Travel Vietnam Magazine October 2015

CHUYÊN ĐỀ DU LỊCH, ẨM THỰC VIETNAM EDITION / VOL. 10 TÁC GIẢ: BAO ROSS và NICK ROSS

THẾ GIỚI PUBLISHERS

W OR DV IE TN AM .C OM

ON THE STREETS

Contents Oct. 2015

068

60 THE TALK

INSIDER

010 / Sewers in the Sky

58 / Weird Science

Bad air quality is becoming an issue in Vietnam. So what’s the solution?

011 / The Big Five

Events to look out for this month

BRIEFINGS 12 / Saving the Jungle

To conserve the jungle, you need to create jobs

An experimental chef and a mood therapist? Together they’re explosive

60 / In the Face of Adversity

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On the menu: banh my chao

118 / Street Snacker HCMC

Everyday people, everyday lives, unique stories

104 / The Falconry Encounter

Everywhere in Hanoi is putting on jazz these days

114 / Street Snacker Hanoi

68 / On the Streets

18 / The National Day March

22 / Jazz Hands

Amato goes under the all-seeing eye

116 / Mystery Diner HCMC

98 / Eating Noodles

Celebrating 70 years since independence

112 / Mystery Diner Hanoi

Mai Nha is the first foreign-owned, foreign-run orphanage in Vietnam

14 / Hanoi Creative City

Zone 9 returns to inspire us, but now it’s in the form of a high-rise

90

Documenting one of Vietnam’s favourite pastimes Bird lovers of Vietnam unite

EAT & DRINK 108/ The Seafood Experience Snails, cockles and clams anyone?

Portofino gets itself a rave review Alley snacking

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Contents Oct. 2015

132

120

138

FASHION

HCMC

120/ Dressing for the Street

34 / To-Do List

Not a conical hat in sight

TRAVEL 126/ Glimpses of India

A trip to the wild and wonderful Northeast

132/ Bhutan

43 / Overscene 162 / HCMC City Guide 178 / Bar Stool 182 / Top Eats 1

The happiest country in the world?

186 / Top Eats 2

138 / Destination Zero

190 / City Map

HANOI

COLUMNS 148 / The Therapist

46 / To-Do List

156 / Student Eye

53 / Overscene

158 / Medical Buff

144 / Hanoi City Guide

159 / Book Buff

150 / Bar Stool

164/ Business Buff

154 / Top Eats

166 / Body and Temple

160 / City Map

172 / A World of Good

Six Senses Con Dao

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180 / Amazing Grapes 188 / The Empty Wok FINAL SAY 192 / Ostriches of the Imagination

Could the world’s largest bird be the answer to Vietnam’s traffic problems?

194 / The Inside Story of the Guerrilla War Chapter 13 of Wilfred Burchett’s account of the war in Vietnam

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CONTRIBUTORS

This month we asked our team the following question: Of all the people you have met who work on the street, who has made the biggest impression on you?

JULIE VOLA Staff Photographer Around the corner from the first house I lived in Hanoi, there was Grandma Veggie, well that’s what we called her. She always knew what I wanted, I always bought the same things but she could remember what I bought before so she would guess what I had run out of. And even if we could not communicate, she would always push me to try new Vietnamese food. That’s how I discovered pickled cabbage.

KIERAN CROWE Contributor I met a man walking his dog on the footpath. The dog squatted in order to get down to business, and the man whipped out an old newspaper from his back pocket and slipped it under the dog’s butt with truly impressive efficiency. The dog did his thing and the man managed to fold the newspaper underneath the dog’s butt so as not to expose any of the poop to any innocent people passing by. He then tossed it into a plastic bag he was carrying and they continued their walk. The grace and coordination of the whole thing really made an impression on me.

JON ASPIN Staff Editor This a##hole who used to sell cigarettes and push contraband in my Binh Thanh alley was so high once he lit my pants on fire while I sitting down with the neighbours. Pr**k. I hope he reads this.

You owe me 600k for some new slacks, buddy.

NICK ROSS Chief Editor Undoubtedly Mr. Dat. I met him about a month after I came to Vietnam and he has remained a friend ever since. Formerly a cyclo driver due to being on the wrong side of the war, he eventually moved onto driving xe om. In recent years he has become a fixer for local NGOs. A wonderful man.

KYLE PHANROY Photo Editor When I first came to Vietnam, I met a boy from Hue who worked as a street seller in Pham Ngu Lao. I would take him for food almost every day and looked out for him when I could. Years later, after moving back to Saigon, he recognised me walking down the street. He had changed. He was addicted to meth, stole from and scammed anyone and everyone.

He wanted out, but he couldn’t escape.

VI PHAM Contributor There is a nice old lady called Granny Tu who I’ve known since I was a little girl. She used to roll her pha lau cart around my neighbourhood, smiling to everyone whether they bought her goods or not. It had been so, so long since I’d seen her that I couldn’t remember her exact look but her wrinkled eyes, hilarious words and kindness linger in my memory. Then guess what? Last week on my way home, I saw Granny Tu and her rusty bicycle. I almost drove into the guy in front of me because I was so surprised and thrilled to see her again.

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NATALIA MARTINEZ Contributor On my way to work I always see a tiny granny walking the streets between District 5 and District 3. She is pulling a bicycle with her grandson sitting on it — he is visibly handicapped and can hardly move. When I’m on my way home I see her again most of the time, too, so I reckon that’s the only thing she does the entire day, the poor thing. I haven’t found out what the story is yet, I just stop from time to time and give her some money to help.

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CHUYÊN ĐỀ DU LỊCH & ẨM THỰC ISBN: 978-604-77-1597-8

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CÔNG TY TNHH MTV NHÀ XUẤT BẢN THẾ GIỚI Trụ sở chính: 46 Trần Hưng Đạo, Hoàn Kiếm, Hà Nội Tel: 04.3825.3841 – Fax: 04.3826.9578 Email: thegioi@ thegioipublishers.vn Website: www. thegioipublishers.vn

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In đến 15.000 cuốn, khổ 20.5 x 27cm In tại Công Ty TNHH MTV In Trần Phú 71 – 73 – 75 Hai Bà Trưng, Q. 1, TP. HCM. www.tranphuprint.com Giấy xác nhận ĐKXB số: 2015-2015/ CXBIPH/10-129/ThG Quyết định xuất bản số: 463/QĐ-ThG cấp ngày 28 tháng 09 năm 2015.

In xong và nộp lưu chiểu tháng 10 năm 2015.

Mã ISBN: 978-604-77-1597-8 SÁCH CHUYÊN ĐỀ QUẢNG CÁO

Prelude

T

his issue marks a decade of publishing magazines in Vietnam, 10 years of monthly deadlines, 120 months of racking up ideas for content.

To put it lightly, it’s a milestone.

It started with a publication called Saigon Inside Out, way back in November 2005. Our launch party

when we ask for it.

Without them, we would not exist, nor would all those other publications, both in print and online, that have sprung up from the endeavours of the past decade.

We’re blowing our own, squeaky and unpolished trumpet.

We know we are. But we were pioneers.

Yet, since we focus on other people’s stories, our own story is one that is rarely told. Which is a shame, because as with all good stories, in ours there is controversy.

There is a messy break-up, an ongoing

rivalry, success, failure, heartbreak, betrayal and angst. It’s got the makings of a movie — we might even get our happy ending.

But one thing’s for sure, to put in 10 years of long-distance run, we’ve needed people.

Good people. Without the hardworking souls we have laboured with, both present and past, we would not be what we are now.

So, a big thank you to everyone who has worked on all our publications — you know who you are.

Glasses raised. Here’s to another decade! — Nick Ross, Chief Editor

CHUYÊN ĐỀ DU LỊCH, ẨM THỰC VIETNAM EDITION / VOL. 10 TÁC GIẢ: BAO ROSS và NICK ROSS

ON THE STREETS THẾ GIỚI PUBLISHERS

W OR DV IE TN AM .C OM

The

was at a bar called The Bottom Line, now defunct. The partnership consisted of four people — three foreign, one Vietnamese. This little gathering of minds is also now defunct.

Except for Word Vietnam’s chief editor and the original Vietnamese partner, now our general director, not one person who worked on Saigon Inside Out is now involved full-time in Word Vietnam. But we are proud to say that we can still rely on the expertise and experience of some of those original personnel

THIS MONTH'S COVER Photo by Julie Vola Design by DH Advertising

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.

Do you have any comments that you would like to air? If so, reach out and touch us at editor@ wordvietnam. com — we’re at your fingertips.

The Undiscovered Coast

I like the magazine and think you are doing a great job of it… Very slick, very wide-ranging and very well conceived. Keep up the good work…

— JB

(September 2015)

A lot of people like your magazine over the other ones not because it’s thicker or bigger, but because it’s real. There’s something about it that keeps it raw.

— JM Your website presence is really improving. I keep seeing you pop up on Facebook. It’s good. You need to get our there. — RB

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CHUYÊN ĐỀ DU LỊCH, ẨM THỰC VIETNAM EDITION / VOL. 9 TÁC GIẢ: BAO ROSS và NICK ROSS

Personally, I am very impressed with the pictures in The Undiscovered Coast, they are sooo beautiful. Your photographers have done a great job. — KP Photography was stunning, and I loved the way the design melded with the photography. — DL

The Undiscovered Coast

Thank you soooo much for this. Lot’s of places in Vietnam I never knew about.

Going to check them out. — HP Quy Nhon looks amazing. I’m going there this weekend and am going to head to Bai Xep, the place you mentioned in the article. — JK THẾ GIỚI PUBLISHERS

W OR DV IE TN AM .C OM

Inbox

Some Praise…

How the hell did that abandoned church end up on a beach. Just madness. How far is the place from Hanoi? — AL A bumper issue again, although I thought you used the wrong photo for the front cover. Should have been the image of Ganh Da Dia. — RR

Talk Lead ILLUSTRATION BY BEN RUBIN

Sewers in the Sky

T

Bad air quality is finally getting the media coverage it deserves.

So what’s the solution?

wo to three years ago, virtually nothing was published in the local media about air quality. But now it’s becoming a recurring theme and getting considerably more ‘air time’.

So, here are some stats on Hanoi.

At the time of writing, according to the US Embassy, the air quality index (AQI) is at 160.

Should this level remain for the next 24 hours, then this is deemed to be unhealthy. Another air quality monitor in the Long Bien area of Hanoi has the AQI at 90. The risk to people’s health is minimal. While the unofficial air monitor in Tay Ho puts the level at 158.

Within minutes it has dropped back down to 70, unhealthy but not dangerous. Even within one city, air quality is at different levels at different times.

When you consider that for air quality to be safe, the AQI should be less then 60, this all sounds negative. Click on aqicn.org/forecast/ asia to look at the eight-day forecast for the region, and you really start to worry. Much of the area around China, Southern Vietnam, Cambodia and Central Thailand is light pink, pink and purple, denoting dangerously high AQIs. Compare this to Europe (aqicn.org/ forecast/Europe) and you can see the difference; except for Moscow, no pink at all. Then look at the world map (aqicn.org/forecast/world) and it’s clear where the pollution hotspots are focused.

Yet, from May all the way through to September, it seemed that Hanoi’s AQI might be getting better.

Could Something Have Changed?

I was first shown the ‘unofficial’ air quality

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monitor website in Tay Ho by a friend.

Using a number of apps he tracks the daily readings in Hanoi. We were talking about pollution and I was saying that Ho Chi Minh City seems to be better than Hanoi. “Not a chance,” he said, and began to show me the evidence.

There are three main air monitors in Hanoi, but the only one that gives historical data is the one in Tay Ho (aqivn.org). Scroll down the homepage to see the various graphs and you can see that prior to May 2015, there were periods when the AQI in Hanoi was dangerously high. So high that it’s easy to see why Vietnam’s capital has been labeled one of the most polluted cities in the world.

Yet since May 1, except for a short period in mid-September, the AQI seems to have got significantly better. So, the question is why?

pollution levels may well be due to another factor — wind.

As Dominique Browning writes in a 2012 article in Time, “Wind connects us. It is such a huge force, moving in such enormous sweeps across our land, that it overwhelms all the boundaries we have thrown up, the ways in which we measure where we are — backyards, city limits, state lines… We share the air.”

Due to its rampant industrialisation and large-scale increase in car use, China has the highest AQI numbers in the world. If the wind blows southwards from China, then the recipient is going to be Vietnam and in particular, cities like Hanoi.

So, the only conclusion we can reach is that changes to Hanoi’s air quality must simply have been a result of the wind coming from a different direction.

Gone with the Wind

Sewers in the Sky

Hanoi has some serious pollution problems, with traffic being the biggest cause.

According to a recent article in Vietnam News, the volume of vehicles on the road is increasing by 12 to 15 percent a year. This is exacerbated by traffic congestion in densely populated areas, leading to an even greater concentration of air pollutants.

Other causes of pollution, says the newspaper, are emissions from industrial zones, craft villages, construction sites, charcoal production and garbage from residential areas. Crop burning at the end of the harvest season helps to exacerbate this.

Yet nothing has changed in the city over the past six months. So, the recent decline in

There are many ways to reduce the pollution in Vietnam’s biggest cities; limiting charcoal burning for cooking, and encouraging the use of solar energy; move polluting industries out of the inner city and require them to install systems to deal with emissions; create and enforce legislation to reduce exhaust emissions. That the local press is talking about this and that answers are being searched for is positive.

However, as we share the air, the key reduction will only come when the world decides to work together on air quality. At present we are using the skies as our sewers.

Only when we stop doing that will be able to ensure good air quality.

Big5 The

Music festivals, jazz singers, ten-year anniversaries and standup comedy.

What more could you ask for this month?

The Monsoon Music Festival Thang Long Imperial Citadel, Hanoi Oct. 8 to Oct. 11

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The citadel in central Hanoi will be opening its doors this month to a massive music festival, the likes never seen before in the capital.

With four days of artists from both Vietnam and overseas, highlights include UK jazz musician Zara McFarlane, Catfish (France), PAK Band (Vietnam), Joss Stone (UK), From the Airport (South Korea), Le Trong Cat Ly (Vietnam) and USVietnamese outfit, Demonslayer.

To find out more, turn to page 47 or click on monsoonfestival.vn

CAMA turns 10 Song Hong Village, Tay Ho, Hanoi Saturday Oct. 10

2

If it wasn’t for CAMA, the Club for Arts and Music Appreciation, there would be no such thing as music festivals in Hanoi. Over the past decade the plucky foursome has made the concept of bringing international live music and largescale festivals to the capital a reality.

In celebration of 10 years of making the impossible possible, the pioneers of the capital’s international music scene are throwing a huge bash at riverside venue, Song Hong Village (Ngo 144 An Duong Vuong, Tay Ho, Hanoi), courtesy of performances from The KDMS (UK, Electro Soul); DJ Frank Gossner (Germany, Voodoo Funk); Artur 8 (Poland, Disco House); Fayah Combo (France/Vietnam, DJ Polo featuring Selecta Elpee), and The CAMA Allstars (a Hanoi original).

Tickets cost VND200,000 on the door or VND150,000 in advance. Entrance is free before 8pm. To read more turn to page 48

Zara McFarlane Jazz singer Zara McFarlane is playing Hanoi and HCMC this month

Australian duo Yolanda Be Cool will be playing at Blanchy’s Tash

Canadian comic, Glenn Wool, soon coming to Vietnam

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3.

Zone B, 23/9 Park, Q1, HCMC Sunday Oct. 11

1.

1

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Celebrated British jazz and soul singer, Zara McFarlane, will be headlining a huge outdoor concert on Sunday Oct. 11 at the Sen Hong Outdoor Stage in Zone B of the 23rd September Park in Central Ho Chi Minh City.

Born to a reggae-loving Jamaican family, the classically trained singer was recently awarded Best Jazz Act at the 2014 MOBO (Music of Black Origin) Awards; also receiving accolades at the event were Beyoncé, Jessie J and Sam Smith. Expect Zara’s warm and powerful voice to blow you away.

The show starts at 8pm and entrance is free of charge. For more information, click on britishcouncil.vn

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Yolanda Be Cool

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Blanchy’s Tash, Q1, HCMC Friday Oct. 16

Australian outfit, Yolanda Be Cool, will be playing at Saigon on Friday Oct. 16. The creative brains behind the 2010 smash hit, We No Speak Americano, the duo — aka Sylvester Martinez and Johnson Peterson — have also worked and performed with the likes of Pitbull, Justin Martin and Flo Rida.

Flaunting a musical style that mixes house, party house, big beat and wobbly tech, expect this event to be a big ‘un. So, book your table and tickets early.

At the time of writing, prices had yet to be confirmed. So, for more info or bookings, call 0909 028293 or email Kathlyn Tarwater on kathlynsaigon@ gmail.com. Blanchy’s Tash is at 95 Hai Ba Trung, Q1, HCMC

Singapore-based comedians Jinx Yeo and Kristel Zweers performing in both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City at the end of September.

With no intention of letting the laughter lull, Saigon International Comedy and House of Son Tinh are bringing in Canadian comedian extraordinaire, Glenn Wool, to play Game On Saigon on Wednesday Nov. 4 before heading up to Hanoi to perform at the House of Son Tinh the day after.

All who have seen him will testify to this single statement: Glenn is a phenomenal comic. He’s already played Vietnam twice, his second show at Cargo Bar in Saigon packing the place to the rafters.

And if you’re desperate for some laughs somewhere in between, the increasingly accomplished StandUp Saigon have got two shows this month — Friday Oct. 2 at Spotted Cow and Wednesday Oct. 21 at Cube Bar. The moral of the story? Laughter makes the world go round. Or in another words, go catch some comedy.

For more info click on the Facebook groups of Saigon International Comedy, House of Son Tinh or Stand-Up Saigon

Ramping Up the Comedy

5

House of Son Tinh, Hanoi and Game On, HCMC Nov. 4 and Nov. 5

`Stand-up comedy is coming thick and fast to Vietnam these days, with

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wordvietnam.com | October 2015 Word | 11

Briefings National

Saving the Jungle As is being shown in Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park, to conserve the jungle you need to create jobs

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I

f you didn’t already know, Phong Nha-Ke Bang is the national park that’s home not only to spectacular caves like Hang En, Tu Lan and Hang Va, but also to the largest cave in the world, Son Doong. Located in Quang Binh in North Central Vietnam (200km north of Hue), the area boasts some of the most stunning jungle and limestone karsts in Southeast Asia. Yet, like many other places in the region, official protection doesn’t necessarily mean that the area will be conserved. The logging and poaching continue.

Anyone who believes that all loggers and poachers do it out of spite or a disregard for conservation has a hole in their head. Yes, there are poachers searching for prized wild animals or rare wood to make a profit. But the majority are so poor that unless they use the resources of the jungle, they will starve.

“When [Phong Nha] became a UNESCO world heritage site,” says Mike Rowbottom, the manager of Phong Nha backpacker hostel, Easy Tiger, “all these jungle people, the people who used to hunt, suddenly lost a key resource. Even though for generations they had used the jungle as a way to support their families, overnight, they were not allowed to do it. These people don’t speak any English, and they left school at 10. They can’t just go out and get new work. So what happens? They go back in illegally, and if they get caught, they get put into prison.”

A further effect of UNESCO status,

which was granted in 2003, was a sudden increase in local tourism. The initial visitors were large Vietnamese families and groups heading en masse to the jungle and the caves. During their trip they would eat lunch at local restaurants serving up jungle meat — it was exotic and it was part of the ‘experience’. This created a new demand for wild game, a demand that saw the decimation of animal life not just in Phong Nha-Ke Bang but further afield.

Moving Forward Recent changes to the level and nature of tourism in Phong Nha are creating new hope. High profile exposés on the consumption of jungle meat in the local press have caused the almost complete disappearance of this trade. Says one local source, “If jungle meat is still being consumed, it’s very well hidden as I haven’t seen it for a long time.” More important is that the ‘jungle people’, the former loggers and poachers, are now getting work in the tourism industry.

Although only 20 years old, Nguyen Van Thang runs Thang’s Phong Nha Riders, a group of motorbike drivers who take people around the national park to Phong Nha’s various caves, waterfalls and trails. Charging VND350,000 a day, he now employs 20 drivers, all of whom used to make their living from the jungle.

“In the past they used to log and hunt in the jungle,” he explains. “Now they have a

salary and they don’t need to. Each month they earn between VND3 million and VND4 million. So they don’t need to pha rung or destroy the jungle anymore.”

“In the past, if I didn’t have any work, I would go into the jungle to find timber and food,” says one of Thang’s drivers, father of five, Hieu. “There were many times when we just didn’t have any food and would starve. It was very hard.”

Oxalis, the company famed for running the well-known tours to Son Doong, also employs people who once made their living out of the jungle. Growing in just three years from five or six people to a company of 300, according to acclaimed caver Howard Limbert, all the company’s porters — who carry food supplies, camping and safety equipment for all the cave trips — come from the jungle.

“They know the jungle and they are amazingly fit,” he explains. “And now they work for us they’ve become obsessed with conservation. The jungle is providing them with an income and they don’t want to lose it. Around the trails we use, we’ve even started seeing the animals come back.”

Adds Mike, “Unless they [tourists here] have a motorbike license, I want to stop motorbike rentals in Phong Nha. There are so many accidents, it’s just not cool. And if you stop motorbike rentals then you can get 50 riders a month driving the tourists around. It gives more people jobs.” — Nick Ross

wordvietnam.com | October 2015 Word | 13

Briefings Hanoi

Hanoi Creative City The high-rise building and skate park by Luong Yen Bus Station is the latest attempt at being creative.

It might just work, too.

F

irst there was Sound City in the UK, an annual music festival hosted by the legendary DJ John Peel (he’s the guy who first gave radio airplay to The Sex Pistols, Oasis and The White Stripes). Organised by BBC Radio 1, the festival was held one year at Bristol Sound City, then at Leeds Sound City, and later at Glasgow Sound City — the list of featured metropolises went on.

Then six or seven years ago, Hanoi got in on the act. The ‘City’ was dropped and instead we got Hanoi Sound Stuff. The annual alternative music festival runs to this day.

About five years ago, the name was altered again. This time to Hanoi Rock City

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or HRC. And now, in the wake of the decline of Zone 9 — yes, the doomed but legendary creative space built into a crumbling pharmaceuticals factory remains forever embedded in Hanoi consciousness — we have Hanoi Creative City or HCC. The other HCC, Hanoi Cooking Centre, had better watch out.

Let’s Get Creative Anyone who confuses uniqueness with originality is mistaken; nothing can ever be truly ‘unique’. Every good creative idea is the result of many others. Sometimes an idea leaps forward in ways that few have foreseen, and sometimes people alter what already exists.

The latter is the case with Hanoi Creative City — and we’re not just talking about the name (although I confess that when I first heard it a few months ago, I jumped). The place has simply taken the idea of Zone 9 and adjusted. Formally opened at the beginning of September, this space dedicated to all things creative is actually set in a highrise with an outdoor skating area attached.

When we visited, on the ground floor there was the start of a shopping centre

and outside was Bo Sua, a clothing shop in repurposed containers (London’s Shoreditch or Saigon Outcast, anyone?) Close by there was a Cong Ca Phe and even a bar bearing that endearing name, Bia Khu Chin (that’s Zone 9 to you and me). Yes, the legacy continues.

The list of shops and cafes that are making this place their home sounds familiar. At least, their concept is. On the second floor is Yabai, the Japanese-styled teashop where I sit to write this article. On the third floor there are clothes shops and the fourth floor is dedicated to a food court selling young Hanoi’s favourite cuisine — Japanese and Korean. A gym occupies floor 10, and Nha San Art Collective has moved into floor 15. Much of the space is still empty, but it’s gradually filling up.

Will it Work?

I hope so. The capital’s art scene has already seen two decades of creativity. However, individual expression is still new. Just 10 years ago everyone still wore the same clothes — white or grey skirts and a formal blouse for women, and black trousers and white shirts for men. With its clothes

shops, funkily designed cafés and bars, and obsession with non-Vietnamese cuisine, Hanoi Creative City is certainly a part of the ongoing transformation from traditional to modern.

But much of the space remains unfilled, and until we see the final mix, we cannot apply the real litmus test — people. Is the place getting customers?

When I was there, four kids were playing out in the skate park, loving the freedom of the space. They were certainly having fun, although everyone else I saw (except in Bia Khu Chin) seemed pretty sombre.

But as I say, it’s early days. And for places like this to work, they need support.

So, here’s the big question. Will you be supporting Hanoi Creative City? Despite my reservations, I certainly will. — Nick Ross Hanoi Creative City is at 1 Luong Yen, Hai Ba Trung, Hanoi

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Briefings HCMC

I

SSC Boxing Championships

f boxing is a sweet science, fight fans will still be reeling from a sugar rush last month in District 7.

The Saigon Sports Club Championship II on Sep. 13 pitted fighters from Vietnam, Nepal, Bulgaria, Thailand and Malaysia against one another over five bouts. Weight classes ranged from flyweight to welterweight at the second event this year for the sport on Huynh Tan Phat, a stone’s throw from Phu My Bridge.

SEA Games champion Truong Dinh Hoang and SEA Games silver medalist Nguyen Van Hai were among the fighters on the card, with most local talent coming from Saigon and Binh Duong boxing clubs.

Replete with thumping bass, swiveling lights and ring girls in heels carrying cards between rounds, it had most of the makings of a western-style event. Some differences included no beer sales on the premises, but VIP (and VVIP) spectators

were treated to complimentary egg tarts.

Beer might have been better.

Regardless, the 2,000-odd fight fans who filed through the doors couldn’t complain about the price, with tickets provided at no cost. If this helps grow an appetite for boxing in the city and nationwide, then here’s hoping there’ll be a third fight card in the coming months. — Harry Hodge To see more on the championships, click on facebook.com/sscchampionship

PHOTO BY KYLE PHANROY

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Charity of the Month

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High Altitude Madness Nicolas Privet is running to raise money for a cause — Les Enfants du Dragon

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t the risk of sounding cynical, at any given moment there’s a bunch of charity runs and bike rides happening around the country. Barely a week goes by when we’re not being asked to save the world by taking part in some form of strenuous exercise.

This makes standing out for your charity dollar tough, and means the lengths you might have to go to could get extreme — like high-altitude ultra-marathon extreme.

This is exactly the case for Nicolas Privet, whose call for donations I came across on the Facebook page: Running, Swimming, Biking and more in Saigon. He’s the one putting the ‘more’ into it, and making us mere mortals feel a bit sad. Just when you're feeling happy with your 100km bike and 20km run week, he cranks out 225 plus 60km worth of intense trail. It can get embarrassing.

Good cause

For The Kids As if there could be anything more important than that, for this event, Nicolas is raising money for a charity close to his heart: Les Enfants du Dragon. Around officially since 2009, the charity has been supporting children and families in need, particularly those affected by homelessness and severe poverty. It’s a fantastic cause, and funds raised from Nicolas’s effort will go towards the construction of an orphanage in Long An Province, as well as the distribution of bicycles to kids who can’t afford them.

After 12 months of solid preparation, Nicolas’s first significant test saw him take on the Vietnam Mountain Marathon in Sapa on Sep. 26. After that it’s been all about winding back a little, and trying to keep his mind and body in good condition.

While he’s thankful to his gold sponsor Salomon Vietnam, as well as Ruby Soho in District 7 and Fresh Studio, he’s always looking for more to complete his goal of raising US$3,000 (VND67.5 million).

Good luck Nicolas. Don’t fall asleep half way! — Jon Aspin You can subscribe to Nicolas’s newsletter and donate directly to his cause via runforacause. fr. Check out the work of his chosen charity at lesenfantsdudragon.com

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PHOTOBY NICK ROSS

But it’s all with good reason. On Oct. 22, Nicolas will complete a 163km mountain ‘run’ including 10,000m worth of elevation gain in the French principality of La Reunion, a tiny island in the Indian Ocean between Madagascar and Mauritius.

Nicolas expects that this epic feat will take him 48 hours to complete, and it’s known as La Diagonale des Fous. A bunch of wacky funsters who call this type of torture ‘sport’ have been doing the run for the past 15 years.

“I’ll sleep in fifteen minute increments along the way,” Nicolas tells me. “It’s common for people to start hallucinating during this event, so it’s important to rest.”

Oh. My. God. I ask him what motivates him to do this.

After growing up in the French Alps and then moving to Vietnam 10 years ago, it

turns out he missed the fresh air. So after seven years of not doing anything, the last three have seen him make a pretty strong comeback. But it’s something else that really keeps him going.

“My family sacrifices a lot so that I can train for this type of event,” he says.

“So whenever I compete, I promise my daughter the finisher’s medal, and I keep a photo of her with me. That way I don’t forget I have to get it to her.”

In Transition

The Road

Hanoi

Good roads make for good cities

A

decade ago Hanoi was a university study for urban planning students across the world. Why? Because the city had been built piecemeal over 1,000 years without any overall sense of design. Even the French screwed up — it was a mess.

Since then the authorities have gone to great lengths to overhaul the city's infrastructure. Not for the sake of university students, but to make the transportation network conform to the needs of a modern city.

The latest project is the Vo Chi Cong road extension from the recently completed Nhat Tan Bridge to Cau Giay.

It’s a road that stretches past Ciputra and Lac Long Quan before tracing the route presently occupied by Duong Buoi.

When we arrived to take a look, one of the road surveyors told us that the section connecting Duong Buoi to Nhat Tan was 10 days away from completion.

Part of the on-the-ground project

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management team, the man we spoke to was checking the road foundations to ensure a particular section was ready for tarmac.

“The whole project won’t be completed until January,” he added. “We’re trying to open the road before Tet.”

Projects In the past three years, the opening of new roads like the Vanh Dai 3 overpass from Thanh Tri Bridge to Cau Giay has helped relieve the build-up of traffic in the capital. Other projects like overpasses and the extension of thoroughfares such as Tran Phu have had an equally positive effect — they’ve decreased bottlenecks.

Which all means that while the Vo Chi Cong project will leave much destruction in its wake, its overall effect will be to benefit the city.

Modern cities need good roads and Hanoi has aspirations. It wants and needs to be a modern city. — Nick Ross

PHOTO BY JULIE VOLA

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Briefings Hanoi

The National Day March Vietnam celebrates 70 years since independence

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hen someone says “parade”, I think: costumes, face paint, floats, glitter, and dancing.

What I do not think, is: Waking up at 6am to walk silently through the city for an hour with hundreds of people to watch a military procession. But we’re not in Kansas anymore, Toto. And on Sep. 2, the 70th Anniversary of Vietnam’s Independence, the soldiers of the nation marched.

I rallied half of my housemates out of bed at the ungodly hour that most people here just call “morning”. Forty major roads throughout Hanoi were shut, essentially crippling our lazy motorbike MO, so we put on our walking shoes and set out for Ba Dinh Square, the centre of the day’s festivities, and the place where, 70 years

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PHOTOS BY JESSE MEADOWS

ago, Ho Chi Minh declared Vietnam’s independence from France.

Halfway to our supposed destination, a Vietnamese tuk tuk driver waved us over, and in our sleepy haze, we succumbed to the convenience of an overpriced ride. Five of us crammed into the back of a metal box on wheels, jostling back and forth past growing rivulets of locals on foot, laughing at us as we passed.

But when we got to Thanh Nien, the road that would take us direct to the square, we were met by officials who waved us off. Being unable to protest, because of the ever-present language barrier, we shrugged and followed the herd down the highway.

You Take the Low Road…

As we passed road after closed road, the crowd grew, like gravity accreting disjointed particles into one solid mass.

Half an hour into the walk and halfway to Hoan Kiem Lake, I turned to my housemate with a look of despair, sweat rolling freely down my face. “Are we

actually going anywhere?!” I asked, fearing that maybe everyone was wandering round Hanoi at seven in the morning for their health.

He gave me a silent look that can only be described as sheer fury, and we kept going. In shops and cafes along the road, I caught a glimpse of the action on TV. The colourful display in Ba Dinh Square taunted me from the screen, reminding me what we were missing on this, the longest early morning walk of my life. Finally, we were funneled into the park at the bottom of Hoan Kiem Lake.

Lakeside The crowd was impenetrable. Smart spectators had brought stools and plastic chairs, perching on them to get a better view. The sea of bodies parted only to let children through, ushering them to the front of the crowd, where they sat obediently to watch. I climbed on my housemate’s shoulders to snap a few shots; rows and rows of green-clad soldiers

marched by in perfectly straight lines, enthusiastic applause accenting their strides. Speakers mounted on streetlights provided a soundtrack of loud, victorious trumpets. Onlookers climbed trees, lamp posts, buildings — anything they could find that would give them a better vantage point. Those resigned to ground level held their smartphones overhead, obsessively recording every second on video.

We waited in anticipation for the floats we saw on TV, but they never came. The last soldiers simply marched into the distance, the police took down the barriers, and the crowd began to disperse into the empty road. I looked at my housemates.

“Breakfast beer?” I asked, the only possible end to this morning.

The parade may not have featured the kind of festivity I’m used to, but it was replaced by a communal pride that was strong and palpable. In lieu of floats and glitter, I saw devotion and honour, in every smile, every intent gaze, and every wave of that red and gold flag. — Jesse Meadows

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Briefings Hanoi

T

Jazz Hands The sound of America’s 1930s and 1940s is spreading its tentacles across Hanoi

here’s not all that much applause for jazz musicians these days.

Seldom adorning the covers of mainstream music magazines, their audience claps politely, looking on in hushed appreciation, their efforts constituting an impressive albeit subtle backdrop. There’s definitely no-one chucking their bra onstage, because this is an art form that is its own reward. All the more impressive, then, that jazz in Hanoi is blossoming at a rate of knots.

Distinctly lacking in the brash neon glow that Ho Chi Minh City has embraced so readily, Hanoi is at its best when it sticks to the basics; a theory which is particularly apt when it comes to nightlife. So if all you need for a rewarding night out is good food, good drinks and some live music, then you’re in luck, because this is an area in which Hanoi excels, and is epitomised in the bustling metropole’s vibrant jazz scene.

Those Crazy Cats…

Once considered nothing short of taboo, ‘foreigner music’ as it was called only 40 years ago is now at the forefront of the live music circuit, with venues dotted all

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around the more accessible regions of the city. From the more southerly corners of the Old Quarter to the comparative serenity of Tay Ho, both international guests and some of the country’s most revered professional musicians can be found playing on a tiny stage in a dimly lit bar any given night of the week.

One such stage exists on Trang Tien, a small alley behind Hanoi’s majestic copycat Parisian opera house. It is the home of the Binh Minh Jazz Club (1 Ba Trieu, Trang Tien, Hoan Kiem), a hotspot, a hub and an institution. Owned by Quyen Van Minh, one of the country’s most eminent musicians and prominent jazz proponents, the small club is truly a must-do on the Hanoi bucket list, no matter how limited your time may be. Nightly shows begin at around 9pm and finish just before midnight, and feature an ever changing lineup of some of the city’s most gifted musicians and students, often led by Minh and his son Dac. Travel 20 minutes north to Don’s Tay Ho (27 Quang An, Tay Ho), where another of the country’s luminaries, Manh Nguyen, inspires awe from Wednesday through to Saturday, backed up by an ever-changing

lineup of international guests and Manh’s own students from the Vietnamese National Academy of Music. Drenched in red neon lighting, the small rooftop bar boasts one of the most impressive views of West Lake to be found anywhere, soundtracked by the “art of improvisation”, as Manh puts it.

The band for the evening is made up of Australian virtuoso Danny Healy, newcomer to the city Tomas Larsson, pianist Le Minh Duc and 17 year old Le Minh Hieu. Manh tells me that jazz lends itself both culturally and stylistically to Vietnamese tradition, pairing well with Viet-Calypso style music, and the ongoing developmental and improvisational nature of the core genre.

“Right now there are more venues than musicians,” he says, but there is a new generation of young jazz students, two of which are seated with us tonight, that are putting their foot on the gas.

A Growing Presence A comparison continues to reappear as we talk, that America’s love affair with jazz in the 1930s and 1940s is very much akin to what happened in Vietnam in the late 1990s and 2000s. Like techno or hip hop,

A night of jazz on the top floor bar at Don's Tay Ho

PHOTOS BY JESSE MEADOWS

jazz is a brand new genre in this country, and as such is only now beginning to take hold. In a state of constant development and improvisation, different styles can be found in venues all across the city including Le Bon (1 Pham Ngu Lao, Hoan Kiem), Bar Betta (34C Cao Ba Quat), Le Club (Sofitel Metropole Legend Hotel), HRC (27/52 To Ngoc Van, Tay Ho), Polite Pub (5 Hang Hanh, Hoan Kiem), Bar +84 (23 Ngo Van So, Hoan Kiem), The Artists (20 Hang Tre, Hoan Kiem) and Le Cabaret Social Club (27 Ly Thuong Kiet, Hoan Kiem). All host weekly performances. In short, there is not a night of the week when jazz does not eke out of at least one corner of the city, to a growing and incredibly appreciative audience.

Stan Getz once said, “There are four qualities essential to a great jazzman.

They are taste, courage, individuality and irreverence.”

Hanoi is a city that can boast all four characteristics, and as its musicians forge their own take on this particular style, it appears that jazz’s transitional nature is very much one that runs throughout the city. — Calum Sutherland

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Briefings

The Pho Burger

HCMC

First there was pho cuon, then the pho cocktail.

Now there’s the pho burger

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s it a novelty? Yes, probably. But so many customers have asked gourmet burger restaurant Relish & Sons to keep their pho burger on the menu, that now this concoction created by chef Andy O’Brien has become a permanent fixture.

Cooked up with fried noodles, Sriracha sauce, fried egg, beef shin, caramelised onions, hoisin sauce and la que (Vietnamese basil), the burger was originally created to celebrate this year’s Liberation Day on Apr. 30.

“We’d been thinking about doing something that’s Vietnamese but goes with our concept, that combines what we’re doing with something traditional,” explains Andy. “You can’t get more traditional than pho.

So we decided to do a pho burger

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and base it on the flavours of a bowl of pho.”

With a patty made of the same braised beef you’d find in a typical serving of pho bo, the broth is served on the side together with the sauces and a slice of lime, while the bun is made of fried pho noodles.

“It’s the kind of dish you eat with a knife and fork,” says Andy, “although I’ve seen some foreigners eat it as a traditional burger.”

A Hit? Naturally, I have to try the dish.

I’m impressed.

It really does taste like pho, especially when you eat the patty together with the Asian basil. The mix of textures — a key element in Vietnamese cuisine — are also

present. I love it and eat every morsel.

But this dish is disarming, too. I don’t quite know how to place it in my list of eating experiences. It’s so unusual.

“Some [people] don’t really get it,” adds Andy, “although we’ve had some really good feedback from Vietnamese customers. They all love it.”

On the day I try the pho burger, they’ve sold 10 portions over lunch alone. Andy even gets messages from people asking if the burger is still on the menu.

We can confirm. Yes, it is. Just check the specials board above the kitchen. — Nick Ross Relish & Sons is at 44 Dong Du, Q1, HCMC. The pho burger costs VND150,000++

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A

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Au Lac Do Brazil I HCMC - 238 Pasteur, Dist. 3 Tel: (08) 3820 7157 - Fax: (08) 3820 7682 pr@aulacdobrazil.com

Au Lac Do Brazil II Hanoi - 6A Cao Ba Quat, Ba Dinh Dist Tel: (04) 3845 5224 - Fax: (04) 3747 4330 pr_hanoi@aulacdobrazil.com

wordvietnam.com | October 2015 Word | 29

Briefings HCMC

In September, one of the world’s best-known trance acts played at the Ho Tram Grand

A

bove and Beyond, the English progressive trance group from London, played their first ever show in Vietnam last month. So popular was it that despite the three-hour journey out of Saigon to Ho Tram, the place was packed.

Yet as we stood there in the crowd, the wait for the headline act felt interminable. The opening acts came and went, but no-one was interested. This was all about Above and Beyond, and the moment they walked on stage it was as if a switch had

been flipped. Men and women alike began screaming like children. Some even shed a tear.

From the beginning to the end of their two-hour-long set, they were captivating. Aided by a visual display of mesmerizing loops and synchronized videos, they managed to maintain a constant communication with the entranced audience that went beyond the music. It felt like they were speaking to you as an individual, regardless of the thousands of other people standing alongside. — Kyle Phanroy

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PHOTOS BY KYLE PHANROY

Above and Beyond

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wordvietnam.com | October 2015 Word | 31

Sports Digest

Netball

From the sidelines, Harry Hodge sizes up Vietnam’s month in sports

T PHOTOS BY KYLE PHANROY

hey gather on Mondays, just off of Thao Dien in Saigon. They hail from countries around the globe, but the goal is the same: netball supremacy in Ho Chi Minh City.

Games are played on a rectangular court with raised goal rings at each end. Each team attempts to score goals by passing a ball down the court and shooting it through its goal ring, not unlike basketball. Players are assigned specific positions, which define their roles within the team and restrict their movement to certain areas of the court. A player with the ball can hold on to it for only three seconds during regular play before shooting for a goal or passing to a teammate.

Predictably, the winning team is the one that scores the most goals.

“The good news is that most beginners I’ve seen end up being

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very good after a single season,” says Saigon netball veteran Chris Salmon. “Because netball has dedicated positions on the court, beginners can focus on a specific role in a team to get used to the speed and the rules.

“We also hold more social games and training sessions that are great for new players that want to improve their skills.”

The Australian expat added that while netball is a Commonwealth sport, with many of the club’s members from the UK, Australia and New Zealand, players from all countries are able to get a good handle on the sport fairly quickly.

“I think that for most of the teams in the competition, the team size of seven players means that it’s a perfect after-hours activity for a group of work colleagues or a bunch of friends to socialise.”

With an annual womens-only

tournament in Bangkok in May where Saigon have traditionally sent two teams, there are also international matches on the horizon. There was also a women’s and a mixed team at Vietnam’s first ever Central Games in Danang in February, playing against the Hanoi netball side.

“We are hoping to arrange more competitive games in the coming year against other teams in Asia,” says Chris.

All games are held at the AIS ground in Thao Dien, District 2.

The netball court is right behind the swimming pool, next to the An Phu shops. During the season, games are on Monday nights between 6pm and 9pm and generally go for 40 to 45 minutes.

The team cost is VND10 million per season and covers all game fees and social functions.

For more information email saigonshootersnetball@gmail.com

Obstacle Course Dashing to Hanoi Following the success of the Dragon Dash in the spring in Ho Chi Minh City, the D.A.R.E. group is bringing their brand of obstacle course competition north to Hanoi this Halloween.

Champion Dash will take place on Oct. 31 in the Ecopark planned township, providing the backdrop for a unique opportunity to explore mixed terrain obstacle course racing at its finest. Participants will be challenged by over 15 obstacles, spanning several kilometers of leaping through flames, climbing walls and barricades, crawling, balancing, splashing and swinging your way through the course.

Competitive waves will start at 6.30 a.m. Once the competitive waves set off, all other Champion Dash participants will take off from the starting line every 15 minutes until all waves are complete.

Solo packages start from VND400,000, with group rates available. For more info, visit ticketbox.vn, the Champion Dash Facebook page or championdash.com

Heat at Home for Halloween ABL tip-off After yet another lengthy gap between seasons, the ASEAN Basketball League is back in action this October, with the Saigon Heat ready to take on all comers. The Vietnamese squad will be looking to build on last year’s first-ever playoff appearance, with Tony Garbelotto taking the reins as head coach following the passing of former bench boss Jason Rabedeaux.

Filipino teams have returned to the circuit this season, with boxer Manny Pacquiao backing the PACMAN Mindanao Aguilas squad. The Singapore Slingers will be the visiting squad when the Heat open their home schedule on Oct. 31 at 6pm.

Home games will be once again held at the Canadian International School in District 7. Defending champions Hi-Tech Bangkok

City will be in town on Jan. 16.

Look for updates on the team’s Facebook page or at saigonheat.com

Vietnamese Cyclist Grabs HCMC Crown Veteran cyclist Nguyen Nam Cuc of the Sai Gon Velo Team has won the 45km cycling race held annually

by Ho Chi Minh City Television and Department of Culture and Sports to mark the Independence Day, according to Vietnam News.

The 36-year-old national star completed the race — 15 rounds of a 3km circuit through Mai Chi Tho Boulevard and Tran Van Khe Street in District 2 — in 58.19 minutes last month.

Mai Cong Hieu and Singapore’s Seah Tek Wee of the Gau Vang (Golden Bear) Team finished second and third. There were also 30km races for men and women.

The events attracted more than 200 Vietnamese and foreign cyclists and over 30 teams.

Becamex Binh Duong Score V-League Title Becamex Binh Duong became champions of the 2015 Toyota V League 1 with two matches in hand after a goalless draw with Hai Phong in the 24th round at Lach Tray Stadium last month.

The champions earned 49 points after 24 matches, six points more than their closest rival, FLC Thanh Hoa, who lost 3-4 to Quang Nam. Binh Duong become the first Vietnamese team to win the national premier league for the fourth time. Their previous titles were in 2007, 2008 and 2014.

es pdatur u d n Se out yo p or ab g grou @ in ry o p s rtnt to har .com m e ev vietna word

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ToDo list HCMC

Italian minimalist will play Observatory on Oct. 2

Nick Höppner is one of the most respected figures in the world of electronic music

Art For You is bringing affordable art created in Vietnam to Ho Chi Minh City in early October

1.

2.

3.

‘Tis the busy period, and in keeping with the annual run-in to Christmas and Tet, throughout October there are events galore. Read on to find out more

1

A Fictional Journey: Trong Lee

2

Vin Gallery, Q2 Until Oct. 18 Vin Gallery is showcasing the original drawings of artist and architect, Trong Lee. His distinctive drawing style sees swirling lines elaborated by an art nouveau style describing recognisable Saigon buildings, old and new.

An architect by trade, Trong Lee is unapologetically influenced by the city he knows so well, whether through transportation, city streets or buildings.

Vin Gallery is at 6 Le Van Mien, Q2, HCMC. For enquiries call (08) 3519 4581 or email info@vingallery.com

Marco Lenzi The Observatory, Q4 Friday, Oct. 2 October’s a good month for intellectualized Euro-musik: veteran Italian minimalist DJ Marco Lenzi comes to The Observatory to rhythmically detonate your false musical consciousness. Opening the party for him are local DJs B.A.X and OKO, and the minimalist-er Chris Wolter (will he be there or not? We’re not sure!)

Lenzi left Italy to DJ at acid house events in London in 1988, and has been travelling the word the past two decades, recording, sampling, playing, and, one presumes, moodily chain-smoking Gauloises in his black-rimmed glasses. In 2008, Lenzi came in at # 49 in DJ Magazine’s Top 100 DJs in the world, and we have to conclude, the universe.

