A Sunday in Saigon: Bubble tea, banh mi and beer

Behind the bar at Hoa Vien Brauhaus

A Saigon cafe with a French vibe (inside and out!)

Look who's serving Banh Mi (hehe!)

My latest Saigon food obsession is Banh Mi Bistro (yes, it's a sandwich shop!) at 76 Vo Thi Sau, District 1. Their chicken sandwich is the best - shredded, barbeque chicken mixed with some kind of delicious seasoned mayo (maybe it's msg that makes it so savoury and tasty?) and lettuce - simple but moreish. I also tried their mint bubble tea, like a dessert in a glass. It was basically a mint flavoured milkshake with ice, tapioca pearls (the 'bubble' bit), little cubes of colourful jelly and some grated coconut (but no tea!) - surprisingly refreshing and not as sickly as it sounds.

Then, it was onto Le Petit Cafe to check it out. It's quite a hidden little spot down an alley off Dien Bien Phu (D1), but well signposted at either entrance to the street. Here, it was time for another cool drink - this time a tamarind juice with plenty of ice and topped with peanuts. A perfect blend of sweet and salty - yum! Le Petit Cafe has a grungy European vibe, dark inside with wrought iron tables and chairs, a chandelier, musical instruments propped against the wall, a bar, smoking patrons and a cat. Upstairs - a cozy room full of young, hip Vietnamese people lounging on cushions, and above that, a roof terrace.

After an aimless wander in the heat we came across an oasis in the form of Hoa Vien Brauhaus, a Czech brewery that's so impressive, I can't believe it's taken me so long to go! There's an amazing wooden bar with copper vats, with a light lager and two types of dark available. There's a menu of delicious sounding grilled meats and seafood (like wasabi grilled prawns), and Vietnamese dishes too. The light lager was so good (and great value - less than $2 for half a litre!) - and I thought I'd gone off beer...

To tweet or not to tweet?

Twitter seems to be getting more and more press coverage by the day - but I'm one of those people who's still not sure I 'get it'. I'm not sure what else Twitter can offer that interacting with friends on Facebook and posting stuff on this blog can - I wonder if using Twitter would just double up on these (particularly Facebook status updates) or even replace them? I guess one of the main ideas with Twitter is networking opportunities, and being the fledgling freelance writer I am it could potentially lead to work...or at least lead to a few new blog followers! But I'm not sure I can be bothered or if I have anything interesting to 'tweet' about, or if enough people I know even use Twitter. Some of my fellow blog friends have joined the twitterfest but none of my real life friends have which is one of the things holding me back (why join if everyone else is still facebooking?). Anyway, I may still succumb but holding out for now until I'm really, really convinced!

Excess baggage? Try a clothing swap...

Clothing swaps are a fun way of getting rid of old clothes and scoring something new in the process (whether travelling, living in expat-land, or back in the real world!). When living in Phnom Penh, I went to my first ever clothing swap and loved it. Three of us gathered at a friend's apartment laden with clothes and accessories we no longer wanted, and with cool tunes playing and champagne flowing we displayed our wares and traded threads. We then gave all the leftover items (alot) to one of the girl’s Khmer boyfriend, who took the clothes to his home village in Prey Veng province to distribute. I can just picture a bunch of excited Khmer girls running around showing off their new outfits, and by all reports this is pretty much what happened! There are plenty of online resources on how to hold a clothing swap - such as this. I might have to have a Saigon swap soon!

Image courtesy fjom

Cafe crush: Dolezza House

On my eternal quest for new and inspiring cafes, I came across Dolezza House - a colourful cafe with a cute clothing shop in Saigon's District 3.

The on-site boutique houses a treasure trove of colourful dresses (think Mango, with better cuts and tailoring) and outside the cafe is full of whimsical touches, like colour co-ordinated coasters that match the pink and purple seats, dress-shaped menus and artfully displayed flowers and plants. The iced coffees, New Zealand ice-creams and mist-blowing fans are the perfect antidotes to Saigon's heat, in one of the city's most girly (but gorgeous) little cafes.

Dolezza House, 26 Le Quy Don, D3, Saigon

A quiet refuge with cool tiles

On Saigon's Ton That Thiep Street (home to Temple Club, Fanny ice-cream, Cantina Central and some cute homeware stores) sits a Hindu temple, enclosed by a concrete yellow wall. Inside is a peaceful refuge adorned with colourful patterned tiles, faded framed pictures and old mirrors. There's a central shrine with requisite flashing lights, kitsch and colour, and some quirky little masks with a tribal Pacific island look.

Except for a few people tending the grounds (arranging flowers, tidying the shrines) it's pretty much deserted. Suddenly the roar of the motorbikes outside is dulled and you're no longer in the centre of what has to be one of the noisiest cities in the world. It would be great if there was a restaurant on the grounds like at the Dong Du Street mosque!

