Following a tip from Bennett of Good Morning Vietnam, I went to check out Lam Tong Restaurant, aka Popular Restaurant, of Mui Ne. Bennett recommended the seafood and in his words ‘for fantastic and cheap seafood – value for $$$ – go to Popular Restaurant’. But being a budget backpacker, I went for the budget food and here’s what I returned with…

Part 2 (of 3 parts) on Ben Thanh Market. This post is on the food and the wet market scene…

Mon Hue is an up-and-coming chain of attractive restaurants that offers a good introduction to the cuisine from the old imperial capital of Central Vietnam, Hue. They have about 6 chains now in Ho Chi Minh City, Saigon. I’ve visited 3 of them and so far I find this one at Phu My Hung being the best in terms of space and cleanliness…

Within this Saigon Hard Rock Cafe, you’ll find seating for more than 200, a vibrant bar and a live music area that is elevated so everyone gets a piece of the action. Needless to say, memorabilia from Hard Rock’s iconic collection adorns the walls of Hard Rock Cafe Ho Chi Minh City and they include items from many of the world’s most beloved and recognizable musicians like John Lennon and Bruce Springsteen. But what I love best are the bloody friendly staffs. You get so much vide from them that is very rare in a Saigon restaurant. And when you are done with their world famous menu, check out the ‘Rock Shop’ featuring Hard Rock’s rock n’ roll inspired merchandise including limited-edition pins and t-shirts…

Saigon best Pho Bo, or Vietnamese beef noodle soup, in my book, has got to be at 120/39 Tran Hung Dao Street, Pham Ngu Lao ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City. It’s hidden away in one of those alley at Saigon backpacker hostel area and not quite easy to find. But when you are with Vietnam720.com, you know you can always count on ‘How to get to’…

There are so many things to talk about the Allez Boo bar and cafe: they are one of Saigon most popular if not the most popular bar, Allez Boo is one of the few bars and cafes in Saigon that opens 24 hours a day, their distinctive look with the whole place made out of bamboo and the young lady boss who owns Allez Boo is also the owner of 2 other very popular bars in Saigon backpacker’s hostel area. Above all, my favorite thing about Allez Boo is that it is located at the corner of 2 highly concentrated roads of Pham Ngu Lao Street and De Tham Street. For sure it is one of the best places to chill out and watch Vietnam’s crazy traffic and the Vietnamese people going about their daily business…

Got invited by ‘QT’ (a big fan of Vietnam720 and you can read about him here) to Phu My Hung for coffee. We met at this Paris Coffee which is at R1-25 Hung Phuoc 4 Street, Phu My Hung. Nice cafe by the corner of a T-junction which is good for people and traffic watching. The purpose of this post is to highlight a few points:

This is the last post on the Cholon series closing with the food and the general scene…

When I first arrived in Vietnam after deciding to live and work here, I had Vietnamese beef stew, or Pho Bo Kho, at this Pho Quynh EVERYDAY for 1.5 months. I really mean EVERYDAY. It’s that good. Else, I won’t dare to recommend it here at Vietnam720 and risk my reputation of being a lousy guide. In fact, I’m so confident you’ll love this Vietnamese beef stew at Pho Quynh that I’m giving you my personal money back guarantee. After trying it and if you can’t agree that it’s the best Vietnamese beef stew in Saigon, give me a call (my number is on the contact page) and I’ll meet you to pay back the amount spent on this almighty Pho Bo Kho…

This is Part 03 featuring the food and souvenirs you can find here. Part 01 is on the many different types of clothes and Part 02 is on the shoes and bags…