nd Floor, 103 Nguyen Truong To, Ba Dinh, Hanoi
Tel: (04) 3715 3977
kien@travelsense.asia
A homegrown travel agency providing small group
journeys and tailor-made
holidays to Vietnam, Laos,
Cambodia, Myanmar and
Thailand. Voted in Trip Advisors Top 10 of best tours in
Hanoi since 2010.
travel to small group tours,

explore the world or Vietnam.
CHUDU24 HOTEL BOOKING

SERVICE
12th floor, 242 Cong Quynh,
District 1, HCMC
Call center: 1900 5454 40
www.en.chudu24.com
info.en@chudu24.com
Chudu24.com - the locally
famous Vietnam hotel booking website now has an English version. The company is
known for having the best
prices and reliable service.
If you are looking for great
local deals and insightful advice then visit Chudu24.com.
It has been the #1 Vietnam
hotel booking service for Vietnamese people since 2008.
EXO TRAVEL
41, Thao Dien, Q2. Tel (08)
3519 4111, Ext. 15/17/19
exotravel.com
A reliable and experienced
travel company operating
through Southeast Asia,
Exotissimo brings you personalized tours across the
region, many including insights into culinary customs,
handicrafts and humanitarian initiatives.
Flight travel services, including global travel management, domestic and international air booking and travel
insurance, to corporate
companies, family and individual travelers.
GINKGO VOYAGE
1st Floor, 130 Nguyen Cong
Tru, Q1, HCMC
Tel: (08) 3914 3344
ginkgovoyage.com
Offers a full range of quality travel services to both
domestic and international
travellers, including private
and customized tours, small
group tours, hotels bookings
as well as corporate travel
/ MICE solutions in Vietnam
and further. Email info@
ginkgovoyage.com for info.
TERRAVERDE
12/20 Nguyen Canh Di,
Ward 4, Tan Binh District,
Tel: (08) 3984 4754
terraverdetravel.com
If you like cycling through
the Mekong Delta, trekking
in the highlands, or lazing in
a junk on Ha Long Bay all
while making a difference in
peoples lives then this
company will suit you well.
FLIGHT TRAVEL COMPANY
VIETNAM VESPA ADVENTURE

(08) 3824 7744
flightravelco.com
169A De Tham, Q1, Tel:

01222 993585
vietnamvespaadventure.
com
Vespa Adventure offers
multiday tours of southern
and coastal Vietnam on the
back of a luxury motorbike
powered by clean, renewable biodiesel. Englishspeaking tour guides lead
the way.
TRAVEL SERVICES ELSEWHERE

BACK OF THE BIKE TOURS
Tel: (08) 6298 5659
backofthebiketours.com
Offer motorbike tours combined with the finest street
food to give customers a
truly immersive Vietnamese
experience.
BEENINASIA.COM
www.beeninasia.com
info@beeninasia.com
Online travel in Southeast
Asia. Offers you selection of
best hotels and great tours.
Create your own trip or we
can tailor make your itinerary.
MANTA SAIL TRAINING CENTRE

108 Huynh Thuc Khang, Mui
Ne, Tel: 0908 400108
mantasailing.org
TU TRAVEL
60 Hai Ba Trung, Can Tho
City, Tel: 0713 752436
tutrangtravel-mekongfeeling.vn
TRAVEL SERVICES HCMC

BUFFALO TOURS AGENCY
70-72 Ba Trieu, Hoan Kiem,
Hanoi, Tel: (04) 3828 0702;
157 Pasteur, Q3, Ho Chi
Minh City, Tel: (08) 3827
9170
www.buffalotours.com
This premium travel agency
helps travelers select their
destinations and organize
their trips. From corporate
Hanoi
BAR STOOL // COFFEE CUP // TOP EATS // THE ALCHEMIST // FOOD PROMOS // THE THERAPIST //
MEDICAL BUFF // BOOK BUFF
PHOTO BY JULIE VOLA
hanoi
business
BUSINESS GROUPS / CORPORATE SERVICES / INSURANCE / INTERNATIONAL SCHOOLS / LANGUAGE SCHOOLS /

MANAGEMENT TRAINING / MARKET RESEARCH / RELOCATION & TRACKING AGENTS / SERVICED APARTMENTS
BUSINESS GROUPS
ICHAM
Sofitel Plaza, Ground floor, 1
Thanh nien, Ba Dinh, Tel: (04)
3715 2229
icham.org
The Chamber has the main
purpose of undertaking activities to support commercial exchanges with Italy and
to assist economic agents,
as well as to foster the developmew nt of economic
relations and cooperation
among entrepreneurs of
the various countries. The
Chamber will not engage in
commercial activities with
the aim of producing profits.
CCIFV
Sofitel Plaza, No 1 Thanh
Nien, Ba Dinh, Tel: (04) 3715
2229
ccifv.org
A business group with over
240 members that supports the French business
community in Vietnam by
listening to their members
needs and expectations. Also
promotes Vietnam to French
companies and helps them in
developing their businesses
here.
EUROCHAM
G/F, Sofitel Plaza Hanoi, 1
Thanh Nien, Ba Dinh, Tel: (04)
3715 2228
eurochamvn.org
A confederate organisation
with strong ties to national
business associations in its
member countries, Eurocham looks after and provides advice and support
for the business interests of
European Union members in
Vietnam.
INDOCHINA RESEARCH LTD
MARKET RESEARCH
xavier@indochinaresearch.
com
indochinaresearch.com
Active in Vietnam for more
than 20 years, Indochina
Research has the capacity to
run large research projects
in the country, for commercial and social purposes.
CORPORATE SERVICES
ENDO
79, Quang An, Tay Ho, Tel:
(04) 3783 2085
endo.vn
Endo offers garment manu-
facturing for local resorts,

restaurants, hotels, golf
courses, travel agencies
and apparel shops. They
also manufacture giftware
from polos and hoodies to
keychains, card holders and
menu covers.
of the educational system.

All instructors and teachers
are native English speakers
and admission applications
are accepted throughout
the year.
HANOI INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL
INSURANCE
IF CONSULTING
CCIFV/Eurocham, Sofitel
Plaza, 1 Thanh Nien, Ba Dinh,
Tel: (04) 3936 5370
Emergency: 0903 732365
insuranceinasia.com
Specialises in medical, employee benefits and personal
lines insurance advice to expatriates. The company has
been operational in Vietnam
since 1994 and offers free
advice and comparative
quotes.
INTERNATIONAL SCHOOLS
BRITISH INTERNATIONAL
SCHOOL, HANOI
Hoa Lan Road, Vinhomes
Riverside, Long Bien, Hanoi
Tel: 04 3946 0435
www.bishanoi.com
The British International
School (BIS) Hanoi, is a selective, independent, co-educational day school. It provides
a British style education for
an international student
body operating from a modern purpose-built campus
in the vibrant and cultured
city of Hanoi. The National
Curriculum for England, International General Certificate of Secondary Education
(IGCSE) and Advanced Level
(A Level) are taught to English speaking students from
Pre-School to Year 13. The
International Baccalaureate
(IB) Diploma will, pending IB
authorization, be offered
from 2016 onwards.
CONCORDIA INTERNATIONAL
SCHOOL HANOI
CMC Building, Duy Tan, Cau
Giay, Tel: (04) 3795 8878
concordiahanoi.org
International brand, Concordia, has highly performing
schools in both Hong Kong
and Shanghai at the top tier
48 Lieu Giai , Ba Dinh

hisvietnam.com
With schooling available for
students studying at the elementary through to secondary levels of education, HIS is
one of the few private, international education options
in the capital. The institution
offers Cambridge IGCSE and
IB Diploma for students at
the secondary level. Located
near the Japanese Embassy.
QSI INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF

HANOI
#17 Lane, 67 To Ngoc Van,
Tay Ho, Tel: (04) 3718 6418
hanoi.qsi.org
With nearly four decades of
experience in international
education, QSI International
School of Hanoi is next in the
long line of quality schools
that have been established
by the Quality Schools International. The institution
specialises in instructing
pre-school and lower elementary age students.
INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF
VIETNAM
SINGAPORE INTERNATIONAL
SCHOOL (SIS)
6-7 Nguyen Cong Thai, Dai

Kim Urban Area, Dinh Cong,
Hoang Mai, Tel: 3540 9183
www.isvietnam.org
The International School of
Vietnam (ISV) is a not-forprofit, Pre-Kindergarten to
Grade 12 school serving the
international and local community of Hanoi. ISV accepts
students of any nationality
aged 3 and up. ISV offers
an international education
experience. Highly qualified
and experienced international educators are supported by a 21st-century
campus with the latest in
educational technology
plus excellent resources
for learning. Class sizes are
small.
2D Van Phuc Diplomatic

Compound, 46 Van Bao, Ba
Dinh, Tel: 3726 1601; Block
C3, Ciputra, Tay Ho, Tel:
3758 2664; Dilmah Building, Duy Tan, Cau Giay, Tel:
3795 1036
www,kinderworld.net/sis
SIS provides international
education for students from
Primary up to University
Foundation Programme. A
strong curriculum combines
the best aspects of the Singaporean, Australian and
Vietnamese curricula, all
taught by qualified teachers.
Runs various co-curricula
activities and prepares
students for internationally
recognised qualifications:
iPSLE, Cambridge IGCSE &
AS/A Level, GAC
KINDERWORLD INTERNATIONAL
KINDERGARTEN
LANGUAGE SCHOOLS
Unit 9 10, Shophouse

CT17, Ciputra, Tel: (04) 3743
0360
3rd Floor, 49 Hai Ba Trung,
Hoan Kiem, Tel: (04) 3934
7243
C5-C11, 1st Floor, The Manor Building, My Dinh, Me Tri
New Urban, Tu Liem District,
Tel: +84 4 3794 0209
kinderworld.net
Classes are kept small with
a foreign teacher leading the
class with the assistance of a
Vietnamese teacher according to the teacher-student
ratio. KinderWorld provides
pre school education for
children from 18 months to
below 6 years.
(04) 3728 1922

britishcouncil.org
The cultural arm of the British governments presence
in Vietnam, the BC offers a
variety of English language
courses business writing, corporate training and
general English in a large
learning centre close to West
Lake.
LANGUAGE LINK VIETNAM

62 Yen Phu, Hanoi, Tel: (04)
3927 3399
languagelink.edu.vn
With four schools around
Hanoi, Language Link runs
international English language courses endorsed by
Cambridge University. One of
the top language centres in
the capital.
MANAGEMENT TRAINING
RMIT
Hanoi Resco Building, 521
Kim Ma, Ba Dinh, Tel: (04)
3726 1460
rmit.edu.vn
A leading international provider of skills training and
professional staff development, RMIT offers both short
and long-term courses,
customised courses, and
can provide for either on or
off-campus clients. Known
for its Business MBA which
is open to both Vietnamese
and overseas students.
MARKET RESEARCH
APOLLO
CIMIGO
67 Le Van Huu, Hai Ba Trung,

Tel: (04) 3943 2051
Apollo.edu.vn
Established in 1994, Apollo
offers high-quality and costeffective English language
classes including general
English, English for teens,
English for business communication and a pronunciation
clinic. One of the countrys
leading language centres.
142 Le Duan, Dong Da, Tel:

(04) 3518 6696
vietnam@cimigo.com
cimigolive.com
BRITISH COUNCIL
20 Thuy Khue, Tay Ho, Tel:
MARKET RESEARCH
com
RELOCATION & TRACKING AGENTS
AGS FOUR WINDS

41A Ly Thai To, Hoan Kiem,
Tel: (04) 3938 8762
agsfourwinds.com
A global leader in international removals and relocations, with 130 offices
globally, we can move your
property to and from any
location.
ALLIED PICKFORDS
Room 302, 12A Ho Xuan
Huong, Tel: (04) 3943 1511
vn.alliedpickfords.com
The international home
moving company helps
make the burden of moving
a lot easier. As the largest
home moving company in
the world, Allied Pickfords
moves over 1,000 families
in over 175 countries every
day. Available with a full
range of services domestic moves, office moves and
storage whether you are
moving within Vietnam or
across the world.
JVK INDOCHINA MOVERS

6 To Ngoc Van, Tay Ho, Tel:
(04)3826 0334
jvkasia.com
Focused primarily on the international and local movement of household goods,
JVK is currently a leader in
the field. Has offices in both
Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.
SANTA FE RELOCATION SERVICES

Suite 821, Vietnam Trade Hotel, 14 Tran Binh Trong, Hoan
Kiem, Tel: (04) 3941 0805
santaferelo.com
With over 150 offices around
the world, Santa Fe offers
local and international moving, pet transportation, relocation services including
home search, orientation,
cultural training, immigration services and records
management. For more information email Vietnam@
santaferelo.com.
SERVICED APARTMENTS
ATLANTA RESIDENCES
49 Hang Chuoi, Hai Ba Trung,
Tel: 0912 239085
hanoi
BAR STOOL
THE SIDEWALK HANOI
oull find many odds and ends

strewn around The Sidewalk
that seem as though theyve
drifted in from the adjacent
highway. Then, you realise that
everything from the fluorescent traffic
cones to the hubcaps was placed with
intention. Old soda bottles, house plants
and flowers along the fences and cement
walls; tyres hang in strategic patterns
behind the reclaimed wood stage; and
light bulbs within abandoned helmets
illuminate the long bar.
It is truly an extension of the road,
jutting out from Nghi Tams dyke and
nestled between a car dealership and a
repair shop. A year ago, Sidewalks large
courtyard lot was a functioning carwash.
Scanning the bar on a recent Saturday
evening, Lan Huong, Sidewalks coowner / partner, points out bits of
recycled dcor. I saw a guy rolling one of
those down the street and followed him,
she says, motioning towards the bars
tables, which are repurposed industrial
cable spools. And see those traffic signs
over there? An epic cop chase was
involved in their procurement.
Photos by Harris Spencer
Something for Everyone

Huong runs the bar with Luong Van Mao,
a Hanoi bar scene veteran and the man
behind Maos Red Lounge. The two friends
got together with the common goal of
creating a casual and comfortable outdoor
watering hole for the community.
Huong and Mao never want the prices
to be prohibitive; they want Sidewalk to
be the kind of place that you can frequent
without going broke. With beers from
VND25,000 and cocktails starting at
VND80,000 plus lots of rotating drink
specials you wont feel like youre
getting ripped off.
As spring boils into summer, expect to
see bia hoi-style all-you-can-drink nights,
open mics, daytime BBQs and expanded
food offerings ranging from hearty salads
to Cuban sandwiches to milkshakes.
Speaking of food, the bar menu at
Sidewalk goes above and beyond the
typical Hanoi bars jerky and nuts. I
devoured a heavenly steak sandwich
(VND80,000), which contained an entire
steak doused in a perfectly spicy and tangy
sauce, and will absolutely be returning
to eat my way through the rest of the
ever-growing menu.
The delightfully friendly and cool (read:
tattooed) bartenders are eager to stir or
shake up a cocktail to your liking; the
cocktail list is extensive, full of the classics.
The whiskey sour is deliciously smooth;
the Martini nice and dirty. The cocktails are
simple, and to the point like everything
else at Sidewalk, theyre not trying too hard.
Whether youre there on a Tuesday
or a Saturday, trust that youll enjoy
yourself. Weeknights, Sidewalk exudes
laid-back chill, and weekends, the crowd
gets bumping as a rotating roster of DJs
spin everything from reggae to hip-hop
to swing.
As the name implies, theres no indoor
seating at Sidewalk a bold move for a
Hanoi bar.
Were so grateful to people who have
been supportive of us no matter how cold
or rainy the weather, Huong explains.
Weve been so lucky that people just want
to see us stay open.
And in the summer? I asked.
Were getting fans. Noey Neumark
The Sidewalk Hanoi Bar & Grill is at
199D Nghi Tam, Tay Ho, Hanoi
hanoi
atlanta.com.vn
Atlanta Residences fully
serviced apartments have
been created to provide a
space where you can feel
at home. Within walking
distance from Hanois Opera
House and Hoan Kiem Lake,
this building offers a panel of
51 spacious apartments for
you to choose from. The serviced apartments here offer
the luxury of a hotel mixed
with the peaceful comfort
and privacy of your home,
under one roof of course.
old quarter
BARS & CLUBS / CAFES / CLOTHING & ACCESSORIES / CRAFTS & FURNITURE / EAT / FITNESS & YOGA /
GROCERIES & LIQUOR / HAIRDRESSERS & SALONS
BARS & CLUBS

CHEEKY QUARTER

(04) 3719 8877
Located in the West Lake
area, Fraser Suites Hanoi
consists of 186 apartments, from studios to four
bedrooms, which meet any
lifestyle. With a calming and
warm interior feel, each
apartment features all the
latest amenities. 24-hour security surveillance provides
peace of mind.
LATE NIGHT LOCAL

1 Ta Hien, Hoan Kiem, Tel:
01679 647254
8pm to late
Last building on the right
before Hang Buom, this
popular with the French
(and everyone else) watering hole is a classic. Has
the same Old Quarter vibe;
small, cosy and personal
with funky twists and an
awesome logo. Spread over
two floors with good tunes,
drinks specials and a foosball table, Cheeky is open till
late. Also does tasty paninis
into the early hours.
SOMERSET GRAND HANOI
DRAGONFLY
FRASER SUITES HANOI
49, Hai Ba Trung, Ba Dinh,

Tel: (04) 3934 2342
somerset.com
Internationally-managed accommodation with personalised services and extensive
facilities. 185 fully furnished
apartments, car park, 24hour reception and central
location.
SPORTS GARMENTS
SCORE-TECH
44, Ngo 31 Xuan Dieu, Tay
Ho, Tel: (04) 3718 8246
score-tech.net
Apparel company offering personalised sport
garments for companies,
schools and professional
sports clubs using the latest
printing technology with a
design team from Barcelona. Score-Tech controls the
whole production process
from fabric production and
printing to sewing. Big and
small orders for all sporting
and commercial needs.
Do you think you should be

listed on these pages? If so,
simply email us on
listings@wordvietnam.com
and well see what we can
do. We cant promise but
well try our best
DANCEHALL LOUNGE
15 Hang Buom, Hoan Kiem,
Tel: (04) 4926 2177
11am to late
One of the better venues in
the Old Quarter for dancing
on the weekends. Although
crammed into a small space,
cheap drinks and a mix of
chart chits makes Dragonfly
the regular go-to for younger Vietnamese crowds, tourists and the foreign resident
looking to get up on the
dance floor. If you dont feel
like dancing, relax upstairs
with shisha and friends with
one of the two lounges on
the second floor. The sister
venue on Phung Hung has a
bigger menu and an earlier
opening hour (11am instead
of 6pm) but still keeps with
the shisha, pool table and
dance floor combo so popular on Hang Buom.
FATCAT BAR
DJ / LATE NIGHT JOINT

0986 495211
linkhanoi.com
4pm to late
Straddling Bia Hoi Corner
and the cobblestoned end
of Ta Hien, FatCat Bar is a
small establishment from the
minds behind the party and
event organisers, LinkHanoi.
The bar has tables filling the
first floor and spilling onto
the sidewalk as well as a
small loft area for lounging.
Nightly cocktail specials, reasonable bottles deals starting
at VND500,000 and a DJ on
the decks make up the mix.
FUNKY BUDDHA
ELECTRO LOUNGE
(04) 3292 7614

8pm to late
HAIR OF THE DOG
LATE NIGHT LOCAL / LOUNGE

32 Ma May, Hoan Kiem, Tel:
0947 893232
10am to late
HALF MAN HALF NOODLE
LATE DIVE BAR

62 Dao Duy Tu, Hoan Kiem,
Tel: (04) 3926 1943
3pm to late
IRISH WOLFHOUND
IRISH PUB
4 Luong Ngoc Quyen, Hoan
Kiem, Tel: (04) 2212 6821
irishwolfhoundpub.com
8am to 2am
The open-air watering hole
with seating on the pavement
is a great spot to enjoy a tall
dark stout or light pilsner at
anytime, day or night. What it
lacks in gaudy decorations,
it makes up for with a constant stream of regulars, occasional live Irish music and
billiards on the third floor.
Has a decent food menu and
even better pizzas.
whole in the Old Quarter is

known for its prize-winning
bartender and excellent
cocktails
POLITE PUB
LONG BAR
5 Bao Khanh, Hoan Kiem, Tel:
(04) 3825 0959
5pm to 2am
A bit musty and jaded, despite being one of the oldest
pubs in the city, this staple
watering hole on Bao Khanh
continues to be a hit. Probably the closest thing Hanoi
has to an authentic Englishstyle pub, Polite is frequented by a steady mix of locals
and expats who find solace
in the nightly conversations
at the long bar, billiards and
live football matches.
ROCKSTORE
LATIN BAR
46 Ngo Huyen, Hoan Kiem,
Tel: 0917 245155
LIVE MUSIC BAR

01653 336087
Hanoi's home-made, homegrown version of Hard Rock
Cafe without the stigma and
the expensive prices. Nightly
live music or DJing events
are coupled with creative
decor, a selection of Belgian
Beer and a food menu.
LE PUB
SPY BAR
LA BOMBA LATINA
BRITISH / INTERNATIONAL
RESTOBAR
25 Hang Be, Hoan Kiem, Tel:
(04) 3926 2104
7am to midnight
Dark red walls and even
darker brown seating run
through the homely and
casual Le Pub, one of the few
bars in town with a regular
stream of clientele. A long
list of imported beer, Tiger
draft, a decent international
cum Vietnamese food menu,
happy hour specials and live
sport make up the comfortable mix. The venue also gets
involved in the local community through regular events.
HOLE IN THE WALL / IRISH

12A Nguyen Huu Huan, Hoan
Kiem, Tel: 0932 373802
TEMPLE BAR
NIGHTCLUB / LATE-NIGHT BAR

Tel: (04) 6675 7908
MOJITO BAR
CONTEMPORARY COCKTAIL BAR

19 Nguyen Quang Bich, Hoan
Kiem
facebook.com/mojito.bar.
lounge
Decked out in wooden panelling and bare brick, this
tastefully designed watering
COFFEE/BAKERY
222 Ly Quoc Su, Hoan Kiem,
Tel: (04) 3747 3388
joma.biz
7am to 9pm
With two branches, Joma
has brought a little slice
of home to Hanoi for expatriates with a contemporary western feel to the
counter-style service and
atmosphere. The food is
all there too: breakfasts,
salads, soups, ice cream,
muffins, cakes, cereals and
bagels. Starting in Laos in
1996, Joma moved to Hanoi
in 2009. Joma contributes
2 percent of each sale to
charitable organisations.
KINH DO
PATISSERIE / SIMPLE CAFE

252 Hang Bong, Hoan Kiem,
Tel: (04) 3825 0216
7am to 8pm
MOCA CAFE
CAFE / INTERNATIONAL
14-16 Nha Tho, Hoan Kiem.
(04) 3825 6334
8am to 10pm
Set in a deliciously attractive slightly run down colonial villa, the tourist friendly
location gives Moca a large
amount of guidebook-driven
clientele. But dont let this put
you off. The faded but charmingly run down Frenchstyled retro interior, good
WiFi and some of the best
coffee in town makes this
a great spot to while away
a couple of hours. The food
menu mixes Vietnamese fare
with sandwiches, western
and pan-Asian mains.
TET BAR
LATE-NIGHT BAR
2a Ta Hien, Hoan Kiem, Tel:
(04) 3926 3050
THE SPOT
LOUNGE BAR / TERRACE

(04) 3935 1874
8am to midnight
CAFES
MAOS RED LOUNGE
LATE-NIGHT GRUNGE BAR

(04) 3926 3104
JOMA BAKERY CAFE
JOMA
INTERNATIONAL CAFE
28 Tong Duy Tan, Hoan Kiem
joma.biz
Housed in a two-storey converted, colonial-era villa, the
concept of the third Joma is
the same as at its two other
cafes - fair-trade coffee, payas-you-order at the counter,
and a great selection of
sandwiches, bagels, salads,
cakes, ice-cream and tea.
THE CART
SANDWICH SHOP / CAF

10 Tho Xuong, Tel: (04) 3938
2513
thecartfood.com
7.30am to 5pm
Small a cozy caf hidden
on the quietest of Hanoian
streets. Serves and delivers
tasty baguettes, homemade
juices, quiches, pies, muffins and cakes. The delivery
service is quick and reliable,
which makes this lunchtime
favourite ideal for when you
need to eat at the desk.
THE HANOI SOCIAL CLUB
CAF / CONTEMPORARY EATERY

6 Hoi Vu, Hoan Kiem, Tel: (04)
3938 2117
8am to 11pm
Situated on one of the quieter Old Quarter streets
just off Hang Bong, The
Hanoi Social Club is a cozy
midsize caf/restaurant
where you can forget the
heat and bustle of Hanoi.
The atmosphere is relaxed
and you can imagine, for a
second, that youre sitting
in a European caf. The food
is fresh and internationally
inspired, and the design is
complimented by the work
of Tadiotos Nguyen Qui Duc.
To top it off, the coffee here is
said to be up there with the
best in the country.
CLOTHING & ACCESSORIES

BOO SKATESHOP
SKATESHOP
84 Hang Dieu, Hoan Kiem,
Tel: (04) 3923 1147
Booskateshop.com
CONTRABAND
PUKU
INTERNATIONAL / CAFE
16-18 Tong Duy Tan, Hoan
Kiem, Tel: (04) 3938 1745
Open 24 hours
This spacious spot on food
street is open around the
clock, offering Aussie-inspired comfort food along
with more eclectic Irish
nachos, cottage pies and
pan-Asian fare. Upstairs
is fit for social gatherings
and live music while the nosmoking downstairs space
is filled with people working
and socialising. Serves as
community centre, catering
both to ravenous backpackers whove just arrived off
the night train from Sapa and
locals looking to meet up.
CONTEMPORARY WESTERNSTYLE
23 Nha Chung, Hoan Kiem,
Tel: (04) 3928 9891
Launched in Hanoi in 2007,
Contraband targets young
hip working women. Garments are made from versatile fabrics that are comfortable to wear and easy to look
after making them ideal for
work and travel. New styles
are introduced each month
with limited production runs,
offering a sense of exclusivity.
LATELIER
WOMENS WEAR & ACCESSORIES

21 Nha Chung, Hoan Kiem,
Tel: (04) 3938 2419
ateliervietnam.com
The downtown store of this
well-known chic boutique.
Stocks womens wear,
hanoi
COFFEE CUP
DALICE
hen people ask me where

to go for baked desserts
commonly understood to
mean cakes, slices, macaroons
and general deliciousness I usually
rattle off the same list. Saint Honore for
cakes, Nguyen Son Bakery for some kind
of mousse-filled thingy and the always
reliable Joma for muffins and slices.
But every now and then I find its good
to go somewhere new where you wont
be recognised while you binge eat your
weight in matcha cream cannolis. To that
end, DAlice, quietly tucked away in the
French Quarter on Trieu Viet Vuong, is
a revelation. The quirky interior design
provides a fresh and welcoming space for
you to while away the afternoons with a
friend, a laptop or a gigantic slice of New
York-style cheesecake (VND70,000).
The impressive range of desserts are
freshly baked and come served with
generous scoops of homemade sorbet or
freshly piped meringue. Popular choices
include the brownie cheese (a hybrid of
brownie and cheesecake for VND35,000),
Photos by Trung Del
warm salted caramel cookies (VND15,000

each) and a deliciously light coconut panna
cotta (VND25,000). Youll also find yourself
tempted by an exotic range of handmade
cream cannolis, eclairs and macaroons
lining the shelves in the glass fridge on
your way in.
Wonderland
At first glance, youll think youve
accidentally walked into a ridiculously
expensive branch of Laduree or some
fancy high tea establishment. And with
good reason, because it appears no
expense has been spared in furnishing the
caf. Downstairs, youll find a cosy yet
spacious working space with plenty of
seating at a central wooden table and some
plush chairs to snuggle into. Upstairs, is
a mosaic of designer chesterfield couches,
cute coffee tables and eccentric light
fixtures suspended over small groups
huddled around plates of red velvet
cake (VND79,000) and salted caramel
macchiatos (VND60,000).
But dont let that fool you, because the
prices, albeit a bit more than your standard

run-of-the-mill bakery, are extremely fair.
All teas are served with honey, lemon
and fresh milk and start at a reasonable
VND55,000. At the sweeter end of the
spectrum, the signature hot chocolate
(VND70,000) comes with optional
add-ons such as hazelnut whipped
cream and almonds, or a blowtorched
marshmallow for the ultimate sugar
high. For coffee-lovers, we recommend
the delicious salted caramel macchiato
(VND60,000) or the formidable caf latte
(VND50,000).
The ambiance is quiet and relaxed,
making it an ideal place to catch up with
a friend or surf the web on your iThingy.
The staff are professional and polite, each
donning crme-coloured aprons that give
the place an added air of sophistication.
Admittedly, the prices are a bit more than
what youd pay at Joma or Nguyen Son,
but for the occasional (or weekly) splurge,
its worth every penny. David Mann
DAlice is at 89 Trieu Viet Vuong, Hai Ba
Trung, Hanoi
hanoi
leather bags, shoes and
handicrafts. Offers both
ready-to-wear and madeto-fit clothing.
made from natural silk and

organic cotton certified to
global organic standards.
Metiseko is also certified
by the fair-trade, Textile Exchange.
METISEKO
ECO-CHIC / LIFESTYLE
71 Hang Gai, Hoan Kiem.
metiseko.com
A lifestyle brand that started
out life in Hoi An, Metisekos
move to the capital has seen
them bring us their creative, poetic prints designed
for an eco-chic lifestyle. The
products clothing, accessories and furniture are
made from natural silk and
organic cotton certified to
global organic standards.
Metiseko is also certified
by the fair-trade, Textile Exchange.
THINGS OF SUBSTANCE
AUSTRALIAN-STYLE UNISEX
5 Nha Tho, Hoan Kiem, Tel:
(04) 3828 6965
This shops motto Western
sizes, Vietnamese prices,
says it all. While mostly retailing womens separates
in soft cotton jersey and
linen, the store also carries a range of accessories
like embroidered canvas
totes and printed tees. Has
a good selection of unique
mens shirts.
THREE TREES
JEWELLERY
(04) 3928 8725
CRAFTS & FURNITURE

MEKONG QUILTS
HANDMADE / CHARITABLE
QUILTS
58 Hang Trong, Hoan Kiem,
Tel: (04) 3824 4607; 13 Hang
Bac, Hoan Kiem, Tel: (04)
3926 4831
Mekong-quilts.org
Community development
non-profit quilt shop featuring handmade quilts and accessories. Styles vary from
traditional to patterned and
Asian-inspired. Founded in
2001 and with outposts in
several locations around
the region, the shop employs women in rural areas,
enabling them to make an
income and care for their
families.
METISEKO
ECO-CHIC
71 Hang Gai, Hoan Kiem, Tel:
(04) 3935 2645
metiseko.com
A lifestyle brand that started
out life in Hoi An, Metisekos
move to the capital will see
them bring us their creative, poetic prints designed
for an eco-chic lifestyle. The
products clothing, accessories and furniture are
EAT
AL FRESCOS
AUSTRALIAN / INTERNATIONAL
24 Quang An, Tay Ho, Tel: (04)
3938 1155
alfrescogroup.com
8.30am to 11pm
CAFE DE PARIS
FRENCH BISTRO
12 Luong Ngoc Quyen, Hoan
Kiem, Tel: (04) 3926 1327
cafedeparis-hanoi.com
8am to 11pm
Thanks to its original tiled
floor, cast iron backed chairs
and wall-hung black and
white photography, there is
something decidedly charming about this tiny Parisianstyled bistro and bar. Serving
up a simple menu of snacks
such as quiche Lorraine,
Paris beurre and croque
monsieur, there is also a selection of classic but unpretentious French mains. Has
a daily specials board and a
decent range of pizzas.
FOODSHOP 45
INTERNATIONAL INDIAN
Tel: (04) 3993 1399
10am to 10.30pm
A slither of a joint serving
up the same fare that the
lakeside Foodshop 45 location in Truc Bach has become famous for. Selling an
international version of the
mighty curry they even
sell pork and beef here
the menu keeps to the northern part of the subcontinent
with masala, dopiaza, korma
and the more Goan vindaloo
taking centre stage. Also has
a good range of breads and
tandoor-cooked kebabs.
GREEN MANGO
WESTERN / VIETNAMESE
18 Hang Quat, Hoan Kiem,
Tel: (04) 3928 9916
greenmango.vn
7.30am to 11.30pm
GREEN TANGERINE
FRENCH / VIETNAMESE FUSION

(04) 3825 1286
greentangerinehanoi.com
10am to 11pm daily
A leafy, cobblestone courtyard with dark green castiron backed chairs greets
you as you walk into this
French era-built villa that
houses the main section of
this Indochina-styled restaurant. Serving up an enticing
mix of classic and contemporary French cuisine,
blended in with Vietnamese
ingredients and cooking
styles, the resultant fare

has had customers coming
back again and again. A traditional Vietnamese and kids
menu is also available, as is a
wine list focusing mainly on
French wines.
HIGHWAY 4
VIETNAMESE / ETHNIC
5 Hang Tre, Hoan Kiem, Tel:
(04) 3926 4200; 25 Bat Su,
0639
10am to midnight
LITTLE INDIA
INDIAN / MALAY / CHINESE

32 Hang Tre, Hoan Kiem, Tel:
(04) 3926 1859
littleindianhn@gmail.com
LA RESTAURANT
VIETNAMESE / INTERNATIONAL
25 Ly Quoc Su, Hoan Kiem,
Tel: (04) 3928 8933
8am to 10pm
The complimentary warm
bread with rosemary is
reason enough to visit this
homely spot featuring hearty
lentil and black bean soups,
along with a range of international and Vietnamese options like New Zealand beef
tenderloin or tofu with chilli
and mushrooms. We arent
quite sure why the Miele
Guide nominated it as one of
Asias finest restaurants as
service is lackadaisical and
tables could use candles to
improve the lackluster ambience, but the immaculately
tasty dishes more than make
up for any quips.
LA SALSA
IBERIAN / MEDITERANEAN
(04) 3828 9052
8am to 11pm
A small but eternally popular Spanish-themed caf
and bar with an extensive
list of reliable cuisine. Tapas are available, as well
as full courses such as
veal, and duck with currant
sauce. Known for its good,
European-style coffee and
first-floor terrace area with
views over the cathedral.
Has a second garden restaurant on Xuan Dieu.
MEDITERRANEO
PAN-ITALIAN
(04) 3826 6288
10am to 11pm
This long-running, cozy restaurant near the cathedral
serves all the traditional
Italian fare you could need
homemade mozzarella
and fresh pasta, spinach
and ricotta ravioli, cold cut
boards, soups, salads and
fish. Throw in an extensive
wine list, a traditional wood
fire oven and a balcony spot
looking over Hanois trendy
caf scene and youre onto
a winner.
MILLENIUM
PAN-FRENCH
11B Ngo Bao Khanh, Hoan
Kiem, Tel: (04) 3828 7207
10.30am to 2.30pm, 6pm to
10pm
Clean and fresh with a finedining vibe, the Millennium
restaurant is the minimal
and chic result of a Caf Des
Arts makeover. The streets
new go-to for a high standard of eating and drinking
goes over two floors and
has a welcome and inviting
three-level outdoor terrace
high up amid the concrete
and cables of the Old Quarter.
NAMASTE HANOI
PAN-INDIAN
46 Tho Nhuom, Hanoi, Tel:
(04) 3935 2400
namastehanoi.com
11am to 2.30pm, 6pm to
10.30pm
The latest newcomer to the
Indian restaurants family, Namaste specializes in
dishes from both northern
and southern India using Halal meat throughout. A meal will cost you
between VND150,000 and
VND300,000 and everything
is there, from curries and
breads to soups and desserts. Available to dine in or
out with a free delivery.
OLD HANOI
GOURMET VIETNAMESE
4 Ton That Thiep, Hoan Kiem,
Tel: (04) 3747 8337
10am-2pm, 5pm-10pm
Gordon Ramsay once filmed
a show at this restaurant in
a renovated French villa and
now the ribs carry his namesake. But its the twist on old
world favourites, think fried
snail spring rolls and miniature vegetarian banh xeo,
in a casually elegant setting
that make this spot near
the train tracks standout.
Be sure to try the roll-yourown cha ca spring rolls and
check the schedule for live
traditional music.
SOUTHGATE
CONTEMPORARY INTERNATIONAL
28 Tong Duy Tan, Hoan Kiem,
Tel: (04) 3938 1979
southgatehanoi.com
THE KAFE
CONTEMPORARY CAFE / CUISINE

18 Dien Bien Phu, Hoan Kiem,
Tel: (04) 3747 6245
thekafe.vn
Spacious, casual, energetic
and beautifully designed, The
KAfe serves up unfussy comfort food that aims to satisfy
the modern urban diner.
Preparing fresh food and
drinks that show respect to
natural ingredients and flavours from around the globe,
this caf-cum-restaurant is
a popular choice for Hanois
metrosexual community.
THE MOOSE AND ROO
CANADIAN / AUSTRALIAN RESTAURANT

42B Ma May, Hoan Kiem,
Tel:(04) 3200 1289
Contemporary Australian
and Canadian comfort food
in a pleasant setting together with a nice bar area.
Best known for their Scotch
egg, poutine and burgers.
Clever changing imagery on
the walls.
TEX-MEX / BURGERS / INTERNATIONAL

0912 223966
The successor of My Burger
My, this American-run, selfstyled burger bar and restaurant fits a lot into a tiny,
multi-storey space. Specializing in tasty, American-style,
chargrilled burgers from
around VND50,000 with a
range of additional toppings
including jalapeno peppers,
smoked bacon, mushrooms,
cheddar cheese and avocado, the creative menu also
has a good range of Tex-Mex
fare, a number of pan-Asian
dishes and a decent delivery
service.
ZENITH YOGA STUDIO II & CAF
16 Duong Thanh, Hoan Kiem,

Tel: (04) 3923 0253
FITNESS & YOGA

STUDIO FIVE
YOGA & WELLNESS

5th Fl, 135 Bui Thi Xuan,
Hai Ba Trung. Tel: (04)
6263.1515
http://studio5.vn
facebook.com/yogastudio5
6am to 8pm
An international and professional Yoga Studio providing
more than 20 different yoga
styles such as: Hatha Yoga,
Yoga Therapy, Ball Yoga,
Props Yoga, Hot Yoga (with
infrared heater), Power Yoga
and much more, with a flexible schedule of 10 classes
per day. Bring harmony
back into your life Studio
Five is the perfect place to
reconnect your mind with
your body.
TAMARIND
CONTEMPORARY VEGETARIAN
(04) 3926 0580
5.30am to 10.30pm
Perhaps the only restaurant
in Hanoi to cater to vegetarians that doesnt focus on
faux meat. Features a wide
range of juices and shakes
in a crunchy granola backpacker atmosphere. Has
Asian favourites like vegetarian pho, Ma-Po tofu
and Thai glass noodle salad,
along with some falafel and
western influences. Vegetarians and carnivores alike will
find something to try on this
menu.
THE LOFT STOP CAF

PROVECHO
area with a more casual

dining and bar space out
front. Does excellent kebabs
served from an authentic
tandoor oven as well as the
full range of mainly North
Indian curries. Also has a
branch in Saigon and does
excellent set lunches.
FRENCH BRASSERIE/ VIETNAMESE SPECIALITIES

11B Ngo Bao Khanh, Hoan
Kiem, Tel: (04) 3828 7207
8am to 11pm
SPICE
CONTEMPORARY INDIAN RESTAURANT

(04) 3926 0580
TANDOOR
PAN-INDIAN
(04) 3824 5359
11am to 10.30pm
A long-popular, Indianfood enclave specialising
in Northern Indian cuisine.
Has an indoor and upstairs,
white tablecloth aircon
ZENITH YOGA
YOGA & MEDITATION

247 Au Co, Tay Ho; 16 Duong
Thanh, Hoan Kiem, Tel: (04)
3923 0253
An international Yoga studio
providing classes across a
variety of levels and styles,
including prenatal and
postnatal classes, restorative yoga, pilates and tai
chi. Also have a yogic shop
offering incense, yoga and
pilates mats, books, clothes,
soaps, Himalayan products
and other essential yoga
equipment.
GROCERIES & LIQUOR

THE WAREHOUSE
WINE RETAILER
59 Hang Trong, Hoan Kiem,
Tel: (04) 3928 7666
warehouse-asia.com
The Warehouse is Vietnams
ultimate premium wine importer, distributor, and retailer, representing many of
the greatest wines from the
best wine-growing regions
on the planet. The portfolio
mixes the best of both old
and new world wines.
HAIRDRESSERS & SALONS

DINH HAIR SALON
HAIR SALON
2A Cua Bac, Ba Dinh, Tel:
0987 718899
hanoi
TOP EATS
LA PATISSERIE CHEZ MOI
y first experience with this

bakery happened when I was
riding by the pastry shops
signage and shining glass
window grabbed my eyes. I decided to go
inside.
The shops simple dcor reminded
me of coffee shops in Europe. It was an
otherworldly experience sitting by the
glass door, enjoying flavourful cakes,
sipping at my tea and watching life go by
outside. The patisserie offers nice views
onto its quiet street, in total contrast with
the bustling thoroughfares close by.
Chez Moi means to feel like home,
pastry chef and shop owner Cong
Tu Nguyen tells me. His demeanour
makes me think of Graham Elliot of US
MasterChef. I want people to feel like that
when they are at our shop.
When I first went to France to study,
I didnt go there to become a pastry
chef. But I feel making desserts is more
fascinating and suitable for me.
Hanois Metropolis of Mousse

