AsiaLIFE Vietnam December 2014

gle sin

at wo

men

young

exp ISBN: 978-604-905-626-0

Suddenly a geometry exam doesn’t seem all that diďŹƒcult.

The residential trips BIS students undertake are great opportunities for them to be progressively challenged in the areas of physical endeavour, perseverance and teamwork. As well as occasionally discovering real world applications of gravity.

Where is your child going?

Hanoi: www.bishanoi.com Ho Chi Minh City: www.bisvietnam.com

THE FIRST LUXURY RESORT IN PHU QUOC ISLAND, VIETNAM 10 minutes from Phu Quoc International airport 122 luxury guest rooms and villas Salinda Restaurant, open kitchen and live cooking Live music every night at Salinda Lounge Salinda Spa, managed by Guru Spa Thailand Professional meeting and event services Beach sports Swimming pool Fitness center Kid’s club Boutique shop Excursions

Sales and Marketing Office 4th Floor, 65C Cao Thang Street District 3, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam t (84-8) 3929 3097 f (84-8) 3929 3098 rsvn@salindaresort.com Salinda Premium Resort and Spa Cua Lap Hamlet, Duong To Commune Phu Quoc Island, Kien Giang Province Vietnam hotline: (84) 907 99 55 02 www.salindaresort.com

MAY ALL THE MAGIC OF CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEAR CONSPIRE TO BRING YOU THE BEST OF HAPPINESS A WARM FESTIVE WELCOME AWAITS YOU AT SALINDA PREMIUM RESORT AND SPA, PHU QUOC ISLAND CHRISTMAS TREE LIGHTING CEREMONY CAN YOU SEE SANTA? CHRISTMAS EVE DINNER JAZZY CHRISTMAS FESTIVE BBQ DINNER UNDER THE STARS COCKTAIL NEW YEAR’S EVE DINNER COUNTDOWN SENSATION THE WORLD IS YOUR OYSTER

DECEMBER 15, 2014, FROM 18:00 HRS DECEMBER 24, 2014, FROM 18:00 TO 19:00 HRS DECEMBER 24, 2014, FROM 19:00 HRS DECEMBER 24, 2014, FROM 22:00 HRS DECEMBER 25, 2014, FROM 18:30 TO 21:30 HRS DECEMBER 31, 2014, FROM 18:30 TO 19:30 HRS DECEMBER 31, 2014, FROM 19:30 TO 21:30 HRS DECEMBER 31, 2014, FROM 22:00 HRS JANUARY 1, 2015, FROM 19:30 TO 21:30 HRS

ALLOW US TO WARMLY WELCOME YOU TO THE PEARL OF ASIA, WHERE SALINDA PREMIUM RESORT AND SPA WILL BRING YOU EXPERIENCES OF UTMOST LUXURY AND SOPHISTICATION IN THIS HOLIDAY SEASON

www.asialifemagazine.com

CAMBODIA // THAILAND // VIETNAM

December 2014

VOLUME 81

13

Front

F OO D & D R I N K

EVENTS . . .............................................................. 0 6 NEWS .................................................................. 0 8 TOP 5: Holiday gift Stores ...................... 1 1 Q &A With Andrew Zimmern .......................................... 1 4

Shrine

PHOTO ESSAY

Crickets in Kompong Thom .................................... 1 6

C ov e r Sto ry Young Single Expat Women

Ton That Thiep's diamond in the rough . . .................. 3 8

Urban Kitchen & Bar

Innovative takes on Western cuisine ........................ 3 9

PLoughman's Garden

Homegrown meals in District 2 .............................. 4 0

Quan La Gi 111

Succulent grilled octopus ........................................ 4 1

S TYLE & D E S I G N

The adventures and challenges of life abroad ............ 2 0

Skin Deep

F e at u r e s

The Modernists

Screen Presence

Vietnam's blossoming art house scene . . .................. 2 6

Breaking the Cycle

How Vietnam is eliminating rhino horn demand . . .... 2 8

sophisticated tastes

Saigon develops a more worldly wine palate............ 3 0

Murder in District 3

A facial regimen for Saigon . . .................................... 4 2 Black-and-white 90s looks from Cambodia . . ............ 4 4

C OLU M N S IMBIBE ............................................................................. 5 2 LOCAL EATS ............................................................... 5 4

FITNESS .......................................................................... 5 6

The city's newest crime-solving mystery puzzle ............. 3 2

PErsonal Finance ............................................. 6 0

T r av e l

Hot Property ........................................................ 6 3

A Changed Land

Myanmar's ever-evolving landscape and society........ 3 4

A very green Christmas

Holiday in the hills of Dalat...................................... 3 6

4 asialife HCMC

HOME IMPROVEMENT .......................................... 6 2 PEOPLE MATTER ....................................................... 6 4 FASHION RULES ....................................................... 6 6 odd one out ........................................................ 7 6 LETTER FROM HANOI ........................................... 7 7

SOMETIME THE BEST PRESENTS ARE THE ONES YOU CAN’T GIFT WRAP.

Nothing captures the warmth of this Festive Season like moments with your loved ones.

InterContinental Nha Trang is the perfect place to relax and enjoy these very special holidays, with a selection of indulgent dining events for Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year's Eve celebration under the heart filled settings across dining venues. Our unsurpassed levels of service will ensure your festivities are truly memorable.

For more information or to make a reservation, please contact +84 58 388 7777 or fb.reservation@icnhatrang.com visit nhatrang.intercontinental.com/festiveseason

events Saigon Comic Con 2014

H2H Pub Quiz at Spotted Cow 111 Bui Vien, D1

Phu Tho Stadium, 01 Lu Gia Street, D11

H2H, short for Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City, is hosting its annual pub quiz this month on the rooftop of the Spotted Cow. H2H is a month-long bicycle ride that raises funds for five charities which work to bring healthcare and education to underprivileged children in Vietnam. Teams of up to eight people can take part in the quiz and the entrance fee is VND 100,000 per person.

Prizes for the top teams will be provided by Spotted Cow and all proceeds go towards the H2H beneficiary organisations. For more information, email matatarski@gmail.com.

Comic Con has become one of the largest gaming, technology, comic book, anime, manga and cosplay events in America. The rest of the world is taking part, including Vietnam, where the event will take place for the first time ever. The exhibition area will be a place for pop culture fans to dress up and browse booths featuring comic books, gaming products, art and more, while popular characters such as Doraemon, Pikachu, Goku, Spiderman, Naruto and others will roam the space for photo ops. Attendees will also have the chance to interact with professionals in comic writing, costume making, game development and more. Contests and big cash prizes will take place throughout the day, such as the Hot New Games Contest and Comic Con Costume Contest. Buy tickets at Upbeat.vn/misc/253-saigon-comic-con-2014. html or any FamilyMart or B’s Mart location.

