{NYC} Lower East Side eats & drinks

The Lower East Side is another New York neighbourhood we really loved, so much so that we spent several afternoons and nights sampling its cool bars and great eats. The LES is a grungy yet gentrifying area (noticing a theme here?!) that was the first home of many Jewish settlers in New York and went on to house many other immigrant communities in densely populated tenement housing. These days it still seems to have a bit of an edge and has a thriving bar and restaurant scene, with vibrant Ludlow Street the centre of the action.

Where we drank

Schillers - a gorgeous, atmospheric bar by the owner of Balthazar (in Soho) and Pastis (in the Meatpacking District), with a vintage European style and great cocktails. And a quirky bathroom with a communal, retro sink that seemed to be a drawcard for some nosy drop-ins!

Los Feliz (Tequileria & Taqueria) - moody, dark and mirrored with a tequila and margarita menu as long as your arm - we loved sitting at the bar talking (and drinking) tequila at this decadent looking place. Their jalapeno-infused tequila was amazing!

Spitzer's Corner - a cool, rowdy bar with craft beers, satisfying pub food and long tables crammed with cool college kids. Here we were strangely asked for ID, which they then scanned with a machine (hello paranoia, we're 31!) but then noticed everyone else was being asked too. NYC bars can be really strict and we're glad we took our passports with us after an earlier scare at DBA in the East Village (we managed to talk our way in despite being ID-less, luckily!)

Allen & Delancey - an upmarket gothic/chic bar that was perhaps my favourite of the whole trip. Here we sat by the front window having extra-dirty martinis pre-dinner at Little Giant and wishing we lived in New York.

Where we ate

Katz's Deli - "I'll have what she's having!" Katz's is the famous Jewish deli where 'that' scene in When Harry Met Sally was filmed. This wasn't somewhere initially on our radar, but when we stumbled across it decided to give it a try, especially given we'd never eaten Jewish deli food before. Sampled - a hard salami sandwich that was about 20cm high (slice upon slice of meat stacked up high - pretty disgusting actually!), a yummier potato knish (like a big mashed potato patty, fried) and matzo ball soup - a silky, delicate, doughy dumpling in a comforting broth. Katz's has been going since 1888 and is something of a New York institution. I'd go back for the soup but skip the salami!

Sugar Sweet Sunshine - Years after Magnolia Bakery appeared in SATC sparking a cupcake eating frenzy, the trend refuses to die. We spotted many cupcakeries while out and about in the city and sampled several, only to be disheartened at the sickly sweetness of them all (which is saying something, coming from a dessert devotee). I think it's something to do with the fact the icing (or frosting) is equally as high as the cake part rather than thinly spread over the cake like the old school Australian kind. At Sugar Sweet Sunshine we tried the red velvet, pistachio, lemon and 'Ooey Gooey' - chocolate with almond buttercream (the lemon was the best). I really wanted to like these but I think the reality didn't live up to the less cloying cupcakes of my imagination.

Little Giant - a 'seasonal American' restaurant that was one of our best New York eats. Cosy and unpretentious, Little Giant embodies the slow food ideal that has taken hold of the NYC food scene, where locally grown, seasonal, and preferably organic produce is used. I had the mushroom and cauliflower with poached egg and truffle oil to start (heavenly) followed by sea scallops with grapes, cauliflower puree and hazelnuts. We shared some sides like a gourmet version of mac and cheese (now I understand American's fascination with this dish - though I still think I only like the gourmet version!) and three desserts between four of us - meyer lemon fritters, sticky toffee pudding and a chocolate mint sundae. I highly, highly, highly recommend Little Giant if you're in NYC!

{NYC} Highlights of the Meatpacking District

One area we really loved wandering around while in NYC was the Meatpacking District. It had a totally different look to the other downtown neighbourhoods, with wider footpaths and low rise, converted industrial buildings (including remnants of its namesake meatpacking plants).

The once no-go neighbourhood is now home to high-end fashion stores, boutique hotels and chic eateries like Pastis, where we stopped for creme brulee and people watching.

Nearby were these striking wall murals of Madonna by a street artist called Mr Brainwash.

We ventured up to the much talked about Highline - a disused railway line that's recently been converted into a park and public space, spanning the Meatpacking District to Chelsea.

Here's the view looking down....

...and the view above of The Standard - a stunning design hotel (that's part of the Highline underneath).

...and a close-up of the urban-meets-nature Highline where rustic railway tracks merge with wild plants - so effective and pretty.

