Ho Chi Minh City Hoppin' - Day 2, Part 1

Official first full day in Ho Chi Minh City! So much to see and do... so fair warning, lengthy post ahead despite being part 1 of 2. 

Rex Hotel - built in 1927 during the France's colonial rule in Vietnam. It underwent a major renovation in 2003 and I remember the times when Rex Hotel didn't look as swanky and white as this. Although I wasn't the biggest fan of the place (don't ask me why, I just wasn't), I do quite miss the yellow-tinge the exterior walls used to have and all the flashing neon lights. Now it's all high-end and modern. 

Saigon Tax Trade Center - formerly the Russian Market, is a shopping centre just across Rex Hotel. You can get really great souvenirs up on the third-floor here, and there is a pretty big supermarket too. Throwback: it wasn't always an air-conditioned, brightly lit shopping centre. I remember when it used to look quite run-down, with its green and yellow-tiled floors and grand double staircase in the centre that a lot of the little kids liked to play on. 

Another thing I missed seeing everyday - the two-four story high, skinny buildings that either served as offices, homes or retail stores. You can't miss them, especially as they're painted all these pretty, eye-catching colours. 

One of our favourite shopping spots - Taka Plaza along Nam Ky Khoi Nghia. Two floors of stalls selling clothes, accessories, Vietnam flag T-shirt souvenirs and a few imported beauty products. 

It can be quite tricky shopping here - you need to make the time and effort to look through what each shop is selling to find a good deal. Just glancing and skimming past the shops won't do you any good. And don't forget to haggle!

Just a few steps away from Taka Plaza is Ava Salon, where I often got my hair done and mani/pedis whenever we were in District 1. 

That lady cutting my dad's hair? I've known her since I was about three. She used to work at another salon we also used to go to (I can't remember the name) and sometimes she even came over to our house to cut my hair there (I used to hate going to salons to have my hair cut). Now she's the proud owner of Ava Salon ;) 

At the end of the block is Le Loi St., considered as the main commercial area in Ho Chi Minh City as there are a whole load of stores along this street, as well as restaurants and galleries. A lot of the city's landmarks are also located within this area. No visitor to Ho Chi Minh City will not likely walk along this street. 

One of the reasons I like to go along here is due to the fact that you can purchase a whole range of art supplies here for a really good price. Anytime that I had a project to do for school, Le Loi St. was always my first stop. Ribbons and strings, good quality canvases and brushes, pressed leaves and flowers for scrapbooking, paint - you name it, they've got it. 

Take care when crossing the roads! 

You absolutely cannot visit Ho Chi Minh City without a visit to Saigon Square, the place to shop for affordable designer knock offs, original (or fake, but really good copy) bags, DVDs and clothes. 

For reference - a DVD is about 10,000vnd (a two-disc TV series is about 50,000vnd), bags range between 50,000 - 300,000vnd depending on brand and size (e.g. Kipling, Crumple, North Face), Iphone cases probably 30,000 - 100,000vnd and Beats headphones 200,000 - 1.5 million vnd. 

There is also a Saigon Square 2 along Ton Duc Thang St., also in District 1. So don't get confused between the two. Both Saigon Squares are very similar in terms of what they have to offer and the building itself so visiting either one is fine. Although Saigon Square 2 is more spacious, I still prefer the original one as there are more stalls and options to choose from, despite the pushing and shoving to get through the throngs of people blocking up the narrow halls. It's all part of the experience, yeah?

My parents and I would come here every weekend and visit our 'sukis' (shops we frequented and are loyal customers of). It was really great seeing them again during our visit and catching up.

Again, I remember when Saigon Square used to be an actual 'square', and took up almost the whole block of where Intercontinental Asiana Saigon Hotel and Residences now stand. The only air-conditioned part was the supermarket, and all the stalls were located outside. Also, the prices were much cheaper than they are now...

... so please, don't forget to bargain, bargain, BARGAIN!

After shopping at Saigon Square, we crossed the street to Sedona Suites (#65, corner of Pasteur and Le Loi St.) and had lunch at Cafe Terrace. 

My dad's order: Set 3 - grilled pork, rice, salad and soup. 

Bo Kho for my mom - spicy Vietnamese beef stew that she had with bread (you can choose to have it with either rice or noodles too). A must try!

I got the pasta carbonara - it looks like it's quite a small serving here, but honest to God it's delicious and very filling. 

Besides the bo kho, I'd definitely recommend you try a slice of their corn cake (above, left). White chocolate, cream, chiffon cake and of course, sweet corn. I used to go crazy for this cake! How heavenly does it look? Believe me, it tastes as good as it looks. 

One of the things I love about Cafe Terrace is their decor - their whole black, red and white colour scheme just screams modern and class, and how they've incorporated it into the walls, lights and every piece of furniture is just gorgeous. I dare you to try and not take a photo (and possibly Instagram it).

Price-wise, it's affordable and worth it. The ambience is pretty great, the decorations eye-catching and the menu a mix of Western and Vietnamese dishes.

The only downside to Cafe Terrace is how crowded it can get - and it's mainly due to the people who only come here to use their wifi without really ordering any food. So fair warning!

So that's part 1 done - shopping and lunch. Stay tuned for part 2!

Happy discovering!

Ho Chi Minh City Hoppin' - Day 1

Now I wouldn't exactly call it 'Day 1' as we did arrive in Ho Chi Minh City late in the afternoon, but of course that still gave us enough time to head to one of my favourite places, Crescent Mall. The mall is actually about a five minute drive from my old neighbourhood in the Phu My Hung, Dist. 7 area, so coming back here brought back a lot of good memories.

