If you’ve been travelling for an extended period, you may hanker for a taste of the West rather than chowing down on local cuisine for yet another meal. In the last year Ho Chi Minh has been flooded with fast food joints, but if you’re craving a meal that reminds you of home — you … read the full post

We were tempted to check out Hanoi Moment Hotel 2 for two reasons. Firstly, it shares its name with a very enticing gift shop on Hang Gai, and secondly, the large plate glass windows provide a glimpse of what looked like a very stylish interior. The door was opened by a uniformed attendant and we … read the full post

While most street food in Saigon could almost be classified as fast food, where you sit down and pretty much immediately start eating, some dishes from the streets make you work a little harder: banh trang is a case in point. In the world of Saigon street food, a restaurant advertising banh trang is where you … read the full post

Saint Honore is a bakery, deli and restaurant in Hanoi’s West Lake area which offers the best cakes in Hanoi and is an excellent choice for a delicious breakfast, a bistro-style lunch or dinner, or an indulgent afternoon tea. Let’s start with breakfast. If the array of sweet and savoury pastries isn’t enough to tempt you … read the full post

Bun bo: it’s the pho lovers Marmite, a rich combination of spicy, sour, salty and sweet flavours with a predominant lemongrass hit. Pho in comparison is the soother, an altogether sweeter, more delicate dish in its pure form, with flavour enhancers (in Central Vietnam at least), bowls of sweet chilli paste, hoisin sauce, lime and herbs … read the full post

Although Tan My Design stocks some of the same traditional items, as its parent Tan My Embroidery, it’s predominantly a showcase for stylish, modern designer items and makes for a unique and calming shopping experience amid the mayhem of the streets of Hanoi. Established in 1969 at 66 Hang Gai, Tan My Embroidery has spanned … read the full post

As one of the most popular daytrips from HCMC, finding a way to get to the Cu Chi Tunnels is as easy as a walking through the Pham Ngu Lao backpacker district. Almost every travel agent in Saigon offers a one-day tour of the tunnels but some are light on the details. If you’re considering … read the full post

Moon Restaurant’s location, a few minutes’ walk outside Hoi An’s old town and river would for a regular restaurant be the kiss of death. What saves Moon is its stunning faded colonial magnificence — and the fact that it sits directly opposite one of the most visited attractions in Hoi An: Yaly Couture, one of … read the full post

Getting to grips with the right or wrong way to go about things in any country is always a minefield of ever-changing goal posts. In Vietnam, luckily the people are largely very forgiving of our faux pas and a little bit of common sense and humility goes a long way in bridging the gap between … read the full post

Even though you may be surrounded by a load of delicious local food in Saigon, sometimes you just want a pizza or hamburger; if that’s the case, it might be time to find the nearest Al Fresco’s. As the name might suggest, the menu at Al Fresco’s offers plenty of Italian food, particularly pastas and … read the full post