At the moment I'm...

Watching: True Blood (quirky, sordid and much better than Twilight!)

Reading: The 4-hour work week by Timothy Ferris (lots of interesting ideas...)

Perusing: new home/decor online mag Lonny (lots of pretty pics and inspiration)

Drinking: Spicy chai (with Cambodian palm sugar and milk)

Eating: Pizza and cookies (but making salad tonight to compensate!)

Loving: 40,000 dong tops and 50,000 dong pedicures (we're talking $2-3!)

Looking forward to: A trip to Phnom Penh in a few weeks (dying for a brownie from The Shop and stocking up at Russian Market, Bliss, Ambre etc. etc....!)

....how about you?

{NYC} 5 things I loved about the Brooklyn Flea

{1} The Setting

A schoolyard in leafy, brownstone-lined Fort Greene plays host to the Brooklyn Flea each Saturday (it's also on in DUMBO on Sundays), a market featuring retro and vintage furniture and homewares, secondhand jewellery and clothing, independent designers and gourmet treats. The neighbourhood is picture perfect and I loved its community feel, historic buildings and laidback vibe.

{2} Typography everywhere

The Flea is a typography lover's dream. Wooden block stamps, plastic and tin letters rescued from old signs and vintage typewriters were spotted, but my favourite finds were rings made from old typewriter keys and vintage toy building blocks.

{3} Vintage and retro finds

From mid-century style chairs to lamps and retro kitchenware, the Flea featured many a cool find to decorate a home. There were even a few coffee tables made from old railway sleepers, and old school lockers that would be a great storage space in a vintage look room!

{4} Innovate design

This little tent (the Design Co-op) was home to an assortment of independent designers' wares. I loved the cute screenprints on these t-shirts and baby onesies.

{5} Rustic woodfired pizza

Our mid-morning sustenance search at the Flea came to a halt at this homemade woodfired pizza stall. The oven is on the back of an old trailer, and from its fiery confines comes a margarita pizza to die for, with fresh basil, tasty tomato sauce and oozing mozzarella on a crispy base. Pizza perfection!

For more on the Brooklyn Flea, check out their blog, or an interview with one of its founders by Lonely Planet. If only I could access this market every weekend...I'm afraid Tan Dinh (my Saigon local) just doesn't quite measure up!!

{NYC} Soul food at Melba's in Harlem

Soul food is something I've only ever read about or seen on tv - it's not something that registers on the Australian or Asian food radar, given its American-centric nature.

To the uninitiated, soul food can best be described as fare rooted in African-American traditions, emanating from America's south with African influences. Vegetables like collard greens feature, as do grits (like polenta), crab cakes, catfish, fried chicken and down-home comfort type foods like mashed potato and onion rings.

Chicken and waffles at Melba's, served with maple syrup and strawberry butter

One thing we were curious to try was the supposed nirvana of all soul food dishes - chicken and waffles. That's fried chicken and huge spongy waffles served TOGETHER with maple syrup poured all over the two(!) In search of this artery clogging grease fest we headed 'across 110th street' (love that song!) to Harlem, the heart of Manhattan's African-American community and home to several well-known soul food restaurants. Top of my list was Amy Ruth's, but after meeting up with some Upper West Side dwelling friends who are in the Harlem know, we were persuaded to try Melba's instead - a classy little restaurant representing the new, more upmarket style pervading Harlem.

Happy to go with sleek and chic over down and dirty diner, we caught the subway to Melba's - with a walk through Harlem's streets at night not nearly as adventurous or dangerous as I was perversely hoping!

Melba's had the look of a classy brasserie or bistro, with dim lighting, a cosy, buzzing atmosphere and a jazz bar vibe, given it was open mic night when we attended. Of the four of us, two opted for the famous chicken and waffles, which was accompanied by not only maple syrup but strawberry flavoured butter(!!!). Two of us ordered a plate of sides to sample the mash, onion rings, collard greens and more, and we also tried the catfish strips and crabcakes - both delicious. So how were the chicken and waffles? Surprisingly - they weren't as disgusting as they sound! The maple syrup somehow tied the two main ingredients together in a warm, deep fried, comforting, sweet and savoury, complimentary kind of way! I'm not sure I'd place chicken and waffles in the 'dishes I regularly like to eat' category (not having a death by obesity wish) but I'm glad we expanded our eating horizons with a side trip into soul food territory - and what better place to do it than Harlem!