His fascination with desserts may explain
the tasty cakes he makes. His bakery offers
a wide range of options with a main course
of mousse. Young Vietnamese call Chez
Moi Hanois metropolis of mousse. With a
diverse selection, people can easily choose
their favourite.
For me, its the blueberry mousse. It is
soft, fluffy and melts in your mouth. Like
any classic mousse, its not too sweet and
tastes of blueberry. To make delightful
mousse, its a must to use fresh fruits,
says Tu. Its easily recognisable whether
or not you use fresh ingredients for your
mousse.
But my top choice when dropping by
Chez Moi is the macaron. Chez Mois
macaron may be not as good as in some
five-star hotels in Hanoi, but thats not a
fair comparison. Not everyone can go into
a classy hotel to enjoy macaron at teatime.
The macarons here are delicate and offer a
contrast of textures, from the crunchy shell
to the creamy inside the trickiest part in

making these tiny cakes. A lime macaron
paired with Earl Grey tea is the perfect treat.
The macaron is the only cake that I
dont change, even slightly, from the recipe
I learnt in France, says Tu. I had a bad
experience with the macaron when I first
opened. I put the macaron on display, then
after a few hours, the shell was sweaty and
no longer crunchy due to the humidity here
in Hanoi. That was a real lesson.
Besides the macaron and mousse,
tiramisu is also among Chez Mois top
choices. And young gourmands favour
the simply ornamented cakes, standing
out from most traditional bakeries in
Hanoi, which often overuse whipped
cream. Together with its friendly service,
Chez Moi is a really nice patisserie to
bookmark. Huyen Tran
Chez Moi is located at the back of Hang Day
Stadiums Gate 10, Grandstand B, and opposite
Ngo 19 Hang Chao, Dong Da, Hanoi. The
bakery opens weekdays only
hanoi
HANOI INTERNATIONAL THEATRE
SOCIETY (HITS)
hoan kiem
THEATRE GROUP
hitshanoi.com
LESPACE
BARS & NIGHTCLUBS / CAFES / CINEMAS / CLUBS & SOCIETIES / EAT
PARIS DELI
B i
Triu
Hng
Hu
Phan
Chu
Trin
h
Q u
n S
inh Ti
n H o n g
Hng
Phng
H n g G
Hng iu
Hng
Phng
Qun
Nguy
n Du
Trn
Hn
g
o
L Vn H u
h
Hn T
uyn
MODEL CLUB
CATWALK BAR
45 Hang Bai, Hai Ba Trung
8pm to late
PHUC TAN
LATE-NIGHT GRUNGE BAR

51, To 4A Phuc Tan, Hoan
Kiem
RELAX BAR
HOSTESS / LIVE MUSIC BAR

26 Tran Hung Dao, Hoan
Kiem
ROOFTOP
SKYLINE LOUNGE
19th Floor, Pacific Place, 83B
Ly Thuong Kiet, Hoan Kiem,
Tel: (04) 3946 1901
8am to midnight
TADIOTO LOUNGE BAR AND CAFE
ARTS BAR / EVENT SPACE

24B Tong Dan, Hoan Kiem
tadioto.com
Located close to the Opera
House, this alternative, arty
bar is garnished in red and
white on the outside, with
warm brown and tones of
blue on the inside. Creating an atmosphere merging
Shanghai and San Francisco,
engaging contemporary artwork lines the walls at the
latest incarnation of this wellknown and well-loved space.
ZONE 17
CAF / BOULANGERIE
Kiem, Tel: (04) 3934 5269
7.30am to 11pm
Time has been good to this
airy, bistro-style caf and
patisserie opposite the Opera House. One of the original international-style establishments to hit the capital,
despite its prime location
prices remain reasonable
espresso-style coffees cost
around VND40,000 and
the cakes and croissants
are moreish. Also does filled
baguettes and a larger cafcum-restaurant menu. Has a
second establishment at 13
Nha Tho, Hoan Kiem.
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FRENCH-STYLE CONTEMPORARY
Hotel de lOpera, 29 Trang
Tien, Hoan Kiem, Tel: (04)
6282 5555
Hoteldelopera.com
7am to 2am
La Fe Verte (or the Green
Fairy) is a metaphor for the
decadence of another age,
an allusion to the hallucinatory effects of absinthe. The
signature bar of the Hotel
de lOpra Hanoi where, just
as in Paris at the dawn of the
20th century, the making of an
evening drink a lavish event
of ritual and celebration. Understated lighting, a lounge
atmosphere, great music and
ultra-contemporary interior
design combine to bring a
genuine sense of occasion to
after-dark in the capital.
CONTEMPORARY DECOR BAR

23 Ngo Van So, Hoan Kiem
facebook.com/bar84hanoi
Housed in a colonial building, bare brick, comfortable
sofa-like seating and grungy
decor related to a past make
up the mix at this venue put
together by the people behind Barbetta.
+84 BAR
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WILD WEST THEME BAR

98B Tran Hung Dao, Hoan
Kiem, Tel: (04) 3942 6822
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BARS & NIGHTCLUBS
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Tel: (04) 3825 0216

7am to 8pm
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HOAN KIEM
DISTRICT
BAMBOO BAR
17D Hong Ha, Hoan Kiem
The first bar in what will
eventually (hopefully) be a
zone dedicated to bars and

restaurants. A pool table, a
square bar in the middle of
the room and a barbecue until the early hours theres
quite an atmosphere in this
pleasant watering hole.
CAFES
CIAO CAF
RESTO LOUNGE
2 Hang Bai, Hoan Kiem, Tel:
(04) 3934 1494
7am to 11pm
A stones throw from the
shores of Hoan Kiem Lake,
this Saigonese franchise
tries its hand with a variety
of different western dishes
at reasonable prices, especially considering the location. Loaded with booths and
a steady, young Vietnamese
crowd, the establishment is
a great place to squash a
sandwich or bowl of pasta
and people watch. Oh, and
they also do coffee, too.
HIGHLANDS COFFEE
CONTEMPORARY / COFFEE
CHAIN
5 Dinh Tien Hoang, Hoan
Kiem, Tel: (04) 3936 3228;
Opera House, 1 Trang Tien,
Hoan Kiem; Hanoi Towers,
highlandscoffee.com.vn
7am to 11pm
KINH DO
PATISSERIE / SIMPLE CAFE

252 Hang Bong, Hoan Kiem,
THE HANOI SOCIAL CLUB
CAF / CONTEMPORARY EATERY

6 Hoi Vu, Hoan Kiem, Tel: (04)
3938 2117
8am to 11pm
Situated on one of the quieter Old Quarter streets
just off Hang Bong, The
Hanoi Social Club is a cozy
midsize caf/restaurant
where you can forget the
heat and bustle of Hanoi.
The atmosphere is relaxed
and you can imagine, for a
second, that youre sitting in
a European caf. The food
is fresh and internationally
inspired, and the design is
complimented by the work
of Tadiotos Nguyen Qui Duc.
To top it off, the coffee here is
said to be up there with the
best in the country.
TWITTER BEANS COFFEE

Kiem, Tel: (04) 3824 0760
twitterbeanscoffee.com
CINEMAS
CINEMATHEQUE
ARTS CINEMA
22A Hai Ba Trung, Hoan
Kiem, Tel: (04) 3936 2648
Not a movie theatre per se,
but a private film club that
charges a membership fee in
return for entrance to a wide
selection of movies, new and
old. The management has
an eclectic taste and shows
films from all over the world.
CLUBS & SOCIETIES

AMERICAN CLUB
EVENT SPACE
21 Hai Ba Trung, Hoan Kiem,
Tel: (04) 3824 1850
FRENCH CULTURAL CENTRE

Tel: (04) 3936 2164
vphanoi-lespace.com
EAT
AL FRESCOS
23L Hai Ba Trung, Hoan
Kiem, Tel: (04) 3826 7782
alfrescogroup.com
8.30am to 11pm
ANGELINA
CONTEMPORARY ITALIAN
Sofitel Metopole Legend Hotel, 56 Ly Thai To, Hoan Kiem,
Tel: (04) 3826 6919
11.30am to 2.30pm and
6.30am to late (restaurant)
11am to 2am (bar)
AU LAC DO BRAZIL
BRAZILIAN
6A Cao Ba Quat, Ba Dinh, Tel:
(04) 3845 5224
aulacdobrazil.com
11am to 2pm, 5pm to midnight
A nicely themed Brazilian
churrascaria steakhouse offering all you can eat grilled
meat and seafood on the
skewer, Au Lac do Brazil is
not for the feint of stomach.
In typical Brazilian rodzio
fashion, waiters bring cuts of
meat to the table for patrons
to pick and choose, all for a
set price. They also offer wine
pairings, a salad bar and an a
la carte menu, with a creative
selection of fruit caipirinhas
on hand to wash it all down.
The prices arent for anyone
on a budget, but the amount
and quality of meat is more
than worth cost.
CAF LAUTREC
MEDITERRANEAN / INTERNATIONAL
Hotel de lOpera, 29 Trang
6282 5555
6am to 10pm
Featuring both -la-carte
and buffet dining as well
as an innovative Sunday
brunch, this namesake of the
French artist Toulouse-Lautrec provides an exotic ambience for diners to enjoy a
mixture of international and
Mediterranean-style fare.
Has an extensive wine list
to match the cuisine, which
is all served up in a contemporary yet colonial-inspired
environment.
EL GAUCHO STEAKHOUSE
ARGENTINIAN STEAKHOUSE
Tel: (04) 3824 7280
elgaucho.com.vn
4pm to late
This theme eatery combines
traditional Argentinian recipes and preparation with
great service in a contem-
porary and thoughtfully

designed space over three
floors. Already with venues
in Saigon and Bangkok, the
essence of this popular
chain is quality top grade
meats off the grill. Steak is
the mainstay, but everything
from chicken, pork and seafood is also up for grabs.
Add to this a backdrop of low
Latin music, low, subtle lighting and an extensive wine list
and thats another reason to
head to El Gaucho.
JACKSONS STEAKHOUSE
STEAKHOUSE / GRILL
23J Hai Ba Trung, Hoan
Kiem, Tel: (04) 3938 8388
alfrescogroup.com
9.30am to midnight
Then newest venture from
the team behind Jaspas
and Pepperonis is an all-day
eating and drinking lounge fit
for all occasions. It has three
floors for different vibes
lounge bar, restaurant and
boardroom but fine imported steads can be found
on each, as well as seafood
and a huge wine list. A popular venue.
JASPAS
INTERNATIONAL / AUSTRALIAN
Hanoi Towers, 49 Hai Ba
Trung (4th Floor), Hoan Kiem,
Tel: (04) 3934 8325
alfrescosgroup.com
6.30am to midnight
Recently refurbished, the
Australian-influenced Jaspas is known for its attentive
service, tasty food and large
portions. A place with something for everyone, it has
proved itself to be popular
with both the western and
Asian expat communities
who come back again and
again. The comprehensive
menu is a fusion of western
and Asian cooking. The cocktails come large. The wine is
mainly New World. Also has
a spacious bar and lounge
area that stays open late for
all the live sport.
LA BADIANE
CONTEMPORARY FRENCH
10 Nam Ngu, Hoan Kiem, Tel:
(04) 3942 4509
11.30am to 2pm and 6pm to
10pm. Closed Sunday night.
A white-washed, colonial
era villa replete with period
wooden shutters greets you
as you enter this contemporary French restaurant.
Guests can either dine indoors in aircon comfort or
take to the leafy covered
terrace out back with its
walls lined with art and photography from 21st century
Hanoi. The menu here mixes
modern Gallic cuisine with a
touch of Mediterranean and
Vietnam thrown in, all creating an innovative and evocative selection of fare. Has an
extensive wine list and an
excellent, well-priced threecourse lunch menu.
hanoi
THE ALCHEMIST
FEED YOUR SOUL
was recently making a bowl of

popcorn, one of my favourite snacks,
and I caught myself marveling at
the alchemical transformation of the
grain. What other foods carried out such
dramatic metamorphoses, I wondered.
Thats what food does, it transforms
itself. It has the ability to take on different
properties, to blend and to convert itself
to fuel upon consumption. It is from this
fuel that we nourish our body and our
soul.
Balance and Harmony

The Great Work of alchemists is about
transforming the chaotic forces of nature
into perfectly balanced substances. We are
of nature and nature is of us. We are in a
symbiotic relationship in which the laws
of nature demand balance and harmony.
Paying attention to the foods we
consume beginning with their
selection and preparation affects
how the food supports us physically,
mentally, emotionally and spiritually. We
are interconnected with our food, and
it participates in the co-creation of our

existence, as we become the food we eat.
By eating intentionally we can access this
transformational potential.
In her book Food as Medicine, Dr. Khalsa
states, Every major ailment has a specific
natural food prescription that can reverse
its course, [and] that is a great amount of
alchemical power!
The Forces of Nature

In their work, alchemists draw upon
the archetypal forces of the elements
Earth, Water, Air and Fire to
manipulate and to balance their
properties.
To illustrate this principle in relation
to the alchemical qualities of food, the
Alchemy Lab suggests:
Angry or hyper individuals be fed a diet
high in water element foods to calm them
down
Lethargic or depressed persons eat fire
element foods to energise them
Worldly persons eat mostly air element
foods to spiritise them
BY KAREN GAY
Intellectual or overly religious persons eat

a diet of earth element foods to ground them
Conscious Alchemy
Whether or not one is eating to
harmonise a particular imbalance, it is
important to eat mindfully. Dr. Khalsa
points out, if you are anxious, depressed
or distracted while eating, your body will
not assimilate food well and you will not
receive the nourishment you need.
With every bite, we have the
opportunity to consciously choose how
we transform ourselves, how we evolve.
Our goal should be to become our best
possible self that is within our potential.
This is the Great Work. Eating is alchemy.
Presently experimenting with brewing
my own kombucha (a type of fermented
tea), Im feeling like a true alchemist in
my lab, creating the ultimate elixir. Ill
inform you once Ive concocted it.
Karen Gay, A-Roaming Bodyworker, is
a holistic health practitioner practicing in
Hanoi. For information on the types of services
provided, visit a-roamingbodyworker.com
hanoi
FOOD PROMOS
HANOI
LE BEAULIEU
CLASSIC FRENCH / BUFFET

Sofitel Metropole Legend, 15
Ngo Quyen, Hoan Kiem, Tel:
(04) 3826 6919
6am to 10am, 11.30am
to 2.30pm and 6.30pm to
10.30pm
LUNO DAUTUNNO
CLASSIC ITALIAN
27 Nam Ngu, Tel: (04) 3823
7338
11am to 11pm
This old-favourite Italian
uses traditional wood ovens
to prepare some of the citys
finest pizzas, which range
from VND80,000 to buildyour-own-skies-the-limit.
Set inside a large, thoughtful
space seasoned chefs also
make fresh pastas, soups
and cheeses the latter often bought by other restaurants. Monthly opera nights
make it well worth a visit, as
does the large wine list and
choice of desserts.
The set lunch at Highway 4 on Xuan Dieu
NINETEEN 11
Highway Four Gives

You More
Lunch or dinner, Highway
4 on Xuan Dieu is running
a small bowl and mini lau
(steamboat) promotion
at just VND99,000 per
person. Enjoy either a daily
selection of small bowl
tapas together with steamed
rice and broth of the day or
a mini steamboat together
with selected Vietnamese
appetisers and a fresh salad.
Highway 4 is at 31 Xuan
Dieu, Tay Ho, Hanoi. The
price includes free-flow iced
tea and complimentary dessert;
subject to a minimum of 2
persons
Dim Sum Mania

As always, this month
Fortuna Hotel has your
eating desires wrapped up.
Gorge yourself on all-youcan-eat dim sum, with all
your sumptuous favourites
made to order.
Offer applies Monday to
Saturday, between 11am
and 2pm. Prices start at
VND149,000++ for children
and VND298,000++ for
adults. A la carte dim sum
available from VND51,000++
per dish
Mothers Day
Treat your mum and
the whole family to a
sumptuous Sunday brunch
at Intercons Caf Du Lac

this Mothers Day. Savour
a variety of local and
international delicacies in
addition to special gifts
prepared for all female
guests.
Package applies on
Mothers Day, May 10. Prices
start at VND1,110,000++
excluding beverages and
VND1,700,000++ including
a freeflow of beer, wine, soft
drink and Martini
High Tea and Fashion

Whats more fashionable
than high tea? How about
a fashion show with your
high tea? On May 9, head to
Intercons Diplomat Lounge
to indulge in a chic spread
of catwalk-inspired cakes
and a selection of premium
English teas. Afterwards,
enjoy an exclusive fashion
show featuring the latest
designs of Chula Fashion
House and Wephobia.
Entrance starts at
VND350,000++ per adult,
with high tea served from 3pm
to 5pm. Fashion show starts
at 3.30pm
The Art of Brunch

Chef Raphael and his team
at JW Marriotts signature
restaurant, French Grill,
present a classic French
menu with a modern twist.
Start with the hors-doeuvre
buffet including a
charcuterie board a
combination of salamis and
sausages salted, smoked
and cured in-house and
Fins de Claire oysters
directly imported from
France before tucking into
imported cheeses and
signature eggs. For mains,
enjoy a luxurious medley of
lobsters, foie gras, scallops
and more.
The Art of Brunch is on
Sundays from 12pm to 3pm.
The price is VND1,500,000++
per person, excluding
beverages. For reservations
please call (04) 3833 5588 or
email minh.dang@marriott.
com
Spring Arome Festival

Indulge your sweet tooth
at the Sofitel Legend
Metropoles five-day Spring
Arome Festival, guest
starring World Champion
Pastry Chef Olivier Bajard
from Perpignan in France.
From May 6 to May
10, tuck into chocolateflavoured cocktails and
a sumptuous chocolate
buffet accompanied by
jazz performances, fashion
shows and a Mothers Day
brunch.
For more information, visit
the Sofitel Legend Metropole
Hanoi Facebook page or email
h1555-mk@sofitel.com
INTERNATIONAL / ASIAN
The Opera House, 1 Trang
3933 4801
nineteen11.com.vn
11am to 2pm, 6pm to 10pm
PANE E VINO
PAN-ITALIAN
3 Nguyen Khac Can, Hoan
Kiem, Tel: (04) 3826 9080
8am to 10.30pm
Just a stroll away from the
Hanoi Opera House and
Hoan Kiem Lake in the heart
of Hanoi, Pane e Vino serves
up authentic Italian food
and has done for as long as
anyone can remember. Renowned for the highly rated,
oven fresh pizzas and large
variety of pasta and salad
dishes look forward to fine
food done well at this eatery
that has the feel of Europe.
Huge wine lists, friendly staff
and a loveable owner.
PRESS CLUB
3rd Floor, 59A Ly Thai To,
0888
hanoi-pressclub.com
11.30am to 2pm and 6pm
to 10.30pm. Closed Sunday
lunch
Wooden flooring, paneling
and bold but subtle colours
pervade this traditional but
contemporary, fine-dining
70-seater venue close to
the Opera House. Serving
up quality cuisine for over a
decade, Press Club boasts
a bar area, two private dining rooms, including a wine
room, a library and a vast
selection of cigars, all in an elegant atmosphere. Does four
excellent wine pairing menus,
put together through the aid
of the Press Clubs extensive
new and old world wine list.
Also hosts a popular firstFriday-of-the-month party.
SATINE
CONTEMPORARY VIETNAMESE
Tel: (04) 6282 5555 ext. 6414
hoteldelopera.com
WRAP & ROLL

5th Floor, Trang Tien Plaza,
Tel: (04) 3824 3718
wrap-roll.com
The lime green walls and
bright pastel colours of
Wrap n Roll are just part
of the theme of this homegrown, Vietnamese brand
which is all about spring rolls
of all types, and healthy, Hueinfluenced cuisine. Now with
two restaurants in Hanoi
the second in Royal City.
GROCERIES & LIQUOR

CITIMART
SUPERMARKET
Ground Floor, Hanoi Towers,
Tel: (04) 3934 2999
DA LOC
WINE RETAILER
Tel: (04) 3826 2076; 65 Le
Duan, Hoan Kiem, Tel: (04)
3941 2789
Daloc.vn
FIVIMART
SUPERMARKET
27A Ly Thai To, Hoan Kiem
HANOI GOURMET
DELI / WINE SHOP

6T Ham Long, Hoan Kiem, Tel:
(04) 3943 1009
Hanoigourmet.com
The long-running Hanoi
Gourmet specialises in imported cheeses, meats and
artisan breads. After browsing the mainly French selection of wines, you can take a
look at the deli and sit down
for a light snack.
INTIMEX
VIETNAMESE SUPERMARKET
22-23 Le Thai To, Hoan Kiem
PANE E VINO WINE SHOP
WINE RETAILER / RESTAURANT

3 Nguyen Khac Can, Hoan
Kiem, Tel: (04) 3826 9080
This Italian favourite with a
huge food menu also has a
huge for-retail wine list that
is 100 percent focused on
fine wines and liquors from
Italy. Owner Hoang has great
knowledge of Italian wine and
a passion to match, which is
sure to land you with the best
wine for any occasion.
RED APRON
WINE RETAILER
10 Da Tuong, Hanoi Tel: (04)
3943 7226
WESTERN CANNED FOODS
GROCERY STORE
Tel: (04) 3934 3854
hanoi
THE THERAPIST
A DIFFICULT ADJUSTMENT
Dear Douglas,
I have lived in Vietnam for eight months
now, coming from the US. Adjusting to the
culture here has been difficult for me and
I wonder if you have any tips about how I
can do it.
I find myself frustrated almost every
day at what seems like rudeness and
inconsideration from Vietnamese people.
They never stand in line, the cashiers rarely
say thank you or act politely, they ask me
how old I am all the time and always want
to know why I am not married. The other
day one of the Vietnamese staff where I
work, whom I dont know well, told me
I look fat. My Vietnamese staff doesnt
seem to respond when they can see that
I am angry, and want them to improve
what they are doing. I am getting more
frustrated living here. Am I the only one
who feels like this?
Unadjusted
Dear Unadjusted,
Welcome to Vietnam. I am glad that you
realise that you are the one that bears the
responsibility of adjusting. Recognise
that you are not alone. Almost everyone
who lives in a culture that is different from
their own has to come to some resolution
about those differences.
Part of what makes up culture is the
norms by which it operates. Norms are
unquestioned practices that the majority of
the culture lives by. They can differ widely
and can be the catalyst for many occasions
when we feel offended or frustrated. It is
important to step back to see that norms
are innocent and are just different ways
that people have learned to do the same
thing. Often our tendency is to think that
our way is the right way, or the better way,
which makes other ways of doing things
wrong. I encourage you to avoid that kind
of thinking if you want to adjust to the
place you are living.
Lets address some of the specific
norms that you have named in your letter.
Seeing them differently might lessen the
emotional reaction you are having.
Standing in line is something, we from
the west, are taught from the first day of
school. It is deeply ingrained as a norm. We
are offended when someone cuts in line. It
is part of what we have come to think of as
fairness waiting your turn. In Vietnam
it is one of the most difficult norms to give
up. Most of us are shocked when people
around us see a gap and put themselves
in front of us. It is difficult to let go of our
This month Douglas Holwerda, American trained and licensed

mental health counsellor, talks about the process of adjusting
to Vietnamese culture
rightness and see the method of crowding
in as an acceptable norm. In reality, it is
only a different system, which accomplishes
the same result at the end of the day. I
encourage you to learn the subtleties of that
system.
Questions or comments about age,
marital status and weight are sensitive
to most westerners. So, part of adjusting
is realising the relevance they have in
Vietnamese culture. Knowing a persons
age, in Vietnam, gives information as to
how they are addressed. Em, Chi, Anh, and
Ba are used based on a persons age relative
to yours.
Marriage is an important part of
Vietnamese culture, and the frequency
of the question creates a social pressure
that influences Vietnamese young people
to marry. Conforming to these norms is
so common that it is confusing for many
Vietnamese people to meet single people
above the age of 30, and leads to questions
that can feel uncomfortable. A culture based
on tradition has norms built in that create a
pressure to conform.
It is similar when it comes to statements
about someones appearance. It is not
meant to offend, but rather to reflect a social
attitude that values conforming to norms.
When we use the term collectivist culture
it speaks to the ways that boundaries are

different between what is expected by the
family and community from that of an
individualistic society.
Expressing anger is another difference
to realise here in Vietnam. For most of us
raised in western cultures, getting angry
increases our power in the situation, even if
temporarily. In Vietnam, expressing anger is
frowned upon. Moderating ones emotions
is part of the norm that allows a collectivist
mindset to work. When someone loses
control of their emotions expressing them
intensely they lose credibility rather than
gaining power. Often the response is the
opposite of what we might be used to
less cooperation, rather than more.
There are many other examples of
cultural norms that differ and can create
confusion, frustration and judgments. It is
important to learn how to not take things
personally and to continue to be open to
differences. Whether we agree or not, the
responsibility falls on those of us who have
come from another place to live in Vietnam.
Enjoy it all,
Douglas
Do you have a question you would like
Douglass help with? You can email him at
douglasholwerda@hotmail.com. Personal details
will not be printed
tay ho
ARTS / BARS & CLUBS / BOOK SHOPS / CAFES / CLOTHING / COOKING CLASSES /
CRAFTS & FURNITURE / CYCLING & BICYCLE RENTALS / EAT / FITNESS & YOGA /
GROCERIES, LIQUOR & KITCHEN PRODUCTS / MEDICAL & DENTAL / EXPAT SERVICES
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TAY HO
DISTRICT
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Tn
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TAY TAP
Xu
BAR & GRILL

No. 20, Lane 50/59/17, Dang Thai Mai, Tay
Ho, Tel: (04) 3718 6917
taytap.com
Filled with wooden furnishings and a downstairs bar with beer and cider on tap, this
recently relocated venue next to Da Paolo
mixes contemporary international comfort
food on the first floor with live music and an
often raucous atmosphere. Amazing West
Lake views from their top floor terrace.
hi
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Di
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Thanh
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ARTS
WORK ROOM FOUR
ARTS STUDIO & GALLERY

Packexim Building Tower 1, 23rd Floor, No.
49 Lane 15, An Duong Vuong, Tay Ho
workrmfour@gmail.com
workrmfour.tumblr.com
A place to work. A space to create. Somewhere to see something new. Work Room
Four is pulling together the threads of creative endeavours across Hanoi. A collective
that promotes collaboration and new ideas,
exhibitions, workshops, artist studios, courses, contacts and events.
BARS & CLUBS

88 LOUNGE
CONTEMPORARY WINE BAR

88 Xuan Dieu, Tay ho, Tel: (04) 3718 8029.
88group.vn
5pm to late
A wine bar with a difference, this addition to
the watering hole scene in West Lake mixes
contemporary design, black ceilings, subtle
lighting and an international aesthetic with
one of the best wine lists in town. Not surprisingly it is developing a faithful clientele.
Well worth a visit.
HANOI ROCK CITY
LIVE MUSIC VENUE

27/52 To Ngoc Van, Tay Ho, Tel: 01633
166170
hanoirockcity.com
5pm to midnight
With a downstairs, English-style pub garden
area and an upstairs space dedicated to live
music and live production, Hanoi Rock City is
the only venue in the capital of its kind. Has
weekly live events featuring bands both from
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SIDEWALK HANOI
DIY BAR & EVENTS VENUE

199D Nghi Tam, Tay Ho
facebook.com/sidewalkhanoi
A bar and grill with an eclectic, DIY-style
semi-outdoor setting. Regular DJ nights and
live music add to the great ambience. Check
out their grill fare. Tasty.
Ngu
yn
Ho
ng
delivery from nearby favorites. Non-smoking,

unpretentious, dog-friendly.
Vietnam and overseas established and up

and coming. Email jimihendrix@hanoirockcity.com for more information or check out
their page on Facebook.
HOUSE OF SON TINH
LIQUOR LOUNGE
31 Xuan Dieu, Tay Ho, Tel: (04) 3718 6377
sontinh.com
8am to 11.30pm
As part of the Highway 4 group, which now
has its offices in the establishments upstairs
areas, this bar-cum-restaurant outfitted
with comfortable, stylish furnishings is famed
for its luxurious rice wine liquors and newly
created cocktail class. Does regular events
on the first floor and also has a creative Vietnamese food menu based on cuisine sold
at other restaurants in the chain.
MADAKE
CONTEMPORARY RESTOBAR
81 Xuan Dieu, Tay Ho, Tel: (04) 6276 6665
or 0984 002181
With a stunning garden overlooking a peaceful lotus pond, this bar and restaurant is ideal
for those seeking a fusion of Western and
Eastern cuisine. Famed for its many weekday and weekend events, the ambient Asianstyle dcor, weekend DJ nights and general
atmosphere makes Madake a popular West
Lake go-to joint.
RED RIVER TEA ROOM
LAKESIDE WATERING HOLE

25 Duong Ven Ho, Tay Ho
Open daily from 2pm.
Located on the lakeside lane just below Xuan
Dieu, this warm, quiet and friendly pub offers
a selection of international and local beers,
wine, cocktails and a nice view of West Lake.
Serving pies and pasties from The Cart,
Vietnamese food from Dieus next door, or
THE REPUBLIC
MODERN SPORTS BAR

7A Quang An, Tay Ho, Tel: 0904 010116
republic.vn
A contemporary mid-range bar and eatery
showing live sport and boasting a convivial
atmosphere. Has a creative comfort food
menu, excellent breakfasts, daily specials
and a popular second-floor outdoor terrace.
TRACYS PUB AND GRILL
SPORTS BAR/GRILL
40 Xuan Dieu, Tay Ho , Tel: (04) 6675 9838
tracyspub.com
11am to 12am
This Canadian-run, miniscule sports bar on
the main drag of Xuan Dieu is perpetually
crowded with regulars drinking out front
on plastic stools. Notorious for its mouthwatering burgers, cooked fresh to order,
Tracys is most famous for their draft beers,
claiming to serve the coldest draft beer in
Hanoi, and always in a frosted mug. For those
missing their dose of North American sports,
they play all day via satellite on two plasmas.
BOOK SHOPS
WEEKEND BOOKWORM
CHILDRENS & VIETNAM-THEMED BOOKS

1/28 Nghi Tam Village, Tay Ho Tel: (04) 3829
2322
Bookworm has been the cornerstone of
Hanois literary scene since 2001. While its
main store is located in Chau Long, sharing
space with Hanoi Cooking Centre, the second
edition in Tay Ho specialises in childrens and
Vietnamese themed books, as well as selling
bao cap (Subsidy Era) furniture and a range
of souvenirs and gifts. Open weekends only.
CAFES
COFFEE BEAN AND TEA LEAF
INTERNATIONAL COFFEE HOUSE

28 Thanh Nien, Tay Ho, Tel: (04) 3715 4240
coffeebean.com
hanoi
7am to 10pm
Finally the newest addition
to the Hanoi coffee scene
has opened a little closer to
town than the first outlet in
Pico Mall. Famous for the exceptional quality of the coffee and tea, the latest Coffee
Bean is a multilevel, indoor/
outdoor caf overlooking
Westlake. With its LA coffee
and office feel, when you
walk in you might just forget
that youre in Westlake.
HIGHLANDS COFFEE
CONTEMPORARY / COFFEE
CHAIN
Ground Floor, Syrena Centre, 51B Xuan Dieu, Tay Ho
highlandscoffee.com.vn
7am to 11pm
JOMA BAKERY CAFE
COFFEE/BAKERY
(04) 3718 6071
joma.biz
7am to 9pm
With two branches, Joma
has brought a little slice
of home to Hanoi for expatriates with a contemporary western feel to the
counter-style service and
atmosphere. The food is
all there too: breakfasts,
salads, soups, ice cream,
muffins, cakes, cereals and
bagels. Starting in Laos in
1996, Joma moved to Hanoi in 2009 and contributes
2 percent of each sale to
charitable organisations.
KUB CAFE
BIKING CAFE
so 12 ngo 264 Au Co, Tay Ho
kub.vn
Think obsession, think motorbikes and you get Kub
Cafe, an industrial, warehouse-style watering hole
bringing thats become a favorite of the motorbike clubs.
Does good on-the-table bia
hoi and runs biking events.
SAINT HONORE
CAFE / BOULANGERIE
5 Xuan Dieu, Tay Ho, Tel: (04)
3933 2355
st.honorehn@gmail.com
7am to 10pm
Decked out in maroon, dark
browns and cream, this
cafe and French-style boulangerie is best visited in
the morning when that Gallic, fresh-cooked aroma of
bread, croissants and patisseries hits you as you walk
through the door. Serving
all day long, the downstairs
space is split into the bakery
on one side with a small nonsmoking dining space on the
other. The homely upstairs
lounge area has standard tables as well as sofa seating.
Simple but tasty French and
international fare is served
at meal times.
TET DCOR CAF
ART CAF & ESPRESSO BAR

Villa 25, 1, 3 Ha, Dang Thai,
Tay Ho
tet-lifestyle-collection.com
8am to 6pm, Tuesday to
Sunday
Cloistered among the back
streets of West Lake and
sheltered from the noise of
Xuan Dieu, TET Dcor Caf is
a destination for those who
appreciate lifes pleasures:
coffee, food, art and music.
Simple and unpretentious,
the caf has an old-fashioned warmth and rustic feel
combined with unique and
inspiring art installations.
THE CART
SANDWICH SHOP / CAF

8B, Lane 1, Au Co, Nghi Tam
Village, Tay Ho, Tel: (04) 3938
2513
thecartfood.com
7.30am to 5pm
Small cozy caf and sandwich bar hidden away in
Nghi Tam Village. Serves
and delivers tasty baguettes,
homemade juices, quiches,
pies, muffins and cakes. The
delivery service is quick and
reliable, which makes this
lunchtime favourite ideal
for when you need to eat at
the desk.
THE HANOI BICYCLE COLLECTIVE

(THBC)
CAF / TAPAS BAR

44, Ngo 31, Xuan Dieu, Tay
Ho, Tel: (04) 3718 8246
thbc.vn
9am to 10pm
Tucked down an alleyway
just off West Lake, The Hanoi Bicycle Collective is not
just a place for all bicycle
lovers, but a caf that also
sells Spanish tapas served
up with gin & tonic, if the
mood so takes you. Organising bicycle tours, running
yoga sessions and holding
music concerts in their upstairs cafe area, they also
sell, rent and fix bikes and
are an official supplier of
TREK and SURLY cycling
equipment. Eclectic? Not a
chance!
CLOTHING
GEORGES FASHION BOUTIQUE
CONTEMPORARY WESTERNSTYLE
(04) 3718 6233
With new styles arriving in
store every second day, this
shop offers a huge range of
dresses, shirts, pants, skirts
and accessories in local and
imported fabrics. Clothes fit
all sizes, from petite to average to the generous figure.
Alterations and a made-tomeasure service are available at no extra cost.
LATELIER
WOMENS WEAR & ACCESSORIES

(04) 3718 6758
ateliervietnam.com
Stocks womens wear, leather bags, shoes and handicrafts. This chic boutique
offers both ready-to-wear
and made-to-fit clothing.
(Bamboo) and First (balance) bicycles and cycling

equipment. Also rent bicycles (city, MTB or touring)
and organise guided bicycle
tours under the name Urban
Discovery, with a 25-year
experienced European mechanic as part of the team.
Closed Mondays.
COOKING CLASSES
EAT
HIDDEN HANOI
COOKING CENTRE
147 Nghi Tam, Tay Ho, Tel:
0912 254045
hiddenhanoi.com.vn
A wide range of Vietnamese
culinary classes are offered
in these well-appointed and
clean facilities. The knowledgeable staff will guide you
through the secrets of Vietnamese cooking in an open
air courtyard.
HIGHWAY4 COOKING CLASS

VIETNAMESE COOKING CENTRE
68, Ngo 27 Xuan Dieu, Ba
Dinh, Tel: 0976 848301
CRAFTS & FURNITURE

BETTERWORLD
GLOBAL HANDICRAFTS
8 Xuan Dieu, Tay Ho
Fair trade or bought directly
from the artisans who made
them, Betterworld stocks
unusual handicrafts from
around the world as well as
second-hand books, DVDs
and more.
MEKONG QUILTS
HANDMADE / CHARITABLE
QUILTS
3926 4831
Mekong-quilts.org
Community development
non-profit quilt shop featuring handmade quilts and accessories. Styles vary from
traditional to patterned and
Asian-inspired. Founded in
2001 and with outposts in
several locations around
the region, the shop employs women in rural areas,
enabling them to make an
income and care for their
families.
CYCLING & BICYCLE RENTALS

DONS TAY HO
BICYCLE RENTALS
3719 3719
Dons-bistro.com
THBC (THE HANOI BICYCLE COLLECTIVE)
CYCLING COLLECTIVE
29 Nhat Chieu, Tay Ho, Tel:
(04) 3718 3156
thbc.vn
A place for bicycle lovers,
THBC is the official supplier
of ORBEA, DEDA, MEKONG
AL FRESCOS
(04) 3719 5322
alfrescogroup.com
8.30am to 11pm
COUSINS
3 Quang Ba, Tay Ho, Tel:
01238 670098
A contemporary, Frenchinfluenced restaurant selling international cuisine
at reasonable prices in a
spacious, airy atmosphere.
Blackboards, whitewashed,
bare-brick walls, period tiles,
a well-chosen wine list and
an outdoor terrace overlooking the lake make up the
formula.
DA PAOLO
CLASSIC ITALIAN
18 Lane 50/59/17 Dang
Thai Mai, Tay Ho, Tel: (04)
3718 6317
11am to 11pm
This airy, contemporary
looking Italian restaurant
next to the famed lawn chair
and coconut caf on West
Lake has all the right ingredients to become a classic.
Run by the long time former
manager of Luna DAutunno,
it features scrumptious
wood-fired oven pizzas from
VND120,000 and other Italian delicacies. Open every
day for lunch and dinner,
delivery is also available.
DALUVA
FUSION / MIDDLE-EASTERN
(04) 3718 5831
daluva.com
8am until late
A popular hang-out for expats and trendy Vietnamese in the Xuan Dieu area
on West Lake. This bar and
restaurant offers casual
dining with a classy, MiddleEastern twist, as well as
wine, tapas, events and attractive dcor.
DONS TAY HO
CONTEMPORARY NORTH AMERICAN

16 Quang An, Tay Ho, Tel:
(04) 3719 3719
Dons-bistro.com
Monday to Friday, 10am to
late. Weekends 8am to late
This lake-facing venue with
its top floor Oyster Bar is the
work of charismatic Canadian restaurateur and wine

connoisseur Donald Berger.
Focusing on comfort food
done well, the main restaurant menu includes anything
from wood-grilled rare tuna
steak with fragrant Chinese
black bean beurre noir to
gourmet pizza and pasta
dishes such as the likes of
Iberian pata negro ham egg
pasta served with crushed
roasted garlic and manchego. Does an excellent range
of imported oysters and has
an extensive wine list.
EL GAUCHO STEAKHOUSE
(04) 3718 6991
elgaucho.com.vn
4pm to late
This theme eatery combines
traditional Argentinian recipes and preparation with
great service in a contemporary and thoughtfully
designed space over three
floors. Already with venues
in Saigon and Bangkok, the
essence of this popular
chain is quality top grade
meats off the grill. Steak is
the mainstay, but everything
from chicken, pork and seafood is also up for grabs.
Add to this a backdrop of low
Latin music, low, subtle lighting and an extensive wine list
and thats another reason to
head to El Gaucho.
HALIA HANOI
SINGAPOREAN / CONTEMPORARY
INTERNATIONAL
(04) 3946 0121
thehalia.com
Daily 11am to 11pm
A multi-floored venue with a
bar area and a refined dining
space. The menu includes
Singaporean specialities
such as the shrimp satay
salad and the chilli crab
spaghetti. A pan-European
classical menu mixed in with
light Asian flavours is also
on offer. Has an extensive
wine list.
HEMISPHERES STEAK & SEAFOOD GRILL
CONTEMPORARY STEAK & SEAFOOD

Sheraton Hotel, 11 Xuan
Dieu, Tay Ho, Tel: (04) 3719
9000
sheraton.com/hanoi
11.30am to 2.30pm, 6.30pm
to 10pm
The newest Steak & Seafood
dining experience in Hanoi.
Hemispheres Steak & Seafood Grill offers a wonderful menu covering both the
Northern and Southern
hemispheres. Choose from
Black Angus, US Prime
Sirloin, Rib Eye, Rump and
Tenderloin grilled to perfection. Prefer Seafood no
problem, Lobster, Oysters,
Prawns, Fresh Fish, Clams
and Crabs are all available

for your dining pleasure, as
well as an impressive array
of wines by the glass & bottle
from our
INDIA PALACE
NORTH INDIAN
10B Quang An, Tay Ho Tel:
01247 668668
indiapalacehn@vnn.vn
Like a phoenix rising from
the ashes, so India Palace
has once again returned
to Tay Ho, this time on the
strip between Dons and The
Warehouse. Tasty North
Indian fare in a pleasant
environment from the team
behind Tandoor.
J.A.F.A.
INTERNATIONAL
G2-G3 Ciputra, Tay Ho, Tel:
(04) 3758 2400
7am to 11pm
One of the larger and more
comfortable bars in Hanoi,
J.A.F.A. is a great place for
drinking cocktails by the
pool. The beverages are
not the cheapest, but this is
made up for by service and
ambiance. They also have a
full menu featuring familiar
western dishes such as pizza
and cheeseburgers and cater for large parties or dinner functions. Periodic buffets and drink specials are
also offered.
KITCHEN
INTERNATIONAL CAFE FARE

(04) 3719 2679
hungskitchen@gmail.com
7am to 9pm
Set inside a newly renovated house with a large
courtyard, Kitchen is a great
space for eating the decent
breakfasts (check out the
breakfast burrito), the creatively titled sandwiches and
the selection of international
salads. Also does a range of
Mexican dishes (available
after 5pm) and an innovative smattering of healthy,
smoothie-style drinks.
LA BICICLETA
BARCELONA-STYLE BISTRO
44 Ngo 31 Xuan Dieu, Tay Ho
Tel: (04) 3718 8246
thbc.vn
Spanish Tapas fare is available elsewhere, but this is
the only eatery where it is
authentic and from Barcelona. Great selection of sandwiches, tapas and paella as
well as enormous Spanishstyle gin and tonics, Tinto
de Verano, carajillos and
sangria. Also known for its
moreish, Catalan-style desserts. Closed Mondays.
NAN N KABAB
0922 087799
Specialising in Pakistani cuisine and of course nan bread
and kebabs, this semi-outdoor,

bamboo tabled, laid back eatery
also sells fare from Afganistan
and India. In a sentence? Curry,
but not as you know it.
SAINT HONORE
BOULANGERIE / BISTRO
3933 2355
sainthonore.com.vn
7am to 10pm
Decked out in maroon, dark
browns and cream, this bakery
and French-style bistro is best
visited in the morning when that
Gallic, fresh-cooked aroma of
bread, croissants and patisseries hits you as you walk through
the door. The downstairs space
is split into the bakery on one side
with a small non-smoking dining
space on the other. The upstairs
lounge area has standard tables
as well as sofa seating. Simple
French and international fare
is served at meal times. Has additional venues at 31 Thai Phien,
Hai Ba Trung and Unimart, 8
Pham Ngoc Thach, Dong Da
THE CURRY BAR
housekeeping, safety, basic 1st

