A very local, long-running establishment offering a variety of cheap, simple and tasty barbecued meats to take away, Hieu Map BBQ Shop is a decent option for a meat feast to share with friends…. Continue reading
Meat Feast: Hieu Map BBQ Shop
Tag Archives: food
Two Saigon Soup Houses
There are thousands of soup houses in Saigon: these are just two of them, but they are good ones, and they both offer three different kinds of soups. One of them is a longtime favourite of mine; the other was a recent ‘random encounter’… Continue reading
Thuan Phat Seafood Restaurant, Phan Thiet
Venture out of Mui Ne & find better, cheaper seafood in nearby Phan Thiet. More specifically, at the string of seafood restaurants lining the bờ kè (riverfront) road, where hundreds of fishing boats lie at anchor. My favourite is Thuan Phat restaurant…. Continue reading
Paradiso Beach Club, Phu Quoc Island
Sao Beach is the most famous sight on Phu Quoc. However, its popularity is now threatening its appeal, as trash blights its shores & jet-skis pollute its waters. But, one portion of Sao Beach remains as gorgeous as ever: Paradiso Beach Club… Continue reading
Dim Sum in Saigon
Dim sum is increasingly popular in Saigon. But my favourite dumpling joint is an old-timer in Chinatown. Boasting a 10 page bible of dim sum dishes, this unassuming place offers great variety, quality and value for money… Continue reading
Goat Noodle Soup in Chinatown
Deep in Saigon’s Chinatown, there’s a bowl of goat noodles that’s meaty, rich, silky and smooth. This soup is full of farmyard flavours: it’s a barn in a bowl. Make no mistake, this is a heavy breakfast, but it’ll keep you going till the evening… Continue reading
Saigon’s Budget Sushi Scene
The last few years has seen an explosion of good-quality yet reasonably-priced sushi joints in Saigon. Décor is cheerful, ambience is informal, and customers are young & convivial: welcome to Saigon’s budget sushi scene…. Continue reading
6 Reasons to Slurp Your Noodles
Slurp and suck: this should be every traveller’s primary objective when sitting down to enjoy a bowl of one of Vietnam’s famous noodle soups. Here is my guide to why you should embrace local etiquette and leave your preconceived table manners at home…. Continue reading
The Food Triangle, Saigon
Everyone knows Saigon is full of great food. But there’s one corner in District 1, where you can eat three excellent meals – breakfast, lunch and dinner – in three excellent establishments, all within a few metres of each other: I call it the Food Triangle…. Continue reading
Cơm Tấm, Saigon: 7 of my Favourites
I love cơm tấm. Some of my happiest moments in Saigon have been sitting down with a good plate of barbecued pork & broken rice, watching the city go by. Saigon and cơm tấm are inseparable, and this city does it better than anywhere else. Cơm tấm is the quintessential Saigon experience. Here’s where to eat it…. Continue reading
Sweet Saigon: Where to Eat Chè
A kaleidoscopic world of luminous colours, shifting shapes, unfamiliar textures, esoteric ingredients & rich flavours, chè is a fascinating sub-category of Vietnamese cuisine. Commonly translated as ‘dessert’, in reality chè is so filling & nutritious that it’s a meal in itself…. Continue reading
Saigon’s other Lunch Lady
Everyone knows who Saigon’s Lunch Lady is, right? Well, probably not this one. Ms Nga is 43 years old. She serves a different soup each day of the week, from her cramped, ramshackle soup stall. Originally from Thai Binh (a northern province famous for producing excellent cooks), she moved to Saigon in the mid-90s… Continue reading
Breakfast in Ha Giang
When I had breakfast at a noodle house in Ha Giang, Vietnam’s northernmost frontier, it was one of those occasions when food, people and place come together perfectly… Continue reading
My Protein Diet Week
I spent a week on a protein diet in Saigon. I ate Vietnamese food from street vendors & informal eateries as much as possible, and I recorded it all in my Protein Diet Diary on this page… Continue reading
Eat With Locals: Home-Cooked Meals in Vietnam
Locals will always tell you that the best Vietnamese food is home-cooking. However, most travellers won’t get the chance to experience a home-cooked meal while in Vietnam. Fortunately, the internet is starting to change all that… Continue reading
Bún Thịt Nướng: An Elegant Classic
This cold noodle salad is a classic of southern Vietnam. Simple, cool & refreshing, bún thịt nướng is the perfect antidote to the heat & humidity of the south. Continue reading
The People’s Food: Local Rice Eateries
There’s at least one quán cơm bình dân (common rice eatery) on every urban street in Vietnam. Offering dozens of typical, home-cooked dishes at affordable prices, these eateries feed the nation. It doesn’t get more local than this… Continue reading
Horse Meat
After the horse meat scandal in 2013, many people in Europe discovered they’d eaten horse without knowing it, but in Saigon some restaurants specialize in horse meat, and it really is delicious! Continue reading
Island Broth: Bún Kèn
This soup is a speciality of Phu Quoc island, in Vietnam’s extreme southwest. Packed with fish, fruit & colour; it’s a tropical island in a bowl. Continue reading
Where to Eat & Drink in Dalat
My guide to where to eat & drink in the former French colonial hill station of Dalat, high up in the Annamite Mountains. Continue reading
Fetal Duck Egg
If you like eggs, you’ll love fetal duck eggs! They are, quite simply, ‘eggier’ than regular chicken eggs. Don’t be put off by the name or what they look like; this is a great, tasty, nutritious and cheap road-side snack anywhere in Vietnam. Continue reading
Cat Meat
Although less widely eaten than dog, cat meat is still on the menu in many Vietnamese restaurants, especially in the north. So what does it taste like? Continue reading
Rat Meat
Each morning for the last couple months I’ve opened my front gate in Saigon to greet the new day, only to find a fresh mound of rat droppings on my door step. By way of ‘revenge’ I decided to pay a visit to one of Saigon’s rat meat restaurants… Continue reading
Street Food Week
Can you live only on street food in Vietnam? Is it any good and is it really that cheap? To find out I spent a whole week eating exclusively street food in Saigon. Find out what I ate, where I ate, & how much I spent in this Street Food Week diary. Continue reading
Bếp Than Eatery: Vietnamese Tapas
Bếp Than Eatery is a small, cool, and ‘cutesy’ place to relax with some lite Vietnamese snacks & mojitos by the Thi Nghe Channel in Saigon: a great place to ‘snack & chat’ with friends. Continue reading
Bún Mắm: the Mekong in a Bowl
Bún Mắm is a robust Vietnamese soup from the Mekong Delta. It’s packed with contrasting flavours, textures and colours. You’ll find bún mắm all over southern Vietnam, but one place in Saigon is especially good. Continue reading
One of the Best Soups in Vietnam
Nho Quan is a small, industrial town in Ninh Bình Province, 90km south of Hanoi. The bare concrete buildings and dusty streets are a far cry from the natural beauty of the surrounding area. However, hidden amongst the unappealing sprawl is one of the best soups in Vietnam… Continue reading
Beef Stew (Bò Kho)
Bò kho (beef stew) is a hearty, spicy and aromatic broth with diced beef, carrot and lemongrass. Eaten on its own with a warm baguette for dunking or served over noodles, this is one of my favourite dishes in Vietnam. Continue reading
Broken Rice & Pork Stew, Saigon
Wherever you are in Vietnam, you can always rely on broken rice or pork stew to fill you up. Breakfast, lunch or dinner; these two pork dishes are always available. Forget phở – the famous beef noodle soup – the real national dish of Vietnam is pork and rice! Continue reading