Saigon escape: a month in Bangkok, Sydney and NYC

Hi! I'm back in steamy Saigon after an amazing month away, and luckily, rather than suffering post-holiday blues am feeling happy to be back (first stop was the new Quan An Ngon restaurant on Pasteur - if you're in Saigon check it out, the building's beautiful and the food is the same delicious menu as the original).

Our time away began with a long weekend in Bangkok, reacquainting myself with the Siam neighbourhood (read: shops, shops and more shops, cough cough...). Oh and food. Lots of great food. We also caught up with some friends who have moved there which was lots of fun.

Next - a week and a bit in Sydney, which was alot of catching up with family and friends and friends' new babies and old babies (and unborn babies!). We went to some of our favourite places - Zumbo's in Balmain, Sulfaro's (for pizza & coffee) and Colefax Chocolates in Haberfield, Berkelouw Books and movies at the Dendy in Newtown, restaurants and bars in Crown Street, and our old suburb, Dulwich Hill, where I was very happy to discover a new cafe has opened at the end of our street which will be pretty convenient in future! We also went to some of the new 'small bars' popping in Sydney (a la Melbourne or New York - yay!) like Pocket Bar in Darlinghurst and The Hive in Erskineville.

Then, bidding little Z adieu, we headed off on something of a post-babymoon to New York City!!! The feeling of walking through an airport without being encumbered by a pram and a big bag full of baby paraphenalia was the best feeling! And being able to read, watch movies and listen to music on the plane was bliss. I didn't even care that it took about 22 hours to get from Sydney to New York, and felt a bit sorry for the tired, haggard mothers disembarking at the end with screaming baby in tow (in a 'so glad it's not me' kind of way!). Our New York stay featured 10 days of eating, drinking, shopping, art galleries and wandering all over. It was one of the best holidays of my life. Lots of gushy posts to come featuring our favourite neighbourhoods and food finds!

{travel inspiration} Cat & Adam's cycling journey

The ever-intrepid Cat & Adam in their cycling finery!

My friend Cat and her boyfriend Adam are currently on a cycling journey - from London to Australia, via the world!! It is definitely the most ambitious and inspirational trip of any kind that anyone I know has ever undertaken.

From their temporary home in London (both are Australian) they have so far cycled across Europe (France to Greece and lots of pretty places in between), across Turkey on what sounded like an epic journey in itself, and as I type are traversing Georgia. Next, it's the 'stans (think Borat's homeland!), Iran, a ferry over to UAE and Oman, then to Sri Lanka (ok, they have to fly there but then it's cycling all the way). Then its across to India and non-stop cycling from south to north, to Nepal, Tibet and into China, down into southeast Asia (and hopefully a pitstop at my place!) and finally, to Oz.

Cat with some gypsy thugs, pretending to be friendly for the camera (actually the one on the right looks pretty scary)

Wild camping in Turkey - what a beautiful sight to wake up to!

Tales of camping in the wild, encounters with gypsy thugs, the overwhelming hospitality of strangers and awesome sights and scenery along the way are all chronicled in Cat and Adam's blog Cycling2Oz if you want to join me in some armchair travelling! Am looking forward to their Asia leg and when they finally make it to sunny Saigon for some much needed R&R (am thinking massages, pedicures and hairwashes at Jasmine - maybe some beard maintenance for Adam!) though there's many an adventure ahead of them before then. Can't wait to read more. I hope they make a film or write a book about their experience!

Adam tackling some mountainous terrain in Turkey

So - where would you go/what would you do if you were going to undertake some kind of epic journey across the world? I'd love to follow the ancient spice route on a food-focussed journey, taking in markets and souks, spice gardens, tea and coffee plantations, authentic, family-run restaurants, cooking schools and staying in atmospheric hotels with character and history along the way...what about you?

New York, New York!

A scanned pic of the Brooklyn Bridge taken on our first NYC trip in 2000 (pre-digital camera days!)

Exactly four weeks from now I'll be exploring cafes and shops in the East Village, strolling through SoHo or might be at MOMA. I'm going to New York!!