With B.A.X and OKO to ignite people’s feet prior to the main event, this is one party you’ll want to attend, or stay home questioning the

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bleakness of existence.

Doors open at 9pm, and entrance is free until 11pm. After that, expect to pay VND150,000 / VND100,000 with student ID. The Observatory is at 5 Nguyen Tat Thanh, Q4, HCMC

Mzungu Broma: Not a Bar, Q1 Saturday, Oct. 3 Feeling footloose? Come shake those dogs and feel extra foreign at Mzungu at Broma: Not a Bar. Mzungu — a Bantu word literally meaning “rootless wanderer” — almost always refers to, er, persons of European descent.

Presented by 1dan, Mzungu showcases Afro House, mindexpanding Cosmic Jazz and Broken Beat. Plus, Broma (remember, it’s not a bar) has excellent outdoor seating for when the broken beat takes its toll and you have to nurse a sprain.

With free entry, it’s got an unbeatable price and music that’ll make the urban jungle just a little

bit wilder.

Broma: Not a Bar is at 41 Nguyen Hue, Q1, HCMC. Entry is free all night

Nick Höppner The Observatory, Q4 Saturday, Oct. 3 Resident of the infamous Berghain / Panoramabar; artist, manager and something of a custodian for the associated Ostgut Ton label, Nick Höppner is a figure whose name commands the respect earned by only a handful of actors in the electronic music world.

Support will come from Nic Ford (Millions Of Moments, The Obs).

Entrance is free before 11pm and VND150,000 after.

The Observatory is at 5 Nguyen Tat Thanh, Q4, HCMC

Art for You Mai’s Gallery, 3A Station, Q1 Oct. 4 to Oct 8 A collaboration of Hanoi-based art organizations Workroom 4 and

3

Manzi, Art for You is a new breed of art show: one intended for ordinary city dwellers, not rich collectors or investors.

Both founded within the last five years, Manzi and Workroom 4 are multi-dimensional art spaces, aiding creative endeavours and artists in every media. Both firmly believe in the power of art to enrich lives and expand minds, much as we at the Word like to think of

ourselves. Ahem.

Don’t let buying art stay the province of wrinkly old people with money. Show your love for local artists presenting at Art for You, and go home with something beautiful, or at least puzzling, for your home.

Mai’s Gallery at 3A Station is located at 3A Ton Duc Thang, Q1, and is open from 9am to 9pm. For more information, call (08) 6681 5625

San Pellegrino Launch Party Pool House, Park Hyatt Saigon, Q1 Monday, Oct. 5 As the quintessence of Italian lifestyle, San Pellegrino will present a limited edition bottle in collaboration with Vogue Italia. The special edition will be showcased during the Fine Dining Lovers

wordvietnam.com | October 2015 Word | 35

ToDo

1

The visually stunning production, Standpoint Theories, returns for its third showing in Saigon this month

Leonard Cohen meets the modern age. Jerome Reuter is the leading voice of post-industrial folk music.

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3.

Dark but addictive, he will be performing tracks from his recent album this month in Saigon

Oktoberfest returns once again to the Windsor Plaza

1.

list HCMC

Dinner which will feature a specially crafted menu by Executive Chef Antimo from renowned 81/2 Otto e Mezzo Bombana, Macau.

Held at the newest event space in town, Pool House boasts floorto-ceiling windows, and greets guests with stunning views of the pool and beautifully landscaped garden. The hotel recently went through a complete renovation, redefining the expression of luxury in Saigon, while maintaining its classical French-colonial signature style incorporating contemporary elements. This one sounds like it’ll attract all the right people.

The Fine Dining Lovers Dinner starts at 6.30pm. The five course degustation dinner costs (VND2,200,000). For further information, please email nguyen.luu@ hyatt.com

Eins Zwei Drei Beer!

Windsor Plaza Hotel, Q5 Oct. 14 to Oct. 17 Oktoberfest is back. The German Business Association in Vietnam and Windsor Plaza Hotel will once again host the event that separates the men and the women from the Bavarian strudels. New to this year’s event, the organisers are proud to welcome An Ton Show Band, a traditional Oktoberfest band that has played concerts worldwide, from beer tents to banquet halls, and is famous for its

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beer toasting medleys.

Guests will be presented with a collectible ‘Oktoberfest Vietnam’ beer stein and will have the chance to win exciting prizes from the nightly lucky draws. Get your leiderhosen ready people, this one’s a classic, and if the food from last year is anything to go by, well worth the price of admission.

Tickets are available at oktoberfestvietnam.com or by calling the hotline on 0908 477489. Wednesday and Thursday costs VND1 million, while tickets for Friday and Saturday are VND1.3 million. The Windsor Plaza Hotel is at 18 An Duong Vuong, Q5, HCMC

Standpoint Theories Ben Thanh Theatre, Q1 Oct. 15 to Oct. 17 An international production featuring multi-disciplinary arts within the local Vietnamese and expat community, Standpoint Theories is a collaborative project that tells the story of six wellknown Vietnamese myths.

Directed by American artist Emily Navarra and featuring Vietnamese artist Trung Hoang as well as American electronic duo Space // Panther, the production builds a graphic novel of the six myths by using dance, Vietnamese text, live visual art and 3D mapping as well as live electronic music fused with traditional Vietnamese sounds. This three shows in mid-October will be the third in the series.

Standpoint Theories will run at Ben Thanh Theatre, 6 Mac Dinh Chi, Q1, HCMC from Thursday Oct. 15 to Saturday Oct. 17, 8pm to 10pm each night.

Tickets cost from VND300,000 (standard) to VND800,000 (VIP). For further info on ticket purchase, click on facebook.com/ standpointtheories or email Emily Navarra on gemdarEste32@gmail.com

Jerome Reuter Saigon Ranger, Q1 Saturday, Oct. 17 We’re stoked to hear Luxembourgish post-industrial folk singer Jerome Reuter is returning to Vietnam for a single show at Saigon Ranger this October. Part of his band/musical project ROME’s 10th anniversary tour, he’ll be playing a full set, including material from 2014’s fulllength release Passage to Rhodesia.

Reuter bends the chansonier style of his hero Jacques Brel to the breaking point, incorporating dark ambient, acoustic rock, pop, cold wave... and more varieties of folk than you could shake a tambourine at.

If that description intrigues you, or just confuses you sufficiently, see Jerome Reuter play and help get more unusual and independent foreign singers to visit our fair Saigon.

Tickets are available at ticketbox.vn, but you can also purchase them on the door for VND100,000. Doors open at 8pm.

Saigon Ranger is at 5/7 Nguyen Sieu, Q1, HCMC

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ToDo

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list HCMC

Voodoo Funk

The 2012 work, Soleil, by Yohei Yama

Arts for Mobility will be raising money to buy and manufacture wheelchairs for

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West African sound specialist, record-hunter and label owner Frank Gossner aka Voodoo Funk is back in our city for the third time, the second at The Obs and the first at the new venue.

Expect nothing short of an audio safari through the rarest, most dance-inspiring sounds cherry-picked out of his vast vinyl collection. Support will come from Dan Lo (Eclectic Aesthetic). Entrance is free before 11pm and VND150,000 after.

The Observatory is at 5 Nguyen Tat Thanh, Q4, HCMC

The Power of Semiosis: Yohei Yama the disabled in Vietnam this month

Voodoo Funk returns to Saigon for the third time this month. Not to be missed

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The Observatory, Q4 Saturday, Oct. 17

Vin Gallery, Q2 From Oct. 23 Japanese artist Yohei Yama’s debut Vietnam solo show will showcase a series of his new works in his signature style. The miniature tree symbol is one that has become synonymous with his art, a symbol that came to him after news of the devasting nuclear accident in Fukushima, an event which affected

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Yohei greatly — he struggled to produce any work. The tree motif gave Yohei healing energy and has become his trademark ever since.

Vin Gallery is at 6 Le Van Mien, Q2, HCMC. For enquiries call (08) 3519 4581 or email info@vingallery.com

Electric Kicks with Mark Gergis The Observatory, Q4 Friday, Oct. 23 Curator of some of the most astounding collections from the

deepest reaches of our world — from old Saigon Rock to Syrian wedding ballads — Mark Gergis aka Porest is a specialist of rare international sounds and audiovisual culture.

Put together with the regular clubnight put on by Electric Kicks, this will be a night of intrigue and dancing. Support comes from Superkid and Datodeo.

Entrance is free before 11pm and VND100,000 after. The Observatory is at 5 Nguyen Tat Thanh, Q4, HCMC

Arts For Mobility HCMC Conservatory Saturday, Oct. 24

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Kids First Enterprise (KFE) will present its eighth annual Arts For Mobility exhibition and concert next month. The event will include a variety of musical selections featuring the Saigon Chamber Music Young Virtuosos.

KFE’s goal in 2015 is to fund the manufacture and distribution of wheelchairs for the disabled in Vietnam who could not otherwise afford a wheelchair. The wheelchairs will be manufactured at the KFE Mobility Factory, Dong Ha, Quang Tri, one of the poorest communities in Vietnam. The factory provides jobs in the local community, with a focus on employing people with disabilities.

The event begins with an art exhibition and silent auction, which is followed by a concert featuring Saigon Chamber Music’s Young Vietnamese Virtuosos.

Wine, tea, beer, water, soft drinks and hors d’oeuvres will be served during the art exhibition and silent auction, from 6pm to 7.30pm, and during the concert intermission.

The cost of a ticket is VND500,000.

The HCMC Conservatory is at 112 Nguyen Du, Q1. To purchase tickets, click on artsformobility.com or ticketbox.vn. You can also call organiser Roger Ferrel directly on 0903 365720

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ToDo list HCMC

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Saigon Melbourne Cup

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Courtesy of AusCham, The Saigon Melbourne Cup brings the fun of the races to Ho Chi Minh City

Lubu will be bringing all the fun of the Melbourne Cup to Saigon’s District 2

Northern Soul will be one of the movies screened in the UK Film Week

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Reverie Hotel Saturday, Oct. 24 The Australian Chamber of Commerce (AusCham) Vietnam will host the 2nd Annual Saigon Melbourne Cup Carnival Dinner this month.

The event will include a fashion show mimicking the real event’s Fashions on the Field — it will feature headgear exclusively designed by Kan Kanemura and dresses by Ho Tran Da Thao from T Safari. This will be followed by a light-hearted catwalk show from attendees seeking five minutes of fame as the bestdressed man or woman.

As gambling is restricted in Vietnam, the organisers have instead secured Flemington’s Phantom Races which are videos of actual races from Flemington Racecourse, but with all identifying aspects removed. Cash is pledged by bidders for the right to own a horse and the cash pledged is collected and donated to a nominated charity.

The race is then shown on the giant LED screen.

This year, proceeds from Flemington’s Phantom Races will be donated to Water Safety Vietnam (WSV), which is dedicated to significantly reducing the number of drownings in Vietnam.

The dinner runs from 6.30pm to 11.30pm and costs VND3.2 million per person (the Early Bird Special costs VND2.95 million and is available until Friday, Oct. 9). For further info or bookings email events@auschamvn. org or click on saigoncup.auschamvn. org. Reverie Saigon Hotel is at 22-36 Nguyen Hue, Q1, HCMC

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Monsters in the Jungle The Saigon Ranger Saturday, Oct. 31 Saigon Ranger will host a Halloween bash put on by Saigon Loves Jungle. This is SLJ’s third charity fundraiser for the Green Youth Collective, which teaches disadvantaged children about permaculture and urban gardening, setting them on a path to obtaining

sustainable careers.

The line-up includes DJ Slowbirds from Japan, DJ Hugh G (UK), and DJ Animal (UK). The organisers promise that the DJs “will be unleashing monster jungle and drum and bass anthems” throughout the event. There will be prizes for suitably scary costumes.

Entry is VND80,000 and the event runs from 10pm to 2am. Saigon Ranger is at 5/7 Nguyen Sieu, Q1, HCMC.

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For further info click on facebook.com/ saigonlovesjungle

Golf! But Not As You Know It TBA Monday, Nov. 2 Don’t tell their parents, but Golf, a young band of four college students from Germany, will tour South East Asia for the first time this fall.

Starting out in Hanoi on Oct. 27 at the Youth Theater, the band will continue south through Vietnam, giving concerts in Danang (Oct. 29), Hue (Oct. 30) and Ho Chi Minh City (Nov. 2). Their music is a mix of funk, electronic pop and indie, meaning it’s real easy to get along with yah. We look forward to welcoming them into Saigon’s ample musical bosom! Did we mention it’s free? Das is good in anyone’s language.

Check out the band and its sounds online at golfgolfgolfgolf.de and go to the concerts the see for yourself!

Entrance is free. For tickets and further information visit goethe.de/vietnam or email info@saigon.goethe.org

Lubu Melbourne Cup Lunch Lubu, Q2 Tuesday, Nov. 3 Never have a reason to swan around in that slick Ascot or Stephen Jones hat? Come out to Lubu Restaurant for their annual Melbourne Cup Lunch. Check out live raceday coverage, a fashion show, with prizes for the poshest outfit, hat and so on.

Drinks flow early, with the bubbly coming out at 9.30am to wash canapes down. Stay tipsy by bringing your own brandy, say, a zippy little Armagnac Castarede 1979, until the three-course lunch starts and free-flowing wine ends at 3pm. Tickets go for VND1.6 million per person.

For more information or to make

reservations, call (08) 6281 8371 or email info@luburestaurant.com. Lubu Restaurant is located at 97 Thao Dien, Q2, HCMC

UK Film Week 2015 CGV Cinemas, HCMC Nov. 4 to Nov. 12 An annual event organised by The British Council Vietnam, UK Film Week is a showcase the best of British cinema. This year, the screenings will take place at selected CGV Cinemas in Hanoi, Danang and Ho Chi Minh City.

Featuring award-winning movies, the roster of screenings includes God Helps the Girl (2014), Nowhere Boy (2009), Pulp (2014), Northern Soul (2014), Good Vibrations (2013) and Control (2007).

More information on venues and screenings will be released closer to the date — click on britishcouncil.vn for info. Tickets are available at ticketbox.vn

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ToDo list HCMC

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Loreto is presently raising money to build a kindergarten for underprivileged children

Hip-hop artist Oddisee will be playing in mid-November

Images from last year’s CMI Charity Gala

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Loreto November Charm

Oddisee

Soul Music & Performing Arts Academy, Q3 Saturday, Nov. 7

Cargo Back Stage, Q4 Tuesday, Nov. 17

Loreto’s November Charity Gala is a cultural event aiming to highlight the profile of Loreto Kids' Charity and to reach out to philanthropic corporate groups and individuals.

The main event is a set of live music performances by Thanh Bui (ambassador of Loreto Kids’ Charity), The Soul Club and other artists in Saigon. There will be special performances contributed by a band of vision-impaired children.

All proceeds from the event will directly benefit the construction of a kindergarten for underprivileged rural children in Loreto’s care.

Pre-event activities will include a photo exhibition, kids’ entertainment, the sale of Loreto merchandise, raffle tickets, free finger food and beverages. The honorary event sponsor is the Soul Music & Performing Arts Academy.

For more info, email Ms. Tuyen on tuyen@loretovietnam.org, call (08) 3910 6364 or 0938 68 98 20, or click on loretovietnam.org. The Soul Music & Performing Arts Academy is at 214 – 216 Pasteur, Q3, HCMC

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Loud Minority and the Pasteur Street Brewing Company present phenomenal Sudanese-American hip-hop artist Oddisee, coming to Vietnam for the first time on his firstever Asian tour.

Since getting started in neighbour Gary Shider’s basement studio (of Parliament / Funkadelic fame) he’s played with The Roots, collaborated with Flying Lotus, Kev Brown and Hudson Mohawke, and produced for Freeway, Little Soul, De La Soul and Nikki Jean, plus the surprisingly still-active Jazzy Jeff. Oddisee won iTunes’ Hip Hop Album of the Year in 2012 for his release People Hear What They See and followed up with The Good Fight this year.

Support Oddisee’s prodigious talents this November at Cargo Back Stage, and support Ho Chi Minh City’s growing hip-hop scene.

Tickets can be purchased through ticketbox.vn or at Asian Kitchen, located at 185/22 Pham Ngu Lao, Q1.

Prices are VND300,000 in advance, and VND350,000 at the door. Show your student ID to get VND100,000 off. Cargo Back Stage is located at 7

Nguyen Tat Thanh, Q4. Doors open at 8pm. Supporting acts will be announced closer to the date

Heart Institute Gala GEM Center Saturday, Nov. 21 The Heart Institute of Ho Chi Minh City and the CMI (International Medical Centre) will hold the 5th edition of the Heart Institute Gala next month. The aim is to support deprived children suffering from heart diseases.

Under the theme of Magic Circus, the evening will consist of a welcome cocktail, a five-course French menu with a Vietnamese twist from celebrity chef Jack Lee, never-seen before auctions, live performances and entertainment. The organisers describe the dress code as ‘chic and magical’.

Tickets cost VND3.5 million or VND35 million for a table of 10 and VND42 million for a table of 12. All proceeds of the Heart Institute Gala directly fund the cost of cardiac surgeries for deprived children suffering from heart diseases.

GEM Center is at 8 Nguyen Binh Khiem, Q1, HCMC. The event begins at 6.30pm. For bookings and further info, please email Suzanne Veyron on s.veyron@cmi-vietnam.com

overscene ho chi minh

Photos by Francis Xavier

rekorderlig cider launch

Sweden and cider. It’s a match that most of us sane folks out there wouldn’t even think of.

But as Swedish cider brand

showed at their launch party at Glow, here’s a product that has taste, sunsets and the word ‘refreshing’ written all over it.

British duo Above & Beyond blew away the crowds at the Ho Tram Grand last month.

So amazing was the show,

that parts of it reduced the audience to tears.

Photos by Kyle Phanroy

The event proved something prevalent in Vietnam. This country loves a good fight.

a f ictional journey

Trong Lee’s illustrations of this city are eye-opening and inspiring. So much so that last month Vin Gallery started a

month-long exhibition of his work. The showcase continues until mid-October.

Photos by Francis Xavier

Boxing came to Saigon big-time last month in the form of an international tournament hosted by Saigon Sports Club

above & beyond

Tapas and Freixenet

Spanish cava from Freixenet, tapas made by a Michelin-star chef, and a to-die-for paella cooked up by local chef of Lubu fame, Kylie Cawood. All

these elements came together last month for a mouthwatering tapas and bubbles affair at Annam Gourmet Market in District 1.

If you have a noteworthy event which you thinkwould fit into our coverage, please email news@wordvietnam.com and we'll take a look.

Go to: wordvietnam.com/mediavp/photo-gallery for full viewing access.

Photos by Francis Xavier

Photos by Kyle Phanroy

ssc championships

IN

PHOTO BY VU BAO KHANH

Just

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HCMC

Saigon gets a new fivestar, Thao Dien gets a new sports pub and climbing wall, and a new travel agency is set up for the disabled

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PHOTO BY FRANCIS XAVIER

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D Two Opens in Thao Dien

D Two in Thao Dien

Meridien Saigon as seen from the river

Vertical Academy opens in Saigon’s District 2

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A new, elegant and spacious sports bar has joined the growing quorum of watering holes in District 2.

Equipped with four large TV screens, D Two is showing all the live sports — think the Rugby World Cup, EPL, Aussie Rules and the Grand Prix — as well as offering up a pool table and darts boards.

As well as an extensive drinks selection, the menu comes with a full range of comfort-food style starters, mains and desserts. Weekly promotions are also in the offering such as half-priced pies, VND99,000 pasta dishes. There are even deals on drinks and jugs of cocktail for ladies.

D Two is open from 3pm, Monday to Friday, and 10am on Saturday and Sunday until late. The bar is located on the spot formerly occupied by Baan Thai — 55–57 Thao Dien, Q2, HCMC

Roll In Everybody Roll in Asia is a new Saigon-based inbound travel agency specialising in accessible vacations for travellers in wheelchairs or those with mental handicaps, hearing or visual impairments.

After a year of extensive reconnaissance, the startup has recently finalized 100 percent wheelchair accessibility and fully supported itineraries throughout Vietnam. For able-bodied travellers,

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they also offer original routes including classic sights and authentic, off-the-beaten track experiences, all tailored to your needs.

With years of experience in the local travel industry, Roll in Asia offers those with less mobility the opportunity to travel to more destinations than previously thought possible.

For more info click on rollinasiatravel.com, call 01256 010280 or email charlotte@rollinasia-travel.com

Le Meridien Saigon Opens Last month’s opening of Le Meridien Saigon is part of the gradual poshing up of riverside thoroughfare, Ton Duc Thang. Just a stone’s throw from the city centre, this five-star property juxtaposes rich elements of Vietnamese-French heritage with a sleek, contemporary vibe.

The inauguration of this Starwood property also marks the opening of the first Le Meridien in Vietnam.

The 345 rooms offer views across river and into the city, and feature a French soaking bath and a rainforest shower. Other cravings can be satisfied at the hotel’s restaurants: Bamboo Chic, serving ChineseJapanese cuisine; Explore Bistro in the Explore Spa & Health Club that serves up healthy and detoxifying cuisine; Latest Recipe, the hotel’s signature dining venue featuring interactive

buffets; and Latitude 10, a coffee bar by day, and a bar-bar by night.

An indoor pool, a 400sqm ball room, function rooms, a sundeck and all the mod cons make up the mix.

Le Meridien is located at 3C Ton Duc Thang, Q1, HCMC. For more information click on lemeridien.com/Saigon

Vertical Academy With so much of the Thao Dien area sat at a below sea level elevation, naturally District 2 has long needed a climbing wall, just so you can grapple your way to safety when the area decides to flood.

For those of you who think that explanation for the opening of Vertical Academy is a load of garbage, you’re probably right.

As this bouldering gym and pro climbing wall that comes replete with a showroom and café offers something that this area has never experienced before, a place to climb.

Check it out — it’s pretty cool.

There is a Crag and a Cave section on the first floor, with two more sections and a chill-out area to come on floor two. The climbing gym also runs training courses and sells daily climbing passes for VND150,000 (for a 10-visit pass pay VND1 million).

Vertical Academy is at 18 Truc Duong, Q2, Tel: 0966 920612. Check them out on Facebook — facebook.com/ vertical.academy.vn

THINKING RELOCATION? THINK SANTA FE Moving

We make it easy

Relocation

Visa & Immigration

Records Management

Santa Fe Vietnam T: +84 8 3933 0065 E: vietnam@santaferelo.com www.santaferelo.com

wordvietnam.com | October 2015 Word | 45

ToDo

listHanoi

Images from last year’s inaugural Monsoon Festival in the Thang Long Citadel

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Chef Jurgen Kauz will be taking guests on a culinary tour

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of all My Way’s restaurants this month

The cao vit gibbon is one of the most endangered primates in Vietnam

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There’s more music than you can shake a stick at coming up this Autumn, with two festivals, a big anniversary bash, touring indie bands and a jazz great.

Business, the environment, kids’ events and charity are in the mix as well

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Picturing & The Primates Throughout October Fauna & Flora InternationalVietnam Programme (FFI Vietnam) is holding two important events this month. The first is a Wildlife in Vietnam photography competition throughout the month of October.

Details will be announced and shared via Fauna & Flora Vietnam Programme’s Facebook page.

The second event is a celebration of World Gibbon Day on Saturday Oct. 24. Vietnam has one of the most diverse gibbon populations in the world, a fact made even more important by the rarity of these creatures around the globe.

Vietnam holds more species of the most threatened crested gibbons than any other country, and the endemic cao vit gibbon, virtually unknown, is believed to have only 130 individuals left in the wild.

For more information please email alice.carney@gmail.com

I’ll Cook It My Way My Way, Central Hanoi Until Nov. 1 Throughout October, the My Way restaurant chain is collaborating with noted chef Jurgen Kauz on a

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Here Comes The Monsoon Thang Long Imperial Citadel Oct. 8 to Oct. 11

cooking extravaganza called Chef Tour with Jurgen Kauz.

This programme will be held at the six restaurants of the My Way chain in order to introduce the autumn menu with three special Western dishes exclusively created by Chef Jurgen. The programme will take place alternately in each of the My Way Chain’s venues.

The tour travels to: — My Way Café & Beer 54 Nguyen Du, Hai Ba Trung, from Sep. 26 to Oct. 4.

— My Way Café & Beer 24T2 Hoang Dao Thuy, Cau Giay, Oct. 5 to Oct. 10 — My Way Seafood 17T3 Hoang Dao Thuy, Cau Giay, Oct. 12 to Oct. 18 — My Way Seafood 24 Nguyen Gia Thieu, Hai Ba Trung, Oct. 19 to Oct. 25 — My Way Café & Beer Quang Ninh, Tran Quoc Nguyen, Ha Long City, Oct. 26 to Nov. 1 Diners can choose one of the three dishes on the menu or order a full course of dishes for VND388,000++ For reservations, please contact the My Way hotline on 0909 751080

Building on the success of last year’s pioneering event, the Monsoon Music Festival returns this year with its strong line-up of Vietnamese and overseas artists. The event last year went so well that it was cited as a 2014 highlight cultural event by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

Running for four days, Thursday will be dominated by Vietnamese acts, including the Maius Philharmonic, Slim V & Crazy Monkey, Uyen Linh, and Toc Tien.

On Friday, it is the turn of international acts, including Zara McFarlane from the UK, Samaris (Iceland), Catfish (France), Thomas Oliver (New Zealand), along with Vietnam’s own Spacespeakers.

Saturday sees performances from Joss Stone, and Matt Robertson from the UK, along with DJ Shinichi Osawa (Japan), PAK Band (Vietnam) and Great Mountain Fire (Belgium).

The final day features artists from a wide range of countries including Samsaya from Norway, From the Airport (South Korea), UK string quartet and synthpop outfit BOND, Le Cat Trong Ly from Vietnam and the US/Vietnam’s Demonslayer.

Organisers have their sights set on building this into a prestigious international music festival, and a showcase for culture in Hanoi.

Further information can be found at monsoonfestival.vn or on Facebook at facebook.com/ monsoonfestivalvietnam

Once reserved exclusively for royalty, tranquil Westlake now boasts Hanoi’s Gold-Standard serviced residences.

Minutes from the city with unobstructed lake views, Fraser Suites Hanoi offers you the award-winning service even ancient kings would envy.

THE FRASER COLLECTION BAHRAIN • BANGALORE • BANGKOK • BEIJING • BUDAPEST • CHENGDU • DOHA • DUBAI • EDINBURGH • GLASGOW • GUANGZHOU • GURGAON • HANOI • HO CHI MINH CITY • HONG KONG • ISTANBUL • JAKARTA • KUALA LUMPUR • LONDON • MANILA • MELBOURNE • NANJING • NEW DELHI • OSAKA • PARIS • PERTH • SEOUL • SHANGHAI • SHENZHEN • SINGAPORE • SUZHOU • SYDNEY • TIANJIN • WUHAN • WUXI • CHENNAI (2014) • AL KHOBAR (2015) • FRANKFURT (2015) • RIYADH (2014)

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ToDo

listHanoi

Disney Live in Hanoi National Convention Center, Hanoi Friday, Oct. 9 to Sunday, Oct. 11 Tiep Thi Gia Dinh Magazine is bringing Disney Live! Mickey’s Music Festival to Hanoi in the early part of the month.

Returning to Vietnam for the second time and showing for the first time in Hanoi, the show will feature Disney’s remixed hits to the likes of hip-hop, pop, swing, reggae, rock and country.

The line-up features more than 25 Disney characters including Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy, Ariel, Jasmine, Aladdin, Woody and Buzz.

There are full English shows or part-Vietnamese performances with subtitles. Shows run for approximately 90 minutes with an interval. Information about the show and ticketing is available at ticketbox. vn/disneylive.

National Convention Center is at Pham Hung, Me Tri, Cau Giay, Hanoi

CAMA turns 10

Saxophonist Kenny G plays in Hanoi this month

Acclaimed German college band, This is Golf, descend on Hanoi

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Frank Gossner aka Voodoo Funk, will be returning to help

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celebrate CAMA’s 10th anniversary

CAMA ATK, Hai Ba Trung Saturday Oct. 10 CAMA is bringing back friends and favourites from around the world for what it promises will be a scorching night of dance-floor, Hanoi-style mayhem. This late-nighter out by the river in Tay Ho is a celebration of the 10 years that has seen CAMA organise 10 festivals and bring in 200 acts to Vietnam.

An outdoor event, the night features The KDMS (UK, Electro Soul); DJ Frank Gossner (Germany, Voodoo Funk); Artur 8 (Poland, Disco House); Fayah Combo (France/Vietnam, DJ Polo featuring Selecta Elpee), and The CAMA Allstars (a Hanoi original).

The KDMS combine hypnotic rhythms with addictive pop melodies carrying clever lyrics — regarded by some as a rare achievement in today’s formulaic world of club-inspired pop music.

They feature prolific British singer Kathy Diamond, who CAMA calls “the true disco diva for the 21st century.”

Frank Gossner, a long-time friend of CAMA, is noted for carrying the records that nobody else has, and will journey to Vietnam with his suitcase of African sounds, infectious rhythms and delectable beats for this birthday bash.

The Faya Combo has been with CAMA from the start, with hip-hop head DJ Polo and Selecta Elpee

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2 joining forces for a dose of dancehall, hip hop, reggae and dub vibes. The extensive early house and disco knowledge of Artur 8 will also be on show.

This anniversary party will feature a riverside BBQ, ATK drink specials, and all the usual tub-thumping tomfoolery, CAMA promises.

Tickets cost VND200,000 at the door or VND150,000 in advance.

Entrance is free before 8pm.

CAMA’s 10-year anniversary will take place at Song Hong Village (Lang Song Hong), Ngo 144 An Duong Vuong, Tay Ho

Kenny G Blows In National Convention Centre Monday Oct. 12 Grammy Award-winning saxophonist Kenny G will perform in Hanoi as part of his current Asia tour.

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Kenny G will play pieces from his latest album, Brazilian Nights, launched in February.

“The Live In Concert will be distinctive because Kenny G will be accompanied by his live band and their instruments,” said a representative.

Kenny G’s band includes Robert Jerone Damper on keyboards, John Ventor Raymond (guitar), Vail Johnson (bass), Daniel Bejarano (drums) and Ronald Bernard Powell (percussion). They will arrive in Hanoi on October 12.

In a recording career spanning almost three decades and 23 albums, Kenny G has grafted

elements of R&B, pop and Latin on to a jazz foundation, cementing his reputation as the premier artist in contemporary jazz.

Ticket prices start from VND600,000 and the National Convention Centre is at Pham Hung, Tu Liem. Concert starts at 8pm. To purchase tickets, click on kennyginvietnam.vn

This is Golf!

Hanoi Youth Theatre, Hai Ba Trung Tuesday Oct. 27 Golf, a young band of four college students from Germany, will tour

South-East Asia for the first time this Autumn. Their music is a mix of funky sounds, electronic pop and indie.

Golf was recently nominated as one of the bands in the Best Newcomer category for 2015 in Germany. The Hanoi gig will be their first in Vietnam, after which they will play in Danang, Hue and finally Ho Chi Minh City. Entrance to the concerts is free.

For tickets and further information visit goethe.de/Vietnam. The band’s website is at golfgolfgolfgolf.de. Hanoi Youth Theatre is at 11 Ngo Thi Nham, Hai Ba Trung, Hanoi

wordvietnam.com | October 2015 Word | 49

ToDo

listHanoi

Mangiare!

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The Champion Dash obstacle race has its inaugural outing in Hanoi this month

Trien Lam Van Hoa, Hai Ba Trung Saturday Oct. 31 Popular and tasty Italian food and wine will be on offer as usual at this year’s Italian Food Festival at the Cultural Exhibition Centre, with the participation of many leading restaurants. The event, which begins at 4pm, will be sponsored by major Italian companies in Vietnam.

Apart from the eating and drinking activities, there will be a cooking contest (probably among ambassadors, according to the organisers) and a fast eating competition, plus music and a lottery.

Entrance costs VND330,000 or VND280,000 in advance. Tickets are available at Mediterraneo, Luna d’Autonno, Da Paolo, Oasis and Gelato Italia. Lottery tickets cost VND100,000. All proceeds from the lottery will go to charity.

The Cultural Exhibition Centre (Trien Lam Van Hoa) is at 2 Hoa Lu, Hai Ba Trung, Hanoi

DARE to Meet the Challenge Eco Park Township, Hung Yen Saturday Oct. 31 DARE (Dragon Adventure Race Events) and Yan Live have come

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together to create Hanoi’s first Obstacle Course Race (OCR). This follows a successful inaugural OCR held in April in Ho Chi Minh City.

The event will be known as the Red Bull Champion Dash.

“Our mission is to create experiences that stay with participants long after the event,” says DARE managing director, Onslo Carrington. “Our core philosophy emphasises camaraderie, teamwork, and the outdoors as a way to live, laugh, and have fun through fitness and friendship.”

The Red Bull Champion Dash will be between 5km and 8km in length and will be packed with 16+ obstacles. Obstacles include climbing over walls, carrying objects, traversing obstacles, crawling under objects, and some fun surprises.

Miss Vu Hoang My, the first runner-up of Miss Vietnam 2010 will be the event ambassador.

For more information or to book tickets click on championdash.com or ticketbox.vn/championdash. Ecopark Township is at Xuan Quan, Van Giang, Hung Yen

State Your Business Oct. 31 and Nov. 1 Hatch! Fair 2015 — the largest start-up exhibition and conference

in Vietnam — will organise its third annual event late this month.

As part of the event, this year, Hatch! Fair has combined with ‘Midterm Demo’. Together, the festival and demo will recognise the achievements of entrepreneurs in Vietnam, and connect them with each other and supporting organisations and investors.

The organisers expect dozens of exhibiting start-ups, over 1,000 visitors, and two days of exhibition activity with approximately 500 people participating in the conference. Entrepreneur workshops and investment pitching sessions fill out the conference.

The event is co-organised by Innovation Partnership Program, a Finnish government ODA project, and Hatch! Program (hatch.vn) with partners UNDP, British Council, Live and Learn, CSIP, Tigers@Mekong, Hivos and SEATTI. Further information can be found at fair.hatch.vn or by contacting Ms. Ngoc (ngoc@hatch.vn), Tel: 01228 383935

On a Monster Quest Son Tinh Camp, Ba Vi National Park Nov. 6 to Nov. 8 The Quest Festival this year is aiming to be bigger and better than ever, with a diverse programme of

1 over 100 acts such as musicians, DJs, artists, performers, workshops, film features and art installations over multiple venues.

The music programme has expanded further with a distinct focus on both local underground art and overseas tastemakers. The organisers expect to see rap battles, B-Boy showdowns and some lightning fast scratches in one area, while some of Vietnam’s heaviest acts will throw down the riffs with some intense heavy metal and hardcore in another.

The workshops and performance programme will be growing too; the workshop programme will provide a whole host of experiential activities while mainstays such as yoga, crafts and meditation will be on offer alongside some more unusual classes.

Artwork and installations will be to the fore again, with an upgrade in technical visual components as well as overall execution and scale, and there will be the usual emphasis on costumes. The organisers say that a range of Hanoi’s leading restaurants will be on-site to keep festival goers satisfied.

And of course, the Son Tinh camp, set against a backdrop of beautiful mountains and surrounded on all sides by a lake is a great place to spend three days in another world.

ToDo

listHanoi

1 Prices are VND900,000 for the full three-day weekend (VND700,000 for students).

VND500,000 per day. Shared camping facilities cost VND120,000 for the weekend or VND450,000 for a two-man tent.

For more information or to book tickets, click on questfestival.net or ticketbox.vn/quest-festival/en

KOTO Dream Ride KOTO’s 2015 Dream Ride will raise much needed funds for one of

1.

Vietnam’s best known non-profits

UNIS, Tay Ho Sunday Nov. 15 KOTO’s annual cycling event to support at-risk and disadvantaged youth through their non-profit vocational programme will take place on Sunday Nov. 15. The event kicking off at the United Nations International School (UNIS) in Hanoi.

Featuring a ride through the countryside close to the capital, past paddy fields and pagodas, all proceeds will go to support KOTO’s training programmes. Entrance is VND2 million per person with bike rentals costing VND200,000. Groups and families who register before Oct. 27 will get 10% off all bookings.

For further information, click on koto. com.au/dreamride

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Totally Bazaar St Paul American School Hanoi, Splendora Saturday Nov. 28 The Hanoi International Women’s Club (HIWC) is once again preparing to hold its traditional annual Charity Bazaar to raise funds for community aid projects in Vietnam. Over 10,000 people have attended past years’ bazaars, and last year’s event raised a record amount of money.

Organisers say this is a great opportunity to buy gifts for family and friends and to catch a glimpse of other cultures, with the participation of various NGOs, charities, embassies, and commercial stalls.

There will also be a limited area for service providers to showcase their companies. Businesses that provide services in tourism, health and fitness, recreation and other related services will be given priority. The price for each area is set at VND2.2 million for startups and small businesses, and VND4.4 million for franchises and international businesses.

For further information email Petra Henckes at bazaarlifestyle@hanoi-iwc. com. The bazaar will run from 10am to 4pm at the St Paul American School

Hanoi, Splendora, Yen Hoa, Cau Giay, Hanoi

Run for Children’s Hearts Sunday Dec. 6 Heartbeat Vietnam and Gamuda are organising the 3rd annual Gamuda/ Celadon City Run for Children’s Hearts in Hanoi.

This is a sponsorship event, either through entering the run, or through cash and product sponsorship.

The organisers promise good entertainment, a good venue for the run, special prizes and plenty of celebrities on hand.

These include the famous singer My Linh, the well-known film star Ninh Duong Lan Ngoc and the talented Vietnam Idol, Nhat Thuy.

Apart from the fun aspect, the organisers stress the serious side. Last year, with the help of corporates and 6,000 participants, the run raised enough funds to save the lives of 61 children who had congenital heart defects and disease.

The organisers hope for an even bigger turnout this year.

For more information on how you can get involved, email Rad at rad.kivette@ vinacapitalfoundation.org or Chau at bichchau.nguyen@vinacapitalfoundation.org

overscene hanoi

Photos by Trung Del

manzi public talk

Hanoi’s favourite artspace and café, Manzi, likes to put on a range of cultural events.

Among their best attended

are the talk shows and public talks. As the late Bob Hoskins once quipped, “It’s good to talk.”

Photos by Jesse Meadows

thris tian at ATK

When we heard that UK DJ Thris Tian was going to be spinning his toons at ATK, we were excited. Rightly so.

The night was epic.

HRC has a habit of hosting some big shows and this one, organised by Venture North and Gingerwork, saw an epic

night of DJs, fire spinning, live visuals and installations.

Jan Oberlaender was the headliner.

repubic one year anniversary

It’s amazing that it’s only one year since Republic first opened its doors on West Lake. So successful has this

restobar been in the past 12 months, that it feels like it’s been there for aeons.

Photos by Vu Bao Khanh

on Yen Phu. Naturally, with DJs and a whole host of entertainment laid on, onehelluva party ensued.

Photos by Nick Ross, Jesse Meadows and Julie Vola

Hanoi is becoming increasingly LGBT friendly, and last month saw the opening of the Panic Bar

Jan Oberlaender at HRC

VIP Bikes turns seven

The social enterprise in Tay Ho that we love to love celebrated its seventh birthday with a bang and

a Honda 67 auction at Al Fresco’s in West Lake. VIP Bikes? Without you we’d be lost.

If you have a noteworthy event which you thinkwould fit into our coverage, please email news@wordvietnam.com and we'll take a look.

Go to: wordvietnam.com/mediavp/photo-gallery for full viewing access.

Photos by Julie Vola

Photos by Jesse Meadows

hanoi panic

PHOTO BY JULIE VOLA

IN

Just Hanoi

2

Linguini Fini

Pizza 4P’s

If you live in West Lake and you haven’t noticed the end-of-August opening of contemporary ItalianAmerican restaurant, Linguini Fini, then you must have been living under a rock.

With branches in Hong Kong and Manilla, Linguini Fini is all about creating an experience. High quality cuisine, home-made pasta, reasonable prices and dishes cooked up with the freshest ingredients available are part of the deal here, as is a localized experience, with each branch adapting their menu and personality to their location.

With pizzas feeding four costing between VND200,000 and VND400,000, and pasta dishes starting at VND150,000, this spacious eatery provides a welcome alternative option for anyone who likes dining out in West Lake.

Linguini Fini is at 36-38 Xuan Dieu, Tay Ho, Hanoi or online at linguinifini. com/en/hanoi

Japanese-Italian fusion in the form of a pizza. Are you kidding? Well, no, we’re not actually. Pizza 4P’s is already huge in Saigon, winning awards, crazy Trip Advisor ratings and gaining a massive following.

Now, courtesy of two Japanesedesigned pizza ovens, the most unusual pizza restaurant in Vietnam has opened in Hanoi.

But with reputation comes interest, and so keen has the Hanoi public been to get their jaws into the salmon sashimi pizza or the chicken teriyaki pizza, or to try the homemade mozzarella, that the place has been fully booked since the day it opened. With pizzas costing between VND140,000 and VND400,000 (depending on whether ingredients need to be imported), and sides going from VND75,000 to VND175,000, it’s no surprise. Prices here are genuinely reasonable.

So, unless you want to wait until the 110-seater second floor opens up

Linguini Fini is located in the building formerly occupied by Segafredo

Inside the newly opened Hanoi branch of Pizza 4P's

The opening night at Panic Bar

2.

3.

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Panic Bar Hanoi has few venues dedicated to the LGBT community, which is why the opening of Panic Bar last month caused such a stir (and was the source of a wild party).

With regular DJ nights, a cool, laidback vibe, talk shows and other fun, as well as Thai food thrown into the mix, Panic Bar is a great place to chill out or to dance your socks off.

Panic Bar is at 40A Yen Phu, Ba Dinh, in between Sofitel Plaza and Hero Bar. You can also find it on Facebook at facebook.com/ PANIC-Bar-1470157799956376 3

PHOTO BY JESSE MEADOWS

PHOTO BY JULIE VOLA

1.

1

(should be this month, we’re told), you’ll probably have to book in advance or turn up and hope for the best. The downstairs area only sits up to 50 people.

Pizza 4P’s is at 24 Ly Quoc Su, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi or online at pizza4ps.com.

You can make a reservation by calling 01208 034444

Clean air for your whole house

Swiss quality air in your home, kindergarten, school, office, and hospitals.

wordvietnam.com | October 2015 Word | 55

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Insider

Weird Science / In the Face of Adversity / On The Streets / Eating Noodles / The Falconry Encounter / The Seafood Experience / Mystery Diner Hanoi / Street Snacker Hanoi / Mystery Diner HCMC / Street Snacker HCMC / Daessing for the Street / Glimpses of the Other India/ Bhutan/ Destination Zero Photo by Nick Ross wordvietnam.com | October 2015 Word | 57

Insider

INSIDER

HANOI

Weird Science What do you get when you put together an experimental chef and a self-styled mood therapist? Something explosive. Words by Nick Ross. Photos by Vu Bao Khanh

A

t the start of September, photos circulated around the Hanoi online ether of two men dressed up in nuclear reactor-style protective clothing. Surrounded by smoke and with a large canister of liquid nitrogen in the background, the men were compared by some to characters in the TV series, Breaking Bad. But these were no former high-school chemistry teachers, no Walter Whites.

Instead, the man in the glasses is the chef de cuisine of the JW Marriott, Raphael Szurek, and the guy with the Fidel Castro-like beard is Richard McDonough, a modernist cocktail maker or, as he likes to call himself, a mood therapist. Together they were teaming up to create probably the most unusual dinner ever seen in Vietnam — Molecular Night.

The Mood Therapist McDonough’s interest in scientifically created cocktails started when he did a stint as a “trailing spouse” living in Ghana. His wife was working on an aid project, which

58 | Word October 2015 | wordvietnam.com

left him with a lot of time on his hands.

“I was growing my own vegetables, raising chickens and using the eggs,” he explains. “And I was cooking and putting on dinner parties.”

With the cooking came the idea of playing with the flavours and the cuisine. That led to listening to a podcast called Cooking Issues, and then onto reading a book called Modernist Cuisine at Home. Eventually, the food idea became unwieldy and he switched to drinks. “When I came back to Hanoi, everyone was, like, ‘you should open a bar’.”

His first attempt was at this year’s ASEAN Pride Festival at The American Club, where a friend hired him to do the VIP bar.

“It was four different cocktails, but I pumped out 200 drinks in the evening,” he says. “One of the directors from Christian Dior was there and he got in touch with me at the end of July. I invited him round to see my lab and its weird collection of machinery.

He came over on the Friday afternoon and the following Tuesday he flew me down to

Ho Chi Minh City to do the first event for them.”

From there he met the brand director of Moët Hennessy — he’s now working on a project with them. After that, Raphael got in touch and suggested the idea of working together at the JW Marriott. The dinner they created ran for three Saturdays in September.

The Chef On a Thursday afternoon in mid-September I was invited to JW Marriott’s signature restaurant, French Grill, to see Richard and Rafael at work. They were pairing the drinks and the food in preparation for the first dinner two days later.

One of the pairings I was to witness was the cocktail Tea Time with a Foie Gras Lollipop.

“Tea Time uses an old technique called milk washing,” explains Richard. “You take your vodka and throw in some tea. There are two processes. You make the vodka mix, which is vodka, tea, milk and citric acid. You use a centrifuge to get rid of the curds. It’s

Photo by Nick Ross

Photo by Nick Ross

Photo by Nick Ross

still got the whey protein in it — that’s what makes it foam. The second process is making the cocktail. To do this you add honey and lemon.”

Raphael’s journey to make his foie gras chocolate lollipop coated in wasabi sesame seeds was an equally drawn-out process.

“I look at a lot of photos on Instagram and Facebook,” he explains. “Professional chef stuff. Sometimes I see an idea here or an idea there, and then I try and combine the flavours together. First I imagine it in my head then I try and make it.”

The idea for adding sesame seeds to the chocolate coating, however, came from a recent trip to France — Raphael saw the seeds in a shop there and thought the idea “was very cool”. From there, it took three tries to settle on Marou as the chocolate which worked best for the coating.

He adds: “When I made this pairing for the cocktail, in my mind there was the sweetness of the foie gras compared with the milk-washed vodka. The chocolate brings some crunch and some sweetness, but then

you have a spicy kick with the wasabi seeds.

