CITY LIVING
TRAVEL TALK
Sensational Saigon
WHERE TO EAT
Donald Berkshire
"It took us centuries to boot the foreigners out, now they're taking over again!" cab driver Nguyen says with a chuckle, waving a hand at a row of luxury shops as he battles peak hour chaos in Vietnam's glitzy commercial capital. Ho Chi Minh City, or Saigon as most of the locals refer to it, is the brash little sister of the reserved northern capital Hanoi, determined to woo flush foreign investors and nudge her way into the exclusive clubs of international finance. Old China expats visiting this sprawling metropolis of 10 million may feel they've been shunted back to the Shanghai of the mid-1990s as they survey a cityscape pounded by wrecking balls and besotted with skyscrapers. And everyone, moving with these fast developing times, is in a rush, from the suited office workers stabbing at smartphones in chain coffee outlets to the hordes of youth who take to the streets on their scooters after dark. Saigon maintains reminders of the country's difficult past, with its museums displaying evidence of war crimes by U.S. troops during the Vietnam War, although optimism is generally the order of the day. The last few years have brought a flood of foreign dollars, both from returned Vietnamese and expats seeking to tap into the country's boom, with the city really coming alive after sunset as an array of freshly-minted restaurants, bars and clubs heave with a nightlife that rivals Bangkok. And the city offers excellent value for
24 TalkMagazine
July12
From humble hawker fare at open-air stalls, to French haute cuisine in stately guest-houses, Saigon caters to every taste and budget. The city's massive renovation has seen a clutch of fancy restaurants open in recent years, all bidding to outdo each other with an opulence of design intended to match the kitchen wizardry of imported chefs.
May A bitter background of bickering business partners appears set to have a
money in its world-class food, shopping and entertainment outlets, at only a fraction of the cost of other Asian destinations. "This place is really happening now," says Nguyen, the cabbie, as he steps on the gas, ploughing a furrow through a field of moto-scooters. "Blink and you will miss Saigon."
happy ending at May, where the owner Thai Tu Tho showcases her love of North Vietnamese cuisine in an elegant French villa. After falling out with her former business partners, Ms Thai retreated to this tucked-away enclave in the inner city's western fringe, and hasn’t been doing all that bad. The pink duck breast with ginger and the long-stewed pork are a couple of the standouts on a menu of traditional claypot dishes, best eaten al fresco on the upstairs terrace. Web: www.may-cloud.com
with lemongrass and ginger in a leafy front courtyard or with a pond view. Manager Duy said Cuc Gach was set up to give locals and tourists a break from the "fusion rubbish" that's taking over the city: "In their rush to try new, different things, people have forgotten what real Vietnamese food is. We hope to remind them." Web: www.cucgachquan.com.vn
Square One
Cuc Gach Quan Slightly off the beaten track in a side-street laden with gabled French terrace houses, Cuc Gach Quan is a family business and three storeys of joy in a rambling, white-washed villa serving feasts of traditional country food. Guests can sample Mekong delta fish (or vegetarian tofu) stuffed
Oozing class and packed with Saigon's beautiful people, Square One at the Park Hyatt showcases the uber-cool aesthetic of Japanese design house Super Potato and a choice of modern Vietnamese and/or Western grill. Grab a bottle of Bordeaux and tuck into some foie gras terrine or a lime-infused Nha Trang lobster, and enjoy the sight of preening modeltypes coo-ing at cashed-up salarymen. Take my word for it when I say careful on the Prada if you order the tiger prawn curry. Web: www.saigon.park. hyattrestaurants.com/squareone
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