In case it's not obvious enough, I'm pretty excited about our upcoming 10-day stay in what might be my favourite city in the entire world. First though, we're having a couple of days in Bangkok to refuel on pad kee mao and iberry, stock up on books at Kinokuniya, hopefully get a Thai massage or two and wander the labyrinth that is Siam Square. Then it's on to Sydney to see family and friends and do lots of fun Sydney things (and eat lots of yum Sydney food, e.g. macarons from Adriano Zumbo's in Balmain - obsessed - even had them hand-delivered in Saigon when my parents came to stay!). Then New York, then back to Sydney for a bit more time before returning to Saigon (a month away in all). The countdown to this trip has been the most agonising one ever (18 days to go.... 18 days to go....). Before then I need to try and keep myself pre-occupied with Saigon-centric stuff so I don't drive myself (even more) insane!

Date night in Saigon #2 (Vino, Gia Dining Room & Cage)

First venue on our 2nd (on the blogging record) date was Vino - a cute little wine shop with a bar situated in The Refinery, the former opium den turned eating and drinking enclave accessed through a French colonial archway on Hai Ba Trung. A few glasses of a Shiraz Voignier in the leafy, tiny front courtyard and the evening was off to a great start. Vino is so low-key and gorgeous I think it's my new favourite (I know, it changes all the time - I can be fickle like that!).

For dinner, we headed to new restaurant Gia Dining Room. A relatively small, contemporary bedecked space, Gia Dining Room serves up modern Vietnamese fare and French-influenced dishes with some great seafood and delicious duck with fresh green peppercorns (mmm...). Despite it being a Saturday night the restaurant was strangely devoid of customers. By the end of our meal we were actually the only people left in the room. Either Saigonites eat really early or the word just isn't really out yet about how great this little place is (despite a review being featured in AsiaLIFE HCMC recently). Anyway - Gia Dining Room is well worth a visit if you happen to be in Saigon (and it's great value for money - fine dining at a modest price!). Sold yet?! Wow, I should be on commission or something!

Moving on... time to sample some Saigon nightlife at Cage, a club and live music venue decorated with (you guessed it) elaborate bird cages with chandeliers inside. We had a few drinks but I think it was a little early or an off night as no-one had braved the dancefloor by the time we left. The funniest thing about Cage is the namebadges the staff wear, which flash ''Hello" in neon. So Saigon!

Romance factor: 9/10 (intimate Vino, chic Gia Dining Room and fun(ny) Cage were the perfect dateworthy combo)

Food factor: 8/10 (delicious baked scallops in a delicate cream sauce were a highlight, and our steak and duck mains were amazing. Points lost as nothing very unique or enticing on the dessert menu!)

Fun Factor: 9/10 (an overall great date and a reminder of Saigon's stylish side - it does have one, promise!)

Restless...

I'm feeling restless at the moment. I can't help wondering why I always want to be somewhere else. When living in Sydney all I wanted to do was move to Asia. Towards the end of my time living in Phnom Penh, I couldn't wait to move on to bigger, brighter Saigon. Once in Saigon, memories of Phnom Penh wouldn't stop resurfacing and everything here seemed not quite as great (at first - these thoughts eventually went away, replaced with the occasional bout of Cambodia nostalgia). Thoughts of Sydney also emerge now and then - would life be better back at 'home'? And what about other places? My Bangkok obsession has never really subsided and I often wonder if we should live there next instead of returning to Oz. And I just know that when the day comes (which is yet to be determined) when we move back to Sydney, I'll be pining for Asia and comparing everything and wishing I was still there. And complaining how expensive everything is! Maybe this is the eternal dilemma of all those who venture outside their comfort zones to live in new places, and fall in and out of love with places along the way. For now - I'm physically settled in Saigon, but my mind refuses to stay put.

Cafe Crush: Orchidee

Orchidee is a light and bright little hideaway down the same alleyway as La Camargue restaurant (off Hai Ba Trung, across the road from Tous Les Jours bakery). It offers the perfect pitstop when exploring Hai Ba Trung's shops, and serves great iced coffees and ice-cream in martini glasses.

The ground floor feels a little like a cubbyhouse with its rounded windows and colourful stools. If a citrus colour theme isn't your taste (and I can't say I love the 'tropical' lime/yellow/orange combo) head upstairs to the cute terrace where orchid motifs decorate the cushions and chairs.

Go for: Sweet relief to escape the Saigon-sun mid-shopping spree/street exploration

Not for: The ultimate Saigon cafe experience - more of a cute and convenient pitstop than the next La Fenetre Soleil (this might be more of a short-term cafe crush than a full-blown love affair!)

Orchidee, 195B Hai Ba Trung, D3 (nb:it's down an alley, not actually on Hai Ba Trung...this is just their address....gotta love Saigon addresses!)