Entertainment

Entertainment

I Am You Festival ft Dash Berlin

The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time at ABCIS

SECC, 799 Nguyen Van Linh, D7

Saigon South Campus 3, Theatre No 2, 1E Street, Khu Dan Cu Trung Son Binh Hung, Binh Chanh

I Am You Festival (IMUF), is one of the most anticipated EDM festivals of the year, headlined

by Dash Berlin, the Dutch trance music project fronted by DJ Jeffrey Sutorius – one of DJ Mag’s Top 10 most popular DJs in the world – and the newly popular, young music duo, Ryan Fieret and Jesse Draak of Syzz.

Dash Berlin is no stranger to the electronic music scene. With tracks like ‘Till the Sky Falls Down’ reaching the top of the international charts in 2007, Dash Berlin was then subsequently signed onto the Armada Music Label under Armin van Buuren, where he continues to further strengthen his name and popularity. Syzz hails from the Netherlands. Buy tickets at Upbeat.vn.

ABC International School presents The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time, a play based on the mystery novel by British author Mark Haddon. An unusual 15-year-old, Chris, investigates the murder of his neighbour’s dog, but in the process discovers more than expected about his own life's mysteries. Tickets cost VND 100,000 and all proceeds will go towards a Vietnamese Christmas shoebox charity. For more information, email emilyrichards@theabcis.com.

Live Music

Theatre

for more news and events, features, restaurant reviews and video, visit: gle

wo

young

at

sin

exp

www. A s i a L i f e M a g a z i n e .com

This Month's Cover

men

Art Direction: Kendra Bernard Photography: Vinh Dao Model: Dana Filek-Gibson

ISBN: 978-604-905-626-0

For advertising and marketing enquiries please contact: +84 938 298 395 / +84 8 6680 6105 or adsales@asialifehcmc.com Director Jonny Edbrooke jonny@asialifemagazine.com Editorial Director Brett Davis brett@asialifehcmc.com Art Director Kendra Bernard kendra@asialifemagazine.com

6 asialife HCMC

Photo Editor Vinh Dao photoeditor@asialifemagazine.com Managing Editor Dana Filek-Gibson dana@asialifemagazine.com Style Editor Ruben Luong ruben@asialifemagazine.com

Contributing Editor Michael Tatarski michael@asialifemagazine.com Production Manager Hoa Nguyen nguyenhoa@asialifehcmc.com Administrator Nguyen Hanh Trinh trinh.nguyen@asialifehcmc.com

asialife HCMC 7

news

E . BOOK THE B AB DAT E YS TH I

TT

WINE

&FOOD NEW ZEALAND

T NO

2 0 1 5

ND

NG

7 t h Fe b r u a r y

W ZEALAND W . NE I N E ER A

M TO BE ISSED .

SA VE

Vietnam hotels rank high in Conde Nast Traveler Six hotels and resorts in Vietnam were recently voted some of the best in Conde Nast Traveler’s annual Readers’ Choice Awards lists. The Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi was voted No 1 for Best Hotels in Southeast Asia. La Residence Hotel and Spa in Hue was No 19 on the list, while the Park Hyatt in Ho Chi Minh City was No 21.

Moreover, Danang’s Hyatt Regency placed sixth in the Top 20 Resorts in Asia, while Hoi An’s The Nam Hai ranked 10th and Hoi An Beach Resort and Spa 13th. More than 77,000 readers voted for this year’s Readers’ Choice Awards.

Vietnamese spend $1 billion on cigarettes each year Overall, Vietnamese pay about VND 22 trillion (USD $1.05 billion) for cigarettes per year, reports VietNamNet. In turn, Vietnam also spends VND 23 trillion (USD $1.1 billion) each year treating the top five out of 25 tobacco-related diseases, according to a 2010-2011 study by Health Bridge of Canada and the Hanoi Public Health University.

To resolve this, officials have proposed increasing the tobacco tax to reduce consumption in draft amendments to the Law on Special Consumption Tax. It is uncertain whether this will be effective because the proposed tax rates are quite low, at 70 percent from 2016-2018 and 75 percent beginning in 2019. Amendments to the Law on Special Consumption Tax continued to be presented and discussed to the National Assembly last month.

OD FO

. A GOURMET EV E

NI

New coffee season off to a good start

Considering the fact that only three months ago, Vietnam’s coffee reserves were at their lowest since 2011, the country’s new coffee season has been auspicious – last month, the country was expected to export 120,000-150,000 tonnes (2-2.5 million bags) of coffee, boosting exports by at least 14 percent from the previous season, reports Reuters.

Coffee exports increased 72 percent from the year before in October, yielding a record high volume of more than 30 million bags. This is because domestic prices were the highest they’ve been in 16 months, which means farmers were able to successfully sell leftover amounts of coffee stock as well.

While this is good news for farmers and the local coffee industry, the overall output of the new season, which ends 30 Sept next year, is also expected to decrease 10 percent from the previous crop year due to aging trees and rain, according to Deputy Chairman Do Ha Nam of the Vietnam Coffee and Cocoa Association.

8 asialife HCMC

Taxi companies reduce fares to reflect drop in gas prices

Due to a recent drop in gas prices, several taxi companies cut the price of taxi fares last month, reports Thanh Nien.

Taxi rides with Mai Linh, HCMC’s second-largest taxi company, now cost VND 500-2,000 less per kilometre, with fares costing around VND 14,500-17,700 per kilometre in HCMC. Continuing standard policy, customers who ride in four-seat cars will pay less than seven-seat cars. In addition, Vinasun now charges VND 500 less per kilometre, with fares costing VND 16,000-18,000 per kilometre, according to the taxi company’s deputy general director, Ta Long Hy. Retail gas prices dropped to VND 1,430 per litre last month, which prompted the Ministry of Finance to request the Ministry of Transport to encourage taxi companies to adjust fares.

Local author proposes a book street in downtown HCMC

A local Vietnamese author has urged the Vietnam Association of Publishers to appeal to the city People’s Committee to establish a book street downtown, suggesting it be included within the Nguyen Hue Boulevard pedestrian walkway after its construction is completed.

Author and former Tuoi Tre journalist Le Van Nghia, 61, believes HCMC should have an equivalent to Hanoi’s Dinh Le Street, a 200-metre road lined with more than 20 book stalls and stores where bookworms can hunt for old, rare or new books. He recalls when Saigon used to have similar streets with book shops, but they were eventually replaced as the city modernised. Nghia also argues that occasional book festivals and events in the city attract many people, proving an interest and demand for books. Tuoi Tre reports that one book event in 2013 drew 850,000 people, according to its organisers.

