Another place with great atmosphere, conveniently located near the Reunification Palace and has free wifi.

Cured Ham Baguette

With Melted Swiss Cheese, Roasted Tomatoes and Rocket

VND 140,000

This was Abbie's meal - simple but good. The ham itself was really flavorful and made me wish I had ordered this instead.

Chicken Kebabs

In Garlic, Lemon and Parsley Marinade. Served with Skinny Fries, Salad and Tzatsiki

VND 160,000

Our server recommended this dish, but the only thing I could think of while eating it was how Café Mediterranean's version was so much better. They also did not have any garlic sauce which was too bad since it would have made things more palatable.

Ho Chi Minh: Lunch Lady

"A broth that the gods were suckled on..."

That was how celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain described the soup made by the Lunch Lady when he featured it on his show No Reservations. He had heard that it was "amazing" and when he tried the broth for himself, he had this to say:

"...like all truly great soups, it soon becomes center of the universe. You pass through an event horizon of pleasure, moments picked off in mouthfuls, everything else ceases to exist."

Soup of the Day (VND 40,000)

As far as I could tell, there are no options at this food stall, as they only serve one dish. You pay, then wait for the soup to be delivered to your table. So, how was it? It was good soup - light and full of flavor, but it's not something I would move to Vietnam for. Then again, I've never been fond of noodle soup.

Tip: Sit at a table underneath the canopy. We sat outside it and when the wind blew, a lot of debris fell down right into our bowls. Good thing I had already finished eating.

Ho Chi Minh: Temple Club

Many guidebooks have described the restaurant as the "most atmospheric" and recommended that people visit for the ambience alone. We agree - this place is great for date night! As to the food, I liked it well enough though Abigail was not impressed. She prefers the food over at Nhà Hàng Ngon.

Temple Smoothie (VND 100,000)

I forgot what the ingredients were in this drink, but I do remember how SOUR it was! I still shudder at the thought - I had to ask for sugar syrup at least thrice.

Temple Club Noodle Soup (VND 130,000)

Mì Quảng in Vietnamese, it's made with shrimps, rice crackers and peanuts. You're supposed to top it off with the herbs and sprouts that's served separately, but I prefer it without. All in all, it's not bad, but we'll probably order something else next time.

Temple Club Platter (VND 150,000)

I liked the rolls, though I was thinking that they had been made with too many vegetables. (Clearly, being a vegetarian is not in my future.)

Prawn in Tamarind Sauce (VND 220,000)

Another one of those "tasty but not spectacular" dishes. Maybe better eaten with rice?

Worth a visit? Yes and the prices aren't as upscale as the décor.

Ho Chi Minh: Part 3

Lunch at Viet Village

- Menu -

Deep Fried Prawn Cake

Fried Fish with Sweet & Sour Sauce

Roasted Chicken with Five Flavors

Sautéed Vegetables with Garlic

Fried Rice with Seafood

Flan Caramel



Our day tour was inclusive of lunch and the food was more than enough for two people. Overall, it wasn't bad, but the flan was drenched in strong coffee syrup so I gave my share to Abigail who enjoyed eating it.

We noticed that there was a constant stream of tourists with their guides coming in for lunch. It looked like the restaurant has been contracted by various tour operators as the designated food stop.

Reunification Palace

For what felt like an hour, our tour guide sat us down at the front of this building and gave us the history of Vietnam. Abigail appreciated it, but I just wanted the gist as I thought it was taking way too long. Of all the sites we visited though, I enjoyed this the most as the place looked like it got stuck in a time warp.

The South Vietnamese President's old desk and his rooftop helipad (which I like to think of as the getaway vehicle).

One of the war rooms in the underground bunker.

Jade Emperor Pagoda

Many sites online have advised that if you only have time to visit one temple in Ho Chi Minh, then this is it. Though technically a Taoist temple, there are sections that are devoted to Buddhist and Confucian practices.

Fine Arts Museum

This was our last stop of the day, and I must say a rather nice way to end it. The place is packed with local art and not surprisingly, the recurring theme is about the war. I would suggest to visit this museum either early in the morning or late in the afternoon as there is no air conditioning in the building, just electric fans.