Guest post on Ever the Nomad

A guest post I've written on Saigon has been published on cool travel blog, Ever the Nomad (am feeling a bit like a one-girl cheer squad for Saigon right now!).

Ever the Nomad is a blog by Anja Mutic, a Croatian born travel writer, photographer and globetrotter extraordinaire who has called Brooklyn home for the last 10 years. She makes a living from flitting around the globe updating guidebooks, writing for travel publications and making short travel films for Lonely Planet TV (jealous? me??!). Anja's blog is worth checking out for the other guest posts, accounts of her travels and cool bits of New York (like photos of street art) - pretty inspiring!

Date night in Saigon #1 (Warda, K Cafe & O'Brien's)

As promised (or at least vaguely conjured up) earlier, here's the first in what could be a mini-series of 'date nights' in Saigon. Before you get all excited and think it's some kind of Sex in the City-like analysis of Saigon's single scene, said date and future dates are with my lovely husband!

So, first date on the record was not so planned in terms of venues - it was more of an on a whim, ''where shall we go next?'' kind of thing. First up, we went to Middle Eastern bar and restaurant Warda for some drinks and mezze. The ground floor was busy but not too much so, and we were able to get a bench seat near the bar. Our shared mezze (dips, breads, olives, feta, tabouli...) was huge for a supposed pre-dinner snack and the cocktails (rose martini, favourite) went down well. Warda proved a fun place for people watching - the other patrons in the bar area were all Vietnamese, including a group of giggling 20-something girls in suits trying a shisha pipe for maybe the first time, and a businessman with his glamazon, modelesque girlfriend draped all over him. Don't you just love people watching?!

Next, it was onto dinner at K Cafe, a Japanese restaurant with a not very Japanese-sounding name, but nonetheless a long running and popular spot. There are always lots of Japanese people there - an excellent sign! We decided to sit at the sushi bar (I have a thing about sitting at sushi bars) to see the chefs in action, and ordered beers and lots of dishes to share including spicy tuna rolls, soft shell crabs, scallop gyozas and salmon sashimi. A guy who was acting like the owner was sitting nearby and tried to insist we have dessert ("it's free!'') but after a huge Middle Eastern spread then dinner we'd had enough.

But there was still room for more drinks! Next door to K Cafe is a bar called O'Brien's, which for some reason neither of us had ever been to. We decided to check it out and found a small, cosy, exposed brick wall pub with a sports bar meets dive bar vibe. The air was a little smoky, the music very 90s and the crowd a mixed bag of young guys ordering burgers, old guys wearing shorts and t-shirts (so un-Saigon!) and generic people sitting at the bar. Not really my thing. Kind of boring. But we stayed for a drink anyway and it turned out to be a fun place to sit and talk - really unpretentious. And speaking of unpretentious I really should have ordered beer as they make the worst martini ever!

So...how did the date fare?

Romance factor: 6/10 (points deducted for non-dateworthy O'Brien's)

Food factor: 8.5/10 (K Cafe has fantastic sashimi and I highly recommend the scallop gyozas. Actually pretty much everything we've ever tried there has been great)

Fun factor: 8/10 (definitely more of a casual night but lots of fun, conducive to good eats and good chats - even at O'Briens)

More from the market...

Ok, my latest market hauls are starting to get ridiculous! For what you get for the price I mean, and the freshness and tastiness of the produce. I posted a while back about what US$1 will get you at a market in Saigon and since then, I've been more and more overwhelmed at the amazing array of fresh food I can buy at such a great price - this despite the fact my local coffee shop owner insists I'm being totally ripped off!! The other day, I bought the following for the grand total of US$3.50:

• 4 potatoes
• 1 sweet potato
• 5 passionfruit
• 4 tomatoes
• 1 green capsicum
• bunch of shallots
• bunch of coriander
• 1 small pumpkin
• 2 big carrots
• 1 eggplant
• 6 limes
• handful of green beans
• 1 expertly carved whole pineapple

Most have been devoured already - I roasted most of the vegetables in a dressing (olive oil, balsamic, dijon mustard, garlic, dried thyme/rosemary/basil, salt, Cambodian pepper and a squeeze of lime) and the fruit has mostly been used up in breakfast smoothies. Now why am I sometimes so lazy I order pizza for dinner I wonder...maybe I should print this out and stick it on the fridge!