Currently, there are only a few streets downtown, such as Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, Le Loi and Nguyen Hue, where old and new books can be found. asialife HCMC 9

O L R E CA

T N O M

4 1 0 2 A L A G Y T I R A CH

TICKET PRICE

T HOTEL T A Y H K M PAR ND - 6.30P 2 2 ER asino NOVEMB rlo c

2.900.000VND

te Ca

n e: Mo d o c ress

D Points of sale

D1: Centre MĂŠdical International - 1 Han Thuyen St. Annam Gourmet - 16 - 18 Hai Ba Trung St.

D2: Annam Gourmet - 41A Thao Dien St. D7: Annam Gourmet - SB2 - 1 My Khanh 4, Nguyen Duc Canh St.

For more details please contact: lorraine.alamartine@cmi-vietnam.com or 08 38 27 23 66/67

10 asialife HCMC

A design by Starseed

pick of the month

top

5

Places to find

the perfect

Christmas

Gift Dana Filek-Gibson scours the city for Saigon's best Christmas gifts. Photos by Vinh Dao.

By the time this magazine makes it into your hands, the vocal stylings of Mariah Carey will have become a daily presence in your life. Safari animals festooned in mistletoe will stand watch in Tao Dan Park, and skinny, wide-eyed kids will don faux fur-lined Santa suits with – you guessed it – flip-flops. Scarves will suddenly be in fashion. Everyone will crank up the air-con and pretend it's cold. That's right: Saigon's unique brand of Christmas is here.

Staring down a month-long parade of hotel buffets, extended happy hours and bad sweater opportunities, there is plenty to celebrate. After all, we've made it through another year full of surprises in one of the finest cities in Southeast Asia. And yet, there is one facet of yuletide festivities that never fails to send us into a panic: Christmas shopping. As you continue to put off your holiday purchases and whittle down the number of people for whom you'll buy Christmas gifts this year, take a look at these five shops for a sample of Saigon's best presents. asialife asialife HCMC HCMC 11 11

Secret 's r e k n a B A ropaganda, 21 Han

Saigon H o u s0eThuoKfhoa Huamn, D1 1 6 -1 8 -2 O fS a ig o n .c o se Th e H o u 1 7 9 08 08 35 2 m 9p 8am –

If you're at a complete loss on where to start, House of Saigon is a good place to get the ball rolling. Just behind Ben Thanh Market, this split-level shop comes off as a bit touristy in the beginning, but persevere through the first few displays and you'll find an array of gift-worthy items, from locally-made homewares to buffalo horn jewelry, children's clothing and practical items with a Vietnamese touch, like the notebooks covered by colourful Dong Ho folk paintings or Very Ngon's host of Vietnam-inspired kitchen items. On its upper floors, House of Saigon also displays a collection of mens and womenswear from Vietnamese designers like Dieu Anh, which will give a bit of local flair to your Christmas gifts this season.

12 asialife HCMC

P D1 Th u y e n , com rS e c re t.

ABanke

Cor ne

r Bout i qu e

2 3 Ly T C o r n u Tr o n g , e 1 0 1 2 3 r. c o m . v n s t f lo o r 6 310 9am – 9pm 099

A brand new outfit tucked away at the far end of Ly Tu Trong, Corner Boutique is off to a good start with its unique selection of local products. Here you'll find an eclectic array of women's clothing, shoes, handbags and small trinkets, all expertly arranged and curated by Quyen Le, the very fashionable shop owner, herself. While there may be plenty of small, independent boutiques around town, it's rare to find one that covers so many bases so well, showcasing a range of quality homewares, clothing and accessories at affordable prices.

A few beauty products and locally-made ceramics also grace the shelves, giving you plenty of gift options from which to choose.

4 135 – 6pm; 09 06 66 e s, 1 1 a m 8 p m ; Tu to – Mon m a 0 S a t, 1 We d to m – 7pm Sun, 11a

Though it's still relatively unknown, A Banker's Secret shows great promise as an all-natural local beauty label, a rare find in Saigon. The company, founded in 2012, sells everything from soaps and body scrubs to lotions, lip balms and natural oils.

Pamper yourself with the exfoliating sea salt and turmeric scrub, a fragrant top-to-toe moisturising oil, the refreshing mint tea lip balm or cleansing beer-and-coffee soap.

While A Banker's Secret offers online shopping and delivery right to your door, you can also check out their products in person at Propaganda, where the label has just opened a pop-up shop that will run through mid-February. Shoppers can also find A Banker's Secret products year-round in a small retail space on the ground floor of Cafe Me, 8A Luong Huu Khanh, D1.

Popular among the city's youngest expats, a pair of shops just inside Snap Cafe's main entrance are your best bet when it comes to gifts for the little ones. All the Legos, Nerf guns and Radio Flyer tricycles of your youth can be found at Toysville, a shop which specialises in educational toys for kids of all ages, not to mention dozens upon dozens of Playmobil sets, action figures and other gadgets.

Just next door, Art Box stocks a decent collection of craft supplies and activity books for young artists, not to mention stickers and other odds and ends to keep the kids occupied on rainy days.

lle To y v ir t B o x n, D2 & TAran NgovcnDie m.

32 p.co 82 Sna 194 2 m 5 08 3 m – 8p a 8.30

While its locale currently isn't the best place to be in town, serious photophiles will appreciate Thien Ngan Camera. A small shop squeezed between Fahasa Nguyen Hue and Lucky Plaza – and, inexplicably, fronted by a sandwich cart – Thien Ngan stocks a host of photo equipment, including everything from simple point-andshoots to high-quality DSLRs to an array of lenses and flashes with which to outfit your camera. The owner, a photography geek himself, knows his gadgets, and perhaps the most impressive section of the shop is its shelf of vintage cameras, which holds dozens of old Leicas and other antiques.

Thien N C a m e r a ga n

46 Ng uyen Hu 09 09 489 77 e, D1 8 8am – 9pm

With the holiday season just around the corner, Corso Steakhouse & Bar has prepared an array of festive delights available from Dec 15, 2014 to Jan 15, 2015 for your Christmas and New Year celebrations. Savour dishes such as ‘Caesar Salad with Turkey’, ‘US Beef Fillet & Foie Gras’, ‘Traditional Tom Turkey & Honey Ham with Cranberry Sauce’ as well as seasonal favorites from our Festive Set Menu to make yours a truly memorable holiday.