Ho Chi Minh: Part 2

For our second day, we booked a private city tour via the Indochina Odyssey Tours. I actually wanted to go with XO Tours, but my husband was concerned that going on a motorbike wouldn't be safe. It was just as well since it was so hot that the air conditioned car ended up being the better option. The tour was from 9 AM to 5:30 PM and cost us USD 142 for two people.

Basilica of Our Lady of The Immaculate Conception

Also known as the Notre Dame Cathedral, it has been around since 1880. The red bricks were imported from France along with the colored glass windows.

There's a corner in the church where people put up a plaque to give thanks if their prayers were answered. After a quick scan of the area, the oldest dated tablet I found was from 1922.

It's also a popular spot for newlyweds even if they didn't have the ceremony at the church. That morning we saw at least three couples having their wedding photos taken.

Saigon Central Post Office

Located next to the Notre-Dame Basilica, it was designed and constructed by Gustave Eiffel, the French engineer who also built the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

The red structure used to house phone booths, but have now been filled with ATM machines.

If you go further inside the post office, you'll see Mr. Duong Van Ngo - the last public letter writer in Saigon. He has been translating letters in English, French and Vietnamese for almost 70 years. I asked him to translate a note for me on a postcard that I sent to Earl. When I asked him how much I should pay him, he waived me off saying that none was needed. I gave him VND 10,000 anyway as token which he accepted.

War Remnants Museum

Basically, this museum is all about the horrors the Americans inflicted upon the Vietnamese people. It is divided into different sections, one of which is dedicated to the effects of Agent Orange. As many have pointed out, it is a one-sided story as told by the victors.

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Ho Chi Minh: Part 1

Sài Gòn

I wasn't really sure what to expect, but one thing I didn't consider, despite all my research, was the weather - it was hot! Another challenge was the traffic. Motorcycles outnumber cars in this city and there aren't that many traffic lights, so crossing the street was a daily adventure.

The place itself reminded me of provincial cities in the Philippines - small stores, narrow streets and very few skyscrapers. On one hand, it gave me this feeling that a wonderful shop could be lurking just around the corner. On the other, I would have preferred that everything be grouped into one area as it wasn't a picnic walking under the scorching sun.

We were based in District 1 and there were hardly any malls. The ones that do exist are high end with very few shoppers. We also tried to find a supermarket comparable to what we're used to, but that too was not easy. The handful we found were small, had dim lighting and mostly empty shelves. Abigail and I were starting to get discouraged. We wanted to go shopping, but since most of what they sold is also available in Manila, we were pinning our hopes on supermarket finds.

When I'm in a foreign country, one of the first things I look for is a grocery store. To me, it's like a treasure trove of things that you can't find at home. Luckily, we finally found Siêu Thị Tax (Tax Supermarket) the day before we left.

I was able to buy coconut candy (VND 13,500) that turned out to be quite chewy, sugared lotus seeds (VND 29,500) and watermelon seed candy (VND 20,300). Of the three, I loved the sugared lotus seeds as they reminded me of the sweet beans from my childhood.

There was one thing the grocery stores all had in common - lockers located at the entrance. At the Tax Supermarket, we were not allowed to bring our bags into the store, just our wallets. I didn't understand this at first until the electricity died on us thrice in less than an hour - and the security guards came running down each aisle with flashlights pointed at the shoppers.

It also took some time to get used to large bills and no small change. For example, if your you're supposed to get VND 13,500 back, they will not give the VND 500 as they kept telling me that it's worthless. To me it's not - you'll never get to a million without that one cent - you'll only have 999,999.99. Also, since they keep skipping out on the change, it adds up to a figure that is worth something.

What I did like was that their restaurants and cafés had character - at least the ones we went to. I don't remember seeing so many nicely decorated venues in other places I've visited. I think it was due to the bricks - they were all decorated with brick walls which exuded a feeling of warmth thus making things seem quite cosy.

Golden Dragon Water Puppet Theater

Based on what I've read, water puppets have been the traditional form of entertainment since the 11th century, so of course Abbie and I had to see it for ourselves.

The puppets are controlled from beneath the water - how I couldn't figure out, and everything is in Vietnamese.

The theater is in dire need of updating and I'm thinking that they should be able to afford it. We went during the second showing on a weeknight and the place was packed. The earlier show also had huge tour buses parked outside.

For me, this is good to experience at least once.

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