Loading creator
Dana Filek-Gibson is a writer, editor, and communicator based in Brooklyn, New York. She previously lived in Saigon and misses Vietnam — and cà phê sữa đá — every single day.
108 stories
Saigon
Among Bùi Viện's assortment of xe ôm drivers and street food vendors, Bible-toting religious enthusiasts and other colorful personalities, 66-year-old Nghĩa stands out for his kind eyes and walrus-like mustache.
The first time I pay a visit to the Pasteur pigeon coop, Lê Văn Âu assures me the place is probably not going anywhere.
Saigon Hẻm Gems
Rarely have I gone into a meal with such anticipation.
Culture
Tewfic El-Sawy’s introduction to Đạo Mẫu , also known as the Mother Goddess religion, began with music.
Food Culture
Every morning, the corner of Da Lat’s Hoang Dieu and Tran Nhat Duat streets is a mess of plastic tables and rubbish bins, bánh mì crumbs and bodies hunched over small bowls. This particular patch of sidewalk is home to one of the town’s busier bánh mì xíu mại vendors, though there are several of them scattered across the city.
![[Photos] The Iconic La Dalat, Vietnam’s First Domestic Vehicle](https://media.urbanistnetwork.com/saigoneer/article-images/legacy/kJeKeAtb.jpg)
Vietnam
Though production only lasted five years, the La Dalat has earned a place in Saigon history as Vietnam’s first locally manufactured commercial car.
Saigon Hẻm Gems
Editor's note: This review from 2017 was of City Beer Station's first location on Pham Ngoc Thach Street, which has since closed. Over the past years, the cocktail bar has moved numerous times. Recently, the team announced that they're reopening at a new spot at 6 Nguyen Cuu Van, Binh Thanh. Check out City Beer Station's Facebook page for the latest news regarding its relaunch and new location.
Saigon Hẻm Gems
Swing by chị Hien’s street cart for dinner on any given day and you’ll find a cross-section of Saigon that covers all demographics: middle-class residents from the apartment blocks up the street, well-heeled expats from nearby City Garden, neighborhood xe ôm drivers, hungry lotto ticket vendors and everyone in between. Rich, poor, young, old, local, foreign, we all agree on one thing: these people make a mean cơm tấm .
Vietnam
The Vietnamese government recently pledged VND1 trillion (US$44 million) in disaster aid after the United Nations (UN) approved US$4.21 million to provide additional assistance to those affected by Typhoon Damrey.
Travel
With an expected 13 million international visitors this year , not to mention an ever-increasing number of domestic tourists, Vietnam’s tourism industry is growing at a rapid pace. Across the country, local officials have sought to develop their province’s destinations, while tourism providers seek to invest in scores of new man-made attractions.
Food Culture
The first time I stumbled upon cô Ut’s nightly sidewalk ritual, the performance was already well under way. Perched on the low steps of what serves as a VietinBank branch by day, the young woman sat rooted to a plastic stool behind her metal display case, but her arms stretched in all directions, cleaning countertops, replenishing ingredients and ladling spoonfuls of slate grey chè vừng into plastic cups and porcelain bowls.
Saigon Hẻm Gems
When it comes to Saigon’s culinary landscape, the southern hub is pretty progressive. In addition to an array of Vietnamese dishes from every corner of the country, the city has also acquired a cosmopolitan palate that includes scores of Japanese izakaya , Korean barbecue spots, Taiwanese milk tea shops, Italian pizza places and burger joints of various international origins. The reason this works, an Indian restaurateur once told me, is because Saigoneers are open-minded: whether they know the cuisine or not, everyone is willing to give it a try.
Arts & Culture
Saigon breeds unusual collaborations. Take a walk around most neighborhoods and you’ll spot the odd storefront that sells both cơm chiên and motorbike parts , or an entrepreneurial spirit who’s managed, for better or worse, to fuse the flavors of strawberry and oysters . Sometimes all it takes is a bit of creativity and Saigon's infectious, go-getter attitude.
