Welcome to Saigon !  the spouse said to me when we visited Saigon aka Ho Chi Minh City aka Vietnam for a short trip some 6 months ago.  It had been more than 10 yrs since we last visited Saigon and the last time i was there was also for work.  Saigon the land of many opportunities and lot of history – the good, the bad and some ugly.  Where the ladies I’ve seen are the most hardworking people and the humblest and in my humble opinion in need of good wrinkle removers because the sun is so hard on them.  But they smile and tell me each wrinkle lines tells a story.

Saigon has changed a lot – just by looking at all the high rise building and everywhere our cabbie turned – there was another new building sprouting out.  I felt a little overwhelmed when i came back for this trip with the spouse who was on business.

Dong are what they are called – the currency used in Saigon – and 100,000 Dong is about $5.45 in Cdn.  Yes – lots of money to carry – the same for when you are in Thailand or China even a bit of Malaysia – where the currency seems so big and huge but the value is so little.

Many of their older buildings are now restored and used as restaurants.

Shophouses on the ground floor and on the top are living apartments – a lot of expatriates lives here because it is in the center of town and convenient – i hear that rent isn’t that expensive in this area as compared to the rent in Hong Kong.

Road side eateries are my favorite but i strongly advise against if you do not have a strong stomach.  Food is like $0.20 – $0.50 for a meal in this store.

Karaoke anyone?

Shop houses for eating like this one is everywhere in Saigon and they are relatively cleaner although more expensive than the roadside stores.  But if you want authentic Vietnamese food – here is the best bet.

We tried the more posh restaurant -  located at Nguyen Thiep Street, District 1 – and wasn’t disappointed – love the fusion decor and the fusion food too.

Love the fruit stores !  missed this terribly because they don’t have it here in Canada.

Some local fruit – i don’t remember what it is called – but it’s a cross between a mandarin orange and a lemon – taste sweet though.

More street store with sweets/desserts.

Yes! saigon is this modern – they have an Esprit building – just for shopping at  Dong Khoi street, also in District 1.  The entire ground floor is for shopping and the upper building are offices.  I have so many pictures to share but that will be for another day and another post.

This morning I woke up and i missed Ho Chi Minh city so much, and all because of this – PHO. One of the best thing about traveling is trying the different food in these different countries. So if you are a avid traveler like i was .. you better train your tummy for some good food. Pho is one of the best food i’ve had. . in Asia. These bowl of good beef broth.. and slightly cooked beef was so soft.. and fragrant .. because of the cilantro that they used. It reminded me of the Pho in Hanoi… this is the version that I liked most. You eat them with raw onion that are sliced up on the sides . .with scallions too. Squeeze a little bit of hot sauce and mix it up with the broth.. and eat. Don’t forget to squeeze some lime onto it too.

The beef is tender and it melts in your mouth.. who needs some wagyu beef right..? The beef broth taste like beef stock.. but this was actually boiled beef carcass from many hours of slow cooking.. according to the store owners. You can ask for more bean sprouts.. if you like them. So head over to 288 Nam Ky Khoi Nghia in District 3, Ho Chi Minh City.. it opens from 5am to late at nite.