We want to surprise the guests. When they see this, people are going to think it’s sweet, but actually it’s savoury. They don’t realise it’s foie gras. We have a menu with the names of what we’ve created, but it’s not obvious what’s inside.”

The Chemistry Lab “At home I have a carbonation rig, sousvide and a centrifuge,” says Richard when describing his home-built lab. As soon as he got the centrifuge he tried to use it for everything — some ingredients worked, some didn’t.

“The lychee season was in when I got the centrifuge,” he recalls. “Fresh Vietnamese lychees go from being milky white into this pale, pink, clear liquid, which is really fragrant and delicious.”

Other concoctions, like his one-for-theroad pho shot didn’t work. “It was a bit too spicy. I haven’t followed it up.”

When he eventually came up with an oyster-like cocktail called the Seoul drifter,

it was a major departure from the original idea, which was based on seaweed-infused sake and cucumber juice. The cocktail is a gel bubble filled with clarified white grape juice, white plum juice, shochu and hibiscus.

When you put it in your mouth, it pops and out comes the contents. For the pairing, Raphael added Fines de Claires oysters with cucumber salad and pickled ginger, with the gel bubble served up on an empty oyster shell with a touch of shochu, sherry vinegar and hazelnut oil.

I’m lucky enough to try it. I put it in my mouth, I taste the savoury, acidic flavours of the shochu and the vinegar. Then suddenly it pops and out pours the sweetness of the juices. Wow! “All the work is at the back end, but it comes down to one thing,” says Richard. “It has to be delicious.”

To see more of Richard’s drinks and experiments, follow him on Instagram — @ moustacheofdeath. Raphael is Chef de Cuisine at French Grill in the JW Marriott. For more info click on jwmarriotthanoi.com

wordvietnam.com | October 2015 Word | 59

Insider

The entrance to Mai Nha Orphanage in Thien Nghiep

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INSIDER

EXTENDED FEATURE

In the Face of Adversity

Mai Nha Orphanage in Central Vietnam is the first foreign-run and foreignowned orphanage in Vietnam. Raising 20 children to adulthood, if it wasn’t for the determination of Marc and Marie Witlox, the project would never have got off the ground. Words and photos by Nick Ross

wordvietnam.com | October 2015 Word | 61

Ms. Kieu and Son, the first boy taken in by Mai Nha

M Kids at a local elementary school

62 | Word October 2015 | wordvietnam.com

arc Witlox is sat by the window on the train, the Dutchman’s long legs folded neatly under the table.

It’s not even 7am and he’s already working away on his iPhone — writing notes, reading reports, responding to and writing emails.

We talk intermittently but I decide to give him space, both to work and to spread out.

So I head down to the canteen for a coffee.

When I come back over an hour later, he’s still hammering away at his phone.

“It never stops, does it?” I comment rather than ask.

“No, it doesn’t,” smiles the 50-something former manufacturing industry general manager.

We’re heading to Phan Thiet, where Marc will then take me to a village close to Mui Ne called Thien Nghiep, a place where together with his wife, Marie Witlox, he has set up Mai Nha, the first foreign-run, foreignowned orphanage in Vietnam. While Marc is responsible for the finance, Marie takes charge of the operations.

“Searching for funding and donations has been a full-time job over the past five years,” Marc tells me later that day.

To achieve the feat of opening Mai Nha required a change in the law — the then secretary general of the communist party of Binh Thuan Province, Huynh Van Ti, helped push through the change. To get to that stage

took five uncompromising years.

In the three years since, their orphanage, or nha mo coi, has taken in 16 children and earlier this year, the president of Vietnam, Truong Tan Sang, paid an unscheduled visit.

Brought to the orphanage by Huynh Van Ti, it was a vindication of all those years struggling to create something that at the time just couldn’t be created.

“It was just something that blew people away,” says Marc. “It represents a wonderful encouragement for the local team and the village, in terms of, hey, even the highestranked individuals in the country are backing the Mai Nha Project.” ********** I first heard about Mai Nha through Air France’s charity galas. The sales and marketing manager of Air France Vietnam, Delphine Buglio, explained why Mai Nha had been chosen as one of the recipients of two years’ worth of proceeds from top-end dinners and entertainment in five-star hotels.

“We have to follow very strict standards when it comes to donating money to charity,” she explained. “At Mai Nha, all the books are transparent. They are one of the few organisations in Vietnam that is transparent from top to bottom.”

When I ask Marc about this, he explains.

“If a donor wants to see our books, they

are open to them. Everything is accounted for, even product donations like milk powder.” I see this first hand when I visit the orphanage. The empty cans of milk powder are put aside to be documented.

He adds: “We don’t want donors’ money to go to expensive foreign management staff. We only have one foreigner on the books. He is responsible for ensuring good practice, for quality control, and has nothing to do with the kids. Everyone else is Vietnamese. Me and Marie don’t take a salary. We are self-supporting.”

Creating a successful charity or NGO requires having a story, something for people to believe in. This transparency is a key part of the story.

To run the orphanage and their various local programmes in Thien Nghiep, Marc needs to raise US$150,000 (VND3.23 billion) a year. It’s a challenge.

Na Na and her nanny

********** Arriving in Phan Thiet, I take my bike off the train and drive Marc to Thien Nghiep.

It’s 30km or so, down the new highway that bypasses the resort strip between Mui Ne and Phan Thiet. Then we take a left turn and descend into a valley. Around, all is desert, but the valley is an oasis with palm trees, streams running into a river as it heads to the sea, agriculture and greenery.

We wind our way through the village and eventually pull up at the orphanage.

As we walk in, the kids come up to greet us. Immediately they are hassling Marc for hugs and attention. But with me they are shy, which is what we expected. Kieu, the woman who is in charge of the nannies and the kids is also a bit shy, but she starts to relax as we talk. She moves effortlessly from speaking French to Marc and then back to Vietnamese to speak with me. According to Marc and Marie, Kieu is one of the vital cogs in making the orphanage work.

Colourful, bright and cheerful, the orphanage is built around a shaded courtyard, with one house for the girls and one for the boys. The maximum number of children they hope to take in is 20. The houses are constructed Vietnamese-style, but they are clean, a departure from the majority of the orphanages in Vietnam.

Some people have even described Mai Nha as a five-star orphanage.

Says Marc: “If five-star by definition is clean and hygienic, allowing the child to gain self-confidence and selfesteem because of growing up in a nice environment that you can be proud of, then, yes, it’s five-star. But as you can see, nothing comes close to what you can call luxury, or things that are superfluous.”

He’s correct. The kitchen, apart from the fridge and gas burner, is like you would find in every family home in Vietnam. The washing machines are outside, round the back, with the laundry hung up to dry like it would be in a normal house. There is no air-conditioning — everything is

“‘We don’t want donors’ money to go to expensive foreign management staff.

We only have one foreigner on the books.

He is responsible for ensuring good practice, for quality control, and has nothing to do with the kids. Everyone else is Vietnamese.

Me and Marie don’t take a salary.

We are self-supporting’” fan-cooled.

“But yet,” he adds, “the kids get clean clothes every day and their sheets are changed daily. There’s also attention to detail. If this is five-star, then we are five-star.”

The next day when I return, the reaction is different. There’s a birthday party with face paint, balloons and cake. And this time the kids, all of them under six years old, are fascinated by my camera. The shyness has disappeared and I get my photos. ********** Originally a journalist and an entrepreneur, Marie was in her early 40s when she met Marc. By this stage, both of them already had children — one of Marie’s was adopted from Vietnam. Due to her link with this country, Marie decided to change careers and built a small company making jewellery, gold and silver in Vietnam, to help her maintain a connection with her daughter’s birthplace.

Yet by the time Marie and Marc met — it was one of those romances you hear about that started with a chance meeting on a plane — Marie had got to the stage where she “wanted to build something better in Vietnam than making jewellery — an orphanage or something for children.”

“Marc knew many things about finance and I didn’t,” she explains. “I’m good with operations and because we are older, we didn’t want to have children or adopt. So we decided no adoption, no kids. First we looked at how we could leave everything in France and live here.”

The idea of building an orphanage in Vietnam came from Marie’s own experience with her adopted daughter. Adopted by Marie 17 years ago, the daughter was born in Vietnam. But from day one it was tough — the difficulties of acclimatizing the young girl to a new life in France proved to be very tough.

“I think it is best for children to stay in the country they were born in,” says Marie. “In my experience, it’s not blood that creates a link between people, but the relationships.”

As a result, if children are brought up together from infanthood, they will develop ties as close as if they were from the same family. ********** We now leave the orphanage and Marc takes me round the village. First to the local secondary school and then to the Cargill-built primary school next door to the orphanage which was co-funded 50-50

wordvietnam.com | October 2015 Word | 63

“‘Before people in Vietnam give you their trust, you have to prove over a long period of time that you deserve the credibility you have. That can only be done through walking the talk and talking the walk’”

A local farmer in Thien Nghiep village

64 | Word October 2015 | wordvietnam.com

by Marc and Marie. Mai Nha has been set up not just to provide opportunities and a family for 20 unfortunate kids, but also to help the local community.

According to Marc, many of the more disadvantaged kids in the area drop out of school at an early age. Many are from single-parent families, or from families so poor that if work comes up that can pay VND100,000 or VND150,000 a day, then the kids will take it and sacrifice their schooling.

“Often, when the kids get to the age of six, seven or eight,” he adds, “they drop out of school because even the million dong it costs for tuition, uniform and insurance, their families prefer not to spend it. We keep these kids at school, so they don’t drop out.”

To do this Marc and Marie have funded books, supplies, insurance and tuition “which we pay to the school for each of the students.” This school year they are funding 90 children.

“We will never go beyond a hundred,” says Marc, “because our pledge is that each child we support, providing they do their very best — it doesn’t necessarily mean good results — we will support them for their ultimate potential.”

After these first two visits Marc takes me to a shack outside the village which doubles up as a tiny elementary school. The kids are fascinated by me and I find myself talking to the teacher, Ms. Kieu. One of the girls in the class, Na Na, can’t walk and can only crawl. When Marc and Marie found her, she was huddled up in the corner of her parents’ house, abandoned, lacking in confidence and uncared for. She barely spoke.

They found a school for her, have paid for a wheelchair and hired a dedicated nanny. With the help of Kieu they have managed to integrate her into normal childhood society. She’s blossomed. She still can’t walk, but now she’s crawling around, has a smile on her face, and is being helped by all the other kids. She’s also showing a great eagerness to learn.

Says Marc: “If it wasn’t for the teacher of this little class, this would never had happened. It was her who offered to take Na Na in.” ********** Some of the kids at the orphanage already have marked personalities. Son, the first child they took in in September 2012, is going to be a tour leader, says Marc.

Another child, Dung, is going to be a party leader. With his high hairline, he’s already got a career in politics written all over his two-year-old face.

But when Marc and Marie first started looking for kids, they had no idea how difficult it would be. The local Catholic and Buddhist orphanages get government subsidies for each kid they look after.

Ironically, it is the poor condition of many of those orphanages that arouses sympathy

wordvietnam.com | October 2015 Word | 65

While all around is desert, Thien Nghiep is built on an oasis

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Marc Witlox and Son, the future tour guide

“Mai Nha is the first foreign-run, foreign-owned orphanage in Vietnam…

Yet to achieve the feat of opening Mai Nha required a change in the law.

To get to that stage took five uncompromising years” and attracts the donations, providing little or no incentive to improve those conditions.

Says Marc, “The priority is not to allocate all the money to the kids. And it’s very difficult to change these realities.”

So, the couple found themselves having to look elsewhere, with the third, fourth and fifth kids coming from Saigon.

Another issue they’ve faced is the problem of getting newborns. They have a license to take in kids up to the age of six years old, but by the time a child is just six months old, it has already formed an emotional tie with an adult.

“At this stage, emotionally it’s too late to take them,” says Marc. “When we get newborns, they need to be very young. This is why out of 16 children, we have nine who came the day they were born.”

It was only in February this year that they finally managed to get four children from the state orphanage. ********** Marc is taking me down a back path into the paddies and vegetable fields. We get off

our bikes and walk.

The place is beautiful, idyllic in a way that only non-farm people could appreciate.

One man is working in his fields, barechested, his muscles glistening in the sun.

Elsewhere kids try to talk to us, and try to get some money so they can buy candy.

Further on there is a lake, a lake surrounded by palm trees. Apart from one man who is fishing in it, there’s only me and Marc.

“Isn’t this place beautiful?” he says again and again. There’s a reason Marc and Marie chose Thien Nghiep as the location for the orphanage. They love the place. ********** “It’s about quality not quantity,” says Marc, “which is a paradox for people in charity.

Naturally you would have a tendency to support the whole world. But it’s counterproductive to take care of too many kids because the support you give will be too diluted and none of the kids will really move forward in a sustainable way.”

I ask him what advice he would give to

anyone looking to set up their own charity.

“You’d better be prepared for hardship,” he says. “Creating an orphanage or a charitable foundation is not like a new product that people are waiting or hoping for. In some ways it’s an intrusion. So, it’s for you to be the engine from the start to the end.”

He adds: “Before people in Vietnam give you their trust, you have to prove over a long period of time that you deserve the credibility you have. That can only be done through walking the talk and talking the walk. Also, don’t compromise with your base values. These are that you will use all the money you get for the kids and the people who look after the kids. So, never grant favours or facilitate favours, because it will be the beginning of the end.”

And if you get blocked?

“You need local Vietnamese to support you and to be your ambassador. And you need to remain behind the scenes. To get things done, you need higher level individuals from the local authorities to be convinced that what you want to do is something worthwhile.”

wordvietnam.com | October 2015 Word | 67

Cover Story

M

By Vu Ha Kim Vy, Francis Xavier, Kyle Phanroy, Trung Del, Vu Bao Khanh, Julie Vola, Jesse Meadows, Jon Aspin and Nick Ross

edia so often focuses on celebrities and big names — the Donald Trumps, Kardashians and Ronaldos of this world — that this month we’ve decided to do the opposite. We’ve taken a look at the everyday people who make this country tick, the often invisible souls who make their living off the streets of Vietnam. They don’t have the influence of politicians, high-flying business types or rock stars, but without them, the world would just not operate.

The work these people do to make a buck is hard, perhaps not as hard as backbreaking labour in rice fields or the jungle, but hard enough to mean that if they don’t work, they don’t eat. There’s no certainty. And as we discovered, if it rains, they don’t turn up.

There’s no point.

From the banh mi seller through to the barber, tea lady and the papaya salad man with big scissors, they all have stories to tell, which often get lost in the ether of these people’s ‘unimportance’.

Yet, they are important. Just like you, me or everyone. And to quote a cliché, they’re also the salt of the earth. It’s the nature of society that makes us look down on these people instead of valuing them for what they’re really worth.

We hope you enjoy the following stories. It was hard to put them together. A widespread dread of opening up meant that we had to constantly look for new subjects. The people we found showed us a side to life that few of us will ever experience.

ON THE STREETS

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GIANG Banh Mi Seller

Xuan Thuy, Q2, HCMC

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“M

i khong bo khong pate chua ot cay.”

That is my banh mi order as sung

by Giang as he dispatches it to his wife behind the makeshift kitchen. Sung out in a clear, melodic voice — bread roll without margarine and pate, but with chilli and pickles — there’s something beautiful about the way this 62-year-old Nam Dinh-born businessman uses melody and rhythm to expedite orders. People remember it, too.

They also remember Giang. Dressed in shorts and a white tank top (although today he’s wearing a shirt), and carrying a bumbag, the silver-haired banh mi seller is well known in the area. Partly because of the prime location he maintains and partly because he’s unique — mention Giang to people and they will usually laugh. He stands out.

Yet according to Giang, the melody he sings has another use. It helps him remember his customers’ orders.

“When I see a customer, the melody I have created for them comes into my head,” he tells me in Vietnamese, “that’s how I remember what they order.” It’s a good strategy — he’s never once got my banh mi order wrong. His other customers will say the same.

North to South and Back Again Moving south in 1954 with his parents to what was then just Thao Dien Hamlet, Giang grew up in District 2. In the years following the war, he tried to leave Vietnam with his wife and son.

They made it to a refugee camp in Indonesia but were sent back. With US$300 (VND6.75 million) in their pocket, his family had to start over.

They rented a property close to where Giang grew up and began to sell street food, xoi vo.

But the sweeter taste of the sticky rice they were selling didn’t take off in the local community.

So at the turn of the millennium Giang moved his stand to the intersection of Xuan Thuy and Quoc Huong, and added banh mi to the mix. He also changed the sticky rice from sweet xoi with green beans to a salty version, more popular with the general public.

“When you are selling something you have to be very precise,” says Giang. “You have to be fast, tidy, and most importantly you’ve got to have soul — you have to love what you do. If you love your profession or your job, only then can you develop.”

He adds: “Every day when I get home I have to check the money we’ve taken and ensure we’ve made a profit. I also have to adjust my product. Maybe the xoi was too salty today. So the next day I have to ensure it is less so.

“But more important is that when I sell, I must be happy. If I am happy then the customers will come. If not, no matter what the circumstances, then I won’t get any customers.”

Giang’s strategy works. When I sit down to talk to him it’s 9am and he’s already sold out for the day. In the short space of three hours he’s gone through about 300 banh mi and 150 packs of xoi.

It means an early start — Giang’s wife is up at 3.15am every day to prepare the kitchen. But it’s a decent living. — Nick Ross

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H

oang, a silver-haired man wearing an old, blue jacket, always sits quietly in front of the Hyundai Showroom on Tran Hung Dao, no matter what the weather is like. I walk by that section of the street every day, but until recently, I never noticed his presence.

Knowing that beggars often have unusual stories, sometimes with a dark past and usually with an uncertain future, it is easy to stereotype them as unfriendly. Yet when we start a conversation with him, Hoang gives us a warm smile.

other family members who don’t really care about his existence.

“I’m sitting here to work,” he explains.

It’s a strange, seasonal job, and depends on tourists and their sense of charity.

Limited by his lack of English, he makes conversations with foreign tourists and hopes to be paid for his friendly and nice personality. The showroom’s eaves are his office during the rainy season, the front is his chair when the weather is dry. He has been working the same spot for more than 10 years.

The Job

The King of District 1

Every day, the 68 year old sits in his spot from 3pm to 10pm — the place he calls “home” is located in the alley just a few metres away. According to him, it’s his parents’ house. He shares the space with

As everything happens for a reason, I told him to have the bun thit nuong (noodles with barbecued pork) and nuoc mia (sugarcane juice) we bought as a small gift before trying to find out why he is working

HOANG The Beggar

Tran Hung Dao, Q1, HCMC

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on the street.

“The king of District 1 pushed me to this situation,” explains Hoang. “He took my wife and my house, so I had to move back to my parents’ place in that alley.”

I pause for a few seconds to make sure if I understand who the king is, but I’m confused. “The king is 80 years old now,” he then adds, mentioning him several times.

Still no clue.

Although a pair of crutches is placed next to him, Hoang insists that he doesn’t have any health problems.

“How long will you be sitting here?” I ask.

“I don’t know. This is the only thing I can do,” he replies with a smile shining like a diamond in a muddy pond.

In its own odd way, life can be weirdly beautiful. — Vu Ha Kim Vy

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W

hen I meet Bao for this story, he doesn’t recognise me. Why would he?

Our last meeting was over two years ago.

Back then, in his previous location on Phan Van Han, a busy market street just over the canal at the start of Binh Thanh, the shoe repairer and artisan restored some brown leather dress shoes for me, bringing them back from the brink.

Sitting on his tiny stool on a sidewalk space between a ladies’ fashion outlet and an electronics shop, Bao had only a handwritten cardboard sign to acknowledge his retail existence. ‘Bao — fix your shoes’ it read. Carefully studying mine after he’d been recommended by another friend, I remember our first, rudimentary exchange.

“Not good, big problem here,” he’d said, (or words to that effect) while looking at my frayed soles, “but no worries Australia, I make good! Come back two days. I busy.”

He was busy — there were several piles of customers’ shoes stacked up on his sidewalk emporium — but ‘make good’ he did, and at the same time he provided

some inspiration. You see, Bao is excellent at his job, and the dedication and passion he has for his chosen craft is a reminder that you have to work hard to get good, at anything.

A New Start Two years later, Bao is still the same.

Still working hard, still giving off that charismatic smile, even if the location is different, along with the conditions. In Binh Thanh, he rented the space and worked for himself — he was boss. Now, in District 1, he works for someone else, from 7am to 6pm, seven days a week, and only needs to focus on making customers happy.

They seem to be, too, as when I went there with our translator, Vy, there was a line of people waiting to be served.

“He’s very skillful,” one of them tells me. His name is Linh, and he sells shoes to people from all walks of life. Linh was there with a customer, making alterations to several pairs of shoes, and trusting the work to only one man, Bao.

Bao has been doing this job for the past eight years since he moved with his two brothers from Quang Binh to Ho Chi Minh City. At 28 years old, he’s happy with his career choice, and can make up to VND300,000 on a good day. Right now, during rainy season, it’s quiet, so those numbers are a little off.

I ask him about the things that drive him to keep going.

“You must do it from your heart,” he says. “Pay attention to detail and make the work beautiful. Then you can be a success in the eyes of your customers. They are the most important.”

Soon, he says he will move back to his old location in Binh Thanh, where he can be closer to his home, and go back to being his own boss. Higher rents forced him to make a change before, but he’s confident he can come to a good arrangement in the future.

Until then, check out his handiwork at the corner of Nam Ky Khoi Nghia and Le Thanh Ton in District 1. — Jon Aspin

BAO

Shoe Repairs and Alteration cnr. Nam Ky Khoi Nghia and Le Thanh Ton, Q1, HCMC

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W

ondering if we would find suitable subjects in the Backpacker Area for this month’s cover story, translator and photographer Vy and I meet at Chi’s Café — a long time District 1 haunt for Word staffers. Finishing our second ‘strategy’ beer and contemplating hitting nearby Bui Vien in search of material, at that moment, bookseller Van finds us instead.

Wandering in from the alley, carrying her usual load of heavy travel favourites, we realise our luck, and immediately invite her to sit down, drink a smoothie and talk.

Change in Fortunes Fifty-six-year-old Van has been selling books like this for the last two-and-ahalf years. “Bui Vien, Pham Ngu Lao, De Tham,” she lists as her regular route. Van also lives in the area with her husband, who doesn’t work, and two remaining stay-at-home boys. One is 28 and a security guard, the other is 29 and an actor for the water puppet show

on Nguyen Thi Minh Khai. Another daughter is already married with four children of her own, and has left the family home.

Before she started selling books on the street to tourists, Van had her own shop, and life was completely different. It was at 179 Pham Ngu Lao, and was called Tu Van. In it she sold books of course, and her neighbours made coffee and sold tours. For 10 years they had a nice little empire going, and though the hours were long and sales went up and down, she was happy. She could support her family and still have a little left over.

Then things changed, rents went up in the area, and people stopped reading books. “Before, good,” she summarizes, “now, not so good.” The problems for Van started when technology really started to take hold. This was in about 2012 for her. At this time, objects like the Kindle gained mainstream popularity and the internet generally started to eat into her business. “People don’t buy

books like before,” she says. “Everywhere has WiFi and people don’t want books.”

Double Shift Now, with a job as a maid in the morning, Van sells books for extra money between 3pm and 11pm daily — “only half day,” she says. Initially it was to get rid of the stock from her shop, but she’s had to keep on selling. Picking up the stock from a central location, if she sells three or four books in a day, she’s happy, and can take home up to VND400,000. On other days, the tourist crowd is unfriendly, and Van won’t sell a thing. That’s when life on the street can be tough.

People still recognise her from when she owned the shop on Pham Ngu Lao, and while the job is hard and she’s not sure how long she’ll keep doing it — “until I get tired,” she says — she’s soon off before our conversation can get too much older. Her customers are waiting, after all, and she’s not the only bookseller on the street. — Jon Aspin

VAN

The Bookseller Pham Ngu Lao, Q1, HCMC

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VU

Banh Canh Cua Seller Corner of Dang Thi Nhu and Calmette, Q1, HCMC

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“W

hat would you guys like to eat?” Vu asks us, passing a bowl of noodles to a client sitting next to me.

One day in August I had travelled to this area for a different article and I accidentally pulled my bike over at his spot to have lunch. Furnished with plastic stools and old wooden tables, protected against rain and sun by large plastic sheets, this place is always busy, especially at lunchtime.

The Legacy Although only 42 years old, Vu has an attachment to this spot spanning 40 years, from the time he was a child and his mum was still the owner. Every change in the area seems like yesterday to him.

“I still remember the time when the train station was at the 23/9 Park [opposite],” he recalls, pouring the broth into a bowl “Our place was so busy with customers who had travelled here by train. The business now is

okay because the bus station is next door.”

At that time, Dang Thi Nhu was a wellestablished booksellers’ street in Saigon. His mother’s banh canh cua (crab noodle soup) was a rarity, as there were only two or three places serving this dish around the town.

With his childhood memories as well as his love for his mother, he decided to keep her legacy alive after her poor health prevented her continuing the business. But he’s not alone, as standing behind him are his wife and brothers who are taking care of different aspects of the business.

In order to get more clients and satisfy demand, Vu added cha gio (fried spring rolls) and goi cuon (fresh spring rolls) to the menu. Food quality and safety are his priority, so all ingredients are bought, cooked and sold on the same day.

The Next Generation “Do you want to open a restaurant in the

future?” I ask while the toothpick is still in my mouth.

“It’s my dream, but I’m scared to make it come true,” he replies.

It’s not surprising that people are scared of opening a new business in Saigon, the most expensive city in the country.

The fear barrier is even higher when the location needs to be in District 1. And it’s not difficult to understand why people get anxious when they have to give up old habits and start over. The 40-year habit seems the biggest obstacle.

“I feel okay with the business right now,” explains Vu. “I earn enough money for the kids and family. Let’s just keep it that way for a while.”

Does he think his children will be interested in taking over in the future?

“If the kids want to continue this, then we might open a place for them.” — Vu Ha Kim Vy

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O

n a sidewalk next to little Yen Phu, Hung cuts hair. His ‘shop’ is an old rusty barber’s chair, surrounded by many weeks’ worth of matted hair clippings that have cemented together between cracks in the cobblestones. A mirror hangs on green metal sheeting, a wall Hung shares with a garage on the other side. In a corner of the mirror, Hung has written his name and number, his only form of advertisement. Traffic rushes by in an almost constant flow, honks and engines the soundtrack to his workday.

Hung is intently lining the sides of a haircut, fixing the edges with an orange electric shaver. He smiles at me slightly, with soft eyes that have seen a lifetime of work. “You should capture me when I have more customers, I am too ugly for the photos!” he laughs modestly. He finishes the trim, brushing stray hair onto the sidewalk, and his customer hands over VND50,000.

Hung has been cutting hair in the same spot for over 20 years. He remembers when Yen Phu was nothing more than a village.

Now five-star hotels line the streets, and affluent westerners buy expensive cheeseburgers at gastropubs on West Lake. All of his customers live nearby, and many have been coming to him since he started in 1992. “I know when a customer doesn’t like my haircut, because they don’t

HUNG

come back,” he tells me. But his regulars are fiercely loyal to their neighbourhood barber.

Hung’s workday starts at 8.30 in the morning, and he barely ever has a day off, unless it rains. Most days he will do nine to 10 haircuts, and he goes home when the clients stop coming, around six or seven at night. It’s easy work, he says, and comfortable, too. His operating costs are low, his shop is rent-free, and he has no boss but himself. He sees no reason to stop this street barber life, one that he began out of necessity. Hung previously worked in a state-owned textile company with his wife, but he couldn’t make ends meet. Now he earns enough to support his family and pay his children’s tuition — one just finished high school, and another is in the fourth grade. His wife still works in her government job, but makes much less than Hung does on the street.

The sun is creeping towards the horizon now, and Hung begins to pack up his tools.

He stores them in the garage next door, where they will stay safe until tomorrow.

Not one to be rude, he offers me a parting gift — home-made tea in a 7-Up bottle.

I politely decline and he shrugs, nods a goodbye, and hops on his bright orange motorbike. It must be his favourite colour.

I wave goodbye as he merges into a mass of traffic and heads for home. — Jesse Meadows

The Street Barber Yen Phu, Tay Ho, Hanoi

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N

guoi ban hoa or flower seller is a sensitive phrase in Vietnamese, as it has latterly become a slang term meaning a prostitute.

But its literal meaning is simply flower seller — a way of making a living which Ly has been pursuing over 20 years.

On a grey rainy afternoon, I meet her and her rusty old bicycle, with the flowers stored on the back seat. In Saigon these days, flower vendors are more commonly seen with three-wheeled carts, yet Hanoi shows a more charming side, with its florists pedaling their way around on two wheels.

Gone with a Dream

LY

Flower Seller Mai Xuan Thuong, Ba Dinh, Hanoi

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Originally from Bac Giang, 50km away from Hanoi, Ly heard spellbinding stories from former neighbours who had moved to the capital and worked as florists. So she also left with a dream of making a better life.

“My husband is lazy, he just stays at home drinking and gambling all day,” she says, wrapping two bunches of flowers for Julie, our photographer. “We didn’t have enough money to feed the kids. That was why I came here.”

Like all previous generations, this 50-year-old lady still sticks with the traditional idea that the marital relationship should be maintained no matter what. Part of this revolves around the children, as older Vietnamese still believe that children will suffer if they don’t have a family with their parents still together.

The Provider In order to buy top-quality flowers, Ly gets up early and cycles to Quang Ba Flower Market after getting everything prepared for that working day. She then spends the day pedaling around town selling her stock of flowers. Earning VND3 million per month, she shares a room with five other colleagues for VND400,000 per person and spends a small amount of money for her daily needs, with the rest sent back home, mainly for the kids.

“They are now grown-up and have married,” she says. “They have their own kids also. They are still in Bac Giang and have a stable life. I don’t need to worry about anything any more.”

“So why are you still in Hanoi?” I ask.

“Being a farmer is not an easy job,” she replies, smiling with all the charm of one of her flowers. “Although the kids have their own lives, I still want to sell flowers in Hanoi. And I will continue doing it as long as my health allows me.” — Vu Ha Kim Vy

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T

hin is selling tea on the doorstep of her house. Members of her family are sitting around a small table playing cards and drinking tea. They come sometimes when the weather isn’t good or on their day off. “They play just for fun, not for money,” she explains, “because if you take it too seriously the police will come.”

Thin used to be a government factory worker and when she retired, she started selling green tea. “Actually I used to sell flowers after retirement, but then I took a break and went on to sell tea. For selling flowers you need to know how to wrap and put the flowers together nicely, while selling tea you just need to know how to boil water.”

She shares with us her secret to making good tea. The most important is that the tea has to be green and stay like that through the day; if it turns yellow it’s no good. The day before you make the tea, you need to boil one litre of water and leave it in the fridge overnight. The next morning you wash the tealeaves carefully, cut them into small pieces and place them in cold water. Once the water has come to the boil, you take the kettle off the stove quickly (don’t overboil it otherwise it will turn yellow), then you mix your tea with the cold water from the night before.

“This technique will keep the tea green all day,” she assures us. The bitterness of the tea? It comes from how many tea leaves you actually use.

The B52 in the Lake In the 50 years Thin has lived in her house, she has seen the neighbourhood change completely. Ngoc Ha used to be the flower garden of Hanoi, supplying the city, and the lake was surrounded by single-story houses. Now the houses are higher, the flower gardens are almost all gone, the traffic has intensified and there is the wreckage of a B52 bomber in the lake.

That was in December 1972 when she was 23 years old, working for a factory producing cotton shoes for soldiers. There were five or six air-raid shelters built by the authorities to protect the people every

THIN

time the sirens sounded the arrival of American bombers. Each bunker had a cement roof with steel in the middle.

They heard on the radio that a recent bombing raid had leveled the whole of Kham Thien Street. Old people and children had to take refuge in the suburbs.

During the evacuation to the camp in the suburbs, Thin’s two daughters stood on the back of a bicycle, arms round their dad’s neck. She and her husband stayed at home because people were still needed to carry on production and guard the area. For a few months, she didn’t see her children; they had to stay in the camp.

The living conditions were harder, the water was muddier, but the kids were safer there.

The day the aeroplane came down, everything was normal. Thin woke up at 5.30am, cycled to the factory at 6am and worked until 2pm. She had lunch at the factory: noodles, a little bit of meat and vegetables. Then she came back home to prepare dinner for her husband. Every day they would have dinner together.

That night as she was sleeping, she heard the air-raid siren. When she got outside, everybody was rushing to the shelters. It was very dark inside — you could hardly recognise the person right next to you. After about 10 minutes, Thin heard the rumble and the roar of planes mixed with the sound of anti-aircraft fire.

Half an hour later, when it seemed to be quiet, they started to climb back out. That’s when they saw it right in front of them, an enormous ball of fire burning in the middle of the lake. It was part of a downed plane; the petrol in the engine was burning and lit up the sky.

Some other pieces of the airplane had been torn off and came down in other neighbourhoods — two people died from the falling debris. They stood there for a while observing the scene, then walked quietly home.

The overall atmosphere was tense; she’d lived through the war for many years, but this was the first time she’d witnessed it with her own eyes. — Julie Vola

The Tea Lady Ngoc Ha Lake, Ba Dinh, Hanoi

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I

met 70-year-old Luu Van Hao at his small apartment on the second floor of a building situated at the end of Ngo Huyen. He had recently arrived home after a long trip visiting a friend. His wife looked fed up, partly because the business had been closed for few days while he was away, and partly because it had been raining and she didn’t know when they could get back to work.

Hao always looks the same, in his orange shirt and, when it’s cold, puffer jacket. But he’s just got a haircut and has changed his silver-hair-in-a-ponytail image seen on TV and in the newspapers to a short back and sides. He no longer looks like the best-known person in the area.

At the age of 27, Hao left a government job, and has been selling papaya salad

HAO

with dried beef (nom kho bo) in the Old Quarter for well over 30 years. His daily route starts from Ngo Huyen where he moves onto the Dong Xuan Market area, Hang Dau, and then follows the dyke road to reach the city centre. He starts his rounds at 3pm and continues until everything’s sold out.

The Salad Professor “Compared with other people who were selling papaya salad at that time, my advantage was that I was well-educated,” says Hao, who was luckier than many other people, and was able to finish university. That helped him understand how to maintain the freshness of the salad, and thanks to the time he worked at a hospital, he understands the importance of food hygiene. “Things we have learnt in

The Salad Professor Ngo Huyen, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi

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our life are never wasted,” he adds.

The salad professor always listens to customers’ ideas and feedback to improve his product. He also prioritises ingredient quality to ensure that customers remain happy. Respecting the traditions of Vietnamese cuisine, his salad still uses the same ingredients as it did when he started, one reason why the price is higher than elsewhere, at VND40,000 for a dish.

Yet it’s the sight and sound of his huge pair of scissors, used to cut the ingredients, that makes him stand out. He’s presently on his third pair and he doesn’t know where he will get the next one made, as his favourite scissor-maker died.

Like so many other people making their living on the streets, Hao hopes his children will one day carry on what he is doing now. — Vu Bao Khanh

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QUYEN

The Tuk Tuk Driver Central Hanoi

B

ien, a friend of mine, recently asked me if knew anyone who could help him move his belongings to a new place. “I don’t know anyone,” I said, “but I’ll send you some contacts of some tuk tuk drivers that I know.”

Two weeks later, Bien invited me to come over to his new apartment to have some beers. When I arrived there were only three of us — myself, my friend and an old man in a worn military shirt. His name was Quyen.

“Are you Bien’s uncle?” I asked.

“No,” he replied.

“You don’t know him?” broke in Bien. “He’s the tuk tuk driver that you

send me the contact to. He helped me so much with my move that I invited him over for beer.”

Although reticent to talk about his past, Quyen told me his story.

62 years old and from the same province as me and my friend, Thai Binh, when Quyen was younger he fought in the American War and then later the border war with China.

After the hostilities ended, he left the military and went back to Thai Binh to cultivate his land. From the mid 1990s he started working in the Van Mon leprosy centre in the Vu Thu District of Thai Binh. The largest leper colony in Northern Vietnam, despite

the work being good, the pay wasn’t enough to help him provide for his family’s future. So, in 2005, he moved to Hanoi to find a way to support his children through university.

“I initially worked as a xe om driver,” he says. “But two years ago I managed to raise VND50 million to buy a tuk tuk. It’s much easier to earn a living with it and I’ve been driving it ever since.”

With two children in further education in Hanoi, and a daughter in high school back in Thai Binh, Quyen’s work in the capital allows him to support his whole family. — Trung Del

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I

t’s just after 3am in Hoc Mon, an outlying district of Ho Chi Minh City. Mr. Ho and his wife are picking vegetables from their small, isolated farm on the edge of the city. Growing rau sach, vegetables cultivated without the use of chemicals, the daily routine starts with picking the water spinach and Vietnamese cabbage, before washing it down to prepare it for the market.

From there Ho drives the day’s produce in a trailer towards Go Vap Wholesale Market,

stopping on the way to leave some preordered vegetables for customers on the side of the road.

In Go Vap Market, it’s 5am and it’s frenetic. There’s no time to talk here, no time to gossip or shoot the morning breeze.

Transactions are fast — how much? Okay, here’s the money. Because of the rain, a lot of the crops in and around Ho Chi Minh City have been damaged. So prices are high — VND200,000 for 12 large bunches of water

FROM FARM TO MARKET TO TABLE

spinach. Despite this, Ho sells out within an hour.

One of his buyers, Mr. Hoa, is a market stall owner from Tan Phu. An hour later in Tan Phu Market, he and his wife have set up their vegetable stall selling, among other things, the produce grown on Ho’s farm.

At 9am, Ms. Hien arrives and buys a small bunch of water spinach for VND15,000.

She takes it home to cook for lunch. — Kyle Phanroy and Vu Ha Kim Vy

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THE STREET

PHOTOGRAPHER

E

Photos provided by Tan Vinh

ighty-one-year-old Tan Vinh is a street photographer known for his images of Hoan Kiem Lake and Hanoi’s Old Quarter. But he’s not the kind of shutterbug who shoots photos for both local and foreign tourists.

For this former military factory worker, photography is a hobby. So passionate is he about his work that for the past two years he has been the oldest contestant at the annual Canon Photo Marathon. His exertions have even seen him awarded a moniker — The King of Hoan Kiem Lake.

Vinh’s day starts at 5.30am. Together with his wife, they help take care of their 40-yearold son who is unable to look after himself.

After having a shower and breakfast, at 8am he gets onto his computer, backs up files and prepares to go out taking photos.

His bicycle journey to the lake takes half an hour, and by 9am, together with friends, he starts shooting. For someone of his age he is very agile and alert, always ready to capture moments, always on the move.

At midday when the sun is at its highest, Vinh quits the lake and heads to the Old Quarter to have coffee with other photography friends, his camera always at the ready as he looks around for subjects.

Then it’s home for lunch, often with friends. Together they compare photos and experiences.

After his early afternoon nap, he returns to the lake, usually around 4pm. But on the day we meet him he comes down with a fever. So, he stays in bed to sleep it off, in preparation for another day creating magic through his lens. — Trung Del

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Insider

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PHOTO ESSAY

NATIONAL

Eating Noodles D ong Ha in Quang Tri province is the city that Danish photographer and documentary maker, Adam Jacobi, once called his Vietnam home. A former humanitarian aid worker based in places as far flung as Sudan, Afghanistan and Geneva, Adam quit his regular job a few years ago to follow his dream.

“They [humanitarian organisations] do a lot of fantastic work,” he explains, “but they’re also very bureaucratic. I realised that if I wanted a shot at developing my creative side, I had to roam free.

Photography is a tool for me to reach into a moment and try to pull out the significance of that exact time and place.”

He has since spent his time trying to document people living on the edge of society, people who he believes are discriminated against just because of who they are.

“Rights are for everyone,” says Adam.

“But looking at the world, that is an illusion. Poor people who have to struggle every day just to get food on their table have a human resilience that is hard to fathom.”

He recalls a photographic story he shot of an Afghan carpet maker living in Iran.

“He had been forced to flee the Russians and was now seen as a skilled carpet man, respected for his abilities while also looked down upon because he was

Afghan. Everyone has a story, but very few people lift the rock and try to search for them.”

A Bowl of Bun Bo

It is the search for these stories that led Adam to creating his photo essay, Eating Noodles. While not focused this time on people living on the edge of society, Adam is showing how the love of food can break down cultural barriers. As he says, “one thing all humans have in common is that we have to eat. In fact most of us love to eat.”

“Eating noodles is a time when you cannot hide behind a mask,” he explains.

“Food brings us together, no matter who we are.”

Shot over a few weeks with a Canon 5D Mark II, the photos are taken at a familyowned bun bo eatery in Dong Ha, a joint owned by a local friend, Ms. Yen. During this period, despite his lack of Vietnamese, Adam not only got to know Yen and her family, but many of the restaurant’s customers, all over a bowl of noodles.

What he has produced shows everyday people, in fact humanity, at its most basic: eating. It also draws on this country’s love of noodles.

To see more of Adam’s work click on instagram.com/adam.jacobi or adam-jacobi. com. Adam is presently working on a documentary film about Vietnamese war veterans and the legacy of war

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Insider

LEISURE

NATIONAL

The Falconry Encounter Natalia Martinez meets the men who practice falconry. She is suitably impressed.

Photos by Francis Xavier and Natalia Martinez

Y

ou never know who you will meet at your regular smoothie spot. For example, a charming Vietnamese man who had a story to tell me about how he looks after his hawk, Kata.

His name is Phong, a Saigonese man whom I met not a long time ago and who turns out to belong to an impressively big falconry community.

Yes, you read that correctly, this tale is about Vietnamese people practicing falconry.

Phong kindly invited me to join him in meeting up with the rest of his crew outside the city the following weekend.

And so, on a Sunday morning a few weeks ago, I drove my motorbike out past District 6, wondering what was to come, as my conversation with Phong hadn’t provided me with many details. “It’s the Cong Dong group’s birthday, so we are meeting to celebrate. Come!” was nearly all he had told me.

After a long drive I showed up in what looked like a tranquil residential neighbourhood which hid a plot of land where more than twenty birds of prey — falcons, hawks, crested hawk-eagles, a majestic white-bellied sea eagle and a shy

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adorable little owl (who looked a bit out of place) — were perched on tree branches.

What is What Hawks and falcons are related but quite distinct birds. Both are classified as raptors, but hawks belong to the accipitrinae subfamily, while falcons belong to the falconidae.

On a more practical level, there are many differences in size, colour patterns and hunting techniques which distinguish these birds. In general, eagles are the largest birds of prey, with hooked beaks and long, strong and curved claws known as talons. Their cousins, the hawks, are smaller in size, but are more aggressive. Moreover, most eagles have a greater wing span than hawks.

Hawks and falcons can be very similar in characteristics, however there are a few features that distinguish them.

Falcons are smaller birds than hawks, although with longer wings, giving them the ability to reach fast flying speeds; for example, the peregrine falcon is known to be the fastest bird on earth with an estimated maximum diving speed of 322km/hr. Another big difference is the

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way they hunt; falcons grab their prey with their beaks, unlike hawks and eagles, which have big talons to catch their prey.

A Serious Business Once there, drawn by the singing of the raptors, I started wandering around the woods and introducing myself to the birds and their owners. I was still astonished to discover that Saigon conceals such a spectacle that most of us have no idea about. It was then that I met Quang — I immediately felt he was the leader of these bird enthusiasts — who spent time with me revealing the little secrets of their hobby.

Saigon is home to a big community of trainers in more than 10 groups whose members have been taking care of these birds for years. Fuelled by their passion for raising raptors, these people regularly meet to share how their birds are doing, what achievements they have reached, and how to improve their living standards. Moreover, they organise big meet-ups where they celebrate birthdays and other events.

Vung Tau Falconry, Falconry & Friends, and Binh Duong Falconry are the names of some of the groups. At this particular meeting, a good few of them were proudly showing off their team’s equipment — without wishing to take away any credit from their pets, who were the real stars.

After some greetings and warming up, the show began. These guys sure know how to make the most of these bashes. A Linkin Park tune erupted from their XL-sized speakers

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signalling that the first challenge was underway. Three of the trainers competed to see who could skin and chop up the largest number of dead quails during the four minutes of song. The quails’ entrails would later be used as meals for the raptors.

In the meantime, I approached Quang and his imperious white-bellied sea eagle from Phu Quoc Island, in order to learn a bit more about falconry.

“The food is used to build relationships between the bird and the owner,” explained Quang, as we kept an eye on the training.

“Once they are satisfied, they won’t listen anymore, so we have to use the prey wisely.”

A few wheels and ropes were used as obstacles for the raptors to fly through.

“A simple game which in reality works as a training session,” Quang continued.

After watching some of the predators’ demonstrations, it was Quang’s sea eagle’s turn to show us what his skills were. The veteran led his pupil to a more open field above which it glided for a couple of minutes — a truly beautiful scene to look at.

“The trees here are an impediment for the eagle to fly around, otherwise he would be able to remain in the air for a bit longer,” grumbled Quang. Nevertheless, that performance was enough for Quang to be awarded the ‘best trainer’ prize at the end of the encounter.

Not Just a Saigon thing As my falconry research progressed, I found out that Saigon was not the only city that

hosts this kind of practice. Every big city in Vietnam is home to some devoted falconry groups. Dalat, Danang and Lao Cai are some of the names on the list. The birds from Lao Cai in the far north of Vietnam are particularly strong and fierce, according to an impressed Phong. Hanoi has also a big reputation in this field. Recently I made my way up to the capital and went in search of a small group of men who meet beside the West Lake to share some stories about their birds. Unfortunately my poor grasp of Vietnamese meant I couldn’t hold a decent conversation with them beyond learning the raptors’ names and ages.

Back in Saigon, after sharing a few more words with Phong about how they manage to obtain and keep their birds, he vaguely explained how they have been trying for a few years to get make their activities official.

The process is long and slow.

Despite the lack of official support, their passion for falconry drives them to find more birds to train and take care of — most of them are bought online, for prices that can reach up to VND30 million.

Towards the end of the encounter, once all the prizes were given and the guys had taken a few photos posing with their birds, we sat at the table to celebrate what the morning had brought us. Surrounded by food and beer, the toasts started and kept going as Bruno Mars played in the background. It was a worthy celebration of what was going on there, and indeed there was a lot to celebrate. Happy birthday again, Cong Dong falconers!

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Food and Drink EAT & DRINK

HCMC

The Seafood Experience

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Natalia Martinez loves her on-the-street seafood.