Aid, courses for external maids
and household management for
Vietnamese wives of foreigners.
FITNESS & YOGA

ELITE FITNESS
TOP-END HEALTH CENTRE

3718 6281
elitefitness.com.vn
The luxury gym features topof-the-line fitness equipment,
separate cardio and spinning
areas and an indoor swimming
pool with a retractable roof. The
spacious studios and natural
light make it a welcoming place
to squeeze in a work out, but be
prepared to pay. This place is top
of the range.
HANOI CLUB
COUNTRY CLUB
76 Yen Phu, Tay Ho, Tel: (04) 3823
8115
thehanoiclub.com
HANOI OIS
32 Tay Ho, Tay Ho, Tel: (04) 6295

0033
Serving up an intriguing mix of
Japanese, Thai and Indian curries, this small yet homely restaurant and beer drinking haunt
has garnished a strong following. And why not? What works
better than beer and curry?
hanoinetball@gmail.com
Hanoi Ois Netball Club is a mixed
ability, mixed gender club for
adults wanting to enjoy team
sport while also improving fitness and developing skills. The
club plays every Tuesday from
6pm to 7pm at UNIS. Email for
more information
THE PIE SHOP
VIETCLIMB
TAKEAWAY PIES
2nd Floor (on the left), Syrena
Center, 51 Xuan Dieu, Tay Ho,
Tel: (04) 3718 1507
thepieshophanoi@gmail.com
Classic Aussie and Kiwi-style
savoury pies and rolls. Available
in three convenient sizes (mini,
regular and large). Enjoy them
hot as a takeaway, or frozen to
keep for later.
ZENITH VEGETARIAN CAFE
VEGETARIAN / VEGAN
247 Au Co, Tay Ho, Tel: 0904
356561
zenithyogavietnam.com
8.30am to 8pm
A vegetarian and vegan cafe respecting the philosophy of yoga
simple living, mindful thinking. Using 100 percent natural
ingredients, the cuisine has no
additional additives or MSG
and is cooked using the minimal amount of oil. The stress is
instead on eating whole food in
its natural state local, fresh,
seasonal and organic.
EXPAT SERVIES
MAID IN VIETNAM
HOUSEKEEPING SERVICES
Suite 201, 5 To Ngoc Van, Tay Ho,
Tel: (04) 3718 3112
maidinvietnam.com
Offering a licensed hire service
for trained domestic and office
housemaids, cooks and nannies.
Courses include health checks,
CLIMBING CENTRE
40 Ngo 76 An Duong, Tay Ho, Tel:
0914 143185
vietclimb.vn
Although a little hard to find,
VietClimb is a French-owned,
200-meter climbing gym with
state-of-the-art courses. There
are 100 different climbing routes
within the gym that are changed
every few months. They offer
clinics, classes and childrens
events. Membership and group
rates are available, but be sure to
check out the three-month pass.
ZENITH YOGA
YOGA & MEDITATION

247 Au Co, Tay Ho, Tel: (04) 3923
0253
An international Yoga studio providing classes across a variety
of levels and styles, including
prenatal and postnatal classes,
restorative yoga, pilates and tai
chi. Also have a yogic shop offering incense, yoga and pilates
mats, books, clothes, soaps,
Himalayan products and other
essential yoga equipment.
GROCERIES, LIQUOR & KITCHEN PRODUCTS
ANNAM GOURMET
GROCERIES / DELI
First Floor, 51 Xuan Dieu, Tay Ho,
Tel: (04) 3718 4487
KITCHEN ART
KITCHENWARE
6680 2770
kitchenart.vn
Kitchen Art is a little haven for
all foodies, cooks and bakers
to grow their love and passion
for cooking and baking. Come to
Kitchen Art Store to buy restaurant-grade tools and ingredients
to cook like a chef, take part in
regular demonstrations and
workshops at the Studio, or simply read and relax at the cookbook cafe corner while enjoying
the peaceful West Lake view.
L'S PLACE
GROCERY SHOP
3719 9911
NATURALLY VIETNAM
ORGANIC / NATURAL PRODUCTS

4 Lane 67, Alley 12, To Ngoc Van,
Tay Ho, Tel: (04) 6674 4130
naturallyvietnam.com
Offers food and beverage
produced in Vietnam with full
traceability and strict food
safety controls. Meat, egg, milk,
fish, veggies, honey, jams, fruit
juices, liquors, coffee, water,
ice cream. Also, every Saturday
from 8.30am to 12.30pm, the
team convert the store yard into
the Tay Ho Weekend Market, a
cross-cultural outdoor shopping and socialising hotspot for
expats and Vietnamese.
PUNTO ITALIA
COFFEE MACHINES
62 To Ngoc Van, Tay Ho, Tel: (04)
6258 3510
puntoitalia.asia
Trendy, reliable and stylish coffee machines for the workplace
or home, specialising in authentic Italian coffee. Also sells their
own brand coffee in capsules,
ready ground or as the original
roasted mix of beans.
RED APRON
WINE RETAILER
28 Xuan Dieu, Tay Ho. Tel: (04)
3719 8337
THE OASIS
HOLISTIC HEALTH
A-ROAMING BODYWORKER
karen@a-roamingbodyworker.
com
a-roamingbodyworker.com
Provides various holistic healing modalities. Services include
craniosacral therapy, deep tissue massage, prenatal massage,
healing stones massage, as well
as energy healing including Reiki
and Jin Shin Jyutsu. Workshops
are also available.
MEDICAL & DENTAL

INTERNATIONAL SOS 24-HOUR CLINIC
MEDICAL / DENTAL CLINIC
3934 0666
Internationalsos.com
Well-known medical clinic also
known for its quality emergency
services. Doctors and consultants
also provide a range of services
from standard GP-style checkups through to vaccinations,
paediatrics and specialist care.
WESTCOAST INTERNATIONAL DENTAL

CLINIC
DENTAL CLINIC
2nd Fl, Syrena Center, 51 Xuan
Dieu, Tay Ho, Tel: (04) 3710 0555
westcoastinternational.com
The Westcoast International
Dental Clinic is composed of
dental professionals who deliver modern, high-level dental
services throughout Vietnam.
The clinic provides the highest
quality technology, comfort and
after-service care to patients.
SUPERMARKETS
BIG C SUPERMARKET
222 Tran Duy Hung, Cau Giay
CITIMART HANOI TOWERS

CITIMART VINCOM TOWERS
ITALIAN DELI
3719 1196
A great place to get all kinds of
imported groceries and homemade foods. All of the breads
and pastas are made in the inhouse kitchen. A great variety of
fresh sauces, a limited, but wellchosen selection of wines and a
fantastic deli and cheese case.
Free delivery.
191 Ba Trieu, Hai Ba Trung
THE WAREHOUSE
HANOI STAR SUPERMARKET
WINE RETAILER
27 Xuan Dieu, Tay Ho Tel: (04)
3718 3701
warehouse-asia.com
The Warehouse is Vietnams ultimate premium wine importer,
distributor, and retailer, representing many of the greatest
wines from the best wine-growing regions on the planet. The
portfolio mixes the best of both
old and new world wines.
FIVIMART
210 Tran Quang Khai, Hoan
Kiem
10 Tran Vu, Ba Dinh
671 Hong Hoa Tham, Ba Dinh
71 Nguyen Chi Thanh, Dong Da
51 Xun Dieu, Tay Ho
93 Lo Duc, Hai Ba Trung
Online shopping: www.fivimart.
com.vn
36 Cat Linh, Dong Da
INTIMEX
22 & 23 Le Thai To, Hoan Kiem
131-135 Hao Nam, Dong Da
17 Lac Trung, Hai Ba Trung
27 Huynh Thuc Khang, Dong Da
METRO
126 Tam Trinh, Yen So, Hoang
Mai
Pham Van Dong, Co Nhue, Tu
Liem
hanoi
MEDICAL BUFF
WORLD NO TOBACCO DAY 2015
unday, May 31 is World No

Tobacco Day 2015 and, while
the main objective of the day
is stopping the illicit trade of
tobacco products, it can also serve as a
time to consider quitting smoking.
Nicotine dependence smoking is
an addiction to tobacco products caused by
the drug nicotine. Cigarette, cigar and pipe
smoke contains thousands of chemicals,
including nicotine. Nicotine produces
physical and mood-altering effects in your
brain that are temporarily pleasing. These
effects lead to dependence.
Nicotine is the chemical in tobacco that
keeps you smoking. It can be as addictive
as cocaine. It increases the release of brain
chemicals called neurotransmitters, which
help regulate mood and behavior. One of
these neurotransmitters is dopamine, which
makes you feel good. Getting that dopamine
boost is part of the process of addiction.
To overcome your dependence on
tobacco, you need to deal with the
behaviours and routines that you associate
with smoking.
Your Health: The Other 4,799

Substances!
While its the nicotine in tobacco that
keeps you hooked, the toxic effects come
mainly from other substances in tobacco.
Tobacco smoke contains more than 60
known cancer-causing chemicals and more
than 4,800 other harmful substances. The

health problems are real and numerous:
Lung cancer risk increases
dramatically as well as emphysema and
chronic bronchitis.
Heart and circulatory system
problems: smoking increases your risk of
dying of cardiovascular disease, including
heart attack and stroke. Smoking 15
cigarettes a day doubles your heart attack
risk.
Smoking is a major cause of cancers
of the esophagus, larynx, throat and
mouth, and also related to cancer of the
bladder, pancreas, kidney, cervix and
stomach.
Skin structure changes causing
premature aging and wrinkles.
Increased infertility and impotence:
smoking increases the risk of infertility in
women and the chance of impotence in
men.
Pregnancy and newborn
complications: mothers who smoke while
pregnant face a higher risk of miscarriage,
preterm delivery, decreased birth weight
and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)
in their newborn.
Secondhand smoke: spouses and
partners of smokers have a higher risk of
lung cancer and heart disease, compared
with people who dont live with a smoker.
If you smoke, your children will be more
prone to asthma and ear infections.
BY DR. JONATHAN HALEVY
Halt the Habit: Always Hope!

Are you getting withdrawal cravings,
irritability and anxiety? Good news
medications and counseling both
work. Medications help you cope with
withdrawal symptoms, especially in the
first few weeks when the cravings are
strongest; while behavioural treatments
help you develop the skills you need to
stay away from tobacco over the long
run. The more time you spend with
a counselor (also available at Family
Medical Practice), the better your
treatment results will be.
Irrespective of age, your health will
benefit if you stop smoking. Just 20
minutes after your last cigarette, your
heart rate goes down. 12 hours later,
levels of carbon monoxide a toxic
gas in your blood return to normal.
Your lung function improves and your
circulation starts to get better within
three months. After a year, your risk of
having a heart attack drops by half. And
after five to 15 years, your stroke risk will
be the same as that of a nonsmoker.
Dr. Jonathan Halevy is a paediatrician
at the Ho Chi Minh City clinic. For more
medical advice visit Family Medical Practice,
vietnammedicalpractice.com or go to 298 I
Kim Ma, Ba Dinh Hanoi; Diamond Plaza,
34 Le Duan, Q1, Ho Chi Minh City; 50-52
Nguyen Van Linh, Danang
hanoi
to get dressed up for. Has extensive a la carte menus, dim
sum menus and set menus.
Reservations recommended.
ba dinh
BARS & NIGHTCLUBS / BOOKSHOPS / CAFES / CLUBS & SOCIETIES / COOKING CLASSES / EAT /
FITNESS & YOGA / HAIRDRESSERS & SALONS / MEDICAL & DENTAL
BARS & NIGHTCLUBS

BARBETTA
ARTSY BAR & CAFE

34C Cao Ba Quat, Ba Dinh,
Tel: (04) 3734 9134
ETE BAR
FRENCH LOUNGE
95 Giang Van Minh, Ba Dinh,
Tel: 0976 751331
10am to midnight
A favourite among those who
roam further west of the
city centre, this multi-storey
restobar has been going
strong for more than two
years. It has balconies, mezzanine seating and a long bar
guarding exactly 50 different
cocktails. For many the Ete
burger is right on the mark
as are the sandwiches, tartines and salads. Its always
crowded especially during the weekends. Amiable
staff, pleasant vibes.
ALTERNATIVE DANCE CLUB

18 Thanh Nien, Ba Dinh
facebook.com/vaulthanoi
The work of Mao, the enigmatic personality behind
Maos Red Lounge and The
Coach House, this underground homage to nighttime
decadence sits in the gap
between The Old Quarter
and West Lake, bringing in a
range of DJs and nightly entertainment. A great addition
to the scene.
BOOKWORM
BOOK SHOP
44 Chau Long, Ba Dinh, Tel:
(04) 3715 3711; 1/28 Nghi
Tam Village, Tay Ho Tel: (04)
3829 2322
Bookworm has been the cornerstone of Hanois literary
scene since 2001. It has
been around the block quite
a bit and now shares a space
with Hanoi Cooking Centre.
With over 15,000 new and
second-hand fiction and
nonfiction titles in stock, the
shop also buys used books
and offers free travel advice.
Has a second shop in Tay Ho
CAFES
CONG CAPHE
LEFTIST ARTSY CAFE

32 Dien Bien Phu, Ba Dinh,
Tel: (04) 2247 0602
8am to 10pm
With a kitsch, communistdriven theme saturating this
quaint cafe, most patrons
are young Vietnamese bohemians and artsy expats.
Sip on a blended cup of joe
with beans from the Central
Highlands, knock back one
of the many different types
of tea available or sip on
freshly squeezed juice from
the Spartan cups in one of
the hippest cafes on cafe
street. If you like pre-doi
moi nostalgia, here is the
place to go.
HANOI COOKING CENTRE CAF
COURTYARD CAFE
44 Chau Long, Ba Dinh
9am to 5.30pm. Open every
day
Relax in a leafy courtyard,
air-con dining room or under
a covered roof terrace with
a Vietnamese ca phe, Italian
coffee, beer, wine or freshly
squeezed juice. Order from
a seasonally changing
menu or try one of the allday breakfast specials for
VND110,000, including juice
and coffee or tea.
MANZI
ARTS CAF & GALLERY

14 Phan Huy Ich, Ba Dinh,
Tel: (04) 3716 3397
facebook.com/manzihanoi
A stunningly designed contemporary caf and events
space that screams out the
words modern art. Housed
in a converted colonial-era
villa, a continuous flow of exhibitions, talks, experimental music and game shows
make up the mix here. Great
cuisine, too.
CLUBS & SOCIETIES

GOETHE INSTITUT
GERMAN CULTURAL CENTRE

58 Nguyen Thai Hoc, Ba Dinh
Tel: (04) 3734 2251
goethe.de/hanoi
COOKING CLASSES
HANOI COOKING CENTRE
COOKING CENTRE
inh T
in H o n g
HIGHWAY 4
Hng
Bi
Q u n
Phng
Nguyn
Tri Ph
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B Tr
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Ho
BOOKSHOPS
Trn
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Khm Thin
C
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Kh
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Hong
Hng
Th
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Tn
Ho
H
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Th
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Th
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Trn
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Na
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Giai
L iu
La
Diu
Vng
Vn
Cao
Liu
Giai
Ct Lin
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L Dun
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B
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Ln
ng
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Trn Ph
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Hc
L Thi T
nh
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La Th
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Cha Lng
Hu
Ngu
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Xu
Sn Ty
Kim M
La
T
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Phng
g
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L
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nh
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H
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Kim M
THE VAULT
Phan
nh
Th
Ph
Qun
Hong
Hoa
Th
m
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Kh
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hT
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Ca B
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Thanh
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Lo
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Ho
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Hong Quc Vit
boo seating and a history

that screams empathy make
this eatery one of the most
popular Indians in town. Selling an international version
of the mighty curry they
even sell pork and beef here
the menu keeps to the
northern part of the subcontinent with masala, dopiaza,
korma and the more Goan
vindaloo taking centre stage.
Also has a good range of
breads and tandoor-cooked
kebabs.
n
Y
BA DINH
DISTRICT
Trn Nhn Tng

(04) 3715 0088
hanoicookingcentre.com
Hanoi Cooking Centre is a
school, retail outlet and caf,
where you can find classes
on not just Vietnamese
cooking, but international
cuisine, held in a beautiful
setting. They also offer culinary tours.
EAT
AU LAC DO BRAZIL
BRAZILIAN CHURRASCO
6A Cao Ba Quat, Ba Dinh, Tel:
(04) 3845 5224
aulacdobrazil.com
Open for over a decade,
Au Lac Do Brazil is home to
the Hanoi's best Churrasco
menu with a wide variety of
meats from Calabrian sausage and picanha through
to D-rump steak and smoked
hams. Pioneering the eat-asmuch-as-you-can theme in
Vietnam, Passadors bring
the meat skewers to your
table, and you, the customer
then choose your accompaniments from the salad bar.
Best washed down with red
wine or a Caipirinha or five.
FOODSHOP 45
MING PALACE
INTERNATIONAL INDIAN
59 Truc Bach, Ba Dinh, Tel:
(04) 3716 2959
10am to 10.30pm
Lakeside location, low bam-
VIETNAMESE / ETHNIC
575 Kim Ma, Ba Dinh, Tel: (04)
3771 6372
10am to midnight
HOA SUA TRAINING RESTAURANT

SONG THU
(04) 3942 4448
hoasuaschool.com
KOTO ON VAN MIEU
RESTAURANT / CAF / BAR

59 Van Mieu, Dong Da, Tel:
(04) 3747 0337
koto.com.au
Monday: 7am to 4pm;
Tuesday to Sunday: 7am to
9.30pm
All profit is invested back into
the cause at Koto, which is a
school and workplace for
disadvantaged students opposite the Temple of Literature. Authentic Asian and European cuisine comes out of
a visible and frenetic kitchen
and is served over four big
floors of restaurant space.
Its cushioned, comfortable
and has a rooftop terrace,
too. Wrap it yourself nem,
bun bo Nam bo, Koto burgers, pastas, fish and chips,
chicken Kievs and sandwiches all under one homely roof.
MATCHBOX
INTERNATIONAL / VIETNAMESE
40 Cao Ba Quat, Ba Dinh, Tel:
(04) 3734 3098
11am to 11pm
MAY MAN CHINESE CUISINE
PAN-CHINESE
Fortuna Hotel, 6B Lang Ha,
Ba Dinh, Tel: (04) 3831 3333
fortuna.vn
11am to 2pm, 5.30pm to
10pm
Elegant and luxurious, May
Man has long been regarded as one of the best Chinese restaurants in Hanoi.
Showcasing a selection of
authentic Chinese culinary
delights and Yum Cha at its
finest, with seven private
dining rooms this is a place
PAN-CHINESE
Sofitel Plaza, 1 Thanh Nien,
Ba Dinh, Tel: (04) 3823 8888
11am to 2pm, 5.30pm to
10pm
A fine dining destination at
the Sofitel Plaza serving
Cantonese and pan-Chinese
cuisine in a sleek modern
setting with private dining
rooms. With more than 80
dim sum selections available
along with Chinese entrees,
Mings is an ideal eatery for
those hungry for higher end
Chinese fare.
THE BISTRO
FRENCH FLAIR
2/2c Van Phuc, Ba Dinh, Tel:
(04) 3726 4782
thebistro.com.vn
7.30am to 9pm
A modern eatery offering
western cuisine with shades
of French influence in a comfortable setting. Think gardens in a courtyard, drink
and food deals and a warm
indoor atmosphere you
know, just how the French
do it.
FITNESS & YOGA

N SHAPE FITNESS
MID-RANGE FITNESS CENTRE

5th Floor, 71 Nguyen Chi
Thanh, Ba Dinh, Tel: (04)
6266 0495
nshapefitness.vn
HAIRDRESSERS & SALONS

DINH HAIR SALON
HAIR SALON
2A Cua Bac, Ba Dinh, Tel:
0987 718899
MEDICAL & DENTAL

FAMILY MEDICAL PRACTICE
MEDICAL
298 I Kim Ma, Ba Dinh, Tel:
(04) 3843 0748
vietnammedicalpractice.
com
On the little street directly
below Kim Ma, with all sorts
of specialists including OB/
GYN, Pediatricians and ENT.
A Medium-sized practice
with both Vietnamese and international doctors, but they
are used to treating expats.
Also a 24-hour emergency
service.

simply email us on
well try our best
hanoi
BOOK BUFF
CAPTURING THE CITY
This month, Bookworms Truong takes a look at Hanoi on the printed page
e can always tell how good

a photographic book about
Hanoi or other parts of the
country is by gauging its
appeal on Vietnamese readers.
Two recently published books have
triumphed in the most critical test we could
give them. We offered 50 Hanoians from
different walks of life the opportunity to
have a book on loan for a day or two. Only
one copy of each book was used, and at
the end of the trial their dog-eared, wellthumbed pages attested to the mostly fivestar approval ratings.
Ha Noi Capital City

This hefty, coffee table-sized 300-pager
with more than 600 high-quality images
comes with the seal of the Goethe-Institut,
with backing from a host of German
sponsors. Its text is in Vietnamese, English
and German, and editor Michael Waibel has
used the photographs, essays and design
skills of a host of talented Vietnamese and
expats.
There are six sections, ranging from
aerial views of the city, change over time,
architecture and housing, people of the city,
urban transport and the soul of the city. The
city is considered as a whole entity, without
preference for any particular quarter.
Mostly the text escapes the triteness or
cuteness that too often occurs when expats
have their say, and does not founder on
suppositions or emotive banalities.
Its a very rare book, a must-have. With
future updates, it should remain at the top
of the heap.
Tourists have only one complaint: its too
heavy to carry home!
Vietnam Twenty-Five Years

Documenting a Changing Country
If you were the child of a very famous
parent, youd probably think about

changing your name if you couldnt live
up to the golden aura that emanates from
him or her.
Catherine Karnow doesnt have to worry.
Her photographic skills have allowed her
to live up to her famous patronym.
Her father, Stanley Karnow, wrote what
is considered to be the definitive book
on the French and American conflicts in
Vietnam last century. The mini-series based
on it is history at its best.
Catherines Vietnamese photography
book is more a fascinating documentary
of her travels into Vietnam, beginning in
1990 when she first came with her father.
This opened the doors of photographic and
experiential opportunity to her.
She was invited by General Giap to
accompany him on his first return to the
battlefields of Dien Bien Phu, 30 years after
the struggle he masterminded, which put
him in the upper echelons of international
military history.
But Catherines photographic
documentation doesnt stop with past
history, and her most recent prints show
her compassionate understanding of the
country.
Prints from the book were exhibited last
month at Art Vietnam, and the response
from Vietnamese viewers was phenomenal.
One featured photo is of a woman on
the Reunification Express train, which was
used on the cover of the 2007 edition of
Lonely Planet Vietnam.
Bajo La Gloriosa Bandera Del

Partido
On a different tip, what is now a rare
item has come into our possession. Its a
Vietnamese publication aimed at a Cuban
audience, covering Vietnamese history from
the time of the 1858 French Invasion up to
Liberation in 1975, and the expulsar a los

Yanquis.
It highlights a time when, besides Cuba,
Vietnams greatest allies were the USSR,
East Germany, Laos, Cambodia, Mongolia,
Poland, Czechoslovakia and North Korea.
We assume that this brilliantly informative
book was also published for distribution in
their languages.
Its a book for connoisseur collectors of
Vietnamese history.
Old Saigon The Color Of

Nostalgia
Architect and artist Trong Lee is in love
with Saigon, and to celebrate he has
published the most delightful book of
fanciful and factual architectural buildings
and places in Saigon.
His first emphasis is on century-old,
symbolic buildings in the city, and the
drawings will appeal to aficionados of
the Art Nouveau/Aubrey Beardsley-style
prints.
The second section is a portrait of
street architecture in old town Saigon in
1969, with pen-and-ink and watercolour
drawings that are reminiscent of Parisian
cityscapes for sale as you stroll along the
Seine.
Lee is fascinated, too, with old modes of
city travel, and combines the two types of
drawing to portray canal boats through to
late 1960s motorised transport.
A section of drawings of historical
advertisements rounds off the book.
The first few pages are devoted to
exquisitely drawn and coloured floor tiles,
and these alone are worth the price of
admission.
Vietnamese readers also gave this book
both thumbs up!
For more information on Bookworm go to
bookwormhanoi.com
hanoi
Tel: (04) 3974 3556
vinmec.com
elsewhere
A DONG PHOTO CO
BARS & CLUBS / CAFES / EAT / MEDICAL & DENTAL / RECREATION
RECREATION
KEANGNAM SWIMMING POOL
BARS & CLUBS

CAMA ATK
MUSIC & ARTS BAR

73 Mai Hac De, Hai Ba Trung,
Tel: 01262 054970
Wednesday to Saturday,
6pm to midnight
With well-poured drinks, a
foosball table, no smoking
and a midnight closing time,
CAMA ATK knows exactly
what it wants to be and
thats refreshing. The space
is a part time venue for
smaller acts and DJs. The
venue is hip, comfortable
and will likely provide the serious drinker with a reliable
place to pull up a stool and
take pulls in a relaxed haven.
HOA VIEN BRAUHAUS
CZECH MICROBREWERY
1A Tang Bat Ho, Hai Ba
Trung, Tel: (04) 3972 5088
VUVUZELA
MODERN BEER HALL

2A Tran Thanh Tong, Hai Ba
Trung
CAF 129
MEXICAN/COMFORT FOOD
129 Mai Hac De, Hai Ba
Trung, Tel: (04) 3821 5342
7.30am to 9.30pm
FRENCH GRILL
JW Marriott Hanoi, 8 Do Duc
Duc, Me Tri, Tu Liem, Tel: (04)
3833 5588
facebook.com/frenchgrill
Every day 6pm to 11pm
With unique decor, contemporary ambience, a walk-in
wine cooler and a delectable seafood bar, this classy
restaurant offers guests
a service experience with
crafted food difficult to find
in the capital.
HIGHWAY 4
VIETNAMESE / ETHNIC
54 Mai Hac De, Hai Ba Trung,
Tel: (04) 3796 2647
10am to midnight
CAFES
KOTO ON VAN MIEU
CONG CAPHE
LEFTIST ARTSY CAFE

152D Trieu Viet Vuong, Hai
Ba Trung
8am to 10pm
With a kitsch, communistdriven theme saturating this
quaint cafe, most patrons
are young Vietnamese bohemians and artsy expats.
Sip on a blended cup of joe
with beans from the Central
Highlands, knock back one
of the many different types
of tea available or sip on
freshly squeezed juice from
the Spartan cups in one of
the hippest cafes on cafe
street. If you like pre-doi
moi nostalgia, here is the
place to go.
HAM HANH
ARTSY CAFE
170 Doi Can, Dong Da
The physical representation of arts, film and music
collective, The Onion Cellar,
this cafe with multiple areas
is as left field as the people
who created it.
RESTAURANT / CAF / BAR

59 Van Mieu, Dong Da, Tel:
(04) 3747 0337
koto.com.au
Monday: 7.00am to 4pm;
Tuesday to Sunday: 7am to
9.30pm
All profit is invested back into
the cause at Koto, which is a
school and workplace for
disadvantaged students opposite the Temple of Literature. Authentic Asian and European cuisine comes out of
a visible and frenetic kitchen
and is served over four big
floors of restaurant space.
Its cushioned, comfortable
and has a rooftop terrace,
too. Wrap it yourself nem,
bun bo Nam bo, Koto burgers, pastas, fish and chips,
chicken Kievs and sandwiches all under one homely roof.
KY Y
JAPANESE RICE EATERY

166 Trieu Viet Vuong, Hai Ba
Trung, Tel: (04) 3978 1386
11.30am to 1.30pm, 5pm to
10.30pm, closed Sunday
SUSHI RESTAURANT
288 Ba Trieu, Hai Ba Trung,
Tel: (04) 3974 5945
asahisushi.vn
11.30am to 2pm, 6pm to

9.15pm
Situated in an art-deco villa
that was once owned by
a Vietnamese mandarin,
this establishment is now
owned and run by perhaps
the most famous French chef
in the country. With modestly
priced set lunches and subtle Vietnamese touches on
the dishes, which primarily
come from carefully selected domestic spices, the up
market establishment lures
in its high class customers
with quality VietnameseFrench fusion cuisine.
rant, bar and lounge blends

the old with the new. Vietnamese fusion cuisine, like
profiteroles with green tea
and caf fillings, a private
chefs table with a kitchen
view, and an extensive wine
list combined with modern
formal styling bring a unique
experience to Hanoi.
WILD LOTUS
CONTEMPORARY ASIAN / VIETNAMESE

55A Nguyen Du, Hai Ba
Trung, Tel: (04) 3943 9342
57 Bui Thi Xuan, Hai Ba
Trung, Tel: (04) 3944 0204
potsnpans.vn
11.30am to late
Brought to you by a group of
former disadvantaged youth
from Hanois own KOTO, this
unique fine dining restau-
ROYAL CITY ICE SKATING RINK
ALPHA LAPTOP
95D Ly Nam De, Hoan Kiem
Tel: 3747 4418
FUONG MAY ANH

5 Trang Thi, Hoan Kiem
Tel: 3213 1568
NGUYEN CAU
ICE SKATING
Royal City, 72A-74 Nguyen
Trai, Thanh Xuan, Tel: 0936
469799
royalcity.com.vn
1 Ba Trieu, Hoan Kiem
X-FACTORY LASER TAG
HI-TECH USA
LASER TAG
77 Hong Mai, Bach Mai, Hai
Ba Trung, Tel: (04) 3627 7106
x-factory-vn.com
DK COMPUTER
29 Ngoc Kha, Ba Dinh Tel:
3772 4772
23 Hai Ba Trung, Hoan

Kiem. Tel: 3938 6261
PICO PLAZA
35 Hai Ba Trung, Hoan
Kiem
MEDICAL & DENTAL

POTS N PANS
SWIMMING POOL
Landmark 72 Tower, Pham
Hung, Cau Giay, Tel: (04)
3772 3801
landmark72.com
128 Hang Trong, Hoan

Kiem . Tel: 3826 0732
FRENCH HOSPITAL
INTERNATIONAL HOSPITAL
1 Phuong Mai, Dong Da, Tel:
(04) 3577 1100
hfh.com.vn
VINMEC INTERNATIONAL HOSPITAL

458 Minh Khai, Hai Ba Trung,

simply email us on
well try our best
PROFESSIONAL COMPUTER
CARE AND IT SERVICES
No 3, Alley 8, Hoa Lu,
Hai Ba Trung. Tel: 0983
011081
VIETSAD
34B Ly Nam De, Hoan Kiem
Tel: 3747 8771
SWIMMING POOLS
ARMY HOTEL
33C Pham Ngu Lao, Hoan
Kiem. Tel: 3825 2896
FOUR SEASONS
14 Dang Tien Dong, Dong
Da. Tel: 3537 6250
HANOI CLUB
76 Yen Phu, Tay Ho
Tel: 3823 8115
www.hanoi-club.com
HORISON FITNESS CENTER

40 Cat Linh, Ba Dinh
Tel: 3733 0808
MELIA HOTEL
Kiem. Tel: 3934 3343
OLYMPIA
4 Tran Hung Dao, Hoan
Kiem. Tel: 3933 1049
SAO MAI
10 Dang Thai Mai, Tay Ho
Tel: 3718 3161
SOFITEL PLAZA FITNESS

CENTER
1 Thanh Nien, Tay Ho
Tel: 3823 8888
THAN NHAN
EAT
ASAHI SUSHI
ELECTRONICS
LA VERTICALE
CONTEMPORARY FRENCH
19 Ngo Van So, Hai Ba Trung,
Tel: (04) 3944 6317
verticale-hanoi.com
Vo Thi Sau, Hai Ba Trung,

(Inside the park)
THANG LOI HOTEL

200 Yen Phu, Tay Ho
Ho Chi Minh City

business buff // body and temple // coffee cup // top eats // the empty wok // student eye
// a world of good
Photo by Julie Vola
HCMC
business
ACCOUNTING & AUDITING / ADVERTISING & MKTG / BUSINESS CONSULTING / BUSINESS GROUPS / CORPORATE GIFTS & SERVICES /
EVENT MANAGEMENT / EXPAT SERVICES / HOUSING & REAL ESTATE / INSURANCE / INTERIOR DESIGN / INVESTMENT & FINANCE /
LANGUAGE SCHOOLS / LEGAL SERVICES / MANAGEMENT TRAINING / MARKET RESEARCH / PHOTOGRAPHY SERVICES / PUBLIC RELATIONS /
RECRUITMENT & HR / RELOCATION AGENTS / SERVICED APARTMENTS
ACCOUNTING & AUDITING DENTSU VIETNAM
PRICEWATERHOUSE COOPERS
Saigon Tower, 29 Le Duan,

Q1, Tel: (08) 3823 0796
pwc.com
SAIGON-EXPAT TAX SERVICES
6th Floor, Me Linh Point

Tower, 2 Ngo Duc Ke, Q1, Tel:
0938 220 255
vivianwcooper@gmail.com
TMF GROUP
Unit 501, 5th Floor, Saigon

Trade Center, 37 Ton Duc
Thang, Q1, Tel: (08) 3910
2262
Tmg-group.com
ADVERTISING & MKTG

BBDO VIETNAM
74/3 Hai Ba Trung, Q1, Tel:
(08) 3822 6662
bbdoasia.com
COWAN STRATEGIC BRAND

DESIGN
16th Floor, Bitexco Office
Tower, 1925 Nguyen Hue,
Q1, Tel: (08) 3821 3064
cowandesign.com
AB TOWER, 23rd Floor, 76 Le

Lai, Q1, Tel: (08) 3821 9005
Dentsu.com.vn
GREY GROUP
404 Vo Van Tan, Q3, Tel: (08)
3929 1450
grey.com/vietnam
INDUSTRIAL DESIGN ASIA
Duong So 12, Tran Nao, Q2,

Tel: (08) 3740 6388
industrialdesignasia.com
MARKETEERS VIETNAM
FPT Tower, 153 Nguyen Dinh

Chieu, Q1, Tel: (08) 3933
3493
marketeersvietnam.com
OGILVY & MATHER

12th Floor, Centec Tower,
7274, Nguyen Thi Minh
Khai, Q13, Tel: (08) 3821
9529
ogilvy.com
led communications company helps brands connect

and grow across Southeast
Asia. Clients include The
CocaCola Company, Asia
Pacific Breweries, Piaggio
and UPI.
PURPLE ASIA
9 Nguyen Huu Canh, Binh
Thanh, Tel: (08) 6277 7050
purpleasia.com
RED | BRAND BUILDERS
Floor 14, Citilight Tower, 45

Vo Thi Sau, Q1, Tel: (08) 3820
0169
red.vn
Long-established branding
consultancy and marketing agency. The Red team
creates and shapes unique
marketing strategies that
add impact to international
and local brands from Vietnam to Australia.
PHIBIOUS
7th Floor, 11bis Nguyen Gia
Thieu, Q3, Tel: (08) 3933
3377
phibious.com
An independent, creative
RIVER ORCHID
10th Floor HDTC Building,
36 Bui Thi Xuan, Q1, Tel: (08)
3925 2538
riverorchid.com
SAATCHI & SAATCHI

26 Tran Cao Van, Q3, Tel: (08)
3824 1207
saatchi.com
Ranked among the top 100
global advertising agencies,
S&S has worked with over
half of the 50 bestknown
brands in the world, providing advertisement planning,
direct marketing, marketing consulting and graphic
design.
TBWA\VIETNAM
4th Floor, Saigon Finance
Center, 9 Dinh Tien Hoang,
Q1, Tel: (08) 3824 5315
tbwa.com.vn
ROUSE
6th Floor, Abacus Tower, 58
Nguyen Dinh Chieu, Q1, Tel:
(08) 3823 6770
iprights.com
STAR CORPORATE VIETNAM
BUSINESS CONSULTING
BDG VIETNAM
11th Floor, Capital Place, 6
Thai Van Lung, Q1, Tel: (08)
3823 7858
Bdg-vietnam.com
33 Dinh Tien Hoang, Q1, Tel:

(08) 3911 1481
Concetti.vn
GRANT THORNTON
28th Floor, Saigon Trade
Center, 37 Ton Duc Thang,
Q1, Tel: (08) 3910 9100
Gt.com.vn
INSPIRED IMAGE
Villa 15, Duong 58, Phu
Nhuan, Thao Dien, Q2, Tel:
0916 352573
Inspiredimage.co.uk
PRISM INFORMATION
TECHNOLOGY SERVICES
4th Floor, YOCO Building, 41
A licensed foreign business group established to

represent and promote the
interests of Australian businesses operating in Vietnam,
AusCham coordinates topical breakfast seminars, social networking functions,
governmental relations
meetings and charity events.
161A/1 Nguyen Van Thu, Q1,

Tel: (08) 3911 0965
starcorpvn.com
BRITISH BUSINESS GROUP OF

VIETNAM
STRASOL GROUP INTERNATIONAL

3829 8430
bbgv.org
38 Tran Ngoc Dien, Q2, Tel:

0904 410884
TRACTUS ASIA LTD

164 Nguyen Van Thu, Q1, Tel:
(08) 6291 2205
tractus-asia.com
XAGE CONSULTANCY
CONCETTI
Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, Q1,

Tel: (08) 7305 0905
prism.com.vn
35A-1-2 Grandview, Nguyen

Duc Canh, Q7, Tel: (08) 5412
3402; 31st Floor, Saigon
Trade Centre, 37 Ton Duc
Thang, Tel: (08) 3911 0454
xageconsulting.com
BUSINESS GROUPS
AMCHAM
New World Hotel, 76 Le Lai,
Q1, Tel: (08) 3824 3562.
amchamvietnam.com
An independent association
of American and international businesses, the objective
of the American Chamber of
Commerce in Vietnam is to
promote trade and investment between the United
States and Vietnam.
AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

2nd Floor, Eximland Building,
179EF Cach Mang Thang
Tam, Q3, Tel: (08) 3832 9912
auschamvn.org
CANCHAM
Room 305, New World Hotel,
76 Le Lai, Q1, Tel: (08) 3824
3754
canchamvietnam.org
Open to all nationalities, the
Canadian Chamber of Commerce aims to create an effective network of business
associates together and to
facilitate discussion forums
about business in Vietnam.
NORDCHAM
17th Floor, Petroland Tower,
12 Tan Trao, Q7, Tel: (08)
5416 0922
nordcham.com
PHILIPPINES BUSINESS GROUP

VIETNAM
40/4 Pham Viet Chanh, Binh
Thanh, Tel: (08) 3518 0045
pbgvn.com
SINGAPORE BUSINESS GROUP

6th Floor, Unit 601, Tran Quy
Building, 57 Le Thi Hong, Q1,
Tel: (08) 3823 3046
sbghcm.org
SWISS BUSINESS ASSOCIATION

42 Giang Van Minh, Q2, Tel:
(08) 3744 6996
swissvietnam.com
HCMC
CORPORATE GIFTS & SERVICES
AMBRIJ VIETNAM LTD
14-16-18 Chu Manh Trinh,
Q1, Tel: (08) 3824 8364
ambrij.com
ENDO
406/16 Cong Hoa, Tan Binh,
Tel: (08) 6292 2045
endo.vn
Endo offers garment manufacturing for local resorts,
restaurants, hotels, golf
courses, travel agencies
and apparel shops. They
also manufacture giftware
from polos and hoodies to
keychains, card holders and
menu covers.
EVENT MANAGEMENT
CENTERPIECE EVENT ORGANIZERS
Tel: 0906 761190
centerpiece-vn.com
info@centerpiece-vn.com
Centerpiece is an independent event planning company
run by expatriates that can
plan any event from private
parties, to corporate events
to weddings.
EPICURE PARTY & EVENT CATERERS

30, Street 40, Thao Dien, Q2
Tel: (08) 6260 7172
epicure.com.vn
Epicure is a fresh, modern
and creative corporate and
private event catering company that upholds traditional
service values. The entire
team constantly aims to provide superb food made only
from the finest, sustainably
sourced ingredients.
GALA ROYALE EVENT HALL

63 Mac Dinh Chi, Q1, Tel: (08)
3825 6048
galaroyale.com.vn
ONE WORLD TOURISM CO, LTD

268/3 Nguyen Thai Binh, Tan
Binh, Tel: (08) 6299 0880
THE CATERERS
46D Vuon Lai, Tan Phu, Tel:
(08) 3812 6901
thecaterersvietnam.com.vn
Offers everything from canaps and cocktails, buffets
and set menus to barbeques
and wedding catering. Combines excellent food, event
management and exclusive
venues to make any kind of
event a success.
EXPAT SERVICES
CHUMS HOUSE
121/21 Bui Vien, Q1, Tel: (08)

3920 7237
HAPPY HOUSE
32-34 Ngo Duc Ke, Suite 701,

Q1, Tel: 01659 419916
RESIDENT VIETNAM
Unit 601 48 Hoa Su, Phu
Nhuan, Tel: (08) 2226 8855

residentvietnam.com
HOUSING & REAL ESTATE

CBRE
12th Floor, Me Linh Point
Tower, 2 Ngo Duc Ke, Q1, Tel:
(08) 3824 6125
cbre.com
JONES LANG LASALLE

