I AM VIETNAMESE

If you happen to be one of the few individuals in Vietnam looking for some hip-hop music? You’re in luck… as you may or may not know, Vietnam is very into it’s house and techno music.  Many clubs there can complete to the clubs in Vegas or New York City in terms of sound and flashing lights and such.  Luckily, I knew of one place to take my friends to. Club Velvet - a very small yet popular club in District 1.  The place is quaint… if you get lucky or plan ahead, get a booth.  The club is one big circle with the bar in the middle of the room.  Like most clubs in Vietnam, there is no dance floor… you make your own dance floor wherever you stand with your friends! :)

I will have to say this is a hit and miss crap shoot place.  There are times I’ve been here and it is packed to the tee, and other times, it’s somewhat dead in comparison.  But then again, if you crave the hip-hop (like a few of my friends in the group), then you really have no choice.  The service is great. The drinks are usually a good deal here. Ask for the specials!! At the time, it was buy two bottles of Belvedere and get one free. I think the Johnnie Walker was the same.  So its a great deal if you plan on coming back.

Probably one of the BEST things about clubbing in Vietnam? Is you don’t have to finish the alcohol!!! All the bottles come with a label on the side, your name and date you purchased it.  Once you are ready to jump to another club, they’ll put your bottles away and give you a “coat check” on the bottles for next time.  Why can’t the clubs in the States or Hong Kong do this??  The bottles run roughly $50 USD to maybe $70 USD depending on the clubs. Compare that with $300-$400 USD in Hong Kong or the US? It’s no rocket science why we stocked up here :)

The bouncers / security guards here are all very friendly.  It’s customary to arm wrestle them and pretend you are stronger. (Just kidding.. don’t do that… you’ll just look stupid!) :) But it IS customary to have drinks with your host/hostesses and the security that surrounds you.  They do a good job at keeping an eye on you and making sure other groups don’t invade your space.  Tipping them is great, having them drink with you is better!! All in all, everyone has a good time!

Club Velvet also has Hookah Pipes which is a nice change in pace.  I don’t think I’ve seen this at any other clubs in Saigon. So we decided to grab one of them at some ridiculously cheap price.  (If memory serves me right, we had Sour Apple that night)  Yes it was sanitary, everyone had their own disposable mouthpiece.  Now I should mention that we were able to take pictures here.  Why is that of such significance? Well most of the up-scale clubs frown big time on photos. Just taking a camera out at such places will have security running up to you to stop you before it even turns on.  Club Velvet, however, is one of the few exceptions so it’s great to capture those memories of an epic night with your good friends!

This was a pretty upscale hip-hop club for Vietnam and a place I’ll definitely come back to.  (Especially since I still have two bottles of Johnnie Walker Gold sitting there) The catch is? I have 60 days before they throw the bottles away! GASP! Better make another weekend trip to Saigon soon.

Club Velvet

26 Ho Huan Nghiep  :  District 1  :  Ho Chi Minh 

+84 8 3822 2262

The famous spot has been on my things to do list forever now.  Finally found time to venture out to this side alley street and discover the famous Banh Xeo 46A joint.  Made famous recently by Anthony Bourdain himself with his show “No Reservations”.  Since then, this local hotspot has been a well known destination for food lovers all over.  This IS the place to go for banh xeo otherwise known as Vietnamese Crepes

What is Banh Xeo you may be asking? This is definitely not as popular as dishes like Pho, Goi Cuon, Cha Gio in most vietnamese restaurants around the world.  Ask any Vietnamese and they’ll tell you it is a scrumptious flavorful dish with a wide range of flavors dancing away in your mouth. Banh xeo is a crepe stuffed with an abundance of pork belly slices, shrimp, bean sprouts and onions. The true and proper way of devouring a banh xeo is by wrapping up a piece of the crepe in greens and herbs and dipping it in nuoc mam (aka that fish sauce Vietnamese use for every other dish!) .  As you can tell from above, the lady of the house cooking the banh xeos surrounds herself with 6-7 claypots filled with wood chips burning profusely as she pours batter into the skillets, throwing some beans, sprouts, shrimp and pork or whatever the order was customized to be, juggling everything from beginning to end.

Now being that we are in Vietnam, once doesn’t get the run of the mill green leaf lettuce.  We get the local steroid injected ones… these wrap nicely with fresh crepes hot off the pan.  Although some of my friends had other intentions for it…

There’s not much to say except if you find yourself yearning to try some different dishes of Vietnam? Make your way to this alleyway, grab a stool with some friends and enjoy an afternoon snack with good friends and just alone.  I promise you won’t regret it!