Phu My Hung is what I would consider a more upscale, modern part of the city, as it was definitely planned out before its development - (almost) all the cables are underground so you won't see a jumble of wires above your head, the roads are extremely wide, there are dozens of apartment complexes under construction and a lot of high end stores. In actual fact, we also considered it as the area of the Koreans and Japanese, as a lot of them do live within this area, and there are a number of Korean/Japanese stores that can be found here.

Crescent Mall opened in late November of 2011, and offers a wide variety of stores such as DKNY, GAP, Skinfood, Vans and BoConcept. There's also CGV Cinemas (formerly Megastar Cinemas), Breadtalk, Gloria Jean's Coffees and Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf.

 Welcoming us by the front entrance was a Transformer. Which one it is I have no clue, as I have yet to see Transformers 4. I mean, it doesn't look like Optimus Prime or any of the ones in the previous films does it?

Crescent Mall
Ton Dat Tien, Phu My Hung, Dist. 7, HCMC

Now we didn't exactly spend that much time inside the mall - we really went there to visit what I liked to call the 'Crescent Mall strip'. It's the area outside the mall, by the apartments (Crescent Residence 1, 2 and 3), where you can find a whole load of restaurants and small retailers, and you know, walk by the lake.

This road, during Tet (or the Chinese New Year), is totally closed off to all vehicles and filled with stalls and decorations. So if you're ever in the city during Chinese New Year, do check this place out - they've got all sorts of unique items for sale at a really good price, and all their decorations are photograph-worthy!

 Ahem, alright. The real reason why we came here - Tokyo Deli. There's no doubt that this is my all time favourite Japanese restaurant in the city. I cannot come to this city without a visit here. If I didn't, it would be so wrong and I wouldn't feel right.

We frequented this branch so often while I was still living here - I think we ate here pretty much once a week, usually after church. I believe that there are about four other branches in District 1, in the city centre, so you don't have to make the trip to Phu My Hung just to try it out.

 Whenever we're here, I always order the same thing - Dynamite Tuna & Dynamite Salmon rolls. I can honest to God, finish these two plates off by myself. That's a total of sixteen pieces. I don't like to share these babies with anyone. No shame.

These rolls are dynamite (hehe) because of the sauce that has that spicy kick to it. It's not overly spicy though, which works great for my stomach. So for anyone who wants that kick, I'd definitely recommend you try these out.

 I swear, as I'm writing this post, I am salivating and craving for these babies. No joke.
I mean, just look at them, in all their delicious, dynamite glory.

 Food porn, right here.

My parents both opted for the simmered U.S. beef and egg set - which also, looked delicious! Just look at it *drools* The set comes with this plus miso soup, salad and chawanmushi (which I completely forgot to take a photo off, but I tell you, it looks and tastes amazing!)

We also got a side order of their Sunshine rolls per my dad's suggestion. Yummy!

Freaking demolished those babies! What did I tell you? I don't fool around when it comes to sushi.

Price-wise, damn affordable. My dynamite rolls were about $3 per plate and my parents' box set about $6. So, so worth it! All in all, if you're craving some sushi while you're in the city, definitely try out Tokyo Deli!
You can check out their menu here

After dinner we took a little stroll along the lake...

...and ended up in front of NYDC (New York Dessert Cafe), on the other side of the 'strip' next to Cham Charm. Well, it wasn't exactly an accident, as NYDC is also one of my favourite restaurants to visit here in Ho Chi Minh City, and it's mainly for their desserts! Of course, they also serve a lot of other meals such as pastas, steak and salads which taste as good as their desserts.

I believe there's also various NYDC branches in Singapore, though I've never gone to any of them whenever I was there.

I guess you could say that our little stroll was to make space for their yummy treats!

NYDC definitely has a modern Western vibe and sophisticated charm - just check out their decorations and furniture! I'm in love with that chandelier.

Even though the menu we were given was all in Vietnamese, I believe that there is an English one. Either way, it's pretty easy to know what each dish is with the help of the pictures, and you can always ask the waiters for any of their recommendations.

When it comes to desserts, I always went for either the goldmine cheesecake or ally's new york cheesecake. Yes, I'm a complete sucker for cheesecake!

My dad went for the Jedi Mudster (haha, love that name) - it's a double chocolate chip and macadamia nut ice cream on an oreo base with cookie chunks. I couldn't resist and sneaked a little bite - it's delicious!!! Easy recommendation for any chocolate-lover!

I was about to order a piece of cheesecake, but my dad convinced me to try something new. So I went for the Grasp the Rasp - a combination of raspberries, white chocolate and cheese. Although it was a little tougher to eat, it tasted pretty great. If you're a fan of raspberries, you should try this out. I'd still kinda stick to the cheesecakes though...

As their slogan goes,
Celebrate Life Everday!

From what I can recall, there's a NYDC branch in Vincom Center and another in front of the Saigon Notre-Dame Basilica (the Cathedral). You can check out the NYDC menu here (this is the Singapore one, which is in English).

If you have the time while you're here in Ho Chi Minh City, I'd definitely suggest you come out to the Phu My Hung/District 7 area to further see what else the city has to offer.

As always,
Happy discovering!

Happy Canada Day!!

Even though I'm on the other side of the world, I just wanted to say:

 Happy Canada Day to all the Canadians out there!!

Canada - thank you for treating me kindly and being my home for the last two years, and for the next few years to come. Even with all the dreary snow during the winter which can last until the spring time, you've been great. Thanks for all the poutine too.

Happy discovering!