26th Foor, Saigon Trade
Center, 37 Ton Duc Thang
Q1, Tel: (08) 3910 3968
joneslanglasalle.com.vn
Jones Lang LaSalle
(NYSE:JLL) is a professional
services and investment
management firm offering specialized real estate
services to clients seeking
increased value by owning,
occupying and investing in
real estate. As a truly global
firm, they work and collaborate closely with their
colleagues across Asia Pacific and around the world to
bring best-in-class services,
people, and systems to their
clients in Vietnam.
Their offices in Ho Chi Minh
City and Ha Noi offer: Tenant
Representation, Office Leasing, Retail Services, Valuation and Advisory,
Research and Consulting,
Investment Sales and Acquisitions, Residential Agency,
Industrial Agency, Project
and Development Services,
Property Asset Management
Services, Hotel Investment
and Consultancy Services,
Integrated Facilities Management.
COLLIERS INTERNATIONAL VIETNAM

Bitexco Office Building, 7th
Floor, 19-25 Nguyen Hue,
Q1, Tel: (08) 3827 5665
colliersmn.com/vietnam
CREATION
International Plaza Building,
Room 16B8, 343 Pham Ngu
Lao, Q1, Tel: (08) 6291 7553
CUSHMAN & WAKEFIELD VIETNAM

Unit 16, 14th Floor, Vincom
Center, 72 Le Thanh Ton Q1,
Tel: (08) 3823 7968
cushmanwakefield.vn
EASY SAIGON
Tel: 0932 112694
easysaigon.com
The Easy Saigon website is
a useful real estate website
helping expats to find apartments in Ho Chi Minh City.
Enquiries via their website
are welcome.
KNIGHT FRANK
Suite A, level 7, VTP Office
Building, 8 Nguyen Hue, Q1,
Tel: (08) 3822 6777
knightfrank.com.vn
Founded in 1896, Knight
Frank has grown to become
the worlds largest privately
owned global property agency and consultancy. In Viet-
nam, they offer commercial,

residential and residential
development services.
NAMHO
USE CORPORATION
48A Tran Ngoc Dien, Thao
Dien, Q2, Tel: 0989 007700
namhouse.com.vn
Expert in providing rental
properties, constructions
and interior decoration,
especially in District 2. Supports professional services
and aftersales.
SAVILLS VIETNAM LTD

Fideco Tower, 18th Floor,
81-85 Ham Nghi, Q1, Tel: (08)
3823 9205
savills.com.vn
Savills Vietnam is a leading
property service provider
in Vietnam since 1995, providing research, advisory
services, residential sales,
commercial leasing, asset
management, retail advisory, valuation, investment
advisory and other services.
BLUE CROSS VIETNAM

4th Floor, Continental Tower,
81-85 Ham Nghi, Nguyen
Thai Binh Ward, D1
Tel: (08) 3821 9908
inquiry@bluecross.com.vn
www.bluecross.com.vn
Blue Cross Vietnam is part
of the Pacific Cross group
of companies with over 60
years experience in providing health and travel insurance to people and businesses who call Asia home.
Their reputation for transparent, honest and reliable
service means they are the
strength behind your insurance. To make sure you are
getting the most out of your
insurance contact them for
a free quote.
IGLOBALASSIST
Iglobalassist.com
james.pruss@aol.com
SNAP
LIBERTY INSURANCE
32 Tran Ngoc Dien, Thao

Dien, Q2, Tel: (08) 3519 4282
snap.com.vn
Owners of Snap Caf in District 2, Snap offers a web
based real estate search
service with information on
rental properties all around
the city, as well as an advisory service for those averse
to wading into the internet
depths for their needs.
15th Floor, Kumho Asiana

Plaza, 39 Le Duan, Q1, Tel:
(08) 3812 5125
libertyinsurance.com.vn
SOTHEBYS INTERNATIONAL
REALTY
Suite 1905, Bitexco Financial
Tower, 2 Hai Trieu, Q1, Tel:
(08) 3520 2000
sothebysrealty.com.vn
THE NEST
369/6 Do Xuan Hop, Phuoc
Long B, Q9, Tel: 0903 198901
thenest-vietnam.com
Wellknown property
search and real estate
agency with a useful website
listing properties available
for rent and sale, orientated
towards expats. Website is in
English, French and Spanish.
INSURANCE
BAOVIET INSURANCE
49D Phan Dang Luu, Binh
Thanh, Tel: (08) 3510 1661
baoviet.com.vn
IF CONSULTING
IBC Building, 3rd Floor, 1A
Me Linh Square, Q1, Tel: (08)
3827 7362
insuranceinasia.com
Independent advisors that
represent top reputable
medical insurers provide
you with the best suitable
medical cover for individual,
family or company needs.
For emergencies call 0903
732365
PRUDENTIAL
25th F, Saigon Trade Centre,
37 Ton Duc Thang, Q1, Tel:
(08) 3910 1660
prudential.com.vn
TENZING PACIFIC SERVICES

181 Dien Bien Phu, Q1, Tel:
(08) 3821 5367
ten-pac.com
A full-service insurance broker offering a wide range of
insurance solutions from the
best local and international
providers. Recommendations are based exclusively
on client needs.
(08) 3742 4040

aisvietnam.com
The Australian International
School is an IB World School
with three world-class campuses in District 2, offering
an international education
from kindergarten to senior
school with the IB Primary
Years Programme (PYP),
Cambridge Secondary Programme (including IGCSE)
and IB Diploma Programme
(DP).
CITYSMART
Horizon Tower, 214 Tran
Quang Khai, Q1, Tel: (08)
3526 8833
7 Street 2, Cu Xa Do Thanh,
Q3, Tel: (08) 3832 8488
citysmart.vn
CitySmart delivers a range
of diverse, internationallyrecognised educational
programmes, as well as life
skills and character building
for comprehensive development.
BRITISH INTERNATIONAL
SCHOOL (BIS)
Tel: (08) 3744 2335
bisvietnam.com
Inspected and approved
by the British Government,
BIS provides a British style
curriculum for an international student body from
pre-school to Year 13. The
school is staffed by British
qualified and trained teachers with recent UK experience. Fully accredited by
the Council of International
Schools and a member of
FOBISIA, BIS is the largest
international school in Vietnam.
CANADIAN INTERNATIONAL
SCHOOL
13C Phong Phu Commune,
Binh Chanh, Tel: (08) 5412
3456
cis.edu.vn
The first Canadian international school in Vietnam
serves local and foreign
students from Kindergarten
to grade 12. Talented, certified teachers implement the
internationally recognised
Ontario curriculum to create a student-centred learning environment promoting
academic excellence.
EUROPEAN INTERNATIONAL
SCHOOL HO CHI MINH CITY (EIS)
730 F-G-K Le Van Mien, Thao
Dien, D2, HCMC, Vietnam.
Tel: (08) 7300 7257
info@eishcmc.com
www.eishcmc.com
Located in the heart of Thao
Dien, District 2, the EUROPEAN International School
Ho Chi Minh City offers a
supportive and challenging
academic education from
Early Years to Grade 12
based on the IB curriculum.
EIS is a Nobel Talent School
and is part of the Nobel Education Network. The school
educates global citizens to
enjoy learning, inquiring and
caring for others.
GYMBOREE PLAY & MUSIC OF

VIETNAM
Somerset Chancellor Court,
1st Floor, 21-23 Nguyen Thi
Minh Khai, Q1, Tel: (08) 3827
7008
gymboreeclasses.com.vn
INTERNATIONAL SCHOOLS
ABC INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL
(ABCIS)
Saigon South Campus 1 (Primary & Secondary), Tel: (08)
5431 1833; Saigon South
Campus 2 (Foundation Stage
& Early Primary), Tel: (08)
5431 1833
theabcis.com
Rated as outstanding by
British government inspectors, academic results puts
ABCIS among the top 8 percent of schools worldwide.
Provides education for two
to 18 year olds in a supportive and friendly environment.
AUSTRALIAN INTERNATIONAL
SCHOOL (AIS)
Xi Campus, 190 Nguyen Van
Huong, Q2, Tel: (08) 3519
2727; Thao Dien Campus,
APSC Compound, 36 Thao
Dien, Q2, Tel: (08) 3744
6960; Thu Thiem Campus,
264 Mai Chi Tho (East-West
Highway), An Phu, Q2, Tel:
ETONHOUSE INTERNATIONAL
PRE-SCHOOL HO CHI MINH CITY
1st and 2nd floor, Somerset
Vista, 628C Hanoi Highway,
An Phu, Q2
Tel: (08) 6287 0804
etonhouse.vn/schools/hcmc
info@etonhouse.vn
Following an international
curriculum for children
aged 18 months to six
years, in the early years,
an Inquire-Think-Learn approach is followed, inspired
by the Reggio Emilia Project
of Northern Italy. It is a
play-based, inquiry model in
which children co-construct
their learning in close, respectful collaboration with
their teachers. This helps
us provide an environment
where children take responsibility for their own learning, allowing them a head
start in life.
Energized Engaged Empowered
INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL HO CHI

MINH CITY (ISHCMC)
(08) 3898 9100
admissions@ishcmc.edu.vn
www.ishcmc.com
The most established international school in HCMC,
ISHCMC recently celebrated
20 years of success. A fully
accredited IB World School,
authorised to teach all three
programmes of the International Baccalaureate curriculum to students aged 2
to 18 years, ISHCMC is fully
accredited by both the Council of International Schools
(CIS) and the New England
Association of Schools and
Colleges (NEASC), two of the
most prestigious international accreditation organisations. Has over 1,000 students from over 50 different
nationalities.
HCMC
BUSINESS BUFF
THE GREAT SQUANDERERS
his column often looks at people

with immense wealth and how
they got it, but its equally
important to keep money once you
get it. Whether inherited, won, earned
through sports or hard corporate work,
these people at one point had a fortune
and then in spectacular fashion lost it all.
Pyramid Schemes
With a fleet of jets and a collection of
yachts, Texas-born billionaire Allan
Stanford exuded the wealthy lifestyle. At
his peak he was listed as one of the richest
men in America, with an estimated worth
of US$2.2 billion. But in 2009, Stanford was
convicted of offering fraudulent highinterest certificates of deposit from his
offshore bank in Antigua, and using client
funds to feed his lavish lifestyle. More than
20,000 investors have yet to see a return
on their money. Stanford is serving a term
of 110 years for his role in the US$7 billion
dollar international Ponzi scheme.
Hate to Burst Your Bubble

In 2008, San Quinn was known as Irelands
richest man with a net worth of US$6 billion
dollars. In 2007, Quinn sunk a good part
of his personal fortune into Anglo Irish
Bank, an aggressive lender to Irelands
construction barons. Within just a few
months of Quinns investment the bank
suffered massive losses, as the countrys
property bubble finally burst. Ireland

nationalised the bank a year later to prevent
further collapse, but in doing so it wiped out
Quinns investment of US$2.8 billion dollars.
The new bank, IRBC, then seized ownership
of his companies, including the Quinn
Group, and forced him and his family off
the board, leaving the family with less than
US$15,000 in cash in three bank accounts.
The Bill Gates of Bankruptcy

Masayoshi Son lost a whopping US$70
billion of his net worth, but remains the
second-richest person in Japan. In 1981,
Son, dubbed The Bill Gates of Japan,
started Softbank, which became Japans
largest telecommunications and internet
corporation. During the dotcom boom,
Softbank was valued at US$180 billion
dollars, and Sons net worth was US$78
billion. During the internet crash of 2004,
Softbanks stock went down 98 percent and
Son lost the largest amount of money ever
by an individual in history. Undeterred, Son
and Softbank bounced back a few years later.
Not the Worlds Richest Man

Brazilian born Eike Batista was once the
worlds eighth-richest man. He would often
boast that one day he would be the richest
person on the planet. Instead, he lost most
of his US$33 billion fortune in 16 months
when OGX, the oil exploration company he
controlled, went bankrupt.
BY SHANE DILLON
Batista built a super-port five hours

north of Rio De Janerio, bought trucking
companies and built oil tankers in
anticipation of drilling OCXs supposedly
oil rich fields. However, the amount of oil
in the companys land reserves proved to
be exaggerated, and Batistas promises to
investors were nothing more than hot air.
Four out of five oil fields he owned have
since been abandoned.
Sibling Rivalry
In the 10 years after their fathers death,
billionaires Anil and Mukesh waged war
against each other. Mukesh, the richest man
in India, owns telecommunications giant
Reliance Industries. His brother Anil owns
Reliance Communications, which boasts
over 150 million cellphone subscribers,
millions of miles of fiber-optic cable, and
tens of thousands of cell phone towers.
In 2013, the brothers took steps to merge
the two companies and thaw relations
between them. Within minutes of that
announcement, stock in the two companies
immediately rose, but it still wasnt enough
to save them from losing billions during the
rupee crash of May 2013. Mukesh lost US$5.6
billion dollars of his personal wealth within
four months. His brother, Anil, lost US$1.3
billion dollars during the same period.
Shane has yet to make a fortune he can
squander. He can be contacted at shanedillon@
bluecross.com.vn
HCMC
CINEMAS
Showcasing the latest
Hollywood blockbusters
and 3D cinematic sensations, chains such as
Megastar Media, Lotte
and Galaxy Cinema offer
the most up-to-date and
modern cinema-going
experiences in Saigon.
For those partial to more
esoteric and independent flicks, smaller outlets such as Cinebox and
Idecaf carry little known
Vietnamese and European
efforts.
CINEBOX
240 Ba Thang Hai, Q10
Tel: (08) 3862 2425
cinebox.vn
LOTTE CINEMA
13th Floor, Diamond Plaza,
34 Le Duan, Q1
Tel: (08) 38227897
3rd Floor, Lotte Mart, 469
Nguyen Huu Tho, Q7
Tel: (08) 3775 2521
lottecinemavn.com
GALAXY CINEMA
230 Nguyen Trai, Q1
Tel: (08) 3920 6688
116 Nguyen Du, Q1
Tel: (08) 3823 5235
246 Nguyen Hong Dao,
Tan Binh
Tel: (08) 3849 4567
galaxycine.vn
IDECAF
31 Thai Van Lung, Q1
Tel: (08) 3829 5451
idecaf.gov.vn
MEGASTAR CINEMA
Level 5, Crescent Mall,
Nguyen Van Linh, Phu My
Hung, Q7
Tel: (08) 5412 2222
Level 10, CT Plaza, 60A
Truong Son, Tan Binh
Tel: (08) 6297 1981
Level 5, Parkson Paragon,
3 Nguyen Luong Bang,
Phu My Hung, Q7
Tel: (08) 5416 0088
megastar.vn
KIDS CLUB SAIGON

79/7 Pham Thai Buong, Q7;
27/3 Ha Huy Tap, Q7, Tel:
(08) 5412 5944
kidsclubsaigon.com
Early childhood centres in
Phu My Hung offering creative play-based programmes
for children ages two to five.
Known for unique facilities,
experienced staff, highquality learning resources,
and small class sizes.
KINDERMUSIK EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION CENTRE

Crescent Residence 2, 107
Ton Dat Tien, Q7, Tel: 0907
099 480
kindermusik-vietnam.com
INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL SAIGON

PEARL (ISSP)
Thanh Tel: (08) 2222 7788
admissions@issp.edu.vn
Set in a purpose-built campus, International School
Saigon Pearl (ISSP) is an
elementary school catering for ages 18 months to
11 years. With 90 percent
of their teachers having
masters degrees, they are
able to promise a vigorous
American curriculum while
including specialist subjects
such as music, art, sport and
languages.
LITTLE GENIUS INTERNATIONAL

KINDERGARTEN
102 My Kim 2, Phu My Hung,
Q7, Tel: (08) 5421 1052
lgkids.vn
MONTESSORI INTERNATIONAL
SCHOOL
42/1 Ngo Quang Huy, Q2,
Tel: (08) 3744 2639
montessori.edu.vn
Aiming to encourage childrens engagement with their
surroundings, MIS offers
children from age three to 12
a classic Montessori education as well as a variety of
extracurricular activities.
RENAISSANCE INTERNATIONAL
SCHOOL SAIGON
74 Nguyen Thi Thap, D7,
Tel: (08)3773 33171 ext
120/121/122
renaissance.edu.vn
Renaissance is an International British school providing an inclusive curriculum
based upon the British curriculum complemented by
the International Primary
Curriculum and International Baccalaureate. It is a
family school with first-class
facilities including a 350seat theatre, swimming pool,
mini-pool, play-areas, gymnasium, IT labs, music and
drama rooms, science labs
and an all-weather pitch.
SAIGON KIDS EDUCATIONAL

CHILDCARE CENTRE
15 Street 12, perpendicular
to Tran Nao, Q2, Tel: (08)
3740 8081
saigonkidskindergarten.
com
SKECC has evolved over 10
years to create a creative,
playful learning environment for children ages two
to six. Limited class sizes and
highly engaged teachers ensure personal attention for
all students.
SAIGON SOUTH INTERNATIONAL

SCHOOL (SSIS)
78 Nguyen Duc Canh, Q7, Tel:
(08) 5413 0901

ssis.edu.vn
Offers an American-style education (SAT, IB and AP) from
elementary to high-school,
emphasizing a multicultural
student environment and a
commitment to wellrounded
education at all levels.
SAIGON STAR INTERNATIONAL

SCHOOL
Residential Area No. 5,
Thanh My Loi, Q2, Tel: (08)
3742 7827
saigonstarschool.edu.vn
Supported by the Cambridge
International Primary Programme, SSIS integrates
Montessori methods into
nursery and kindergarten
programmes to create a
stimulating learning environment. Small class sizes
allow experienced teachers
to cater to individual needs.
SMARTKIDS
1172 Thao Dien Compound,
Q2, Tel: (08) 3744 6076; 26,
Street Nr. 10, Thao Dien, Q2,
Tel: (08) 3898 9816; 15 Tran
Ngoc Dien, Thao Dien, Q2, Tel:
(08) 3519 4236
smartkidsinfo.com
This international childcare
centre provides children
ages 18 months to six years
with a high quality education
in a playful and friendly environment.
TOTAL WEALTH MANAGEMENT
66/11 Pham Ngoc Thach,

Q3, Tel: (08) 3820 0623
t-wm.com
VINACAPITAL
17th Floor, Sun Wah Tower,
3821 9930
vinacapital.com
A leading investment fund
management company with
extensive experience in the
emerging Vietnam market.
Manages the Vietnam Opportunity Fund (VOF), which
is a US$839 million investment fund.
LANGUAGE SCHOOLS
ILA VIETNAM
146 Nguyen Dinh Chieu, Q3,
Tel: (08) 3521 8788
ilavietnam.com
A foreign-owned education
and training company that
offers a range of educational
programmes, such as English-language tuition, university pathway programmes,
corporate training, teacher
training and overseas study
consultancy and placement
services.
LATELIER
33/19 Quoc Huong, Thao
Dien, Q2, Tel: 0908 381492
latelier-anphu.com
VIETNAMESE LANGUAGE GARDEN
172-180 Nguyen Van Huong,

Q2, Tel: 0903 952223
tas.edu.vn
135/10 Nguyen Cuu Van,

Binh Thanh, Tel: 0916 670
771
vietnameselanguagegarden.com
VAS
VLS SAIGON
THE AMERICAN SCHOOL
98 Cach Mang Thang Tam,

Q3, Tel: (08) 3930 7278
vas.edu.vn
INTERIOR DESIGN
PROFESSIONAL PAINTING AND
REMODELING
Tel: 0936 330869 (Darren
Hawk)
Thinking about upgrading a
bathroom? Perhaps a new
colour in the living room?
Maybe even a new wood
floor? Professional Painting
and Remodeling can help
with these and many other
projects. Provide international standards of quality
as well as professional and
timely service at reasonable
rates. Call today to schedule
a free evaluation.
INVESTMENT & FINANCE

DRAGON CAPITAL
45 Dinh Tien Hoang, Q1, Tel:

(08) 3910 0168
vlstudies.com
Offers courses ranging
from basic conversational
Vietnamese to upper elementary, intermediate and
advanced levels, as well as
special courses including
Vietnamese literature, composition or a 6-hour survival
crash course.
VNC VIETNAMESE LANGUAGE

TRAINING & TRANSLATION
37/54 Tran Dinh Xu, Q1, Tel:
(08) 6678 0914
vnccentre.com
VUS
189 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai,

Q1, Tel: (08) 3925 9800
vus-etsc.edu.vn
LEGAL SERVICES
ALLENS
1901 Me Linh Point, 2 Ngo

Duc Ke, Q1, Tel: (08) 3823
9355
dragoncapital.com
Suite 605, Saigon Tower, 29

Le Duan, Q1, Tel: (08) 3822
1717
vietnamlaws.com
THE ETHICAL
INVESTMENT GROUP
BAKER & MCKENZIE
27 Thai Van Lung, Q1, Tel:

(08) 3822 0907
ethicalinvestmentgroup.
co.uk
12th Floor, Saigon Tower,

3829 5585
bakermckenzie.com
FRASERS LAW COMPANY
MEKONG RESEARCH
Unit 1501, 15th Floor, The

Metropolitan, 235 Dong Khoi,
Q1, Tel: (08) 3824 2733
frasersvn.com

Thanh, Tel: (08) 6258 6314
mekongresearch.com
GIDE LOYRETTE NOUEL A.A.R.P.I.

18 Hai Ba Trung, Q1, Tel: (08)
3823 8599
gide.com
CentrePoint Building, Level

4, 106 Nguyen Van Troi, Phu
Nhan, Tel: (08) 3997 8088
vn.nielsen.com
INDOCHINE COUNSEL
TNS VIETNAM
Unit 4A2, 4th Floor, Han Nam

Building, 65 Nguyen Du, Q1,
Tel: (08) 3823 9640
indochinecounsel.com
MAYER BROWN JSM

17th Floor, Saigon Tower,
3822 8860
mayerbrownjsm.com
MANAGEMENT TRAINING
EMBERS ASIA
80-82 Phan Xich Long, Phu
Nhuan, Tel: (08) 3822 4728
embers-asia.com
ERC INSTITUTE VIETNAM

38/ 6G Nguyen Van Troi, Phu
Nhuan, Tel: (08) 6292 9288
erci.edu.vn
G&H
6th Floor, Yoco Office Building, 41 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai,
Q1, Tel: (08) 3821 9919
ghmsglobal.com
A 100 percent foreigninvested company focusing on
management services and
consulting with inhouse
programmes to meet the
particular requirements of
its clients. Offers teambuilding and academicbased
business and management
programmes.
XAGE CONSULTANCY
35A-1-2 Grandview, Nguyen
Duc Canh, Q7, Tel: (08) 5412
3402; 31st Floor, Saigon
Thang, Q1, Tel: (08) 3911
0454
xageconsulting.com
MARKET RESEARCH
CIMIGO
Thanh, Tel: (08) 3822 7727
cimigo.vn
An independent marketing
and brand research specialist operating in the Asia
Pacific region. Services include auditing and optimising research programmes,
knowledge management,
developing marketing plans
and business models and
assessing market opportunities.

com
NIELSEN

3930 6631
Tnsvietnam.vn
With over 11 years in the
marketplace, TNS Vietnam
offers all three major market
research services customisation, access panels
and media monitoring to
a range of local and international clients.
PHOTOGRAPHY SERVICES
DRAGON IMAGES
Crescent Plaza, 105 Ton Dat
Tien, Q7, Tel: 01643 172 660
dragonimages.asia
Dragon Images production
studio is a professional team
of photographers, stylists.
shooting administrators,
casting managers and retouchers. They make photos
on various topics, from business to sport.
PUBLIC RELATIONS
MATTERHORN COMMUNICATIONS
Level 5, 273-273B Ben
Chuong Duong, Q1, Tel: (08)
3838 5517
matterhorncommunications.com
Providing public relations
and communications support to international and
local firms operating in
Vietnam. Specialising in
corporate communications,
media relations, corporate
social responsibility and
media and issues management and training.
VERO PUBLIC RELATIONS

7th Floor, 5B Ton Duc Thang,
Q1, Tel: (08) 6291 0462
veropr.com
Helps clients expand their
footprints in Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand and Myanmar through effective
public relations campaigns.
Services offered include
branding, media relations,
event management, public
affairs and issues / crisis
management.
RECRUITMENT & HR
ADECCO VIETNAM
11th floor, Empire Tower, 26
- 28 Ham Nghi, Q1, Tel: (08)
3915 3430
adecco.com.vn
Adecco is the world leader in
human resources solutions.
Established in Vietnam in
2011, Adecco offers a wide
array of global workforce
solutions and specialises in
finance & legal, sales, mar-
HCMC
BODY
he myth of calories in versus

calories out just doesnt want
to die! Calories are a part of the
picture but the conventional
weight loss idea puts way too much
emphasis on the importance of energy
i.e. calories.
So often I do assessments on peoples
lifestyle and nutrition, and find that they
are vitamin and mineral deficient their
body is in a state of crisis, they are loaded
with toxins and they have grinded their
metabolisms down. We should be focusing
on consuming a nutrient-rich diet and forget
about counting calories if your body is
healthy and in balance you will naturally
feel full and not over-consume.
The Math
The calorie theory states that one pound of
fat contains 3,500kcal of energy. Therefore,
to lose a pound of fat you simply need to eat
3,500 fewer calories than your body needs to
lose 1 pound of fat. Full stop.
But calories are not an exact number.
These are general values expressed across
entire food groups.
More importantly, human basal
metabolic rates (calorie expenditures) are all
predictions. The only way to measure exact
BMR is with a gas analysis machine. To use
a weight and height formula to accurately
estimate the energy output of a humans cell
is never going to be exact. Two people could
be the same height and weight, but have a
totally different composition and extremely
AND
TEMPLE
CALL FOR A RE-COUNT
different metabolisms.
The whole premise of counting calories
is to reduce consumption by a few hundred
calories to lose weight. What if the formula
produces a number that is a few hundred
calories incorrect?
The Biology
Lets forget about these glaring issues
regarding energy values, and look at how
the body responds to a reduced calorie
intake. Your body doesnt know that you
have read a diet book. It thinks you have
been stranded in a remote area and have
been forced into a life-threatening situation,
and it tries to look after you to survive.
Your body is in survival mode when you
work in a calorie deficit, so it needs to dump
the part of you that uses the most energy.
This is the lean muscle. Your body hangs on
to the fat both because it uses up less energy,
and because it is going to be a valuable
reserve if you are stranded for a long time.
Our bodies are programmed for survival.
Weight can reduce quite rapidly to start
with, but then our bodies adjust to the food
deprivation and having fewer calories. We
then lose lean muscle, store fat and slow our
metabolism down dramatically. Our bodys
ability to survive will always win through.
Francis Benedict, in 1917, was the first
person credited for conducting calorie deficit
experiments. Researchers have shown that
in the Francis Benedict study, and every
subsequent study where a calorie deficit
has been created in a human, the outcome
BY PHIL KELLY
has been some weight loss, accompanied

by immense hunger and tiredness with an
overwhelming desire to want to eat more and
do less.
Theres also 1945s Minnesota Starvation
Experiment the definitive calorie-deficit
study. 36 men were put on a 1,500 to 1,600
calorie a day diet with a moderate walk
scheduled each day, says Zoe Harcombe,
one of the UKs leading dieticians, and an
expert in this subject.
They lost a fraction of the weight that
the 3,500 formula would have predicted.
The men turned into hungry, miserable,
food-obsessed shadows of their former
selves. Within six months, researchers
found it increasingly difficult to induce any
further weight loss, even dropping calorie
intake to around 1,000 calories a day. Some
men started regaining at a calorie level that
should have seen them continuing to lose
weight. Within weeks of the conclusion of
the experiment, the men had regained all
weight loss, plus about 10 percent.
The fact is there is almost a centurys
worth of crushing evidence that the calorie
theory doesnt work. But our society holds
onto it for dear life. The mantra of do more,
eat less for weight loss seems to be only
making society fatter. Its time for a recount
and more crucially, to start counting more
important dietary elements.
Phil is founder and master trainer at Body
Expert Systems. Contact him on 0934 782763 or
at his website bodyexpertsystems.com or through
Star Fitness (starfitnesssaigon.com)
HCMC
keting & events, IT, engineering & technical, and office.
office moves and pet relocations.
HR2B/TALENT RECRUITMENT JSC
CROWN RELOCATIONS
1st Floor, Thien Son Building,

5 Nguyen Gia Thieu, Q3, Tel:
(08) 6288 3888
hr2b.com
2nd Floor Coteccons Office

Tower, 236/6 Dien Bien
Phu, Binh Thanh, Tel: (08)
3840 4237
crownrelo.com
G.A. CONSULTANTS VIETNAM

CO., LTD.
Ho Chi Minh Office: Room 2B2C, 2nd Floor, 180 Pasteur,
District 1, HCMC.
Ha Noi Office: Room 603, 6th
Floor, 535 Kim Ma Street, Ba
Dinh District, Hanoi.
www.vieclambank.com
info@vieclambank.com
VieclamBank is a brand of
G.A. Consultants Vietnam - a
Human Resources Consulting company with 100% Japan investment. Established
in 2006 in Vietnam, the company focuses on recruiting
executive and senior level,
providing Vietnamese and
Japanese candidates with
experience studying abroad
or working in foreign companies. A quick, effective
and competitive service
suitable for many types of
business.
VIETNAMWORKS.COM
130 Suong Nguyet Anh, Q1,
Tel: (08) 5404 1373
vietnamworks.com
RELOCATION AGENTS
AGS FOUR WINDS (VIETNAM)

5th Floor, Lafayette De Saigon, 8A Phung Khac Khoan,
Q1, Tel: (08) 3521 0071
agsfourwinds.com
A global leader in international removals and relocations, with 130 offices
globally, we can move your
property to and from any
location.
JVK INTERNATIONAL MOVERS

1st Floor, Saigon Port Building, 3 Nguyen Tat Thanh, Q4,
Tel: (08) 3826 7655
jvkasia.com
Focused primarily on the international and local movement of household goods,
JVK is a leader in the field.
LOGICAL MOVES VIETNAM

396/4 Nguyen Tat Thanh,
Q4, Tel: (08) 3941 5322
logicalmoves.net
Specialists in international,
local, domestic and office moves for household
goods and personal effects
through our global partner
network. Experts in exporting used scooters that do not
have documentation.
RESIDENT VIETNAM
Unit 601 48 Hoa SU, Phu
Nhuan, Tel: (08) 2226 8855
residentvietnam.com
SANTA FE RELOCATION SERVICES

8FL, Thien Son Building, 5
Nguyen Gia Thieu, Q3, Tel:
(08) 3933 0065
santaferelo.com
With over 150 offices around
the world, Santa Fe offers
local and international
moving, pet transportation, relocation services
including home search, orientation, cultural training,
immigration services and
records management. Email
Vietnam@santaferelo.com
for info.
SERVICED APARTMENTS
ALLIED PICKFORDS
12th floor, Miss Ao Dai Building, 21 Nguyen Trung Ngan,
Q1, Tel: (08) 3910 1220
alliedpickfords.com
With more than 800 offices
in over 45 countries, Allied
Pickfords is one of the worldwide leaders in removal services. In Vietnam, Allied also
provides tailored relocation
services.
ASIAN TIGERS MOBILITY

Unit 9.3, Floor 9, Ree Tower,
9 Doan Van Bo, Ward 12,
District 4, HCMC, Tel: (08) 3
826 7799
www.asiantigers-mobility.
com
Asian Tigers is one of the
largest regional move management specialists, with
services including door-todoor moving, housing and
school searches, local and
DIAMOND ISLAND LUXURY RESIDENCES

No 01 Street No.104-BTT,
Quarter 3, Binh Trung Tay,
Q2. T: 0968 293388 / (08)
3742 5678
enquiry.hochiminh@theascott.com
the-ascott.com
Diamond Island Luxury
Residences offers 68 fullyfurnished apartments, from
two to four-bedroom units
with spectacular panoramic
views of the city. Each apartment comes with a fullyequipped kitchen, en-suite
bathrooms, separate work
and living areas, a balcony,
modern amenities, elegant
furnishings and carefully
chosen trimmings.
CAM LY HOTEL & APARTMENT

656 Cach Mang Thang Tam,
Q3, Tel: (08) 3993 1587
camlyapartment@hcm.
vnn.vn
CITYVIEW

3822 1111
cityview.com.vn
INTERCONTINENTAL ASIANA
SAIGON RESIDENCES
Crn. of Nguyen Du & Le Van
Huu, Q1, Tel: (08) 3520 8888
intercontinental.com/saigonres
Adjacent to the InterContinental Asiana Saigon youll
find 260 luxurious and spacious residential suites. The
residences offer panoramic
views of the downtown area.
NORFOLK MANSION
1719-21 Ly Tu Trong, Q1,
Tel: (08) 3822 6111
norfolkmansion.com.vn
Offers a wide choice of luxurious and modern furnished
accommodation with attentive and discreet service.
Facilities include an outdoor
swimming pool, a gym, sauna
and steam room, as well as
two on-site restaurants.
RIVERSIDE APARTMENTS
(08) 3744 4111
Riverside-apartments.com
Over four Saigon Riverbank
hectares, Riverside Apart-
ments combines a resort

lifestyle with the amenities
of a fully serviced-apartment. Located minutes from
downtown by high-speed
boat shuttle.
SEDONA SUITES
65 Le Loi, Q1, Tel: (08) 3822
9666
sedonahotels.com.sg
SHERWOOD RESIDENCE
127 Pasteur, Q3, Tel: (08)
3823 2288
sherwoodresidence.com
Sherwood Residence is a
luxurious serviced apartment property where modern living spaces meet prime
location, comfort and class,
with fivestar facilities and
service.
fully equipped kitchen where

guests can prepare a meal
for themselves, their family
and friends.
AIRLINES
AIR ASIA
www.airasia.com
THE LANDMARK
5B Ton Duc Thang, Q1, Tel:
(08) 3822 2098
thelandmarkvietnam.com
65 serviced apartments located in the city centre overlooking the river. Also has a
comprehensive health club
for tenants and members,
a squash court and a 16th
floor swimming pool.
SPORTS GARMENTS
AIR FRANCE
130 Dong Khoi, Q1
Tel: 3825 8583
www.airfrance.com.vn
AIR MEKONG
1st Floor, Centre Point
Building, 106 Nguyen Van
Troi, Phu Nhuan
Tel: (08) 3846 3999
www.airmekong.com.vn
AMERICAN AIRLINES
194 Nguyen Thi Minh
Khai, Q3. Tel: 3933 0330
www.aa.com
CATHAY PACIFIC
SOMERSET SERVICED RESIDENCES
8A Nguyen Binh Khiem, Q1,
Tel: (08) 3822 8899; 21-23
Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, Q1,
Tel: (08) 3822 9197; 628C
Hanoi Highway, An Phu, Q2,
Tel: (08) 6255 9922
somerset.com
Somerset Chancellor Court,
Somerset Ho Chi Minh City
and Somerset Vista Ho Chi
Minh City serviced residences combine the space
and privacy of an apartment with the services of a
top-rated hotel. They come
with separate living and
dining areas, as well as a
SCORE-TECH
1870/3G An Phu Dong 3,
Q12, Tel: (08) 3719 9588
score-tech.net
Apparel company offering personalised sport
garments for companies,
schools and professional
sports clubs using the latest
printing technology with a
design team from Barcelona. Score-Tech controls the
whole production process
from fabric production and
printing to sewing. Big and
small orders for all sporting
and commercial needs.
5th Floor, Centec Tower,

72-74 Nguyen Thi Minh
Khai, Q3
Tel: 3822 3203
www.cathaypacific.com/
vn
CHINA AIRLINES
37 Ton Duc Thang, Q1
Tel: 3911 1591
www.china-airlines.com
JAPAN AIRLINES
3rd Floor, Sheraton Hotel,
88 Dong Khoi, Q1
Tel: 3821 9098
www.vn.jal.com
JETSTAR PACIFIC
www.jetstar.com/vn
KOREAN AIR
34 Le Duan, Q1
Tel: 3824 2878
www.koreanair.com
LAO AIRLINES
93 Pasteur, Q1
Tel: 3822 6990
www.laoairlines.com
MALAYSIA AIRLINES
Ground Floor, Saigon
Thang, Q1
Tel: 3829 2529
www.malaysiaairlines.
com
SINGAPORE AIRLINES
Saigon Tower Bulding,
Room 101, 29 Le Duan, Q1
Tel: 3823 1588
www.singaporeair.com
THAI AIRWAYS
29 Le Duan, Q1
Tel: 3822 3365
www.thaiairways.com.vn
TIGER AIRWAYS
www.tigerair.com
VIETJETAIR
www.vietjetair.com
VIETNAM AIRLINES
27B Dinh Tien Hoang, Q1
Tel: 3832 0320
www.vietnamairlines.com
HCMC
COFFEE CUP
STARTUP CAF
s this is our Favourite Things

issue, I thought that the quaint
yet delightful Startup Caf
should go in here. Ive been
frequenting the Dinh Tien Hoang branch
since it was Startup Coffee, and I have
a strange yet intense attraction to it.
Since the rebranding, Mr. Startup on
the logo has gone from a cash-grabbing
huckster who must be zonked out
of his mind on at least two-and-a-half
mochaccinos to a more sedate, bowtiewearing, less-copyright-infringing strawsipper. Gone is the Starbucksian wreath in
the backdrop, and some of the dog-eared
How to Win Friends and Influence Peopletype books have been retired in favour of
caf shelf-calibre knickknacks.
But its not the rebranding that
tipped me off that Startup was getting

serious. Its the level of the latt making,
which went from a Vietnamese caf C
to a straight-up B+, with clever rosette
patterns changing depending on the
barista, usually bang-on with foam
consistency for a mere VND29,000. No
longer do they stick in the little coffee
stirring straw to the takeaway cups sippy
hole, although the cheap lids still tend
to crumble and leak coffee. My advice,
jetsetters: get a bag.
ILOVESTARTUP
While the Wi-Fi passwords at most
cafs remain comically simple to hack
try their street address or some sort
of lame muffin come-on Startups
password is an expression of love:
ilovestartup. And they dont have to

pull teeth to elicit this. Just check their
bulletin board.
Funny drawings of the Startup guy
vie with cute love letters; the younger
Vietnamese clientele have plenty of time
on their hands. I do a bit of writing at the
Dinh Tien Hoang branch, and sometimes
get chatted up across the new community
table. But mostly its iPads, small talk and
blended drinks as far as the eye can see.
The music is often terrible, the cupcakes
are too sweet. But if youre looking for
that je-ne-sais-quoi that all comfortable
places have, Startups got you covered.
Ed Weinberg
My home away from home is at 15 Dinh
Tien Hoang, Q1, HCMC facebook.com/
STARTUPCOFFEE.VN
HCMC
downtown
DISTRICT 1
Downtown
Pham Ngu Lao
BARS & CLUBS / CAFES & ICE-CREAM / CLOTHING &

ACCESSORIES / COOKING CLASSES / CRAFTS & FURNITURE / EAT /
FITNESS, DANCE & YOGA / GALLERIES / GROCERIES, LIQUOR &
WINE / HAIRDRESSERS / MEDICAL & DENTAL / SALONS & SPAS
DANCE / NIGHTCLUB
2B-C-D Thi Sach, Q1, Tel: (08)
3825 6124
apocalypsesaigon.com
BEER REPUBLIC
MODERN BEER HALL

92 Nam Ky Khoi Nghia, Q1 Tel:
0945 858034
facebook.com/BeerRepublic
BLANCHYS TASH
RESTOBAR / NIGHTCLUB
0909 028293
Blanchystash.com
BOOTLEG DJ CAF
MINIMALIST CAF BAR

9 Le Thanh Ton, Q1, Tel: 0907
609202.
bootlegsaigon.com
Reminiscent of a New York
or London underground
watering hole, this is a great
place to enjoy Mediterranean influenced breakfasts,
lunch by day and a variety of
DJ sets by night.
BOUDOIR LOUNGE
HOTEL LOUNGE BAR

Saigon Sofitel Plaza, 17 Le
Duan, Q1, Tel: (08) 3824 1555
BROMA, NOT A BAR
COCKTAILS / ROOFTOP
3823 6838
Bromas medieval rooftopcocktail lounge conglomeration is a magnet for the
citys weirdest and coolest
events/random moments.
A sophisticated cocktail
menu and quite possibly the
best lamb burger in town.
Check out their bun bo Hueinspired cocktail.
CARMEN
LIVE MUSIC / BAR

8 Ly Tu Trong, Q1, Tel: (08)
3829 7699
CUNHOUSE
LOUNGE BAR
Hem 36, Chu Manh Trinh, Q1,
Tel: 0908 033982
TECHNO / DANCE / HIP-HOP

3A Ton Duc Thang, Q1, Tel:
0919 206461
fuse.vn
GAME ON
SPORTS BAR
115 Ho Tung Mau, Q1 Tel:
(08) 6251 9898
gameonsaigon.com
A fresh feel thanks to the
large space and light-wood
tables makes this Australian-influenced watering hole
a popular bar for televised
sports, pub food, darts, pool
and more.
HARD ROCK CAFE
LIVE MUSIC / WESTERN RESTOBAR

Kumho Asiana Plaza, 39 Le
Duan, Q1, Tel: (08) 6291 7595
hardrockcafe.vn
ICE BLUE
EXPAT BAR
3822 2644
Expats keep returning to
this smoky dive bar, largely
due to its amicable service,
brewsky-downing atmosphere, and spirited dart
games. A mainstay in the
local darts league.
LA HABANA
CUBAN / MUSIC BAR

6 Cao Ba Quat, Q1, Tel: (08)
3829 5180
lahabana-saigon.com
Cuban-themed bar and
restaurant selling an exciting range of Spanish and
Cuban cuisine, as well as a
few German favourites such
as curry wurst and Wiener
schnitzel. Nightly live music
and regular salsa classes.
LA FENETRE SOLEIL
FRENCH / JAPANESE RESTOBAR