So much, in fact, that she’s written about her favourite snack food not once but twice. Photos by Francis Xavier

“W

hy don’t expats like snails?” “Do you think it really is a pastime?” “What makes it so special?” These were some of the questions that my editor asked me while discussing my recent contribution about snails and shellfish to this publication.

Since my arguments seemed a bit weak during our conversation, I decided to make it up to him and try to convince you, the reader, why eating Vietnamese seafood is a great experience which you should enjoy as much as I do.

A Bit of Background Snails and clams have long been a part of Vietnam’s culinary history. They are big players in Vietnamese food culture as they are prominent in many parts of the country, and they are a wonderful social food to share among friends and family. That’s why an oc (snail eating) can be seen as a national pastime since Vietnamese meet up any evening of the week — but mostly during weekends — to enjoy this well-loved snack.

Also, different recipes made out of these goodies are seen as emblematic dishes at traditional Vietnamese restaurants.

Snails and clams of all shapes and sizes come from Vietnam’s saltwater and freshwater sources: the river estuaries that flow into the sea, the East Sea, and the warm waters in the Gulf of Thailand where Phu Quoc island is located. Those from the sea are more expensive as they are more difficult to catch. Still, a dish of these — no matter if it’s boiled, baked, steamed, or stir fried — costs from VND25,000 to VND50,000.

I’ve come to understand why the majority

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of expats don’t like this cuisine. Reasonable arguments include the risks of food poisoning, but then again, all street food can be chancey, so the same formula applies — follow the crowd or listen to word-of-mouth advice.

Some people regard the idea of eating snails disgusting, usually because of its texture or the work involved in getting the meat out of the shell — but that’s something which can also happen while eating crab.

Listen guys, it’s not only about eating a chewy creature — which comes cooked in heavenly sauces that you can relish — it’s more about trying an enjoyable food which is an integral part of Vietnamese cuisine. So be brave and get over it!

If my extreme subjective judgments haven’t convinced you yet, maybe these opinions from the Word team will help: “In Ninh Thuan you can eat this myriad of clams and mussels while sitting on some form of ramshackle floating device. Literally, picking your dinner from the sea and watching as the locals take delight as you eat it, you do get that sense of food as experience, and I can’t remember having had the same feeling at home.” — Jon Aspin

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“Snails and clams of all shapes and sizes come from Vietnam’s saltwater and freshwater sources: the river estuaries that flow into the sea, the East Sea, and the warm waters in the Gulf of Thailand where Phu Quoc island is located” “I can’t stand snails. Even the thought of eating them makes me sick. However, the best thing about the clams here is that they can be cooked with any type of fare. I recently had clams mariniere in Hanoi. Loved the dish!” — Nick Ross “What makes me love eating snails is not the snails themselves but the sauce and what they’re cooked with, even though I’ve suffered from a heavy MSG allergy a few times.” — Vi Pham “I’ve had food poisoning four times in my life, and two of the times were from eating random street snails, but I still like them a lot. I think you just have to take risks eating them.” — Francis Xavier Okay, maybe the last two comments won’t

inspire you, but look at it this way — they got over it!

A Guide to Oc and Shellfish There are endless places where you can enjoy this snack. In our July issue we talked about Vinh Khanh, a popular oc sanctuary in Saigon’s District 4, where snails are regarded as a snack because no matter how many different options you try, they still might not be enough to make a meal. That’s why this night-time adventure is usually combined with beer and some other foodstuffs.

During my last seafood adventure I was in the company of Vy, who had offered to join me and help as my food guide. The variety

of snails and clams available in most of the places you visit is astounding.

My own favourite little stall doesn’t offer many options, but I believe they have the best ingredients I’ve tried since I arrived in Vietnam. This hard-working family brings fresh seafood from their hometown of Mui Ne daily, and it’s because of how cute, clean and trustworthy the stall looks that it is successful. These are the people guilty of pushing me into a weekly date with snails and shellfish.

Ordering at these eateries can be challenging. This time I wouldn’t be the one making decisions, though, so I pulled up a plastic stool and let Vy choose for me.

Oc Mut Also known as oc len or what I decided to call ‘sucky snails’ as the secret basically is to suck the snail out of the shell. This brownish, spiral-shaped gastopod comes from muddy river areas and before cooking them, you have to cut off the lower part of the shell, creating a hole which helps you to suck the snail out. It’s generally stewed in coconut milk, turning the dish into a mouth-watering experience. This sweet-tasting snail becomes

tender and juicy thanks to the richness of the cream created by the sauce. Make sure to have some bread around to dip in!

Ngheu Hap voi Ot va Xa Clams with chilli and lemongrass is a dish that doesn’t need any introduction, as few people object to this popular dish. These clams always have to be steamed because of their consistency — they are so juicy that grilling them would blow away what makes them special.

Oc Huong A favourite. These are easy to recognise because of their spotted shells and are known for their aroma. They have a special scent and flavour that doesn’t ask for too much to be added. It’s quite common to them boiled with chilli and lemongrass or sautéed with a generous amount of chilli and salt. Van, the stall owner, cooks them with a heavenly sauce made out of butter, garlic and fish sauce.

Oc Mo Or fat snails are called so basically because of their size. These chewy ones came from

Phan Thiet and they are commonly cooked with butter and garlic. A bit disappointing since they lacked a bit of taste — a reason why they are served with muoi tieu chanh — the beautiful salt, pepper and lime dipping sauce.

So Duong After devouring ridiculous amounts of snails we moved onto clams, starting with so duong. This type of shellfish, as well as the others that come with a striped shell, are equally good barbequed with onion and peanuts or alone with some salt and pepper.

We ate these ones chopped and together with some fish sauce with lime to dip in.

This list could go on forever considering the impressive seafood options Vietnam offers.

Now is your turn to explore deeper. Grab some beer and don’t forget the rau ram — a lemony and bitter leaf that helps to get rid of the fishy flavour and avoid tummy problems — between those many bites.

You can try your way at Van’s eatery, 358/1 Cach Mang Thang Tam, Q3, HCMC or meet the clam lady at the corner of Nguyen Van Huong and Hem 215, Thao Dien, Q2, HCMC

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Food and Drink

MYSTERY DINER

HANOI

Amato

A newly opened restaurant that is already in Trip Advisor’s top 10, we decided check out Amato for ourselves. Here’s what our undercover reporter discovered. Photos by Julie Vola

L

ocated behind the Opera House in the same street that houses Binh Minh Jazz Club and the back entrance to Highlands Coffee, the French-influenced Amato is a sliver of a place, barely large enough to swing a cat.

Yet, despite its lack of size and miniscule first-floor and mezzanine-level dining areas, the white-painted bare brick walls make this joint feel spacious. Wooden tables, French era-style floor and wall tiling (check out the colourful downstairs bar) and old French drinks poster prints add to the effect.

It’s tasteful and reminiscent of the kind of restaurant you’d find in the more hipster areas of London, Le Marais in Paris or downtown near the Melbourne CBD. My first impression? I like it. A well thought-out wine list, a creative cocktail selection and a nice, casual ambience: Amato is such a departure from the typical, over-styled, upscale café or bar that you find in Hanoi, that you walk in and feel you are transported to another city. This is not Vietnam.

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Tapas and Mains As befits the restaurant’s size, the dishes served up here are small. Not portionstyle small, but tapas-style, in the evening anyway. During the day the place reverts to French-style a la carte or two or threecourse set lunches. So, on my second evening visit — the first time I visited with a group of friends — we decided on a mixed smorgasbord of fare.

As the conversation flowed and the food arrived, we found time to discuss each dish.

Sundried tomato manchego croquetas (VND60,000) Cheese fantastic, nice tang, perfectly melted, lovely strength of taste a testament to the maturity of the cheese. Even though it’s manchego, you could almost be eating a mature brie or camembert in there.

Falafel with mint yoghurt dip (VND60,000) Slightly off what you would expect of a Middle Eastern restaurant — perhaps

lacking a touch of salt — but perfectly crispy on the outside, the right spices, comes with a good, yoghurt-style dipping sauce.

Clams marinieres (VND60,000) Probably the closest you’ll get to moules marinieres in Vietnam. Really good. Nice and garlicky, with tomatoes and spring onions.

Shall we order more?

Duck confit spring rolls (VND80,000) Comes with some sort of jam or confit.

Amazing. We think the confit’s got ginger in it, not quite sure. Ginger chilli marmalade, someone else thinks. A bit like hoisin sauce, the sweet taste mixes perfectly with the savoury flavouring of the duck.

Beef cheek ragu (VND110,000) Nice, not overly rich taste. Beef is tender, comes with mushrooms and a pepper-based sauced. Perfect tapas food — the kind of thing you can dip your bread into.

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Boquerones (VND120,000) Served on bread, taste is spot on, but the texture lacks the springiness of freshly marinated anchovies. Not complaining, though. After all, we’re in a big city. No sea in Hanoi.

Gravlax with blini and sour cream (VND80,000) The only dish that was a bit of a let-down. It lacked the tang of wellpickled salmon, the depth of flavour that goes through all the flesh. When you get good gravlax, it’s to die for, so moreish you can’t stop eating it.

Aubergine caviar (VND65,000) Kind of like baba ghanoush, but doesn’t come as a puree — it still has lumps in it, like it’s been mashed rather than blended. But actually tastes better than baba ghanoush because it’s not overly smokey. Really good.

Marinated bocconcini (VND90,000) Someone said there’s no such thing as bad mozzarella, but there is, because I once had it. So, for another taste of this Naples-inspired dish. The cheese is slightly chewy, but just enough flavour to make the cheese stand out without being too strong. This is good. Could eat more of this.

Marinated peppers (VND50,000) Comes with a slice of Parmesan on top. Nicely marinated, sat in the perfect space between being too soft and too hard. Well balanced.

Getting it Right Normally we review restaurants a few months after they have been up and running. From all perspectives — service and décor through to the quality of cuisine, the music, lighting

and the menu — it takes time to get it right. The fact that even the chef came up after the meal to ask our opinion shows how concerned the management is that the product is working.

They will get the place ticking eventually. The fact that only one of the 10 or so dishes we tried was disappointing, while four or five were already verging on excellent suggests that they are heading in the right culinary direction.

But as Bohemian-style, food and wine getaways go, Amato has got it right. Just don’t forget to pinch yourself when you walk out again and find yourself back on the streets of Hanoi.

Amato is at Ngo 1A Trang Tien, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi

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 and Drink

STREET SNACKER

HANOI

Banh My Chao I

Bread served up in a frying pan with pate, egg and tomato sauce is all the rage in Hanoi. Huyen Tran gets with the bug.

Photos by Julie Vola

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n one of my articles on Vietnamese bread or banh my, I quoted a saying of my grandmother’s, which seems farfetched nowadays — bread used to be for rich people, not the working class.

Bread, along with many other ingredients and flavours, was brought to Vietnam by the French. And people used to think that the Western-originated baguette was only for people who could afford delicacies like butter and pâté.

Gradually, local people tinkered with the French baguette, creating their own style of banh my using rice flour. It has

since become a street food staple all around Vietnam. As a street food meant for blue-collar workers, banh my always has the shape of a short baguette rather than a bun or roll. The banh my is also fluffier than the French baguette, allowing it to be easily stuffed with fillings, such as pate or fried egg.

Getting Creative People have found many ways to eat their banh my. One option is dipping it into sauces. This is ideal with hot sauces when the street corners of Hanoi start feeling the

onset of autumn or are in the grip of the piercing winter cold.

Besides banh my with beef stew in red wine sauce or banh my sot vang and banh my with Vietnamese-styled beefsteak or bo bit bet, bread eaten served on a frying pan or banh my chao, (chao here means a frying pan in Vietnamese), is one of the ways local people enjoy their banh my with sauces. It has become a favourite among young locals.

The eatery said to be the first one to serve banh my chao is at Ngo 35, Thai Thinh. Here banh my is offered with a small pan of pâté and an omelet, together with a plate of cucumber. It can also be accompanied by a bowl of sot vang if diners prefer to eat both.

That’s how banh my chao initially started in Hanoi, pairing banh my with pâté and omelette to make up a ready meal for lunch or dinner. Now, as this dish is so popular, there are a number of variations, with

people adding anything from beef and fried potatoes, to sausage and pork.

All in the Sauce The banh my chao at Smilemee (44 Phan Boi Chau, Hoan Kiem) is a must-try if you want to know how local Hanoians like this dish.

Initially a streetside eatery on Nam Dong, the recipe has proved so popular among young locals that the owner decided to open a second branch on Phan Boi Chau.

Here the offering includes a pan of omelette, pâté, beef, mashed potato and pickled vegetables and herbs, served with tomato sauce and eaten with bread. The secret of Smilemee banh my chao lies in its tomato-based sauce. According to the owner of the shop, “Vietnamese people do not like oily food; therefore, the sauce was originally made from fresh tomatoes to balance the taste of different types of proteins with something light and fresh.

People really like dipping their banh my into the sauce.”

Like other local banh my chao eateries, the pâté is served like a slice of sandwich bread and put into the pan after it is fried.

“Local people love eating fried pâté, which is a bit burnt at the edges, and has a peppery smell,” says the owner. The eatery also offers homemade juices and drinks including corn milk and pumpkin milk.

Located in a French villa built over a hundred years ago, and renovated by the shop owner with touches of Vietnamese architecture, the eatery is a blend of the French colonial legacy and the Vietnamese spirit, both in its food and its design.

Smilemee is at 44 Phan Boi Chau, Hoan Kiem. With prices ranging from VND39,000 to VND85,000, you can choose different types of ingredients for your pan. The eatery also offers a wide selection of stuffed banh my, from VND19,000 to VND 45,000

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Food and Drink MYSTERY DINER

HCMC

Portofino Our anonymous reporter checks out a downtown restaurant that has been turning a few heads. But does it turn the head of our mystery diner? Photos by Kyle Phanroy

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h, La Bella Italia. I’ve been many times, and always come home heavier.

Sitting down at Portofino felt like stepping into a homey trattoria somewhere off the Piazza dell’Anfiteatro in Lucca. Servers greet you with glasses of prosecco, a plate of house-baked bread, crusty and warm, surrounded by dishes of olive tapenade, tomato sauce and roasted garlic cloves, an inspired authentic touch.

After having the specials displayed for us by a smiling waiter and being greeted by the amiable owner, we opened with a gorgonzola salad (VND175,000), the salumi e formaggi plate (VND310,000) and a bottle of San Pellegrino

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(VND100,000) before getting down to the serious business of ordering entrées.

The specials board proved compelling. From it, I ordered braised beef cheeks (a personal favourite, and a steal at VND395,000) and my date ordered cioppino (VND300,000). We sat in to wait, and played with the complimentary pane e prosecco.

Every Dish a Journey, Every Bite Bliss Then the appetizers arrived. The salad towered, a pile of lightlydressed arugula, lettuce, gorgonzola and more. The cold cuts board half-covered the table, crowned with salami, mortadella, prosciutto, Parmesan, gorgonzola, olives, grapes

and a terrific chilli jam. This could have been a meal in itself, but we went for more.

The cioppino teemed with crab, shrimp, scallops, mussels and fish in savoury tomato stew. The beef cheeks split under my fork; I had to have each bite with the creamy, smooth Parmesan polenta and red wine reduction.

We struggled only due to the size limitations of the human stomach.

Every crumb of food tasted beautiful.

After clearing that mountainous dinner, restaurateur Tony Fox breezed by, asking if we wanted dessert. He laughed at our expressions, and agreed to “surprise us”.

He did. The bombolini (to call them pillows of filo dough with whipped

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and raspberry jam does them no justice) was a butter-fat bliss, and the chocolate marquise (made with Valrhona chocolate,) topped by crème Anglaise and strawberries, complemented it perfectly.

We ended with a digestivo of homemade limoncello, and that fragrant bite reminded me of a trip to Naples, buying a bottle of the local liquor from a lemon orchard.

with famous chefs in New York. His enthusiasm crackled as he greeted customers, communicating itself to kitchen and wait staff.

People seemed happy to work there. Food arrived at perfect intervals, and no one rushed us to leave as we toyed with dessert. The service clicked along so well I left a decent-sized tip, something I don’t always do.

That Personal Touch

A Labour of Love

One of the most interesting parts of the night was interacting with the owner, something I don’t normally do. Tony Fox, veteran of Saffron, Ciao Bella and other restaurants, charmed and smiled, telling unprompted stories of working

Rather than talk decor, I’d prefer to talk ambience. The owner bustled from table to table, servers moved with purpose and joy, and I felt Portofino showed the passion of a man who has found his niche. So yes, the obligatory photos of Italy

are nice, as are the mirrors, and the aged brickwork looks a century old. It’s pretty, but what makes it unforgettable are the people.

I’ve dined at high-toned locales before, yet I often find my most deeply satisfying meals are at locations like Portofino. It aims to provide high-quality food in comfort, not an experience. And for the price... well, I’d rather pay VND1.3 million and know I’ll enjoy the food, than VND5 million and wonder what I’m eating. Portofino does provide an experience.

However, it shows you what a labour of love looks like. To me, it looked and tasted remarkable.

Portofino is located at 15 Dong Du, Q1, HCMC

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 and Drink

STREET SNACKER

HCMC

Alley Cats Want to snack out on the most local of local street food? Head to the alleys, says Vi Pham. Photos by Kyle Phanroy

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aigon is not always about the high-rise buildings, fancy cars or luxurious menus. It is the most ordinary and familiar things that keep this city wandering in my mind. In there, images of alleys play an essential part. Saigon has always been an alley valley because of its tremendous network of small streets, all of which predate the writer (and most of the readers) of this article.

What makes Saigon alleys even more special and interesting is a new cultural phenomenon that has grown up; alley snacking.

The Diagonal Alleys of Snacks Many alleys in Saigon are now filled with various snacks, from bun rieu (crab noodles) and ha cao (mini dumplings) to

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nuoc mia (sugar cane juice) and trai cay (fresh fruit). You can find almost any traditional Saigon snack in these alleys, and even more — alleys are the cradle of snack inventions such as deep-fried cheese sticks wrapped in rice flake or seasoned crunchy chicken skin.

Things function simply in the alleys. You enter, pick your favourite snacks, pay and find yourself a corner. If you don’t want to stay, just carry the snacks with you and keep wandering and exploring the city.

The owners and staff do not cling to your arms and annoy you with their insistence.

They respect your space. You can find yourself slurping away at noodles at a bun rieu cart, ordering some spring rolls and serving yourself some fruit or che for dessert from the nearby stands. Most of the alley dishes are original and familiar

Vietnamese snacks designed to be easy on the digestion.

Besides, only alley snacking can show you how open and generous Saigonese are.

In the rushed times when customers keep coming and going, the owners of the stand will just hand you your order and state without any hesitation: “It’s okay. You can pay on your way out.”

Alleys Don’t Care Alley snackers tend to be middle or lower-middle class, but this does not mean there is any discrimination taking place. I am friendly with many people from rich families who know these alleys like the backs of their hands. They embrace the snacks and the alleys as a part of their childhood that has not faded away.

Perhaps it is the small size of the alleys

that makes for an egalitarian atmosphere — alley snacking has never cared about the thickness of anyone’s wallet. Or perhaps it is the inexpensive furniture that induces people to share the space, or the lack of music that leaves nothing but everyone’s laughter. Or maybe it is because alley snacking requires no trendy gear, but casual and comfortable clothes to make it easier to squeeze yourself through the lines of other snackers.

A budget of VND50,000 is not much, and you need just that to alley-snack and fill your belly. The first VND20,000 can go on a serving of banh duc (plain rice flan), another VND15,000 for a handful pack of xoi ga (sticky rice with chicken) and an additional VND8,000 for a black Vietnamese-style coffee. Voila, you are as professional as a native Saigonese who

knows much more about food in Saigon than just pho.

Here are some good alleys to go a-snacking: Alley 76, Hai Ba Trung, Q1 Stalls sell from 2pm to 6pm, this alley is famous for xoi ga and fried sweet potato. Prices range from VND15,000 to VND20,000.

Alley 177, Ly Tu Trong, Q1 From 4pm to 11pm, famous for pha lau and mixed fruit salad. Prices go from VND15,000 to VND50,000.

Alley 51, Cao Thang, Q3 Runs from 3pm to 11pm and is famous for steamed dumplings and chao long.

Prices cost between VND8,000 and VND40,000.

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Fashion

DRESSING FOR THE STREET Even on my very first motorbike ride through Hanoi, I noticed the outfits. I remember comparing my boring tank top and shorts to the hipsters in bright mustard pants and the posh girls driving motorbikes in heels and thinking, “Damn! These kids got style.”

The youth of Vietnam knows how to dress. With a booming garment industry and the majority of the country’s population under 35, it’s no wonder the streets are full of sartorial inspiration. So we set out into the area around Hoan Kiem Lake on a hunt for fashion sense.

We found the cool kids loitering in front of St. Joseph’s Cathedral, while girls in elaborate wedding dresses posed for their photographic entourages. The square was a veritable menagerie of trends, full of stylish subjects who were all too happy to see and be seen. — Jesse Meadows

Photographer: Jesse Meadows Assistants: Julie Vola & Minnie

Bong, 30

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Trung, 19 Mai Phan, 24

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Lan Phuong, 19

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Ly, 20

Yen, 27

Linh, 18

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Ngan Ha, 15 Annie, 25

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Tuan, 15 Tuan, 35

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Travel The Land of the Headhunters Mon, Nagaland A small, tribal village. It’s eerily quiet and there are no people in sight. Skulls. Skulls everywhere. Mostly buffalo and deer.

But wait — did something move? — eyes peek out, all around, barely visible among the shadows.

Then a Naga Konyak tribesman cautiously steps out into the light. He bears full body tattoos, a spear in hand and a tribal outfit reminiscent more of tribes in Africa than in India. Ah, but this is the Other India.

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TRAVEL

INTERNATIONAL

Glimpses of the Other India F

On his trusty motorbike, Matt Dworzanczyk heads to Northeast India, the strange monkey-like sliver of land sandwiched in between Myanmar, Bangladesh, China, Bhutan and Nepal. There he finds a country as similar as it is different to the rest of India

rom the ethnically diverse tribes of Manipur and Nagaland, through to the religious devotion of Mizoram and up to the majestic snow-capped Himalayas in Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim, Northeast India is sure to touch your heart and make your eyes tear up with the divine.

Far Above the Clouds Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh In Tibetan healing practice, a monk transfers the sickness of a diseased person onto a simple doll and the doll is then disposed of, never to return. In the old days, instead of

dolls, the fate of being sent away fell on those from the lower caste. Many were sent south.

They travelled far, far above the Himalayan mountain tops, higher than

the clouds, past surreally colourful, mosscovered meadows, and they became the original founders of Tawang. This is the Other India’s Little Tibet.

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Where God Walks the Earth Kelkang, Mizoram Far away in the remote Mizo mountains, there’s an ancient, sacred land. It’s off the map, but worry not, it’s safe. For it’s the place where God himself walks the earth.

There people speak in tongues, cry, dance, sing and scream out to the skies. They roll in mud and weep in the rain — all claiming empowerment by the Holy Spirit.

And it’s too much on the senses!

Madness? Devotion? A faint difference indeed.

And between Buddhism, Hinduism and Islam — the well-known faiths of the region — it’s clear that this is different! For this is the Other India.

A Simpler Life Imphal, Manipur Oh, the troubled land of Manipur! Only recently opened to outsiders, the state is kicking and fighting against Indian influence and control, with arguments ranging from valid land disputes to petty pride: “We like polo, they like soccer! Give us independence!

Now!” There’s no rush here — often there’s no electricity or internet either. The sun rises.

The town is already awake. Its people — in front of their houses, with their dogs at their feet, each with a metal cup of hot tea and some boiled eggs for breakfast — look through the daily paper, delivered by a smiley older man on a beat up bicycle.

News of protesters blocking the roads run alongside reports of Emma Watson’s new haircut.

There’s an outdoor shower. It’s sat among mango trees, pineapple bushes, marijuana plants and tons of other vegetation that locals quickly identify as remedies for all kinds of different ailments. There are cows, goats and chickens roaming around a quiet stream nearby. And there are always groups of men — friendly ‘chillum circles’ — in the vicinity.

And despite central Imphal’s dusty market madness, there is surely inner calm to be found here, in this Other India.

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Longing for Home Gangtok, Sikkim A little room, easily mistaken for a temple.

Rows of statues of Buddhist deities line the central display case also decorated with colourful, religious butter sculptures. It’s the prayer room in the house of two Tibetan exiles, now both in their late 80s.

With bullet scars faded, but still visible on his body, the grandpa speaks of the time he fought against the Chinese with the Tibetan army; he speaks of his latter departure from Tibet, along with the Dalai Lama. The grandma’s memories today are largely gone.

She just smiles as she spins her Tibetan prayer wheel.

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Mizoram’s Taj Mahal KV Paradise, Aizawl, Mizoram It’s hard to find — the place is hidden beyond the clouds. Once they clear, though, the whole mausoleum glows peacefully in fresh mist. The monument stands as a symbol of eternal love between Varte, a schoolteacher who died in a 2001 accident, and Khawlhring, her husband who has since invested all his funds and efforts into the construction of this memorial.

And there’s a calm, quiet, spiritual magic to this place of quiet contemplation, here in this Other India.

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Wedding Preparations Sibsagar, Assam Streaks of warm sunlight sneak through the cracks in a bamboo wall. It’s sunrise. There’s a monkey on the roof. And the Assam Mama is getting ready. Her daughter’s wedding is a mere few weeks away now, and there are still nearly 2,000 invitations — elegant, blue envelopes — to hand out.

A couple of hours later, the car is packed and the whole family is ready for a field trip to the countryside, with compulsory prayerstops at every shrine along the way.

By early afternoon they arrive. It’s been some time since Mama’s been back to her hometown. With a low bow to touch the aging grandma’s feet, each family member pays their respects. And after a chat and some chai, in ceremonial fashion, Assam Mama presents her mother a wedding invitation — on a silver platter, along with an offering of betel nut and fruit.

And soon, the family’s back on the road, for there are many others still left to invite for this upcoming grand celebration, in this Other India.

Sands of Patience Bomdi La Monastery, Bomdi La, Arunachal Pradesh In this region known as the birthplace of the sixth Dalai Lama, in an impressive old monastery, four monks crouch around a massive sand mosaic, applying the finishing touches.

Despite its size, it only takes them a few days to finish. And it’s not as profoundly ‘mysterious’ as Hollywood may have one think. They crack jokes as they work and during break time they welcome the rare visitor for vegan lunch and some very buttery salt tea in their simple, monastic rooms, in this Other India.

Matt Dworzanczyk is a filmmaker, writer and a long time Hanoi expat. He is currently on a motorbike journey from Hanoi towards Nepal. For more on Matt’s films and travels, visit EtheriumSky.com, and follow his monthly trip diary in this publication or online at wordvietnam.com

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Travel

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TRAVEL

INTERNATIONAL

Bhutan Tran Cam Thu takes a trip to the ‘happiest place on earth’ hoping to learn something about the art of being happy.

Photos by Hang Le

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I

f I’d had time to plan ahead, I wouldn’t have found myself in Bhutan during the long holiday in late April to early May. Bhutan’s requirement that foreign tourists book through a governmentlicensed tour operator (exempted from this are citizens of Bangladesh, India, and Maldives) makes it a level playing field for Vietnamese, who need visas to travel to most parts of the world and thus always have to plan way in advance. At the same time, the starting rate of US$250 (VND5.6 million) per night for peak season (US$200 or VND4.5 million for off-peak) — even though it covers accommodation, food, a guide, and transportation within the country — is affordable only for travellers with deep pockets.

But I recall the advice of Karma, my

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colleague from the Bhutan Royal Police: Travel is only going to get more expensive, so now is always the best time to go. The upside is that if you travel in your own group of three or more people, you can choose your own itinerary and — as in our case — demand to eat somewhere else when you can’t handle another bite of cheese (a favourite Bhutan food that seems to feature in almost every dish).

Dubbed the happiest place on earth, Bhutan has every right to preserve its land and people from the damaging environmental and social effects of mass tourism, and it’s not hard to see the benefits of its restrictive tourism policy. Weeding out the backpackers who scrape by on US$20 (VND450,000) a day (or less) in neighbouring India and Nepal, frees up

Bhutan’s hotels for older, richer travellers.

(These travellers are also better behaved — at least, they don’t talk too loud or drink too much.)

We booked our tour through an agency owned by a Bhutanese man with a Vietnamese wife named Ha (who turned out not to be the only Bhutanese-Vietnamese husband and wife travel agents in Bhutan!).

Ha was able to give us a better discount than other agents thanks to her side business of exporting cordyceps sinensis (a rare fungus which is a highly prized remedy in traditional Oriental medicine retailing at a minimum of US$40,000 or VND900 million per kg) to Vietnam. The collection and sale of Bhutanese cordyceps, often called the Gold of the Himalayas, is strictly regulated and controlled by the government. Thanks to her

“The fourth king… came up with the great concept of Gross National Happiness, an alternative to Gross National Product that has captured the interest of the United Nations and which aims to balance the necessary pursuit of economic growth with the fundamental values of kindness, equality and humanity”

husband’s connection to the royal family (his late brother was a teacher to the princes), Ha has gained access to a very lucrative business.

The Royal Family It is evident that Bhutan’s kings and royal family are worshipped like gods. (We’re inclined to think it’s because all five kings look so good and smart.) Their photos can be seen everywhere. A billboard-sized photo of the fifth king and his queen, Jetsun Pema, stared into our eyes as we stepped down from the plane at Paro airport. (It looked like a poster of a couple from a Chinese martial arts series.) Pictures of the kings hung on the walls of restaurants and on the altars of the houses where we home-stayed.

We saw people wearing badges with the

royal couple’s photo (you can buy one at virtually any souvenir shop) on their bag or their national dress (the kira for women, the gho for men). You might think this was some kind of personality cult, like the Kim dynasty in North Korea.

The reality is that the kings have done a lot for the country. The fourth king, the most revered of all five, came up with the great concept of Gross National Happiness, an alternative to Gross National Product that has captured the interest of the United Nations and which aims to balance the necessary pursuit of economic growth with the fundamental values of kindness, equality and humanity.

Happiness is not Simple…

While the concept of happiness sounds

very subjective, as I learned from the handbook our tour guide was carrying, Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness Index is rigorously developed from 33 indicators categorized under nine domains of equal weighting. Questions used to measure levels of happiness range from During the past few weeks, how often did you experience jealousy? (psychological well-being) to How would you rate your knowledge on how HIV/AIDS is transmitted? (education) to Do you feel like a stranger in your family? (community vitality).

Under this holistic approach, four levels of happiness are identified: deeply happy, extensively happy, narrowly happy, or unhappy. (The last two groups form a category of ‘not-yet-happy’ people).

Contrary to the popular myth that the majority of Bhutanese are happy, by these

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standards, in a 2010 survey, only 41% of the population scored “happy” (i.e., deeply happy or extensively happy). This shouldn’t come as a surprise, considering how thorough and comprehensive the index is.

Currently jobless and husbandless myself, I found the charts on happiness by occupation and marital status very comforting. The unemployed are happier than corporate employees, housewives, farmers, or the national work force; and unmarried people and young people are among the happiest.

But the Lifestyle is…

While Bhutan turns out to be less isolated and Shangri-La-like in reality than in my imagination, the country can still teach us a powerful lesson about life. Bhutan was the last country on earth where television was introduced (1999). Except for the smart phones that everyone seems to have — including the engrossed young monks in front of the Punakha Dzong — the majority of people have no idea about luxury brands or consumerism.

Most people are clad in traditional clothes of fine-quality, expensive material, which are therefore durable and often passed down to younger generations. If you work at, or need to visit, any government office, or a cultural place such as a dzong or a monastery, you are expected to wear a kira or gho. So why bother to wear anything else? Especially if your traditional clothes are well-made, beautiful, and — we found to our surprise — not uncomfortable. In a village bar in Bumthang, where our guide grew up, we watched in awe some local girls singing and dancing comfortably in their kira, wearing shoes that looked like the platforms worn by the Spice Girls in the 1990s. Ha lent us kira to wear to the Domkhar festival in Bumthang and, playing with local children, we found we could move around more easily than we would have in our Vietnamese ao dai.

It may have been the spirit of the festival, or the sunny, cool spring weather, but the local people seemed very relaxed and happy to me. They were wearing their

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most beautiful kira and gho, and watched appreciatively as the dancers whirled around in their colourful costumes. A local woman readily let her kids play with the strangers (us) and even coaxed her son to smile for the group photos we took.

In the capital city of Thimphu, where, in Karma’s words, things happen at a faster pace and people are more stressed out, we still easily spotted people playing board games on the streets or otherwise enjoying themselves in the company of their friends.

Even the kids walking to school appeared happier than their counterparts in Vietnam.

They were carrying light bags and lunch boxes in their hands instead of struggling with heavy backpacks full of books. Bhutan’s “cities” appear to still enjoy the slow, deliberate pace of rural life.

The Dzongs If you retain only one word of Dzongkha (the national language of Bhutan) after your trip, it will probably be dzong, which means fortress. While some dzongs used to be residences of the royal family, most serve now as district administrative offices or residences for monks. There was at least one dzong every place we went, each one beautiful and impressive in its own way: Thimpu Dzong illuminating the skyline at night; Punakha Dzong at the confluence of the Mo Chu (Mother River) and Pho Chu (Father River) with its picture-perfect jacaranda trees blossoming purple against the backdrop of the dzong’s white walls; Trongsa Dzong standing proudly on the hills overlooking the Mangde River.

To be honest, looking at the few photos I took, I wouldn’t be able to tell the interiors of these dzongs apart without the location setting on my iPhone. Yet walking around their courtyards, it was impossible not to marvel at the fine craftsmanship of the paintings and carvings on the multicoloured wood facades and doors and small arched windows. There was something impressively peaceful and serene about the young monks in their deep red robes going

about their life in the dzong, undistracted by the curious tourists taking photos.

The Right Faith for Happiness?

When I asked him what was the secret of Bhutanese happiness, Karma attributed it to faith in the teaching of Lord Buddha and daily prayers for the peace and happiness of all sentient beings in this world.

A testament to this faith is the popular activity of spinning prayer wheels — as many as possible — we observed at the dzongs and monasteries. Spinning a prayer wheel is supposed to have the same effect as reciting the mantra Om mani padme hum which is printed on the wheel. Some elderly people we saw were sitting and spinning

“Bhutan’s requirement that foreign tourists book through a government-licensed tour operator makes it a level playing field for Vietnamese, who need visas to travel to most parts of the world... At the same time, the starting rate of US$250 (VND5.6 million) per night for peak season… is affordable only for travellers with deep pockets”

hand-held prayer wheels to avoid the effort of walking around from wheel to wheel.

The Bhutanese believe in karma, life after death, and reincarnation. Maybe it was no coincidence that my colleague was named Karma and so were two out of four authors of the Gross National Happiness book.

Himalayan Buddhism seems to permeate all aspects of Bhutanese life.

Phallic Worship In this Buddhist country, it seemed a bit scandalous to us to see phalluses painted artfully — and prominently — on walls or carved and hung proudly from the eaves of houses. They are thought to drive away evil spirits and bring good luck. There is a

famous wooden phallus in residence at Chimi Lhakhang, a monastery near Punakha that was blessed by the “Divine Madman” Drukpa Kunley. The monastery is now a pilgrimage site where many Bhutanese and tourists come to pray for fertility. While most other monasteries we visited were ours to discover, Chimi Lhakhang was disconcertingly popular. The muddy walk to the entrance was crowded with giggling women of all ages, who I believe were not visiting for the fertility blessing so much as for the story behind the unconventional Buddhist master.

Drukpa Kunley, who migrated to Bhutan from Tibet in the 15th century, became famous for his irreverent practice of Buddhism, his unconcealed enjoyment of drinking

and women, and for subduing a demoness with his “flaming thunderbolt of infinite wisdom” — which explains his popularity with laypeople. A poem he wrote hints at his formula for happiness: The best wine lies at the bottom of the pail, And happiness lies below the navel.

As someone who has read extensively on the topic of happiness, I came to Bhutan hoping to glean some new insights from the happiest people on earth. Leaving Bhutan, I realised that its people’s secret of happiness is nothing I didn’t already know. Live simply, consume less, engage more with the people around you, be outdoors, be active, and have faith. And enjoying a bit of sex might not hurt, either.

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DESTINATION ZERO SIX SENSES CON DAO

S

ecluded islands in the tropics often come stamped with the word ‘paradise’. Nowhere is that more evident than at Vietnam’s most isolated archipelago, Con Dao. Part of the attraction is the sand, sea and sun, but another part is the cosmos. Under the haze and lights of the city, you tend to forget it’s there. Yet on a clear night in Con Dao, the stars are so bright you feel you can almost touch them.

Six Senses Con Dao uses this to brilliant effect.

“As the earth is always moving,” says the resort’s experiences manager, John Land, “the stars look like they’re always changing position. They’re not.”

We’re at the property’s observatory, built, interestingly, on the top of the fitness centre. It’s one of only a handful of private observatories in Vietnam. Using a Galileostyle telescope we focus on one of the stars.

It glistens and burns, emitting a ring of light.

Outside we lie on daybeds to stare at the universe above.

“It’s amazing that humans have always been interested in the stars,” says one person, “though not as much as in what’s under the sea.”

Later on I download the app SkyView and from the beach, point my phone at the stars.

It’s the middle of the night and those suns millions of light years away are even brighter than earlier on.

The constellations, Orion, Cancer and Gemini are in one direction, Aquarius and Pisces in another. I can see the location of the planets and individual stars. Even satellites are brought into view. I then turn off the app and just stare into the vastness beyond.

It’s in the Details If you like five-star resorts that go the extra mile, then this property should be on your bucket list. Seamlessly merging beach, resort, mangroves and mountains, it’s the kind of

place where they’ve thought of everything.

The villas, for example, are built of bamboo and wood, faded grey by the harshness of the island weather. Yet inside they are laced with luxury. It’s an eco-friendly development of the bungalows-on-the-beach idea that first attracted travellers in the 1960s. But step inside and every amenity and detail has been thought of in advance. How many resorts provide aloe vera gel or citronella mosquito spray as part of the in-room package? How many places let you choose not just your own pillows but your pillow fragrances?

How many properties have their own water purification facility providing unlimited inroom drinking water in reusable bottles? And how many rooms come complete with their own bicycles to let you travel the length and breadth of the property?

Not many.

Rent a motorbike to travel round the island and the same details apply — a helmet, raincoat, bottle of water and first-aid kit comes as part of the deal. Walk round the resort and everyone knows your name, and even how you prefer to be called. A butler — now known as a ‘guest experience maker’ — takes care of that. Mine was called Sam and she was faultless.

What was most surprising was the quality of the food. For somewhere so secluded you expect this to be an ongoing challenge.

If it is, it’s something their kitchen team has overcome. Healthy salads and detox smoothies mix with Thai-style curries and salads, wraps, the banh bao burger, Vietnamese market-style cuisine, and dishes more typical of a top-end restaurant in the city. With ingredients more often than not imported from the mainland, this is a place that feeds its guests well.

But it’s the seclusion, the isolation from the world outside, and the closeness of nature that really set this resort apart.

Did anyone say the word ‘city’?

For more info click on sixsenses.com/condao

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Travel

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

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

fortuna.vn 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.

This 350-room four-star set up in the heart of Hanoi’s financial district has a variety of rooms on offer, a “capital lounge” and three restaurants that serve Japanese, Chinese and international cuisine. And like you’d expect, there’s 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 L’OPERA 29 Trang Tien, Hoan Kiem, Tel: (04) 6282 5555

contact@hoteldelopera.com

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

M M M 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

hanoi-daewoohotel.com

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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 fully-equipped rooms and suites, there’s plenty for the discerning business and leisure traveller to choose from.

INTERCONTINENTAL HANOI WESTLAKE 1A Nghi Tam, Tay Ho, Tel: (04) 6270 8888

hanoi.intercontinental.com

This stunning property built over West Lake falls in between a hotel and a resort.

Beautiful views, great balcony areas, comfortable, topend accommodation and all the mod-cons make up the mix here together with the resort’s 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.

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 Hanoi’s Old Quarter, 110 rooms, a swimming pool, a top floor terrace bar and a location just a stone’s 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

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. State-of-the-art rooms, elegant restaurants, stylish bars, fully equipped fitness centre with sophisticated service always make in-house guests satisfied.

MÖVENPICK HOTEL HANOI 83A Ly Thuong Kiet, Hoan Kiem, Tel: (04) 3822 2800

moevenpick-hanoi.com

With its distinctive French architecture and top end service, Mövenpick Hotel Hanoi is aimed squarely at corporate travellers. An allday 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 wellappointed rooms and suites, 93 are non-smoking.

PULLMAN HANOI HOTEL $$$$ 40 Cat Linh, Ba Dinh, Tel: (04) 3733 0688

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

sheraton.com/hanoi

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.

SOFITEL LEGEND METROPOLE HANOI 15 Ngo Quyen, Hoan Kiem, Tel: (04) 3826 6919

sofitel.com

The finest hotel of the French colonial period is probably still the finest in today’s 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 Hanoi’s 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.

M M M HANOI – MID-RANGE 6 ON SIXTEEN 16 Bao Khanh, Hoan Kiem

sixonsixteen.com

Another boutique hotel to grace Hanoi’s 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, home-style 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.

JOSEPH’S HOTEL $$ 5 Au Trieu, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi, Tel: (04) 3938 1048

josephshotel.com

Located next to the cathedral, this popular wellappointed, airy and spacious boutique hotel mixes comfort with a nice ambience and great Western or Vietnamese breakfasts. All the modern amenities at reasonable prices.

MAISON D’HANOI HANOVA HOTEL $$$ 35-37 Hang Trong, Hoan 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 well-appointed rooms including four suites.

M M M HANOI – BUDGET HANOI BACKBACKER’S HOSTEL 48 Ngo Huyen, Hoan Kiem, Tel: (04) 3828 5372

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.

M M M HCMC – INTERNATIONAL CARAVELLE HOTEL $$$$ 19 Lam Son Square, Q1, Tel: (08) 3823 4999

caravellehotel.com

Winner of Robb Report’s 2006 list of the world’s top 100 luxury hotels, the Caravelle houses the popular rooftop Saigon Saigon bar, and the restaurants Nineteen and Reflections.

EQUATORIAL $$$ 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.

HOTEL NIKKO SAIGON $$$$$ 235 Nguyen Van Cu, Q1, Tel: (08) 3925 7777

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.

LE MÉRIDIEN SAIGON $$$$ 3C Ton Duc Thang, Q1, HCMC Tel: (08) 6263 6688

lemeridien.com/saigon

Marking the brand’s debut in Vietnam, Le Méridien Saigon is the gathering place for curious and creative-minded travellers. Located in the heart of Ho Chi Minh City next to the Saigon River, the property is close to the metropolis's entertainment and commercial areas, making it an ideal base for exploring the local culture and community. Experience this cosmopolitan city in stimulating surroundings.

LOTTE LEGEND HOTEL SAIGON $$$$ 2A–4A 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 $$$$$ 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 hightech meeting venues able to host up to 600 guests make up the mix.

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, Riverside’s 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.

RENAISSANCE RIVERSIDE HOTEL SAIGON $$$$ 8-15 Ton Duc Thang, Q1, Tel: (08) 3823 1117

renaissance-saigon.com

This distinct French architectural wonder offers complimentary Wi-Fi, airport pickup or drop off, a first-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 first–class facilities, an open–air restaurant 23 floors above the city and a live music venue on the same floor.

SOFITEL SAIGON PLAZA $$$$ 17 Le Duan, Q1, Tel: (08) 3824 1555

sofitel.com

This 20–story 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.

M M M HCMC – DELUXE CONTINENTAL $$$ 132-134 Dong Khoi, Q1, Tel: (08) 3829 9201

continentalhotel.com.vn

This charming old hotel has been fêted in literature and in film. In the heart of Saigon, this is the first choice to highlight Vietnamese culture.

NORFOLK HOTEL $$$ 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.

VILLA SONG SAIGON $$$ 197/2 Nguyen Van Huong, Q2, Tel: (08) 3744 6090

villasong.com

Deliberately located away from the city centre in Thao Dien, this riverside boutique villa-style hotel is a sanctuary of peace and calm — a rarity in Ho Chi Minh City.

Beautiful, Indochine-influenced design, a great setting and good drinking and dining options make this a great, non-city centre choice.

LAN LAN HOTEL 1 AND 2 $$$ 46 and 73-75 Thu Khoa Huan, Q1, Tel: (08) 3822 7926

lanlanhotel.com.vn

THE ALCOVE LIBRARY HOTEL $$$ 133A Nguyen Dinh Chinh, Phu Nhuan, Tel: 08 6256 9966

alcovehotel.com.vn

M M M HCMC – BUDGET DUC VUONG HOTEL $ 195 Bui Vien, Q1, Tel: (08) 3920 6992

ducvuonghotel.com

Free Wi–Fi offered in every room. Low prices, friendly staff, clean rooms. This modern oasis is only a few steps from the backpacker’s area.

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

M M M HOI AN & DANANG AN BANG BEACH RETREAT An Bang Beach, Hoi An

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

HYATT REGENCY DANANG RESORT AND SPA $$$$ 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.

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.

MERCURE DANANG $$$ Lot A1 Zone Green Island, Hoa Cuong Bac, Hai Chau, Danang, Tel: (0511) 379 7777

mercure-danang.com

Set on the Han River, this well-appointed, Accormanaged property is one of the nicest hotels in Central Danang. Kitsch but contemporary design and some phenomenal views over the city make up the mix.

Joseph’s Hotel Foreign-run,boutique hotel Next to the cathedral

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 Airport. With spectacular city views and a comfortablydesigned outdoor swimming pool, there is little reason not to choose this shining star.

M M M HCMC - MID-RANGE ROYAL HOTEL SAIGON $$ 133 Nguyen Hue, Q1, Tel: (08) 3822 5914

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

kimdohotel.com

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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.

M M M HUE & LANG CO ANGSANA LANG CO $$$$ Cu Du Village, Loc Vinh Commune, Phu Loc, Thua Thien Hue, Tel: (054) 369 5800

angsana.com/en/lang_co

Located on Vietnam’s South Central Coast, Angsana Lang Co commands an unrivalled beach frontage of the shimmering East Sea. Traditional Vietnamese design encompasses the resort’s contemporary buildings and chic interiors.