CORSO STEAKHOUSE & BAR - Ground Floor, Norfolk Hotel 117 Le Thanh Ton, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam - T: (84-8) 3829 5368 Ext. 6614 - F: (84-8) 3829 3415 E: corso@norfolkhotel.com.vn - W: www.norfolkhotel.com.vn Managed by Norfolk Group

asialife asialife HCMC HCMC 13 13

Andrew Zimmern Andrew Zimmern, host of the Travel Channel's Bizarre Foods, talks deep-sea worms, tethering yourself to local culture, zerokilometre cooking and what happens when you take away someone's food. By Dana Filek-Gibson. Photo

by Vinh Dao. Want to hear more?

Watch the interview here.

14 asialife HCMC

Your show, Bizarre Foods, is popular all over the world, across many different cultures and in many different countries. Why do you think that is the case?

A lot of people mistakenly think that my show is about a big, fat white American guy that runs around the world shoving bugs in his mouth and, while that's happened once or twice before, that's actually the least important part of what we do. In a world where everybody talks about the things that divide us – different skin colour, different language, different sexuality, different spirituality, different politics, different religion – I wanted to have conversations about the thing that we all loved, which was food. Food is the great commonality, more so I think than math or music. If you take away somebody's quadratic equation or you take away their boombox, they'll punch you in the mouth. But if you take away their rice or their bread there's, you know, blood in the fucking streets. I thought that if I wanted to tell stories about a culture through food, that it would be best to do it using stories that people hadn't heard before. I think food with a story is better than food without one, but food with a story that people haven't heard about is best of all.

How do you define ‘bizarre’ in terms of your show? One person’s weird is another person's staple.

The dictionary defines it as 'unique and interesting', so that's how I use it. The idea to call the show Bizarre Foods was not mine.

I still don't like it; I think it gives people the wrong impression. But I think, had I had my way, I would have called it something very witty and urbane and it would have been on public television and we would have made 10 episodes and I would've had the love and applause of my peers and that's it. Instead, we went with somebody else's idea and it created something that was much more marketable and yes, a little bit commercial, but I don't think that's bad because we've been able to reach millions, tens of millions, hundred of millions of people with this.

I'm sure you get asked about the strangest foods you've eaten all the time, but what's the food that's surprised you the most?

Something that looks really strange or unusual or unappetising that's actually turned out to be great.

The first thing that usually comes to mind are what I call the Dr Seuss foods. The ones that are so fantastical, so crazy, we had no idea before we left the United States that

we'd even see that food in a given culture, something that somebody walks out of a jungle with and surprises us.

So I'm in Samoa and we're on a tuna boat and we're a half-day's drive out to the middle of the ocean, I mean the deepest part of the Pacific. And in that deep part of the Pacific, only a couple times a decade does the water get flat and the sun bakes down and the water warms up just enough that the coral deep down below releases these tiny little worms called palolo. They float to the surface of the ocean and they scoop them off and they're eaten plain or on rice or on bread. They're bright blue. It looks like algae but it tastes like sea urchin and foie gras and liver and seaweed and fermented fish all mixed together, and it was so fucking delicious. I will never see that food again, I will never eat that food again; I may not even bump into another person who's ever eaten that food again. But I think about that at least once a week.

Your first trip to Vietnam was eight years ago.

How was that experience then – food and otherwise – and what made you decide to return?

You know, there are many countries that I love, Vietnam being a very special place for me. I love the spirit of the people, I love the grittiness and the determination of them, I love the cultural pride and almost nationalistic fervour with which the Vietnamese approach things. It's a very, very unique Petri dish to look at and explore.

It's also a beautiful place and I love the sights and the sounds and the smells of it. I love the fact that you don't need to dig deep to tether yourself to the culture. If you go to Spain or Indonesia, you have to work a little harder to sort of plug in, you may have to go to the street behind the street behind the street to experience the true nature of Spanish culture or Indonesian culture. But when you come to a country like Vietnam, unless you're dropped off in the middle of the high-end hotel zone, you just have to turn the corner and open your eyes and you are presented the true face of what it means to live in Vietnam today. And I think that that's what makes it fascinating. It makes it easy to make shows here. You know, we just turn down the right street and start rolling the cameras.

Stepping away from the stranger local delicacies, are there any Vietnamese dishes that you are particularly fond of?

What don't I enjoy? We had a meal yesterday, we ate a whole porcupine, five or six different treatments for it, and they had some of the belly and the shoulder mixed with the offal, just steamed, and served with shiso leaf and a wonderful little peanut sauce for dipping and some rice paste sheets. It was meat and herbs and a dipping sauce but it was handled so beautifully and so deftly and the flavours were so unusual and it was done without pretension. When you're in a place where everything is truly zero-kilometre, as an outsider the pleasure to take there of not having to worry about what to eat because whatever is local, fresh and best is going to be on the table; I don't think I've ordered a single meal. I just turn to them and say, “Whatever you serve here, I would like to have.” And if you're in the right place, if you've chosen well, you get a pastiche of that country at that time and place that I think is really wonderful.

Since you started this show, what do you think it has taught you about different cultures' relationships to food?

Oh, it's taught me everything. I mean if you really pay attention to what the world is telling you, it's telling you to be more patient and tolerant and understanding of other people. There's nothing to be gained by separating ourselves from other people.

When I was on my own before doing the show, traveling a couple weeks a year, I had the feeling that that was the case and that I needed to find a way to develop more of that in my life. Now, 10 years later, I think the obvious extraordinary lesson of my life has been practicing patience, tolerance and understanding with other people and avoiding contempt prior to investigation.

If you're the type of person who judges a book by its cover, not only are you shortchanging yourself when you approach the world, you're short-changing yourself at home within an arm's reach of you. I think that travel is one of the great transformative experiences that a human being can have.

It's the way we learn, it's the way we expose ourselves to other ideas. I'm a much better version of myself when I travel than I am when I'm at home.

asialife HCMC 15

PHOTO ESSAY

Crickets in Kompong Thom Photos: Vinh Dao. More of Vinh's photographs can be found at www.BlindEyeProductions.com

16 asialife HCMC

On Cambodia's National Road 6 from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh sits an area that is famous for plump and juicy crickets.

asialife asialife HCMC HCMC 17 17

The crickets are attracted to the blue fluorescent lights of the traps. When they jump to get closer to the light, they hit a plastic sheet and fall into a cache of water.

The crickets are weighed by flashlight or the headlights of a scooter. Chanta pays the farmer 10,000 riel (USD $2.50) per kilo. Each farm usually yields around four kilos of insects.

18 asialife HCMC

The crickets are cleaned and then transferred for sorting.

Crickets for sale in Phnom Penh.