44 Ly Tu Trong, Q1, Tel: (08)
3824 5994
A seductive watering whole
in a great corner location
thanks to its old Saigon glamour, Japanese-Vietnamese
Huu
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Ham Nghi
District 2
Hu
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District
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Ma
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AFTERHOURS LOUNGE
59 Dong Du, Q1, Tel: (08)
3823 3122
lastcallsaigon.com
If youre in need of dense,
soulful atmosphere and
maybe an artisanal cocktail on your way back from
wherever, Last Call is your
stop and fast becoming
that of the similarly inclined.
Great happy hour deals for
early evening starters.
Du
h
an
Ng
uy
en
LAST CALL
Tr
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Th
i
ie
n
an
Ba
Du
Ha
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Bi
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District 3
Kh
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APOCALYPSE NOW
FUSE
fusion cuisine, imported

beer, classic cocktails, and
entertaining music events /
DJ sets.
t
Kie
n
Va
Tr
an
TOP-END INTERNATIONAL
Park Hyatt, 2 Lam Son, Q1,
Tel: (08) 3824 1234
International dcor blends
seamlessly with local
themes. Style joins forces
with a wide-ranging drink
menu and hip dance tunes to
create one of the most tasteful if pricier bars in Saigon.
EXPAT / SPORTS BAR

58 Ton That Thiep, Q1, Tel:
(08) 3915 2853
Subtle lighting, a pleasant
ambience, a pool table and
darts, this skinny but pleasant expat bar has the feel
of a drinking man's pub. A
place to have fun, drink beer
or spirits and get in with the
party mood. Known for its 15
shooter challenge.
To
n
Ho
2 LAM SON (MARTINI BAR)
DRUNKEN DUCK
an
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Ti
BARS & CLUBS
Binh Thanh
in
h
District 4
Vo
LE RENDEZ-VOUS DE SAIGON
FRENCH BISTRO / WINE BAR

9A Ngo Van Nam, Q1, Tel: (08)
6291 0396
lerendezvousdesaigon.com
With such a meaningful
name - the meeting point
- this wine bistro boasts a
relaxed, friendly ambience,
perfect for unwinding with
an after work drink or to
enjoy time with friends.
Reasonably priced, has a
sharing French-cuisinestyle menu and an extensive
old and new world wine list.
LEVEL 23 WINE BAR
ROOFTOP LOUNGE BAR

Level 23, Sheraton Saigon
Hotel and Towers, 88 Dong
Khoi, Q1 Tel: (08) 3827 2828
sheratonsaigon.com
LEVEL 23 NIGHTSPOT
LOUNGE BAR / NIGHT CLUB

Khoi, Q1 Tel: (08) 3827 2828
sheratonsaigon.com
MAY RESTAURANT & BAR
LOUNGE BAR & RESTOBAR

19-21 Dong Khoi, Q1, Tel: (08)
6291 3686
mayrestaurant.com.vn
MARTINI BAR
LOUNGE BAR
3rd Floor, Caravelle Saigon,
19-23 Lam Son Square, Q1,
Tel: (08) 3823 4999
caravellehotel.com
Martinis with various combinations of premium spirits
and other fresh flavours
figure prominently on the
drink menu at this classic
Indochine-styled bar, all
put together by Caravelles
award-winning mixologists.
OMG!
FUSION CUISINE / LOUNGE BAR

Top Floor, 15-17-19 Nguyen
An Ninh, Q1
A contemporary and attractive rooftop restaurant with
a lounge bar just 50m from
Ben Thanh Market. Features
a glass shell modeled in the
image of the Eiffel Tower, a
jungle-like atmosphere and
views over central Saigon.
OBRIENS
IRISH BAR / INTERNATIONAL

74/A3 Hai Ba Trung, Q1, Tel:
(08) 3829 3198
irish-barsaigon.com
This Irish-themed sports
bar with classic pub dcor
is widely appreciated for its
excellent international fare,
large whiskey selection and
upstairs pool table. Great
pizzas. And for a real treat,
check out their zesty rolls.
PACHARAN
SPANISH RESTOBAR / LIVE MUSIC

97 Hai Ba Trung , Q1, Tel: (08)
3825 6024
pacharansaigon.com
Legs of Iberian ham hang
from the ceiling in the
downstairs bar of this multistorey homage to everything
Spanish. Regular first-floor
live music and excellent eats
makes it a mainstay for the
wining, dining and tapaseating crowd.
PARK LOUNGE
LOUNGE BAR & CAFE

Park Hyatt Saigon, 2 Lam
Son, Q1, Tel: (08) 3824 1234
An elegant, ground floor
venue in The Hyatt, perfect

for social and business
gatherings. As well as nightly
live music, serves afternoon
tea staples including warm
scones with generous portions of homemade jam and
clotted cream.
PHATTYS
AUSTRALIAN / SPORTS
46-48 Ton That Thiep, Q1,
Tel: (08) 3821 0796
phattysbar.com
From its roots as the famed
Caf Latin, Phattys has
become the go-to, Aussie
beer-guzzling / sports viewing emporium, showing everything from international
cricket to Aussie rules and
serving an array of pub grub
favourites.
SAIGON RANGER
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

5/7 Nguyen Sieu, Q1, Tel:
(08) 7300 0559
facebook.com/saigonranger
Aspiring to be a focal point
for artistic activities, the
space at Saigon Ranger has
been established to create
encounter and dialogue between different forms of art.
Boasts concrete floors, dark
wooden furniture, quirky
wall designs and a stage for
live music and other types of
performance.
SAIGON SAIGON BAR
LIVE MUSIC / ROOFTOP BAR

9th Floor, Caravelle Saigon,
Tel: (08) 3823 4999
caravellehotel.com
This iconic bar is a great
place to watch the sun go

down over the city and relax
for a few drinks with friends.
Has live entertainment six
nights a week courtesy of
resident Cuban band, Qvans,
from 9pm Wednesday to
Monday.
SHRINE BAR
STYLISH LOUNGE BAR

61 Ton Thap Thiet, Q1
shrinebarsaigon.com
Shrine creates a drinking
and dining experience in
a temple-like atmosphere.
Inspired by Bantay Srei, a
temple from the ancient Angkor kingdom, the walls are
covered in statues depicting
ancient Khmer gods and
kings. With ambient lighting
and town tempo music, here
its all about good cocktails
and an even better atmosphere.
STORM P
DANISH / INTERNATIONAL
5B Nguyen Sieu, Q1, Tel: (08)
3827 4738
Stormp.vn
THE CUBE BAR
HIP RESTOBAR
31B Ly Tu Trong, Q1 Tel:
0903 369798
facebook.com/thecubesaigon
A sleek, industrial looking
restobar with edgy dcor
and just a hint of Spanish
style. Tapas, sangria, Iberian-influenced cocktails and
an emphasis on all things
Latin.
THE OBSERVATORY
BAR, ART & DJ SPACE
5 Nguyen Tat Thanh, Q4, (Opposite Elisa Boat)
TOP EATS
LE TERROIR
he problem with French food is

that its just so good. If youre
cutting out carbs or restricting
fats, I recommend you avoid this
countrys cuisine altogether. On the other
hand, whats life without the good bits?
Le Terroir easily qualifies as a good bit.
Its another French-style eatery attempting
to give the Refineries and Papagayos a
run for their money, by serving up classic
French food in a relaxed, speakeasy-ish
atmosphere. Open since February, its
unassuming frontage is tucked away on
Thai Van Lung, but its very much in the
heart of Saigons restaurant district.
When you get there youre likely to meet
restaurateur Eric Van Latenstein (just call
him Eric), an ex-professional golfer and
still a daily player wholl happily show
you around his two-storey bistro. Bathed
in natural light, its rustic but comfortable
modern furniture and classic timber finishes
quickly put you at ease, transporting you
away from the hustle of Saigons streets.
Excited that we were visiting his new
enterprise he also runs two wine bars
Eric made me feel right at home. Sipping
Photos by Kyle Phanroy
French smillon at the long bar as I waited

for photographer Kyle to arrive, I definitely
had some I could be happy here vibes
going on.
No Non-sens
When I hear French restaurant, like a lot
of people, I still get worried that it might
be some kind of intimidating cultural
experience. Is my palate qualified enough
to eat here?
On that note you can relax, because Le
Terroir doesnt pretend to be five-star, and
nor does it need to be. The bistro-style
food is accomplished and delicious, and
the surroundings are top notch but its
also down to earth and unpretentious.
These are classic French dishes done very
very well. From the bar menu I couldnt
resist trying both the croque monsieur
(VND155,000) in all its cheese, ham and
bchamel-sauced glory, next to the yummy
gratinated onion soup (VND105,000),
in what must have been an unconscious
attempt to forget that it was 38 degrees
outside. I followed that up with the bouche
la reine duo (VND105,000), a signature
item Eric insisted we try. Moving onto the

mains I got trigger happy, because out
came the duck salad (VND145,000) and
the filet mignon pork (VND195,000). The
grain mustard sauce on this almost had me
dipping everything I owned into it, and
was beautifully matched with another glass
of that smooth smillon.
Satisfied that our work was done, we
were ready to say our thank yous and go
home. Not on Erics watch. Out came one
of the best chocolate mousses (VND85,000)
Ive ever had. If you only have time for
one thing, this mousse might just be it.
This was expertly paired with the Muscat
de Beaumes-de-Venise, a gem from Erics
cellar.
Full to the brim, a complimentary
espresso was in order a freebie Eric says
is part and parcel of the way he likes to do
things. So just to get this straight: he has a
great restaurant, owns a huge room full of
wine, gives out free coffee, and loves golf?
I may have just met my new best friend.
Jon Aspin
Le Terroir is at 30 Thai Van Lung, Q1,
HCMC
HCMC
HCMC
Known for its late night parties and focus on international artists, Observatory
is now at a bigger space in
District 4. Complete with a
new balcony overlooking
the Saigon River and an even
larger sound system, The
Observatory is a key node
in the Asian underground
music circuit.
THE ORIENT
SPORTS / LIVE MUSIC BAR

24 Ngo Van Nam, Q1
facebook.com/theorientbarsaigon
An attractive, spacious,
brick-wall interior, a long
bar, high table seating, big
screens, a pool table and
live music. A great venue for
a few beers and more.
VASCOS
MUSIC / LOUNGE BAR

The Square, 74/7D Hai Ba
Trung, Q1, Tel: (08) 3824
2888
Vascosgroup.com
A veteran fixture of Saigons
nightlife scene, Vascos offers a softly lit downstairs
patio, and an upstairs Blue
Room chill out lounge area
with regular live music.
VESPER GOURMET LOUNGE
INTERNATIONAL
Landmark Building, 5B Ton
Duc Thang, Q1, Tel: (08) 3822
9698
facebook.com/vespersaigon
A sophisticated yet downto-earth cocktail bar and
restaurant with subtle lighting and one of the best spirit
selections in town. Serves
creative, Japanese and
German-influenced cuisine
to supplement the drinks.
VINO
WINE BAR / TAPAS

The Square, 74/17 Hai Ba
Trung, Q1, Tel: (08) 6299
1315
1 Duong 2, Thao Dien, Q2, Tel:
(08) 6281 9059
vinovietnam.com
This downtown wine shops
terrace is a popular after
work drinking spot, where
one can select from 10
wines by the glass, a range
of imported beer, and an
excellent tapas menu. Alternatively, buy from the
great selection of wines in
the shop and pay a small
corkage.
VINYL BAR
MUSIC & SPORTS BAR

70 Pasteur, Q1 Tel: 0907
890623
vinylbarsaigon.com
A small but popular bar
with all the shenanigans of
the nightlife scene set to a
backdrop of classic 60s, 70s

and 80s tunes. Has a darts
area out back and is a popular space for watching the
live English Premier League.
BASKIN ROBBINS
ICE CREAM PARLOUR

1 Truong Dinh, Q1, Tel: (08)
7308 3131
baskinrobbins.vn
CASBAH
WINE BAR 38

3829 3968
With a huge selection of
self-imported wines from
Bordeaux, this classy but
contemporary venue is a
wine bar downstairs, and a
lounge on the first floor. Has
a French-Asian menu paired
to all the wines, with a huge
selection of the good stuff
sold by the glass.
WINE EMBASSY

13 Ngo Duc Ke, Q1, Tel: (08)
3824 7827
wineembassy.com.vn
A two-storey, contemporarydesigned wine bar serving
30 wines by the glass, all
at reasonable prices. Has
an excellent food menu to
complement the old and new
world wines.
WONDER BAR
HOSTESS BAR
54 Pasteur, Q1
Tel: 0923 337070
Decked out in white, a huge
rectangular bar takes up the
main space making this the
perfect venue for quite literally propping up the bar. Bar
games and select-your-own
music are part of the deal.
XU
CAF / LOUNGE BAR

71-75 Hai Ba Trung, Q1, Tel:
(08) 3824 8468
xusaigon.com
This iconic upmarket downtown bar is known for its
cocktails and wine list. It
serves a range of international and Vietnamese dishes to be enjoyed in its richly
decorated interior. Regular
DJ nights.
CAFES & ICE-CREAM

AU PARC
EUROPEAN / MEDITERRANEAN
23 Han Thuyen, Q1, Tel: (08)
3829 2772
Auparcsaigon.com
Set in a shophouse-style
building, Au Parc offers a
chic colonial space to indulge in sensibly priced European and Mediterranean
food complemented with
good coffee and excellent
desserts.
BACH DANG
ICE CREAM PARLOUR / CAFE

26-28 Le Loi, Q1, Tel: (08)
3829 2707
MIDDLE EASTERN
59 Nguyen Du, Q1, Tel: (08)
3824 5130
This secluded Middle Eastern coffeehouse has both
cozy indoor and rooftop
seating to admire views of
the city. With such a prime
downtown location, expect
prices to match.
CENTRO
ITALIAN / CONTEMPORARY CAFE

Tel: (08) 3827 5946
Conveniently located near
the Caravelle Hotel, this
casual cafe serves one of
the best lattes in town with
a mid-range Italian menu
including panini and other
typical fare.
COFFEE BEAN & TEA LEAF
INTERNATIONAL
Metropolitan Building, 235
Dong Khoi, Q1, Tel: (08) 3508
7285
coffeebean.com.vn
Large portioned coffee lures
customers into the flagship
store of this international
caf chain. The contemporary, yet generic atmosphere is bolstered by comfortable seating and a menu
to satisfy any sweet tooth.
CREPERIE AND CAF
FRENCH
3829 9117
Known for its fantastic
street-side seating opposite
the park on Le Duan and savoury crepes, this hang out
caf will impress you with its
location as much as its food.
FANNY

29-31 Ton That Thiep, Q1, Tel:
(08) 3821 1633
fanny.com.vn
GIVRAL CAF
INTERNATIONAL
80 Ham Nghi, Q1, Tel: (08)
3915 3704
saigongivral.com
GOODY

(08) 3829 9339
GUANABANA SMOOTHIES
CONTEMPORARY JUICE BAR

23 Ly Tu Trong, Q1 Tel: 0909
824830
guanabanasmoothies.com
An American-style juice
bar and caf dedicated
to healthy, nutricious
smoothies that avoid the local obsession with sugar and
condensed milk. A pleasant,
contemporary environment
adds to the theme.
HAGEN-DAZS

6683 5899; 20 Le Thanh Ton,
Q1, Tel: (08) 3822 0066
LUSINE
CONTEMPORARY / FRENCH
First Floor, 151 Dong Khoi,
Q1, Tel: (08) 6674 9565; 70B
Le Loi, Q1, Tel: (08) 3521
0703
lusinespace.com
French-style wooden decor
compliments the spacious,
whitewashed contemporary
interior of LUsine. A simple,
creative menu combines
with reasonably priced coffee, and a fashion store and
art gallery out back. Second
location on Le Loi.
MAGONN THE CAFE

(08) 3822 9672
magonn.vn
Nested above Magonn boutique, is a bright and inviting space for everything
from drinks to bites. Coming
with a crowd? The attic is a
quaint little spot to fit a cozy
gathering.
M2C CAFE
44B Ly Tu Trong, Q1, Tel: (08)
3822 2495
facebook.com/m2ccafe
At M2C (Modern Meets
Culture), everything gets a
touch of modernity. From
the rich menu of Vietnamese food and drinks, shows
immense local culture, done
with a modern flare. Be seen
here at one of the latest popular joint in town.
PLANTRIP CHA
TEA ROOM
8A/10B1 Thai Van Lung
Street, Q1
Tel: 0945 830905
Tea, tea and more tea, all in
a contemporary, quirky environment. At Plantrip Cha
customers go on a sensory
journey to experience the
tastes and smells of teas
from across Asia, Europe,
America and the Middle East.
THE MORNING CAFE

2nd Floor, 36 Le Loi, Q1, Tel:
0938 383330
themorningcafe.com.vn
Have a book to read? Pick a
bright spot by the window
and get snuggly with the
comfy upholstery in this
second-floor cafe. With a
cup of well-brewed coffee, accompanied by some
background jazz, it is an afternoon well-spent.
THE PRINT ROOM
CONTEMPORARY CAFE
3823 4990
Second-storey coffeehouse
offers a quiet atmosphere

to chill out or read from
their book-nook collection.
Comfortable couch seating,
open table space and a cappuccino costs VND40,000.
TRUNG NGUYEN
INTERNATIONAL VIETNAMESE
80 Dong Khoi, Q1
trungnguyen.com.vn
ZEST BISTRO & CAF
INTERNATIONAL
5 Ton Duc Thang, Q1, Tel: (08)
3911 5599
This two-storey building with
a mezzanine level boasts an
industrial style complex with
block walls, steel structures
and huge glass windows.
The mid-range menu offers
over 40 options from appetizers to desserts.

ANUPA ECO LUXE
LEATHER & JEWELLERY

9 Dong Du, Q1, Tel: (08) 3822
2394
anupa.net
Monday to Sunday, 9am to
8pm
This centrally located unique
boutique has been converted into an eco-boutique
which exclusively retails
the complete Anupa leather
and semi-precious jewellery range as well as other
unique eco brands such as
bamboo eyewear, pendant
scarves and cushion covers.
DEBENHAMS
ADULT & CHILDRENS WEAR

Vincom Center, 70-72 Le
Thanh Ton, Q1, Tel: (08) 6291
7592
GALLERY VIVEKKEVIN
DESIGN & JEWELLERY

6291 8162
galleryvivekkevin.com
9.30am to 8pm
This retail-cum-gallery
space specialises in contemporary and exclusive
handcrafted jewellery made
from handpicked gemstones
and raw materials. Exhibitions and gallery talks run
every month.
GEISHA & GEISHAS COFFEE AND

TEA HOUSE
CASUAL & EVENING WEAR

3829 4004
Contemporary ranges of
casual and evening wear
fused with Asian designs.
The apparel includes floral
dresses, jean skirts, printed
tees and street-style bags.
Enjoy a cup of coffee at their
caf after.
GINKGO
VIETNAM-THEMED CLOTHING
10 Le Loi, Q1, Tel: (08) 3521
8755
ginkgo-vietnam.com
Quality, original, Vietnamthemed tees are the showpiece at this airy French-run
store. Designs are inspired
by anything from the Vietnamese flag, local telecom
wires and motorbikes to
creative, Siddharta-style
imagery.
IPA-NIMA
BAGS & ACCESSORIES

77-79 Dong Khoi, Q1, Tel: (08)
3822 3277; 71 Pasteur, Q1,
Tel: (08) 3824 2701
ipa-nima.com
9am to 9pm
LUSINE
LIFESTYLE / ACCESSORIES
First floor, 151 Dong Khoi,
Q1, Tel: (08) 6674 9565
lusinespace.com
Exclusive labels, elegant and
sophisticated clothing and
casual high-quality cottons
are stocked at this boutique/
caf. Lifestyle accessories
include shoes, homewares,
knickknacks, cameras, stationery and a range of vintage bicycles.
MANDARINA
TAILOR-MADE SHOES
(08) 3827 5267
SONG
ASIAN / FRENCH BOUTIQUE

1st Floor, Saigon Centre, 65
Le Loi, Q1; 75 Pasteur, Q1,
Tel: (08) 3914 4088
asiasongdesign.com
T&V TAILOR
TAILORS
3824 4556
triciaandverona.com
VESPA SHOP
VESPA PRODUCTS / HELMETS
Unit 66, Saigon Square, 7-9A
Ton Duc Thang, Q1
Stocks a wide range of Vespa-inspired tidbits and memorabilia including t-shirts,
riding gear, Italian helmets,
Respro face masks, DVDs,
books, bags, magazines,
posters and more. Rental
scooters and bikes available.
COOKING CLASSES
SAIGON COOKING CLASSES BY
HOA TUC
3825 8485
saigoncookingclass.com
Learn to cook quality Vietnamese cuisine with local specialist Hoa Tuc. The
three-hour lesson, conducted by an English-speaking
Vietnamese chef, includes a
trip around Ben Thanh Market to gather fresh ingredients for the class.
VIETNAM COOKERY CENTRE

Suite 45, 4th Floor, 26 Ly Tu
Trong, Q1,Tel: (08) 3827 0349
HCMC
vietnamese-cooking-classsaigon.com
CRAFTS & FURNITURE

BELLAVITA
HIGH-END FURNITURE
Saigon Centre, 65 Le Loi, Q1,
Tel: (08) 3821 4201
bellavitafurniture.com
BOCONCEPT
DANISH FURNITURE
68-70 Dong Du, Q1, Tel: (08)
3824 6604; The Crescent
Mall, 101 Ton Dat Tien, Q7,
Tel: (08) 5413 7357
boconcept.vn
DIABOLO
FURNITURE & ACCESSORIES

3825 1803
9am to 8pm
EM EM
SOUVENIRS
38 Mac Thi Buoi, Q1, Tel: (08)
3829 4408
8am to 9.30pm
LUXURY FURNITURE IN VIETNAM

Tel: 0909 042765
luxury-furniture-vietnam.
com
A complete and exclusive
range of furniture produced
by high-end furniture producers in Vietnam and also
in Europe (Austria, Denmark,
Germany, Italy, France).
MEKONG CREATIONS
FAIR TRADE CRAFTS

35-37 Ngo Duc Ke, Q1, Tel:
(08) 2210 3110
mekong-creations.org
NGUYEN FRERES
NIK-NAKS / CRAFTS
3823 9459
8am to 8pm
NINH KHUONG EMBROIDERY
EMBROIDERED PRODUCTS
3827 9079; 42 Le Loi, Q1.
(08) 3824 7456
ninhkhuong.vn
SAPA
ETHNIC ACCESSORIES / SOUVENIRS

69 Dong Khoi, Q1
MEKONG QUILTS
HAND-MADE QUILTS
1st Floor, 68 Le Loi, Q1, Tel:
(08) 2210 3110
mekong-quilts.org
NHA XINH
HOME FURNISHINGS
2nd Floor, Saigon Centre,
65 Le Loi, Q1, Tel: (08) 3821
6115
www.nhaxinh.com
THE FURNITURE WAREHOUSE
EUROPEAN-STYLE FURNITURE
3B Ton Duc Thang, Q1, Tel:
(08) 6657 0788
thefurniturewarehouse.
com.vn
EAT
3T QUAN NUONG
VIETNAMESE BBQ
Top Floor, 29 Ton That Thiep,
Q1, Tel: (08) 3821 1631
AL FRESCOS
INTERNATIONAL
38238424
alfrescosgroup.com
The downtown outlet of
one of Vietnams most successful restaurant chains,
Al Frescos offers international, Australian-influenced
comfort fare in a pleasant
environment with efficient,
friendly service to match.
Excellent delivery service.
ASHOKA
NORTH INDIAN / CHINESE INDIAN

17/10 Le Thanh Ton, Q1, Tel:
(08) 3823 1372
33 Tong Huu Dinh, Q2, Tel :
(08) 3744 4177
ashokaindianrestaurant.
com
Long-running, awardwinning Indian restaurant
famed for its excellent kebabs, creamy curries and
Chinese-Indian fare.
AU PARC
EUROPEAN / CAF
3829 2772
auparcsaigon.com
Consistently tasty European
caf fare think deli-style
sandwiches, salads and
mezzes, plus coffees and

juices served at a popular park-side Le Duan location with classic cream and
green-tiled dcor.
BARBECUE GARDEN
VIETNAMESE / BARBECUE
135A Nam Ky Khoi Nghia, Q1,
Tel: (08) 3823 3340; 134-136
Nam Ky Khoi Nghia, Q1
barbecuegarden.com
BASILICO
Ground Floor, Kumho Plaza,
Cnr. Nguyen Du and Le Van
Huu, Q1, Tel: (08) 3520 9099
BIBI@ALIBI
5A Nguyen Sieu, Q1, Tel: (08)
3825 6257
The legendary chef Bibis
newest creation, a convivial
restaurant serving Mediterranean cuisine using fresh
products bought early morning at the market by Bibi himself. Delicious meats and fish
dishes together with the famous tarte tatin.
BLACK CAT
AMERICAN
13 Phan Van Dat, Q1, Tel: (08)
3829 2055
blackcatsaigon.com
Creatively named burgers,
tasty Vietnamese-styled
sandwiches, spiced up
cocktails, mains and more,
all served up with a Californian edge at this small but
popular two-storey eatery
close to the river.
BLANCHY STREET
JAPANESE / SOUTH AMERICAN

The Courtyard, 74/3 Hai
Ba Trung, Q1, Tel: (08) 3823
8793
The work of former Nobu
chef Martin Brito, the
Japanese-South American
fusion cuisine at Blanchy
Street is among the tastiest
and most unusual in the city.
All complemented by fresh,
contemporary decor and a
leafy terrace out front.
BOMBAY INDIAN
INDIAN MALAY
57-59 Ham Nghi, Q1, Tel:
0903 863114
BROTZEIT
GERMAN / RESTOBAR
Level 1, Kumho Link, 9 Le
Duan, Q1, Tel: (08) 3822 4206
brotzeit.co/kumholink
BUN CHA HA NOI
BUN CHA
26/1A Le Thanh Ton, Q1
CENTRAL PARC BANH MI

7 Bis Han Thuyen, Q1, Tel:
(08) 3822 8549
Part of the Au Parc group,
this miniscule, New Yorkthemed sandwich shop does
creative lunchtime fare at
excellent prices think
baguettes, wraps, focaccia
and bagels. Excellent delivery service.
CIAO BELLA
NEW YORK-ITALIAN
3822 3329
saigonrestaurantgroup.com
New York-style Italian restaurant offering a range
of tasty and affordable antipasti, pastas, and pizzas.
Friendly staff and rustic
bare brick walls adorned
with Hollywood film legends
make for a relaxed and attractive setting.
CORSO
STEAKHOUSE / INTERNATIONAL
(08) 3829 5368
norfolkhotel.com.vn
Although a hotel restaurant,
the enticing range of US and
Australian steaks plus great
grill and comfort food menu
in this contemporary eatery make for a quality bite.
Decent-sized steaks start at
VND390,000.
DRAGON NOODLE
JAPANESE NOODLES
3521 0008
ELBOW ROOM
AMERICAN
3821 4327
elbowroom.com.vn
The comfort food on offer at this striking US-style
diner ranges from meatball
baguettes to chilli burgers,
pizzas, blackened chicken
salads and a selection of
more expensive international mains.
EL GAUCHO
5D Nguyen Sieu, Q1, Tel: (08)
3825 1879
elgaucho.com.vn
A pleasant downtown eatery mixing an Argentinian
steakhouse theme with pork,
chicken, lamb, homemade
spicy sausage, skewers,
burger dishes and everything that can come off a grill.
GANESH
NORTH / SOUTH INDIAN

3823 4786
ganesh.restaurant.vn@hotmail.com
The ubiquitous mint sauce
is thick and creamy and the
curries are both authentic
and smoky. Ganesh is rated
by many as the best Indian in
town. Very friendly service.
GOLDEN ELEPHANT
CLASSIC THAI
3822 8554
saigonssk@vnn.vn
GOURMETS DELIGHT
ROAST KITCHEN CANTONESE

Unit 15, 1/F, Kumho Asiana
Saigon, 39 Le Duan, Q1, Tel:
(08) 3521 8181
gourmetsdelight.com.vn
HOA TUC
Trung, Q1, Tel: (08) 3825
1676
Highly rated restaurant
with stunning outdoor terrace. Specialities include
pink pomelo squid and crab
salad, mustard leaf prawn
rolls, fishcake wraps and
barbecue chicken in ginger,
onions and a lime leaf marinade.
HOANG YEN
PAN-VIETNAMESE
3823 1101
HOGS BREATH CAF
Ground Floor, Bitexco Financial Tower, 2 Hai Trieu, Q1,
Tel: (08) 3915 6066
hogsbreathcafe.com.vn
Mixing hearty pub grub
such as burgers, salads
and prime rib steaks with a
sports bar atmosphere, this
Australian chain also offers
regular promotions and a
4pm to 7pm happy hour. Excellent outdoor terrace.
INAHO
SUSHI / SASHIMI
4 Chu Manh Trinh, Q1, Tel:
(08) 3829 0326
JASPAS WINE & GRILL
INTERNATIONAL FUSION
Trung, Q1, Tel: (08) 3827
0931
Alfrescosgroup.com
Although a chain restaurant,
the international offerings
here are consistently good
and creative. Excellent service, an attractive outdoor
terrace area, and a good
kids menu. Check out their
pepper steaks.
KABIN
CANTONESE
Renaissance Riverside Hotel,
815 Ton Duc Thang. Q1, Tel:
(08) 3822 0033
marriott.com
Offers authentic, gourmet
Cantonese cuisine in an elegant, classic setting, with
striking dcor and the bonus of views over the Saigon
River. Dishes range from
VND80,000 to VND900,000.
KOH THAI
CONTEMPORARY THAI FUSION

Level 1, Kumho Link, 39 Le
Duan, Q1, Tel: (08) 3823
4423
Modern Thai fusion restaurant serving Thai classics
alongside tom yam cappuccinos and more. Koh Thais
creative cocktails merge
HCMC
THE EMPTY WOK

SOUR FISH SOUP
BY RICCHA ARORA
A food blogger and self-styled chef,

this month Riccha Arora returns to
one of those dishes synonymous
with Vietnam
ranslating to sour fish soup,

canh chua ca hails from the
Mekong Delta and is one of those
trademark southern Vietnamese
dishes. It is has a perfect balance of
sweetness and sourness from the
crushed pineapple and the tamarind.
The texture of the soup comes from the
fresh herbs, and vegetables like okra and
elephant ear stem.
A perfectly balanced treat of sweetness,
sourness and spice, its a fantastic
introduction to the best of Vietnamese
cuisine.
Ingredients
500g catfish steak (I used basa)
1 pinch of salt, pepper and chilli powder
2 tbsp garlic, minced
1 red chilli pepper, sliced
1 small tomato, chopped
7 cups of water
3 tbsp sugar
4 tbsp fish sauce
1/4 pineapple, thinly sliced
Photo by Kyle Phanroy
1-2 medium tomatoes, cut into wedges

6 pieces of okra, diagonally sliced
1 elephant ear stem, diagonally sliced
50g bean sprouts
1 bunch of rice paddy herbs, chopped
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1-2 sprigs of sawtooth herb and spring onion
2 tbsp tamarind pulp
Preparation
Season the catfish steaks with the pinches
of salt, black pepper and chilli powder.
Gently rub these spices on both sides of
the fish.
Then take a deep bowl and place it on
a medium flame, adding 1 tablespoon of
vegetable oil. Next, add 1 tablespoon of
minced garlic and chopped tomatoes, and
saut for 1 minute. This will give a nice
colour to the broth. Then add 6 cups of
water and bring to a boil.
In a separate bowl, add one cup of hot
water and soak the tamarind pulp for five
minutes. Once the tamarind is soft, add the
pulp to the soup bowl. Discard the seeds
and leftovers of the tamarind.

Next add sugar and fish sauce to the
soup, then add the fish steaks and cook for
5 to 7 minutes until theyre fully cooked.
Remove the fish from the soup.
Add tomato wedges, okra, elephant ear
stem and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, then add
beansprouts. Adjust the broth to your taste
if required, with extra salt, water or fish
sauce.
For garnish, heat 1 tablespoon of oil and
add 1 tablespoon of minced garlic. Saut
until the garlic is slightly golden, and
transfer to a small serving bowl.
Before serving the soup, put the fish
back into the soup bowl, heating it for 2
minutes. Add the leftover herbs and diced
red chilli pepper, and pour the fried garlic
on top.
Serve this soup hot with rice noodles,
and youve got our soup of the month!
Riccha Arora runs the Facebook page Sassy
Kitchen facebook.com/arorassassykitchen.
You can also check out her website
arorasassykitchen.com
HCMC
PROPAGANDA
Thai flavours with local seasonal fruits and

herbs.
KOTO TRAINING RESTAURANT
3rd Floor Rooftop, Kumho Link, 39 Le Duan,
Q1. Tel: (08) 3822 9357
The restaurant associated with the KOTO
vocational training school. All the staff
from bar tenders and waiting staff through
to the chefs come from disadvantaged
backgrounds and are being trained on the
jon in hospitality. Serves up tasty Vietnamese
cuisine, to boot!
LOLIVIER
FRENCH/MEDITERRANEAN
Sofitel Saigon Plaza, 17 Le Duan, Q1, Tel: (08)
3824 1555
sofitel.com
Exuding a southern Gallic atmosphere with
its tiled veranda, pastel-coloured walls and
ficus trees, this traditional French restaurant
has quarterly Michelin star promotions and
an award winning pastry team.
LA CUISINE
FRENCH / MEDITERRANEAN
48 Le Thanh Ton, Q1, Tel: (08) 2229 8882
lacuisine.com.vn
This intimate, open-kitchened restaurant
bathed in white specialises in a mix of contemporary Mediterranean and French cuisine. Has a small but well thought out menu,
backed up with an extensive wine list.
LA HOSTARIA
TRADITIONAL ITALIAN
17B Le Thanh Ton, Q1, Tel: (08) 3823 1080
lahostaria.com
This downtown hideaway with rusticstyle
decorative trawls features fresh, light regional cuisine from across Italy. Try the carpaccio misto di pesce and agnello dantico.
Also specializes in excellent wood-fired
pizzas.
LE BOUCHON DE SAIGON
CLASSIC FRENCH / EUROPEAN FUSION

40 Thai Van Lung, Q1, Tel: (08) 3829 9263
lebouchondesaigon.com
A sociable and popular French bistro serving up 100 percent organic, traditional Gallic
staples such as French onion soup, escargot,
and moules marinires, plus European fusion dishes, and competitively priced world
wines.
LE JARDIN
CLASSIC FRENCH
31 Thai Van Lung, Q1, Tel: (08) 3825 8465
Unpretentious but tasty French fare in a
relaxed garden setting within the French
cultural centre. The robust, bistro-style cuisine is very well-priced, and excellent, cheap
house wine is served by the carafe.
LUONG SON
PAN-VIETNAMESE
31 Ly Tu Trong, Q1, Tel: (08) 3825 1330
MARKET 39
INTERNATIONAL BUFFET
Ground Floor, InterContinental Asiana Saigon, Crn. of Hai Ba Trung & Le Duan, Q1, Tel:
(08) 3520 9999
MOGAMBO
PAN-AMERICAN / TEX-MEX
50 Pasteur, Q1, Tel: (08) 3825 1311
mogambo@saigonnet.vn
MAY RESTAURANT
19 21 Dong Khoi, Q1, Tel: (08) 6291 3686
may.restaurant19@gmail.com
8am to late
Casual yet stylish, May places internationalstyle wining and dining in the heart of historic
Saigon. Subtle lighting, comfortable seating,
an extensive wine and cocktail list, and beautifully crafted comfort food from Europe, the
Antipodes and Asia all make up the mix at this
multi-floored restaurant and bar. Check out
their set lunches and happy hour.
NAM GIAO
HUE CUISINE
136/15 Le Thanh Ton, Q1, Tel: (08) 38
250261; 116 Suong Nguyet Anh, Q1, Tel:
(08) 3925 9996
namgiao.com
NHA HANG NGON
VILLA DINING / STREETFOOD

160 Pasteur, Q1, Tel: (08) 3827 7131
NINETEEN
Ground floor, Caravelle Hotel, 19 Lam Son
Square, Q1, Tel: (08) 3823 4999
caravellehotel.com
OSAKA RAMEN
JAPANESE NOODLES
18 Thai Van Lung, Q1; SD04, Lo H29-2, KP My
Phat, Phu My Hung, Q7
OPERA
CLASSIC VIETNAMESE / BISTRO

21 Han Thuyen, Q1
Part of the group that includes Au Parc
and Refinery, Propaganda serves up classic Vietnamese cuisine in an atmosphere of
barebrick walls interposed with Propaganda
Art murals and prints.
QUAN BUI 2
TRADITIONAL VIETNAMESE
17A Ngo Van Nam, Q1, Tel: (08) 3829 1515
With its leafy roof garden and chic interior,
Quan Bui offers a wide selection of Vietnamese cuisine which is cooked in their open
kitchen.
REFINERY
FRENCH BISTRO / INTERNATIONAL

The Square, 74 Hai Ba Trung, Q1, Tel: (08)
3823 0509
therefinerysaigon.com
A slightly retro feel pervades this popular
French-style bistro and wine bar which once
housed the citys opium refinery. The cuisine
runs from creative salads through to Mediterranean influenced mains.
REFLECTIONS
INTERNATIONAL / FINE DINING

3rd floor, Caravelle Hotel, 19 Lam Son
Square, Q1, Tel: (08) 3823 4999
RIVERSIDE CAF
Renaissance Riverside, 815 Ton Duc Thang,
Q1, Tel: (08) 3822 0033
Offers versatile allday dining of international quality, with the bonus of being able to
watch the action on the river sidewalk. Features western, Asian and Vietnamese buffets.
Ground Floor, Park Hyatt Saigon, 2 Lam Son,
Q1, Tel: (08) 3824 1234
A contemporary, casual, trattoria-style restaurant with al fresco dining overlooking
the Opera House. Specialising in both traditional and contemporary Italian cuisine,
the restaurant also features an impressive
breakfast menu.
PACHARAN
SPANISH / EUROPEAN
97 Hai Ba Trung, Q1, Tel: (08) 3825 6924
Legs of Iberian ham hang in the downstairs
bar at this multi-story bodega serving Spanish-styled tapas. Attractively decorated in
warm reds, yellows and oranges, Pacharans
food menu is traditionally Spanish.
PENDOLASCO
PAN-ITALIAN
87 Nguyen Hue, Q1, Tel: (08) 3821 8181
pendolasco.vn
Opening out into a large, leafy terracottatiled garden area, this trattoria-style Italian
restaurant serves up quality homemade
pasta, risotto, gnocchi, excellent pizza and
grilled dishes. Another branch downtoan at
87 Nguyen Hue, Q1.
PIZZA 4PS
EUROPEAN/ASIAN FUSION
8/15 Le Thanh Ton, Q1, Tel: (08) 3822 9838
pizza4ps.com
This quirky but highly rated Italian / Japanese fusion pizza parlour serves wacky yet
delicious pies such as tuna curry pizza and
calamari seaweed pizza, as well as more
traditional varieties.
HCMC
SAFFRON
PAN-MEDITERRANEAN
51 Hai Ba Trung, Q1
Tel: (08) 3824 8358
Sporting food from around
the Mediterranean rim, this
compact and cozy eatery
with pots hung from the ceiling is a popular choice with
expats and tourists alike.
Reservations advised.
SAIGON CAF
INTERNATIONAL / BUFFET
Khoi, Q1 Tel: (08) 3827 2828
sheratonsaigon.com
SAN FU LOU
CANTONESE KITCHEN
Ground Floor, AB Building,
76A Le Lai, Q1
Tel: (08) 3823 9513
sanfulou.com
Open until 3am, this popular,
contemporary Cantonese
dining hall mixes contemporary with traditional, in
a space that takes Chinese
dining in Saigon to a new
level. And if you like your dim
sum, look no further.
SEOUL HOUSE
KOREAN
33 Mac Thi Buoi, Q1, Tel: (08)
3829 4297
seoul.house@yahoo.com.kr
SHANG PALACE RESTAURANT
PAN-CHINESE / CANTONESE
Norfolk Mansion, 17-19-21
Ly Tu Trong, Q1, Tel: (08)
3823 2221
shangpalace.com.vn
Featuring over 200 dishes
and 50 kinds of dim sum prepared by chefs from Hong
Kong, Shang Palace has nine
private dining rooms and a
main dining area seating
over 300. Good for events.
SKEWERS
Word has teamed up with the Mai Nha Children Foundation to

help 20 orphan children to grow up as a family and prepare
for their future.
Based north of Mui Ne in Central Vietnam, the foundation
provides the children with a home, a family and an education.
To help fund this programme, for every copy of our Word you
get delivered direct to your door, we will donate VND50,000
to Mai Nha.
At VND120,000 per month (minimum of six months), this is a
small price to pay to help those in need.
To arrange your home delivery, simply email
For more information on Mai Nha, click on mai-nha.org
INTERNATIONAL / MEDITERRANEAN
9A Thai Van Lung, Q1, Tel:
(08) 3822 4798
skewers-restaurant.com
Simple, unpretentious
Greek-influenced, international cuisine ranging
from the zucchini carpaccio through to the saganiki,
a range of dips, mousaka,
osso buco and lamb chop
skewers. Also has an excellent upstairs cigar room.
SORAE
SUSHI SAKE LOUNGE

Level 24, AB Tower, 76 Le
Lai, Q1, Tel: 0938 687689
soraesushi.com
Set over two floors, this
astonishing, no-expensespared Japanese restaurant
and lounge brings to Saigon
the type of environment and
ambience youd expect of
New York, Singapore, Hong
Kong and Dubai. With the
dcor comes a modern take
on Japanese fare. A place to
see and be seen.
SQUARE ONE
TOP-END INTERNATIONAL /
VIETNAMESE
First Floor, Park Hyatt Saigon, 2 Lam Son, Q1, Tel: (08)
3824 1234
An atmospheric Ho Chi
Minh City restaurant featuring simple and authentic
Vietnamese and Western
cuisine offered from an
impressive display of integrated show kitchens to
serve guests in five different
dining areas. Open for lunch
and dinner.
TANDOOR

74/6 Hai Ba Trung, Q1, Tel:
(08) 3930 4839
Tandoorvietnam.com
TEMPLE CLUB
PAN-VIETNAMESE
29-31 Ton That Thiep, Q1,
Tel: (08) 3829 9244
Templeclub.com.vn
Once a hotel for Indian dignitaries visiting old Saigon,
the elegant and atmospheric Temple Club is one
of the citys best-preserved
buildings. Serving quality
Vietnamese and Indochine
cuisine at reasonable prices.
THE SWISS HOUSE SAIGON