BANYAN TREE LANG CO $$$$ 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

la–residence–hue.com

PHUONG HOANG HOTEL $ 66 Le Loi, Hue, Tel: (054) 382 6736

hoangphuonghotel.com

M M M NHA TRANG EVASON ANA MANDARA AND SIX SENSES SPA $$$$ Beachside Tran Phu, Nha Trang, Khanh Hoa, Tel: (058) 352 2222

budget place is all about hammocks, the sea, the jungle and nature.

blueoceanresort.com.vn life-resorts.com

the 52 dorm beds — four beds to a room — go for US$8 (VND168,000) each a night.

MIA RESORT NHA TRANG $$$$ Bai Dong, Cam Hai Dong, Cam Lam, Khanh Hoa, Tel: (058) 398 9666

COCO BEACH $$$$ 58 Nguyen Dinh Chieu, Mui Ne, Phan Thiet, Tel: (062) 384 7111

HO KHANH'S HOMESTAY $$ Son Trach, Bo Trach, Quang Binh, Tel: 01299 597182

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.

PHONG NHA FARMSTAY $$ Hoa Son, Cu Nam, Bo Trach, Quang Binh, Tel: (052) 367 5135

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/ninhvan-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

M M M PHAN THIET & MUI NE NINH CHU BAY BEACH CLUB & BAR Hwy 702, Ninh Hai, Phan Rang, Ninh Thuan, Tel: (068) 627 2727

ninhchubay.com

cocobeach.net

JOE’S GARDEN RESORT $$ 86 Nguyen Dinh Chieu, Ham Tien, Mui Ne, Tel: (062) 384 7177

joescafemuine.com

A leafy, seafront bungalow resort and café with nightly live music all in one. Reminiscent of the type of places you’d find on the Thai islands, an international and Asian food menu together with a cheap happy hour on beer make up the relaxing mix.

MIA RESORT MUI NE $$$$ 24 Nguyen Dinh Chieu, Mui Ne, Tel: (062) 384 7440

miamuine.com

VICTORIA PHAN THIET RESORT AND SPA $$$$ Mui Ne Beach, Phan Thiet, Tel: (062) 381 3000

victoriahotels.asia

Another beachfront Victoria chain, the thatched–roof bungalows and family villas are set in exotic gardens with an infinity swimming pool, a seafood restaurant, spa, beauty salon and jacuzzi.

M M M

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.

EASY TIGER AND JUNGLE BAR $ Son Trach, Bo Trach, Quang Binh, Tel: (052) 367 7844

BLUE OCEAN RESORT $$$$ 54 Nguyen Dinh Chieu, Mui Ne, Phan Thiet, Tel: (062) 384 7322

A hostel and street-front bar all in one. Has a pleasant, airy atmosphere in the bar and restaurant area while

PHONG NHA

easytigerphongnha@gmail. com

phong-nha-homestay.com

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.

M M M PHU QUOC

SALINDA RESORT PHU QUOC ISLAND $$$$ Cua Lap Hamlet, Duong To Commune, Phu Quoc, Kien Giang Tel: (08) 3929 3097 Hotline 0907 99 55 02

salindaresort.com

Set on the sea and only 4km away from Phu Quoc International Airport, Salinda is inspired by an interplay of rustic local heritage with contemporary design. The property has 121 rooms and villas with private balconies, and provides a luxury experience that embodies the understated beauty and enchanting spirit of the pearl of Asia.

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 in-

cludes free Wi-Fi. Motorbike rental, boat trips and tours are easily arranged. Discount rates during rainy season.

MANGO BAY $$ Ong Lang Beach, Phu Quoc, Tel: 0903 382207

mangobayphuquoc.com

An eco–friendly 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.

M M M 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.

M M M 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

sixsenses.com/evason-resorts/ana-mandara/destination

JUNGLE BEACH RESORT $ Ninh Phuoc, Ninh Hoa, Khanh Hoa, Tel: (058) 362 2384

junglebeachvietnam.com

On a secluded promontory north of Nha Trang, this

142 | Word October 2015 | wordvietnam.com

PHOTO BY MATT DWORZANCZYK

2.6 hectares of private beachside gardens and villa–style accommodation furnished in traditional native woods, this resort offers verandah dining, a pool bar and the signature Six Senses Spa.

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 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 Vietnam’s first large scale integrated resort and includes a 541-room five-star hotel, a world-class casino, restaurants, high-tech meeting space, an exclusive VIP area, as well as a variety of beach-front recreation activities. Is located next to the Greg Norman-designed golf course, The Bluffs, one of the best golf courses in Vietnam.

M M M TRAVEL SERVICES — HANOI BUFFALO TOURS AGENCY (BTA) 94 Ma May, Hoan Kiem Dist., Ha Noi, Tel: (04) 3828 0702

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.

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

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-the-beaten-track sustainable and responsible tourism initiatives. Also provides to excursions to more well-worn destinations.

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 Vietnam’s people, cuisine, history and culture.

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 Advisor’s Top 10 of best tours in Hanoi since 2010.

M M M TRAVEL SERVICES — HCMC

travel to small group tours, explore the world or Vietnam.

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 COMPANY 121 Hai Ba Trung, Q1, Tel: (08) 3824 7744

flightravelco.com

Flight travel services, including global travel management, domestic and international air booking and travel insurance, to corporate companies, family and individual travelers.

TERRAVERDE 12/20 Nguyen Canh Di, Ward 4, Tan Binh District, Tel: (08) 3984 4754

terraverdetravel.com

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

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 people’s lives — then this company will suit you well.

This premium travel agency helps travellers select their destinations and organise their trips. From corporate

VIETNAM VESPA ADVENTURE 169A De Tham, Q1, Tel: 01222 993585

buffalotours.com

vietnamvespaadventure. com

Vespa Adventure offers multi–day tours of southern and coastal Vietnam on the back of a luxury motorbike powered by clean, renewable biodiesel. English-speaking tour guides lead the way.

M M M 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

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.

TU TRAVEL 60 Hai Ba Trung, Can Tho City, Tel: 0713 752436

tutrangtravel-mekongfeeling.vn

Want to set up non-standard tours in the Mekong with local guides who’ve got extensive local knowledge? This might be the place to contact.

HG TRAVEL 47 Phan Chu Trinh, Hoan Kiem, Tel: (04) 3944 8844

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 — kenya-airways. com), American Airlines (aa. com) and Turkish Airlines (thy.com).

INTREPID TRAVEL VIETNAM 57A Nguyen Khac Hieu, Ba Dinh, Tel: 0904 193308

intrepidtravel.com/vietnamsales

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The Therapist / Bar Stool / Top Eat / Student Eye / Medical Buff / Book Buff Photo by Natalia Martinez 144 | Word October 2015 | wordvietnam.com

Hanoi Essentials

ALTERNATIVE HEALTH

BUSINESS GROUPS

HANOI INTERNATIONAL THEATRE SOCIETY (HITS) THEATRE GROUP

A-ROAMING BODYWORKER

g

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.

HANOI HOLISTIC HEALTH GUIDE

issuu.com/hanoiholistichealth

A guide to various holistic health practitioners in Hanoi.

Only available online, but a great information source.

M M M BOOKSHOPS 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 Hanoi’s 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 secondhand fiction and nonfiction titles in stock, the shop also buys used books and offers free travel advice. Has a second shop in Tay Ho LIBRAIRIE FRANÇAISE DE HANOI FRENCH BOOKSHOP

23/67 To Ngoc Van, Tay Ho, Tel: (04) 3726 4896 TRANG TIEN BOOKSTORE VIETNAMESE & ENGLISH BOOKS

44 Trang Tien, Hoan Kiem, Tel: (04) 3936 2151 WEEKEND BOOKWORM CHILDREN’S & VIETNAM-THEMED BOOKS

1/28 Nghi Tam Village, Tay Ho Tel: (04) 3829 2322 With its main store located in Chau Long, sharing space with Hanoi Cooking Centre, the second edition in Tay Ho specialises in children’s and Vietnamese themed books, as well as selling bao cap (Subsidy Era) furniture and a range of souvenirs and gifts.

Open weekends only.

XUNHASABA ENGLISH LANGUAGE BOOKSTORE

32 Hai Ba Trung, Hoan Kiem, Tel: (04) 3825 4068

M M M

AMCHAM 4th Floor, InterContinental Hanoi, 1A Nghi Tam, Tay Ho, Tel: (04) 3934 2790

amchamhanoi.com

AUSCHAM 4th Floor, 100 Lo Duc, Hai Ba Trung Tel: 0909 710994

auschamvn.org

BBGV Floor 1, Hanoi Central Office Bldg 44B Ly Thuong Kiet, Hoan Kiem Tel: (04) 3934 8681

bbgv.org

CCIFV Sofitel Plaza, No 1 Thanh Nien, Ba Dinh, Tel: (04) 3715 2229

hitshanoi.com HANOI CLUB COUNTRY CLUB

76 Yen Phu, Tay Ho, Tel: (04) 3823 8115

thehanoiclub.com

THINGS OF SUBSTANCE

HANOI OIS

5 Nha Tho, Hoan Kiem, Tel: (04) 3828 6965 This shop’s motto “Western sizes, Vietnamese prices”, says it all. While mostly retailing women’s 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 men’s shirts.

NETBALL CLUB

ghanoinetball@gmail.com L’ESPACE FRENCH CULTURAL CENTRE

24 Trang Tien, Hoan Kiem, Tel: (04) 3936 2164

vphanoi-lespace.com

M M M CLOTHING BOO SKATESHOP

EUROCHAM G/F, Sofitel Plaza Hanoi, 1 Thanh Nien, Ba Dinh, Tel: (04) 3715 2228

84 Hang Dieu, Hoan Kiem, Tel: (04) 3923 1147

SKATESHOP

booskateshop.com

eurochamvn.org

CONTRABAND

ICHAM Sofitel Plaza, Ground floor, 1 Thanh nien, Ba Dinh, Tel: (04) 3715 2229

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.

SINGAPORE BUSINESS ASSOCIATION VIETNAM Business Center Fortuna Hotel, 6B Lang Ha, Ba Dinh

sbav-hanoi.org

M M M 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 and opera from all over the world. Call to arrange membership.

M M M CLUBS & SOCIETIES

GEORGE’S FASHION BOUTIQUE CONTEMPORARY WESTERN-STYLE

36 To Ngoc Van, Tay Ho, Tel: (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.

L’ATELIER 33 Xuan Dieu, Tay Ho, Tel: (04) 3718 6758

ateliervietnam.com

GOETHE INSTITUT

METISEKO

GERMAN CULTURAL CENTRE

ECO-CHIC / LIFESTYLE

58 Nguyen Thai Hoc, Ba Dinh Tel: (04) 3734 2251

metiseko.com

goethe.de/hanoi

15 Nha Tho, Hoan Kiem, Tel: (04) 3928 8725

M M M COOKING CLASSES HANOI COOKING CENTRE COOKING CENTRE

44 Chau Long, Ba Dinh, Tel: (04) 3715 0088

hanoicookingcentre.com

Hanoi Cooking Centre is a school, retail outlet and café, where you can find classes on not just Vietnamese cooking, but international cuisine, held in a beautiful setting. They also offer culinary tours.

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.

M M M CRAFTS & FURNITURE

WOMEN’S WEAR & ACCESSORIES

21 Hai Ba Trung, Hoan Kiem, Tel: (04) 3824 1850

EVENT SPACE

THREE TREES

AIRLINES AIR ASIA airasia.com AIR FRANCE airfrance.com.vn CATHAY PACIFIC cathaypacific.com/vn CHINA AIRLINES china-airlines.com

CONTEMPORARY WESTERN-STYLE

Stocks women’s wear, leather bags, shoes and handicrafts. This chic boutique offers both ready-to-wear and made-to-fit clothing.

AMERICAN CLUB

AUSTRALIAN-STYLE UNISEX

JEWELLERY

ccifv.org

icham.org

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 fairtrade, Textile Exchange.

71 Hang Gai, Hoan Kiem A lifestyle brand that started out life in Hoi An, Metiseko’s move to the capital has seen them bring us their creative, poetic prints designed for an

JAPAN AIRLINES vn.jal.com JETSTAR PACIFIC jetstar.com/vn/en KOREAN AIR koreanair.com LAO AIRLINES laoairlines.com MALAYSIA AIRLINES malaysiaairlines.com SINGAPORE AIRLINES singaporeair.com THAI AIRWAYS thaiairways.com.vn

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

9 Xuan Dieu, Tay Ho, Tel: (04) 3926 4831; 58 Hang Trong, Hoan Kiem, Tel: (04) 3824 4607; 13 Hang Bac, Hoan Kiem, Tel: (04) 3926 4831

TIGER AIRWAYS tigerair.com VIETJETAIR vietjetair.com VIETNAM AIRLINES vietnamairlines.com

wordvietnam.com | October 2015 Word | 145

Hanoi Essentials

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.

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.

M M M GALLERIES

METISEKO ECO-CHIC

71 Hang Gai, Hoan Kiem, Tel: (04) 3935 2645

metiseko.com

M M M CYCLING DON’S TAY HO BICYCLE RENTALS

16 Quang An, Tay Ho, Tel: (04) 3719 3719

Dons-bistro.com GREEN BIKE

CANNONDALE & JETT STOCKIST

15 Kim Ma, Ba Dinh IBIKE SALES

34 Nghi Tam, Tay Ho; 53 Ly Nam De, Hoan Kiem QUAN’S RENTALS BICYCLE / MOTORBIKE RENTALS

70 Hang Bac, Hoan Kiem, Tel: 0904 244941 THBC (THE HANOI BICYCLE COLLECTIVE) RENTALS & SALES

29 Nhat Chieu, Tay Ho, Tel: (04) 3718 3156

thbc.vn

M M M

DENTAL CARE AUSTRALIAN DENTAL CLINIC DENTAL CLINIC

ART VIETNAM GALLERY GALLERY & EXHIBITION SPACE

24 Ly Quoc Su, Hoan Kiem, Tel: (04) 3928 5190

artvietnamgallery.com

Established in 2002, this American-run gallery has championed Vietnamese contemporary art for more than two decades. Holds regular exhibitions and artist talks.

MANZI GALLERY & BAR / CAFE

14 Phan Huy Ich, Ba Dinh, Tel: (04) 3716 3397

facebook.com/manzihanoi

Founded in 2012, this independent contemporary art centre holds regular exhibitions, workshops and a wide range of art events. Manzi promotes emerging artists while presenting established artists from Vietnam.

The space also sells works by leading contemporary Vietnamese artists at affordable prices.

NHA SAN COLLECTIVE GALLERY & ARTS PROJECTS

24 Ly Quoc Su, Hoan Kiem, Tel: 0985 870316

nhasanstudio.org

The first experimental art space in Hanoi, the non-profit, artist-led space has given contemporary Vietnamese artists the chance to nurture their talent and experiment.

Holds regular exhibitions and artist residences.

peacedentalclinic.wordpress. com

Maintains and promotes the treasures of Vietnamese cultural and artistic heritage, allowing visitors to appreciate and understand the entire history of Vietnamese fine arts.

SERENITY INTERNATIONAL DENTAL CLINIC

WORK ROOM FOUR

2nd floor, 51A Nguyen Khac Hieu, Ba Dinh, Tel: (04) 3715 2286

DENTAL CLINIC

19 Nguyen Truong To, Ba Dinh, Tel: 0989 067888

serenitydentalclinic.com

WESTCOAST INTERNATIONAL DENTAL CLINIC DENTAL CLINIC

2nd Fl, Syrena Center, 51 Xuan Dieu, Tay Ho, Tel: (04) 3710 0555

westcoastinternational.com

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ARTS STUDIO & GALLERY

Packexim Building Tower 1, 23rd Floor, No. 49 Lane 15, An Duong Vuong, Tay Ho

workroomfour.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 col-

162A Hoang Hoa Tham, Tay Ho, Tel: (04) 3847 3366 JUST.IN.M 48A Ly Thuong Kiet , Hoan Kiem, Tel: 04 3939 3907

ANNAM GOURMET

LAN SALON

GROCERIES / DELI

First Floor, 51 Xuan Dieu, Tay Ho, Tel: (04) 3718 4487 DA LOC WINE RETAILER

96 Hai Ba Trung, Hoan Kiem, Tel: (04) 3826 2076; 65 Le Duan, Hoan Kiem, Tel: (04) 3941 2789

Daloc.vn

HANOI GOURMET DELI / WINE SHOP

6T Ham Long, Hoan Kiem, Tel: (04) 3943 1009

Hanoigourmet.com KITCHEN ART KITCHENWARE

38 Quang An, Tay Ho, Tel: (04) 6680 2770

kitchenart.vn L'S PLACE GROCERY SHOP

3 Xuan Dieu, Tay Ho, Tel: (04) 3719 9911 NATURALLY VIETNAM ORGANIC / NATURAL PRODUCTS

4 Lane 67, Alley 12, To Ngoc Van, Tay Ho, Tel: (04) 6674 4130

naturallyvietnam.com RED APRON WINE RETAILER

10 Da Tuong, Hanoi Tel: (04) 3943 7226; 28 Xuan Dieu, Tay Ho. Tel: (04) 3719 8337 THE OASIS ITALIAN DELI

24 Xuan Dieu, Tay Ho, Tel: (04) 3719 1196 WESTERN CANNED FOODS GROCERY STORE

VEGGIE’S

vnfam.vn

UNISEX HAIR & NAIL SALON

WOMEN’S HAIRDRESSER

66 Nguyen Thai Hoc, Ba Dinh, Tel: (04) 3733 2131

PEACE DENTAL CLINIC

HAIR STREAM

GROCERIES & LIQUOR

NATIONAL ARTS MUSEUM

VIETNAM ARTS MUSEUM

DENTAL CLINIC

M M M

17 Hai Ba Trung, Hoan Kiem, Tel: (04) 3934 3854

3 Nguyen Du, Hai Ba Trung, Tel: 0906 200434

australiandentalclinic.com

laboration and new ideas, exhibitions, workshops, artist studios, courses, contacts and events.

GROCERIES, FRUIT & VEG

99 Xuan Dieu, Tay Ho, Tel: (04) 3719 4630 THE WAREHOUSE WINE RETAILER

59 Hang Trong, Hoan Kiem, Tel: (04) 3928 7666; 27 Xuan Dieu, Tay Ho, Tel: (04) 3718 3701

warehouse-asia.com

M M M HAIRDRESSERS & SALONS DINH HAIR SALON HAIR SALON

2A Cua Bac, Ba Dinh, Tel: 0987 718899

TOP-END SALON

Sofitel Plaza, 1 Thanh Nien, Ba Dinh, Tel: (04) 3266 8190

M M M HOSPITALS & MEDICAL CLINICS BUMRUNGRAD INTERNATIONAL HOSPITAL HANOI OFFICE OF BANGKOK HOSPITAL

136G Tran Vu, Ba Dinh, Tel: (04) 3715 3717

bumrungrad.vn

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.

FRENCH HOSPITAL INTERNATIONAL HOSPITAL

1 Phuong Mai, Dong Da, Tel: (04) 3577 1100

hfh.com.vn

HONG NGOC HOSPITAL PRIVATE GENERAL HOSPITAL

55 Yen Ninh, Ba Dinh, Tel: (04) 3927 5568; Keangnam Office Tower, Khu B1 Pham Hung, Cau Giay, Tel: (04) 7305 8880

SHOPPING MALLS GARDEN SHOPPING CENTER

The Manor, Me Tri Street, My Dinh, Tu Liem Tel: (04) 3787 5500

INDOCHINA PLAZA

241 Xuan Thuy, Cau Giay, Hanoi, Tel: 1900 555596

LOTTE CENTER

54 Lieu Giai, Ba Dinh, Tel: (04) 3333 6016

lottecenter.com.vn PARKSON

Viet Tower Plaza, 198 Tay Son, Dong Da Tel: (04) 3537 8666

parkson.com.vn PICO MALL

229 Tay Son, Dong Da, Tel: (04) 6682 0400

SYRENA SHOPPING CENTER

51 Xuan Dieu, Tay Ho, Tel: (04) 3719 7214

hongngochospital.vn

INTERNATIONAL SOS 24HOUR CLINIC MEDICAL / DENTAL CLINIC

51 Xuan Dieu, Tay Ho, Tel: (04) 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 check-ups through to vaccinations, paediatrics and specialist care.

VIETNAM-KOREA FRIENDSHIP CLINIC KOREAN CLINIC & HOSPITAL

12 Chu Van An, Ba Dinh, Tel: (04) 3843 7231

TRANG TIEN PLAZA

cnr. Hang Bai and Trang Tien, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi

trangtienplaza.vn VINCOM CITY TOWERS

191 Ba Trieu, Hai Ba Trung, Tel: (04) 3974 9999

VINCOM ROYAL CITY

72A Nguyen Trai, Thanh Xuan, Tel: (04) 3974 3550

VINMEC INTERNATIONAL HOSPITAL INTERNATIONAL HOSPITAL

458 Minh Khai, Hai Ba Trung, Tel: (04) 3974 3556

vinmec.com

M M M INSURANCE

IF CONSULTING CCIFV/Eurocham, Sofitel Plaza, 1 Thanh Nien, Ba Dinh, Tel: (04) 3936 5370

insuranceinasia.com

LIBERTY INSURANCE 16th Floor, Hoa Binh International Towers, 106 Hoang Quoc Viet, Cau Giay Tel: (04) 3755 7111

libertyinsurance.com.vn

REGENCY INTERNATIONAL INSURANCE 5th Floor, Press Club, 59A Ly Thai To, Hoan Kiem Tel: 0966 857 488

M M M INTERNATIONAL SCHOOLS BRITISH INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL, HANOI Hoa Lan Road, Vinhomes Riverside, Long Bien, Tel: (04) 3946 0435

bishanoi.com

A selective, independent, co-educational day school.

Provides a British-style education following the National Curriculum for England, with students taking IGCSE and A Level. Pending authorization, will offer the IB programme from 2016 onwards.

CONCORDIA INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL HANOI CMC Building, Duy Tan, Cau Giay, Tel: (04) 3795 8878

concordiahanoi.org

A non-profit entity, Concordia has highly performing schools in both Hong Kong and Shanghai at the top tier of the educational system.

All instructors and teachers are native English speakers and admission applications are accepted throughout the year.

HANOI INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL 48 Lieu Giai , Ba Dinh, Tel: (04) 3832 8140

hisvietnam.com

With schooling available for students studying at elementary through to secondary levels of education, HIS is one of the few private, international education options in the capital. Offers Cambridge IGCSE and IB Diploma for students at the secondary level.

INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF VIETNAM 6-7 Nguyen Cong Thai, Dai Kim Urban Area, Dinh Cong, Hoang Mai, Tel: 3540 9183

isvietnam.org

A not-for-profit, pre-kindergarten to Grade 12 school serving the international and local community of Hanoi. ISV accepts students of any nationality aged 3 and up. 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.

KINDERWORLD INTERNATIONAL KINDERGARTEN Unit 9 – 10, Shophouse CT17, Ciputra, Tay Ho, 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, Tu Liem, Tel: (04) 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.

QSI INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF HANOI #17 Lane, 67 To Ngoc Van, Tay Ho, Tel: (04) 3718 6418

programme from aged 3 through to aged 18. A notfor-profit entity, UNIS aims for its students to emerge as responsible stewards of our global society and natural environment.

M M M MOTORBIKE RENTAL & REPAIRS ANH DUNG MOTORBIKE RENTALS

37 Ta Hien, Hoan Kiem, Tel: 0915 066096 MR CAO MOTORBIKE RENTAL MOTORBIKE RENTALS

M M M

M M M

PROPERTY RENTALS

RELOCATION AGENTS

FAIR REAL ESTATE RENTALS

6 Ngoc Van, Tay Ho, Tel: (04) 3718 6332

fair-realestate.com

GIA LONG HOUSING RENTALS

R714, Blg CT13B Ciputra, Tay Ho, Tel: (04) 3743 0589

gialonghousing.com HANOI RENTING RENTALS

No. 809, Ct13b building, Lac Long Quan, Tay Ho Tel: (04) 6294 4828

hanoirenting.com

106 Hang Bac, Hoan Kiem, Tel: 0912 094464

LANLINH PROPERTY

PHUNG MOTORBIKE

38 Hang Hom, Hoan Kiem, Tel: Tel: 0933 534999

MOTORBIKE RENTALS

13 Ngo Huyen, Hoan Kiem, Tel: (04) 3938 1105

RENTALS

houseinhanoi.com

vn.alliedpickfords.com

The largest home moving company in the world, Allied Pickfords moves over 1,000 families in over 175 countries every day. Has a full range of services — domestic moves, office moves and storage — both inside and outside of Vietnam.

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.

VIETLONG HOUSING

VIP BIKES SOCIAL ENTERPRISE

RENTALS

RENTALS & REPAIRS

vietlonghousing.com

17 Ve Ho, Xuan La, Tay Ho, Tel: 0914 931390 Trains disadvantaged youth to be fully qualified, Australian-certified motorbike mechanics. Does sales, restoration, repairs and rentals.

ALLIED PICKFORDS Room 302, 12A Ho Xuan Huong, Tel: (04) 3943 1511

21 Alley 1/22 Au Co, Tay Ho, Tel: (04) 3718 5203

AGS FOUR WINDS 41A Ly Thai To, Hoan Kiem, Tel: (04) 3938 8762

agsfourwinds.com

A worldwide leader in international removals and relocations, with 130 offices globally. Have the capacity to move property to and from any location.

hanoi.qsi.org

QSI International School of Hanoi is next in a long line of ‘quality schools’ established by the Quality Schools International. The institution specialises in instructing preschool and lower elementary age students.

SINGAPORE INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL 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

kinderworld.net/sis

Provides an international education for students from Primary up to University level. 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. UNITED NATIONS INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL (UNIS) G9 Ciputra, Lac Long Quan, Tay Ho, Tel: (04) 3758 1551

unishanoi.org

Established in 1988, 1,050 students from 60 nationalities follow the IB

wordvietnam.com | October 2015 Word | 147

THE THERAPIST This month Douglas Holwerda, American trained and licensed mental health counsellor, answers the concerns of a legal professional who has found herself on the wrong side of office politics Dear Douglas, I was so happy when I got my first job after graduating from university in a small office working for a lawyer. It felt like a chance to learn more and to improve myself. But now, less than one year later, I dread going to work every day and think about quitting my job. The problem is that one of my colleagues is unhappy with the boss and takes her frustrations out on me. She has been there the longest and expects to get certain projects that the boss gives to me.

She has become sloppy in her work and now he trusts me more than her. I want to do my job well, but every day she is causing trouble for me, saying bad things and interrupting my work. It seems like she is out to drive me out of the company. I am afraid it will get worse if I say something to the boss. — Stressed Dear Stressed, It sounds like she is acting like a bully and that you are not doing much to stop her because you do not know what to do.

Office politics often takes the enjoyment out of work because the systems to manage fairness and work distribution are inadequate. Small offices are susceptible to this if the boss is unaware of how his decisions affect the relationship between his/her workers. Ultimately, the responsibility is his/hers to manage in a way that keeps workers productive and working well together.

148 | Word October 2015 | wordvietnam.com

It sounds like you don’t trust what will happen if you inform your boss of what is going on. You have been using your strength of tolerance, but feel that you can’t keep enduring the situation.

Sometimes it works to ignore a problem… it might go away on its own. But it seems that you are ready to find a way to use the strength of assertiveness to impact the situation positively.

Assertiveness has stages that one uses based on the response of the other. It helps to make a strong statement like, “I have been tolerating your bad behaviour towards me for awhile now, but I do not intend to keep tolerating it.” It lets a person know that you are willing to enter into conflict as a way of finding a resolution.

The danger in avoiding conflict is that the frustration and anger can build up, and when one finally says something it is often angry, aggressive and out of proportion with the specific issue at hand.

It is easy to go from being passive to being aggressive… angry, loud, offensive and losing the clarity about what is happening.

Let’s take it by steps.

Step 1: The beginning of letting her know that she is hurting you and that you don’t like it, and that you will not continue to take it passively any longer. You might invite her to talk about what is bothering her and what she feels is a solution. Try to listen to how she feels.

Step 2: If she doesn’t engage in a problem-solving conversation, begin to make notes each time she says or does something inappropriate towards you. Use direct quotes, times and dates. You can let her know that what she is doing is not OK and that if she continues you will address this issue with the boss.

Step 3: If the problem persists you will need to inform the boss that you have tried to handle the problem in the ways mentioned, but that he/she will need to intervene. Be prepared to show your boss the notes and explain what you have done to solve the problem.

It is common that people do not want to get another person in trouble or fired from their job. Often that means that we tolerate unacceptable behaviour. Let me suggest that, if that were to happen in your case, that it is not you that has gotten your colleague in trouble… but rather the truth of what is happening.

Only she is responsible for her behaviour and the consequences that come as a result.

Sometimes life requires us to stand up and be strong in the face of bullying or unacceptable behaviour. To be assertive is to expect no more nor no less than what is right for all people.

Good luck to you. — Douglas Do you have a question you would like Douglas’s help with? You can email him at douglasholwerda@hotmail.com. Personal details will not be printed

Hanoi

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.

Essentials

MMM SPORTS, FITNESS & YOGA ELITE FITNESS TOP-END HEALTH CENTRE

51 Xuan Dieu, Tay Ho, Tel: (04) 3718 6281

elitefitness.com.vn

The luxury gym features top-of-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.

N SHAPE FITNESS MID-RANGE FITNESS CENTRE

5th Floor, 71 Nguyen Chi Thanh, Ba Dinh, Tel: (04) 6266 0495

nshapefitness.vn STUDIO FIVE YOGA & WELLNESS

5th Fl, 135 Bui Thi Xuan, Hai Ba Trung. Tel: (04) 6263.1515

studio5.vn

VIETCLIMB

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.

M M M

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 children’s events. Membership and group rates are available, but be sure to check out the three-month pass.

SPORTSWEAR & EQUIPMENT ADIDAS FOOTBALL FOOTBALL & SPORTS

19 Nui Truc, Ba Dinh, Tel: (04) 6273 3095 BOO SKATESHOP SKATING EQUIPMENT & CLOTHING

84 Hang Dieu, Hoan Kiem, Tel: (04) 3923 1147

bosua.vn

HANOI SPORTS SHOP 146, Mai Dich, Cau Giay, Tel: (04) 2218 5757

hanoisport.vn

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.

SUPERMARKETS BIG C 222 Tran Duy Hung, Cau Giay; Garden Shopping Centre, The Manor, My Dinh, Tu Liem

bigc.vn CITIMART

UMOVE TRAVEL AND OUTDOORS TRAVEL EQUIPMENT & CLOTHING

13 Hang Dieu, Hoan Kiem, Tel: (04) 3771 3305

umove.com.vn

Ground Floor, Hanoi Towers, 49 Hai Ba Trung, Hoan Kiem, Tel: (04) 3934 2999

FIVIMART 27A Ly Thai To, Hoan Kiem

INTIMEX 22-23 Le Thai To, Hoan Kiem

METRO THANG LONG Pham Van Dong, Co Nhue, Tu Liem, Tel: (04) 3755 1617

metro.com.vn

PHOTOS BY TRUNG DEL

BAR STOOL POLITE PUB

P

roviding a home from home for many a long-serving outlander, Polite Pub is something of a rarity in the frenetic bustle of the Old Quarter. Since 1995 this small hideaway has served as a welcoming hub for weary travellers, as an antidote for the homesick, and most importantly, one of the most original bars in Hanoi.

It exudes a warmth seldom found in this part of town, and none of the smashand-grab ethos which seems to permeate throughout many of its neighbouring establishments.

The walls are adorned with pictures of famous faces, heroes and villains alike, jostling for position around the bar’s old wooden framework, which lends itself perfectly to the gloriously organised chaos that is most nights in Polite Pub. Like all great bars it is chameleonic in nature, and in the early hours of its daily opening schedule it can be the perfect place to sit and enjoy a whisky from the impressive selection on the crowded back bar. Fastforward a few hours and the majority of patrons will find themselves shoulder to

150 | Word October 2015 | wordvietnam.com

PHOTOS BY TRUNG DEL

shoulder with their immediate neighbour, making 5 Hang Hanh one of the most sociable addresses in the district.

The drinks selection is beyond reproach, and as a Scotsman in constant dismay at the ubiquity of Johnny Walker, celebrityendorsed whiskies and little else which sits atop the majority of shelves in Hanoi’s establishments, it is nothing short of a pleasure to be greeted by old friends like the Bowmore 12, Glenrothes Vintage Reserve, Caol Ila 12 and Islay’s Ardbeg 10, which stand defiantly against the standard line-up.

The Chocolate Factory Moving on to a closer inspection of to the cocktail menu (around VND100,000 to VND150,000 per drink) is enough to fill any bartender’s heart with glee, and as impressive as Polite Pub’s spirits selection is, its cocktail menu is nigh on impossible to resist. Scrutinising the ingredients list of each drink, I wonder how it came to be that Willy Wonka ended up working back-of-house in a small speakeasy-cumold English pub, slap bang in the middle of the capital of Vietnam, and how reliable

that glass elevator of his could possibly be, what with the country’s notoriously unstable WiFi and all.

I opt for what I am told is one of their best sellers, the Saint Germain Des Pres, which marries perfectly the quickness of Grey Goose vodka with the robust flavour of St. Germain elderflower liqueur, held together by blackberry purée and a dash of lemon for a sense of balance. Though maybe not for those of you out there looking for a bit more immediacy in your libations, it is simple, effective, endlessly flavoursome, and “so shines a good deed in a weary world…”

Polite Pub celebrated its 20-year anniversary last month, and it is no surprise that the establishment has lasted so long. A unique location with one of the best back bars in the city, and an imaginative cocktail list that wouldn’t look out of place in a London pop-up, the owners and staff can blow out the candles with pride, and look forward to the next decade with zeal. — Calum Sutherland Polite Pub is at 5 Hang Hanh, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi

Hanoi On the Town

BARS, CLUBS & BEER CLUBS +84 BAR

able place to pull up a stool and take pulls in a relaxed haven.

CONTEMPORARY DECOR BAR

EDEN HANOI

facebook.com/bar84hanoi

End of 264 Au Co, Tay Ho

23 Ngo Van So, Hoan Kiem

OUTDOOR PARTY SPACE

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.

facebook.com/edengargen

When it comes to outdoor parties, big outdoor parties, the setting at Eden makes this place difficult to beat, with well over a 1,000 revellers packing in at the weekends. Check out their Facebook page for the party list.

88 LOUNGE CONTEMPORARY WINE BAR

88 Xuan Dieu, Tay ho, Tel: (04) 3718 8029

88group.vn

A wine bar with a difference, this mainstay on 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.

ANGELINA CONTEMPORARY ITALIAN

Sofitel Metopole Legend Hotel, 56 Ly Thai To, Hoan Kiem, Tel: (04) 3826 6919 Top-end bar and Italian restaurant all in one. Five star prices, but has an atmosphere to match and a great cocktail selection. The kind of place you’ll order a wagyu and eat it at the bar.

BACKYARD BIA HOI UPMARKET BIA HOI

15/50 Quang Khanh, Tay Ho From the Tet Lifestyle collection, this outdoor, hideaway, garden-based bia hoi is every bit as attractive (and popular) as its café peers in the West Lake area. A Vietnamese-style food menu and regular live music make up the mix.

BARBETTA

ETE BAR FRENCH LOUNGE

95 Giang Van Minh, Ba Dinh, Tel: 0976 751331 A favourite among those who roam further west of the city centre, this multistorey 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. It’s always crowded — especially during the weekends. Amiable staff, pleasant vibes.

FATCAT BAR DJ / LATE NIGHT JOINT

25 Ta Hien, Hoan Kiem, Tel: 0986 495211

linkhanoi.com

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.

HANOI ROCK CITY LIVE MUSIC VENUE

27/52 To Ngoc Van, Tay Ho, Tel: 01633 166170

facebook.com/hrc.hanoi

Has a downstairs, Englishstyle pub garden area and an upstairs space dedicated to live music and live production. Weekly live events feature bands and DJs both from Vietnam and overseas — established and up and coming.

food menu.

LE SOLEIL & PAOLO AND CHI

ROCKSTORE

DIVE BAR

LIVE MUSIC BAR

facebook.com/lesoleilpaoloandchi

facebook.com/RockstoreHanoi

284 Nghi Tam, Tay Ho, Tel: 0915 663993 A self-style dive bar and live music space with a distinct Gallic feel. A pleasant ambience and tasty cuisine add to the offerings at this popular, West Lake venue.

MADAKE BAR & EVENT SPACE

81 Xuan Dieu, Tay Ho, Tel: (04) 6276 6665

facebook.com/madakehanoi

With a stunning garden overlooking a peaceful lotus pond, this bar is famed for it’s many weekday and weekend events, its ambient Asian-style décor, DJ nights and general atmosphere.

A popular West Lake go-to joint.

PHUC TAN 51 Tu Gian Phuc Tan, Hoan Kiem, Tel: 0915 907785 Now located on the river in between Long Bien and Chuong Duong Bridges, this late night, DJ bar is notorious for… well, being Phuc Tan. Almost every Hanoi-based reveler has ended up here at some point. It’s just one of those places.

POLITE PUB LONG BAR

LIQUOR LOUNGE

LAKESIDE WATERING HOLE

With well-poured drinks, a foosball table, no smoking and a midnight closing time, CAMA ATK knows exactly what it wants to be — and that’s 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 reli-

sontinh.com

facebook.com/pages/RedRiver-Tea-Room

cama-atk.com

This bar-cum-restaurant is outfitted with comfortable, stylish furnishings and is famed for its luxurious rice wine liquors and newly created cocktail class. Does regular events including comedy nights and shows all the live football. Also known for its creative Vietnamese

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.

12A Nguyen Huu Huan, Hoan Kiem, Tel: 0932 373802 A cheap, cheerful and welcoming slither of a watering hole popular with expats and anyone looking for some good conversation. Cheap beers, oodles of Jameson’s and often open late. Oh, and check out the Danish hotdog stand out front. To die for.

LATE-NIGHT GRUNGE BAR

73 Mai Hac De, Hai Ba Trung, Tel: 01262 054970

31 Xuan Dieu, Tay Ho, Tel: (04) 3718 6377

DIY BAR & EVENTS VENUE

HOLE IN THE WALL

7 Ta Hien, Hoan Kiem, Tel: (04) 3926 3104 There’s only one Mao and there’s only one red lounge.

This late-night bar has been going for years, and despite its Old Quarter dive status, it still packs in the drinkers.

RED RIVER TEA ROOM

MUSIC & ARTS BAR

CZECH MICROBREWERY

SIDEWALK HANOI

SPY BAR

HOUSE OF SON TINH

CAMA ATK

HOA VIEN BRAUHAUS

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. Check their Facebook page for details.

LATE-NIGHT GRUNGE BAR

1A Tang Bat Ho, Hai Ba Trung, Tel: (04) 3972 5088

34C Cao Ba Quat, Ba Dinh, Tel: (04) 3734 9134 Set in a colonial villa, when it comes to design, the funky but comfortable Barbetta with its roof terrace is difficult to beat. A great place for coffee, beer or even a bite to eat.

61 Ma May, Hoan Kiem, Tel: 01653 336087

MAO’S RED LOUNGE

5 Bao Khanh, Hoan Kiem, Tel: (04) 3825 0959 5pm to 2am Probably the closest thing Hanoi has to an authentic English-style pub, Polite is frequented by a steady mix of locals and expats who find solace in the nightly conversations at the long bar, pool and live football matches.

ARTSY BAR & CAFE

from nearby favourites. Unpretentious, dog-friendly.

25 Duong Ven Ho, Tay Ho

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 Dieu’s next door, or delivery

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 well-known and well-loved space.

THE NEST VIETNAMESE-STYLE BAR & CLUB

Top Floor, 9 Xuan Dieu, Tay Ho, Tel: 0947 890333

facebook.com/Nest.

Lounge.09XuanDieu

The West Lake location suggests that this is the kind of bar that will attract expats.

It does. But thanks to the Vietnamese atmosphere, there’s a nice mix of local and foreign over the three floors of lounge seating, DJ booths and dance areas.

The views here are pretty eye-catching, too.

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.

THE ROOFTOP SKYLINE LOUNGE

19th Floor, Pacific Place, 83B Ly Thuong Kiet, Hoan Kiem, Tel: (04) 3946 1901

therooftop.vn

The first up-on-high bar and restaurant in the capital and still a leader in its field. With DJs spinning EDM and great views of the city, this is a must for a more Vietnamese, top-shelf experience.

THE UNICORN BAR COCKTAIL BAR & LOUNGE

2A Hang Than, Ba Dinh, Tel: 0904 886266 The latest offering of wellknown champion bartender, Pham Tien Tiep, Unicorn offers up a lounge space, a small bar area and an attractive seating space out front.

Now, as for the cocktails…

TRACY’S PUB AND GRILL SPORTS BAR/GRILL

40 Xuan Dieu, Tay Ho , Tel: (04) 6675 9838

tracyspub.com

A miniscule sports bar on the main drag of Xuan Dieu is perpetually crowded with regulars drinking out front on plastic stools. Notorious for its burgers, cooked fresh to order, Tracy’s is also famous for their draft beers, claiming to serve the coldest draft beer in Hanoi.

VUVUZELA MODERN BEER HALL

2A Tran Thanh Tong, Hai Ba Trung, Tel: (04) 3972 8922

vuvuzela.com.vn

When Vuvuzela opened up, mixing the Hooters concept from the US with a beer hall, drinking food and a DJ booth, it created the start of a new scene — beer clubs. The original Vuvuzela on Tran Thanh Tong is still going strong, but it’s so popular that it’s best to book your table in advance. For a full list of Hanoi locations, check their website.

CAFES ANNAM CAFE DELI / INTERNATIONAL CAFE

Syrena Tower, 51 Xuan Dieu, Tay Ho A trendy, deli-style café connected to Annam Gourmet next door. Bright and fresh décor is complemented by shelves stocked with im-

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Hanoi On the Town

ported gourmet goods and cafeteria-style furniture. An eye-catching temptation for weary shoppers.

CIAO CAFÉ RESTO LOUNGE

2 Hang Bai, Hoan Kiem, Tel: (04) 3934 1494 A stone’s throw from the shores of Hoan Kiem Lake, this Saigonese franchise offers a variety of different western dishes at reasonable prices. 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.

They also do coffee.

COFFEE BEAN AND TEA LEAF INTERNATIONAL COFFEE HOUSE

28 Thanh Nien, Tay Ho, Tel: (04) 3715 4240

coffeebean.com

This American-style chain cafe is a multilevel, indoor/ outdoor café overlooking Westlake. With its LA coffee and office feel, when you walk in you might just forget that you’re in Hanoi.

CONG CAPHE LEFTIST ARTSY CAFE

152D Trieu Viet Vuong, Hai Ba Trung; 32 Dien Bien Phu, Ba Dinh; 27 Nha Tho, Hoan Kiem; 15 Truc Bach, Ba Dinh; 100A Xuan Dieu, Tay Ho

congcaphe.com

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 café chains in town.

D’ALICE BOUTIQUE CAFE

89 Trieu Viet Vuong, Hai Ba Trung Put together coffee and cake and you get one of those timeless combinations. And if you really want to binge on the cake-end, then check out d’Alice and its quirky interior.

Perfect for that more modern combination of sweet tooth and iThingy.

DUY TRI VIETNAMESE CAFÉ

43 Yen Phu, Tay Ho The longest-running café in the capital, this 1936-established, three-floored space is simplicity at its finest. Even the coffee here sticks to its roots — it’s made using the same blend of Arabica and Robusta cooked up by its founders. Unpretentious, endearing and old-fashioned.

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HANOI COOKING CENTRE CAFÉ COURTYARD CAFE

44 Chau Long, Ba Dinh 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.

HANOI HOUSE HIDEAWAY CAFE

2nd Floor, 47A Ly Quoc Su, Hoan Kiem Set in a colonial-era building with equally colonialera styled furnishings, this hidden away family house café is one of those gems synonymous with Hanoi.

Quiet, intimate and simple, the staff will treat you like you’re a guest in their home.

HIGHLANDS COFFEE CONTEMPORARY / COFFEE CHAIN

5 Dinh Tien Hoang, Hoan Kiem, Tel: (04) 3936 3228; Opera House, 1 Trang Tien, Hoan Kiem; Hanoi Towers, 49 Hai Ba Trung, Hoan Kiem

highlandscoffee.com.vn

With numerous locations around town, what originally started as a fourth-floor joint overlooking the lake has become one of the most popular, home-grown cafes in Vietnam.

JOMA COFFEE/BAKERY

22 Ly Quoc Su, Hoan Kiem, Tel: (04) 3747 3388; 43 To Ngoc Van, Tay Ho, Tel: (04) 3718 6071

joma.biz

Popular café 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 One of the longest-running cafes in town, this hole-inthe-wall, no frills café-cumrestaurant home-makes its patisseries and is renowned for its excellent yoghurt.

MANZI ARTSPACE ARTS CAFÉ & GALLERY

14 Phan Huy Ich, Ba Dinh, Tel: (04) 3716 3397

facebook.com/manzihanoi

A stunningly designed contemporary café 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.

MOC CAFE

rant where you can forget the heat and bustle of Hanoi.

The atmosphere is relaxed and here you can imagine, for a second, that you’re sitting in a European café.

The ood is fresh and internationally inspired, and has an excellent top-floor terrace.

CAFE / INTERNATIONAL

14-16 Nha Tho, Hoan Kiem.

(04) 3825 6334 Set in a slightly run down colonial villa, 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.

PUKU INTERNATIONAL / CAFE

16-18 Tong Duy Tan, Hoan Kiem, Tel: (04) 3938 1745 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 no-smoking downstairs space is filled with people working and socialising. Serves as community centre, especially late at night.

SAINT HONORE CAFE / BOULANGERIE

5 Xuan Dieu, Tay Ho, Tel: (04) 3933 2355 This cafe and French-style boulangerie is best visited in the morning when that Gallic, fresh-cooked bakery aroma 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 but tasty French and international fare is served at meal times.

YOLO FUNKY LIVE MUSIC CAFE

32C Cao Ba Quat, Ba Dinh

facebook.com/YoloCoffeeShops

Boasting an abundance of communal seating, funky decor and a full roster of regular live music performances, this rollicking café-slash-bar has quickly earned a place in the hearts of Hanoi’s young and trendy. Fun, unpretentious and unashamedly quirky, it’s endearing use of recycled furniture — antiques and colourful artwork create a vibrant atmosphere — make for a popular hangout.

Open 24 hours.

ZENITH VEGETARIAN CAFE VEGETARIAN / VEGAN

247 Au Co, Tay Ho, Tel: 0904 356561

zenithyogavietnam.com

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.