Phnom Penh ponderings...

The sun sets in Phnom Penh

"Tourist, madame?" asks my Khmer masseuse mid-pummel. I have to think for a second. "Yes" I state with a slight pang of regret. "How many days you stay?" she asks. "Four" I reply. Just another barang visiting for a few days. Niceties quickly over, the massage resumes and it hits home that I no longer call Cambodia home.

We left Phnom Penh six months before this return trip, and ever since, the memories of anything negative I once associated with my old home slowly dissipated. In their place, the positive memories grew and grew until they took on an elevated status of the best time I ever had in the best place in the entire world! Time, distance (ok, just a little bit of distance) and a whole lot of selective memory had transformed Phnom Penh into a holy grail of happiness and sunshine, to the extent that I was certain to be setting myself up for dissapointment upon going back.

The trip started off with a rush of excitement upon spotting all the things I missed. The view of the Tonle Sap out the plane window as we landed, the frangipani trees in bloom, the smiley Khmer faces, the slow pace, the crumbling charm of certain buildings and orange-robed monks wandering the streets collecting alms. How could I have left here for big, bustling Saigon? I wondered.

We spent the next few days getting reacquainted with our favourite places. We ate, we drank, we shopped, we reunited with people we knew and answered many a question about our now big baby who was a tiny 3 month old when we left. 

From the time we arrived to the time we left, something inside me switched. While I'd built Phnom Penh up to be the epicentre of everything that is great, it came crashing down piece by piece during my stay. It's hard to pin down exactly what caused my mindshift, but several things were like a slap in the face wake up call. Like filthy children sleeping on the pavement. The legless and armless being wheeled along the riverfront. The scruffy begging kids. The piles of rubbish on the unkempt streets. The groups of dodgy policemen looking for people to pull over for bribes ("We need money for beer!" they used to say to us). All these things I do not miss, and for some reason they looked more prevalent than ever. I'm still not sure if there were more beggars and homeless people than before, or if I'd become so used to them living in the Penh that I'd filtered them out. The city seemed a little more desperate; a little more dusty. There was a sense of emptiness, too, as it hit home that most of our close friends had now left. We passed one couple's old apartment on the riverfront, a site of many a party and now dark, shut and with no sign of life. Our friends have moved on and time has too.

On this trip I experienced some kind of closure and a newfound appreciation of everything my new home offers that Phnom Penh doesn't. I did have a fun time and will return again and again to Phnom Penh, and it will always hold a special place in my heart, but I think I needed this trip back to concentrate on the new chapter in my life and begin a new love affair - this time with Saigon.

Some shopping finds from Phnom Penh

A whirlwind trip back to Phnom Penh (where I used to live) was a great excuse to do some shopping in my old haunts (Russian Market, I miss you!). Here are some of my favourite finds (clockwise, from top):

1. Vespa print cushion from Bliss

2. Turquoise scarf from Kravan House

3. Organic Cambodian palm sugar from Lucky Supermarket

4. Bodia Spa soaps (turmeric and ginger & menthol) from U-Care

5. Turquoise and silver pendant and black and silver earrings from Russian Market

6. Black and silver ring from Kravan House

7. Colourful palm leaf boxes (free!) - the jewellery came in these, so much better than plastic bags

There was also lots of miscellaneous shopping in the form of groceries I either can't find in Saigon or are outrageously priced (still can't get over $10 arborio rice), and alcohol - love the lax tax system in the 'bodge.

Spotted in Saigon...

Sights like these were common in Cambodia, but I haven't seen too many overloaded cyclos or makeshift vehicles joining the motorbiking masses on Saigon's heaving streets. I saw this guy while walking through District 3 and couldn't resist taking a pic - he waved just at the right moment!

Saigon Eats: Tib Express

The new face of Saigon dining appears to be in the form of cheap eats in a cool, clean, contemporary setting. Tib Express is one such place. A step up from popular chains like Wrap & Roll and Pho 24, it offers Vietnamese snacks and street fare in a classy setting.

A recent edition to the Tib family of restaurants (there's also Tib on Hai Ba Trung, D3 and Tib Chay - a vegetarian restaurant on Tran Nhat Duat, D1), Tib Express is located across the road from bustling Ben Thanh market, offering respite from the crowds and heat and a delicious array of tasty snacks.

We tried a random selection of fresh rolls and rice noodle based dishes, including Hue rolls with pork and prawn (presented like sushi rolls) and another wrapped in mustard leaves, which provided a slight wasabi flavour, minus the heat.

Hue rolls with pork and prawn - Vietnamese sushi?!

Glutinous goodness

Everything tastes better rolled!

Fresh and flavoursome food aside, the decor is cool (think polished concrete floors, an open kitchen, lots of white and warm wood) and the vibe is busy and fun - a great place for a quick and tasty lunch!

Tib Express, 54 Phan Boi Chau, D1