54 Le Thanh Ton, Q1, Tel: (08)
3824 2079
swisshousesaigon.com
Serving up authentic cuisine
spanning the three linguistic
regions of Switzerland, as
well as dishes from Bavaria
and Austria, this attractive,
two-floor Swiss-styled restaurant also boasts a beer
cellar in the basement.
TOKYO BBQ
JAPANESE BARBECUE
15A6 Le Thanh Ton, Q1, Tel:
(08) 3822 2527
VESPER GOURMET LOUNGE
INTERNATIONAL
Landmark Building, 5B Ton
Duc Thang, Q1, Tel: (08) 3822
9698
facebook.com/vespersaigon
Headed up by well-known
chef Andy Ertle, Vesper is a
sophisticated yet down-toearth cocktail bar and restaurant with subtle lighting
and a great spirit selection.
Serves creative, Japanese
and German-influenced
cuisine to supplement the
drinks and has a separate
dining space.
WARDA
MIDDLE-EASTERN
71/7 Mac Thi Buoi, Q1, Tel:
(08) 3823 3822
info@wardavn.com
The deep colours, Arabic dcor and cushioned outdoor
terrace area give this popular venue its unique touch.
The food is good, too, taking
in tabouleh, houmous, falafel
and mutabbal, shwarmas
and more. Sells authentic

shisha.
WRAP & ROLL

(08) 3822 2166; 111 Nguyen
Hue, Q1, Tel: (08) 3821 8971
wrap-roll.com
of all types, and healthy, Hueinfluenced cuisine.
YU CHU
TOP-END PAN-CHINESE
1st Floor, InterContinental
Asiana Saigon, crn.of Hai Ba
Trung & Le Duan, Q1
Tel: (08) 3520 9999
Skillful chefs prepare authentic hand-pulled noodles,
fresh dim sum and hot wok
dishes within an impeccably
designed open kitchen, as
diners look on. Stylish and
spectacular.
FITNESS, DANCE & YOGA

ANUPA YOGA
9 Dong Du, Q1, Tel: (08) 3822

2394
anupa.net/yoga-anupa
CALIFORNIA FITNESS CENTRE
FITNESS CENTRE
Queen Ann Building, 2830
32 Le Lai, Q1, Tel: (08) 6291
5999
Cfyc.com.vn
NUTRIFORT
GENERAL FITNESS
2B1 Chu Manh Trinh, Q1, Tel:
(08) 3825 8560
nutrifort.com
Offers fitness classes and
personal training with excellent facilities. Group classes
include power yoga, pilates,
circuit training, martial arts
and spinning. There is also a
spa and a restaurant serving
caloriecalibrated meals.
RENAISSANCE HOTEL HEALTH

CLUB
HEALTH CLUB & GYM

815 Ton Duc Thang, Q1, Tel:
(08) 3822 0033
SAIGON FITNESS CO.
HEALTH CLUB & GYM

Q1, Tel: (08) 3822 8888
SAIGON HASH HOUSE HARRIERS

saigonhash.com
Sunday 2pm sharp, Caravelle hotel. Bus out to the
county with a walk, usually
4km and a run around 8km.
VND150,000 for locals and
VND220,000 for expats. Bus,
water, snacks and freeflow
beer after the run.
SHERATON FITNESS
HEALTH CLUB & GYM

Hotel and Towers, 88 Dong Khoi, Q1, Tel: (08)

3827 2828
sheratonsaigon.com
SOFITEL PLAZA FITNESS CENTRE
HEALTH CLUB & GYM

17 Le Duan, Q1, Tel: (08) 3824 1555
THE LANDMARK CLUB
GYM, POOL, SQUASH

The Landmark, 5B Ton Duc Thang, Q1, Tel:
(08) 3822 2098 ext. 176
In addition to the squash court, facilities
include a fullyequipped gym room, a rooftop swimming pool and separate male and
female saunas.
GALLERIES
BLUE SPACE & PARTICULAR ART GALLERY
97A Pho Duc Chinh, Q1, Tel: (08) 3821 3695
bluespacearts.com
DOGMA
8A/9C1 Thai Van Lung, Q1
dogmacollection.com
The home of Vietnamese propaganda art and
a collection put together over the last two
decades by art collector Dominic Scriven,
the majority of the work comes from the
war period when provocative poster art was
used to inspire and motivate. Sells prints of
the originals and related products.
HO CHI MINH CITY FINE ARTS MUSEUM

97A Pho Duc Chinh, Q1, Tel: (08) 3829 4441
baotangmythuattphcm.vn
PHUONG MAI ART GALLERY

129B Le Thanh Ton, Q1, Tel: (08) 3823 3181
07 Phan Chu Trinh, Q1, Tel: (08) 3822 3166
phuongmaigallery.com
GROCERIES, LIQUOR & WINE
VEGGYS
GROCERS & DELI

29A Le Thanh Ton, Q1, Tel: (08) 3823 8526
VINO WINE SHOP
WINE SHOP
74/17 Hai Ba Trung, Q1, Tel: (08) 6299 1315
Professional advice on selecting and tasting wines. Also offers regular popular wine
courses. The outdoor terrace area is the
perfect spot to sample a new vintage.
HAIRDRESSERS
VENUS
41 Nguyen Trung Ngan, Q1, Tel: (08) 3829
6298
MEDICAL & DENTAL

ACCADENT
INTERNATIONAL DENTAL CLINIC

Kumho Asiana Plaza, 39 Le Duan, Q1, Tel: (08)
3822 8800
accadent.com
DALOC
WINE SHOP
74E Hai Ba Trung, Q1, Tel: (08) 5404 3575
daloc.vn
KIM HAI BUTCHERS
BUTCHERS
73 Le Thi Hong Gam, Q1, Tel: (08) 3914 4376
kimhai.vn
PHUONG HA
GROCERS
58 Ham Nghi, Q1, Tel: (08) 3914 1318
RED APRON
WINE SHOP
22 Chu Manh Trinh, Q1, Tel: (08) 3823 0021
THE WAREHOUSE
WINE SHOP
15/5 Le Thanh Ton, Q1, Tel: (08) 3825 8826
One of the busiest wine retailers in town. In
addition to their excellent range of wines,
they also stock imported beers, bottled mineral water and spirits.
INTERNATIONAL CLINIC
3rd Floor, Bitexco Financial Tower, 2 Hai
Trieu, Q1, Tel: (08) 6290 6167
fvhospital.com
Stateoftheart medical centre located in
District 1. Experienced American, French,
and Vietnamese doctors provide the full
spectrum health care. Plus sports medicine,
cosmetic treatments, skin care and surgical
consultations.
SALONS & SPAS

AQUA DAY SPA
Level 5, Sheraton Saigon Hotel and Towers,
88 Dong Khoi, Q1 Tel: (08) 3827 2828
aquadayspasaigon.com
FAME NAILS SALON

3 Truong Dinh, Q1, Tel: 0909 682 827
famenails.com
GLOW SPA
129A Nguyen Hue, Q1, Tel: (08) 3823 8368
glowsaigon.com
Modern and bright downtown spa, offers
massages lasting from 30 minutes, to twohour hot stone therapy, includes one suite
with a Jacuzzi bath; offers hand and foot care
and a hair styling area.
INDOCHINE SPA
SIAN SKINCARE CLINIC
SKIN CARE / COSMETICS

Level 2, 71-79 Dong Khoi, Q1, Tel: (08) 3827
6999
sianclinic.com
The Australian and Canadian managed SIAN
Clinic offers a wide range of skincare medical therapies to treat problems by an experienced dermatologist and facial care team.
The clinic utilises the latest therapies.
ANNAM GOURMET MARKET
GROCERY & DELI

1618 Hai Ba Trung, Q1, Tel: (08) 3822 9332
Annam-gourmet.com
Attractive and spacious Frenchowned grocery shop stocking a large range of foods,
organic fruit and vegetables, imported
beers and wines. Also sells luxury branded
products from the likes of Fauchon. The deli
upstairs in the Hai Ba Trung branch serves
tasty baguette rolls in a comfortable lounge
area with free WiFi, and offers probably the
best selection of cheese and cured meats in
town. Free delivery for Districts 1, 2 and 3.
FV SAIGON CLINIC
WESTCOAST INTL DENTAL CLINIC

Ben Thanh Clinic, 27 Nguyen Trung Truc, Q1,
Tel: (08) 3825 6999
The Practice, Level 1, 71-79 Dong Khoi, Q1,
Tel: (08) 3825 6777
westcoastinternational.com
An international dental clinic equipped with
the latest technology, the comfortable clinics
offer cosmetic and implant dentistry with a
focus on making each patients experience
anxiety and pain free.
CENTRE MEDICAL INTERNATIONALE (CMI)
FRENCH MEDICAL CLINIC

1 Han Thuyen, Q1, Tel: (08) 3827 2366
cmi-vietnam.com
This French medical clinic provides general
practice and a range of specialties including
cardiology, gynecology, psychotherapy, ophthalmology, paediatrics and acupuncture.
FAMILY MEDICAL PRACTICE HCMC
Diamond Plaza, 34 Le Duan, Q1, Tel: (08)
3822 7848
vietnammedicalpractice.com
Fullservice 24hour healthcare provider
with highlyqualified doctors handling everything from emergencies to tests and Xrays,
inpatient and outpatient care, checkups,
travel medicine and medical evacuations.
69 Thu Khoa Huan, Q1, Tel: (08) 3827 7188

Indochine-spa.com.vn
Indochine Spa provides a peaceful and serene atmosphere with aromatic scents and
lulling melodies. Customers are pampered
by qualified therapists using natural French
products in a clean and pleasant environment.
JASMINE
45 Ton That Thiep, Q1, Tel: (08) 3827 2737
Jasminespa.vn
Sparelated salon with a good reputation
for quality and comfort offers washes and
leisurely haircuts from VND330,000 plus a
range of related services including massage
and some excellent treatments.
Q SPA & SALON

31Q LY TU TRONG, Q1, TEL: (08) 3905 4609
Qspaandsalon.com
An old world, Indochine-esque interior complete with wooden floors, flowers and flowing
drapes makes this an excellent atmosphere
in which to enjoy a massage. Also offers hair
styling and facials.
ROSA BLANCA BEAUTY

23C Ton Duc Thang, Q1
Specialising in all forms of skincare, this is
welldesigned, ambient and outfitted day spa
offers body treatments as well as facials and
foot treatments.
SPA INTERCONTINENTAL AND HEALTH CLUB

3rd Floor, InterContinental Asiana Saigon,
crn.of Hai Ba Trung & Le Duan, Q1, Tel: (08)
3520 9999
THE SPA AT 1960 PRESIDENTIAL CLUB

22nd floor, Sailing Tower, 111A Pasteur, Q1,
Tel: (08) 2220 2600
spa1960.vn
THE SPA
Saigon Pearl, 92 Nguyen Huu Canh, Binh
Thanh, Tel: (08) 3514 9007
Saigon Centre, 3M Floor, 65 Le Loi, Q1, Tel:
(08) 3821 1800
thespavietnam.com
HCMC
MARATHON
pham ngu lao
BUDGET CLOTHING
3920 7442; 123A Bui Vien,
Q1, Tel: (08) 3838 0019
BAKERIES / BARS & CLUBS / CAFES / CLOTHING

& ACCESSORIES / CRAFTS & FURNITURE / EAT /
GALLERIES
BAKERIES
CRUMBS
BAKERY
117 Cong Quynh, Q1, Tel: (08)
3836 1992
crumbs.com.vn
Dubbed the local bakery,
Crumbs serves up a variety
of baked goods including baguettes, muffins, cheese and
garlicbased buns and loafs,
meatfilled pastries, sweet
pastries, healthconscious
breads and more. There is
also a breakfast menu and
variety of sandwiches available.
TOUS LES JOURS
KOREAN BAKERY
(08) 3914 4350
serving the backpacker area

with excellent cuisine and
occasional live music since
1990. Excellent late-night
bistro cuisine.
SAIGON VIBRATIONS
REGGAE BAR
143 Nguyen Trai, Q1
facebook.com/saigon.vibrations
Just off The Pham, this intothe-early-hours reggae
inspired joint holds regular themed nights all in the
name of that most special
of sounds the one from
Jamaica.
SEVENTEEN SALOON
BARS & CLUBS

BIA TUOI 33
BIA HOI
33 Bui Vien, Q1
BREAD & BUTTER
INTERNATIONAL / COMFORT
FOOD
40/24 Bui Vien, Q1, Tel: (08)
3836 8452
With a free book exchange,
and tasty Sunday night
roasts, the tiny Bread &
Butter is a perfect place for
homesick expats and beer
enthusiasts (excellent HueBrewed Huda beer served
here exclusively in Ho Chi
Minh City).
GO2
INTERNATIONAL / RESTOBAR
187 De Tham, Q1, Tel: (08)
3836 9575
LE PUB
INTERNATIONAL / RESTOBAR
Tel: (08) 3837 7679
Warm colors, artsy dcor
and a friendly ambiance
combine to create a perfect
setting for enjoying tasty international and Vietnamese
cuisine. Check out their daily
drink specials and Tuesday
night pub quizzes.
THEMED MUSIC BAR

103A Pham Ngu Lao, Q1, Tel:
(08) 3914 0007
seventeensaloon.com.vn
Wild West-themed bar
doubles as a music venue,
where three talented Filipino
bands (B&U, Wild West and
Most Wanted) play covers of
rock icons like Bon Jovi, U2
and Guns n Roses. Top shelf
spirits and friendly, hostess
style table service are the
name game here.
FRENCH / RESTOBAR
3837 2704
French-run but universally
appealing, Long Phi has been
BUDGET CLOTHING
232 Bui Vien, Q1
papaya-tshirt.com
CAFES
BOBBY BREWERS
INTERNATIONAL
3920 4090
bobbybrewers.com
Choose from a full range
of caf beverages and a
fast-food style menu as you
watch the latest Hollywood
hits in their upstairs lounge.
Check website for movie locations and schedule.
INTERNATIONAL / SPORT
3920 7670
Alfrescosgroup.com
Spotted Cow delivers the
fun-loving atmosphere that
its playfully decorated black
and white spotted interior
promises, as well as decent
international comfort food,
a range of happy hours, live
sports, and darts.
THI CAF
LIVE MUSIC / LOUNGE

224 De Tham, Q1, Tel: (08)
2210 2929
T&R TAVERN
DIVE BAR
57 Do Quang Dau, Q1, Tel:
(08) 3838 9839
LIVE MUSIC / RESTOBAR

90 Bui Vien, Q1, Tel: 01633
343933
universalbarsaigon.com
TEX-MEX / VIETNAMESE
Tel: (08) 3837 0760
MARGHERITA
CHICCO DICAFF CAF
ITALIAN & VIETNAMESE

213 Bui Vien, Q1
facebook.com/ChiccoDicaffCoffee
Set just off the street on the
quiet end of Bui Vien, Chicco
Dicaff serves an expat and
local-heavy clientele takeaway coffees and flavoured
concoctions, from a five-seat
coffee bar.
INTERNATIONAL
157-159 Nguyen Thai Hoc,
Q1, Tel: (08) 3837 9347
coffeebean.com.vn
Large portioned coffee lures
customers into the flagship
store of this international
caf chain. The contemporary, yet generic atmosphere is bolstered by comfortable seating and a menu
to satisfy any sweet tooth.
eries (established in 1925)

does some of the cheapest
and tastiest vegan cuisine in
town, all cooked up without
onions, garlic or MSG.
ITALIAN / TEX-MEX
Tel: (08) 3837 0760
WRAP & ROLL
ORANGE
BUDGET CLOTHING
3820 2620
9am to 10pm
U.BEST HOUSE
TRAVEL GEAR
163 Nguyen Thai Hoc, Q1, Tel:
0978 967588
Ubesthouse.com
PUNJABI INDIAN RESTAURANT
NORTH INDIAN / PUNJAB

40/23 Bui Vien, Q1, Tel: (08)
3508 3777
monuvn@gmail.com
Ignore the non-trendy, holein-the-wall appearance. This
side-street Indian serves
up some excellent fare at
reasonable prices, with a
number of Punjabi specialities to boot.
CRAFTS & FURNITURE
SPOTTED COW
UNIVERSAL BAR
LONG PHI
PAPAYA
LA CANTINA
SAPA
ETHNIC ACCESSORIES / SOUVENIRS

209 De Tham, Q1, Tel: (08)
3838 9780
EAT
BABAS KITCHEN

3838 6661
babaskitchen.in
This pleasant, airy Indian
does the full range of fare
from all ends of the subcontinent, from dosas and vadas through to chicken tikka
masala, kormas, kebabs and
fiery vindaloos.
BURRITO REVOLUTION
TEX-MEX / STREET STALL

714882
SISTERS CAFE
VIETNAMESE/WESTERN
Tel: 0903 643446
Light wood paneling, beige
walls and locally themed
artwork help to create a
fresh and airy ambience in
this caf-cum-restaurant
that is owned by the woman
behind Chis Caf. Also does
visa extensions and motorbike rental.
TAM HAO HANDPULLED NOODLES

CHINESE NOODLES
195A De Tham, Q1
tamhao.com
Nothing gets better than a
bowl of tasteful broth and
hand-pulled Chinese noodles, especially when its
from Tam Hao. Hip interior
design draws many a traveller into this tasteful but
non-fancy hotel noodle restaurant, leaving them craving for more.
226 De Tham, Q1, Tel: (08)

3837 5097
wrap-roll.com
of all types, and healthy, Hueinfluenced cuisine. Check
out the second floor, junglein-the-wall dcor at this
particular branch. Unique
and refreshing.
ZEUS
GREEK / KEBAB
3837 3248
ZOOM CAF
AMERICAN / TEX-MEX
169A Bui Vien, Q1, Tel: (08)
3920 3897
vietnamvespaadventures.
com/cafe_zoom
This corner-located Vespainfatuated venue is a caf
and restaurant by day and
a sidewalk drinking joint
by night. Friendly staff and
American deli-style and Cajun fare makes it a regular
expat haunt.
GALLERIES
GALERIE QUYNH

BAM SKATE SHOP
SKATEWEAR / STREET
641826
Bamskateshop.com.vn
BLUE DRAGON
SOUVENIRS / CLOTHING
1B Bui Vien, Q1, Tel: (08)
2210 2084
8am to 10.30pm
GINKGO
VIETNAM-THEMED CLOTHING
54-56 Bui Vien, Q1, Tel: (08)
6270 5928
ginkgo-vietnam.com
Quality, original, Vietnamthemed tees are the showpiece at this airy French-run
store. Designs are inspired
by anything from the Vietnamese flag, local telecom
wires and motorbikes to
creative, Siddharta-style
imagery.
CHIS CAF
40/31 Bui Vien, Q1, Tel: (08)
3837 2502
Chiscafe.com
This affable caf is a rarity
in the backpacker area for
its genuinely good musical
playlist. Excellent, buildyour-own breakfasts, baked
potatoes, toasties, Vietnamese fare and more. Has a
popular motorbike rental
service.
THE HUNGRY PIG
BACON BAR / CAFE

3836 4533
facebook.com/thehungrypigcafe
Think bacon, bacon and
more bacon, all set in airy,
spacious atmosphere, and
you get The Hungry Pig, an
eatery specialising in anything from the bacon butty
through to the bacon Caesar.
A popular hangout.
CORIANDER
THAI / VIETNAMESE
16 Bui Vien, Q1, Tel: (08) 3837
1311
JJS FISH N CHIPS
FISH & CHIPS / STREET STALL

Cnr. 38B Tran Hung Dao & De
Tham, Q1
TIN NGHIA
VEGAN
(08) 3821 2538
One of the citys oldest eat-
65 De Tham, Q1, Tel: (08)

3836 8019
galeriequynh.com
In addition to working with
artists based in Vietnam,
Galerie Quynh also exhibits the work of artists from
around the world. This wellestablished gallery supports
education through talks, lectures and publications.

simply email us on
well try our best
HCMC
district 1
BARS & CLUBS / BOOKS / CAFES / CLOTHING & ACCESSORIES

/ COOKING CLASSES / CRAFTS & FURNITURE / EAT /
FITNESS, DANCE & YOGA / GALLERIES / INTERNATIONAL
SCHOOLS / MEDICAL & DENTAL / SALONS & SPAS
DISTRICT 1
Downtown
Pham Ngu Lao
Binh Thanh
in
h
an
Tr
u
Th
i
ie
n
Le
Huu
C
cT
ha
n
ng
Th
an
g8
Le
Lo
i
ng
Ng
.H
ue
Ham Nghi
District 2
Hu
ng
Da
o
District
10
t
Kie
Tr
an
n
Va
District 4
Vo
BARS & CLUBS

BEER AND GRILL (BG SAIGON)
CONTEMPORARY BEER HALL

37 Nam Ky Khoi Nghia, Q1,
Tel: 0906 780081
CHILL SKYBAR
TOP-END BAR & TERRACE

Rooftop, AB Tower, 76A Le
Lai, Q1, Tel: (08) 3827 2372
chillsaigon.com
For the spectacular views
alone, Chill Skybar remains
the place to go to mix topend, outdoor terrace drinking around an oval-shaped
bar with cityscapes of Saigon. One of the top watering
holes in the city.
HOA VIEN
CZECH BREWHOUSE
3825 8605
hoavien.vn
MZ CLUB
LIVE MUSIC / NIGHTCLUB

56A Bui Thi Xuan, Q1, Tel: (08)
3925 5258
m-zing.com
SAIGON VIBRATIONS
Du
Ng
uy
en
Ma
Du
Ba
h
an
Ng
uy
en
Kh
ai
Ph
n
Bi
e
To
n
Ho
Ha
i
Ca
ch
in
h
en
Ti
District 3
an
g
REGGAE BAR
143 Nguyen Trai, Q1
facebook.com/saigon.vibrations
Saigons first reggae bar
located close to The Obser-
vatory on the other side of

Pham Ngu Lao. Open late,
holds a number of nights
like Tropical Wednesday,
Thursday-before-midnightshots-only ladies night and
Underground Saturdays, all
in an attempt to pump things
up for the party seekers in
town.
BOOKS
LIBRAIRIE FRANCAISE NAM
PHONG
82 Truong Dinh, Q1, Tel: (08)
3914 7858
Nam Phong Bookstore was
founded at the of end 2002 in
Ho Chi Minh City as the first
and only francophone bookshop in the whole of Vietnam.
Only books written in French
are for sale, covering for all
ages and tastes. A catalogue
is available at namphongsaigon.com
CAFES
(A) CAFE
15 Huynh Khuong Ninh, Da
Kao, Q1, Tel: 0903 199701
Settle into the Javanesestyle interior and enjoy possibly one of the best brews
in Saigon. Using own grown

and specially sourced Dalat
beans, speciality coffee such
as cold drip, siphon, and
Chemex are must haves for
the avid coffee drinker.
BANKSY CAFE
1st Floor, 14 Ton That Dam,
Q1, Tel: 01699 990003
sam.nguyen197@gmail.com
A small but swanky cafe,
Banksy promises a young
and vibrant hideout in an
old 1960s-era apartment
building. Remember to head
up the steep stairs within to
dig into their secret stash of
clothes and accessories.
CAFE THOAI VIEN

159A Nguyen Van Thu, Q1,
Tel: 0918 115657
cafethoaivien.com
Veer off the street and find
yourself plunging straight
into lush greenery. Cafe
Thoai Vien serves up a
spacious and airy setting
to enjoy a quiet sip. From
small eats to big bites and
everything to drink, its a
great place to unwind from
all that buzz.
HCMC
THE OTHER PERSON CAFE
INTERNATIONAL
235 Nguyen Van Cu, Q1, Tel:
(08) 3833 3648
coffeebean.com.vn
Large portioned coffee
lures customers into the
flagship store of this international caf chain. The
contemporary, yet generic
atmosphere is bolstered by
comfortable seating and a
menu to satisfy any sweet
tooth.
DECIBEL
INTERNATIONAL
79/2/5 Phan Ke Binh, Q1,
Tel: (08) 6271 0115
Decibel.vn
Trendy without pretense,
this two-floor, relaxed caf
offers beautiful decor and
unique original events like
live music, film screenings, and art exhibits. Great
prices and food with daily
specials.
GIVRAL CAF
INTERNATIONAL / FRENCH
97 Nguyan Huu Cau, Q1, Tel:
(08) 3844 3295
saigongivral.com
I.D. CAF
CONTEMPORARY CAFE
34D Thu Khoa Huan, Q1, Tel:
(08) 3822 2910
Idcafe.net
Centrally located near Ben
Thanh Market, i.d offers
casual caf dining with a
wide variety of food and
beverages. Where modern
design and a warm ambience meet for coffee.
LAN MIEN DINING CAFE
76A Le Lai, Q1, Tel: (08) 3821
2718
The outdoor, well-aired terrace is the centrepiece of
this popular, contemporary
caf. Enjoy live music on
weekends as you sip on reasonably priced Vietnamese
or espresso-based coffee.
LE PETIT CAF
FRENCH
112 Pham Viet Chanh, Q1,
Tel: (08) 6291 2067
MOCKINGBIRD CAFE
4th Floor, 14 Ton That Dam,
Q1, Tel: 0935 293400
facebook.com/mockingbirdcoffee
Sitting atop of a number of
cafe establishments in an old
apartment complex, Mockingbird is just the place for a
romantic time over mojitos,
or good ol caffeine-infused
relaxation.
2nd Floor, 14 Ton That Dam,

Q1, Tel: 0909 670272
facebook.com/TheOtherPersonCafe
Fancy being served up by
maids in costume? Call for
a booking and enjoyed customized service to your liking
while spending an afternoon
in this candy-land inspired
cafe.
THINGS CAFE
1st Floor, 14 Ton That Dam,
Q1, Tel: (08) 6678 6205
facebook.com/thingscafe
Feel the calm and serenity
of this rustic little quiet corner tucked away in an Old
Apartment. The quaint and
relaxing atmosphere sets for
some alone time, or quality
conversations held over a
drink or two.
COOKING CLASSES
OVERLAND CLUB
35Bis Huynh Khuong Ninh,
Q1, Tel: (08) 3820 9734
overlandclub.jp
Sunday 1.30pm to 5pm
The Overland Club organises
pottery classes, VietnameseJapanese cooking classes,
cultural art events and
monthly special activities,
such as the Soba Festival,
pottery painting classes, the
art of decorating paper and
multinational cuisine days.
COBALT
ROOFTOP RESTOBAR
Floor 30-31, Pullman Saigon
Centre, 148 Tran Hung Dao,
Q1, Tel: (08) 3838 8686
pullman-saigon-centre.com
A tapas-style contemporary
international menu in an
equally modern chic space,
Cobalt also has panoramic
views over the city thanks to
its 30th-floor location. Has a
focus on wine matching and
tasting. A hotel restaurant
with a difference.
DYNASTY
CANTONESE / PAN-CHINESE
Q1, Tel: (08) 3822 8888
Elegant surroundings, top
quality ingredients, attentive service and comfortable,
roundtable dining makes Dynasty one of the top Chinese
restaurants in town, with a
classic dim sum menu.
LION CITY
SINGAPOREAN
45 Le Anh Xuan, Q1, Tel: (08)
3823 8371
lioncityrestaurant.com
Friendly, authentic fivestorey Singaporean eatery,
plating up the likes of nasi
lemak, mee rebus, and awesome chicken curry, as well
as specialities like frog porridge, chilli crab and fish
head curry.
MONSOON
EAT
27 GRILL
GRILL-STYLE RESTAURANT
Rooftop, AB Tower, 76A Le
Lai, Q1, Tel: (08) 3827 2372
chillsaigon.com
Besides the spectacular
views, the cuisine at 27 Grill
is a real draw, with steaks
and other international
grill-style fare in a refined
yet contemporary atmosphere. Subtle lighting and
an extensive wine list make
up the mix.
CAF IF
VIETNAMESE FRENCH
38 Dang Dung, Q1, Tel: (08)
3846 9853
MSG-free traditional Vietnamese cuisine with a
French twist, cooked fresh
to order. Dishes include noodle soup, steamed ravioli and
beef stew, stir fries, hot pots
and curries.
PAN-SOUTHEAST ASIAN
1 Cao Ba Nha, Q1, Tel: (08)
6290 8899
Traditional pan-Southeast
Asian favourites served in
a visually arresting setting
within a French colonial-era
villa, just minutes from the
backpacker area. Reasonably priced, with healthy
juices and smoothies.
NEW YORK STEAKHOUSE
AMERICAN / FRENCH
2527 Nguyen Dinh Chieu,
Q1, Tel: (08) 3823 7373
steakhouse.com.vn
NYSW is well known for
serving up formidable prime
signature cuts of New York
strip steak, rib eye, double
strip loins and chateaubriands along with sophisticated sides, in a glitzy, Hollywood-esque atmosphere.
PARKVIEW
Q1, Tel: (08) 3822 8888
Flagship restaurant of The
New World Hotel, serving
lavish buffets all day. Many
cooking stations ranging
from Chinese to Italian, sushi and seafood, to salads,
cold cuts, cheese plates and
desserts.
QUAN BUI
TRADITIONAL VIETNAMESE
8 Nguyen Van Nguyen, Q1,
Tel: (08) 3602 2241
Make sure to try the sauted
shrimps with cashew nuts
and crispy fried tofu with
lime wedge, at this popular,
high-quality eatery where all
food is served in traditional
crockery.
QUAN UT UT
US-STYLE BARBECUE
168 Vo Van Kiet, Q1, Tel: (08)
3914 4500
facebook.com/quanutut
Its a no-brainer, right?
American-style barbecue in
a contemporary Vietnamese,
quan nhau-style setting. Of
course it is, which is why
Quan Ut Ut is constantly
packed with grill-obsessed
diners going for the burgers, meats off the barbecue
and Platinum pale ale served
on tap.
TIEM COM GA HAI NAM
CHINESE / VIETNAMESE BINH

DAN
67 Le Thi Hong Gam, Q1, Tel:
(08) 3821 7751
founder has been promoting

Vietnamese art for a decade.
insurance companies in Vietnam and abroad.
SAN ART
WE LINK
3 Me Linh, Binh Thanh, Tel:

(08) 3840 0183
San-art.org
San Art is an independent,
artist-run exhibition space
that offers residency programmes for young artists, lecture series and an
exchange programme that
invites international artists/
curators to organise or collaborate on exhibitions.
re.com
MEDICAL
& DENTAL
CENTRE MEDICAL INTERNATIONALE (CMI)
FRENCH MEDICAL CLINIC

3827 2366
cmi-vietnam.com
This French medical clinic
provides general practice
and a range of specialties
including cardiology, gynecology, psychotherapy, ophthalmology, paediatrics and
acupuncture.
Diamond Plaza, 34 Le Duan,
Q1, Tel: (08) 3822 7848
com
Fullservice 24hour
healthcare provider with
highlyqualified doctors
handling everything from
emergencies to tests and
Xrays, inpatient and out
patient care, checkups,
travel medicine and medical
evacuations.
STAMFORD SKIN CENTRE
HEALTH CLUB & GYM

Manor Apartments, 91
Nguyen Huu Canh, Binh
Thanh, Tel: (08) 3514 0253
Steve Chipman, who had a
hand in establishing gyms
at the Sofitel hotels in Hanoi
and Ho Chi Minh City, is behind Star Fitness one of
Vietnams largest and bestequipped gyms.

99 Suong Nguyet Anh, Q1,
Tel: (08) 3925 1990
stamfordskin.com
Stamford Skin Centre offers
a broad range of medical and
aesthetic skin treatments.
Their international dermatologists and doctors ensure
accurate diagnosis and safe
treatment procedures. It
houses excellent equipment
for a variety of procedures.
GALLERIES
VICTORIA HEALTHCARE INTERNATIONAL CLINIC
CRAIG THOMAS GALLERY

27i Tran Nhat Duat, Q1, Tel:
0903 888431
cthomasgallery.com
Located in a quiet corner
of District 1, Craig Thomas
Gallery offers a compelling
mix of up-and-coming and
established local artists. In
operation since 2009, its
SALONS & SPAS

CAT MOC SPA
63 Tran Dinh Xu, Q1, Tel: (08)
6295 8926
catmocspa.com
Aimed exclusively at ladies
and couples only, treatments at this Japanese spa
include facial, body and foot
care, and Japanese-style
haircuts, as well as steamsauna, paraffin and waxing
services.

STAR FITNESS GYM
COUNSELLING
64 Ho Hao Hon, Q1, Tel: (08)
6291 2900
contact@welink.vn
Psychological counselling services for individual,
group and family. Diverse
counsellors and therapists,
using Cognitive Behaviour
Therapy, Art Therapy, Systemic Family Therapy. For
adolescents and adults. Vietnamese, English, French
and Spanish spoken.
(08) 3910 4545
Well-regarded clinic offering
general examinations and
specialising in pediatrics,
digestive diseases, cardiology, womens health and
internal medicine. Offers a
membership programme
and cooperates with most
HAIR BAR
CONTEMPORARY SALON
68 Ngo Duc Ke, Q1, Tel:
(FREEPHONE) 1800 1108
hairbar.vn
A unique themed hair salon
where stylists use no scissors but styling equipment
only, giving female clients the
opportunity to get their hair
done on the run. Of course,
they have to look fabulous,
too. Fortunately this is one of
Hair Bars specialities. Check
the salon out on Facebook:
facebook.com/hairbarvn.
SPA TROPIC
79 PHAN KE BINH, Q1, TEL: (08) 3910

5575
spatropic.com
Spa Tropic is a stylish boutique spa housed in the refurbished former Chilean
Consulate. Spa Tropic has
a long-standing reputation
among expats and visitors
alike for its professional
quality service.

simply email us on
well try our best
HCMC
district 2
BAKERIES / BARS & CLUBS / CAFES / CLOTHING &

ACCESSORIES / CRAFTS & FURNITURE / EAT / FITNESS,
DANCE & YOGA / GROCERIES, LIQUOR & WINE /
HAIRDRESSERS / INTERNATIONAL SCHOOLS / MEDICAL &
DENTAL / SALONS & SPAS
DISTRICT 2
Ni
Thao Dien
i
u
g
H n
hQ
Bn
Ng
uy
n
V
n
Xa
Binh Thanh
Ngu
VOELKER
BAKERY
39 Thao Dien, Q2, Tel: (08)
6296 0066
voelker-vietnam.com
Frenchrun bakery selling
probably the tastiest range
of patisseries, breads, quiches and pies in town. The signature passionfruit tart is
a must try.
BARS & CLUBS

BAAN THAI
SPORTS BAR / PAN-THAI CUISINE

3744 5453
baanthai-anphu.com
A bar and a Thai restaurant
all in one, the focus here is
not just the cuisine but a contemporary bar area and live
sports. Lots of live sports.
The Thai cuisine is cooked
up by no-holds-barred Thai
chefs.
BMV PUB & GRILL

38 Quoc Huong, Q2 Tel:
01299 839314
facebook.com/bmv.pubgrill
Song H
Ni
nh
Song H
DISTRICT 2
With its seven TVs, full-size

mezzanine area, pool table
and aircon lounge space,
BMV is the perfect place in
District 2 to relax and watch
the sports. Has live music on
Thursday and Friday nights,
and is home to the only German Hofbrau Beer Garden in
Thao Dien.
nh
THE FAN CLUB
SPORTS BAR
Ground Floor, The Vista,
628C Hanoi Highway, Q2
dtdentertainment.com/thefanclub
12 quality screens and eight
draught beers, music spun
by DJs, excellent burgers,
quiz nights and barbecues.
All in an attractive, contemporary environment.
BUDDHA BAR
RESTOBAR
3345 6345
Buddhabarsaigon.com
Just across the lane from
McSorleys, this pub with an
eccentric European tilt and
some nice, authentic cuisine
draws an older crowd with
darts, pool and weekly poker
tourneys.
MCSORLEYS
IRISH BAR
4 Thao Dien, Q2, Tel: 0126
9026006
Standing in the former home
of Gaudi, McSorelys is full of
surprises, including a beautifully backlit swimming pool,
reggae parties, comedy
nights, and sporting events
projected onto the patio wall.
SAIGON OUTCAST
EVENTS / MAKESHIFT CAF BAR

188/1 Nguyen Van Huong,
Q2, Tel: 0122 4283198
Saigonoutcast.com
Up-cycling and innovative
design form the foundation
for this bar / arts venue /
mini- skate park. Come for
barbeque and reasonably
priced drinks, stick around
for entertaining events and
adorable puppies.
Th
Xa
Mai Ch
Tr
BAKERY
Tel: (08) 6281 8392
The baking arm of the wellknown Bakers on Thao Dien,
Voelker. Provide flash frozen breads and patisseries
such as croissants, pain au
chocolat, pain raisins, pizza
dough, pates feuillete and
much more. Serves the hospitality industry in Phu Quoc,
Nha Trang, Phan Thiet and
Ho Chi Minh City.
No
Trn
n Hong
BAKEUP ATELIER
N
y
Nguy
BAKERIES
n No
Hu Cnh
Xun Th
y
Xun Th
Xa
n
uy
Ng
ng
c H
Qu
ng
H
y n Vn
Binh Thanh
Th
CAFES
AGNES CAFE
COFFEE & FLOWER HOUSE

11A-B Thao Dien, Q2, Tel: (08)
6281 9772
A cozy and comfortable cafe
in Thao Dien serving excellent fresh coffee from Dalat,
smoothies, juices, pastries
and desserts all day. Offers
a western-fare breakfast,
lunch and dinner menu with
a number of creative TexMex dishes mixed in with
salads and more typical
international cuisine. Now
open until 10pm, the nighttime ambience is relaxed
and intimate.
CAF EVITA
LAID-BACK CAF / RESTAURANT

230A Nguyen Van Huong,
Thao Dien, Q2, Tel: (08) 3512
3888

LITTLE ANH-EM
BABY & CHILDREN CLOTHING

37 Thao Dien, An Phu, Q2,
Tel: 0917 567506
In addition to a varied selection of garments for babies
and children up to 10 years
old, Little Anh-Em stocks
sleeping bags and other accessories.
HCMC
SPORTS
VESPA SHOP
VESPA PRODUCTS / HELMETS

80 Xuan Thuy, Q2
Stocks a wide range of Vespa-inspired tidbits and memorabilia including t-shirts,
riding gear, Italian helmets,
Respro face masks, DVDs,
books, bags, magazines,
posters and more. Rental
scooters and bikes available.
are taken for delivery within

three weeks. Also offers a
rental service.
KIDS CLASSES & SPORTS
THE FURNITURE HOUSE
HOME FURNISHINGS
81 Xuan Thuy, Thao Dien, Q2,
Tel: (08) 3519 4640/4643
EAT
CRAFTS & FURNITURE
AUSTIN HOME
CRICKET
ECCS (THE ENGLISH CRICKET
CLUB OF SAIGON)
Richard Carrington, Tel:
0909 967 353
richard.carrington@market-edge.asia
eccsaigon.com
ICCS (INDIAN CRICKET CLUB OF

SAIGON)
Deeptesh Gill, Tel: 01228
770 038
deepteshgill@gmail.com
ISCS (INDIAN SPORTS CLUB IN

SAIGON)
Munish Gupta, Tel: 0986
973 244
gmunish29@yahoo.co.in
PSSC (PAKISTAN SAIGON

CRICKET CLUB)
Samie Cashmiri, Tel: 0976
469 090
samie.cashmiri@gmail.
com
SACC (SAIGON AUSTRALIA

CRICKET CLUB)
Steve Treasure, Tel: 0903
998 824
SACCCRICKET@GMAIL.COM
SSC (SRI LANKA SPORTS CLUB)
Suhard Amit, Tel: 0988
571 010
suhard.amit@yahoo.com
UCC (UNITED CRICKET CLUB)

Asif Ali, Tel: 0937 079 034
npasifali@hotmail.com
VIETNAM CRICKET ASSOCIATION (VCA)

Manish Sogani, Tel: 0908
200 598
manish@ambrij.com
FOOTBALL
AND
RUGBY
024 or Viet Luu 0909 500

171.
astere@hotmail.fr
SAIGON RAIDERS
Saigonraiders.com
SAIGON RUGBY CLUB

RMIT University, 702 Nguyen Van Linh, Tan Phong, Q7
saigonrugbyfootballclub@
yahoo.com
SAIGON SAINTS
saigonsaints.com
SPORTS GENERAL
HASH HOUSE HARRIERS
saigonhash.com
RANGERS BASEBALL TEAM

isao.shimokawaji@sapporobeer.co.jp
SAIGON INTERNATIONAL DARTS

LEAGUE
thesidl.com
SAIGON INTERNATIONAL SOFTBALL LEAGUE

saigonsoftball.info
SAIGON SHOOTERS NETBALL

CLUB
saigonshootersnetball.
blogspot.com
SAIGON SPORTS ACADEMY
HOME FURNISHINGS
175 Ha Noi Highway, Q2, Tel:
(08) 3519 4543
chilai.com
This well-known Vietnamese
furniture brand is a good
choice for most families with
its respected high-quality
designs and competitive
prices. Located on the corner of Pham Ngoc Thach
and Dien Bien Phu, the spacious showroom specialises
in sofas and other furniture
such as table sets, shelves
and kitchen cabinets. There
is a large selection of carpets as well as numerous
choices of curtains and accessories.
The Landmark, 5B Ton Duc

Thang, Q1, Tel: (08) 3822
2098 ext 176
TORNADOS HOCKEY CLUB

436A/33 Ba Thang Hai,
Q10, Tel: 0938 889899
James.chew@vietnamhockey.vn
ULTIMATE FRISBEE
RMIT, 702 Nguyen Van
Linh, Q7
Saigon-ultimate.com
gauloisdesaigon.com
XROCK CLIMBING
OLYMPIQUE SAIGON
7Nguyen Dinh Chieu, Q3,