Vietnam
Vietnam’s coastal provinces were battered by devastating Typhoon Damrey during the weekend.
Saigon Hẻm Gems
Innovation is important. With a healthy imagination and a bit of gusto, humans have the ability to create everything from DIY submarines to all-terrain wheelchairs to helmets specifically for married Thai women . But while we’re all quick to celebrate such ingenuity, it’s easy to forget the hours of trial and error that went into getting it just right.
Saigon Hẻm Gems
In the age of the internet, we go back and forth about everything, including whether or not the most important meal of the day is, in fact, important . While members of the medical profession continue to debate the merits of breakfast, however, Saigon is full of early-morning delights, from mouthwatering cơm tấm to bowls of phở and quick-and-easy bánh mì . For a departure from your average morning meal, however, look to a more elusive regional dish: Phu Yen’s bánh canh hẹ .
Food Culture
Every culture has its own customs, superstitions and traditions, some of which are so time-honored that even their strictest followers aren’t really clear on where the etiquette comes from. Vietnam certainly has its fair share of food-related rules, borne out of good manners and, occasionally, superstition. While you could probably write a book on the full list of Vietnamese food superstitions, here are just a few taboos and the reasons behind them.
Saigon Hẻm Gems
Whether we’re talking about the packaged foods aisle at Circle K or the lady whipping up bánh tráng trộn on the street corner, snack foods often meet two distinct criteria: they are both delicious and unhealthy. The nature of snacking alone – hastily prepared mini-meals eaten on the go – lends itself well to quick, cheap ingredients and foods that can withstand both time and a lack of refrigeration.
Arts & Culture
Step into Nguyen Huu Tu’s office, and it’s pretty clear from the get-go how he feels about action figures. Running along one side of the room are several display cases, each housing an array of superheroes, cartoons and comic book characters, from The Incredibles to Voltron to several Transformers.
Saigon Hẻm Gems
There are certain foods in life that take time to love. Mắm tôm , for instance, or mắm chưng . Any of the mắm s, really. Durian, I’m told, is a wonderful fruit on the fourth or fifth try. And while some of us are raised on cháo lòng and phá lấu and chicken feet, for others the journey toward appreciation can span weeks, months, even years.
![[Video] Coi: A Creative Plea for Less Horn-Honking on Saigon’s Streets](https://media.urbanistnetwork.com/saigoneer/article-images/legacy/ZoIlZu8b.jpg)
Arts & Culture
Vietnamese traffic has a bad reputation among both local and foreign drivers for its chaotic nature. From sidewalk driving to texting behind the wheel and creative interpretations of local street signs, urban roadways in particular can be a hair-raising place. But in his new short called Coi , animator Triet Le aims to tackle just one of the many traffic-related phenomenon in Vietnam: honking.
Travel
The sun already threatens to sap our energy even though it’s barely mid-morning on Thanh Da Island. Devoid of the tall buildings and claustrophobic blocks found downtown, this small patch of greenery and its residents would not be out of place in the Mekong Delta. On a lazy Sunday morning, pajama-clad women ride by on bicycles, men swap stories over coffee and cigarettes, and the road that runs through all this activity serves as a talking point for Thanh Da residents.
Saigon Hẻm Gems
While Pho Phieu Ky’s white walls and fluorescent lighting are nothing special, the hideaway shop in District 5 makes up for its bland color scheme by pasting neon characters – Roman and Chinese – across the glossy tiles along with wall calendars, rotating fans and a particularly jovial, glitter-covered cartoon rendition of Ong Tao riding a fish to heaven. The bright whites are certainly harsh, but on a dreary, rain-soaked afternoon this is not necessarily unwelcome. Nor, mind you, is the meal for which we’ve come: phở sa tế .
Arts & Culture
In the years after 1986, Vietnam’s Doi Moi economic reforms transformed one of the world’s poorest countries into a dynamic, fast-growing nation, shaping a generation of young Vietnamese into bright, creative, entrepreneurial, and often social media-minded individuals.