At 8am, Chanta’s work as a harvester is done for the day and she heads back to her farm to tend to her primary job: a rice farmer.

asialife asialife HCMC HCMC 19 19

20 asialife HCMC

In Saigon, young, single, female expats are often misunderstood. As the city's ever-changing foreign community continues to grow, Dana Filek-Gibson looks at the opportunities and adventures life abroad offers these women, as well as the challenges which arise from the way they are perceived by their peers. Photos by Vinh Dao.

asialife HCMC 21

Behind the desk in Steve's office is a picture of a lake, taken somewhere in Australia or maybe New Zealand. It's the kind of image you'd expect to find on a stock photo website or in a doctor's office. The only reason I notice is because Steve's head floats in the middle, punctuated on either side by rolling green hills. We've been talking for nearly 20 minutes now and the interview seems to be going well. Not for a job, Steve likes to remind me; he prefers to think of it as more of a 'partnership'. Steve has a lot of words for things that already have words.

Stretching his legs, Steve's clunky rubber soles land on the floor and he introduces me to his rubber band theory. It applies to all expats, but especially women – no, make that single women. Our time, he figures, is elastic: every expat has a rubber band tethered somewhere back home, to a person or a place or a career, and from the time you board a plane for Vietnam, that rubber band starts to pull. It stretches across continents and over oceans all the way to Saigon.

Some people carry this tension just fine.

Steve says this because he knows: it's been decades since he left home. He loves Vietnam. He loves his wife. He loves everything

22 asialife HCMC

here and that pull is something he no longer registers. But women, he tells me, leaning forward onto the desk – young women, single women – well, that's another story.

Eventually, the rubber band contracts.

That tug gets a little too strong and in a matter of months it's over: the elastic does what it was always meant to do, hurtling a person across time zones, over borders, but travelling in reverse, back to the very beginning.

Steve gestures with his hands, never picking his elbows up from the desk. Ultimately he wants to know how long I'll be here. It's a fair question: after all, I'm already four years in. By the time five comes around, Steve says, expats cannot adjust to life at home.

It's not a generalisation; it's just fact. He has another theory about that.

“So,” he says. “Where are you with the rubber band?”

Pus h and pu ll

The thing about Steve, I later realise, is that he's not entirely wrong. After we've exchanged name cards and parted ways, I start thinking. I can't come up with more than one woman I know who will be here the rest of her life. From the time we arrive in Vietnam most of us are, in fact, on our way out. But

something about the theory bothers me, the way it sounds so final. Foreign women leave – many foreign women – and a fair number of men don't. Still, it's hard to imagine my life here ending in some abrupt, hormone-fueled return to the American Midwest, driven mad by the noise or the distance or my lack of relationship, a favourite topic among everyone but myself.

Over the next few weeks, I starting asking around. Sometimes to friends, sometimes to strangers, I bring up the rubber band theory.

Opinions fall all over the spectrum, from fervent agreement to absolute rejection and everywhere in between. Male and female, single and attached, everyone seems to have evidence which supports the idea and evidence which negates it. As it turns out, being young, single, female and expat can mean many different things.

For Frederikke Lindholm, a five-year resident of Saigon with a Master's in Gender and Globalisation Studies, the decision to live or not live in Vietnam comes down to what pushes a person out of his or her home country and what pulls an individual to the hosting nation. When I bring up the rubber band theory, she refers to it as “another case of mansplaining” the anomaly that is a young, single, female foreigner outside her

asialife asialife HCMC HCMC 23 23

home country.

“Expat women here, and probably also around many places, are seen as appendages,” says the 30-year-old Danish transplant.

“Not in a decorative sense, not like the trophy wife, but as people that are followers.”

Lindholm does not buy into this assumption. When she first arrived in Saigon in 2008, it was as part of a couple. Still, she chose to come – and stay – of her own free will, a fact which too often goes unacknowledged. For single women, however, this makes the conversation that much more confusing.

“Because life here is seen to be more difficult for foreign women than foreign men,” she says, “I think young, single, female foreigners are put under more scrutiny as to why they would want to come here.”

For men, a stock answer is usually enough, yet young, single women are often required to justify their presence in greater detail or, at the very least, to fit their life abroad into a larger trajectory.

On the younger end of the expat spectrum, 25-year-old Natasha Ozog is in the unique position of attending university in Vietnam, not as an exchange student but as a full-time enrollee at Saigon's RMIT campus.

While she's grown accustomed to fielding certain questions about her life here, Ozog finds that few people are willing to accept an 24 asialife HCMC

open-ended response.

“I've been in shops where people ask me, 'Are you married?' 'No,'” Ozog explains. “[Once] I came out of a shop and by the end of the conversation [the shop owner] had it in her head that I will get married straight after university to a Vietnamese man and have three kids.”

For Ozog, the move to Vietnam turned out to be much less difficult than she had expected. In fact, the accounting student believes that being female actually helps in the long run, as locals seem to view her as more personable.

“Being a girl I think is a lot easier,” she says. “Maybe [women] are a bit more approachable. Vietnamese are never shy to come up and have a chat.”

As far as relationships go, she is also blissfully unattached and plans to keep it that way for the time being. Because Vietnam is a family-focused place, Ozog understands that the usual line of questioning – about age, marital status and children – is simply part of the culture. However, expats can be just as bad when it comes to divorcing romantic pursuits from the rest of her life.

“People think I'm bizarre for being 25 and not wanting a relationship,” she says.

“There's always that assumption that either I'm lying – I really do want a man – or there's something wrong with me.”

For the most part, Ozog remains unfazed by these presumptions. There's something to be said for the fact that in Saigon she can meet a guy and have a conversation without worrying about where the friendship will lead. With romance removed from the equation, Ozog finds her interactions with both local and foreign men are more genuine.

That said, she still has a few friends who try to set her up, not to mention meeting the occasional guy in a bar.

“When I've met expat men out who are looking for foreign girls, they just don't understand why I don't want to go out with them,” she explains.

Ozog knows that her time in Vietnam will eventually come to an end, but she's also quick to point out that leaving a country does not mean that single expat women are on the prowl.

“It's like apparently we're leaving because [of] men,” she says. Ozog pauses for a moment, catching herself before she rolls her eyes. “Or we could be leaving because there's a whole world out there.”

I nde pendent wome n

In expat life, independence is all but a requirement. However, in the realm of relationships, this is seldom a becoming trait for foreign women. For Ramona Slusarczyk,

a lecturer at RMIT and five-year Saigon resident, it has been the deciding factor in several of her relationships.

“When it comes to dating, it's fantastic,” she says. “However there's no denying that I'm single. It comes to me having a bad character.”

The “bad character”, I later discover, is independence. In fact, this trait is mentioned in every one of my interviews, almost always as a positive. The more women I speak to about the rubber band theory, the more I hear about the perks and freedom that come with living in a foreign culture. While some are gentler in explaining the effect an independent lifestyle has had on their relationships, Slusarczyk makes no bones about her stance on the matter.

