"Hòa Bình" Sidewalk Coffee

If you’re looking for something different, a great view, cheap drinks, and a boisterous atmosphere in Saigon at night, do make a stop for some drinks at the Hòa Bình ‘sidewalk café’ next to the Notre Dame.

Just opposite of the city’s post office, you’ll find an elementary school called ‘Hòa Bình’. At night, there are little drinks stands in front of the school, with tiny tables and chairs. Usually only locals come to places like these, but if you don’t mind the lack of hygiene and the noise (in fact, the noise is one of the things that make this place very Saigon), this is a great choice. They don’t really have a variety of drinks, mostly just lime juice, coffee, coke and other carbonated drinks, but there’s a special one: salted dry apricot juice, called ‘xí muội’. Do go for this one if you want to try something new. The drinks usually cost about 8,000 VND to 20,000 VND each. However, people come here not for the drinks, but for the view.

Sitting on the sidewalk in front of ‘Hòa Bình’ elementary school, you’ll find the Notre Dame right in front of you, the city’s post office on the other side of the road, the HSBC tower to your right, and the ‘Hàn Thuyên’ park to your left.  This area at night, no matter weekdays or weekends, always brings a lively atmosphere. Under the night lights, you’ll often see balloons tied to bicycles of the sellers, hucksters and their shoulder poles with a variety of food and a whole bunch of other stuff, from shades to keychains, you name it. You’re surrounded by all kinds of noises. You’re sitting on the sidewalk of one of the busiest streets of Saigon, with motorbikes, cars and constant chattering.

I’ll be honest, the service is quite bad. Sometimes they forget your drinks, or take forever to make them. Don’t expect privacy, sometimes you’ll have to share your tiny table with another couple, and by ‘tiny’ I mean TINY! On weekends, there’s a chance you might have to sit on the concrete edges surrounding the trees on the sidewalk. They’ll give you some old newspapers to sit on, and do enjoy that, I’m sure you don’t see that one everyday ;)

 However, the thing about this ‘sidewalk café’ is that you’ll find a unique Saigonese experience: being among locals, being a local, even. This is one of those places that don’t exist in travel books, I can assure you. It’s a little noisy, a little messy, but you’ll get to see a different side of Saigon than the ones you see when looking out from the window of a skyscraper. It gives you this feeling, that this is Saigon, this is Vietnam, do close your eyes and try listening to the noise, because this is one of those things that money just can’t buy.

Well, on a more personal note, for me, it simply feels like home.

+: Great view, great price

-: Lack of hygiene and privacy

My rating: 7/10

 Review by Tram Bui
Photograph by PNM

“WE-Bún ta” restaurant - The 3 in 1 experience.

If my friends ask me for a place where they can enjoy traditional Vietnamese vermicelli dishes, with high quality of the food, in a clean, modern environment, I would immediately answer them: “Bun ta”.

My foreign friends and teachers who came to Vietnam are usually interested in Vietnamese traditional food, such as: “phở”(rice noodle with beef or chicken), “bún”( vermicelli), “nem rán” (spring rolls) … . However, they worry about the “hygiene” of those dishes. And “WE-BunTa” restaurant satisfied them. They also said that they love the modern and convenience environment the restaurant bring to them (of course! That’s why I suggested them). 

The Restaurant

First thing to say once you step into the restaurant is that this place is full of sun-light (during the day of course). The reason is 2 fronts of “BunTa” are glass walls. The glasses are special I think, since you can enjoy the bright of the sun but you won’t be annoyed by the heat of it. Tables are simple, modern and comfortable. A single table is large enough for me and a friend to have a 15.6’’ laptop on, 2 bowls of vermicelli, and then 2 glasses of drink and still feel comfortable. Underneath the tables there are electric sockets so that you can plug your laptops in or recharge your mobile phones.

Let’s talk about the food, the menu is diversified, there were over 15 types of vermicelli, traditional spring rolls, Vietnamese pork barbecues with rice (well, my stomach is barking like dogs now!)... They’re all well cooked and presented, my favorite bowl is “bún ốc” (shellfish soup with vermicelli), a little bit spicy, really tasty! I haven’t found anywhere else served that bowl better than “WE-bunta”. Especially, from Monday to Thursday, they serve buffet for dinner, if you don’t know what to try, just come for buffet dinner and try all the dishes!! 

 

  

 

The Lounge

In the 1st floor, there is a lounge. Sofas are designed into corners, bring you the privacy for chatting with friends or discuss your work with colleagues and clients. Or you can simply go there alone. There was a time when I go there quite often. Just to enjoy the music and the view of the streets below, with a glass of Martini. This lounge is suitable for birthday party as well, not so crowded like bars but you can still enjoy the effervescent music. 

