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The complete feed
Every newly published Saigoneer article, ordered from newest to oldest across all sections and series.
13174 articles
Literature
“You told me not to look at you, it’s silly / Yet I want to gnaw you the way I gnaw bread ... the pack of ravenous dogs looked at me with night sea eyes / I wish they could gnaw me piece by piece.”
Environment
Over the past few months, WWF has been running a multi-faceted campaign to spotlight the importance of sustainable ingredients from the Mekong Delta.
Saigon Hẻm Gems
“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.”
Music & Arts
“It’s not something unfamiliar, but it’s been a few years since I last heard it. Stumbling upon this beautiful bucolic scene now has made me fall in love with the Mekong Delta’s đờn ca tài tử melodies again.”
Architecture
Major metropolises like Saigon and Hanoi might boast the most concentrated distributions of coffee shops in Vietnam, but a new crop of fresh faces in other up-and-coming towns have emerged in the scene, offering sterling brews, spacious seats, and, in some cases, delightful interior design that blends modern cafe conventions with uniquely local flairs.
Sponsored Listings
Marriott Bonvoy, Marriott International’s award-winning travel program, once again invites travelers to fast track their status and earn bonus points with its fan-favorite global promotion. Registered Marriott Bonvoy members can earn 1,000 bonus points and one bonus Elite Night Credit for each eligible paid night stayed during the promotion earning period from February 11 to April 28, 2025. Registration is open today and runs through until April 14, 2025.
Dishcovery
Chef Peter Cường Franklin shared a powerful narrative to introduce the dish he prepared for Saigoneer. Rice symbolizes the nation’s most important carbohydrate and its agrarian culture; cá chốt represents the ubiquity of local seafood and vital waterways; and lotus provides a metaphor for Vietnamese resilience because it grows in the mud and produces a beautiful, useful flower.
Natural Selection
The king cobra, or rắn hổ mang chúa in Vietnamese, has great personal branding. For proof, one need look no further than the recent flower display on Nguyễn Huệ celebrating the Year of the Snake: the largest, most impressive statue bore the telltale hood of a cobra.
Dishcovery
Meeting up for a Chinese-style breakfast often means gathering around stacked baskets of dim sum or diving into hearty bowls of wonton noodles. But if you're looking for something lighter, a serving of cheung fun might offer the perfect balance.
Hanoi Ngõ Nooks
I am Hanoi’s hungriest tourist; and the capital welcomes me into its flavorsome, umami-rich warmth with open arms.
Environment
Frequently touted as environmentally friendly options that help preserve the planet, cotton tote bags require so much energy and freshwater to produce that you must use one at least 7,000 times to make it an effective alternative to plastic bags. Finding out that purchases, habits, and initiatives you thought were good for the planet, such as using tote bags, are in fact not likely to help our current climate crisis can be disheartening. Recognizing how the sustainability movement is rife with performative acts, corporate greenwashing and good intentions thwarted by misinformation threatens to discourage people from the entire concept.
Music & Arts
As a pleasant post-Tết gift for fans in Vietnam, a stop in Saigon was announced as part of the Asian leg of keshi’s world tour.
Quãng 8
Born in 2005, Ly Mí Cường has brought sáo Mèo to international music competitions twice in his life — and he managed to take home the first prize both times. Cường’s anchor is always H’Mông culture, the wellspring that has nurtured his soul ever since he first took up the flute of his people, sáo H’Mông.
Dishcovery
Seafood reminds chef Nghiêm Minh Đức of childhood vacations to northern beaches with his family. But since moving to Saigon, he has been exposed to southern products including cua Cà Mau’s which inspire him to experiment with new dishes.
Education
What is a plurilingual education? Simply stated, it is one that teaches academic content in two or more languages rather than just teaching the languages as subjects in and of themselves. The structured environment thus fosters proficiency in these languages while simultaneously achieving learning goals for traditional subjects such as mathematics, science, history, and art.
Loạt Soạt
“If the rain could wash away everything, maybe we could all find peace. For the third generation after the war, what was left behind wasn’t anger or bitterness, but an enduring sorrow that echoed from the heart.”
Hanoi
Vietnam residents are rightfully celebrating recent advances in public transit.
Sports
The clink of cue sticks on eight-ball muffling the clank of whisky glass ice cubes and the slap of cards as boozehounds hide their addictions in the shadows of sport and hobby? Dense plumes of Bastos smoke obscuring illicit activities and immoral affairs? Are Saigon's pool halls the seedy dens of patriarchal indulgence their reputation and pop culture representations suggest?
Culture
Joss papers and effigies consumed my experiences before I began to even question their meaning. On the anniversary of my grandfather’s death (giỗ) , my grandmother routinely set up a large pot in our tiny front yard and burned a stack of replica paper money. It is quite a scene to watch — the fire turned the paper to smoke and ash, and within minutes it was as if the paper never existed.
Environment
When seeing a reflective row of solar panels situated on a roof in Vietnam, it’s easy to assume that the home, office, or factory belonged to someone who had decided to pay a little more for the sake of the common good. One might think that while solar energy has become more affordable and convenient as technologies continue to improve, it still requires consumers to make a conscious decision to spend extra for electricity because it is better for the environment. This, however, is wrong.
Culture
According to Vietnamese traditions, the first, second, and third days of Tết are reserved for one’s paternal family, maternal family, and teacher’s family, respectively.
Society
The year is 2013. Linh lies awake in the attic bedroom of her cozy childhood home in Saigon. Tomorrow is her first day at primary school, and sleep doesn’t come easily with the all butterflies fluttering in her stomach. She’s worried, but mom assured her that she would be okay, because she is special.
Food Culture
To me, there's nothing that screams Tết as much as sticky rice cake. However one wants to spice up the usual celebration by replacing some dishes with something new each year, sticky rice cakes remain a must-have in Vietnamese households. Try searching for an image of the Lunar New Year and there’s a high chance that you’ll spot the cakes amongst the first ten results.
Culture
When I was a high school student, Lunar New Year brought with it a lot of excitement. Not only did we get a week-long break, we also got plenty of fun school activities leading up to the holidays. For me, one of my most anticipated events during this period of time was the high school Tết concerts.