M M M EAT AL FRESCO’S AUSTRALIAN / INTERNATIONAL

24 Quang An, Tay Ho, Tel: (04) 3938 1155

alfrescogroup.com

Villa 25, 1, 3 Ha, Dang Thai, Tay Ho

tet-lifestyle-collection.com

Cloistered among the back streets of West Lake and sheltered from the noise of Xuan Dieu, TET Décor Café is a destination for those who appreciate life’s pleasures: coffee, food, art and music.

Simple and unpretentious, the café has an old-fashioned warmth and rustic feel combined with unique and inspiring art installations.

AU LAC DO BRAZIL BRAZILIAN 6A Cao Ba Quat, Ba Dinh, Tel: (04) 3845 5224

aulacdobrazil.com

A Brazilian churrascaria offering all-you-can-eat grilled meat and seafood on the skewer. In typical Brazilian rodízio 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.

THE HANOI SOCIAL CLUB CAFÉ / CONTEMPORARY EATERY

6 Hoi Vu, Hoan Kiem, Tel: (04) 3938 2117

facebook.com/thehanoisocialclub

A cozy midsize café/restau-

288 Ba Trieu, Hai Ba Trung, Tel: (04) 3974 5945

asahisushi.vn CAFÉ 129

MEXICAN/COMFORT FOOD

129 Mai Hac De, Hai Ba Trung, Tel: (04) 3821 5342 Long-running, slightly incongruous hole-in-the-wall café and restaurant that has served up up a Western menu since the late 1990s.

Check out their and their excellent breakfasts, all scoffed down in a traditional, Vietnamese environment.

COUSINS CONTEMPORARY INTERNATIONAL

3 Quang Ba, Tay Ho, Tel: 01238 670098

facebook.com/cousins.hanoi

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 This airy, contemporary looking Italian restaurant next to the famed lawn chair and coconut café on West Lake has all the right ingredients to become a classic. Run by the long time former manager of Luna D’Autunno, 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

33 To Ngoc Van, Tay Ho, Tel: (04) 3718 5831

daluva.com

TET DÉCOR CAFÉ ART CAFÉ & ESPRESSO BAR

SUSHI RESTAURANT

ASAHI SUSHI

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, Middle-Eastern twist, as well as wine, tapas, events and attractive décor.

DON’S TAY HO CONTEMPORARY NORTH AMERICAN

16 Quang An, Tay Ho, Tel: (04) 3719 3719

Dons-bistro.com

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 Excellent range of imported oysters, great breakfasts and an extensive wine list.

EL GAUCHO STEAKHOUSE

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.

ARGENTINIAN STEAKHOUSE

11 Trang Tien, Hoan Kiem, Tel: (04) 3824 7280; 99 Xuan Dieu, Tay Ho, Tel: (04) 3718 6991

elgaucho.com.vn

With venues in Saigon and Bangkok, the essence of El Gaucho is quality top grade meats off the grill. Steak is the mainstay — the USDA cuts are to die for — but everything from chicken, pork and seafood is also up for grabs. Add to this a backdrop of low Latin music, low, subtle lighting, an extensive wine list and slick service. There’s a reason El Gaucho is so successful — everything’s being taken care of.

FOODSHOP 45 INTERNATIONAL INDIAN

59 Truc Bach, Ba Dinh, Tel: (04) 3716 2959

foodshop45.com

Lakeside location and low bamboo seating, this eatery is 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.

FRENCH GRILL TOP-END GRILL

JW Marriott Hanoi, 8 Do Duc Duc, Me Tri, Tu Liem, Tel: (04) 3833 5588

facebook.com/frenchgrill

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.

GREEN TANGERINE FRENCH / VIETNAMESE FUSION

48 Hang Be, Hoan Kiem, Tel: (04) 3825 1286

greentangerinehanoi.com

A leafy, cobblestone courtyard with dark green cast-iron 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.

HALIA HANOI SINGAPOREAN / CONTEMPORARY INTERNATIONAL

29 Xuan Dieu, Tay Ho, Tel: (04) 3946 0121

thehalia.com

A multi-floored venue with a bar area and a refined dining space.

HIGHWAY 4 VIETNAMESE / ETHNIC

5 Hang Tre, Hoan Kiem, Tel: (04) 3926 4200; 25 Bat Su, Hoan Kiem, Tel: (04) 3926 0639; 575 Kim Ma, Ba Dinh, Tel: (04) 3771 6372 The home of Son Tinh liquor, Highway 4 is also known for its communal dining and ethnic food menu taking in dishes from around the regions of northern Vietnam. Try out their catfish spring rolls. Phenomenal!

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 Don’s 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 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.

JACKSON’S STEAKHOUSE STEAKHOUSE / GRILL

23J Hai Ba Trung, Hoan Kiem, Tel: (04) 3938 8388

alfrescogroup.com

An all-day eating and drinking lounge fit for all occasions, with of course, a focus on steak. Has three floors all with different vibes, the kind of slick service you’d expect from the Al Fresco’s Group and an extensive wine list.

KOTO ON VAN MIEU RESTAURANT / CAFÉ / BAR

59 Van Mieu, Dong Da, Tel: (04) 3747 0337

koto.com.au

The restaurant arm of Koto, an F&B training school for disadvantaged youth. Authentic Asian and European cuisine is served over four big floors of restaurant space. It’s 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 Not to be mistake for a sushi joint, this wonderful restaurant is your typical, Japanese working person’s rice eatery. Has a bar area downstairs and booth-like seating on the upper floors.

LA BADIANE CONTEMPORARY FRENCH

10 Nam Ngu, Hoan Kiem, Tel: (04) 3942 4509

labadiane-hanoi.com

On entering La Badiane, you are instantly caught by the multitude aromas coming from the open front kitchen. Then, surrounded by leaf plants, and predominantly white walls, the customer is struck by this venue’s calm and elegance. Although the dining experience at la Badiane is about the food, great attention is also paid to the ambience so you can enjoy every aspect of your meal.

Voted one of Miele Guide’s Top 500 Restaurants in Asia.

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, Catalanstyle desserts. Closed Mondays.

LA SALSA IBERIAN / MEDITERANEAN

JASPA’S INTERNATIONAL / AUSTRALIAN

Hanoi Towers, 49 Hai Ba Trung (4th Floor), Hoan Kiem, Tel: (04) 3934 8325

alfrescosgroup.com

Recently refurbished, the Australian-influenced Jaspa’s is known for its attentive service, tasty food and large portions. 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 and the wine is mainly New World.

5 Bui Thi Xuan, Hai Ba Trung, Tel: (04) 3995 0950

lasalsa-hanoi.com

A small but eternally popular Spanish-themed café 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, Europeanstyle coffee and first-floor terrace area with views over the cathedral.

LA VERTICALE CONTEMPORARY FRENCH

19 Ngo Van So, Hai Ba Trung, Tel: (04) 3944 6317

verticale-hanoi.com

Situated in an art-deco villa, this establishment is run by the most famous French chef in the country. With modestly priced set lunches and subtle Vietnamese touches on the dishes, the up market establishment lures in its high class customers with quality Vietnamese-French fusion cuisine.

LE BEAULIEU CLASSIC FRENCH / BUFFET

Sofitel Metropole Legend, 15 Ngo Quyen, Hoan Kiem, Tel: (04) 3826 6919 The Metropole’s signature restaurant serving up both classic and contemporary French fare. Buffet options mix with an a la carte menu and an ambience that could be straight out of Paris.

LUNA D’AUTUNNO CLASSIC ITALIAN

27 Nam Ngu, Tel: (04) 3823 7338

lunadautunno.vn

This old-favourite Italian uses traditional wood ovens to prepare some of the city’s finest pizzas, which range from VND100,000 to build-your-own-skies-the-limit.

Set inside a large, thoughtful space seasoned chefs also make fresh pastas, soups and cheeses.

Has regular live music and a great Italian wine list.

MAY MAN CHINESE CUISINE PAN-CHINESE

Fortuna Hotel, 6B Lang Ha, Ba Dinh, Tel: (04) 3831 3333

fortuna.vn

Elegant and luxurious, May Man has long been regarded as one of the best Chinese restaurants in Hanoi. Showcasing a selection of authentic Chinese fare together with dim sum, May Man boasts extensive a la carte menus, dim sum menus and set menus. Reservations recommended.

MEDITERRANEO PAN-ITALIAN

23 Nha Tho, Hoan Kiem, Tel: (04) 3826 6288 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.

Boasts an extensive wine list and a traditional wood fire oven.

MING PALACE PAN-CHINESE

Sofitel Plaza, 1 Thanh Nien, Ba Dinh, Tel: (04) 3823 8888 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, Ming’s is an ideal eatery for those hungry for higher end Chinese fare.

TOP EATS POW POW

V

ietnamese youth love their ice cream. Who hasn’t been stuck in a traffic jam on Thanh Nien street, caused by lines of people buying the frozen confection? They love it almost as much as they love Korean culture and K-pop. Pow Pow combines these two loves, and throws in a pinch of America as well.

As I enter the Korean ice cream parlor, owner Kim Yong Jae, who looks like a movie star, welcomes me. “I was an actor back in Korea in movies, drama and theatre,” he admits. His presence alone is a reason to visit. In the background, Korean pop music is playing.

The interior is neatly designed, with a mix of the owner's different influences: Vietnamese, Korean and American. The decor features a clean, fresh colour palette, and sleek furniture.

The checkered black-and-white floor is a take on the classic ice cream parlour, balanced by the American street flair of a graffiti mural. The third floor is getting a Korean-style makeover.

Pow Pow also offers a chance for its customers to leave their mark on the walls, with Post-it notes and cute drawings.

It’s Bingsu, Baby Pow Pow is about ice cream in every form. The menu ranges from the very American root beer float, to bingsu (Korean-style snow ice cream), traditional soft and hard ice cream as well as Korean and American-style waffles. But what is bingsu exactly? It’s the simplest of desserts: frozen milk shaved into snowflakes. Originally topped with red beans, contemporary versions feature treats like Oreos, and a variety of fresh fruits, like mangos and kiwis.

You can see the bingsu machine work its wonders. I watch Jae pour a litre of milk into the reservoir, and almost instantly it snows into a big bowl. He scoops the fluffy delight into a cup, layers it with condensed milk for the sweet tooth, and adds my choice of toppings.

Since happiness is better when shared, I've brought a good friend of mine. We carefully choose from the eclectic menu: a root beer float, chocolate Oreo bingsu, the supreme ‘make your own’ bingsu with matcha (green tea) ice cream, mango, blueberries, and raspberries, and a Korean-style waffle with chocolate ice cream and strawberries. The root beer float is essentially for my guest. I try it, but it’s definitely not for my French tastes.

However, she is delighted by the sweet, creamy drink that packs a bitter punch. It makes her feel nostalgic for home, a real taste of her American childhood.

The Korean-style waffle is cooking, and the smell of buttery goodness envelops the whole first floor. The waffle is perfectly thick and doughy, topped with dark chocolate ice cream. I let it slowly melt, and it becomes a sweet chocolate sauce, balanced by the tartness of the strawberries. It’s the perfect comfort food for a late Sunday afternoon.

Bring on the Bingsu The bingsus arrive and there is no time to waste. The fragility of the snowflake ice cream means it melts quickly. The texture is light and fluffy, like snow. The sweetness from the condensed milk complements the fresh fruit toppings. I love that they use real fresh fruits, like kiwi, raspberries, blueberries and strawberries; it is much better than fake

PHOTOS ARE BY JESSE MEADOWS AND JULIE VOLA

syrup flavouring. Though the chocolate Oreo bingsu could use a bit more chocolate, I enjoy every single bite of the creamy cookies soaked in snow. In the end, the experience is unique.

With each bite, I can distinctively see the snowflakes. When you eat them, they melt into fresh creamy goodness in your mouth. It reminds me of my childhood winter holidays, when I used to eat actual snow during snowball fights.

It’s also a very healthy treat that doesn’t make me feel guilty a bit. Lucy, Jae’s partner, confirms my intuition: “Ice cream, especially in the summer, should leave you feeling light, it shouldn’t be heavy. So fresh fruits, only milk in our ice cream and snowflakes, everything about our ice cream is really light.”

The parlour is preparing for a change of season. Winter is coming. In addition to quality ice cream, Pow Pow will serve gimbap (bite-sized portions of steamed rice with a variety of fillings), and a traditional Korean snack food called topokki, made from soft rice cake, fish cake, and sweet red pepper sauce.

Lucy explains: “We are a Korean dessert shop, and that is our character. The reason why we have so many customers is because Vietnamese are really interested in Korean culture, Korean food, Korean drama, Korean guys," she adds as she looks sideways at Jae, "we are going in a new direction and expanding to be more like the ambassador of Korean culture and Korean cool.”

Pow Pow is showing me a new way to eat ice cream, with a dessert the likes of which I have never seen before; bingsu, the edible Korean snow. — Julie Vola Pow Pow is at 166E Doi Can, Ba Dinh, Hanoi

wordvietnam.com | October 2015 Word | 155

STUDENT EYE EDUCATED PROCRASTINATION

BY TO THU PHUONG

I

f you take a look at most of my school’s garbage cans, specifically the ones placed next to water fountains, you’ll find these neat fill tubes, affectionately decorated with green recycling stickers. The latter were specifically fashioned to contain used plastic cups. Why? The idea was to incite awareness on the amount of plastic cups used within the school; after the tubes are filled, all the plastic cups will be dumped into a big net, ostentatiously displayed at the main entrance.

In support of this campaign against disposable cups, the school also took the initiative of buying each student a little 300ml bottle from Lock ‘n’ Lock last year: “The good kind, the one that comes with a cup,” as affectionately chosen by our middle school biology teacher, head of this new environmental programme. But as of yet, the little tubes fill up as quickly as ever.

As I walk in through the hallways, colourful posters whisper me ecofriendly reminders for the day. Words that I really just brush off my ears as soon as possible (just like everyone else).

At heart, ideas are certainly not lacking but practice is sparse. Personally, I couldn’t call myself nature’s number one best friend. However this year, the sight of the posters and the little tubes from the garbage cans triggered a reaction in me. Just like the collective attitude towards going green, I wondered whether I was also in denial and pushing back the important things on my agenda.

Expectations College applications are knocking on our doors, while final exams tug at our back; it’s difficult to do the right thing with deadlines framing us from both sides.

So while my friends rush to perfect their applications, I’ve just decided to take a year off.

This decision was met with wide eyes from my teachers and “Wow! Really?” from my friends. One even claims she can no longer look at me the same.

What follows is the expectation-charged question that goes: “So what are you going to do?” Be it relatives, friends or close family, they all manage to catch me off-guard with one simple sentence.

Frankly, I don’t have an answer.

Throughout my enquiries, the main

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concept that seems to be recycled over and over is that my decision is “a waste of time”; “What if you lose your habit to work?”; “What if you end up not going to college?”; “Aren’t you just procrastinating?”. At a certain point, these questions started weighing me down and making me doubtful. Should I be doing more to secure my future? Am I just being the serial procrastinator that I know I am?

Wrong Choice, Right Path “I’ve put it in my head that I’m going to make the wrong choice, said my best friend, but it’s a step towards making the right one.” Pep talk is very valuable at times of self-doubt, hers made me realise that there really is no right way to do things; we just have to go at it.

Do I have even the slightest idea of what I want to do in the future? No. Can I imagine myself in ten years’ time?

Definitely not. So what am I going to do during my one year break? I am going to procrastinate. I am going to do everything and nothing, and I’m going to think about all the superfluous things that I couldn’t think about when I was in school. In that sense, there is a beauty in procrastination: for once, I can ponder on all the random impulses in my head and make some sense out of them.

So if anyone’s still asking, I’m taking up educated procrastination. True to Descartes’ methods, one small step at a time I’m going to analyse, decompose and plan the monstrous task at hand: my future.

Hanoi On the Town

MILLENIUM-CAFÉ DES ARTS PAN-FRENCH

11 Hang Hanh, Hoan Kiem, Tel: (04) 3828 7207

cafe-des-arts.com

A contemporary and chic threestorey restaurant with a terrace and views over one of Hanoi’s best-known alleys. Serves up quality French cuisine such as: snails, foie gras, lobster, scallops, chateaubriand and tournedos Rossini. Does an excellent set menu and also has a daily specials board.

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.

MOOSE AND ROO SMOKEHOUSE AMERICAN GRILL

The American Club, 19-21 Hai Ba Trung, Hoan Kiem, Tel: (04) 3939 2470

mooseandroo.com

There’s a reason for Smokehouse’s popularity — the excellent, on-site smoked meats together with all the typical, American-style sides. Set in the American Club, dining is both indoors and out, and comes with the best bourbon selection in town.

NAMASTE HANOI PAN-INDIAN

46 Tho Nhuom, Hanoi, Tel: (04) 3935 2400

namastehanoi.com

The well-loved Namaste specialises in dishes from both northern and southern India — using Halal meat throughout. Hosted by the gregarious Gopi, a meal will cost you between VND150,000 and VND300,000 and everything is there, from curries and breads to soups and desserts.

NAN N KABAB 49 Xuan Dieu, Tay Ho, Tel: 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.

NINETEEN 11 INTERNATIONAL / ASIAN

SAINT HONORE

The Opera House, 1 Trang Tien, Hoan Kiem, Tel: (04) 3933 4801

BOULANGERIE / BISTRO

Named after the completion date of the Hanoi Opera House, this upscale yet casual restaurant maintains an ambience of elegance, luxury and mystery.

The cuisine mixes international fare with twists on Vietnamese cuisine and comes complete with a formidable wine list and an inhouse sommelier.

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 nonsmoking 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.

nineteen11.com.vn

OLD HANOI GOURMET VIETNAMESE

4 Ton That Thiep, Hoan Kiem, Tel: (04) 3747 8337

hanoixua.vn/en

Gordon Ramsay once filmed a show at this restaurant in a renovated French villa and now the ribs carry his namesake. But it’s the twist on old world favourites, think fried snail spring rolls and miniature vegetarian banh xeo, all in a casually elegant setting that make this spot near the train tracks a standout.

PANE E VINO PAN-ITALIAN

3 Nguyen Khac Can, Hoan Kiem, Tel: (04) 3826 9080

facebook.com/panevinoHN

Just a stroll away from the Hanoi Opera House, 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.

POTS ‘N PANS

5 Xuan Dieu, Tay Ho, Tel: (04) 3933 2355

sainthonore.com.vn

THE CART SANDWICH SHOP / CAFÉ

potsnpans.vn

Brought to you by a group of former disadvantaged youth from Hanoi’s own KOTO, this unique fine dining restaurant, bar and lounge blends the old with the new. Vietnamese fusion cuisine, like profiteroles with green tea and café fillings, a private chef’s table with a kitchen view, and an extensive wine list combined with modern formal styling bring a unique experience to Hanoi.

PRESS CLUB CONTEMPORARY INTERNATIONAL

3rd Floor, 59A Ly Thai To, Hoan Kiem, Tel: (04) 3934 0888

hanoi-pressclub.com

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

STREETSIDE BANH MI

25 Hang Ca, Hoan Kiem BIT TET NGON SO 5 VIETNAMESE BEEFSTEAK

20A Hoe Nhai, Ba Dinh BUN BO NAM BO BUN BO NAM BO

67 Hang Dieu, Hoan Kiem BUN CHA DAC KIM BUN CHA

1 Hang Manh, Hoan Kiem; 67 Duong Thanh, Hoan Kiem KCC (KIEN CAN COOK)

8B, Lane 1, Au Co, Nghi Tam Village, Tay Ho, Tel: (04) 3938 2513

COM RANG DUA BO

Small cozy café 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.

MIEN TRON HANH

thecartfood.com

THE KAFE

57 Quoc Tu Giam, Dong Da

MIXED GLASS NOODLES

7B Ly Quoc Su, Hoan Kiem MY VAN THAN WONTON NOODLES

54 Hang Chieu, Hoan Kiem PHO BO CU CHIEU PHO BO

CONTEMPORARY CAFE / CUISINE

48 Hang Dong, Hoan Kiem

thekafe.vn

PHO CUON HUNG BEN

18 Dien Bien Phu, Hoan Kiem, Tel: (04) 3747 6245 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 café-cum-restaurant is a popular choice for Hanoi’s metrosexual community.

PHO CUON

26 Nguyen Khac Hieu, Ba Dinh PHO GA BA LAM PHO GA

7 Nam Ngu, Hoan Kiem PHO GA HANG DIEU PHO GA

CONTEMPORARY VIETNAMESE

57 Bui Thi Xuan, Hai Ba Trung, Tel: (04) 3944 0204

BANH MI 25

WRAP & ROLL 5th Floor, Trang Tien Plaza, 24 Hai Ba Trung, Hoan Kiem 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.

M M M STREETFOOD

1 Hang Dieu, Hoan Kiem PHO GIA TRUYEN BAT DAN PHO BO

49 Bat Dan, Hoan Kiem PHO LY QUOC SU PHO BO

10 Ly Quoc Su, Hoan Kiem PHO THIN LO DUC SAUTEED BEEF PHO

13 Lo Duc, Hai Ba Trung PHO TRON MIXED PHO

18 Dang Thai Mai, Tay Ho

5 Phu Doan, Hoan Kiem; 47 Ma May, Hoan Kiem; 2 Hang Hom, Hoan Kiem; 6 Luong Van Can, Hoan Kiem

BANH CUON HANG GA

PHO TU LUN

3 CHI EM PHO GA / BUN BO NAM BO / COM

BANH CUON

PHO BO

14 Hang Ga, Hoan Kiem

23 Hai Ba Trung, Hoan Kiem

BANH DA TRON

XOI HANG HOM

BANH DA TRON

6 Ngo 31 Xuan Dieu, Tay Ho

STICKY RICE

44 Hang Hom, Hoan Kiem

MEDICAL BUFF SPEECH THERAPY FOR ALL AGES

D

o you recognise any of these?

“Everyone says my son is withdrawn; but he just doesn’t say much.”

“Molly has never been a big talker; she says and writes very little. She is now 13 and the school says they are concerned.”

“John always has a blank look on his face.

Is he really paying attention or can he truly not understand what I’m requesting?”

Sadly, these are all examples of the start of language problems and how they can affect children. Weaknesses in language can influence a child’s learning and social skills, but these challenges can continue into adulthood.

A Speech therapist is qualified to work and help not only children but also adults who have the following types of problems: trouble formulating and using speech, trouble understanding language, difficulty using language, difficulty with feeding, chewing or swallowing, a stammer and a voice problem.

These problems may have been caused by a range of diseases and disabilities: strokes, learning disabilities, neurological disorders e.g. Parkinson’s disease, cancer of the mouth and throat, head injury, hearing loss and deafness, cleft palate and dementia.

How Can Speech therapists Help?

A good way to start is with a language assessment if you suspect something is a little off with someone’s speech and language skills. A comprehensive speech

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and language assessment includes formal testing, language samples, clinical observations and information provided by parents and teachers.

Speech therapists can help people of all ages with different speech and language disorders: Articulation. When people have trouble saying certain sounds or words.

Fluency. When someone repeats certain sounds and has trouble saying the complete word.

Resonance. The speaker is saying the words but they sound cold or like its coming through a pipe.

Language disorders. Trouble putting words together to express thoughts.

Communication and swallowing disorders related to other issues. Hearing impairments, traumatic brain injury, dementia, development, intellectual or genetic disorders, and neurological impairments.

Some of the symptoms we look for in people with speech disorders are: — Repeating sounds (most often seen in people who stutter) — Adding extra sounds and words — Elongating words — Making jerky movements while talking (usually involving the head) — Blinking several times while talking — Visible frustration when trying to

BY CAROLINE COMET

communicate — Taking frequent pauses when talking — Distorting sounds when talking — Hoarseness (raspy or gravely-sounding voice) There are strengths and weaknesses in all areas of auditory processing, receptive and expressive language, phonological processing, articulation, voice, fluency, and pragmatic functioning that will be detected and tested. The combination of all this will assist in a diagnosis and developing a plan to target areas of weakness.

Top 10 reasons to get to know a speech therapist: 10) Speech therapists use all kinds of devices 9) Speech therapists do it with you 8) Speech therapists work with your tongue 7) Speech therapists do it during mealtimes 6) Speech therapists do it for your health 5) Speech therapists do it orally 4) Speech therapists do it fluently 3) Speech therapists use the right position 2) Speech therapists are adaptable 1) Speech therapists do it in a group Caroline Comet is a French Speech therapist working with Family Medical Practice, Hanoi.

For more information call (04) 3843 0748 or click on vietnammedicalpractice.com

BOOK BUFF SMALL TOWN DELIGHTS

T

his month we asked a longtime customer to collate a few literary insights for us to use in this column. He’s now involved with the humanitarian aid organization Médecins Sans Frontières and this year kept us abreast of post-earthquake traumas in Nepal. He is now posting us news of refugee tribulations in the Middle East.

Killing Mockingbirds is a Sin He’s an actual book reader and we’ve got a long list of requests that we mail to him when they hit our shelves. One that he anticipated was the summer hit Go Set A Watchman, Harper Lee’s prequel/sequel to To Kill a Mockingbird.

He enjoyed the book immensely, though he’s holding back on attributing it the same fame status its elder sibling easily earned.

Like a lot of Mockingbird fans he was devastated to watch on helplessly as his all-time fictional hero, Atticus Finch, threw his support behind the town of Maycomb’s version of the Klu Klux Klan.

Mind you, our commentator had more reason than most to be taken aback. His parents read Mockingbird when it was first released in 1960 and were so impressed with the morally upright lawyer that they gave their son Atticus as a second name.

(Apparently over half a million American males were similarly honoured in the following decade). To compound things further they gave him Jeremy as a main name to honor Atticus’ son, Jem. Jem does not survive into the sequel having died in his 20s of an inherited disease. To our contemporary Jem’s horror, it is suggested that his fictional counterpart became imbued with all the ugly racist bigotries that swirled through towns in Alabama when the Civil Rights movement started to empower black Americans.

The only character from Mockingbird that

doesn’t shatter our perceptions is Scout, now known as 26-year-old Jean Louise.

She escaped the conservative confines of small town Maycomb and spent her late teens and adulthood in New York City honing her views on racial and gender equality. Her return to her birthplace where her old home has become an ice-cream parlour and where the blacks are getting uppity and demanding de-segregation, is an experience more devastating than that shared by all those male readers who carry her father’s name.

Mockingbird, says our commentator, was a story of the loss of innocence but one leavened with redemption. Its sequel is an observation of the deep structure of racism with all its associated bleakness and it has a pertinent, contemporary feeling to it that makes it well worth reading and discussing.

In the original novel, Atticus tells Scout and Jem that it is a sin to kill a mockingbird because ‘they don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy… but sing their hearts out for us’.

You close the covers of Watchman wondering if mockingbirds will ever have the chance to sing again.

On Being Alone and Different Our commentator likes anything by Marilynne Robinson — who is a bit like Harper Lee in that her fictional literary output is spaced out at enticing intervals.

After her first book, Housekeeping, it took another 20 years before she wrote Gilead which (like Mockingbird) was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for fiction. Gilead is said to be President Obama’s favourite novel and is the first in a trilogy that took another 15 years to complete.

When the Guardian and Time compiled lists of the best books written last century, Housekeeping featured on both.

Our commentator paraphrases a

BY HOANG VAN TRUONG

New York Times review agreeing that “Housekeeping is about a woman who has not managed to connect with a place, a purpose, a routine or another person. It’s about the immensely resourceful sadness of a certain kind of American, someone who has fallen out of history and is trying to invent a life without assistance of any kind, without even recognizing there are precedents.”

This year Faber publishers began to reissue classic selections from its publishing history at affordable prices. Housekeeping was a first choice.

Understanding Grapes Our commentator admits that it’s no coincidence that many novels he reads are set in small towns.

Endora — in his third selection — is an American town of a couple of thousand people, similar in conservative values to Harper Lee’s Maycomb and Robinson’s Fingerbone.

It’s in Endora that the Grape siblings are trapped by circumstances that are primarily a result of their demanding, obese mother. When she dies her four kids illegally turn the house into her funeral pyre and escape to new destinations and futures.

The catalyst for the Grape escape is a mysterious beauty who opens their collective eyes to greener pastures and gives an escape refuge to Gilbert and his intellectually disabled brother Arnie.

The fetching movie, directed by Lasse Halstrom, faithfully recreated from the novel What’s Eating Gilbert Grape by Peter Hedges, launched the careers of Johnny Depp and Leonardo DiCaprio.

Truong is an avid reader and runs Bookworm (44 Chau Long, Ba Dinh, Hanoi) and Bookworm Weekend (6 Lane 1/28, Au Co, Tay Ho, Hanoi). For more information on go to bookwormhanoi.com

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Business Buff / Body and Temple / The Educator / A world of Good / Bar Stool / Amazing Grapes / Top Eats A / Top Eats B / The Empty Wok Photo by Francis Xavier 162 | Word October 2015 | wordvietnam.com

HCMC Essentials

BAKERIES ABC BAKERY BAKERY & CAFÉ

223 Pham Ngu Lao, Q1

phamngulao.abcbakery.co

Baguettes, croissants, pizza, cakes, muffins, donuts and brownies, this bakery and café all in one is a popular stop for those heading through the Backpacker District. Online ordering available.

BREAD TALK CHAIN BAKERY

106 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, Q3; 2 Cao Thang, Q3; Vivo City, 1058 Nguyen Van Linh, Q7

breadtalkvietnam.com

A Singaporean bakery chain that is vying for the Vietnam cake and bread market. Produces Asian-friendly patisseries and cakes in a spacious, airy atmosphere. Has eight locations and counting.

CRUMBS BAKERY & CAFE

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 garlic–based buns and loafs, meat–filled pastries, sweet pastries, health–conscious breads and more. There is also a breakfast menu and variety of sandwiches available. Excellent Australianstyle meat pies.

HARVEST BAKING AMERICAN BAKERY

harvestbaking.net

With a production facility in Thu Duc, Harvest Baking focuses on both the retail and non-retail trade, cooking up the best American-style bakery products in the city. Has an excellent home delivery service. Check the website for details.

L’AMOUR BAKERY & CAFE

Hung Phuoc 2, Le Van Thiem, Q7, Tel: (08) 5410 4072

lamourbakery.com.vn TOUS LES JOURS BAKERY & CAFE

180 Hai Ba Trung, Q1; 59 Tran Hung Dao, Q1; 187 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, Q1; 66B Cach Mang Thang Tam, Q3; Lotte Mart, 469 Nguyen Huu Tho, Q7; 17/14 Le Thanh Ton, Q1

touslesjoursbakery.com

The background of this Korean bakery chain makes interesting reading. Established in 1996, in 2004 they opened in the US, 2005 in China and 2007 in Vietnam.

French-styled with an Asian touch, the bare-brick décor makes this a popular joint.

Has over 25 locations in Vietnam.

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 PNC VIETNAMESE LANGUAGE BOOKSTORE

2A Le Duan, Q1; 2nd Floor Parkson Center, 35-45 Le Thanh Ton, Q1

pnc.com.vn

Although there are some English-language texts in this modern, well laid out bookstore, the focus here is on all things Vietnamese.

Worth checking out, thought, for the occasional gem.

M M M VOELKER BAKERY

39 Thao Dien, Q2, Tel: (08) 6296 0066

voelker-vietnam.com

French–run bakery selling probably the tastiest range of patisseries, breads, quiches and pies in town. The signature passion–fruit tart is a must try.

M M M BOOKSHOPS FAHASA VIETNAMESE / ENGLISH LANGUAGE BOOKSTORE

40 Nguyen Hue, Q1; 60-62 Le Loi, Q1

fahasa.com

Selling up a good selection of English language books — in a range of reading areas — this multi-storied bookshop also does stationery, toys and a range of related products. Has a good selection of ESL texts.

LIBRAIRIE FRANCAISE NAM PHONG 82 Truong Dinh, Q1, Tel: (08) 3914 7858

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

M M M CLOTHING & ACCESSORIES

BUSINESS GROUPS ANUPA ECO LUXE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE (AMCHAM) New World Hotel, 76 Le Lai, Q1, Tel: (08) 3824 3562.

amchamvietnam.com

AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE (AUSCHAM) 2nd Floor, Eximland Building, 179EF Cach Mang Thang Tam, Q3, Tel: (08) 3832 9912

auschamvn.org

BRITISH BUSINESS GROUP OF VIETNAM (BBGV) 25 Le Duan, Q1, Tel: (08) 3829 8430

bbgv.org

CANADIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE (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

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.

BAM SKATE SHOP SKATEWEAR / STREET

174 Bui Vien, Q1, Tel: 0903 641826

Bamskateshop.com.vn BLUE DRAGON

SHOPPING MALLS DIAMOND PLAZA 34 Le Duan, Q1. Tel: (08) 3825 7750 9am to 10pm Cosmetics, Perfume, Clothing, Accessories, Electronics, Café, Food Court

HUNG VUONG PLAZA

126 Hung Vuong, Q5.

Tel: (08) 2222 0383 9.30am to 10pm Cosmetics, Perfume, Clothing, Accessories, Electronics, Café, Food Court

PARKSON PLAZA

35-45 Le Thanh Ton, Q1. Tel: (08) 3827 7636 9.30am to 10pm Cosmetics, Perfume, Clothing, Accessories, Electronics, Café, Food Court

SAIGON CENTRE

65 Le Loi, Q1. Tel: (08) 3829 4888 9am to 9pm Cosmetics, Perfume, Clothing, Accessories, Electronics, Café, Food Court

SOUVENIRS / CLOTHING

1B Bui Vien, Q1, Tel: (08) 2210 2084 GALLERY VIVEKKEVIN DESIGN & JEWELLERY

35 Dong Khoi, Q1, Tel: (08) 6291 8162

galleryvivekkevin.com

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.

GINKGO

SAIGON SQUARE 77-89 Nam Ky Khoi Nghia, Q1 9am to 9pm Cosmetics, Perfume, Clothing, Accessories, Electronics

VINCOM CENTER 70-72 Le Thanh Ton, Q1. Tel: (08) 3936 9999 9am to 10pm Cosmetics, Perfume, Clothing, Accessories, Electronics, Café, Food Court

VIETNAM-THEMED CLOTHING

10 Le Loi, Q1, Tel: (08) 3521 8755; 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

ZEN PLAZA

54-56 Nguyen Trai, Q1 Tel: (08) 3925 0339 9am to 10pm Cosmetics, Perfume, Clothing, Accessories, Electronics, Café, Food Court

BUSINESS BUFF FAMILY BUSINESS

I

n a recent report released by Credit Suisse they introduced the CS Global Family 900 universe, which is a database of the 920 largest family-run businesses on the planet. Companies on the list are publicly traded with market capitalizations of at least $US1 billion (VND22.5 trillion), as well as familyowned stakes of at least 20 percent. The companies are founded in 35 different countries and over 60% of them originate in Asia. An interesting related finding from the Family Business Institute in the US shows that only one third of familyowned businesses last into a second generation of ownership, 12% to a third and just 3% to a fourth.

Some of the companies on the list have been controlled by the same family for many generations and many have experienced public feuds between family members ranging from bribery to doing business with Hitler.

Below is a list of the top ten family owned companies. Spoiler alert — Walmart is only number three.

10) Nike From the US with a market cap of $US882 billion, Nike is part of the Knight family.

Phil Knight has been the face of the iconic Nike brand since he co-founded the company in 1964. Just last month, however, Nike announced that Knight will step down from his role as chairman in 2016. His son, Travis Knight, will take a seat on the board to continue the family legacy at the company.

9) Kinder Morgan After leaving Enron, Richard Kinder co-founded Kinder Morgan in 1997.

With a massive portfolio of oil and gas pipelines, the company is one of the largest of its kind in the world. Kinder and his wife Nancy are major Houston philanthropists through their Kinder Foundation.

8) Volkswagen A German car company owned by the Piëch-Porsche family, the company is valued at over $US120 billion. Many members of the Piëch-Porsche family hold a majority stake in Volkswagen through their Porsche Automobile Holding Company. The Piëch-Porsches are descendants of Porsche founder Ferdinand Porsche, who was also a Nazi party member and designed the first Volkswagen for Adolf Hitler. Today

164 | Word October 2015 | wordvietnam.com

BY SHANE DILLON

family member Mark. Mark Zuckerberg has brought his family into his Facebook empire, which he still owns just under one-third of. His older sister Randi was a marketing executive at the company before leaving to start her own firm.

Zuckerberg also gave his father 2 million shares of Facebook stock to thank him for providing him with some money during the company’s earliest years.

The Lohner-Porsche, the first car built be Volkswagen and Porsche founder, Ferdinand Porsche

at least five family members sit on the board of Volkswagen. Volkswagen brands include Porsche, Audi and Bentley.

7) Samsung Electronics Controlled by the Lee family in South Korea, the company is worth over $US174 billion. Lee Kun-Hee helped grow his father’s company, Samsung Group, into a global conglomerate. He is chairman of the flagship business, Samsung Electronics, while his son (and expected successor) Jay Y. Lee is vice chairman. Daughters Boo-Jin and Seo-Hyun also hold executive roles within the firm.

6) Oracle Larry Ellison is still chairman and chief technology officer of the software company, Oracle, which helped make him America’s third richest man. The company is valued at $US192 billion. He stepped down as CEO in September of 2014. While his children, Megan and David, both hold Oracle stock, it’s unlikely that they will take over the family business as they are both film producers.

5) Anheuser-Busch InBev A Belgian beer company valued at $US197 billion, ABI is owned by the Lemann, Sicupira and Telles families. Privateequity group 3G Capital was behind the 2008 merger that led to the creation of Anheuser-Busch InBev. Today, 3G Principal Jorge Paulo Lemann — Brazil’s richest man — is the brewer’s largest shareholder.

His partners Carlos Sicupira and Marcel Herrmann Telles also hold large stakes in the company. Together, the three men own about 26% of the company, and Lemann and Telles sit on the board of directors.

4) Facebook Currently valued at $US225billion, Facebook is a creation of Zuckerberg

3) Walmart The Walton family owns about half of Walmart through Walton Enterprises, according to Thomson Reuters data. The 50% stake is valuable enough to place the five heirs among the wealthiest people in the world. Brothers Rob and Jim Walton sit on the company’s board of directors, and along with sister, Alice, and sisterin-law, Christy, each have a net worth hovering around $US35 billion. Cousins Ann Walton Kroenke and Nancy Walton Laurie are also billionaires from their company shares. Rob Walton’s son-inlaw, Gregory Penner, succeeded him as Walmart’s chairman last month.

2) Roche Fritz Hofmann-La Roche founded a cough syrup company in 1898 that today develops some of the best cancer drugs in the world. Valued at $US254 billion, the heirs still control at least half of the company’s bearer shares, according to Bloomberg. The Hoffmann-Oeri family controls the company through their voting pool. The family has at least eight billionaires, including Dr. Andreas Oeri and André Hoffmann who both sit on the drug maker’s board of directors.

1) Novartis A healthcare company based in Switzerland, it was founded by the Sandoz family. Novartis is one of the world’s biggest drug makers, created in 1996 after the merger between Sandoz and Ciba-Geigy. Today, the descendants of Edouard Sandoz (who founded Sandoz in 1886) own a substantial amount of Novartis shares.

The Sandoz Family Foundation is the company’s single largest shareholder, and its president, Pierre Landolt, sits on Novartis’s board of directors. The company is worth an estimated $US279 billion.

Shane works in healthcare but is not a billionaire descendant of a founder. He can be contacted at shanedillon@pacificcross.com

wires and motorbikes to creative, Siddharta-style imagery.

M M M COOKING CLASSES

IPA-NIMA BAGS & ACCESSORIES

77-79 Dong Khoi, Q1, Tel: (08) 3822 3277; 71 Pasteur, Q1, Tel: (08) 3824 2701

ipa-nima.com

AIRLINES

LITTLE ANH-EM BABY & CHILDREN CLOTHING

AIR ASIA airasia.com AIR FRANCE airfrance.com.vn

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.

L’USINE

CATHAY PACIFIC cathaypacific.com/vn CHINA AIRLINES china-airlines.com JAPAN AIRLINES vn.jal.com

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/ café. Lifestyle accessories include shoes, homewares, knickknacks, cameras, stationery and a range of vintage bicycles.

MANDARINA

JETSTAR PACIFIC jetstar.com/vn/en

TAILOR-MADE SHOES

171 Le Thanh Ton, Q1, Tel: (08) 3827 5267

OVERLAND CLUB 35Bis Huynh Khuong Ninh, Q1, Tel: (08) 3820 9734

overlandclub.jp

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.

SAIGON COOKING CLASSES BY HOA TUC 74 Hai Ba Trung, Q1, Tel: (08) 3825 8485

saigoncookingclass.com

Learn to cook quality Vietnamese cuisine with local specialist Hoa Tuc. The threehour 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

vietnamese-cooking-classsaigon.com

M M M KOREAN AIR koreanair.com LAO AIRLINES laoairlines.com

ORANGE BUDGET CLOTHING

152 Bui Vien, Q1, Tel: (08) 3820 2620

9am to 10pm PAPAYA

BUDGET CLOTHING

232 Bui Vien, Q1

MALAYSIA AIRLINES malaysiaairlines.com SINGAPORE AIRLINES singaporeair.com

papaya-tshirt.com T&V TAILOR TAILORS

39 Dong Du, Q1, Tel: (08) 3824 4556

triciaandverona.com U.BEST HOUSE TRAVEL GEAR

THAI AIRWAYS thaiairways.com.vn

163 Nguyen Thai Hoc, Q1, Tel: 0978 967588

Ubesthouse.com VESPA SHOP

TIGER AIRWAYS tigerair.com VIETJETAIR vietjetair.com VIETNAM AIRLINES vietnamairlines.com

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.

CRAFTS & FURNITURE ATC FURNITURE ECO-FRIENDLY FURNITURE

268B Nam Ky Khoi Nghia, Dist.3, HCMC, Tel: (08) 3932 6455; 30A Nguyen Huu Canh, Binh Thanh, HCMC, Tel: (08) 3840 3946

atc-craft.com

AUSTIN HOME REPRO FURNITURE / FABRICS

42 Nguyen Dang Giai, Q2, Tel: (08) 3519 0023

austinhomeinteriors.com

This An Phu-based shop stocks antique repro furniture. All products are samples, so it’s 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.

CHI LAI 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 highquality designs and competi-

wordvietnam.com | October 2015 Word | 165

BODY

Y

our body’s fat percentage is a great way to measure how effective your fat loss efforts are. Our weight is the sum of all our tissue; organs, bones, muscles, body fluids, fat and other. The only one that we want to lose is EXCESS body fat. It’s very important to acknowledge that not all weight is created equal — numbers on a scale don’t matter! A client of mine was recently very concerned that she had stopped losing weight and all her efforts were no longer amounting to anything.

When we reassessed her composition we found that she had lost a further 3.3%.

People always talk about their ideal weight but in reality that means absolutely nothing. It is crucial to measure body fat for accurate progress assessment as body fat can tell us much much more…

How and where you store your body fat speaks volumes about your diet and lifestyle. Do you have stubborn fat that you just can’t lose or have one part of your body that all the fat seems to gravitate to? Body composition science has leaped forward in the past 10 years. Fat loss specialists can now measure and compare site data to gain a very good insight into why stubborn areas of fat develop and the best actions to combat these deposits effectively.

Where the Fat Lies…

It is important to understand that we cannot ‘spot reduce’ fat from one specific site. It is impossible to lose fat from just your belly or just your thighs. Body fat is lost proportionately all over the body

166 | Word October 2015 | wordvietnam.com

AND

TEMPLE

HOW BODY FAT TALKS

unless there is a hormonal imbalance that causes fat to remain in one area more than another. Lifestyle, hormonal and diet factors can cause fat to accumulate or stop fat loss dead in one area more than others.

By addressing these factors we can reverse this unbalanced build up of fat at particular sites on the body.

Here at Body Expert Systems we can measure our clients body fat sites and provide actions to target unbalanced fat deposits or stubborn areas. The recognition of an individual’s BioSignature (as Charles Poliquin termed it) then allows for the prescription of nutrition and exercise plans to help target the hormonal irregularities often associated with comparatively high skinfold reading between each individual site.

For example the triceps and pectoral sites can represent androgen imbalance. These are very important hormones for both men and women. They are the building hormones and regulate the function of many organs, including the reproductive tract, bone, kidneys, liver and muscles.

They play a role in sexual desire and satisfaction as well as, of course, effect body fat loss. If there is an imbalance present between these sites we recommend diet and exercise that boosts androgen levels and rebalances the body. As a result you lose fat from the affected area.

Imbalances Insulin resistance and poor carbohydrate tolerance are related to the ratio between anterior and posterior measurements of the body fat scan. They demonstrate that an

BY PHIL KELLY

individual does not manage blood sugar levels effectively. Poor thyroid function is also representative through body fat site ratios with estrogen dominance being apparent in the hips, quadriceps and hamstring.

The most prolific imbalance is the umbilical site… or belly fat ratio. It can be high despite low overall body fat. This site is closely linked to high cortisol and fructose consumption. Sites can also give an indication of the vitamin and mineral health of the person, enabling us to prescribe specific foods and supplements that will drastically enhance their capabilities of losing fat from stubborn areas of the body and enhance the person’s feeling of wellbeing.

The unfortunate thing is the understanding of these concepts; information and practices are widely unknown in both the general population and among fitness professionals. People and trainers simply think they have to work harder to get rid of the fat, when in actual fact they might instead need to rest and nourish their body, or eat certain foods that will aid in detoxification or change the intensity at which they perform different types of exercise.

Where you store body fat speaks of your lifestyle, nutrition and activity habits. To measure and monitor your site readings is the key to unlocking and losing fat from stubborn areas.

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 Essentials

tive 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.

EM EM SOUVENIRS

38 Mac Thi Buoi, Q1, Tel: (08) 3829 4408

M M M CYCLING FIRSTBIKE VIETNAM

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.

8am to 9.30pm

JETT CYCLES

FEELING TROPIC

384 Tran Phu, Q5; 168 Vo Thi Sau, Q3

FURNITURE & ACCESSORIES

51 Le Van Mien, Thao Dien, Q2, Tel: (08) 3744 2181 Specialising in interior designs and landscaping, this three-storey building is so packed full of items for sale that it doesn’t seem to have enough space for all of its products. The basement storey carries outdoor furniture such as bamboo-imitation and mosaic table sets, while the second level stocks all types of indoor furniture except beds. Accessories are found on the level above.

OWN-BRAND CYCLING SHOWROOM

jett-cycles.com

The showroom home of Jett Cycles, a homegrown cycling company with all products designed in Vietnam.