The Music Hall

The 2^nd floor is the music hall, where you can sit back, have a drink and enjoy the live music. However, I haven’t tried it yet. On Tuesday and Wednesday, there are romantic, great old songs from once famous singers. Thursday is Jazz night, with special offer buy 2 glass of wine get 1 free for some wines. And weekend is for famous Vietnamese pop singers.

As I said, the music hall is one I haven’t tried, so is there anyone tried it? Any comment about the experiences is welcome :D :D :D

  

Wrap up :D 

The food price is about 50,000 VND/bowl of vermicelli, other dishes about 35,000-100,000/dish

Drink is about 35,000 for fruit juice, bear, coke …

I usually go there with a friend. Then it's 2 people, about 200,000 VND for a great meal. Good money value, I think!

Pros: + Bright inside, modern and convenience.

         + Delicious, diversified menu, fast table services.

         + Easy to access ( at district 1, 5 mins from city centre – Duc Ba Cathedral )

         + 3 in 1, you can stay there for a whole day without getting bored.

Cons:    + No inside-the-house parking, limited car park.

             + No private feeling of the restaurant (glass wall, tables next to each other)

             + Can’t think of anything else yet !! Need help on this !!

And here’s the map!

 * pictures and map are from the restaurant sources on http://www.vnnavi.com/restaurants/bunta/en_index.html

Dinning with KhaiSilk - Cham Charm Restaurant

Last Friday, I went to the Cham Charm restaurant with my family. Cham Charm is a five-star restaurant which belonged to the KhaiSilk Group. From Thursday to Sunday, they serve high-class buffets. Although they it was promoted as "Japanese buffet" but it's not, the buffet was very much "international".

Cham Charm - side look

Situated next to a crescent lake in “Phu My Hung new city”, district 7, the view from Cham Charm at sunset is amazing. Even the most fastidious guy could not complain anything about it. The architecture of Cham Charm restaurant was excellent, too. Maybe Mr. Khai is a nostalgic guy, most of his restaurants are classically designed. Cham Charm is not an exception. However, this restaurant is very unique among those in Sai Gon because it was designed in old “Champa” (ancient Cambodian) style. All the walls are meticulously sculptured, and all the furniture is carefully set up, giving you the feeling that this place is prepared to serve you to the best of it.

Cham Charm entrance

I could not try all the food, since there were too many kinds of them. So, I will list some so-called high standard ones that I have tried here:

- Fresh Oyster: there were French, Australian, Marenne-Oléron, Pacific… oysters !!! In my taste, French oyster was the best, although they were not big in size (Australian’s were the biggest)

Fresh Oyster !

- Fresh Salmon, Tuna, Octopus : I would rate them as 5/5 ! The fish was really fresh and tasty. You can certainly feel the greasy of taste of the fish !!

- Japanese scallop, lobster, Areola Babylon, cuttle-fish: they are served as grill food. You chose your favorites and give to the chef, he will prepare them for you. The lobsters were not as fresh as I expected, seems that they have been kept frozen for few days. The others were good enough, although they weren’t hot enough, you guys should tell the chef to prepare it for longer.

Lobster and crab!

- Hotpot: There was a hot spot stall inside the restaurant. You chose the ingredients you want to use and give it to the chef. There were Australian beef, fresh shrimp, mushrooms, vegetables,… served with noodle, rice noodle,… The great quality of the ingredients resulted in a 5-stars hotpot. I really like it! Should try!

- Wines: decent taste wine, there was red and white wine, Soju or Sake wine (I don’t remember) and Japanese bear.

There were still plenty of dishes, including famous French dishes such as: sauté goose liver, sauté veal with apple wine sauce, baked lamb ribs.. Indian dishes: Tandoori chicken, lamb curry. Thailand royal dishes : Yam Kung shrimp, fish curry, Shangwa Salad. Special Cambodian dish: Amok fish, Prakok grill chicken.. and Vietnamese dishes as well

Champa style decoration

Overall, Cham Charm is easily one of the best buffet restaurants around this city. Although the location quite far (20min from city centre), the food were not that outstanding, but the restaurant is attractive in its own way: quiet, beautiful, romantic, classically luxurious and elegant. This is a must try for anyone who interest in discovering the art of food.

I LOVE THIS SPECIAL TABLE ! GREAT FOR COUPLES ! FREAKING ROMANTIC!

(+) : - luxury, comfortable atmosphere, well-designed restaurant.

- high quality food, fresh sea food ( except for lobster).

- good services from waiter and wait-dress

- great view (lake view)

(-) : - quite far (20 min from city centre)

- some dishes were quite salty (in my own opinion)

- quite dark inside, not suitable for ones who like bright restaurants.

Price : USD 45.00 ++/ PERSON

My rating : 9.0/10

Location map

* Some pictures and map are from the restaurant homepage : http://www.khaisilkcorp.com/restaurants/chamcharm/index.html