Banh Xeo 46A

46A Dinh Cong Trang Street  :  District 1  :  Ho Chi Minh City

+84 4 824 1110

Ahh… Pho…. What is Pho? To some… it is simply a cheap eats bowl of chicken or beef broth, rice noodles and topped with some leafy greens and spices and chili sauce.  To others? it’s the staple food for Vietnam, today’s meal for the cost-conscious college student, or what I consider - the best hangover cure for anyone the morning after a good night out.  Pho Pasteur is one of my favorite spots to take guests in Saigon.  It’s not some big chain, not even close to fancy - I’d say if it was a place in the states, it would barely get a Grade B (I’d say C is a safe bet) but it’s just simply DELICIOUS!!!!

The menu is simple.. it’s Pho… there is a menu in English so don’t fret.  On the table, hopefully, will be items you can snack on while waiting for your bowl of pho.  Off the top of my head, I don’t remember what everything is but you have the chinese bread sticks, those long sticks wrapped in banana leaf are called Cha Lua (it’s a Vietnamese ham/sausage… or what I call Vietnamese Spam) and a few other things.  Now you pay for what you eat, and the waitress in the end will calculate the costs. The menu here is pretty standard…. Pho with beef, tripe, tendon, meatballs, chicken etc… you pick what you want and it’s roughly $2 USD a bowl.

I love pho but what makes me love it more in Vietnam is the assortments of toppings to throw into your bowl.  All sorts of lettuce and vegetables that you don’t seem to get anywhere else in the world.  For some individuals, they tend to go overdo the vegetation! :P

All in all, there is not much to say about Pho Pasteur except it is an excellent place to come eat pho if you are ever in Saigon.  Tip for the first timers, most likely it will be blazing hot as it IS southeast asia after all…. walk to the back of the restaurant and you’ll find a staircase. Head upstairs and there are two gigantic rooms WITH air conditioning to cool off the weary traveler while you enjoy a hot bowl of pho. 

Rumors have it, THIS is the inspiration for the infamous worldwide chain Pho Hoa.  It is funny though since there are signs in the restaurant disclaiming that and any affiliation to the chain.  I’m sure somewhere back then this was how Pho Hoa started.  If you do plan on making a trip out here, don’t worry - EVERY cab driver knows of Pho Pasteur.  This has been around for more than 40 years and hopefully it’ll be around for another 40 years!

Pho Pasteur

260C Pasteur Rd  : District 3  :  Ho Chi Minh

+84 8 3829 7943

So after months of planning… the epic “Diving with the Fat Ones” trip got under way…. Let me preface by explaining what that means.  The dodgeball team in Hong Kong that I am apart of is “Goin for the Fat Ones” and since many of them were interested in getting their scuba diving lessons… you get the rest. So with that? Nha Trang would be the perfect location for a dive trip with friends, good food and activities!

Here my friend Joe Vu is being questioned at customs…. once getting your luggage, EVERYTHING has to go through another xray machine. Apparently poker chips are frowned upon as it motivates you to gamble…. (really Vietnam?!!?) so there goes the chips.. CONFISCATED. (My group and I don’t believe that though… we blame it on his HAT!!)

So first tip for new travelers…. even the experienced ones will get ripped off… not the ideal way to start a trip yelling and cursing the taxi driver off but…. c’est la vie. When departing the airport, the FIRST thing you should know about Vietnam? It’s DAMN HARD TO FIND AN HONEST TAXI DRIVER.  The queue of taxis is a mixture of the good and bad.  If you don’t have all day to wait and are anxious to leave… like we were then you’ll have to take the first taxi available.  If you want to wait? well Mai Linh Taxi and Vinasun Taxis are the one to be trusted but it could come or it could not so pretty much good luck. Make sure the first thing you do is tell them or remind them to run the meter.  Often times they “forget” and will charge their own made up prices. In my case.. meter was on… started at 9.5 which means 9,500 dong. However in ten minutes it jumped to 140!!!! Our ending price was 205,000 dongs….. I mean that is only $10 USD but still.. the average cost from airport to the center of town should be 100,000 - 120,000 dongs. With traffic maybe slightly more. After cursing the bastard out, I just gave up and threw him a 200k bill and was ready to start the night. (the other taxi with my other friends… 134k bill) FAIL

So… just a note to the wise… the airport will be the first place you will get ripped off :) Welcome to Vietnam! Reason to go drink it off!  Next up… Club Velvet review and pics!! Now.. its time to go eat Pho first… Priorities man..priorities :)