Sells up budget bicycles to high-end product, with the full range of accessories in between. Also stocks GT and Cannondale.

SAIGON CYCLES CYCLING & ACCESSORIES

44 Phan Van Nghi (S51-1 Sky Garden 2), Q7, Tel: (08) 5410 3114

xedapcaocap.com

mekong-creations.org

Specialising in Trek and Surly, Saigon Cycles is also famed for its Sunday morning rides.

Sells the full range of accessories and also does bicycle repairs.

NGUYEN FRERES

THE BIKE SHOP

MEKONG CREATIONS FAIR TRADE CRAFTS

35-37 Ngo Duc Ke, Q1, Tel: (08) 2210 3110

NIK-NAKS / CRAFTS

2 Dong Khoi, Q1, Tel: (08) 3823 9459

8am to 8pm

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

nhaxinh.com

CYCLING & ACCESSORIES

250 Nguyen Van Huong, Q2, Tel: (08) 3744 6405

thebikeshopvn.com

The go-to location for all your cycling needs in District 2.

Sells a range of brands including Cannondale, Jett, GT and Aluboo, as well as the full selection of accessories.

Organises regular cycle rides, does repairs and rentals.

Check facebook.com/thebikeshopvn for more details.

M M M DENTAL CLINICS

REMIX DECO INDOOR FURNITURE

222 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, Q3, Tel: (08) 3930 4190

remixdeco.com

THE FURNITURE HOUSE HOME FURNISHINGS

81 Xuan Thuy, Thao Dien, Q2, Tel: (08) 3519 4640/4643 THE FURNITURE WAREHOUSE EUROPEAN-STYLE FURNITURE

3B Ton Duc Thang, Q1, Tel: (08) 6657 0788

thefurniturewarehouse. com.vn

ACCADENT INTERNATIONAL DENTAL CLINIC

Kumho Asiana Plaza, 39 Le Duan, Q1, Tel: (08) 3822 8800

accadent.com

INTERNATIONAL SOS DENTAL CLINIC INTERNATIONAL DENTAL CLINIC

167A Nam Ky Khoi Nghia, Q3, 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.

wordvietnam.com | October 2015 Word | 167

THE EDUCATOR GETTING NOTICED FOR TOMORROW’S TOP JOBS

W

e all spend on average 12 years of our lives in formal schooling, educating ourselves about mathematical concepts, from algebraic equations to measuring the angles of a triangle. We learn about the history of our country and the difference between a verb and a noun; we are taught what happens when oxygen collides with hydrogen, and we are told what people in different parts of the world eat and wear.

But how does this knowledge benefit us when we leave the classroom and step into the real world? Can the things that we learn at school help us to become ‘wanted’ by the employers whom we long to work for? Can the learning that we have acquired help us to get noticed in a competitive job market, and can it help us make that instant positive impression on interviewers?

What do Employers Want?

HR Directors of multinational companies, like Microsoft Vietnam and HSBC Vietnam, were interviewed for this article, as well as Jonah Levey, the CEO and Founder of Navigos Group, the largest executive recruitment firm in Vietnam. All were unanimous in highlighting that critical thinking is one of the skills that are highly favoured and sought after in young graduates by multinational employers. The ability to problem solve and take initiative as

168 | Word October 2015 | wordvietnam.com

well as thinking ‘outside the box’ all constitutes ‘critical thinking’. Employers regard this highly in Vietnamese candidates. Interpersonal skills such as communication and collaboration are also important features that employers look for in new recruits. These are often cited as the skills that most of the young candidates lack.

When asked about the top three most important skills for the next five years, the employers agreed on the following three Cs: 1) Critical thinking and analytical skills 2) Creativity and innovation 3) Communication and influence According to these large employers, values such as integrity and accountability are also essential in the workplace. Employers also respect employees who show initiative and are proactive in approaching and resolving issues.

Critical Thinking and Communication Fortunately, in Vietnam, the international schools seem to be on the right track in preparing students to become workready, possessing the appropriate soft skills that multinational employers desire.

Creativity and innovation can be seen in courses such as Design and Technology, Art and I.T, and Robotics, where students embark on projects that

BY CLIVE KEEVIL

allow them to express their own ideas and are encouraged to develop a piece of art or an object that is innovative and purposeful.

In addition to the range and variety of courses on offer to students, it is also important to emphasise that the way in which students are taught can give them that edge. When the students are engaged in exploring different opinions and sources, testing and challenging the validity of information presented to them, they are developing the allimportant skills of critical and analytical thinking that employers wish to see.

The daily interactions that children are a part of in an international school setting, within a rich and diverse student and teaching body — be they verbal, written, through song, food, clothing or any of the myriad of other avenues for communication — allow them to develop balanced and meaningful ways to communicate effectively with one another. These experiences form the foundation of communication and influence, skills that are heavily sought after by multinational employers.

Employers drive the demand and schools should be commended for having the foresight to create the opportunities for such demands to be met.

Dr. Clive Keevil is the Executive Principal at the Australian International School. Clive is responsible for the strategic as well as dayto-day management of the school.

HCMC Essentials

MAPLE HEALTHCARE DENTAL & CHIROPRACTICS

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.

MINH KHAI DENTAL CLINIC INTERNATIONAL DENTAL CLINIC

199 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, Q1, Tel: (08) 3925 3399

STARLIGHT CLINIC

DENTAL

INTERNATIONAL DENTAL CLINIC 2 Bis Cong Truong Quoc Te, Q3, Tel: (08) 3822 6222 24, Thao Dien,Q2

starlightdental.net

Long–established, 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.

WESTCOAST INT’L DENTAL CLINIC INTERNATIONAL 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 patient’s experience anxiety and pain free.

M M M GALLERIES 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 founder has been promoting Vietnamese art for a decade.

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.

GALERIE QUYNH 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.

HO CHI MINH CITY FINE ARTS MUSEUM 97A Pho Duc Chinh, Q1, Tel: (08) 3829 4441

baotangmythuattphcm.vn

Set in one of the finest remaining buildings of colonial-era Vietnam, this multi-storey museum houses collections spanning centuries of Vietnamese art. Has regular exhibitions.

SAN ART 48/7 Me Linh, Binh Thanh, Tel: (08) 6294 7059

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.

M M M GROCERIES & LIQUOR ANNAM GOURMET MARKET GROCERY & DELI

16–18 Hai Ba Trung, Q1, Tel: (08) 3822 9332; 41A Thao Dien, Q2, Tel: (08) 3744 2630

Annam-gourmet.com

Attractive and spacious French–owned 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 Wi–Fi, and offers probably the best selection of cheese and cured meats in town.

CLASSIC FINE FOODS GROCERIES & IMPORTER

No. 17, Street 12 (perpendicular to Tran Nao street), Q2, Tel: (08) 3740 7105

classicfinefoods.com

wordvietnam.com | October 2015 Word | 169

HCMC Essentials

Supplier for the city’s 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.

massage and some excellent treatments.

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 steam-sauna, paraffin and waxing services.

CONCEPT COIFFURE 48 Tran Ngoc Dien, Q2, Tel: (08) 3519 4625

Conceptcoiffure.vn MEATWORKS BUTCHERY BUTCHERS 1 Street 2, Thao Dien, Q2, Tel: (08) 3744 2565

meatworksasia.com

Focusing on the retail trade, the meat at this Australianmanaged butcher comes pre-prepared and, if you so wish, pre-marinated. Sells up some of the best imported meats in town together with homemade sausages, free-range products and excellent Australian grassfed steak.

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.

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 PHUONG HA GROCERS

58 Ham Nghi, Q1, Tel: (08) 3914 1318 A small yet amazingly wellstocked store that puts many a supermarket in this country to shame. As well as a dizzying selection of imported foods, also sells frozen meat and fish, fruit, vegetables, herbs, spices and a wide selection of dairy products.

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.

VEGGY’S GROCERS & DELI

29A Le Thanh Ton, Q1, Tel: (08) 3823 8526 Courtesy of a farm in Dalat, Veggy’s retails some of the best quality fruit and veg available in the city. Also has a wide selection of imported food products including USDA beef, the same beef served up at El Gaucho.

M M M HAIRDRESSERS, SALONS & SPAS AVEDA HERBAL SPA Villa 35A, Street 41, Thao Dien, Q2, Tel:(08) 3519 4671

avedaherbal@gmail.com

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Modern and bright downtown spa, offers massages lasting from 30 minutes, to two-hour hot stone therapy, includes one suite with a Jacuzzi bath; offers hand and foot care and a hair styling area.

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 Bar’s specialities. Check the salon out on Facebook: facebook.com/ hairbarvn.

INDOCHINE SPA 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

Spa–related salon with a good reputation for quality and comfort offers washes and leisurely haircuts from VND330,000 plus a range of related services including

QUYNH BEAUTY SALON 104A Xuan Thuy, Thao Dien, Q2, Tel: (08) 3512 4321 A District 2 favourite, this is the salon to head to for anything from massage to haircuts, hairwashing to nails.

Cheap prices, too.

SPA TROPIC 79 Phan Ke Binh, Q1, Tel: (08) 3910 5575

SPORTS CRICKET

astere@hotmail.fr

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.

ECCS (THE ENGLISH CRICKET CLUB OF SAIGON) Richard Carrington, Tel: 0909 967 353

SAIGON RAIDERS

M M M

ICCS (INDIAN CRICKET CLUB OF SAIGON) Deeptesh Gill, Tel: 01228 770 038

spatropic.com

HOSPITALS & MEDICAL CLINICS AMERICAN CHIROPRACTIC CLINIC CHIROPRACTOR

161-161A Hai Ba Trung, Q3, Tel: (08) 3939 3930

www.acc.vn

ACC provides effective chiropractic, physiotherapy, acupuncture and foot care treatments through the use of cutting edge technology for back, neck and knee pain, sports injuries as well as all types of foot related problems without the need of drugs or surgery.

AMERICAN EYE CENTER 5th Floor, Crescent Plaza, 105 Ton Dat Tien, Q7 Tel: 5413 6758 / 5413 6759

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 Board-certified 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.

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.

richard.car rington@ market-edge.asia eccsaigon.com

Saigonraiders.com SAIGON RUGBY CLUB RMIT University, 702 Nguyen Van Linh, Tan Phong, Q7

saigonrugbyfootballclub@ yahoo.com SAIGON SAINTS

saigonsaints.com

deepteshgill@gmail.com

SPORTS — GENERAL

ISCS (INDIAN SPORTS CLUB IN SAIGON) Munish Gupta, Tel: 0986 973 244

HASH HOUSE HARRIERS

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 & RUGBY AUSTRALIAN RULES FOOTBALL Tel: 0937 683 230

vietnamswans.com

LES GAULOIS DE SAIGON

gauloisdesaigon.com

OLYMPIQUE SAIGON Contact Fred on 0919 709 024 or Viet Luu 0909 500 171.

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 28 Tran Nao, Q2, Tel: (08) 7303 1100

saigonsportsacademy.com

SQUASH The Landmark, 5B Ton Duc Thang, Q1, Tel: (08) 3822 2098 ext 176

thelandmarkvietnam.com 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

X–ROCK CLIMBING 7Nguyen Dinh Chieu, Q3, Tel: (08) 6278 5794

xrockclimbing.com

FAMILY MEDICAL PRACTICE HCMC INTERNATIONAL CLINIC

tic services and 24/7 emergency care. Specialist care is available in many fields.

Diamond Plaza, 34 Le Duan, Q1, Tel: (08) 3822 7848; 95 Thao Dien, Q2, Tel: (08) 3744 2000

vietnammedicalpractice.com

CINEMAS Showcasing the latest Hollywood blockbusters and 3D cinematic sensations, chains such as CGV, 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

Full–service 24–hour healthcare provider with highly– qualified doctors handling everything from emergencies to tests and X–rays, in– patient and out–patient care, check–ups, travel medicine and medical evacuations.

FV HOSPITAL INTERNATIONAL HOSPITAL

6 Nguyen Luong Bang, Saigon South Parkway, Q7, Tel: (08) 5411 3333 Emergency: (08) 5411 3500

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.

fvhospital.com

International hospital whose standard of health care matches that found anywhere, with 19 full–time French doctors and 58 Vietnamese doctors, providing expertise in 30 medical and surgical areas, especially maternity care.

FV SAIGON CLINIC INTERNATIONAL CLINIC

3rd Floor, Bitexco Financial Tower, 2 Hai Trieu, Q1, Tel: (08) 6290 6167

fvhospital.com

State–of–the–art 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.

STAMFORD SKIN CENTRE SKIN CARE / COSMETICS

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.

TRADITIONAL MEDICINE HOSPITAL EASTERN MEDICINE

187 Nam Ky Khoi Nghia, Q3, Tel: (08) 3932 6579 VICTORIA HEALTHCARE INTERNATIONAL CLINIC INTERNATIONAL CLINIC

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

HANH PHUC INTERNATIONAL HOSPITAL INTERNATIONAL HOSPITAL

Binh Duong Boulevard, Thuan An District, Binh Duong Tel: (0650) 363 6068

hanhphuchospital.com

Claiming to be the first Singapore-standard hospital in Ho Chi Minh City, this institution based on the outskirts of town is gaining a growing reputation for service and treatment. Specialises in providing healthcare to women and children. Has a clinic at 97 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, Q1

CGV CINEMAS

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 2, Thao Dien Mall, 12 Quoc Huong, Q2, Tel: (08) 3519 3000; Level 5, SC VivoCity, 1058 Nguyen Van Linh, Q7, Tel: (08) 3775 0555; Level 7, Hung Vuong Plaza, 126 Hung Vuong, Q5, Tel: (08) 2222 0388

cgv.vn

HAPPINESS (HANH PHUC) ORIENTAL MEDICINE CENTER EASTERN MEDICINE

432 Pham Thai Buong, Q7, Tel: 0906 684 969 INTERNATIONAL SOS HCMC MEDICAL CLINIC INTERNATIONAL CLINIC / MEDIVAC

167A Nam Ky Khoi Nghia, Q3, Tel: (08) 3829 8424

internationalsos.com

The world’s leading provider of medical assistance and international healthcare offers primary health care, diagnos-

79 Dien Bien Phu, Q1, Tel: (08) 3910 4545

victoriavn.com

Well-regarded clinic offering general examinations and specialising in pediatrics, digestive diseases, cardiology, women’s health and internal medicine. Offers a membership programme and cooperates with most insurance companies in Vietnam and abroad.

M M M INSURANCE 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 LIBERTY INSURANCE 15th Floor, Kumho Asiana Plaza, 39 Le Duan, Q1, Tel: 1800 599 998

libertyinsurance.com.vn

wordvietnam.com | October 2015 Word | 171

A WORLD

OF

ENGAGING ASSUMPTIONS

GOOD

BY DANA MCNAIRN

Despite promoting food security, projects like the World Food Program may not necessarily be sustainable

O

ver a coffee the other day I had a delightful conversation with a woman who, a few years ago, had been stationed in Guinea with a nonprofit working in microcredit and poverty alleviation. She was circumspect regarding the effect her international organisation may or may not have had, but she was grateful for her time overseas for what it had ended up teaching her.

This conversation reminded me of a quote I once came across via Village Earth, a grassroots advocacy consortium. “A lot of people arrive in Africa to assume that it’s a blank empty space and their goodwill and desire and guilt will fix it. And that to me is not any different from the first people who arrived and colonised us. This power, this power to help, is just about as dangerous as hard power, because very often it arrives with a kind of zeal that is assuming ‘I will do it. I will solve it for you. I will fix it for you,’ and it rides roughshod over your own best efforts.”

Kenyan writer Binyavanga Wainaina said this and he’s referring to the anger and incredulity of people in developing countries when faced with donor-driven

172 | Word October 2015 | wordvietnam.com

agendas. Grassroots community-based organisations are too often ignored in favour of the seemingly more sophisticated foreign-aid (and foreign-based) organisations. This destabilises local voices and local initiatives.

Community Participation International development agencies’ project cycles typically last three to five years and virtually guarantees that the systemic and institutionalised barriers to social justice will not be addressed. The complexities behind ending poverty require a deep understanding of local norms, culture, politics and the socioeconomic environment. Instead the INGOs, because of these tight time constraints, over-emphasise the quantifiable outcomes and ‘impact’ of their projects. “This many dollars spent equals this many lives saved/improved/ rescued/helped,” goes the thinking and all in time for the glossy annual reports.

But what this abbreviated time period really means is that the elusive Holy Grail of development — community participation — is not captured.

The grassroots groups on the other hand have a vested interest in the community

because they’re from the community.

Time is on their side, so to speak, because they’re not as risk-adverse as the foreign nonprofits are, and therefore bring with them the patience for long-term mobilisation and understanding. This isn’t romanticising the ‘natives’, either. The problem comes down to funding. The local groups know the issues, the people and the territory, but because they’re perceived to be “small”, they lack credibility to absorb the foreign-funded cash and deliver the western-mandated projects. The approach needs to be achieving real sustainability in any project or community through empowerment and asking better questions.

My coffee companion’s story is commonplace (and echoes Wainaina): educated, background in finance and convinced she was there to ‘help’ for a year.

It didn’t turn out that way because her expectations got in the way.

“My assumptions about the project, the women we were targeting, even the food, everything was like a dirty window,” she said. “I had to keep wiping it to see better.”

Dana McNairn is the CEO of KOTO, a nonprofit social enterprise and vocational training programme for at-risk youth

HCMC

International insurance firm providing the full range of services to the individual — car insurance, travel insurance, health insurance, home insurance and much more.

Essentials

BLUE CROSS VIETNAM 4th Floor, Continental Tower, 8185 Ham Nghi, Q1, Tel: (08) 3821 9908

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.

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.

M M M 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

puses 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).

BRITISH INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL (BIS) 246 Nguyen Van Huong, Q2, 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.

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: (08) 3742 4040

aisvietnam.com

The Australian International School is an IB World School with three world-class cam-

MONTESSORI INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL 42/1 Ngo Quang Huy, Q2, Tel: (08) 3744 2639

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. Has a newly built campus.

Aiming to encourage children’s engagement with their surroundings, MIS offers children from age three to 12 a classic Montessori education as well as a variety of extra–curricular activities.

cis.edu.vn

Energized Engaged Empowered

INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL HO CHI MINH CITY (ISHCMC)

ishcmc.com ETONHOUSE INTERNATIONAL PRE-SCHOOL @ AN PHU 1st and 2nd floor, Somerset Vista, 628C Hanoi Highway, An Phu, Q2, Tel: (08) 6287 0804

etonhouse.vn/schools/hcmc

Following an international curriculum for children aged 18 months to six years, in the early years, an InquireThink-Learn approach is followed, inspired by the Reggio Emilia Project of Northern Italy. It is a play-based, inquiry model in which children coconstruct 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.

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.

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.

EUROPEAN INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL HO CHI MINH CITY (EIS)

INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL SAIGON PEARL (ISSP)

730 F-G-K Le Van Mien, Q2, Vietnam, Tel: (08) 7300 7257

92 Nguyen Huu Canh, Binh Thanh Tel: (08) 2222 7788

eishcmc.com

The European International School 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.

montessori.edu.vn

RENAISSANCE INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL SAIGON 74 Nguyen Thi Thap, Q7, Tel: (08)3773 33171 ext 120/121/122

renaissance.edu.vn

28 Vo Truong Toan, Q2, Tel: (08) 3898 9100

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.

CANADIAN INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL 7 Road 23, Phu My Hung, Q7, Tel: (08) 5412 3456

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 master’s degrees, they are able to promise a vigorous American curriculum while including specialist subjects such as music, art, sport and languages.

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 350-seat 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, 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 multi–cultural student environment and a commitment to well–rounded 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

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.

EXILE INK 608

57 Xuan Thuy, Q2, Tel: (08) 6675 6956

exileinkvietnam.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 TATTOO SAIGON

128 Nguyen Cu Trinh, Q1 Tel: 0938 303838

tattoosaigon.com

TATTOO TAM BI 209 Bui Vien, Q1 Tel: 0919 034383

xamphunnghethuat. com

HCMC Essentials

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.

THE AMERICAN SCHOOL 172-180 Nguyen Van Huong, Q2, Tel: 0903 952223

tas.edu.vn

Accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC), TAS represents 20 nationalities and provides an American-based curriculum with rigorous performance standards and a variety of academic offerings. Runs advanced placement courses and university credit courses through their partnership with Missouri State University, as well as an Intensive ESL Program for English Language Learners.

M M M PROPERTY RENTALS CHUM’S HOUSE 121/21 Bui Vien, Q1, Tel: (08) 3920 7237 EASY SAIGON Tel: 0932 112694

THE NEST 369/6 Do Xuan Hop, Phuoc Long B, Q9, Tel: 0903 198901

thenest-vietnam.com

Well–known 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.

M M M MOTORBIKES CHI’S CAFÉ RENTALS

185/30 Pham Ngu Lao, Q1, Tel: 0903 643446

chiscafe.com

HAPPY HOUSE 32-34 Ngo Duc Ke, Suite 701, Q1, Tel: 01659 419916 NAM HOUSE 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.

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

residentvietnam.com

SNAP 32 Tran Ngoc Dien, Thao Dien, Q2, Tel: (08) 3519 4282

snap.com.vn

Owners of Snap Café 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.

vieclambank.com

VIETNAMWORKS.COM 130 Suong Nguyet Anh, Q1, Tel: (08) 5404 1373

vietnamworks.com

The best-known recruitment website in Vietnam. Post you’re the position you’re looking for and wait for the responses. You’ll get many.

Also a good site for expat jobseekers.

M M M RELOCATION AGENTS

AGS FOUR WINDS (VIETNAM)

SAIGON BIKE RENTALS Tel: 0972 451273

agsfourwinds.com

nga.natalie@gmail.com saigonbikerentals.com

Rents out a range of models including Honda Waves, Yamaha Nouvos, Classicos, Luvias, SYM Attilas and Excels. Call for details and prices.

SAIGON SCOOTER CENTRE RENTALS / CLASSIC SCOOTERS

77a Hanoi Highway, Thao Dien, Q2, Tel: 0903 013690

saigonscootercentre.com

Just relocated to its new home in District 2, Saigon Scooter Centre is more than just the place to go for all your classic scooter needs.

Also does accessories, quality imported helmets and bike rentals.

M M M 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, marketing & events, IT, engineering & technical, and office.

HR2B/TALENT RECRUITMENT JSC 1st Floor, Thien Son Building, 5 Nguyen Gia Thieu, Q3, Tel: (08) 6288 3888

hr2b.com

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

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.

DANCENTER 53 Nguyen Dang Giai, Q2, Tel: (08) 3519 4490

dancentervn.com

HELENE KLING OIL PAINTING 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

ASIAN TIGERS MOBILITY Unit 9.3, Floor 9, Ree Tower, 9 Doan Van Bo, Ward 12, District 4, HCMC, Tel: (08) 3 826 7799

SAIGON MOVEMENT Tel: 0987 027 722

Asian Tigers is one of the largest regional move management specialists, with services including door-to-door moving, housing and school searches, local and office moves and pet relocations.

SAIGON SEAL TEAM 55 Nguyen Dang Giai, An Phu, Q2, Tel: 0905 098 279

JVK INTERNATIONAL MOVERS 1st Floor, Saigon Port Building, 3 Nguyen Tat Thanh, Q4, Tel: (08) 3826 7655

SAIGON SPORTS ACADEMY 28 Tran Nao, Q2, Tel: (08) 7303 1100

asiantigers-mobility.com

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,

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KIDS CLASSES & SPORTS Children and teenagers can enjoy jazz, ballet, hip-hop, funk, belly dancing, salsa and in multi-level classes at this modern dance studio.

Probably the best-known motorbike rental joint in town with over 200 bikes and a range of models and makes. Rents by the day or by the month. Call or check the website for details. Also does visa extensions.

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.

G.A. CONSULTANTS VIETNAM CO., LTD. Ho Chi Minh Office: Room 2B-2C, 2nd Floor, 180 Pasteur, District 1, HCMC.

saigonmovement@gmail.com

SAIGON PONY CLUB 38, Lane 42, Le Van Thinh, Q2, Tel: 0913 733360

Saigonponyclub.com

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 VINSPACE 6 Le Van Mien, Q2, Tel: 0907 729 846

vin-space.com

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.

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.

M M M SERVICED APARTMENTS

(08) 3744 4111

Riverside-apartments.com

Over four Saigon Riverbank hectares, Riverside Apartments combines a resort lifestyle with the amenities of a fully serviced-apartment.

Located minutes from downtown by high-speed boat shuttle.

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 five–star facilities and service.

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

DIAMOND ISLAND LUXURY RESIDENCES No 01 – Street No.104-BTT, Quarter 3, Binh Trung Tay, Q2, Tel: (08) 3742 5678

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.

INTERCONTINENTAL ASIANA SAIGON RESIDENCES Crn. of Nguyen Du & Le Van Huu, Q1, Tel: (08) 3520 8888

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 fully equipped kitchen where guests can prepare a meal for themselves, their family and friends.

NUTRIFORT (NTFQ2) GENERAL FITNESS

34 Nguyen Dang Giai, Q2, Tel: (08) 3744 6672

nutrifort.com

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 calorie– calibrated meals.

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

classes, a steam room and sauna. Has a small but consistent membership.

STAR FITNESS GYM 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 Vietnam’s largest and bestequipped gyms.

M M M

GYM, POOL, SQUASH

The Landmark, 5B Ton Duc Thang, Q1, Tel: (08) 3822 2098 ext. 176

thelandmarkvietnam.com

In addition to the squash court, facilities include a fully–equipped gym room, a rooftop swimming pool and separate male and female saunas.

M M M VIETNAMESE CLASSES

SOFITEL PLAZA FITNESS CENTRE

VIETNAMESE LANGUAGE GARDEN 135/10 Nguyen Cuu Van, Binh Thanh, Tel: 0916 670 771

17 Le Duan, Q1, Tel: (08) 3824 1555 A small but well-appointed gym with regular fitness

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.

SPORTS GARMENTS

sheratonsaigon.com

HEALTH CLUB & GYM

vlstudies.com

THE LANDMARK CLUB

HEALTH CLUB & GYM

Level 5, Sheraton Saigon Hotel and Towers, 88 Dong Khoi, Q1, Tel: (08) 3827 2828

VLS SAIGON 45 Dinh Tien Hoang, Q1, Tel: (08) 3910 0168

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.

vietnameselanguagegarden. com

M M M SPORTS & FITNESS 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.

intercontinental.com/saigonres

Adjacent to the InterContinental Asiana Saigon you’ll find 260 luxurious and spacious residential suites. The residences offer panoramic views of the downtown area.

NORFOLK MANSION 17–19-21 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 53 Vo Truong Toan, Q2, Tel:

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.

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HCMC On The Town

BARS & CLUBS

BROMA, NOT A BAR COCKTAILS / ROOFTOP

2 LAM SON (MARTINI BAR) TOP-END INTERNATIONAL

Park Hyatt, 2 Lam Son, Q1, Tel: (08) 3824 1234

saigon.park.hyatt.com

International décor 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.

41 Nguyen Hue, Q1, Tel: (08) 3823 6838 Broma’s medieval rooftopcocktail lounge conglomeration is a magnet for the city’s weirdest and coolest events/ random moments. A sophisticated cocktail menu and quite possibly the best lamb burger in town. Check out their bun bo Hue-inspired cocktail.

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.

BUDDHA BAR 7 Thao Dien, Q2, Tel: (08) 3345 6345

DANCE / NIGHTCLUB

2B-C-D Thi Sach, Q1, Tel: (08) 3825 6124

apocalypsesaigon.com

An institution and the kind of place you end up drunk after midnight. Famed for its notso-salubrious clientele, this two-floor establishment with DJs and occasional live music is also famed for its hotdogs, which are served up in the garden terrace out back.

BLANCHY’S TASH RESTOBAR / NIGHTCLUB

95 Hai Ba Trung, Q1, Tel: 0909 028293 blanchystash.com A multi-storey bar with décor and atmosphere more akin to such an establishment in New York or London. Has a reputation for bringing in big-name DJs. And when we say big, we mean big. Check their website for details.

BOOTLEG DJ CAFÉ MINIMALIST CAFÉ 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.

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).

24 Hai Ba Trung, Q1 One of this city’s longest running watering holes — and the original home of the darts league — has recently reopened in its new premises. Naturally, darts are still key here, with each of the bottom three floors having elements devoted to this most pub-friendly of sports.

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.

CHILL SKYBAR

LA FENETRE SOLEIL

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.

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 fusion cuisine, imported beer, classic cocktails, and entertaining music events / DJ sets.

LAST CALL

EON HELI BAR LOUNGE BAR

Level 52, Bitexco Tower, 2 Hai Trieu, Q1, Tel: (08) 6291 8750

eon51.com

Breathtaking views require a vantage point and EON Heli Bar is by far the highest spot in Saigon for a spectacular cityscape, appealing drinks and a vibrant ambience.

Night live music and DJs. 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.

HOA VIEN CZECH BREWHOUSE

28 Mac Dinh Chi, Q1, Tel: (08) 3825 8605

hoavien.vn

The original microbrewery, this large, wooden-panelled, brass-kegged Czech Brewhouse is as popular as it was 15 years ago when it was first opened. Does a great food menu to accompany the home-brewed beer.

AFTERHOURS LOUNGE

59 Dong Du, Q1, Tel: (08) 3823 3122

lastcallsaigon.com

If you’re 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.

LE PUB INTERNATIONAL / RESTOBAR

175/22 Pham Ngu Lao, Q1, Tel: (08) 3837 7679 Warm colors, artsy décor and a friendly ambiance combine to create a perfect setting for enjoying tasty international and Vietnamese cuisine.

Gets busy at weekends with a clientele made up of hip, young Vietnamese and the occasional foreigner.

LONG PHI

mayrestaurant.com.vn

An international comfortfood menu mixes with excellent cocktails and an extensive winelist at this attractive, international bar and restaurant. Dine at the bar or upstairs in the restaurant space.

207 Bui Vien, Q1, Tel: (08) 3837 2704 French-run but universally appealing, Long Phi has been serving the backpacker area with excellent cuisine and occasional live music since 1990. Excellent late-night bistro cuisine.

MAY RESTAURANT & BAR

DELIVERY

NUMBER FIVE 44 Pasteur, Q1 The original expat bar, this institution of a place gets packed every night thanks to its drinking hall atmosphere, attractive bar staff and German food menu. Has regular live music.

BEN STYLE

Tel: 0906 912730

www. vietnammm.com/ restaurants-ben-style CHEZ GUIDO

Tel: (08) 3898 3747

OMG!

www.chezguido.com

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.

O’BRIEN’S IRISH BAR / INTERNATIONAL

74/A3 Hai Ba Trung, Q1, Tel: (08) 3829 3198

irish-barsaigon.com

This Irish-themed sports bar with classic pub décor 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.

DOMINO’S PIZZA Tel: (08) 3939 3030

www.dominos.vn EAT.VN www.eat.vn

HUNGRYPANDA. VN

www.hungrypanda.vn KFC

Tel: (08) 3848 9999

www.kfcvietnam. com.vn

LOTTERIA

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.

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.

FRENCH / RESTOBAR

LOUNGE BAR & RESTOBAR

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19-21 Dong Khoi, Q1, Tel: (08) 6291 3686

EXPAT BAR CUBAN / MUSIC BAR

Just across the lane from Mc’Sorley’s, this pub with an eccentric European tilt and some nice, authentic cuisine draws an older crowd with darts, pool and weekly poker tourneys.

Buddhabarsaigon.com

TOP-END BAR & TERRACE

APOCALYPSE NOW

EXPAT BAR

LA HABANA RESTOBAR

ACOUSTIC BAR

ICE BLUE

PHATTY’S AUSTRALIAN / SPORTS

46-48 Ton That Thiep, Q1, Tel: (08) 3821 0796

phattysbar.com

From its roots as the famed Café Latin, Phatty’s has become the go-to, Aussie beerguzzling / sports viewing emporium, showing everything from international cricket to Aussie rules and serving an array of pub grub favourites.

Tel: (08) 3910 0000 www.lotteria.vn

PIZZA HUT (PHD) Tel: (08) 3838 8388

www.pizzahut.vn SCOOZI

Tel: (08) 3823 5795 www.scoozipizza.com

TACO BICH www.tacobich.com VIETNAMMM www.vietnammm.com

RUBY SOHO CARTOON BAR

S52-1 Sky Garden 2, Q7, Tel: (08) 5410 3900 A Phu My Hung mainstay thanks to its cartoon décor and light but fun ambience. Has a reasonable food menu to complement the drinks.

SAIGON OUTCAST EVENTS / MAKESHIFT CAFÉ 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 and graffiti space. Come for barbeque and reasonably priced drinks, stick around for entertaining events and markets.

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, 1923 Lam Son Square, Q1, 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, Q’vans, from 9pm Wednesday to Monday.

SHRINE BAR LOUNGE BAR

61 Ton Thap Thiep, 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 it’s all about good cocktails and an even better atmosphere.

SEVENTEEN SALOON 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.

SPOTTED COW

the drinks.

INTERNATIONAL / SPORT

111 Bui Vien, Q1, Tel: (08) 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.

STORM P DANISH / INTERNATIONAL

5B Nguyen Sieu, Q1, Tel: (08) 3827 4738

Stormp.vn

Named after the Danish artist Storm P, this long-running bar is the home of Saigon’s Scandinavian community thanks to its laid-back atmosphere and excellent food menu. A good place to watch the live sports.

THE CUBE BAR HIP RESTOBAR

31B Ly Tu Trong, Q1 Tel: 0903 369798

facebook.com/thecubesaigon

A sleek, industrial looking restobar with edgy décor and just a hint of Spanish style. Tapas, sangria, Iberian-influenced cocktails and an emphasis on all things Latin.

THE OBSERVATORY

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.

WINE BAR 38 CONTEMPORARY WINE BAR

38 Dong Khoi, Q1, Tel: (08) 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 CONTEMPORARY WINE BAR

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.

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.

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.

VESPER GOURMET LOUNGE INTERNATIONAL

Landmark Building, 5B Ton Duc Thang, Q1, Tel: (08) 3822 9698

facebook.com/vespersaigon

A sophisticated yet down-to-earth cocktail bar and restaurant with subtle lighting and one of the best spirit selections in town. Serves creative, Japanese and Germaninfluenced cuisine to supplement

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, it’s a great place to unwind from all that buzz.

CHICCO DICAFF CAFÉ 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.

COFFEE BEAN & TEA LEAF INTERNATIONAL

157-159 Nguyen Thai Hoc, Q1; Metropolitan Building, 235 Dong Khoi, Q1

coffeebean.com.vn

Large portioned coffee lures customers into the flagship store of this international café chain. The contemporary, yet generic atmosphere is bolstered by comfortable seating and a menu to satisfy any sweet tooth.

DECIBEL INTERNATIONAL

BAR, ART & DJ SPACE

5 Nguyen Tat Thanh, Q4, (Opposite Elisa Boat) 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.

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.

79/2/5 Phan Ke Binh, Q1, Tel: (08) 6271 0115

XU CAFÉ / LOUNGE BAR

71-75 Hai Ba Trung, Q1, Tel: (08) 3824 8468

Decibel.vn

Trendy without pretense, this two-floor, re-

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.

M M M CAFES & ICE-CREAM (A) CAFE 15 Huynh Khuong Ninh, Da Kao, Q1, Tel: 0903 199701 Settle into the Javanese-style 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.

AGNES CAFE DALAT COFFEE 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, homemade desserts. Offers up tasty breakfasts, lunch and dinner all the way through until 9pm.

BANKSY CAFE 1st Floor, 14 Ton That Dam, Q1, Tel: 01699 990003

sam.nguyen197@gmail.com

A small but swanky cafe, Banksy

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BAR STOOL TAPS

W

alking into TAPS is impressive.

The place is huge, like, airporthanger huge. Open for around six weeks on Truong Dinh by the time you read this, TAPS is about carving out a middle ground between the beer clubs and the high street.

“It’s about delivering a better experience for the new Vietnamese middle class,” says Rafik Mankarious, the club’s Australian owner. He makes no bones about it — this isn’t aimed at the expat market, even though several expats have been making it a regular haunt — after all, TAPS is a veritable playground for adults. On entering its District 3 location, it’s a visual assault — there’s a lot to take in. To the right is what you might call the VIP lounge area that’s regularly hired out for private parties. All around us are banks of TV screens playing a mix of music videos, sports highlights and fashion TV, and at its core are the variety of high tables, some with their own beer tap — a first in Vietnam, I’m told — and hence the name.

No Obstacle Front and centre is the TAPS stage, where live acts perform and DJs keep the progressive house and trance pumping, but

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PHOTOS BY CHARLES VON PRESLEY

not overwhelming.

“We build the music up gradually until about eight o’clock,” Rafik says.

Sure enough, when eight o’clock comes, the lights dim, and while we’re not quite ‘reaching for the lasers’, there is a change in mood. Continuing our tour, to the front left there is an impressive open-plan kitchen, where everything from tasty bar snacks to accomplished mains catering for both Vietnamese and Western tastes are on the menu. We had the grilled chicken salad (VND65,000) and onion rings (VND50,000) to complement our beers. Worth noting is that everything is at a price people can afford. A tower of Tiger will set you back (VND260,000) while a 30-litre keg of locally brewed Red Rock for larger groups is a reasonable (VND2,550,000).

“We’re not about pricing people out of this market,” says Rafik. “Everything is reasonably priced, so we’ve taken out that obstacle to entry.”

The audience isn’t limited to men, Rafik explains — he’s keen to differentiate TAPS from your regular beer club — even though it’s still beer squarely at the middle of its product offering.

“I’ve seen large groups of Vietnamese women come in here and enjoy the dark

lager we tap here, Gau Den, and they’ve loved it.”

Made locally by another Australian expat — and Rafik’s business partner in this venture — Gary Bett, Gau Den is what you might call a gateway into something new for the Vietnamese beer market, which is slowly but surely opening up its palette.

Although dark beer was around in Vietnam 10 years ago, it was a hard sell.

That’s Cold While on the beer, TAPS claims it serves the coldest in Vietnam, and who I am to argue?

I’m shown backstage where the pipes are kept at -2°C, then pumped out using the latest food safety technology, all fully monitored and controlled — there’s not a second to waste when you’re catering for a thirsty Vietnamese business lunch. The other innovation? Beer by the hour! Take your choice and let the good times flow.

And that fairly sums up TAPS, a good time with friendly staff waiting to accommodate your heart’s desire. A definite step up in class from your average beer swill, I could see myself sailing this fair ship again. TAPS ahoy people! — Jon Aspin TAPS is at 147 Truong Dinh, Q3, HCMC

HCMC On The Town

laxed café offers beautiful decor and unique original events like live music, film screenings, and art exhibits.

Great prices and food with daily specials.

GUANABANA SMOOTHIES CONTEMPORARY JUICE BAR

23 Ly Tu Trong, Q1 Tel: 0909 824830

guanabanasmoothies.com

An American-style juice bar and café dedicated to healthy, nutricious smoothies that avoid the local obsession with sugar and condensed milk. A pleasant, contemporary environment adds to the theme.

ingbird is just the place for a romantic time over mojitos, or good ol’ caffeine-infused relaxation.

PLANTRIP CHA TEA ROOM

8A/10B1 Thai Van Lung, 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 LOOP HEALTHY CAFÉ FARE / BAGELS

HIDEAWAY INTERNATIONAL

41/1 Pham Ngoc Thach, Q3, Tel: (08) 3822 4222

Hideawaycafe-saigon.com

Hidden in a colonial building with an outdoor courtyard, the ample soft, sofa seating renders a great spot to relax.

The mouth-watering western menu is well-priced and maintains a creative flair.

I.D. CAFÉ CONTEMPORARY CAFE

34D Thu Khoa Huan, Q1, Tel: (08) 3822 2910

Idcafe.net

Centrally located near Ben Thanh Market, i.d offers casual café dining with a wide variety of food and beverages. Where modern design and a warm ambience meet for coffee.

L’USINE 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 L’Usine. A simple, creative menu combines with reasonably priced coffee, and a fashion store and art gallery out back. Second location on Le Loi. 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.

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, Mock-

49 Thao Dien, Q2 Tel. (08) 3602 6385 Low-key yet nice-on-the-eye décor helps create the caféstyle atmosphere at this European-influenced café and restaurant. Sells excellent coffee and if you like bagels, here you’ll be in heaven.

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 OTHER PERSON CAFE 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.

THE PRINT ROOM CONTEMPORARY CAFE

158 Pasteur, Q1, Tel: (08) 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.

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.

wordvietnam.com | October 2015 Word | 179

AMAZING GRAPES IS BOUTIQUE BEST?

C

onsumer perception is everything when choosing a product. If we are buying a television or a new computer we want to buy the best, and usually we associate this with the biggest or most popular brand. This used to be the way we chose our food and beverages, the bigger the company or brand, the better.

Over the last 20 years, however,there has been a gradual consumer move towards smaller, boutique products; small artisanal cheese makers, craft beers and of course, boutique wineries.

Most interesting about this change in consumerism is that we, the public, have been willing to believe that smaller producers equal higher quality products.

While I am all for small business and agree the thousands of small wineries have created an extremely dynamic level of variety, competition and innovation in an industry that is dominated by large multinational companies, unfortunately just being small is no guarantee of quality.

Detail, Quality and Terroir The primary idea behind boutique wineries is that because they produce small amounts of wine, their attention

BY JIM CAWOOD

Now I am not championing big business here, but I have to say that I was really surprised when I tasted the cava (Spanish sparkling wine) of Freixenet last month. I had not tried this wine for about 10 years, and while I knew it was great value fizz, I was really amazed at how tasty it was.

Freixenet is the largest producer of bubbles in the world with 200 million bottles produced annually. What is even more remarkable is that all their cavas are produced in the traditional method, like champagne, with the second fermentation taking place in the bottle. The primary grapes used are the traditional native Spanish varieties, macabeo, parellada and xarel-lo, but the truly amazing thing is that quality andconsistency are maintained with such a huge production. Freixenet has kept its family-owned character while remaining faithful to its roots and tzraditions.

It obsessively focuses on innovation, improving quality and progress.

Small producers are the lifeblood, heart and soul of the wine industry, and while they are not always the best, neither are the big multinationals. Be open-minded, taste without prejudice, and you will find that both small and large-scale producers are capable of wines of real quality and finesse.

“The primary idea behind boutique wineries is that because they produce small amounts of wine, their attention to detail and quality will be greater… For many dedicated small wine companies this is true, but there are also just as many small wineries producing sub-standard wines”

Made in Spain. Alcoholic volume: 11.5%

180 | Word October 2015 | wordvietnam.com

to detail and quality will be greater. In addition because they are handling smaller parcels of grapes from specific sites, the wines will have unique terroir. The wines will be made with love, and although not always, will be better.

For many dedicated small wine companies this is true, but there are also, I would say, just as many small wineries producing sub-standard or even faulty wines. As the saying goes, “The best way to make a small fortune in the wine business is to start with a large one”. All too often a lack of resources are to blame for the woes of small producers.

Freixenet ‘Cordon Negro’ Brut N.V. Made from the traditional cava varieties parellada (40%), macabeo (35%) and xarello (25%), all of which are hand picked.

This is a very modern style of cava; clean, fruity and fresh with a very fine bead and a long dry finish. Fresh green apple and pear fruit dominates with a hint of citrus.

It’s hard to believe that Freixenet produce 60 million bottles of this particular wine every year.

Jim Cawood has been working in the wine industry for over two decades. He is presently man-at-the-helm at his District 2 restaurant, Lubu

HCMC On The Town

masala, kormas, kebabs and fiery vindaloos. Has a delivery outlet in District 2.

M M M EAT AU LAC DO BRAZIL 3T QUAN NUONG VIETNAMESE BBQ

Top Floor, 29 Ton That Thiep, Q1, Tel: (08) 3821 1631 The original, on-the-table barbecue restaurant still goes strong thanks to its rooftop atmosphere, excellent service and even better fish, seafood and meats. An institution.

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 grillstyle fare in a refined yet contemporary atmosphere.

Subtle lighting and an extensive wine list make up the mix.

AL FRESCO’S INTERNATIONAL

27 Dong Du, Q1, Tel: (08) 38238424

alfrescosgroup.com

The downtown outlet of one of Vietnam’s most successful restaurant chains, Al Fresco’s offers international, Australian-influenced comfort fare in a pleasant environment with efficient, friendly service to match.

Also has an excellent garden-style branch at 89 Xuan Thuy, Q2.

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, award-winning Indian restaurant famed for its excellent kebabs, creamy curries and Chinese-Indian fare.

BRAZILIAN CHURRASCO 238 Pasteur, Q3, Tel: (08) 3820 7157

aulacdobrazil.com

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 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.

AU PARC EUROPEAN / CAFÉ

23 Han Thuyen, Q1, Tel: (08) 3829 2772

auparcsaigon.com

Consistently tasty European café 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 décor.

BAAN THAI PAN-THAI

55 Thao Dien, Q2, Tel: (08) 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.

BABA’S KITCHEN NORTH / SOUTH INDIAN

164 Bui Vien, Q1, Tel: (08) 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

BAHDJA 2nd Floor, 27 Le Quy Don, Q3 Tel: 0122 763 1261

bahdjarestaurant@gmail. com Located just above the Thai restaurant Spice, Bahdja is Saigon’s 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 restaurant’s 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.

BIBI@ALIBI 5A Nguyen Sieu, Q1, Tel: (08) 3825 6257 The home of legendary French chef Bibi, this convivial restaurant serving Mediterranean cuisine uses fresh products bought early morning at the market by Bibi himself. Delicious meats and fish dishes together with the famous tarte tatin. Has a daily specials board.

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.

BOAT HOUSE AUSTRALIAN / INTERNATIONAL

40 Lily Road, An Phu Superior Compound, Thao Dien, Q2, Tel: (08) 3744 6790 A revamp has seen this riverside restaurant get a new management and a new menu — think American-style burgers, sliders and Tex-Mex together with soup and salad and you’ll get the idea. Excellent nachos and frozen margaritas.

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.

CAFÉ IF

potatoes, toasties, Vietnamese fare and more. Has a popular motorbike rental service.

CIAO BELLA NEW YORK-ITALIAN

11 Dong Du, Q1, Tel: (08) 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.

CORIANDER THAI / VIETNAMESE

16 Bui Vien, Q1, Tel: (08) 3837 1311 A small, homely Vietnameseowned Thai restaurant that over the past decade has quite rightly gained a strong local and expat following. Try their pad thai — to die for.