“Men come and go,” she tells me, insisting that I write this down, “but what I do with my life remains.”

In part because of this attitude, Slusarczyk feels that dating in Saigon seldom leads to healthy relationships. In her experience, the expat community holds a different set of social norms than the ones which exist at home. There is a feeling of perpetual holiday, she explains, which can lead expats to behave in a way here that they might not elsewhere. Slusarczyk sees this in both the men who feel entitled to a female expat's attention and also in foreign women who

abide certain behaviours which they would not normally accept.

When someone doesn't fall in line with these new norms, it makes it harder to be a part of the larger community. Many of Slusarczyk's male friends, for instance, prefer Vietnamese women. While she sees no problem with this, certain behaviours which she views as more prevalent among this group mean that foreign women who are unwilling to behave in the same way pay a price.

As an example, she brings up the women, often Vietnamese, who accompany their boyfriends to a bar when they hang out with male friends.

“I would die of boredom,” she says. “I would rather watch paint dry than watch my man play darts.”

Perhaps behavioural norms play a role in the challenges foreign women face in the dating world, but 33-year-old Arlene Tuang also thinks it has something to do with the transience of expat life. The New Zealand native points out that, in many cases, men are more inclined to settle down in a foreign country or find a home abroad. For women, however, expat life is often an adventure and usually comes with an exit strategy, whether that means returning home or carrying on to another foreign country. Tuang, a long-term expat who has lived in Vietnam for five years and out of her home country for nearly a

decade, is beginning to feel the itch to move on.

“You get so comfortable,” she says of expat life in Saigon. “Things get easy; you start to get into this rut.”

While the rut is certainly a cushy one, filled with nice dinners, trips to the spa, frequent nights out and other perks, it's ultimately not the place Tuang or her friend, Ania Semmerling, want to be. Next year, the pair have plans to say goodbye to Saigon's high life and set off for Africa.

“At the beginning, it was a joke: we're going to go to Africa and get husbands,” explains Semmerling, who is originally from Poland and has lived in Saigon since 2010.

While neither woman is in a hurry to find a partner, both have recognised that Vietnam is probably not the place to start looking.

“I already gave up on meeting anybody here,” Semmerling continues. “I know it's not going to happen.” Both she and Tuang laugh at the bluntness of the statement. Though they've each had relationships during their lives abroad, Saigon is a difficult place to date. This is certainly not either woman's priority, but both recognise the fact that being a single female expat means that finding a likeminded partner is not so easy.

“Things are more sour and more sweet at the same time,” says Tuang.

asialife HCMC 25

Vietnamese films, recovering from a discouraging year for commercial blockbusters in 2013, are finding progress with small successes in experimental art house cinema. By Ruben Luong.

Photo credits: Dap Canh Giua Khong Trung: VBlock Media Lac Gioi: Tincom Media Farewell the Berlin Wall: Vietnam Media Corp-BHD Lua Phat: Vietnam Media Corp-BHD Bui Doi Cho Lon: Galaxy Studio Bi, Dung So: Acrobates Film Hot Boy Noi Loan: Vietnam Media Corp-BHD Huong Ga: Media Village, TNA Entertainment Teo Em: Chanh Phuong Film 26 asialife HCMC

Out of eight foreign debut features nominated at the Cannes International Film Festival this year, it was a 99-minute Vietnamese film, directed by a young female Vietnamese director, that claimed the International Critics Week prize for Best Film.

Nguyen Hoang Diep’s Dap Canh Giua Khong Trung (Flapping in the Middle of Nowhere) – a drama revolving around a Vietnamese teenager who needs cash for an abortion in Hanoi – was “poised in its mise-en-scene, poetic in employing visual panache and precise in capturing details which hint at the harsh realities of inner-city life”, as The Hollywood Reporter described it.

The film headed to Hollywood’s AFI Fest last month, not only turning eyes towards Vietnamese cinema but repositioning it largely within an art house context.

Along with Flapping in the Middle of Nowhere, a small but promising collection of Vietnamese movies this year proves the local film industry is maturing at a grassroots level. More local and overseas directors or producers are willing to take risks – whether for international or domestic audiences – and invest in experimental dramas in lieu of mainstream slapstick comedies and horror films that currently dominate the Vietnamese market.

“Vietnamese cinema is still in its infancy,” says Irene Trinh, feature film producer and production manager at The Creatv Company, a 20-year-old private production studio based in Ho Chi Minh City. “It is just starting to take baby steps. Directors are exploring different genres. Of course, the market is still flooded with comedies, but recent films like Huong Ga (Rise), Am Muu Giay Got Nhon, Hiep Sy Muu, Doat Hon, Qua Tim Mau, Hot Boy Noi Loan, Sai Gon Nhat Thuc, they are all pushing filmmaking boundaries in Vietnam. This is where we need to get to if we are going to continuously grow and prosper as an industry.”

In fact, Vietnam's Department of Cinema announced at a conference last year that it wants to top Southeast Asia’s film industry by 2020, despite skepticism from directors, producers and screenwriters who noted that, at the time, there were no works screening in international events, the local market was dominated by foreign films and local films were not being exported overseas, according to Twitchfilm.com.

“For an industry to continuously improve and grow, it needs to have balance,” says Trinh. “It needs big-budgeted films and indie productions mixing and gelling. It needs experienced crews. It needs strong financial backing. It needs the support of the audience. And that is why at Creatv we are looking at ways to create a film fund. A fund that will enable filmmakers to tell their stories, a fund that will allow veterans and newcomers alike to bring their stories to the

big screen.”

Since last year, private studios have been proving skeptics wrong, as directors are not only finding funds but also enough support to facilitate the exposure of fresh and unconventional content. In October, a Vietnamese film that concerns a love triangle between a thief, a young man and a nurse was the first to feature bisexuality in Vietnam. The film, Lac Gioi (Paradise in Heart), was directed by Phi Tien Song, who hoped the film would shed new light on the LGBT community.

For an industry to continuously improve and grow, it needs to have balance. It needs bigbudgeted films and indie productions mixing and gelling.

— Irene Trinh, The Creatv Company Looking to the future, BHD Co Ltd, one of the first private Vietnamese production and distribution companies, will release Farewell the Berlin Wall, a period crime drama told from a female perspective. It is expected to be released on 5 March.

“That’s only a week after the Lunar New Year holiday, when normally romances and action films dominate in Vietnam, so this is a deliberate break with genre programming tradition,” Nguyen Bao Mai, sales and acquisitions manager at Vietnam Media Corp, which backs BHD, told Variety in October.

