Creator

Mervin Lee

Stories by Mervin Lee

36 stories

Culture

In Chợ Lớn, Leaf-Wrapped Rice Dumplings Abound Every Tết Đoan Ngọ

The fifth day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar is a day of great importance in Chinese communities all over Asia.

Mervin LeeMay 30, 2025

Saigon Hẻm Gems

Hẻm Gems: A Night of Love, Poetry, and the Pursuit of the Sublime at Emme Bar

“So what makes Emme House different?” the head bartender Dũng asked during our earlier conversation with Trực, the bar’s owner. “Emme House is not a bar,” he explained. I further inquired then about the layers of storytelling embedded into every detail, to which he replied with a smile, “I’ll tell you the whole story.”

Garrett MacLeanFeb 23, 2025

Ănthology

In Taiwan, a Vietnamese Baker Creates Bánh Mì Thịt From Scratch

“We’re going to Taipei on VietJet Air,” an acquaintance said to me. An international flight on Vietnam’s notoriously delayed airline didn’t sound like the best idea ever. But who would expect that I was set to fly to Tainan, a city on the island's southwest coast, just a few hours after the brief conversation with her. The reality was that I found it excruciatingly difficult to reject a cheap flight deal.

Mervin LeeNov 26, 2024

In Plain Sight

To Appreciate Tao Đàn More, Study the Park's Past, Present, and Future

Shallow shrub and fern roots tussle to send shoots, tendrils and stalks up and outwards, sprawling across uneven ground and grasping at patches of light. A musky, funky, fetid soil stink emanates from crooks, crevices, and holes ungoverned by grubs, spiders, snails, beetles, and flies. Flowers bloom in vibrant bursts of color amongst vines, the collapsing pulp of decomposing logs and uncompromising boulders; birds trill, cicadas whine, and the air offers its inexhaustible exhale of droplet-rich molecules. We live in the tropics. Often, we forget this. Tao Đàn Park allows us to remember.

Paul ChristiansenNov 20, 2024

Saigon Hẻm Gems

Hẻm Gems: Trứng's Divine Flan Is What Happens When Saigon Dreams of Japanese Desserts

My slight obsession with Japanese-style flan started in Tokyo, but it’s taken on a new life here in Saigon.

Rhianna MorrisSep 17, 2023

Saigon Hẻm Gems

Hẻm Gems: Tiệm Cơm Ninh Giang, a 'Secret' Hakka Feast Only for Those in the Know

I first heard about Tiệm Cơm Ninh Giang 寧江客家飯店 from some Hoa friends in the city.

Brendan RyanFeb 15, 2023

Ănthology

A Singaporean-Vietnamese Couple Refreshes Hakka Offal Soup With Trứng Cuộn

When my mother, a native of Singapore’s oft-visited Chinatown, described a pork offal soup stall with meatballs that “tasted suspiciously like that vermicelli dish we had in Huế back in 2013,” I knew I had to trek out to Chinatown Complex Food Centre to find it.

Mervin LeeNov 27, 2022

Hanoi Ngõ Nooks

Ngõ Nooks: The Peculiarity of a Coffee Sanctuary With No Menu and No Address

"SOLitude" — At first glance, the word conjures a sense of melancholic privateness in my ever-anxious soul. But not in a pessimistic way, fortunately.

Mervin LeeAug 7, 2022

Saigon Hẻm Gems

Hẻm Gems: Tân Định's Tried-and-True Bánh Canh Cua for a Late Breakfast

Bánh canh, at times described as Vietnamese udon or even “mouse-tail noodles,” is a great mystery on its own. Etymologically speaking, bánh canh translates to “soup-cake,” and these thick, cylindrical noodles made with tapioca and rice flour of varying ratios do invoke a sense of cognitive dissonance.

Mervin LeeFeb 28, 2022

Literature

'Con Ăn Cơm Chưa? | Have You Eaten Yet?' by Jessica Nguyen

it took me till my college years when saying “I love you” became a normal thing

Jessica NguyenAug 24, 2020

Roundups

Morning Stories Roundup: Coffee Festival, BRT Project, and My Thuan Bridge 2

Stay connected with Saigoneer on Twitter and Instagram and like us on Facebook . Each morning, we select some of the most important stories from Saigon, the rest of Vietnam and beyond, and digest them into short, accessible links so you can easily keep up with current affairs.

SaigoneerAug 20, 2020

Roundups

Morning Stories Roundup: Coffee Price Hike, Bank Robbery, and 4 Covid-19 Cases

Stay connected with Saigoneer on Twitter and Instagram and like us on Facebook . Each morning, we select some of the most important stories from Saigon, the rest of Vietnam and beyond, and digest them into short, accessible links so you can easily keep up with current affairs.