Things I take for granted (Saigon vs. Sydney)

Living in another country means you're constantly comparing. Living in Saigon (and in Asia in general) there are some things that are better than home, yet have quickly become a normal part of life (and totally taken for granted!). On the flipside, living here highlights all the things I miss about home. Here's what I've realised I take for granted, both here (in Saigon) and at 'home' (in Sydney):

I take for granted in Saigon:

• Metred taxis - yes, taxis exist in most places (except the Penh!), but in Saigon, they're cheap enough to use as your daily mode of transport. Can you imagine catching a taxi several times a day in Sydney(!) - to work and back, to go shopping, to go out at night and back? Most mere mortals in Sydney use taxis for getting home from a late night out only. It's a luxury, not a given. One day I'll be living in Sydney again, schlepping to the train station to wait for my half an hour late train, wishing I could just flag down a Mai Linh or Vinasun and go somewhere for $2!
• Hired help - without wanting to sound like a total expat w@nker, having people clean your house (or drive you around, cook your dinner, watch your kids, clean your pool and tend your garden, if you want to get really carried away as some do) is a definite perk of living in Saigon and one that quickly turns from novelty to normal (and it is a normal part of life here - most Vietnamese people have some form of domestic help too, it's not just an expat thing). Anyway, have to remind self that one day, bathroom won't magically clean self!
• Things being cheap - in Saigon, most things are much cheaper than at home (except imported western things that can actually cost much more). Haircuts, pedicures and massages are all highly affordable. Eating out can be cheaper than cooking at home and DVDs can be had for less than $1. All kinds of shopping bargains can be found, and there are tailors on hand to whip up copies of whatever you like. All of this is something that makes living in Asia highly enjoyable and highly addictive - enough to make many turn their back on their home country in favour of their amazing lifestyle (tempting, but I know I'll move home some day).

I take for granted in Sydney:

• Drinkable tap water - I'm so used to bottled water now that it feels strange to drink out of a tap when visiting Australia. Until you travel or live in Asia you really do take for granted that you can trust what comes out of your tap.
• Electricity - another bare basic but one that's not always reliable in some parts of the world. I barely remember any power cuts happening in Australia but here they happen at least once a month. Most annoying is when it dawns on you that you're totally reliant on the internet/tv/air-conditioner etc. and wish you were a simpler being that didn't need such things.
• Footpaths - specifically, clear footpaths you can actually walk along. Ones that aren't covered in parked motorbikes and people sitting on stools and roosters in cages (not making this up, this was seen on the footpath round the corner a few days ago). I must admit that after living in Phnom Penh the footpath situation in Saigon is a major improvement, but it's nothing like the sprawling oases of concrete found in Sydney.
• Diversity and multiculturalism - sure, there are people from all over the world living in Saigon and there are restaurants of lots of ethnicities, but it's just not the same as it is at home. In Sydney there are entire suburbs that feel like a 'Little' somewhere (favourites include Haberfield (Italian), Petersham (Portuguese), Auburn (Turkish), Bankstown (Lebanese & Vietnamese - hang on, I live in Vietnam...). My excursions to other worlds only a short train ride away are one of the things I miss about Sydney. Although I'm living in another world now. But it's just one kind instead of a million different kinds, if you get what I mean.

I'm sure if I racked my brain I could come up with many more things I take for granted in both cities, but these are the ones that spring straight to mind. It's interesting that the Saigon list contains luxuries, while the Sydney list mostly features necessities (if you call access to authentic Portuguese chicken burgers necessities, like I do!).

So...thoughts? Ideas? What do you take for granted where you live?

Hanoi Eats: Bun Cha Dac Kim

If you're ever in Hanoi and looking for somewhere local and authentic to eat, I highly recommend Bun Cha Dac Kim! Crammed, cramped and crazy, the small but multi-storied eatery packs in hungry hordes all there for one reason - their fantastic bun cha!

What is bun cha you're wondering? Think a clear yet tasty soup, to which you add rice noodles, piles of fresh green herbs, succulent pieces of grilled pork and flavoursome pork mince patties, plus chilli, garlic and other condiments galore, should it not be a tasty enough concoction. Together, the flavours and textures are simply amazing. A side of spring rolls are served with the bun cha, with the casing around Dac Kim's version akin to pastry - think an Aussie sausage roll...but better!

Bun Cha Dac Kim's open air kitchen

For more on bun cha, here's a gushy ode to the delicious dish I just came across: The Bun Cha Obsession. I can see why all the fuss - it really is that good!