Farewell should initiate an auspicious start to the Lunar New Year, continuing a streak of appeal for Vietnamese art house film that directly contrasts with 2013, when many Vietnamese blockbusters suffered disappointment.

Dustin Nguyen’s VND 30 billion martial arts endeavour, Lua Phat, for instance, set high expectations with an ambitious promotional campaign but grossed USD $3-4 million locally, a third of the production cost, according to Tuoi Tre. More memorable was Charlie Nguyen’s VND 16 billion gangster flick Bui Doi Cho Lon (Gangsters of Chinatown) that starred his brother, stuntman Johnny Tri Nguyen. It also garnered anticipation but was banned from theaters for its violence.

After its ban, the Nguyen brothers redeemed themselves with a roadtrip comedy, Teo Em, which became the highest-grossing local movie of 2013 with USD $3.2 million,

yet again proving that comedies have a better return in Vietnam.

That doesn’t mean artistic films won’t continue to have a place. While local comedies remain failproof at home, artistic films represent Vietnamese cinema intellectually abroad. “We want the world to know that Vietnam is on the international stage,” says Trinh. “You can make it happen in Vietnam.

And we want Vietnamese audiences to be proud of the work of our talented local directors, too.”

Tides do seem to be turning in favour of them, and while there is an international outlet for experimental filmmaking, as well as an improving attitude here towards art house cinema as a worthwhile venture, the challenges for filmmakers in the country remain the same – particularly under the Law of Cinema.

“We need to submit our scripts, we need to shoot the script we submit and show the film we said we would shoot. If we give scripts we’re not shooting – if we revise – we will not be able to screen,” says Othello Khanh, Creatv’s managing director.

Vietnam’s first debut feature to appear at Cannes, Bi, Dung So (Bi, Don’t Be Afraid, 2011), had to sacrifice five minutes of scenes from the original script at the inaugural Hanoi International Film Fest (HANIFF) in 2012 due to sexual content. Its director, Phan Dang Di, was disappointed it didn’t have the same impact domestically as it had internationally.

Fortunately, the current landscape is more optimistic than not. Last month, 18 Vietnamese movies competed at the third HANIFF. And whereas in 2005, three or four Vietnamese films might have screened in a year throughout the entire country, now there are upwards of 20. Couple this growth with the proliferation of new theatres attracting younger audiences and the result is a new generation of experimental filmmakers emerging behind the scenes through HANIFF’s Campus program, which invites talented Vietnamese filmmakers to learn from panelists of film insiders.

“It shows that the government is finally recognising that investing in young filmmakers is the only way Vietnamese cinema will grow and develop like they want it.

That’s encouraging,” Di told The Hollywood Reporter in 2012.

The rest lies in their debut. “The most important thing for local filmmakers is that the Vietnamese audience always wants to watch domestic Vietnamese films. Anytime Vietnamese filmmakers can make a good-quality commercial film, the audience is very willing and eager to watch it,” Di added. “They love Hollywood films, too, but they want to see Vietnam and Vietnamese stories. So we have challenges, but a big opportunity is there.”

asialife asialife HCMC HCMC 27 27

Photo by Vietnam CITES Management Authority

Photo by Vietnam CITES Management Authority

In 2003, just 22 rhinos were poached in South Africa, home to 70 percent of the world's rhinos. A decade later, in 2013, 1,004 of the endangered animals were killed in the country.

Vietnam, along with China, has become a global hotspot in the illegal wildlife trade, especially when it comes to rhino horn.

During the 1990s, rhino horn was almost worthless here but thanks to the surge in demand over the past few years it is worth more than gold, around USD $100,000 per kilogram.

Several years ago, a story spread that a man had been cured of cancer after he ingested ground rhino horn. No details were ever confirmed and there is no basis for horn to be used for cancer in traditional Chinese medicine but, around the same time, demand for rhino horn exploded.

This forced conservation agencies to rethink their strategy. Several organisations instead began looking towards the destinations for rhino horns being taken from Africa and focus instead on the end users.

Education and Awareness

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) is the main international agreement regarding the wildlife trade.

The 180 member states of CITES meet every three years. At last year’s assembly in Bangkok, Vietnam was identified as the main consumer of rhino horn and ordered to undertake action to reduce demand.

According to Thuong Nguyen, International Cooperation Officer for Vietnam’s CITES Management Authority, such declarations are legally binding, and so the Viet28 asialife HCMC

namese government tasked the authority to create such an effort.

The organisation then teamed up with the Humane Society International (HSI), a Washington DC-based conservation agency.

“We don’t have many resources or technical experience to implement these very difficult issues,” Thuong explains from Hanoi.

Teresa Telecky, Director of the Wildlife Department at HSI, says her group benefitted from the arrangement because they had no staff on the ground in Vietnam and had little understanding of the local culture. “All of the ideas for how to conduct the campaign came from inside CITES,” she says.

The first thing CITES and HSI did was hire Nielsen to conduct a survey of 1,000 people in six of Vietnam’s biggest cities: Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Hai Phong, Da Nang, Nha Trang and Can Tho in August of last year. The survey results showed the users and buyers of rhino horn were of all ages and came from all segments of society, including men and women, the relatively wealthy and the middle class.

The results prompted CITES and HSI to approach the Hanoi Women’s Association, which has over 800,000 members. “Our study showed that most of the buyers of horn in Vietnam are women because normally they are the ones who take care of the family,” Thuong says. When CITES explained that rhino horn has no medicinal properties and is mostly made up of keratin, the same material in human finger nails, many women were shocked.

The illegality of using rhino horn was another emphasis. “Women are very serious on law enforcement, and when they learned how buying horn was illegal and that you

could get up to seven years in jail for buying it, that had a dramatic effect.”

A children’s book titled I’m a Little Rhino was also distributed to a few thousand school children in Hanoi. “For the kids, we tried to convince them to protect the rhinos because they are cute and nice,” Thuong says. This effort garnered such a response it will be expanded next year, with funding received to deliver the book to every primary school student in the Hanoi area.

The demand reduction campaign also targeted businessmen with the message that they are wasting their money on rhino horn because it has no medicinal value. Billboards at shopping malls, Noi Bai International Airport and intersections in Hanoi also explained the legal consequences of buying rhino horn.

The result of this effort has been significant. A new Nielsen poll conducted this past August showed a 38 percent decrease in people buying and using rhino horn from the previous year. The survey also showed that 38 percent of people still think rhino horn has medical value, down from 51 percent. The drops in these statistics were even more dramatic in Hanoi.

“It is encouraging that after just one year demand has significantly reduced,” Thuong says. “We think we need to maintain the momentum and repeat the activities because if we stop the demand will return.”

However, some prominent conservationists have criticised CITES and HSI for celebrating prematurely, especially as rhinos continue to be killed every day. Telecky is quick to point out that they realise this is a long-term effort.