SaigoneerJul 30, 2020

Ănthology

A Bún Đậu Mắm Tôm in Singapore That Tastes (and Smells) Just Like Home

Joo Chiat, a neighborhood in the eastern realms of Singapore, is hardly a forgettable area.

Mervin LeeJan 31, 2020

Food Culture

Not Just a Drink: As Vietnam's Coffee Scene Matures, It's Also Getting More Serious

If motorbikes are the choice mode of transportation in Saigon, coffee has got to be the choice stimulant and legal addiction.

Mervin LeeNov 6, 2019

Saigon Hẻm Gems

Hẻm Gems: Tasty Char Kway Teow and Sisig Where You Least Expect It

"They have bak kut teh . And what do you call that...Singaporean Hokkien fried noodles? The Korean businessmen go there for gatherings too," a friend told me during a casual chat at a craft beer joint a few months ago.

Mervin LeeAug 23, 2019

Saigon Hẻm Gems

Hẻm Gems: An Ancient Chinese Meat Sandwich, 3,000km Away From Home

In the landlocked Chinese city of Xian, the legendary Terracotta Army of more than 8,000 soldiers with distinct facial features, weapons, chariots and horses finds their eternal home. This article, however, has very little to do with China’s rulers or dynastic history. Almost 3,000 kilometers away, one of Xian’s most popular street snacks has somehow found itself reborn in Saigon.

Mervin LeeAug 2, 2019

Saigon Hẻm Gems

Hẻm Gems: In Saigon's First Shots Bar, Usain Bolt and Princess Peach in Test Tubes

Pham Ngu Lao Street, along with its sister street Bui Vien, has been known for almost two decades to foreigners as the perfect place to drink, bunk-in and conveniently repeat. In other words, a booze-filled heaven complete with affordable hostels and hotels for first-timers in Vietnam.

Mervin LeeMay 24, 2019

Food Culture

Chả Lụa Fit for a Kingdom: How Thailand Fell in Love With Vietnamese Ham

Instead of sunny Saigon, I found myself yet again in relentlessly sunny Bangkok. I had a convenient excuse though: attending a close friend’s wedding.

Mervin LeeApr 17, 2019

Saigon Hẻm Gems

Hẻm Gems: Authentic French Pastries in an Unexpected Part of Town

Perhaps a story not too unfamiliar to many: Tom Nguyen grew up in France as a French-Vietnamese. Any similarity in background with other Viet Kieu, however, ends rather quickly. About two years ago, Nguyen returned to Saigon with his partner to start LT Pâtisserie. What makes his venture special is the unique choice of location.

Mervin LeeMar 22, 2019

Saigon Hẻm Gems

Hẻm Gems: One Family's Unexpected Outpost at the Foot of Langbiang

Lac Duong, a township 12 kilometers north of central Da Lat, isn't exactly a place where one would expect to find some international comfort.

Mervin LeeMar 8, 2019

Food Culture

The Distinctly Da Lat Comfort of Bonding Over Coffee Beans

After a two-year stint as an English teacher in Saigon, Nick Melhuish decided that it was time to call it quits. He moved to Da Lat with his partner Brianna and his dog Sausage to open a bed & breakfast and roastery called the London Saigon Coffee Company.

Mervin LeeFeb 17, 2019

Society

Saigon's Stand-up Scene Grows up, but the Jokes Remain

Comic Uy Le will freely tell anyone, preferably on stage with a spotlight and a hot mic, that he doesn’t get along with other comics. “Because I don’t smoke, drink and still have a future,” Uy shared.

Jesús Lopez GomezJan 30, 2019

Saigon Hẻm Gems

Hẻm Gems: A Bowl of Hanoi's Southern-Style Bún Bò in the South

Fabien from France and Trang from Hanoi led a very different life just a year ago. They were running a Vietnamese restaurant nearly 12,000 kilometers away from Saigon, in Morocco.

Mervin LeeJan 25, 2019

Food Culture

Da Lat, the Unlikely Home of El Salvador's Rare Pacamara Coffee Beans

In a previous life, Nguyen Van Son was an auto parts salesperson. As a gift of appreciation for his wife, he acquired a seemingly trivial plot of land in Da Lat and made it a place where the family could cultivate flowers as a summer hobby. But things changed when he was approached by some cunning businessmen who convinced him to grow coffee for quick cash: he was sold trees that never produced cherries.

Mervin LeeJan 21, 2019