Bun Cha Dac Kim, 1 Hang Manh Street, Old Quarter, Hanoi

A couple of cool blogs

My Google Reader subscriptions are getting out of hand... I now have so many great blogs I subscribe to that I spend way too much time reading them all! I follow blogs on fashion, writing, design, food, media and travel, including some others of the 'girl in Asia' genre, like 'Bali Beach Bunny' and 'Lost in Translation' - two cool blogs I've recently become acquainted with.

Bali Beach Bunny is written by a girl in her mid-20s who is embarking on a very jealousy-inducing venture - opening her own cafe in Bali with her boss-turned-boyfriend (sounds like a novel in the making!). Her blog is a window into her new life and setting up a business in Bali from scratch. I'm looking forward to seeing how it all comes to be and following her adventures along the way.

Lost in Translation is by a girl named Viv from Montreal. She recently spent a year living in Seoul but is now living back in Montreal - remembering all the quirks and cool things about living in Asia, but also posting on her new life at home and pop culture bits and pieces. Lost in Translation is her favourite movie (one of mine too!) and her experiences in Seoul are very Scarlett Johansson's Charlotte!

I wonder what else is out there I'm yet to discover?!

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

Cafe Crush (Hanoi): Sohot

Sohot's dark, luxuriously decadent interior

Ice-cream sundaes featuring Fanny's ice-cream

- unfortunate name but delicious all the same

Sohot is one of those places smack bang in the middle of touristville yet obscured enough from the street that only locals (and intrepid cafe seekers like moi) seem to know about, with nary a tourist in sight. It's located right next to the cathedral on boutique-filled, could-be-in-Europe Nha Tho street - on the left hand side if facing the cathedral, down a narrow path, in a door and up some stairs.

The interior is gorgeous - decadent velvet lounges, patterned wallpapers and chandeliers give it a luxe Victorian theme. Head up one more level and the top floor is even more amazing than the first with its moody red walls. They serve the usual array of drinks (and then some - like 'Italian' style sodas), Vietnamese dishes and cafe fare, and my favourite - suitably decadent (and heat-busting) sundaes by local ice-cream brand Fanny's. Try the one with Bailey's but swap the vanilla ice-cream for coffee flavoured - delicious!

Sohot, 2 Nha Tho Street, Old Quarter, Hanoi

More love...this time it's all of Saigon!

So now you that know why I love my neighbourhood, find out why I 'heart' my whole city - my contribution to National Geographic Traveler's Intelligent Travel blogs' I Heart My City series has just been published!

Own city aside, I love the sound of Portland, after reading the other profiles - farmers markets, cool cafes, independent shops...sounds perfect (except for all the rain). If your city has yet to be featured and you think it should, here is the questionnaire...

Why I love my neighbourhood

Noodle soup at Tan Dinh Market (the local)

I sometimes get asked by fellow Saigonites why I live where I live. Some choose to live in An Phu or Phu My Huong (expat enclaves outside the city centre), others, far-flung local districts (actually I don't know too many people who live in Binh Tanh, Go Vap etc. but a scattering of expats do), and then there are those who choose the chaos and colour of centrally located Districts 1 and 3 (my hood!). I like living in District 1 as it's close to the city centre (read - bars, restaurants, shops...). That's the main reason really - it's like preferring the inner city vs. the burbs - but here are a few more things that I love about where I live:

• There's a general store right next door to my place that I often refer to as 'the world's cheapest shop'. I'll buy a whole heap of cleaning products and the bill will only be a few dollars. The best bit is that they sell ice-cream and chocolate bars (Mars, Snickers, M&Ms..). I actually feel embarrassed sometimes that I go in so often to buy chocolate.
  
  
• The cheap, fresh produce for sale a short walk away at the local market, Tan Dinh. The walk is a bit of an epic - it's not far but there's a treacherous road crossing with an endless stream of cars, cyclos and motorbikes that never actually stops - I just have to do the Saigon road-crossing technique of walking out into the traffic and hoping it parts. The scary thing is that I'm pushing my baby in a stroller while doing this! The trek is worth the effort though when I come home laden with fresh herbs, fruit and vegetables that are so cheap they're almost free
  
  
• My local coffee shop - source of gossip, ad-hoc Vietnamese lessons and inside info on what anything and everything should cost. Also a source of a never-ending stream of gifts. I then feel compelled to give something in return, they keep giving me things, and the cycle continues...I think it's gotten to a point now that it's not going to stop as long as I live here (gift suggestions anyone?!)
  