CORSO STEAKHOUSE / INTERNATIONAL

117 Le Thanh Ton, Q1, Tel: (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.

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.

CHI’S CAFÉ INTERNATIONAL / VIETNAMESE

40/31 Bui Vien, Q1, Tel: (08) 3837 2502

Chiscafe.com

This affable café is a rarity in the backpacker area for its genuinely good musical playlist. Excellent, buildyour-own breakfasts, baked

ELBOW ROOM AMERICAN

52 Pasteur, Q1, Tel: (08) 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 ARGENTINIAN STEAKHOUSE

74 Hai Ba Trung, Q1, Tel: (08) 3827 2090; 5D Nguyen Sieu, Q1, Tel: (08) 3825 1879; Unit

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TOP EATS LE PADAM CHEESE BAR

A

s a cheese lover — nay, a cheese addict — I felt it was my duty to visit Le Padam, a cheese bar in District 2, which offers some of the best cheese you can find in Saigon.

Owned by a French-Vietnamese couple, Cyrille and Ann, this new and unique French bistro emerged in the Saigon food scene a few months ago with the aim to offer some quality cheese — up to 14 different kinds — in a refined yet simple atmosphere.

For cheese fanatics who find it difficult to enjoy this treat, now there is a new and more-than-appealing option to try.

A stylish atmosphere for a stylish treat Looking to resemble a rustic French retreat, Le Padam follows a simple style with large wooden tables combined with paintings of French comedy films decorating the walls. However this place welcomes all nationalities: “We don’t want this to be a place exclusively for French people so we try to make everybody feel comfortable here,” the couple said.

There is also a chance to play some board games while enjoying your appetizer.

Moreover they organise different events which add a fun plus to the bistro. French films are shown every Wednesday — don’t miss this one.

PHOTOS BY FRANCIS XAVIER

“We display English subtitles so everybody can come over and spend a good relaxing couple of hours,” says Cyrille.

Let the Feast Begin The couple rewarded us with a tasting which consisted of a platter of five different cheeses (VND390,000) all from France except a Swiss one — the Gruyere. All cheeses — most of them made from raw milk — are imported from France. “Our supplier gets them directly from the farmers who do an excellent job with the cheese ageing and control,” says Cyrille.

“Nobody imports this quality; some customers come with their Vietnamese wives and say: ‘Taste this, taste this! You can’t find this anywhere else!’” he boasts.

The platter came along with some superior homemade bread (with or without black sesame seeds) for VND40,000, which emulates the French traditional baguette and which has been a success among District 2 neighbours. Harmonising with these two items, we also got some organic strawberry jam from Da Lat. Since it always takes me a long time to decide what cheese to buy, I was curious to know what led them to pick the winners.

“We can’t choose different types of cheese each time we import them as we have to stick to the license, and the paperwork is so difficult to go through. But little by little

we’ll try to introduce some other options,” explains the owner.

Moving from soft to strong intensity we started to gobble up the five cheeses displayed clockwise. The first on the list was Tomme de Brebis — an uncooked pressed sheep cheese from the French Basque region with a bit of a dry but buttery feel in the mouth and a gentle, sweet taste.

Then there was Gruyere Suisse, St. Nectaire.

This semi-soft cheese dates from the 17th century and is made of cow's milk. It has an aromatic nutty taste with some grass hints.

We also sampled an unusual yet delicious Brie de Meaux Beaufort — this cheese, made of raw cow's milk was surprisingly aromatic and delightful with an intense but untiring aftertaste, different from the type of brie we are normally used to.

The last one on the platter was Morbier, a strong semi-soft cow's milk cheese with a rich creamy flavour. As a surprise, Cyrille rewarded us with a substantial piece of Roquefort blue cheese whose strong and slightly spicy richness came through in a single bite. And just before your taste buds go to sleep after such a yummy experience, you still get to feel a pleasant mouthwatering aftertaste which peaks the session.

An exquisite combination all in one bite.

— Natalia Martinez Le Padam Saigon is at 230 Nguyen Van Huong, Q2, HCMC

wordvietnam.com | October 2015 Word | 183

HCMC On The Town

CR1-12, The Crescent, Phu My Hung, Q7, Tel: (08) 5413 6909

elgaucho.com.vn

A themed eatery mixing an Argentinian steakhouse theme with pork, chicken, lamb, homemade spicy sausage, skewers, burger dishes and everything that can come off a grill. Slick service, a good wine menu, and caramel vodka teasers at the end of the meal. Probably serves up the best steak in town.

EON51 FINE DINING TOP-END EUROPEAN / ASIAN

Level 51, Bitexco Tower, 2 Hai Trieu, Q1, Tel: (08) 6291 8750

eon51.com

Situated on level 51 of the most iconic building in town, Eon51 Fine Dining offers a unique fine dining experience accompanied by unparalleled 3600 picturesque views of Saigon. The sky-high restaurant proffers the taste of Europe in Asia, orchestrated from the finest local foods and top-quality imported ingredients.

GANESH NORTH / SOUTH INDIAN

38 Hai Ba Trung, Q1, Tel: (08) 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.

HOA TUC CONTEMPORARY VIETNAMESE

The Square, 74/7 Hai Ba 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

7 Ngo Duc Ke, Q1, Tel: (08) 3823 1101; The Crescent, 103 Ton Dat Tien, Q7, Tel: (08) 2210 2304 If you’re looking for midrange, aircon Vietnamese restaurants that just seem to do every dish perfectly, then Hoang Yen really is the place to go. The atmosphere may be a bit sterile, but its amply made up for by the efficient service and excellent cuisine. Now with a number of restaurants around town.

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 A sushi bar needs a good chef, and the chef-owner of Inaho is one of the best. Sit downstairs at the low-key bar or upstairs in the private VIP rooms. Either way, this is one of the best sushi and sashimi joints in town.

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.

MARKET 39 INTERNATIONAL BUFFET

Ground Floor, InterContinental Asiana Saigon, Crn. of Hai Ba Trung & Le Duan, Q1, Tel: (08) 3520 9999

intercontinental.com/saigon

HUE CUISINE

136/15 Le Thanh Ton, Q1, Tel: (08) 38 250261; 116 Suong Nguyet Anh, Q1, Tel: (08) 3925 9996

namgiao.com

If you want to take friends, relatives or people out of town to eat Hue-style street food in a hygienic yet downto-earth environment, Nam Giao is the place. Not only is it well-priced, but the bun bo Hue, bun thit nuong, com hen, banh bot loc and other such dishes are excellent.

NINETEEN

CLASSIC FRENCH

INTERNATIONAL / ASIAN

The Square, 74/7 Hai Ba 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, 8–15 Ton Duc Thang. Q1, Tel: (08) 3822 0033

marriott.com

Offers authentic, gourmet Cantonese cuisine in an elegant, classic setting, with striking décor 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 Thai’s creative cocktails merge Thai flavours with local seasonal fruits and herbs.

KOTO TRAINING RESTAURANT CONTEMPORARY VIETNAMESE

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!

FRENCH/MEDITERRANEAN

184 | Word October 2015 | wordvietnam.com

48 Le Thanh Ton, Q1, Tel: (08) 2229 8882

NAM GIAO

LE JARDIN

AUSTRALIAN / INTERNATIONAL

Mixing hearty pub grub such

FRENCH / MEDITERRANEAN

priced, with healthy juices and smoothies.

INTERNATIONAL FUSION

L’OLIVIER

hogsbreathcafe.com.vn

LA CUISINE

3825 1330 A typical Vietnamese-style quan nhau, this fan-cooled downtown eating and drinking haunt is famed for two things: it’s on the table, grill-it-yourself bo tung xeo (marinated beef) and oddities such as sautéed scorpion. A great place to take out-of-town guests.

JASPA’S WINE & GRILL

HOG’S BREATH CAFÉ Ground Floor, Bitexco Financial Tower, 2 Hai Trieu, Q1, Tel: (08) 3915 6066

veranda, pastel-coloured walls and ficus trees, this traditional French restaurant has quarterly Michelin star promotions and an award winning pastry team.

Sofitel Saigon Plaza, 17 Le Duan, Q1, Tel: (08) 3824 1555

sofitel.com

Exuding a southern Gallic atmosphere with its tiled

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.

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.

LOVEAT MEDITERRANEAN

29 Hai Trieu, Q1, Tel: (08) 6260 2727

loveat.vn

Located bang opposite the Bitexco Tower, Loveat serves up three floors’ worth of Mediterranean cuisine mixed in with continental favourites like moules frites. A great place for dinner, cocktails and wines in a contemporary Saigon atmosphere.

MAY RESTAURANT INTERNATIONAL COMFORT FOOD 19 – 21 Dong Khoi, Q1, Tel: (08) 6291 3686

may.restaurant19@gmail. com

Casual yet stylish, May places international-style 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 multifloored restaurant and bar.

Check out their set lunches and happy hour.

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 cobblestoned courtyard the cuisine includes gourmet seafood and pastas. Bakery-style Bistro out front.

MOGAMBO PAN-AMERICAN / TEX-MEX

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.

LUONG SON PAN-VIETNAMESE

31 Ly Tu Trong, Q1, Tel: (08)

50 Pasteur, Q1, Tel: (08) 3825 1311

mogambo@saigonnet.vn

The longest running expat bar in town, these days Mogambo is more a restaurant than a drinking haunt thanks to its Cajun-inspired, American cuisine; Tex-Mex, excellent burgers, US-style soups and salads. Still furbished as it was 20 years ago.

MONSOON 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

Ground floor, Caravelle Hotel, 19 Lam Son Square, Q1, Tel: (08) 3823 4999

caravellehotel.com

One of the top three buffet restaurants in town.

Although the selection is small, the meats, fishes and seafoods are all fresh, and everything you eat here is quality.

OSAKA RAMEN JAPANESE NOODLES

18 Thai Van Lung, Q1; SD04, Lo H29-2, KP My Phat, Phu My Hung, Q7 If you fancy dosing out on ramen and soba noodles, then Osaka Ramen is noodle soup heaven. A typically Japanese aircon environment mixes bar-style seating with booths and private dining.

Open late.

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, Pacharan’s food menu is traditionally Spanish.

PENDOLASCO PAN-ITALIAN

87 Nguyen Hue, Q1, Tel: (08) 3821 8181; 36 Tong Huu Dinh, Q2, Tel: (08) 6253 282

pendolasco.vn

Opening out into a large, leafy terracotta-tiled garden area, this trattoria-style Italian restaurant serves up quality homemade pasta, risotto, gnocchi, excellent pizza and grilled dishes. Has a second branch in District 2.

PIZZA 4P’S 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.

PROPAGANDA 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.

214294

facebook.com/relishandsons

Some have described them as glamburgers, we describe them as creative burgers done well in a contemporary atmosphere. That is certainly the gloss you’ll find at Relish & Sons, along with funky draught beer options, cool refreshing cocktails and a range of all things burger. Their cheesy fries are to die for.

RIVERSIDE CAFÉ INTERNATIONAL / ASIAN

QUAN BUI TRADITIONAL VIETNAMESE

8 Nguyen Van Nguyen, Q1, Tel: (08) 3602 2241; 17A Ngo Van Nam, Q1, Tel: (08) 3829 1515 Make sure to try the sautéed shrimps with cashew nuts and crispy fried tofu with lime wedge, at this popular, high-quality, chicly designed eatery where all food is served in traditional crockery.

One of the best Vietnamese restaurants in town.

QUAN UT UT US-STYLE BARBECUE

168 Vo Van Kiet, Q1, Tel: (08) 3914 4500

facebook.com/quanutut

It’s 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.

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 city’s opium refinery. The cuisine runs from creative salads through to Mediterranean influenced mains.

RELISH & SONS GOURMET BURGER BAR

44 Dong Du, Q1, Tel: 01207

Renaissance Riverside, 8–15 Ton Duc Thang, Q1, Tel: (08) 3822 0033 Offers versatile all–day dining of international quality, with the bonus of being able to watch the action on the river sidewalk. Features western, Asian and Vietnamese buffets.

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 CAFÉ INTERNATIONAL / BUFFET

Level 1, Sheraton Saigon Hotel and Towers, 88 Dong Khoi, Q1 Tel: (08) 3827 2828

sheratonsaigon.com

If you like your buffet selections to be big, then here it is gargantuan, with every type of option under the sun. A great place to catch up on your seafood addiction or to pig out over a Sunday brunch.

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.

SCOTT AND BINH’S 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.

SEOUL HOUSE KOREAN

33 Mac Thi Buoi, Q1, Tel: (08) 3829 4297

seoul.house@yahoo.com.kr

The longest running Korean restaurant in town, with all the Koreans moving out to the hinterland, the clientele here are mainly Vietnamese. Fortunately the food preparation remains traditional. An excellent place for group dining.

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 INTERNATIONAL / MEDITERRANEAN

9A Thai Van Lung, Q1, Tel: (08) 3822 4798

skewers-restaurant.com

Simple, unpretentious Greekinfluenced, 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.

SHRI CONTEMPORARY EUROPEAN

23rd Floor, Centec Tower,

72–74 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.

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 you’d expect of New York, Singapore, Hong Kong and Dubai. With the décor comes a modern take on Japanese fare. A place to see and be seen.

TAMAGO PAN-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. 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 city’s best-preserved buildings. Serving quality Vietnamese and Indochine cuisine at reasonable prices.

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 HUNGRY PIG BACON BAR / CAFE

144 Cong Quynh, Q1, Tel: (08) 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.

TIN NGHIA VEGAN

9 Tran Hung Dao, Q1, Tel: (08) 3821 2538 One of the city’s oldest eateries (established in 1925) does some of the cheapest and tastiest vegan cuisine in town, all cooked up without onions, garlic or MSG. 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.

WRAP & ROLL 62 Hai Ba Trung, Q1, Tel: (08) 3822 2166; 111 Nguyen Hue, Q1, Tel: (08) 3821 8971; 226 De Tham, Q1, Tel: (08) 3837 5097

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, Hue-

wordvietnam.com | October 2015 Word | 185

TOP EATS BADHJA

I

f you haven’t been to Badhja yet, you won’t know that I’m paraphrasing their menu when I write: “If you’re someone who likes a mix of flavours, you will appreciate Algerian cuisine. It represents a fusion of North African, Arabic, Spanish, Moorish, Italian, Turkish, Jewish, Catalan, Sicilian and French influences. Algerian eating is all about enjoying a feast of food among good friends.”

Reading that again, I could easily end the review right there. It’s as close to perfection as anything I’ll be able to write. The reason?

It describes exactly what Badhja is; a feast of food and a fusion of flavours.

Having now eaten there twice, the first time completely by accident, I find that this restaurant has delivered on what its menu says both times. It’s a flavour promise well worth experiencing.

New Location On being given this month’s assignment, I was initially unsure. “Badhja,” I think to myself, “haven’t I been here before?”

Scratching my head, it isn’t until I sit down on the breezy upstairs courtyard, absorbing the ‘Mediterranean meets Ali Baba’ vibe, that I meet Anna, the owner (and epitome of what it means to be a host), and I realise where I am — Badhja’s new location.

Continuing to sip the tea that I’m being served out of a silver pot fit for a small genie, the realisation is a happy one.

That’s because I know at that point that

I’m in for a treat, and what follows is a play-by-play of good, sorry — great — food, good conversation and what I describe to my photographer Kyle as ‘passion on a plate’. Russian native Anna and her Algerian husband Ahmed leave no stone unturned in delivering a food experience you will remember, then want to have again. “90% of our customers are regulars,” she tells us, and I’m not surprised. Even the free trio of homemade dips and breads sets a high standard.

That is quickly followed by a deliciously crunchy-on-the-outside, fluffy-in-the-middle falafel (VND120,000) and sets us up for the mozzarella tower (VND150,000), a starter which hits an early high note in the concerto to come. Picture al dente eggplant and zucchini wrapped around a perfectly firm piece of mozzarella, complemented by roasted tomatoes and just enough spice to bind. I eat two before Anna can even ask, “How was it?”

Would You Like to Know More?

That’s followed up by couscous with lamb chops (VND350,000) and we’re moving into foodie heaven. The tenderness of the lamb, combined with the space given to the lightest and freshest of couscous, makes this a dish to savour. On top of that came a terrific seafood tajine (VND250,000) and I’m in danger of exceeding my word limit.

You’re going to have to go there yourself.

You won’t forget it. — Jon Aspin Badhja is at 27 Le Quy Don, Q3, HCMC PHOTOS BY KYLE PHANROY

wordvietnam.com | October 2015 Word | 187

THE EMPTY WOK SPICY MEXICAN CHICKEN TORTILLA SOUP

S

PHOTO BY CHARLES VON PRESLEY

erved up with crusty tortillas, this spiced soup makes a filling lunch or warming dinner. Taking less than 30 minutes to make, this hearty, warming soup uses basic cupboard ingredients. Want some extra kick? Then add extra chili powder. Want to adjust the ingredients? Then add or take out according to what you like.

— 1 tbsp of chilli powder — 2 tsp of ground cumin — 2 tbsp of tomato paste — 1 tsp of dried oregano — Juice of one lime — Half cup of chopped cilantro — 2 large tortillas, toasted in the oven — Cream cheese for topping

Ingredients

1) Add the oil to a large soup pot and preheat it over medium-high heat, season the chicken with salt and pepper and sear it on all sides until golden brown.

Remove onto a plate and set aside.

2) Next, add another tablespoon of vegetable oil and add the chopped onion, garlic, bell pepper and jalapeno. Cook them for about five minutes.

3) Add the chilli powder, cumin and

— 2 tbsp of vegetable oil — 500g of boneless, skinless, chicken thighs — 1 onion, chopped — 3 cloves of garlic, minced — 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced — 1 red or green bell pepper, seeded and diced — 1 15oz can of chopped tomatoes and chilli — 1 15oz can of kidney beans — 6 cups of chicken stock

188 | Word October 2015 | wordvietnam.com

BY RICCHA ARORA

Method

oregano along with the tomato paste, cook and stir for one minute.

4) Add the canned tomatoes, kidney beans and chicken stock and bring to the boil. Place the chicken back in the sauce.

Lower the heat to medium. Cook for about 25 minute.

5) Shred or chop the chicken into bite size pieces, put back in the soup pot and stir everything together.

6) Turn off the heat and add the lime juice, cilantro. Ladle into bowls.

7) Scatter the tortillas over the top of the soup and top with some cream cheese.

Riccha Arora runs the Facebook page Sassy Kitchen —facebook.com/arorassassykitchen.

You can also check out her website — arorasassykitchen.com

HCMC On The Town

influenced cuisine.

BANH MI SAU MINH VIETNAMESE BANH MI

YU CHU TOP-END PAN-CHINESE

1st Floor, InterContinental Asiana Saigon, crn.of Hai Ba Trung & Le Duan, Q1 Tel: (08) 3520 9999 intercontinental.com/saigon 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.

ZEUS GREEK / KEBAB

164 Cong Quynh, Q1, Tel: (08) 3837 3248 The service is often slow, and the staff are often surprisingly lazy, yet the food here is so good and so unique to this city, that no-one seems to mind. The perfect place to feast out on gyros and all things off a skewer. Cheap, too.

170 Vo Van Tan, Q3 BANH MI THANH MAI HOANG VIETNAMESE BANH MI

107 Truong Dinh, Q3 BANH TAM BI TO CHAU BANH TAM

271 Nguyen Trai, Q1 BEEFSTEAK NAM SON VIETNAMESE STEAKHOUSE

200 Bis Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, Q3; 157 Nam Ky Khoi Nghia, Q3, Tel: (08) 3930 3917

Namsonsteak.com

BUN CHA HA NOI BUN CHA

26/1A Le Thanh Ton, Q1 CHI THONG BUN THIT NUONG / BANH HOI

195 Co Giang, Q1

COM GA XOI MO SU SU VIETNAMESE FRIED CHICKEN

ZOOM CAFÉ

55 Tu Xuong, Q3

AMERICAN / TEX-MEX

169A Bui Vien, Q1, Tel: (08) 3920 3897

vietnamvespaadventures. com/cafe_zoom

This corner-located Vespainfatuated venue is a café 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.

COM TAM 40A COM TAM

40A Quoc Huong, Q2 MI QUANG MY SON MI QUANG

38 Dinh Tien Hoang, Q1 NAM GIAO BUN BO HUE

189 Bis Bui Vien, Q1

M M M STREET FOOD BA GHIEN COM TAM

84 Dang Van Ngu, Phu Nhuan

PHO DAU PHO BO

288/M1 Nam Ky Khoi Nghia, Q3 PHO HOA PHO BO & PHO GA

BA NAM

260C Pasteur, Q3, Tel: (08) 3829 7943

BO KHO

Alleyway to the left of 162 Tran Nhan Tong, Q10

PHO LE PHO BO

413-415 Nguyen Trai, Q5

PHO BO

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.

PHO PHU VUONG

Based north of Mui Ne in Central Vietnam, the foundation provides the children with a home, a family and an education.

BANH CANH HOANG TY BANH CANH / TAY NINH CUISINE

70 Vo Van Tan, Q3

PHO PHU GIA 146E Ly Chinh Thang, Q3

BANH CUON HAI NAM BANH CUON

11A Cao Thang, Q3 BANH KHOT CO BA VUNG TAU

PHO BO

339 Le Van Sy, Tan Binh SUSHI KO

BANH KHOT

STREET SUSHI

BANH MI HONG HOA

THE LUNCH LADY

102 Cao Thang, Q3

122/37/15 Vinh Khanh, Q4

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.

VIETNAMESE BANH MI

DAILY CHANGING DISHES

At VND120,000 per month (minimum of six months), this is a small price to pay to help those in need.

62 Nguyen Van Trang, Q1

23 Hoang Sa, Q1

BANH MI HUYNH HOA

TIEM COM GA HAI NAM

To arrange your home delivery, simply email trang@wordvietnam.com

‘LESBIAN’ BANH MI

26 Le Thi Rieng, Q1

HAINANESE CHICKEN RICE

67 Le Thi Hong Gam, Q1, Tel: (08) 3821 7751

For more information on Mai Nha, click on mai-nha.org

wordvietnam.com | October 2015 Word | 189

BRIDALWEAR 3 Thang 2 C1

PAINTINGS Tran Phu D1 Bui Vien D3

CAMERAS Ton That Thiep C4

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District 11 2km

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University of Natural Sciences

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190 | Word October 2015 | wordvietnam.com

TAM

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DISTRICT 10

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GUITARS Nguyen Thien Thuat D1, D2

Ng u yen

Tron

FLOWERS Le Thanh Ton C4

Minh Quye n

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Binh

FABRICS Hai Ba Trung A3

KH OI NG HI

Dinh

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EVERYTHING Ben Thanh Market C4

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Lan Anh Sports & Leisure Club

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SHOES Nguyen Dinh Chieu C1, C2 Luu Van Lang C4

KY

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COOKING INGREDIENTS Ham Nghi C4, C5

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Saigon Train Station

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NG

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COMPUTERS Ton That Tung C2, C3

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SAFES Vo Van Tan C3

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PLAQUES Nam Quoc Cang C2, D2

CAR COMPONENTS Tran Quang Khai A3 Ky Con C4, D4

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YEN VAN T

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The Final Say THE FINAL SAY

NATIONAL

Ostriches of the Imagination

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How could we improve our traffic system? Simple, says Devin Monaghan.

Replace motorbikes with ostriches

eing an American, I have many solutions to many issues nobody has asked my opinion on. Thus, it should come as no surprise that I support GMOs: Genetically Modified Ostriches. If you’re still reading, GMOs could be the solution to urban traffic problems.

It’s like my second grade teacher, Ms. Carriage, used to say: where there’s a will, there’s a way, and also an ostrich. She retired later that year, and nobody has seen or heard from her since. But that’s not my story.

Why Ostriches?

Well, if you ask that question, then why anything? I fail to see how harnessing nature’s vigour is any more arbitrary than two rubber wheels with a demonic engine in-between, mocking life as it starts up with a thousand tiny explosions inside. How is that safe? Who would put their children on such a thing?

Ostriches are easier and simpler to maintain. While they are the largest birds on the planet, and may have an inferiority complex that they can’t fly or swim, their insides are relatively simple. Since most people know as much about the inside of their bike as they do about the inside of an ostrich, there won’t be any spikes in confusion over maintenance issues.

Steering is simple. Use its wings. It might sound weird, but since it can’t fly, the ostrich will thank you for putting its wings to functional use.

Don’t worry about falling: you will fall, head over heels, in love. After your first ostrich ride, you’ll be so happy you could kiss it! But please do not kiss your ostrich without its written consent.

Ostriches also outperform motorbikes during rainy season. They can't swim, but they can float, and while that leaves you to the whims of the water currents in the streets, we're already at the whim of the currents of the cosmos.

Ostrich-related fatalities are negligible, with the exceptions of drivers who provoke ostriches. In the interests of full disclosure: yes, ostriches have been known to make pre-emptive strikes when they think that you think that you’re better than them. Just ditch the attitude.

Anyway, crashes are rare, because

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ostriches have built in crash prevention systems: belligerent tempers. This is what made them such effective cavalry when Alexander the Great crossed the Great Alps to invade England at the Battle of Waterloo against Genghis Caesar (citation needed).

Footprints, Socialising and Drink Driving Many view ostriches as ancient and mystical birds that shouldn’t be subjugated for human transportation. But think of it this way: if you were unemployed, wouldn’t you want a job?

Ostriches will lower a city’s carbon footprint, although different emissions will be noticed. But cleaning up after them will provide countess jobs, besides, hiding mountainous amounts of dung seems like a local speciality.

Some readers may be concerned at pecking-related encounters. Considering that ostriches naturally live in tribes of seven to 50, the real danger waiting at a red light is your ostrich getting swept away with socialising. This is easily preventable with suitable doses of ADD meds.

And if you don’t mesh well with ostriches, ride the bus. Ostriches have a surprisingly dour track record with vehicles, and don’t even need to be trained to avoid hitting buses. The same cannot be said for many motorists.

Also, drunk-driving crashes will be curbed, unless your ostrich is drunk. Please do not get you ostrich drunk, except for emergencies, or Tet. Further, ostriches are much more difficult to steal than motorbikes.

If you don’t believe me, try it sometime.

Ostriches have the added benefit of laying eggs. This makes them a renewable resource.

Find me a motorbike that can reproduce and be eaten after it breaks down, and, well, I will probably run like hell.

Pimp it Up, Baby GMO upgrades could include sharpened beaks, different shades of feathers, and tinted eyelids. Further, instead of a mere license plate, you can name your ostrich. I myself have decided on Buckbeak, the name of a little known — but crucial — hippogriff from the 1990s.

With genetic splicing so successful in movies, it seems only a few years before we

can splice together an ostrich and a camel, creating a hybrid ostrich with an extra hump for the family, while running on less water.

Like any progressive policy, expect Big Oil to fight us on this. Their dirty fuels of the rotted past will be useless in our new avian transportation society. Even the most cynical skeptic must admit that anything Big Oil is against can’t be all that bad.

A bonus would be living next to an ostrich parking lot, which would protect you from hearing funerals and karaoke. Your dwelling would be cloaked in the calming ambiance of dozens or perhaps hundreds of parked ostriches.

Outside the Box This may seem laughable, but every major change in transportation was considered ludicrous at the time. The wheel was a shock to people thinking inside the box, steam power seemed like just a bunch of hot air, and the car was thought to be a dead end to horse carriage drivers. When the first ironclad ship was launched, thousands gathered to watch it sink. It didn’t sink.

I realise hundreds of ostriches running around a traffic circle may look silly, but a simple ban on wearing pyjamas during the daytime will fix that.

Of course, there will be times when we feel the hollow pull of nostalgia, such as when you are in a rush and need to zoom through traffic. But isn’t it more productive to ask yourself why or how your life has deteriorated to the point when time is a constraint, and you’re in such a hurry? I’ll choose self-reflection over convenience anytime.

If you’re still reading: hot air balloons.

Now, read me out on this. I know they’ll be difficult to operate, and won’t be nimble during rainy season, but they’ll beautify the sky. Also, due to the three-dimensional design of our planet, the chances of unintentional hot air balloon collisions are close-to-nothing. And close-to-nothing is something I’m willing to stand for.

Finally, I’m just raising awareness about urban traffic issues, so even if you dismiss my solution, you have to agree that it’s important to raise awareness.

Devin is a teacher and the co-organiser of Stand-Up Saigon. He comes from Portland, a city where ostriches are all the rage

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The Final Say On the river

THE FINAL SAY

Loading boats

NATIONAL

The Inside Story of the Guerrilla War Chapter 13: A Very Special War For the next three issues, Word is presenting excerpts from Wilfred Burchett’s 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 The Policy Towards Enemy Soldiers I was musing over the image of a nearly full moon, framed in the delicate profile of bamboo leaves, glinting in the dark where the moonlight touched them, everything polished and gleaming like a Vietnamese lacquer painting. Suddenly there was a warning signal from our guide; the outboard motor in our little sampan was cut and we veered sharply towards a bamboo thicket on the river bank.

There was the sound of many more outboard motors coming from the opposite

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direction and this was disquieting. We were supposed to be in “safe” territory. Cigarettes were doused, complete silence ordered.

Within a few minutes, the first couple of a long, double line of sampans appeared around a bend about 500 yards distant.

They kept rounding the bend until the first couple were only 20 or 30 yards away from our hiding spot. But long before that, we heard the sound of women’s voices and as they grew nearer we caught glimpses through the leaves of sampans filled with

women and girls. Each was holding a stick with a papered-over frame on which slogans had been printed in red and black; in some the slogans were printed on cloth banners stretched between two sticks across the front of the boats.

Our sampan slid out again into midstream and jocular greetings were exchanged as the outboard motor started up again and we moved on past the convoy. By the way the exchanges were shouted back and forth and the bursts of laughter that followed

some of them, it was clear we really were in “safe” territory. “They’re off to the district center for a demonstration,” explained the interpreter. “About half a dozen villages are represented here, but there are other convoys moving in by road and river from different directions.”

“At this time of night?”

“They have to travel at night to avoid planes and they like to be in the town well before dawn, before the authorities are around to give orders.”

I asked what the demonstration was about and after a few more exchanges with the boats, he explained that a few days previously a village in the district had been bombed and a new school and library had been wiped out. No one had been killed but they were going to protest about destruction of public property, as the school and library had been built by the villagers themselves. The others were coming “out of solidarity” and to protest against bombings in general. At my request,

he translated some of the slogans: Apart from those demanding an end to destruction of “public,” “government” and “people’s property” there were others such as: “Higher Pay for Our Sons in the Army”; “Regular Leave for Armymen”; “Pensions for Wounded Armymen”; “Compensation for Mothers and Wives of Armymen Killed and Wounded in Action”; “An End to Beatings in the Army.”

“But these are people from Liberation Front areas?” I asked. “Yes,” agreed Huynh,

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Protest

my well informed journalist-interpreter.

“And they are demanding higher pay for the soldiers that come and shoot them down and burn their villages “That’s right,” he replied. “First of all the population never admit to being ‘Viet Cong’. They all claim to be loyal subjects of Saigon with the right to protection by the ‘legal government’. If there are ‘Viet Cong’ around, this is only because the ‘legal’ government has run away. Also it is a Front policy to gain the sympathy of the puppet troops. Such slogans also give them the idea that they ought to struggle for better conditions. But as a means of struggle it is also very effective. Troops find it difficult to repress a demonstration when half the slogans demand better conditions for them.

“This is more than just a tactic. The Front has a whole policy for such things.

In cases where there are families in our areas whose sons or husbands have been killed while serving with the enemy forces, we help them materially. There is a special organization that visits bereaved families, and recommends what form the material help should take.”

We had left the last of the sampans behind by that time and had the river and the moon to ourselves again. I probed Huynh about further illustrations of political strategies and tactics and of combined militarypolitical struggle.

“In many areas,” he continued, “there are posts which we could easily wipe out. If the soldiers don’t start shooting and plundering but listen to the explanations given by the people, we don’t shoot. If they shoot, we shoot, and we win. Almost the whole population, except for the armed forces

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take part in the explanations. It goes on day and night. In theory, the Saigon troops are forbidden to have any contact with the local population, even their own relatives.

In practice there is contact all the time.

For the past couple of years, the top brass is so worried by the disaffection rate that garrisons are rotated every three months.

But that doesn’t help because if they leave one area for another, the people there will continue the good work started at the post they have just left.

“Our people live among the enemy; they have carried out land reform and work for themselves. The enemy troops are peasant conscripts. When they see this free life going on all round them, you think this doesn’t have an effect? Especially when it is drummed into them day and night by fellow-peasants, working in the fields right up to the gates of their posts. Our liberated areas sometimes reach within a hundred yards of a post and the garrison has to depend on air-dropped supplies, which fall into our area. We could prevent them collecting those supplies, cut them off completely if we wanted, but we allow two or three to come out and pick them up, although we often take the parachutes ourselves. The troops appreciate this attitude.”

When there are holidays the villagers visit the troops, Huynh told me. They are not too cordial towards them, but courteous and explain things to them. “They might even bring some small gifts, fruit or cakes.

They will tell them that if they come to the village to stick to the main ‘traffic lanes’ and if they come without shooting or pillaging

everything will be alright, they will be well received and given tea. But if they leave the main tracks and start uninvited towards the houses, the pigsties, poultry yards, orchards, etc., then they will be in for trouble with the traps. And if they start shooting, they will be in for even worse trouble, if not on that particular occasion then certainly the next time they move out of the post. The troops know by bitter experience that this is true. “The chief of garrison often knows who are the activists in any village. Posts are always built on an elevation; he has good binoculars and can see who sticks up posters or writes slogans on the wall or addresses meetings. But if he is in a position to send in a patrol to interrogate the people they will reply: ‘Sure, there are some “Viet Cong” here.

Come and arrest them if you like. But in fact they do no harm and if bullets start flying innocent people may get hurt. You might get hurt, too, because it seems they have good military training.’ If troops do come and kill someone, the body will be carried to the post and the whole village will turn out in a big protest demonstration.

“These are important tactics,” Huynh continued, “but are only possible because although the people oppose the administrative, political and ideological positions of the Saigon regime, they are still technically in enemy-controlled territory; they have to maintain a correct legal position to keep alive. So we encourage them to tell the officers in the posts all sorts of things. ‘Yes,’ they will say, ‘we have guerillas in our village. My husband is a guerilla. My son is a guerilla. Yes, they

Exhibition for the 4th anniversary of the formation of the NLF

“In virtually every village… there were special propaganda teams and they exchanged experiences between them as to the most effective way to get the “line” across with the minimum of danger, in the most disarming way possible” have guns.’ But when they are asked what is the strength of the unit, where the guns are hidden, this they ‘don’t know.’ Before, people would have been slaughtered for admitting such things. But once the worst of the tyrants were dealt with, this is possible.

So we encourage the villagers to pass on certain facts — it is good propaganda — but never to reveal the strength of units or locations of weapons.

“When the armed resistance first started, the villagers encouraged their sons to escape from the villages and join the guerillas. The enemy then started hunting the fathers of sons who had disappeared.

We countered this by protests, claiming that the Diemists themselves had killed or kidnapped the sons. A mother would sit up half the night, preparing her lad’s clothes and food for a few days’ journey to the mountains; pack him off in the small hours of the morning and a few hours later lead a delegation of wailing women to the district chief demanding the return of her son who must have been arrested. Or complain about the lack of security in the village when the ‘Viet Cong’ could come in and ‘kidnap’ young lads and demand that the past commander send a patrol to ‘rescue’ him. The people’s initiative and ingenuity in such matters has no limits,” Huynh said and

went on to explain that in virtually every village, including the Saigon-controlled ones, there were special propaganda teams and they exchanged experiences between them as to the most effective way to get the “line” across with the minimum of danger, in the most disarming way possible.

“The enemy knew for instance,” he continued, as we lay stretched out under the brilliant stars, the water rippling by and the outboard motor softly puttering away, “that virtually everybody in the village takes part in making traps. When they are charged with this, they will speak up: ‘Yes, the “Viet Cong” make us do that. We have to do it.’

If they are asked where they are, they will show one or two, but not the main ones.

They will show some spikes, for instance.

‘These are rejects,’ they will say. ‘The “Viet Cong” refused to pay for these. All the best ones they have taken away.’ They can reply like this because of our strength now.

“This sort of work never lets up,” Huynh said, “and it helps to compensate a lot for the enemy’s overwhelming superiority in arms.” He recalled that before the armed resistance had become general, he had worked for a time in the coastal plains area of Central Vietnam. “At that time we had no arms at all,” he said, “but we knew the tribespeople in the hills had started to

defend themselves. Punitive expeditions used to pass through our areas on the way to the mountains and people used to work on the troops, warning them in the most tactful way possible not to start committing atrocities against the tribespeople: ‘We know them,’ some old chap would say. ‘They are proud, courageous people; if you do anything wrong they will certainly kill you. They have terrible traps full of spikes and poison arrows that make you suffer terribly for a few minutes and then you are dead. A pity for fine young chaps like you. We only give you a friendly warning because we are Vietnamese.’

And when they came back again, carrying their wounded and with plenty of them not coming back at all, our people would be full of sympathy, tend their wounds, give them tea and make plenty of remarks: ‘What did we tell you? Better never go into those places. Keep away from their villages or you’ll all be killed.’ It was the best sort of propaganda,” Huynh concluded, as our sampan headed into a little cove, “because it was true.”

Monkeys and Bees The question of original and ingenious forms of propaganda was one which cropped up all the time. On one occasion,

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In the printing shop of the education department

Protest

“One of the means devised by the U.S. command for its “special war” is the use of air-sprayed chemical against food crops — to destroy where they cannot control. I saw plenty of evidence of this — entire orchards where the trees were bare of leaves or fruit when those in neighbouring villages were nourishing and heavy with fruit” I had been talking with some tribespeople about their hunting methods and Kpy Plui, a famous Jarai hunter from Kontum province, after an exciting account of how his people hunted tigers and elephants, came to the less dangerous business of the monkey hunt. Once a monkey colony is discovered, usually in a dense grove of bamboo on a slope, big converging swathes of bamboo are cut out at each side, leading up from the bottom so the monkeys are concentrated in a triangular-shaped patch.

Another swathe is cut out at the tip of the triangle. While the “hunters” start hacking their way in the triangle itself, working their way down from the top, the rest of the village turns out with gongs and drums and start working their way up from the base of the triangle; the terrified monkeys, with an ever diminishing number of bamboo stems and branches to swing from, are concentrated in an ever smaller place.

“They will break off bits of branches to fight back and chatter and jump about,” said Kpy Plui, a compact, muscular figure with high cheekbones and a wisp of black beard, “but the noise continues from the bottom and bamboo and undergrowth is hacked down from the top. Eventually the old man of the tribe comes down to earth, and that means the whole tribe has surrendered. All the rest then come down and we can just pick them up as we like, 500 to a thousand and more.” I wondered what they did with such a quantity of monkeys.

“We keep them in cages,” said Kpy

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Plui, who spoke some French from having served for a brief period in the French army, “and eat them as needed. The bones are boiled down for medicine. But the bigger ones, we hand over to the cadres for their propaganda teams.” A Vietnamese cadre who was present explained that medicines against anemia and impotence were developed from the monkey bones.

“And what about the propaganda aspect?” I asked.

“We choose the biggest ones, about 30 to 45 pounds. We dress them up in black pants and shirts, color their faces up a bit to make them look like caricatures of Diem in his time, or it might be Harkins, draw more caricatures on the back of their shirts, tie slogans to their legs and smuggle them into Saigon and provincial capitals. We turn them loose around the market place early in the morning, or in main centers as people are going to work. The monkeys are a bit puzzled at first, but then they start leaping around with their slogans. People are delighted as they always are with monkeys and the police don’t know what to do. It is awkward shooting at them, because it is like shooting at the President or Harkins. Anyway it would be ridiculous to shoot them. They start chasing around trying to catch the monkeys and rip off the slogans and the more they chase them the more the people enjoy the spectacle.”

Even lowlier creatures than dogs and monkeys figure in the fantastic arsenal of weapons the people of South Vietnam are using — and not only for propaganda — in

this nuclear-age war. There are Frontcontrolled villages — in Mo Gay district of Ben Tre province, for instance — the defense of which are primarily entrusted to bees. Chi Nguyet (Sister Moonlight), another of those flawlessly beautiful girls from Ben Tre, explained how from 1960 on, the Diemists had tried to convert her village into a strategic hamlet. “A lot of us women and girls went in protest to the provincial capital, but we were all arrested,” she said. “Then all the women of the village came to Ben Tre with their children, demanding our release. They kicked up such a row that the governor was glad to get rid of us all. The Diemist troops kept coming to our village, stealing pigs and chickens and always trying to force us to build fences and dig moats. We refused.

“In our area, as in many others, there is a specially big fierce type of bee. They are more than twice as big as ordinary bees; they don’t store honey, but their sting is terribly painful and the sting of half a dozen can be fatal. We studied the habits of these bees very carefully. They always have four sentries on permanent duty and if these are disturbed or offended, they call out the whole hive to attack whatever disturbs them. So we set up some of these hives in the trees alongside the road leading from the Diemist post to our village. We covered them over with sticky paper, from which strings led to a bamboo trap we set on the road. The next time an enemy patrol came, they disturbed the trap

Toxic chemicals

and the paper was torn from the hive. The bees attacked immediately; the troops ran like mad buffalo and started falling into our spiked traps. They went back carrying and dragging their wounded.

“From the post, they must have radioed for help, because the district chief sent a company by road from another post and some more by helicopter. By that time we had set up quite a few more hives. When the enemy came, they saw piles of dirt that looked like freshly dug traps so the officer ordered the troops to clear away the earth and uncover the traps. But the hives were hidden under the earth and there was a terrible commotion when they were disturbed in such a rough way. They attacked, many hundreds of them, and in no time at all, 30 enemy troops were out of action. They had to withdraw again.

“We were very encouraged by this and started to rear the bees specially for our defenses. When I left,” she concluded, “we had over 200 hives and the enemy had not dared come near us for a long time.”

When I met Sister Moonlight she was far from her native village, taking part in a regional conference where experiences of such us usual types of warfare were

being exchanged to see to what extent they could be applied in other areas. The use of monkey propagandists and bee garrisons are further illustration of just what a “people’s war” entails. I doubt that any general staff in the world, including that of the Liberation Front, could plan from on top the employment of such weapons.

It is the grass roots nature of the struggle in South Vietnam that produces them.

But once they are developed and used successfully, the word quickly passes round and they are used extensively.

The political and military aspects of the struggle go hand in hand at every level.

Writers, journalists and art workers, for instance, take part in military and political activities almost simultaneously. A pigtailed girl who was introduced to me as Sister Thieu — not her real name because her family is still in Saigon and she goes in herself from time to time — told me something of the difficulties of a student paper which she helps edit. “For a long time we printed quietly in the center of Saigon itself,” she said, “right in Diemist printing shops. But things got too hot, so we bought a printing plant and smuggled it out of Saigon into the jungle.”

“You smuggled it out of Saigon?” I asked, knowing that Saigon is probably the most tightly controlled city in the world today, with military and police patrols on round-the-clock duty and police at almost every street corner.

“Yes,” she said with a cheery smile, “we took the whole thing to pieces. The type was taken out on the backs of scores of ‘market women’ — actually they were us girl students — in baskets topped off with unsold fruit and vegetables. The rollers were a bit of a problem, but we greased them well and attached them to the bottoms of sampans. They had a long ride in the water, but later they cleaned up alright. We shipped the whole thing out right under the noses of the flics. Our problem before was to print in Saigon and smuggle copies out into the countryside. Now it is the opposite; we print outside and smuggle the copies into the city. Of course we keep changing the communication channels in case of a slip up. But so far there have been none.”

War on Food Crops One of the means devised by the U.S. command for its “special war” is the use of

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Working the fields

air-sprayed chemical against food crops — to destroy where they cannot control. I saw plenty of evidence of this — entire orchards where the trees were bare of leaves or fruit when those in neighbouring villages were nourishing and heavy with fruit; of papaya trees, for instance, which were mere withered stalks with fruit shriveled to the size of walnuts clinging drooped around leafless trunks; of pineapples shrunk to the size of small oranges whereas those of neighbouring gardens were full grown and ready to be harvested. I did not, however, personally witness any attacks nor was I in those areas of the Mekong Delta where attacks are most frequent. But I was able to interview a South Vietnamese woman scientist, Dr. Thuy Ba, a member of the Executive Committee of the South Vietnam Liberation Women’s Association, head of a big hospital and Secretary General of the Association for Defense of Mothers and Children. She had made a special study of the chemical warfare problem, mainly in order to plan protective measures.

“Although these poisons are aimed primarily at food crops and livestock,” said Dr. Thuy Ba, a sensitive-faced young woman, who like many of her colleagues had left a comfortable home and practice in Saigon for the rude conditions in the jungle, “they also seriously affect human beings, especially children and old people.

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Three thousand children were affected in the Ca Mau area in the first two months of 1964 alone. The main symptoms are skin burns, diarrhea and pulmonary complaints.

Since the beginning of the year the enemy has greatly stepped up its campaign virtually all over the Mekong Delta.

“Our Public Health Committee has worked out some counter-measures,” she continued. “We don’t have any gas masks but we use handkerchiefs soaked in water and held over mouth and nose to reduce and filter the amount inhaled. We use lemon juice on skin burns. Smaller children are wrapped up in nylon sheeting when a spraying attack starts and others are taught to run up wind from the spraying areas.

The enemy pretends they are spraying insecticides or only ‘defoliage’ agents, but in fact they are out to destroy food crops in the areas they cannot control. In Ca Mau, for instance, after they withdrew from a large number of posts following the anti-Diem coup, they started systematic destruction of rice crops and orchards in the whole area from which they withdrew, and this activity gathers momentum every day. It was intensified still more after Nguyen Khanh took over. Probably,” concluded Dr. Thay Ba, “because they find it more and more difficult to carry on the war by normal means now that the puppet troops have lost all will to fight.”

The latest information I was able to obtain before leaving the Liberated areas was that new methods of crop destruction were being tried out, including the dropping of eggs of certain types of insects that attacked rice in the water and the use of white phosphorous in napalm containers, the napalm often having little effect in rice fields that remain waterlogged even during the harvesting period.

So it goes on. A ceaseless, relentless battle waged for the minds of everyone from soldiers to students; from peasants to government officials and career army officers, with never a trick left unplayed.

And this battle, the Front is winning hands down. The Saigon regime has little to offer in return and no real means of counter-attack.

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 to break 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 of the language in this piece has been changed to reflect its modern-day spelling