Tel: (08) 6278 5794
xrockclimbing.com
CAF FARE / TEX-MEX

11AB Thao Dien, Q2, Tel: (08)
6281 9772
A cozy and comfortable caf
offering up a western-fare
breakfast, lunch and dinner
menu with a number of creative Tex-Mex dishes mixed in
with salads and more typical
international cuisine. Open
until 10pm.
FEELING TROPIC
FURNITURE & ACCESSORIES

51 Le Van Mien, Thao Dien,
Q2, Tel: (08) 3744 2181
8am to 6pm, closed Sundays
Specialising in interior designs and landscaping, this
three-storey building is so
packed full of items for sale
that it doesnt seem to have
enough space for all of its
products. The basement
storey carries outdoor
furniture such as bambooimitation and mosaic table
sets, while the second level
stocks all types of indoor
furniture except beds. Accessories are found on the
level above. Special orders
DANCENTER
53 Nguyen Dang Giai, Q2, Tel: (08) 3519 4490
dancentervn.com
Children and teenagers can enjoy jazz, ballet, hip-hop,
funk, belly dancing, salsa and in multi-level classes at
this modern dance studio.
HELENE KLING OIL PAINTING

BAAN THAI
PAN-THAI
3744 5453
baanthai-anphu.com
Subtle lighting and comfortable sofa-like seating at this
An Phu eatery. The menu
has a whole page dedicated
to tom yum soup as well
as firey larb moo and Laotian som tam. Thai cuisine
cooked up by no-holdsbarred Thai chefs.
BOAT HOUSE
40 Lily Road, An Phu Superior Compound, Thao Dien,
Q2, Tel: (08) 3744 6790
Live music, mini-festivals and
functions are regular events
at this spacious restobar in
An Phu on the banks of the
Saigon river. The menu offers seasonal dishes, classic mains and sharing plates.
189/C1 Nguyen Van Huong, Q2, Tel: 0903 955780

helenekling.com
INSPIRATO MUSIC CENTER

37 Nguyen Van Huong, Q2, Tel: 0932 737700
Inspirato.edu.vn
MINH NGUYEN PIANO BOUTIQUE

94A Nguyen Dinh Chieu, Q1, Tel: (08) 3823 7691
Minhnguyenpiano.com
PERFORMING ARTS ACADEMY OF SAIGON

19A Ngo Quang Huy, Q2, Tel: (08) 6281 9679
paa.com.vn
Has a range of music-based programmes teaching kids
in anything from guitar and drums to piano, clarinet and
saxophone. Also provides musical assessment and a
mixture of private and group classes.
PIANO CLASSES
Tel: 01225 636682
morrissokoloff@hotmail.com
SAIGON MOVEMENT
Tel: 0987 027 722
saigonmovement@gmail.com
SAIGON SEAL TEAM

55 Nguyen Dang Giai, An Phu, Q2, Tel: 0905 098 279
BOOM BOOM BURGER
SQUASH
Tel: 0937 683 230

vietnamswans.com
Contact Fred on 0919 709
CHI LAI
28 Tran Nao, Q2, Tel: (08)

7303 1100
saigonsportsacademy.com
AUSTRALIAN RULES FOOTBALL
LES GAULOIS DE SAIGON
REPRO FURNITURE / FABRICS

42 Nguyen Dang Giai, Q2, Tel:
(08) 3519 0023
austinhomeinteriors.com
Located in a villa-style
building, this An Phu-based
shop stocks antique repro
furniture. All products are
samples, so its limited and
exclusive with only one or
two pieces of each particular
item. Also has a great range
of imported fabrics up on the
2nd floor and an in-house
sewing room for cushions,
sofas and curtains. Offers
custom-made furniture and
delivery within four weeks.
Home dcor orders are also
available.
AGNES CAF
US-STYLE BURGER JOINT

2 Thao Dien, Q2, Tel: 0909
532378
boomboomburgers.wago.co
A simple and tasty menu
similar to that of the USs InN-Out burger, the tiny Boom
Boom has chosen to focus on
the fundamentals of the perfect burger sweet potato
fries, jalapeno-infused beef
patties and special avocado
blends.
SAIGON PONY CLUB

38, Lane 42, Le Van Thinh, Q2, Tel: 0913 733360
Saigonponyclub.com
SAIGON SPORTS ACADEMY

28 Tran Nao, Q2, Tel: (08) 7303 1100
saigonsportsacademy.com
International coaches provide training in soccer, basketball, tennis and swimming for children aged four to
16 years and private lessons for children and adults.
Youth soccer league Sundays from 2pm to 6pm in District 7.
TAE KWON DO
BP Compound, 720K Thao Dien, Q2, Tel: 0903 918 149
LA CLOSERIE DELISA
FRENCH / GARDEN RESTAURANT

52 Ngo Quang Huy, Q2
A tropical garden ambience
VINSPACE
6 Le Van Mien, Q2, Tel: 0907 729 846
vin-space.com
HCMC
that is at once French yet
contemporary Indochinese
is the home of this table
dhote style restaurant and
bar. Classic French cuisine
at reasonable prices in the
heart of Thao Dien.
LU BU
CONTEMPORARY MEDITERRANEAN
97B Thao Dien, Q2 Tel: (08)
6281 8371
luburestaurant.com
Drawing inspiration from
the great cuisines of Europe, The Mediterranean
and The Orient, this contemporary, Australian-run
restaurant bathed in white
focuses on wholesome,
fresh ingredients, with
breads, cheeses, pickles,
pastas and preserves made
on site daily from scratch. A
well-conceived wine list supplements the excellent fare.
Has petanque on the terrace.
THE DECK
MODERN ASIAN FUSION

38 Nguyen U Di, Q2, Tel: (08)
3744 6632
thedecksaigon.com
Set on the banks of Saigon
River across from Thanh
Da Island, this innovative
restaurant serves up modern Asian fusion cuisine in a
Bali-style atmosphere, complemented by great cocktails
and a long wine list.
THE LOOP
GROCERIES, LIQUOR & WINE

100%
MADE IN VIETNAM GROCERIES

26B Thao Dien, Q2
100percentvn.com
HEALTHY CAF FARE / BAGELS

49 Thao Dien, Q2 Tel. (08)
3602 6385
ANNAM GOURMET MARKET

AQUAFIT
AQUABIKING
65 Truc Duong, Lang Bao
Chi, Thao Dien, Q2, Tel: 0909
008985
aquafit.vn
MEKONG MERCHANT
INTERNATIONAL CAFE FARE /

SEAFOOD
23 Thao Dien, An Phu, Q2,
Tel: (08) 3744 6478
info@mekongmerchant.com
The rustic looking, bananaleaf roofed Mekong Merchant has long been the
place in An Phu. Set around
a cobble-stoned courtyard
the cuisine includes gourmet
seafood and pastas. Bakerystyle Bistro out front.
A well-appointed gym also

offering fitness classes and
personal training with excellent facilities. Group classes
include power yoga, pilates,
circuit training, martial arts
and spinning. Also has a restaurant serving caloriecalibrated meals.
CHIARA SQUINZI
Tel: 01278 163620
laholista.com
Experienced health coach
and corporate & school wellness coach. Can help clients
achieve health and weight
goals through an innovative
holistic approach of food,
body and mind. Email chiara@laholista.com for info.
GROCERY & DELI

41A Thao Dien, Q2, Tel: (08)
3744 2630
Annam-gourmet.com
Attractive and spacious
Frenchowned grocery
shop stocking a large range
of foods, organic fruit and
vegetables, imported beers
and wines. Also sells luxury
branded products from the
likes of Fauchon. The deli
upstairs in the Hai Ba Trung
branch serves tasty baguette
rolls in a comfortable lounge
area with free WiFi, and offers probably the best selection of cheese and cured
meats in town. Free delivery
for Districts 1, 2 and 3.
CLASSIC FINE FOODS

PENDOLASCO
PAN-ITALIAN
36 Tong Huu Dinh, Q2, Tel:
(08) 6253 2828
pendolasco.vn
Saigons longest running
Italian restaurant, classic fare is combined with a
special contemporary menu
that brings together a fusion
of European dishes, cooked
up with Italian flair. Excellent Facebook-based delivery service. Go to facebook.
com/Pendolasco2 for full
menu and info.
TAMAGO
AUTHENTIC JAPANESE
39 Tong Huu Dinh, Q2, Tel:
(08) 3744 4634
tamagoresto@gmail.com
Located on the main drag
in Thao Dien, Tamago has
indoor and out door seating,
a terrace and private rooms.
They have a ladies night on
Tuesdays as well as a Teppanyaki themed night on
Saturday evenings. Have a
second restaurant in Mui Ne.
CYRIL AND YOU SPORTS CENTRE
BOXING / FITNESS
49A Xa Lo Ha Noi, Q2, Tel:
0947 771326
cyril-and-you.com
This sports centre in An
Phu, started by fitness guru
Cyril, features the same
personalised mentorship
Cyril's clients love. Includes
yoga, boxing and fitness for
kids and adults every day.
No membership fees. Pay
for classes. Tuesday to Friday every week at 5pm. All
activities are safe and run
by Cyril himself.
K1 FITNESS & FIGHT FACTORY
BOXING / MARTIAL ARTS

100 Xuan Thuy, Thao Dien,
Q2, Tel: 0909 540030
NUTRIFORT (NTFQ2)
GROCERIES & IMPORTER

No. 17, Street 12 (perpendicular to Tran Nao street),
Q2, Tel: (08) 3740 7105
classicfinefoods.com
Supplier for the citys five
star hotels, also distributing
brands like San Pellegrino,
Rougie foie gras, Galbani
cheese, fresh poultries,
meat, live seafood and vegetables. You can now find all
the products at the gourmet
shop on location.
VINO WINE SHOP
WINE SHOP
Corner of Thao Dien & Duong
2, Q2, Tel: (08) 6281 9059
Professional advice on selecting and tasting wines
with a portfolio spanning
old and new world as well
as everything in between.
The outdoor terrace area is
the perfect spot to sample a
new tipple.
GENERAL FITNESS
34 Nguyen Dang Giai, Q2, Tel:
(08) 3744 6672
nutrifort.com
HCMC
district 3
LIVE MUSIC
6E Ngo Thoi Nhiem, Q3, Tel:
(08) 3930 2239
Though only 1km from the
city centre, Acoustic is well
off most foreigners radars.
Come see the Vietnamese
house band play nightly, as
well as performances from
overseas bands and guest
artists.
CLOUD 9
QUYNH BEAUTY SALON
CLUB DARTS, DARTS, DARTS
LIVE MUSIC / EVENTS VENUE

224A Pasteur, Q3, Tel: 0948
031323
WOODSTOCK BAR
MUSIC BAR / CAFE

39 Ba Huyen Thanh Quan.Q3.
Tel: (08) 39304075
metallicbar.com
Showcases a variety of different types of music anything from rock, pop and rap
to Latino as well as the everlasting songs of Metallica,
Bon Jovi, Scorpions, Santana
and Guns n Roses. Covered
Cn
g
live by well-known, Vietnambased Filipino bands. Music

starts at 8.30pm.
ONTOP BAR
Novotel Saigon, 167 Hai Ba
Trung, Q3, Tel: (08) 3822
4866
Located on the 20th floor
with stunning views of the
city, houses an upscale,
contemporary interior and
an outdoor terrace. A good
venue to chill out in a relaxed and casual, yet hip
ambience.
CAFES & ICE-CREAM

ANS INTERIOR CAF
Ph
Th
Du
nh
Tel: (08) 3822 4222

Hideawaycafe-saigon.com
Hidden in a colonial building
with an outdoor courwrd,
the ample soft, sofa seating renders a great spot to
relax. The mouth-watering
western menu is on the expensive side.
OPERATION: TEAROOM
TEA ROOM
335/31 Dien Bien Phu, Q3,
Tel: 0169 3583563
operationteavietnam.com
Traverse a wooden bridge
over a bamboo-shaded goldfish pond to enjoy high quality tea, starting at VND35,000,
in this quaint, open-air tearoom. Tea and tea-ware
available for purchase.
SKATEWEAR / STREET
0903 641826
Bamskateshop.com.vn
BAM SKATE SHOP
BOO
STREETWEAR
187A Hai Ba Trung, Q3
n D
u
Nguy
Du
n
L
in
h
ng
Qu
nh
BUDS
INTERNATIONAL
41/1 Pham Ngoc Thach, Q3,
Tr
n
u
i
X
Tr
Th
i
n L Lai
B
uy
g
N
HIDEAWAY
Bi
n
Th
n
g
40C Tran Cao Van, Q3, Tel:
(08) 3823 3398
ICE-CREAM PARLOUR
Tel: (08) 3932 2778
budsicecream.com.vn
Kh
ai
ng
y
n
u
Ng
Th
n
L
Thi
ng
Na
m
Ca
o
i
n
Ph
Kh
i
a
Ngh
BARS & CLUBS
te
et
lm
Ca
ng
i
Ha
n
i
V
n
n
Bi
L Thi T
LOUNGE BAR & TERRACE

6th & 7th Floor, 2bis Cong
Truong Quoc Te, Q3, Tel:
0907 502951

simply email us on
well try our best
Tr
n
g
i
Kh
Ba
Th
i
Ha
Villa 35A, Street 41, Thao

Dien, Q2, Tel:(08) 3519 4671
avedaherbal@gmail.com
104A Xuan Thuy, Thao Dien,
Q2, Tel: (08) 3512 4321
n
Th
i
Th
AVEDA HERBAL SPA
Ph
C
ch
Ba
ACOUSTIC
Thao Dien Village, Nguyen

Van Huong, Q2, Tel: 3744
2222
Th
n
g
nh
Th
AUTHENTIC SPA
ng
g
nh
District
10
MEDICAL & DENTAL
SALONS & SPAS
Tr
n
District 1
Ha
i
Ng
h
a
Ho
n
g
C
ch
h
n
Sa
n
i
H
ng
Vn
Kh
i
Tr
n
Th
H o
ng
Ti
Hi
Th
n
g
Na
m
K
i
nh
Th
www.firstBIKE.com.vn
FirstBIKE balance bikes for
two to five-year-olds eliminate the need for training
wheels or stabilisers, and
support proper balance development.
3744 2000
com
Fullservice 24hour
healthcare provider with
highlyqualified doctors
handling everything from
emergencies to tests and
Xrays, inpatient and out
patient care, checkups,
travel medicine and medical
evacuations.
nh
Sa
Tr
n
g
FIRSTBIKE VIETNAM
M
ng
V
V
Ng
n
uy
T
n
n
Th
M
in
h
Kh
a
KIDS
C
ch
L Ch
ng
Ha
i
ng
S
u
Ho
V
n
Sa
Th
V
n
T
Ng
n
uy
n
Th
Binh Thanh
DISTRICT 3
BARS & CLUBS / CAFES & ICE-CREAM / CLOTHING & ACCESSORIES /

CRAFTS & FURNITURE / EAT / FITNESS, DANCE & YOGA / HAIRDRESSERS /
INTERNATIONAL SCHOOLS / MEDICAL & DENTAL / SALONS & SPAS
Hong
48 Tran Ngoc Dien, Q2, Tel:

(08) 3519 4625
Conceptcoiffure.vn
Open daily from 9am to 8pm
Hair stylist and colourist specialist Sandrine has relocated her long-standing flagship
salon Venus Coiffure to a villa
in Thao Dien. A full range of
services is offered including
a dedicated kids salon.
hT
hn
g
CONCEPT COIFFURE
L
Ch
n
HAIRDRESSERS
EAT
boo.vn
CRAFTS
& FURNITURE
ATC FURNITURE
ECO-FRIENDLY FURNITURE
SR1: 268B Nam Ky Khoi
Nghia, Dist.3, HCMC, Tel: (08)
39326455
SR2: 30A Nguyen Huu Canh,
Binh Thanh, HCMC, Tel: (08)
38403946
atc-craft.com
Filled with the scent of nature, is it what you are looking for to spice up the living
space of your home? Come
to ATC FURNITURE, you will
find a wide range of moderndesigned products (sofas,
chairs, beds...) manufactured
from eco-friendly materials
(water hyacinth & rattan). Our
outdoor (poly rattan) wickerfurniture range is suited
to your balcony or garden
space. A hanging (hammock)
chair is irresistible for complete relaxation after a long
day at work.
REMIX DECO
INDOOR FURNITURE
222 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai,
Q3, Tel: (08) 3930 4190
remixdeco.com
AU LAC DO BRAZIL
BRAZILIAN CHURRASCO
3820 7157
aulacdobrazil.com
Open for over a decade, Au
Lac Do Brazil is home to the
city's best Churrasco menu
with a wide variety of meats
from Calabrian sausage
and picanha through to
D-rump steak and smoked
hams. Pioneering the eatas-much-as-you-can theme
in Vietnam, Passadors bring
the meat skewers to your
table, and you, the customer
then choose your accompaniments from the salad bar.
Best washed down with red
wine or a Caipirinha or five.
BANH CANH HOANG TY
BANH CANH / TAY NINH CUISINE

70 Vo Van Tan, Q3
BEEFSTEAK NAM SON
VIETNAMESE STEAKHOUSE
200 Bis Nguyen Thi Minh
Khai, Q3; 157 Nam Ky Khoi
Nghia, Q3, Tel: (08) 3930 3917
Namsonsteak.com
HCMC
PHO HOA
TATTOO ARTISTS
With tattoos becoming increasingly popular, over
the past few years there
has been an increase in
the number of tattoo studios around the city.
Customers have the
choice of picking their
own tattoo out of the
many look books on offer
in the studios or bringing
in their own design. Most
of the studios offer bodypiercing services as well.
Pricing depends on size
and style.
LAC VIET TATTOO 608

Dien Bien Phu, Q10
Tel: (08) 3830 4668
106 Pasteur, Q1
Tel: (08) 3821 7068
lacviettattoo.com
SAIGON BODY ART

135 Cong Quynh, Q1
Tel: 0908 443311
saigonbodyart.com
SAIGON INK
26 Tran Hung Dao, Q1
Tel: (08) 3836 1090
tattoovietnam.com
SAIGON TATTOO
31B Nguyen Du, Q1
saigontattoo.net
SAIGON TATTOO GROUP

81 Bui Vien, Q1
Tel: 0908 573339
xamnghethuat.vn
BAHDJA
2nd Floor, 27 Le Quy Don, Q3
Tel: 0122 763 1261
bahdjarestaurant@gmail.
com
Located just above the Thai
restaurant Spice, Bahdja is
Saigons first ever Algerian
restaurant, serving authentic, multi-ethnic Berber
North African and Mediterranean cuisine cooked and
served in a traditional Algerian style. Best experienced
in a group, this pleasant
restaurants soothing ambience is matched by the owners genuine hospitality and
complimented by an array of
tasty tajines and couscousbased dishes. Has a lovely
semi-outdoor terrace area.
HIGHWAY 4
NORTHERN / PAN-VIETNAMESE
3602 2069
highway4.com
Named after the mountain
highway that skirts the Chinese-Vietnamese border to
the north, Highway 4 serves
up authentic north Vietnamese cuisine. Also does
excellent Son Tinh branded
rice wine.
JOIE DE VIVRE
WESTERN / FRENCH
292/10, Cach Mang Thang
Tam, Q3 Tel: (08) 6260 0066
facebook.com/joie.vn
TATTOO SAIGON
128 Nguyen Cu Trinh, Q1
Tel: 0938 303838
tattoosaigon.com
TATTOO TAM BI
209 Bui Vien, Q1
Tel: 0919 034383
xamphunnghethuat.com
PHO EATERY
260C Pasteur, Q3, Tel: (08)
3829 7943
massage spaces in Districts

2 and 3. Private and group
yoga classes. Home visits
available.
SHRI
SAIGON BELLY DANCE
CONTEMPORARY EUROPEAN
23rd Floor, Centec Tower,
7274 Nguyen Thi Minh
Khai, Q3, Tel: (08) 3827 9631
A breezy terrace, indoor
bar and separate dining
room with sweeping views
over central Saigon make
up this enormous, comfortable space. A well-thought
out and romantic venue,
with excellent food.
SUSHI DINING AOI
SUSHI / SASHIMI
53-55 Ba Huyen Thanh
Quan, Q3, Tel: (08) 3930
0039
sushidiningaoi.com
Sushi Dining AOI offers fullblown Japanese-style sushi,
sashimi, and other dishes
such as tempura, pork cutlet and cold soba noodles
in a warm and friendly atmosphere. Good value set
lunches. Probably the best
sushi in town.
TIB
HUE / VIETNAMESE
(08) 3829 7242
Tibrestaurant.com.vn
VIET CHAY
VEGAN
Vinh Nghiem Pagoda, 339
Nam Ky Khoi Nghia, Q3
vietchay.vn

simply email us on
well try our best
MICHELLE LLOYD YOGA & MASSAGE THERAPY
YOGA
Tel: 0909 648193
michelle@michellelloyd.com
michellelloyd.com
American trained and licensed massage therapist
and certified yoga instructor. Dedicated yoga and
BELLY DANCE
No 96, Street 2, Cu Xa Do
Thanh, Q3, Tel: (08) 3832
9429
saigonbellydance.com
HAIRDRESSERS
YKC HAIR STUDIO

(08) 3829 2791
MEDICAL & DENTAL

STARLIGHT DENTAL CLINIC

2 Bis Cong Truong Quoc Te,
Q3, Tel: (08) 3822 6222
starlightdental.net
Longestablished, modern
clinic with French, Canadian, Belgian & Vietnamese
dentists. A favourite of the
foreign residential community due to its modern and
effective treatments allied
with extremely reasonable
prices.
AMERICAN CHIROPRACTIC CLINIC
CHIROPRACTOR
161-161A Hai Ba Trung, Q3,
Tel: (08) 3939 3930
www.acc.vn
A clinic provides world class
Chiropractic, Physiotherapy
and Foot Care. We specialize
in provides effective treatment for back, neck and knee
pain, sports injuries, and all
types of foot problems. We
also provide effective treatment for Flat foot syndrome
in children and adult.
INTERNATIONAL SOS DENTAL

CLINIC

Tel: (08) 3829 8424
internationalsos.com
Globally renowned provider

of medical assistance and
international healthcare
offers full dental services
in the clinic. Foreign and Vietnamese dentists provide
high skilled dental service.
Orthodontics is also available.
INTERNATIONAL SOS HCMC

MEDICAL CLINIC
INTERNATIONAL CLINIC / MEDIVAC

Tel: (08) 3829 8424
internationalsos.com
The worlds leading provider
of medical assistance and
international healthcare offers primary health care, diagnostic services and 24/7
emergency care. Specialist
care is available in many
fields.
STAMFORD SKIN CENTRE

99 Suong Nguyet Anh, Q1
Tel: (08). 3925 1990 - 0908
453 338
stamfordskin.com
Stamford Skin Centre offers
a broad range of medical and
aesthetic skin treatments.
Their international dermatologists and doctors ensure
accurate diagnosis and safe
treatment procedures. It
houses excellent equipment
for a variety of procedures.
TRADITIONAL MEDICINE
HOSPITAL
EASTERN MEDICINE
Tel: (08) 3932 6579
SALONS & SPAS

AVEDA HERBAL SPA
Villa 35A, Street 41, Thao
Dien, Q2, Tel:(08) 3519 4671
avedaherbal@gmail.com
YKC SPA
(08) 3829 2791
ykcspa.com
SHOPPING MALLS
DIAMOND PLAZA
34 Le Duan, Q1. Tel: (08)

3825 7750
9am to 10pm
Cosmetics, Perfume,
Clothing, Accessories,
Electronics, Caf, Food
Court
HUNG VUONG PLAZA
126 Hung Vuong, Q5. Tel:

(08) 2222 0383
9.30am to 10pm
Cosmetics, Perfume,
Court
PARKSON PLAZA
35-45 Le Thanh Ton, Q1.

Tel: (08) 3827 7636
9.30am to 10pm
Cosmetics, Perfume,
Court
SAIGON CENTRE
65 Le Loi, Q1. Tel: (08)

3829 4888
9am to 9pm
Cosmetics, Perfume,
Court
SAIGON SQUARE
77-89 Nam Ky Khoi Nghia,

Q1
9am to 9pm
Cosmetics, Perfume,
Electronics
SAIGON TAX
Trading Centre
135 Nguyen Hue, Q1. Tel:
(08) 3821 3849
9am to 9.30pm
Cosmetics, Perfume,
Electronics, Souvenirs,
Restaurant
VINCOM CENTER
70-72 Le Thanh Ton, Q1.

Tel: (08) 3936 9999
9am to 10pm
Cosmetics, Perfume,
Court
ZEN PLAZA
54-56 Nguyen Trai, Q1 Tel:

(08) 3925 0339
9am to 10pm
Cosmetics, Perfume,
Court
HCMC
STUDENT EYE
THE SLANG WORKSHOP
s an international student in the

US, I felt compelled last month
to go to a slang workshop at
Temple Universitys Writing
Center, to better understand the
American tongue and avoid future
awkwardness. There was good reason
for this.
At a recent networking event, I got into
a funny situation because of my foreign
pronunciation skills. The convention room
was crowded with business students
eager to network. I started to feel out of
place and wanted to go back, so I went
around the room to look for the friend Id
come with, Chi.
This five-foot tall girl was nowhere to
be found and I was losing my patience.
I turned to an American classmate and
asked: Wheres Chi? He looked at
me strangely, then started to laugh. He
turned to another classmate and repeated
my question, Wheres Chi? and both
of them broke into laughter.
You can imagine how strange this
situation must have been to me. So I did
what every Vietnamese would have done:
I laughed along. When my classmate
could finally catch his breath, he told me
not to say this to anyone else.

I left the meeting feeling like I had
missed something. A few days later, I met
Chi again in class. Seriously, what did I
miss? I wanted to know. I was looking
for you everywhere and kept asking
Wheres Chi?
Once she heard that, she suddenly
stopped laughing. Oh my god Anh,
were so sorry, we all thought you had a
problem, it sounded like you were saying
wedgie!
In the time since, Ive picked up some
tricks. What follows is a list of tips for
acting cool in difficult situations. From my
mistakes, I came back stronger and so can
you!
Getting Cool
1) If you meet your crush and youre too
scared to stay, say I gotta bounce and run
for your life.
2) Youre tired after a party? Say
Mamas gotta siesta after fiesta and
pass out on your friends couch. (The
sentence is half-Spanish for their partyanimal reputation, but so far Ive only seen
Koreans and Vietnamese passed out on
strangers couches.)
BY ANH NGUYEN
3) ETA is estimated time of arrival,

though I thought it meant envy that ass.
4) If you dont want to waste your
parents money and try to stay in the
dining hall as long as possible, youll end
up with food comas/food babies and the
freshman 15 condition (the freshman
6.8 in metric-scale countries). But dont
worry, Ill probably be near the hamburger
counter rubbing my bloated belly if you
need to complain.
5) Youre new to the party and want
to look cool, when they ask which year
you are in, give them a sexy look and
say frosh. It means freshman but its
shorter and sounds cooler. Youll blend in
in no time!
6) If you are ignored after trying number
5, they are noobs and its not your faux-pas
because were too cool for school! Peace
out!
I rest my case.
Signed,
The Wise Turtle of Temple
Anh Nguyen is a first-year student at Temple
University in Philadelphia, United States,
enrolled in the Department of Journalism
smc.temple.edu/journalism
HCMC
DELIVERY
BEN STYLE
Tel: 0906 912730
www.vietnammm.com/
restaurants-ben-style
Healthy, calorie-counted
sandwich and deli fare
phu my hung
BAKERIES / BARS & CLUBS / CRAFTS & FURNITURE / EAT / FITNESS, DANCE
& YOGA / INTERNATIONAL SCHOOLS / MEDICAL & DENTAL
ng
yn
Ch
N gu
CHEZ GUIDO
PANORMA FITNESS
Nguyn Vn Linh
n
V
AMERICAN EYE CENTER
g
n
Tel: (08) 6660 1577

Californian-style burritos
DISTRICT 7
PHU MY HUNG
www.hungrypanda.vn
Delivery service website
for local restaurants
BAKERIES
KFC
LOTTERIA
Tel: (08) 3910 0000
www.lotteria.vn
Burgers, fried chicken,
sides
PIZZA HUT (PHD)

Tel: (08) 3838 8388
www.pizzahut.vn
Pizzas, wings, pasta, appetizers
SCOOZI
Tel: (08) 3823 5795
www.scoozipizza.com
Pizzas, pasta, salad, antipasti, desserts
TACO BICH
www.tacobich.com
Homemade Mexican fare
WILLY WOOS
Tel: (08) 3941 5433
www.blackcatsaigon.com
US-style chicken and
waffles
VIETNAMMM
www.vietnammm.com
gB
EL GATO NEGRO
Tel: (08) 3848 9999

www.kfcvietnam.com.vn
Fried chicken, chicken
burgers, sides
Ph
nh
C
n
L
n
uy
Nguy
c
n
n
Tr
n
T
n
Ti
t
nD
T
Tr
Ng
www.eat.vn
H Huy Tp
MEDICAL & DENTAL
n
B
g
n
L
EAT.VN
n
uy
Ph
V
n
L in
n
T
Linh
Nguyn c C
Tel: (08) 3939 3030

www.dominos.vn
Pizzas, wings, desserts
Ng
n
uy
Ng
Nguyn Vn
DOMINOS PIZZA
INTENSIVE / FULL-BODY WORKOUTS

206 Tran Van Tra, Q7, Tel:
01654 058401 / 01629
546534
cezsaigon@gmail.com
Nguyn
ng Ch
Tel: (08) 3898 3747

www.chezguido.com
Vietnamese, international
fare, pizza, pasta, sandwiches
HUNGRYPANDA.VN
complexs lagoon, this centre offers modern facilities, a

gym with Technogym equipment allowing users to track
their progress. Includes fitness classes, yoga, squash
courts, pool, steam bath and
nutrition bar.
LAMOUR
BAKERY & CAFE

Hung Phuoc 2, Le Van Thiem,
Q7, Tel: (08) 5410 4072
lamourbakery.com.vn
SAVOURE
BAKERY
Grand View, SD 4-1, Nguyen
Duc Canh, Q7
SIMRANS
BAKERY
SL15-1 Grand View, Nguyen
Duc Canh, Q7, Tel: 0908
828552
simrans.sg
BARS & CLUBS

BANANA BAR
EXPAT BAR
SA8-1 Parkview, Nguyen
Duc Canh, Phu My Hung, Q7,
Tel: (08) 5412 3282
A downstairs pool table, an
open, street side terrace and
specials on Tiger draft, this
fun but slightly run-down
joint is a local haunt for many
a resident of Saigon South.
PEACHES
CURRY PUB
S57-1 Sky Garden 2, Phu
My Hung, Q7, Tel: (08) 5410
0999
Known as the Curry Pub,
this pleasant Saigon South
watering hole mixes the beer
with all things curry anything from Goan fish curries
to beef rendangs and more.
A popular local haunt.
RUBY SOHO
CARTOON BAR
S52-1 Sky Garden 2, Q7, Tel:
(08) 5410 3900
THE TAVERN
EXPAT & SPORTS BAR

R2-24 Hung Gia 3, Bui Bang
Doan, Q7, Tel: (08) 5410
3900
The first bar established in
Saigon South, great food,
great music and loads of
laughs. Has regular live
music nights, theme nights
and a variety of live sports
events to please everybody.
Big screens and outdoor
seating add to the mix, with
BBQs available for parties
and events.
CRAFTS & FURNITURE

BELLAVITA
HIGH-END FURNITURE
The Crescent Mall, 101 Ton
Dat Tien, Q7, Tel: (08) 5413
7355
bellavitafurniture.com
MEKONG CREATIONS
FAIR TRADE CRAFTS

35-37 Ngo Duc Ke, Q1, Tel:
(08) 2210 3110; S17 Sky
Garden, Nguyen Van Linh,
Q7, Tel: (08) 6271 7758
mekong-creations.org
MEKONG QUILTS
HAND-MADE QUILTS
S17-1 Sky Garden , Nguyen
Van Linh, Q7, Tel: (08) 6271
7758
mekong-quilts.org
EAT
BOOMARANG BISTRO SAIGON
INTERNATIONAL / GRILL
CR2 3-4, 107 Ton Dat Tien,
Phu My Hung, Q7, Tel: (08)
5413 6592
boomarang.com.vn
Australian themed but Singaporean-owned eatery and
bar on The Crescent with
great terraced seating specializing in huge-portioned
international fare, all set in
a contemporary, spacious
environment.
(08) 5410 0822

nathaliesrestaurant.com
SCOTT AND BINHS
INTERNATIONAL
15-17 Cao Trieu Phat, Phu
My Hung, Q7, Tel: 0948
901465
bizuhotel.com/main/pages/
scottbinhs.php
Serving creative, all homemade comfort food, this
restaurant boasts a full bar,
ice-cold beer and an international wine list to complement meals. Has a focus
on the creative use of local
ingredients.
EL GAUCHO
Unit CR1-12, The Crescent,
Phu My Hung, Q7, Tel: (08)
5413 6909
elgaucho.com.vn
A pleasant downtown eatery mixing an Argentinian
steakhouse theme with pork,
chicken, lamb, homemade
spicy sausage, skewers,
burger dishes and everything that can come off a
grill.
HOANG YEN
PAN-VIETNAMESE
The Crescent, 103 Ton Dat
Tien, Q7, Tel: (08) 2210 2304
MING DYNASTY
LAVISH CHINESE / VIETNAMESE

23 Nguyen Khac Vien, Q7, Tel:
(08) 5411 5555
NATHALIES
THAI / VIETNAMESE
S9 Hung Vuong 3, Q7, Tel:
VIVA TAPAS BAR & GRILL
GRILL & BAR/ TAPAS

R4-28 Cao Trieu Phat, Phu
My Hung, Q7
facebook.com/VIVATapasBar.pmh
As well as classical Andalusian tapas, VIVA serves up a
selection of original but flavourful dishes for those who
dare to try. A Mediterranean-themed interior and a desire to provide something not
presently available in Saigon
South sets this joint apart.

CRESCENT WELLNESS CLUB
GYM, POOL, SQUASH

3rd Floor, Crescent Plaza,
105 Ton Dat Tien, Phu My
Hung, Tel: (08) 5412 1277
The-crescent.com
Overlooking the Crescent
5th Floor, Crescent Plaza,

105 Ton Dat Tien, Q7
Tel: 5413 6758 / 5413 6759
www.americaneyecentervn.
com
American Eye Center is located in the heart of Phu My
Hung, providing eye care
services to Adults and Children by an American Boardcertified ophthalmologist
with 17 years of experience.
The American-standard
facility is equipped with
state of the art equipments
for the early detection and
treatment of important eye
diseases from Lasik and cataract surgeries to presbyopia, glaucoma and diabetic
eye disease treatments.
Cosmetic procedures such
as eyelid surgery and Botox
injections are also available.
FV HOSPITAL
6 Nguyen Luong Bang, Saigon South Parkway, Q7, Tel:
(08) 5411 3333
Emergency: (08) 5411 3500
fvhospital.com
International hospital
whose standard of health
care matches that found
anywhere, with 19 fulltime
French doctors and 58 Vietnamese doctors, providing
expertise in 30 medical and
surgical areas, especially
maternity care.
HAPPINESS (HANH PHUC) ORIENTAL MEDICINE CENTER
EASTERN MEDICINE
432 Pham Thai Buong, Q7,
Tel: 0906 684 969
MAPLE HEALTHCARE
Md6 Nguyen Luong Bang, Q7
(across from FV Hospital),
Tel: Tel: (08) 5410 0100
maplehealthcare.net
Specialising in healthcare,
dental services and chiropractic medicine, the recently opened Maple Healthcare comes replete with the
latest technology together
with efficient and comfortable service.
HCMC
A WORLD
OF
UH OH, VOLUNTEERS
GOOD
BY DANA MCNAIRN
US Navy volunteers help the NGO, Kids Against Hunger
colleague recently asked me

about the best way to use
volunteers. Uh oh, I thought,
this is always tricky, but heres
what I said.
I know two volunteers who came
here without researching Vietnam or the
nonprofit they signed up with, despite
having a clear job description and a
collaboratively-designed project. Less than
24 hours in-country, the couple decided
the project didnt suit their personality.
They expressed repeated concerns about
not eating spicy food and arranging living
quarters immediately so they could have a
kitchen because they had to have toast in
the morning. Wow, if you cant let go of
your toast then this countrys really gonna
rock your world.
Volunteers and receiving organisations
need to carefully vet one another. Its really
OK to say Thanks, but no thanks in the
pre-arrival stages and save those inevitable
tears later on.
Did the volunteer check in with any
former volunteers to find out about the
host and their projects? Did they dig
deep in their research and study? Does
the host organisation have a decent incountry orientation? Would you apply
for an internship at an engineering firm
without at least searching websites

and understanding basic mathematics?
Probably not. So why do others assume
that because theyre from a developed
nation that means theyre an expert in a
poor country? First up in your pre-trip
departure planning: learn the meaning of
neocolonialism.
What You Need to Know

So, if you want to volunteer and you think
youre ready, keep this handy checklist in
mind. Are you flexible? Youre overseas
(likely for the first time) and uh, things are
different than home. Several years ago I
knew some interns leaving after just three
days here because they couldnt handle the
traffic. If your big project falls apart due to
innumerable reasons (and they do) are you
OK with trying something else?
This leads to are you a team player? (No,
really.) The nonprofit may need you to
jump in with small tasks that arent part
of any agreed project, but are vital to the
day-to-day running of typically resourcestrapped charities. Next, keep your moral
indignation to yourself. Yes, weve got
poverty and malnutrition and street
children here, but Im more interested in
your professional skill-set contribution to
the task at hand.
Can you demonstrate real-world

knowledge transfer? Do you take time for
daily reflexivity?
And what about the receiving
organisations? Ive said before that
nonprofits regularly mess up with
volunteers, but letting folks in the door
for some free labour just because they
like the food, culture or weather is not
good enough. Have you shared your
vision, mission and values and expect
people to adhere to them? Do you care if
volunteers understand this? Do you let an
international volunteer sit for weeks on end
twiddling her thumbs waiting for official
permission to go to your rural project
sites? Perhaps the host nonprofit should
have given this some thought prior to the
volunteers arrival because this isnt new
news; its Vietnamese law.
Did you ask for a project your
organisation can actually support (and
needs) or are you just going to figure it
out when the volunteer turns up?
Way back when I started out, I was a
volunteer. And you can be one, too. And
funny, it will pretty much have nothing to
do with breakfast.
Dana McNairn is the CEO of KOTO, a
nonprofit social enterprise and vocational
training programme for at-risk youth
16
Gii Bng N
Si Gn 2015
i bng no s ginh chin chc

v ch nm nay?
ii u bng n Si Gn ln th 5
quay tr li ti sn vn ng Qun 3,
ha hn nhiu mu sc v gay cn vi
tm i tranh nhau chc v ch.
Ti ngh rng trang phc v tnh cnh tranh
ca gii u lm cho mi ngi rt ho hc, Daren
Cheng, ngi c kinh nghim lu nm t chc gii
u ny cho bit. (Cc i) c mt vi thng
chun b v u tuyn b h l i mnh nht.
Anh Cheng thi u trong gii u nm u
tin, sau lui vo lm cng vic t chc cho gii
u ln th hai v th ba, v tr li thi u gii
nm th t. (Anh tit l s dn chng trnh cho
gii u nm nay, v cng l nm th ba lin tip
anh dn chng trnh). Anh vn rt khn kho mc
d khng thnh cng chc v ch nm ngoi
do b i Cuc Chin ca Cc Tay Nm, i chi
theo phong cch thi Trung C.
Mi gii u li c s khc bit, anh Cheng ni.
Cc i u c nhng ci tn rt khi hi.
Anh cng cho bit thm d th no chng na
ch cn mt i gi c mt ngi chi trn sn
ca mnh, h vn c c hi ginh chin thng. K
c mt ngi mi chi cng c th ginh li c
quyn chi ch sau mt c bt bng.
Cng vi s ln mnh ca cu lc b, ngy cng
c nhiu thnh vin ngi Vit Nam tham gia. V
s lng, hin nay ngi Vit v ngi nc ngoi
kh tng ng nhau. Anh Cheng cng cho bit
s lng ngi chi trong cu lc b Phnom
Pnh, Cam-pu-chia vn c mt thnh vin ca
cu lc b bng n Si Gn trc y gp phn sng
lp, nay cng ang pht trin tt. Harry Hodge
Gii u bng n Si Gn 2015 s din ra ti sn
vn ng Rch Miu, s 1 ng Hoa Phng, Q3,
TH BY
TP. HCM
L HI ESCAPE: NEXT INVASION