  
• Quirky neighbourhood characters - banana lady, pineapple lady, over-enthusiastic streetside hairdresser, tattoed-on make-up lady, friendly girl with a baby the same age as mine, sometimes bossy general store lady ('don't get that ice-cream, it's for children!') and the rest who either wave cheerily or stare like I've just landed in Saigon from another planet
  
  
• Cool places to discover on Hai Ba Trung, a main thoroughfare nearby. It's jam-packed with clothing shops mixed with Vietnamese restaurants and random places like Bud's ice-cream, (all the way from San Fransisco to Saigon), a doughnut shop, a Chinese medicine place, underwear shops, toy shops, florists, hairdressers and a new Korean restaurant that looks intriguing
  
  
• And finally, that you can actually walk to the centre of the city, if you can bear the heat and crazy traffic (ok, I've only done this once, but it's nice to know it's an option)

I enjoy living in a 'local' area that's also close to Saigon's centre - it's like the best of both worlds (streetfood one night, Cepage the next!).

Shoptalk: PI-CHANNEL

Wandering along Le Thanh Ton today I spotted what looked like a promising little shop sign - a modern, minimal black on white pi symbol. It immediately struck me as quite unusual and design-forward for Saigon. My curiousity piqued, I had to go inside.

Discovered - a small space displaying a gorgeous selection of writing accessories: pens, notebooks, desk accessories, funky clocks and leather agendas, passport folders and money clips. The leather used felt and smelt real, too.

Some of the finds:

Agenda cover

Flip clock

DAISY notebook

Passport cover

INFINITE notebook

The creative spirit behind the products is Do Thi Thuc Doan, a female Vietnamese designer. PI-CHANNEL is definitely worth checking out if you're into stationery and organisers and great design. Most inspiring Saigon shopping find in a long while!

PI-CHANNEL, 31b Le Thanh Ton, D1, Saigon

Images courtesy pi-channel.com

Cha Ca - my latest food obsession

Cha Ca at Cha Ca La Vong (Saigon)

Fragrant herbs to enhance the grilled fish - yum!

Cha Ca, if you haven't had the pleasure of trying it, is a delicious Vietnamese fish dish originating from Hanoi. Grilled white fish, turmeric, spring onion and dill are the essential ingredients, with sides of vermicelli noodles, lime wedges and abundant fresh herbs (basil, mint etc.), crunchy peanuts and condiments with a chilli bent designed to be eaten with the fish. Combined, the flavours and textures are a sensation. There are a few places in Saigon specialising in Cha Ca - fortunately, the ones I know of are walking distance from my place (Cha Ca Hanoi and Cha Ca La Vong). The latter is my pick - the fish here is somehow more fragrant and tasty than Cha Ca Hanoi's. I'm not sure if it's related to the famous Cha Ca La Vong restaurant in Hanoi or a copycat using the famous name, but it's fantastic either way!

Cha Ca La Vong, Thach Thi Tanh (just around the corner from Vo Thi Sau, opposite the park), D1, Saigon

Cha Ca Hanoi, Tran Nhat Duat, D1, Saigon

Cafe Crush: Plie (a.k.a May)

Another week, another Saigon cafe crush! This time, it's cute and comfortable hideaway, Plie, which also goes by the name of May. Tucked down an alley off a non-descript D3 street, it's definitely off the usual expat radar. Catering to a younger demographic evidenced by the cushion strewn second floor playing host to a cool Vietnamese crowd in their late teens, Plie has a fresh contemporary feel. Cushiony couches, wall decals (like black on white tree branches) and coffee tables constructed from old packing crates deck out the ground floor. Loud (and lousy) love tunes aside, it's the perfect spot to relax with a hot chocolate (or cacao nong as it's known in these parts!) and a good book.

Go for: the hideaway factor, great fruit shakes, comfortable seats and cute decor

Not for: the music (huge speaker stacks - in a cafe?! Welcome to Saigon...)

Plie, 120/4a Tran Quoc Thao, D3

What to do on a short trip to Saigon

Treats at TIB Express

I'm a huge fan of the Asian city mini-break. Eating, drinking, shopping and jaunting around a cool metropolis, with a smattering of obligatory sightseeing thrown in - what's not to love?! For those similarly enamoured with such breaks and perhaps planning a Saigon version, check out this piece I recently wrote for About.com's Southeast Asia Travel site. It's always hard to narrow down a great selection of restaurants, bars, shops and sites for one short itinerary but the article hopefully captures a little slice of Saigon's 'best of'!