Barfly: QD Bar & Lounge

I'm sorry, Qing, but I think I have a new favourite wine bar!

On a night that involved a raucous dinner at 3T (or Quan Nuong - the BBQ place above Temple Club) feasting on bbq-your-own beef with 5 spice, marinated squid, still kicking prawns, wild boar(!) with lemongrass and chilli and much much more, we also checked out new wine bar QD.

From a loud and local venue to one that's stylish and serene, entering QD Bar & Lounge post-bbq fun provided something of a shock to our overseas visitors. And to us Saigon residents, first glance at QD's interior suggested the stylish Saigon bar stakes have definitely been upped. There are floor-to-ceiling glass windows looking out onto Ton That Thiep's trees, a display of backlit green glass winebottles behind the bar, velvet lounges, floorboards and moody lighting. Apparently the bar is owned by a famous Vietnamese pop star named Quang Dung.

In case you're wondering about the prices - there are wines (from here, there and everywhere) by the glass from around 100,000 to 180,000 dong (that's about US$6 to $10) and bottles from around 500,000 to 1,000,000 dong (about US$30 to $60). It's definitely the kind of place you'd want to go on a Saigon date night (which gives me an idea for a future post....!).

*NB: Actually I still love Qing (red and white striped walled winey bolthole on Pasteur) - both bars offer distinctly different atmospheres with Qing cute, cosy and chatty; QD dark, mysterious and sophisticated...

QD Bar & Lounge, 138 Ton That Dam, D1, Saigon

Qing, 110 Pasteur, D1, Saigon