Chng ti bit cc bn thng khng cn nhiu
nhit huyt sau nhng k ngh l di. Nhng
chng ta c mt y tham gia ba tic khiu
v ln nht ca Si Gn vi nhng bn nhc
cht lng vng ca Tc Tin, Long Halo v DJ
Hong Touliver. L hi s din ra qun 7 vi
thc ung s c phc v bt u t 18:00 gi
y l m nhc m bn khng mun b qua.
t v, xin gh facebook.com/escape.vn,
hoc gi theo s 0909 404490. L hi s din ra
ti L 13, Tn Tro, Q7, Tp. HCM
27
TH T
TP. HCM
NHM LITTLE BARRIE TR LI
TP HCM vo ngy 23 thng 5. ng k s ng li

vo u thng 5 nhng khn gi c th vo xem tt
c cc trn.
tham gia chi trong cu lc b thng xuyn
vo bui ti, bn c th ti s 75 Nguyn nh Chiu,
Q3, TP HCM cc ngy th Hai v th T lc 20 gi.
c thm thng tin, truy cp trang Facebook hoc
vo trang saigondodgeball.org
Bn cn nh ci m tuyt nht bn tng tri

qua Apocalypse Now? Khng, khng phi ci
m u m l ci m khi nhm Dengue
Fever biu din tng trt, v nhm nhc blue
Little Barrie ngi Anh gn nh thi bung cnh
ca khi bt u m mn.
Loud Minority s em n s tr li ln u
tin ca nhm nhc k cu Little Barrie ti mt
mi trng thoi mi ca Cargo Bar. y cng
l dp may mn thng thc a con tinh
thn ca tay guitar Barrie Cadogan ngay sau
khi album Shadow c nh gi cao ra i,
v bi ht chnh cho chng trnh truyn hnh
Better Call Saul c pht sng. Tht ra, bt
c lc no cng l thi im tt cho vic xem
Barrie Cadogan biu din, ngi th lnh ti
nng ny c Edwyn Collins t danh hiu
tay guitar hay nht th h ca anh
Little Barrie s biu din Cargo Bar (7
Nguyn Tt Thnh, Q4, Tp. HCMC), lc 19:30.
Gi v l 350,000 ng cho v t trc, v
450,000 ng cho mua ti ca v hin c
bn ti ticketbox.vn v Asian Kitchen (185/22
Phm Ng Lo, Q1, Tp. HCM)
Bin Tng
Thnh Hin Thc
Gy qu cng ng vn cn kh mi m Vit Nam. Hoa L gp ba gng mt
bin tng ca h thnh hin thc nh vo vic thuyt phc c rt nhiu
ngi gp vn cho cc d n ca mnh. nh do cc nhm cung cp
hng T nm ngoi, Thnh Phong, mt

trong nhng ha s truyn tranh ni ting
nht Vit Nam tung ra mt chin dch
ku gi vn cng ng qua mng. Cng
vi ngi bn ng hnh ca mnh l Khnh
Dng, Phong hi vng s nh vo s ng h ca
cng ng c chi ph sn xut mt b truyn
tranh mi. Chin dch ca anh lm cng ng
mng dy sng.
Rt nhiu ngi t m mun bit tc gi ht sc
sng to ca tp truyn St th u mng m ang
p iu g.
V h cng t m mun bit v mt th khc.
l mt hnh thc u t mi m, vi tn gi
ku gi vn cng ng. Khi hnh thc ny cn
kh xa l vi h. Nhng rt nhiu ngi b cun
ht vo vic h s c xem b truyn tranh mi
ca Thnh Phong vi tn gi Long Thn Tng, v
vy s lng ngi ng gp tin vo qu tr
nn rt nhiu.
Thc t phn ng ca cng ng mng c
Phong v Dng tin on trc. Nhng liu d n
ca h c thnh cng, v nhng khn gi tim nng
c nim tin gy c mt s tin mc tiu
l 300 triu ng cho tp mt ca b truyn l iu
h khng th d on trc c.
C rt t cc d n gy qu cng ng thnh
cng Vit Nam, Dng chia s, anh cng l ngi
a ra tng v xy dng h thng chy d
n. 300 triu ng l s tin kh ln thc t y
l con s ln nht m mt d n dng ny t mc

tiu Vit Nam ti thi im .
Anh ni thm: Thi gian u, th thch ln
nht ca mnh l thuyt phc c Phong vi
tng . Khi Thnh Phong kh rt r mt
phn v nu d n tht bi th rt c th nh hng
ti ting tm ca anh.
C rt nhiu l do mt nhm cc ngh s
quyt nh s dng hnh thc ku gi vn cng
ng nhm bin cc tng ca h thnh hin
thc. i vi Phong v Dng, l do l c
c quyn vi cc tc phm ca mnh, c th t do
lm theo mun ca mnh i vi b truyn tranh.
Thng thng, vic xut bn ca Vit Nam phi
c thc hin trong phm vi mt nh xut bn
no v tc gi thng c rt t quyn i vi cc
tc phm ca h. Tuy nhin, i li vi s t do h
s c c, vic thnh cng ca d n ca Dng v
Phong s ph thuc vo vic gy dng qu nu
h khng gy c s tin , d n s coi nh
tht bi.
Cn i vi d n Echoes, trc y c bit
n vi tn gi Hanoi Soundwalk, nhc s Josh
Kocepek v -kp ca anh lc u nhn c ti tr
t i s qun an Mch. Nhng h cn nhiu tin
hn c th tip tc pht trin d n sang bc
th hai v m rng n ti mt quc gia khc.
Tng t nh vy, vic nhn c s tin ch c
gii hn t cc qu quc t cng l l do vic nhm
thc hin d n Khu 9- Mt b phim ti liu quyt
nh tham gia hnh thc gy qu cng ng vo

thng 8 nm ngoi. S tin ti tr h nhn c t
Vin Goethe khng h hon thin b phim
di 60 pht ny. H cn thm 105 triu ng na
cho giai on hu k sn xut.
Nhng trang mng h tr hnh thc gy qu
cng ng nh Kickstarter, Indiegogo, Gofundme v
Rockethub tr thnh mt phng tin online rt
hiu qu h tr v mt ti chnh cho vic pht
trin sn phm v thc hin cc nghin cu th
trng. Vit Nam, mc d vy, cch tip cn ny
vn cn kh mi m. Nm 2013, mt nhm thanh
nin tr tui y nhit huyt to ra mt trang
mng u tin bng ting Vit h tr hnh thc ny
vi tn gi IG9 v kh thnh cng trong vic gy
dng qu cho mt vi d n, nhng h thng ny
ngng hot ng sau khong mt nm. m
bo s thnh cng ca mt d n gy qu cng
ng trong mt th trng cn kh mi m nh
Vit Nam, cc ngh s cn lm nhiu vic hn l ch
trng i vo may mn.
Tng ng
So vi cc loi hnh huy ng vn khc, nhng d

n gy qu cng ng ca cc ngh s thng c
li th. S sng to, th v v c sc ca cc d n
d c sc ht s ch t cng ng. Trong khi
cc d n x hi nh chin dch thin nguyn d
b coi l nhm chn bi ngi ta qu quen vi
chng ri.
S Chun b K lng
Trong chin dch Long Thn Tng, c Dng v

Phong u khng c mt ti khon ti M v v
th h khng th chy c chin dch trn nhng
trang in t quc t nh kickstarter.com. Trong
khong mt thng, Dng t xy dng mt
trang web ring vi cc chc nng tng t. Trang
web ny cho php nhng ngi mun u t cho
d n ca anh ti Vit Nam c th thanh ton bng
nhiu hnh thc khc nhau.
Khng phi mi ngi Vit Nam u c th
Master hay Visa thanh ton trc tip trn cc
trang quc t, Dng ni. V th trong h thng
ny, chng ti to ra mi hnh thc thanh ton c
th s dng Vit Nam m bn c th ngh ra c:
t vic chuyn khon ngn hng, ti vic chuyn
tin qua cy ATM hay np th in thoi thanh
ton. i vi nhng ai lm cng vic vn phng

hay ch n gin h ht tin ti khon v ngi ra
ngoi thanh ton, chng ti cung cp cho h s
in thoi v ch cn h nhc my ln, s c ngi
ca chng ti ti thu tin tn ni. Khi d n
mi khi ng, hu nh nhn lc ch c Dng v
Phong, v th h thu dch v giaohangnhanh.vn
tr gip trong nhng trng hp nh th.
Ngay c khi mt -kp quyt nh s dng nhng
h thng quc t c sn trong chin dch ca mnh,
nh vic Echoes s dng h thng Indiegogo, Josh
cho bit vn c rt nhiu nhng vic khc m h
cn phi chun b chy d n.
Chy d n i hi mt khi lng cng tc
chun b rt ln, anh ni. Chng ti phi lm
vic rt n lc m bo rng chin dch ca
mnh trng chuyn nghip v phi chun b sn ni
dung TH V lc no cng c ci chia s trong
sut qu trnh gy qu nhm gy s ch vi cng
ng.
Mt khi chin dch khi ng, -kp ng sau
Echoes lun phi trong t th sn sng bn sn
phm ca mnh thng qua th in t, i thoi
trc tip vi mi ngi, hoc trn trang Facebook.
Nhm ca Josh cng c mt bui biu din m
nhc trc tip mi ngi c th tri nghim v
gp tin cho d n.
Trong phn ln cc d n gy qu cng ng,
bn s khng c mt sn phm hon chnh
mang bn m ch c tng v k hoch trin khai.
Chnh v th, vic chun b mt trang web chuyn
nghip, trang Facebook v mt on clip th hin
c d n ca mnh l mt iu ht sc cn thit.
Trong on clip ch di 2 pht nhng bn phi
lm sao ngi xem bit c bn l ai, Dng
gii thch. Nu bn khng lm tt c iu ny,
bn s tht bi.
-kp ca anh tr khong 10 triu ng c
c clip nh v chun b cc khu cn thit cho
chin dch.
SAVE
The
Date
Hnh nh bi Aidan Dockery
D n Khu 9 Mt b phim ti liu li cun

c s quan tm ca nhiu ngi bi vn c
sc m n cp ti. B phim k v s tn ti ngn
ngi ca Khu 9 t khi n c thnh lp ti khi b
sm ng ca vo cui nm 2013. Khu 9 l mt t
hp c sc v ngh thut v gii tr c to dng
vo u nm 2013 trn mt khu nh c ca cng ty
dc phm. Sau n nhanh chng thu ht c
cc ngh s n t khp ni trn th gii, tt c u
hi vng s chia s c nhng tng v th hin
c ti nng ca mnh. Khu ngh thut pht trin
cho ti thng Mi hai v mt tai nn xy ra y
khin cc c khu buc phi ng ca hoc ri
i, in nc ln lt b ct mt cch t ngt, cc
thng bo buc phi ri khi c gi ti cc h
kinh doanh. Mc d Khu 9 tn ti ch trong mt
thi gian ngn, d m ca n li cho ti tn hm
nay. Chin dch gy qu cho b phim ti liu ny
thnh cng gy dng c 122 triu ng sau
30 ngy.
i vi d n Echoes, gn y va c vinh
danh ti gii thng Cng Ngh Chu (Tech in
Asia), nhc s ngi Anh Josh v -kp ca mnh
pht trin mt ng dng trn in thoi thng
minh v mt bn m thanh da trn mt t hp
t truyn thng cho ti m nhc ng i. Ngi
tham gia s c tri nghim cm gic th v khi
h i do quanh mt lch trnh c lp trnh
sn, ti mi ni h dng li, m thanh th v s
pht ra, khi l ca tr, khi l mt on bng lch s
thng qua b tai nghe m h mang theo. Sau khi
d n chy th vo nm 2013, -kp ca Josh mong
mun m rng v thc hin c H Ni v th
Copenhagen ca an Mch. D n gy dng
c 109 triu ng sau 30 ngy.
Long Thn Tng ha hn mang ti nhng ngi
u t vo qu c hi c c mt b truyn tranh
ht sc th v, c v bi ngh s ti nng Thnh
Phong v -kp ca anh. Sau 60 ngy chy d n,
h huy ng c 330 triu ng. Sau thnh
cng , Phong v Dng chy mt chin dch
tip theo huy ng vn sn xut cho tp hai b
truyn. H hng ti mc tiu t c 200 triu v
ti ngy 31 thng 12 nm ngoi, ngy cui cng ca
chin dch, s tin qu thu v vt ngoi mc
tiu v t ti 250 triu ng.
cc nc phng Ty, c nhng chin dch
thnh cng vi nhng tng kh n gin, gn
nh bc pht, Dng ni. Nh chin dch lm
mn salad khoai ty [ca Zack Danger Brown]
nhn c s tin ng gp ln ti 55.000USD.
Nhng Vit Nam, ngi ta cha quen vi vic gy
qu cng ng ny, v th bn cn phi c nhng
tng chn chu hn.
ng T b Hi vng
Mt khi d n khi ng v chy, bn cng cn

iu chnh n nu thy cn thit. i tng khch
hng mc tiu ca Dng v Phong v nam n
la tui trn 25, c thu nhp t kh tr ln sng
ti H Ni v thnh ph H Ch Minh. Nhng
tip cn c i tng khch hng ny, h
chi khong 50 triu ng qung co thng qua
Facebook. iu ny gip h chn lc v tip cn
c nhng khch hng tim nng cng nh tng
kh nng c cng ng bit ti.
D n Long Thn Tng cng c rt nhiu nhng
sn phm tng li khch hng u t cho
h: t nhng bc tng m phng nhn vt trong
truyn cho ti vic ngi u t c th tr thnh
mt nhn vt ph trong tp truyn tranh.
Tuy vy, nu nhng ngy u tin, d n c v
chuyn ng kh chm chp, bn vn cn gi vng
c thi lc quan. Ti thy c nhng ngi
t ra rt tht vng v chn nn, nhng thc cht
vic s khng gip ch c g cho h c, anh
Josh ni.
Thng thng trong mt d n gy qu cng
ng, rt nhiu ngi s theo di thng xuyn qu
trnh tin trin ca n, nhng ch a ra quyt nh
u t vo nhng ngy cui cng ca chin dch.
Bn cn phi vt qua c ni s tht bi,
Dng ni. Chng ti c lc xc nh s tr li
tin cho nhng ngi ng gp khi d n khng
t c s tin mc tiu. Nhng tht may, iu
khng xy ra.
L HI ASEAN PRIDE
i S Qun Hoa K ti H Ni v CAMA Vit
Nam li mt ln na cng nhau t chc l hi
nhiu mu sc v ko di trong ngy vo th
By ngy 20/6 ti th H Ni.
Dn u s l n hong nhc indie-rock
ngi M gc Vit Tho Nguyn, cng vi
s tham gia ca nhm nhc y cm hng
O.J. Law ca Malaysia, ngoi ra cn c nhm
rock COCC t Si Gn, DJ Lotus Disco, T
Lm v nhm v cng khiu v trn giy cao
gt v cng nhiu nhm quc t v trong
nc khc. Tt c s c cng b mt tun
trc ngy din ra l hi. ASIAN Pride 2015
l chng trnh m nhc c xem l im
nhn ca nm.
V mng ngh thut, s c ch cc sn phm
a phng v tt nhin n thc ung cao
cp, l hi mt ln na s gii thiu cht lng
v s a dng ca gii th ba mi ni ny,
ng thi vn to ra mt khng gian an ton
n mng cho s a dng v gii tnh.
L hi nm trc thu ht hn 4,000
ngi n American Club H Ni tham
gia. L hi nm nay hy vng s tr thnh mt
s kin ln hn v tt hn.
bit thm thng tin chi tit, xin gh
camavietnam.org
The final say

PRO TIP #1
Native Vietnamese speakers

hear words differently than us
non-native speakers, Im told. Where
g and ga might sound pretty similar
to us, words with the same tone like
g and m often sound more similar
to someone raised with the language.
So, that waitress isnt giving you I dont
know what youre saying westerner
eyes because shes bored/repulsed
by your clumsy
Vietnamese... or is she?
PRO TIP #2
I call this one the best tip
Ive ever gotten. Dont worry so
much about being able to pronounce
the different tones out of the gate
worry about being able to hear them.
Once you can hear the differences,
its all downhill from there.
THE FINAL SAY
The Perks
of Learning
the Language
PRO TIP #3
Immerse yourself. Its what my
Vietnamese-speaking boss tells me.
Put yourself in situations where you
have to use Vietnamese. That is the only
way to truly learn the language. His own
particular solution was to find a caf
the forerunner of Chis Caf in Saigon,
in fact where the staff would sit
down with him, chat, and help him
practice his Vietnamese.
NATIONAL
Ed Weinberg has lived in Vietnam for three years

during which time hes learnt enough Vietnamese
not to starve. Well, he just points at things.
In January it all started to change
ive months ago I attempted to write

a humour piece called Foreigners
Shouldnt Speak Vietnamese Because it
Makes Me Look Bad. I was going to
pepper it with funny and ironic things,
like asking why people cant just point at
stuff instead of learning taxi Vietnamese,
and listing skills foreigners could learn that
wouldnt affect my self-worth. But it wasnt
that funny. I was actually jealous.
Four months ago, I started attending
a beginners Vietnamese class. Its my
second attempt at learning the language.

My teacher is the hilarious, energetic
Annie of minor YouTube fame (shes also
at learnvietnamesewithannie.com). She has a
series of videos available online that feature
common expressions, vocabulary associated
with different situations and her big,
humour-filled eyes.
Annie teaches us polite Vietnamese. She
always calls me anh Ed, and once wore an
ao dai to class. Five of us attend the Tuesday
and Thursday class, which started in January
and went through to the end of March last

month we started on level two. Two of my
friends also signed up, and theres a nice
convivial atmosphere for our awkward
first-date questioning about whether or
not we enjoy swimming.
And its already been paying off. As the
founder of this magazine whose superb
Vietnamese was the inspiration for that
Foreigners Shouldnt Speak Vietnamese article
said about when he started learning the
language, I just remember a whole new
world opening up.
Keeping your world open takes work.
When I first moved to Vietnam, I felt this
constant momentum even if what I was
doing was boring, I could just say Im
doing this... in Vietnam and it would lose
that dead-end feeling. That trick doesnt
work anymore.
Sometimes I lie to Vietnamese people
about how long Ive been here. I dont
really love those conversations about how
I should speak Vietnamese already it
sounds much better when that advice is
given in a future tense.
But its true. Although I use English
for work, and most of my Vietnamese
friends are fluent-ish, it matters to my life
here. Its the source of that small-moment
magic which makes the world always
seem new and unpredictable.
Getting Comfortable
I look at those expat forums a bit too
often. Theyre good for a lot of things,
especially wasting time. But once in a
while, a post gets at the core of the expat

dilemma.
In January, someone wrote a very
honest post on Expats in Ho Chi Minh
City, asking about how to deal with the
frustrations of living in Saigon. It wasnt
said in bitterness, it wasnt someone
trying to pick a fight. He was talking
about the frustrations many of us face
on a daily basis.
This time, it hit me while I was on my
way to work. The oblivious woman in
front of me was pissing me off. She didnt
see I was trying to squeeze back into the
correct lane before an oncoming truck
pulverised me.
I leaned on my horn. At first she didnt
realise where the sound was coming from
the scary truck roaring up behind? A
renegade taxi? Me? Eventually she figured
it out, and she moved.
I saw the tense look on her face and felt
remorse this time it was me creating the
stressful situation Im so often frustrated
by. I couldnt even bring myself to smile as
I looked at her panicked eyes.
And then I thought next time Im
in that situation, Ill yell, Chi oi! Xin
loi! Cho toi qua! Simple words I learned
a long time ago, but the dots never
connected.
Missed Connections
By the time I had a couple lessons under
my belt I was already feeling more
comfortable. I had put in some work
on my ridiculous pronunciation of the
word pho, which my friend likened to

pronouncing soup as sooooooooup. I
was feeling confident.
On the day our cleaners came by,
I engaged the non-English-speaking
husband of the pair in conversation for
the first time. I cobbled together a few
words, like xong roi (finished) and
bao (newspaper ), while holding up
the last issue of the magazine. I told
him how late I stayed up while finishing
edits on the issue. He repeated, Chin
gio sang? then said, Ooooh. It wasnt
much, but it sure beats the hell out of
Xin chao, anh khoe khong?
My classmate told me about her first
real conversation with her motherly
landlord, who sometimes gives her
food. She told her landlord she felt
sick, and her landlord asked if she was
pregnant (weve learnt some real-life
situation Vietnamese for sure). Lana
reacted in mock horror, saying she was
too young. The landlord then told Lana
that her sister had given birth to two
sons at the ages of 33 and 37, so Lana
has plenty of time.
Standing there on the sidewalk
after class, Lana said, So it was a
short conversation, but it was a real
conversation. This is something I think
about sometimes, so it was really nice to
hear an older Vietnamese woman say that
I still have plenty of time. This is one of
the reasons I want to learn Vietnamese,
to be able to speak with this woman who
Ive lived around for so long.
The final say
THE FINAL SAY
NATIONAL
Why You
Probably
Shouldnt
Bother
Learning
Vietnamese
Unless youre a lifer, Niko Savvas believes there
are much more useful things you could be doing
earning Vietnamese is not worth your

time.
If youve read Malcolm Gladwells
book Outliers (or if youve heard
somebody refer to it during a cocktail party,
which is more likely), then you already
know that it takes roughly 10,000 hours to
truly master a skill. As Gladwell himself
probably says*, there are exceptions to
this rule mathematical savants, child
prodigies and so on.
But these people are rare. Most sixyear-olds are more likely to swallow a
chess piece than use it as part of a brilliant
Steinitz Defense. And the 10,000 hours
figure itself is suspiciously precise. Anders
Ericcson, the psychologist whose work
Outliers is based on, later found that it may
take anywhere from 500 to 25,000 hours to
earn your metaphorical Expert badge.
In light of Ericcsons findings, consider
the following numbers:
500 hours 20.8 days 0.06 years
10,000 hours 416.6 days 1.14 years
25,000 hours 1,041.7 days 2.85 years
Lets pretend that you could master
Vietnamese in a mere 500 hours (you
cunning linguist, you). All youd need to do
is lock yourself in a dank, windowless room
for three solid weeks with your Pimsleur
tapes, several college-ruled notebooks,
and a towering pile of Bolivian nose sugar.
After a fortnight and a half, youd emerge
speaking fluent Tieng Viet, switching
seamlessly between Hanoi and Saigon
accents. Learning Vietnamese would seem
to be an excellent time investment.
Now compare this hypothetical scenario
*Your correspondent hasnt read the book, either.
to your real-life experience, in which the

hotpot waitress glares at you dumbly
while you beg to know the location of the
restroom. Chances are good that youre not
a Vietnamese-pronunciation wunderkind.
A Language Limited in Range and

Function
Youre not alone.
Vietnamese is a Category IV language
with significant linguistic and/or cultural
differences from English, according to the
U.S. Foreign Service Institute (FSI). The
FSI designates Vietnamese as one of the
most difficult Category IV languages to
learn, along with tongues such as Finnish,
Estonian and Magyar. Learning Vietnamese
is considerably more challenging than
trying to dust off your high school Spanish.
Which, if you think about it, would
probably be a much better use of your
time anyway Vietnamese is more or less
useless outside of Vietnam. The Vietnamese
Consulate General in Houston estimated
the total number of overseas Vietnamese
at around four million in 2014. The densest
concentration of people with Vietnamese
ancestry outside of Vietnam is found in the
United States, where they constitute 0.006
percent of the population.
In an international context, speaking
Vietnamese isnt going to help you travel.
It isnt going to help you work, either
the number of jobs requiring proficiency
in Vietnamese is roughly equivalent to the
number of jobs that require applicants to
have excellent fire-swallowing skills.
Vietnamese is not a particularly rich
literary, cinematic or musical language

either. Compared with Asian pop culture
trendsetters like Japan and South Korea,
Vietnamese artists produce little of note.
There are no Vietnamese equals to Haruki
Murakami or Bong Joon-Ho. The bestproduced TV programmes are knockoffs of
western shows like MasterChef or Vietnams
Got Talent. No one is breathlessly predicting
the rise of V-Pop.
Opportunity Cost
But if a person is going to live in Vietnam,
shouldnt he or she learn the language?
Isnt it a bit rude and presumptuous to
assume that you can move to a foreign
country and expect the local people to
speak your language?
The quick answer: no.
A more elaborate explanation: no,
because thats the entire point of having
an international language. In the days of
the Umayyad Caliphate, a traveller could
wander from modern-day Portugal down
to North Africa, then roam all the way to
India, so long as he had a decent grasp of
Arabic. Even in the 700s, people recognised
the value of a bridge language.
Lingua francas exist because they are
efficient by mastering one language, you
can suddenly communicate with people
from many places. Native English speakers
have it easy. Theyre inherently adept at the
worlds most versatile language.
Non-native speakers have to give up a lot
to achieve this proficiency: time, energy and
money. But the tangible benefits of learning
English (higher wages, easier travel, and
broader access to global culture) justify this

sacrifice of resources.
Unless youre planning to spend a very
long time in Vietnam, the opportunity
cost of studying Vietnamese is much less
favourable. Youre giving up too many of
your available non-working/sleeping/
eating hours for a skill that loses nearly all
its value the moment you leave the country.
To illustrate, assume that Gladwell is bad
at maths and that you can become fluent in
Vietnamese with 1,000 hours of practice.
If you studied seven days a week for
three hours a day, it would take you about
333 days to hit your target. This isnt
three hours of half-hearted listening to
podcasts or watching subtitled movies.
This is three hours of gulag work camp,
100 percent vein-popping mental selftorture with expensive tutors and learning
materials. After nearly a year of doing this
every day, youd be able to bargain more
effectively for mangos.
More realistically, though, it would take
you several years to reach this point.
Or you could spend a couple of hours
learning Vietnamese numbers and
interesting things to yell at taxi drivers,
then devote yourself to becoming a better
painter or tuba player or dessert chef to
doing something that might enrich the
world, rather than assuage your societally
conditioned guilt. Then you could take a
moment to consider where youd like to
watch the next World Cup.
If your answer isnt the same technoblaring coffee shop Im in now, then you
dont need much Vietnamese.
The final say
THE FINAL SAY
NATIONAL
The Inside Story of

the Guerrilla War
Chapter 8: How Did The War Start?
For the next eight issues, Word is presenting excerpts from Wilfred Burchetts seminal
account of the American War. A close friend of Ho Chi Minh, Burchett was the only
westerner to be embedded with the Viet Cong frontlines in the early 1960s. This work
was written in 1964
Diem Takes Over
Normally one can pinpoint a war, even a
civil war, with precision; the firing of the first
shots are recorded in time and place. To my
ceaseless probing as to how and when this
war in South Vietnam started, I got as many
differing replies as questions put. Replies
always related to the firing in the particular
village, district or province of the person
questioned. The most authoritative person
to whom I put this question was Nguyen
Huu Tho, president of the National Front of

Liberation.
He himself was not regarded as a leftist
when he practiced law in Saigon and he did
not take part in the anti-French war. But in
March 1950, he did walk at the head of a
demonstration protesting against the arrival
of three U.S. warships in Saigon as a display
of solidarity with Frances dirty war. Tho
and a few hundred thousand Saigon residents
were very angry at this and he headed a group
of intellectuals who took part in the protest.

The following day the warships pulled up
their anchors and left.
Nguyen Huu Tho was arrested by the
French authorities and imprisoned in Lai
Chau, a remote town north of Dien Bien
Phu. He was released a couple of years later
by Viet Minh troops. When the Geneva
Agreements were signed he resumed his
law practice in Saigon. So it was to him that
I put as one of my first questions: How did
it all start? When and where were the first

shots fired?
As far as Saigon is concerned, we had
our first great shock on August 1, 1954,
twelve days after the Ceasefire Agreements
were signed. I can tell you that people in
Saigon were overjoyed when the word was
flashed through that the Geneva Conference
had succeeded. There were mixed feelings
about the two years delay over reunification
but the general sentiment was that this was
a small price to pay for a return to peace and
a normal life, free of foreign rule.
On August 1, there was a monster
demonstration of gay, cheering people
in Saigon, mainly to hail and celebrate
the signing of the Geneva Agreements,
but resolutions were passed asking for
the immediate release of political and
military prisoners, as provided for in the
Agreements. The reply came in a volley of
rifle fire. Several people were wounded and
a pregnant woman was shot through the

stomach. That this, the first demonstration in
peace and freedom, as we thought, should be
brutally suppressed, acted as a cold douche
on the most ardent spirits. The same day we
set up a Committee of Defense of Peace and
the Geneva Agreements, and I was elected
president. It became better known in the
West as the Saigon-Cholon Peace Committee
and included among its leaders the seam of
Saigons intellectual life.
For us, continued Nguyen Huu Tho,
this was a sign that the new regime of Ngo
Dinh Diem was only a puppet government,
like that of Bao Dai, and was out to suppress
the people from the first days of its power. We
had not expected this and we had many bitter
reflections on that night of August 1 and the
days that followed.
In Saigon the first shots of repression were
fired 12 days after the Ceasefire Agreements
were signed.
Reports started trickling in and soon

they began to flood in from the countryside
telling of wholesale arrests and massacres
in areas from which the Viet Minh troops
were withdrawing to regroup north of
the 17th parallel, in accordance with the
Geneva Agreements. Within a couple of
months of setting up of our committee,
Nguyen Huu Tho said, we started getting
delegations from the provinces, begging
us to set up similar committees all over the
countryside. We started organising them
when on November 11, four months after
Geneva the police suddenly swooped
down, dissolved our committee and arrested
a number of leading members, including
myself.
We had no idea at that time, but in forming
the Saigon Committee and its various
branches we had seated the embryo for the
National Front of Liberation, set up more than
six years later.
Terror in the Countryside

As for what was happening in the
countryside, some faint glimpses appeared
through the cautious reports of the
International Commission. I remembered one
early reference to the Cho Duoc incident, so
when I was in Central Vietnam fief of the
medieval monster Ngo Dinh Can (a brother
of Ngo Dinh Diem) I sought out the full
details from Dinh Chau, a member of the
Liberation Fronts executive committee of
Quang Nam province. A former peasant, with
a cheerful face hewn from granite, he had
lost a leg in one of his first military actions,
but continued to direct activities from a secret
mountain base. Chau, like most of the cadres I
met in the provinces, had been more skeptical
from the start than those in Saigon as to how
the Agreements would be applied.
We received news of them with very
mixed feelings here. Of course there was
relief that peace would be established over
the whole country and we resistance workers

pledged ourselves as an act of discipline to
do everything to respect the agreements and
do everything possible to prevent violations
by friend or foe. But we doubted that our
opponents would really respect them.
The Cho Duoc incident proved our
skepticism justified. Most of Quang Nam,
except for the Tourane naval base, had been
a liberated area in the latter years of the
resistance. But in September 1954, a regiment
commanded by Le Van Kim [later a leading
member of the military junta which overthrew
Diem] came to the area. A unit was sent to
Cho Duoc in the central part of the province
and without a word to anyone, the troops
started cutting down fruit trees and bamboos
in private gardens to build their barracks.
People gathered together and protested
about this. There was no violence, not as
much as a stick in anyones hands. People
demanded only one thing, that their property
be respected. The unit commander rapped

out an order and before anyone could grasp
what was happening, the troops started firing
repeatedly into the crowd. Terrible cries and
screams mingled with the crashing volleys of
rifle fire; when the firing stopped the ground
was covered with the dead and dying and
groaning wounded. There were 40 killed,
almost all women and children because most
of the men were away in the fields. But the
survivors closed in on the soldiers like a great
human wave and they ran.
What first-aid was available was given to
the wounded; those that could be moved were
placed on rough stretchers, the dead also, and
a grim procession set out for the battalion
headquarters. Word spread to neighbouring
villagers and long before the stretcher-bearers
arrived a great crowd had assembled around
battalion headquarters. People swept in and,
with their bare hands, disarmed the soldiers
and poured sand down their rifle barrels and
into the artillery pieces.

The stretcher-bearers arrived and the
bodies were laid out in the barracks square,
friends of the victims demanding punishment
for those responsible, medical help for
the wounded, compensation for bereaved
families. The crowd continually built up,
completely surrounding the barracks and
preventing any troops leaving.
For three days there was a permanent
crowed of about 15,000 camped around the
barracks, some leaving and others coming
in a sort of spontaneous relay system;
those from nearby villages bringing rice
and cooking it for the others. Banners and
slogans were rigged up, connected with the
specific outrage, ranging from demands of
punishment to denunciations of the U.S.Diem regime for an outrageous violation of
the Geneva Agreements. The battalion could
not link up or even communicate with the
other two battalions of the regiment. People
discussed things with the soldiers, especially
those who had not taken part in the shooting,
and a number deserted on the spot. The 15,000
were disciplined, elected their spokesmen,
divided the food up equally and showed that
they were prepared to keep up the protest
indefinitely.
Eventually the battalion commander
had to agree with the demands; to bury the
dead at government expense, free medical
treatment for the wounded, compensation for
the bereaved, an end to destruction of peoples
property and an International Commission
investigation. An ICC team actually came but
they were very passive and the authorities
managed to prevent them having any contact
with the people. Three months later, there

were two similar incidents with troops from
the same regiment, in which 30 people were
killed at Chien Dan and 40 at Cam Coc.
Peoples hopes that peace had come began to
disappear altogether.
From what I could discover, the Cho Duoc
incident was typical for most areas which
had been completely controlled by the Viet
Minh during the war, liberated areas as
they designated them. The idea seems to
have been to paralyse the population by
deliberate terror within the first weeks or
months of the ceasefire, as soon, in fact as the
Vietnam Peoples Army forces and cadres had
withdrawn. In compliance with the Geneva
Agreements, 140,000 troops and cadres,
including a handful of wives and families, had
regrouped to the north under International
Commission control, taking their arms with
them. Repression intensified in proportion to
the agitation for the Consultative Conference
and the July 1956 elections, which people
still hoped would take place and relieve their
immediate suffering.
In another area, distinct from that where I
had met Dinh Chau, I was able to talk with
Huynh Thanh, also a member of the Quang
Nam provincial committee of the Front, a
doctor with a sensitive aquiline face who
had left his practice in Tourane to take part
in the anti-French war and, after a few weeks
of peace, had fled back into the mountains
again. He spoke of conditions in the mainly
mountainous district of Tam Ky which
includes part of the Annamite mountain chain
and borders on Quang Ngai province to the
south.
We consider that the repression was

even worse in Tam Ky than in other districts,
because it had been a completely liberated
area, Huynh Thanh said. First order of the
day for the Saigon command was to eliminate
anyone who had taken part in the resistance
administration and to install the Diemist
one. Violence was used to affect this and was
stepped up as soon as the new administration
was in office. Puppet troops who had been
defeated in the anti-French war now came as
victors, occupied homes and temples, threw
the inmates out into the streets.
Once the administration was set up, the
next thing was to try and list the population
according to their roles in the resistance.
At first they wanted to list all those who
had taken any part at all. But this was
impossible because every able-bodied man
and woman had taken part and also any
child big enough to carry a parcel or message.
So they started listing everyone according
to what they considered their importance.
Cadres who were exposed those still in the
administration when they arrived were
imprisoned without any hope of ever coming
out again. None of them have ever been seen
since. Others had to pack enough food for
three or six months or more, and take off for
anti-Communist indoctrination courses.
In the villages, barracks were set up and
the young men and women were herded into
separate huts where they had to spend the
night, subject to endless harangues against the
Viet Minh, Ho Chi Minh and everything to do
with the North. The main idea was to root out
every bit of patriotism, any memories of the
resistance period or even political thinking.
Nothing must be left to hang on to.

In 1957, the Denounce Communists
campaign started. And by this time Diem
had informed the International Commission
that he would no longer tolerate any
investigations under Article 14c of the
Geneva Conference [prohibiting reprisals
or discrimination against persons or
organisations on account of their activities
during the hostilities].
In its report, dated November 4, 1957,
the ICC informed the co-presidents of the
Geneva Conference that: The government
of the Vietnam Republic has decided not to
reply further to complaints relative to this
clause and not to permit any activities by
enquiry groups provided for in the Geneva
Agreements to carry out enquiries relative to
these complaints.
It was Le Quang Binh, a veteran resistance
worker, and a member of the Fronts Quang
Ngai provincial committee, with iron grey
hair and skin so tightly stretched over his
face that one felt the bones might poke
through any moment, who gave me a graphic
account of the Denounce Communists
campaign.
It started just because we had given no
pretext for repression during the earlier
provocations in our area, he explained. It
was a long drawn-out campaign that cut
down many of our best resistance cadres and
their families. Children of former resistance
workers were banned from going to school;
wives of those regrouped to the north
were forced to divorce and then remarry
to prove they were sincere. Land which
had been distributed under the resistance
administrations reform project was taken

back and given to former landlords if they
were still around, or to some of Ngo Cans
cronies if they were not... Thousands of former
resistance members and peasants who were
now dispossessed were rounded up and sent
off to the so-called agricultural settlements
in the mountains; irrigation projects built by
the peasants during the war years were either
destroyed or enormous taxes were levied for
the right to use the water.
Economically things went to pot. Even
within a year of the Diemists arriving, there
was starvation and famine, especially in the
coastal areas where people actually died from
hunger in 1955.
If things were bad for the Vietnamese
they were ten times worse for the minority
peoples. There are or were about 80,000
in Quang Ngai, mostly Hre, but with smaller
tribes of BNam, KDong and Kor.
We have fairly accurate round figures
for that period, continued Le Quang Binh,
because the four mountainous districts are
now liberated, solidly this time. In one year,
from around mid-1955 to mid-1956, 2,000
tribal people died of epidemics without a
finger raised by the Diemists to help them;
600 were killed in mass slaughters, usually
buried alive, or hands and feet tied and
hurled into rivers or ravines; 450 died in
prisons, 500 were either... liquidated by
agents or disappeared without a trace after
arrests, and another 500 died of starvation. In
many hamlets one in every ten died.
This was only the beginning of the agony
of the minority peoples and I had it described
by chiefs and ordinary tribes people of a
score of different minorities a story of

unrelieved horror that recalls the wholesale
wiping out of the Native Americans in the
U.S., and of the Australian aborigines in the
first years of white settlement.
As for that first question I had put to
Nguyen Huu Tho, I knew the answer long
before I met him but it was interesting
to have confirmation from Saigon, too. The
war in South Vietnam has no starting point
in time and space because it never started. It
never started because it never stopped. All
that happened was that after the withdrawal
of the 140,000 Viet Minh and cadres to the
north, a one-sided war continued against an
unarmed people.
A large part of the same military machine
built up to serve the French with U.S. arms
and dollars was turned loose over vast areas
of South Vietnam to wipe out the political
resistance the French had never been able
to crush and thus suppress at birth any
potential resistance to the reactionary policies
Diem was committed to pursue.
Wilfred Burchett was an Australian reporter
often described at the rebel journalist for his
stories about the American War from the other
side. After years of being at odds with the
Australian government, last year the Melbourne
Press Club inducted him into their Hall of Fame.
Burchett was also the journalist who broke the
scoop of the 20th century the devastation
caused by dropping nuclear bombs on Hiroshima
and Nagasaki.
Special thanks to George Burchett for allowing
us to republish this work. Please note that some
place names in this piece have been changed to
reflect their modern-day spelling
The last call

We speak to Vietnams best known
streetfood vendor, 49-year-old Nguyen
Thi Thanh, also known as The Lunch
Lady. Photo by Francis Xavier
I got the name Lunch Lady from...

Anthony Bourdain in 2008 when he was here
to make a TV show about me. After the trip,
he came back home and gave me the name.
I started serving different dishes

every day... when I moved to this location.
I used to live around Dakao market. The area

was cleared and I got moved here.
just called my stand the two sea-almond

tree place you can see the two seaalmond trees over there.
I got the new sign after...
the show
aired. At that time, I didnt want to change
the sign but foreign customers just came and
asked if I was The Lunch Lady. So I decided
to get the new sign.
Meeting Anthony Bourdain was... so

interesting. I didnt know he was so wellknown. Some people sent by the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs to arrange a TV show for me
with Anthony Bourdain in December, 2008.
They said he was an important man and
liked me, wanted to have a day-long show
with me, starting in the early morning when I
went to the market.
specialities so I can improve and perfect my

cuisine. Saigon doesnt have authentic food,
food in Saigon has a neutral flavour.
After his show aired... some people

who worked with [Anthony Bourdain] came
to my place and gave me a CD. They said,
Anthony has a gift for you. He will call your
place The Lunch Lady. Before that, people
hu tieu. My mum used to work as a chef for

a health protection association and cooked
hu tieu and pho for breakfast for doctors and
nurses there. As a little girl I used to follow
Before Anthony Bourdain, the people who came were... Vietnamese office
staff who were working around this area.
When I want to eat someone elses

food, I go to... other provinces to try their
My favourite meal growing up was...
her around in order to learn and I ate her

soup. It was so delicious.
The next thing Ill put on the menu

will be... bun cha ca and bun moc. I think I
will put them on the menu every Tuesday.
People like my soups because... they

are authentic and use the correct flavouring.
Being a tourist attraction is... excit-
ing. Although this is just a street food place,

many people including big company managers and owners come here. I feel like Im a
representative of Vietnamese food.
In the future I will make some renovations maybe just buy new, nice and more
comfortable chairs and tables. But I will still
keep the place like this with its street style.
Many Viet Kieu come back here again and
again because it reminds them of their childhood when they lived in Saigon.
You can find The Lunch Lady on the alley just
next to 23 Hoang Sa, Q1, HCMC

Word Vietnam May 2015

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NH XUT BN LAO NG

CHUYN DU LCH, M THC

010 / Who Owns Vietnamese

056 / Another Green World

016 / The Best Road in Vietnam

Our infrastructure gets a boost

022 / Mystery Quest

A journey into the unknown

032 / Saigon Dodgeball

Making your teeth hurt since 2005

060 / Conserving Vietnams

011 / The Big Five

102 / The Vietnam Pastry Cup

We go inside the terrarium

Where intellectual property gets

EAT & DRINK

106 / Hanois Best Pho

We settle the debate

064 / Our Favourite Things

The month in cravings

090 / Making It a Reality

Crowdsourcing takes hold in Vietnam

On hand for the finale

098 / Glee Club

A musical theatre troupe takes the stage

114 / Mystery Diner Hanoi

We smell the rarified air in Vietnams

116 / Mystery Diner HCMC

Zombie BBQ gives dead pigs new life

Guest creator Viet Ha Tran demonstrates

Three photographers, a swamp and a

132 / Destination Zero

Victoria Can Tho Resort anchors our

134 / Travel Promos

Part 2: Stuck in Laos

4 | Word May 2015 | wordvietnam.com

034 / To-Do List

150 / The Therapist

186 / A World of Good

Its opening up a whole new world for Ed

192 / You Shouldnt Learn

But that world is pretty much pointless to

194 / The Inside Story of the

200 / The Last Call

The Lunch Lady keeps serving up the soup

This month we asked Word contributors:

CHUYN DU LCH & M THC

6 | Word May 2015 | wordvietnam.com

Chu trch nhim xut bn:

Thc hin lin kt xut bn:

In n 15.000 cun, kh 20.5 x 27cm

Cream coloured ponies

to cooked flesh and the

CHUYN DU LCH, M THC

THIS MONTH'S COVER

HAVE YOUR SAY

Read last night the 50 Shades of Expats

Lets Call Him Peter

The Photography Issue

8 | Word May 2015 | wordvietnam.com

n September 2013, Pho Holdings, the

10 | Word May 2015 | wordvietnam.com

more established Asian cuisines overseas, it

country to taste authentic, to taste as it does