“One thing I sense from some of the criti-

A recent survey study has found the thirst for rhino horn in Vietnam is dropping. Michael Tatarski talks to some organisations behind campaigns that have helped effect this change.

Photo by Breaking the Brand

Photo by Vietnam CITES Management Authority

Data source: www.TheGuardian.com/ environment/2014/oct/16/rhino-horndemand-in-vietnam-drops-by-morethan-33-in-one-year www.BreakingTheBrand.com

cism is that because we’ve seen this success in one year, we’re all going to walk away from it, including the government of Vietnam, and I can tell you that’s not the case."

Thuong agrees that the efforts will continue, as the issue has become one of national pride.

“Frankly speaking, the demand for horn in Vietnam is a small number of people but it is seriously damaging our reputation at international conferences. This is why we don’t want that situation to continue and we want to show that we can cooperate with other countries,” she says.

6 in 1997

A Narrower Approach

Lynn Johnson, director of Breaking the Brand, an Australian nonprofit dedicated to eradicating misinformation about rhino horn's benefits, is taking a more precisely targeted method towards reducing demand.

“It happened that, at that time [late 2012], there was a lot of talk about rhino poaching rising. I thought this is the one that is most urgent,” she says from Melbourne.

She envisioned rhino horn as a brand, saying “brands can be made and they can be broken – how do we break the brand for the primary users to stop the demand?”

Johnson and her organisation also saw a need for greater effort in reducing demand at the other end of the supply chain. She used her network of Vietnamese contacts in Melbourne to reach wealthy people, whom she had determined were most likely to buy and use rhino horn, in Hanoi and HCMC. “Through my interviews, I found there are only two motivations to stop using rhino horn: if using it negatively impacts my status, and if using negatively impacts my health or the health of friends, family or colleagues,” says Johnson.

Breaking the Brand decided to focus their campaign on this health angle, and one effort taking place in Africa aided this.

Organisations in Africa have begun infusing rhino horns with neurotoxins while they are still on the living animals.

These toxins pose no threat to individual rhinos, as their horn serves no biological purpose. However, they are dangerous for humans to ingest after a horn is crushed and inhaled or mixed into a drink.

This information was communicated to rhino horn users through a series of six advertisements, the last of which will run this month, in prominent business and women’s magazines in Vietnam.

“The primary focus of the ads is the infusion process and the danger of potentially buying toxic horn and giving it to a business contact or your child,” Johnson says. The goal is to educate the users so they can make an informed decision. “Education and awarenessraising are necessary for a sustainable change, but they won’t necessarily get a quick change.”

13 in 2007

83 in 2008

RHINOS KILLED BY POACHERS IN SOUTH AFRICA

14 in 1990

1020 in 2014

asialife HCMC 29

30 asialife HCMC

Sophisticated Tastes As palates change and Saigon develops a more international scene, the country’s thirst for wine is growing. By Dana Filek-Gibson. Photo by Vinh Dao and courtesy of The Deck.

Walk into any Western restaurant or bar in Saigon and there’s a good chance you’ll find a wine list on the table. Tham Johansson, bar manager at District 1’s Wine Embassy and local resident since 2010, can attest to this.

“For the few years that I have been here, the amount of wines that are actually being presented in normal bars and restaurants is so much more,” she says. “Before it was difficult to find any good wine ... now more and more restaurants are actually putting their time to make a proper wine list because the demand is, of course, growing.”

When it comes to wine, Vietnam is considered one of the most dynamic markets in Asia. Imports of the beverage have grown steadily over the past five years, with France alone delivering 3.3 million litres of wine to Vietnam in 2012, according to an article in the Saigon Times. Thanks to its colonial history, the European nation is Vietnam’s top wine importer, followed closely by Chile, whose presence soared after a 2012 free trade agreement eased the burden of Vietnam’s staggering import tax. While the process of bringing foreign wines into the country remains both expensive and tedious, distributors are now sourcing wines from all over the world, including Australia, New Zealand, Italy, the United States, Argentina and beyond.

With this ever-expanding availability of international wines has come an uptick in curiosity among local drinkers. At The Deck in District 2, where a well-stocked glassfront wine cellar overlooks the restaurant’s waiting area, manager Geoffrey Deschamps has watched his clientele expand to include a younger set of customers who are interested in not only drinking wine but in the cultural experience that comes with it.

“You’re seeing a lot more wealthier, younger Vietnamese,” he says. “They’re coming in here and they’re ordering champagne, they’re ordering three-, four-million

dong bottles of wine. And it’s because, I think, they want to experience sort of the Western culture, what it means to be Western.”

By Deschamps’ assessment, over 50 percent of The Deck’s guests are Vietnamese.

These guests fall into two distinct categories, both of which use wine as a means to

“[Local Vietnamese] want a little taste of what it's like to be in america or be in europe. they can get that here now.”

- Geoffrey Deschamps, manager of The Deck access other cultures: those who have been abroad and those who haven’t. “[Local Vietnamese] don’t necessarily always get the opportunity to travel,” says Deschamps. “They want a little taste of what it’s like to be in America or be in Europe and I think they can get that here now, whereas maybe five, 10 years ago there was very little opportunity.”

For the more well-traveled Vietnamese, Deschamps believes the interest in wine is more a nostalgic one. Taking the whole process into account – not just consumption of the wine but also the selection, the presentation, the decanting and so on – makes for a fuller experience, something which he likens to actual travel, revisiting the vineyards and locales where the wine originated. For Deschamps himself, purchasing a USD $100 bottle of wine might be expensive but it beats the cost of a plane ticket to Napa Valley or the vineyards of France.

“Vietnamese are now a lot more well-

traveled than they were, let’s say 10 years ago,” he explains. “So when they come back to Vietnam, even as Viet kieu, or maybe they studied in Europe or America or Australia, they can recognise the countries of these wines. They can say, ‘Oh, I’ve been to Napa Valley,’ or ‘I used to live in San Jose and I traveled all around wine country.’”

While the curiosity is certainly there, local knowledge has yet to catch up with local demand. However, wine-focused businesses across Saigon are making a concerted effort to bring an understanding and appreciation of wine to the Vietnamese public.

“I think it’s still a very new culture,” says Johansson. “As all new things, when you learn and you don’t know about it, you just are looking for someone who can actually show you.”

In addition to stocking an impressive collection of wines, Wine Embassy has begun holding weekly courses every Tuesday evening, covering a different wine-related topic at each session. For complete beginners, a month-long course also meets once a week, providing its participants with a knowledge of the basics. For Deschamps at The Deck, having a knowledgeable staff is the key, as servers are often able to impart some of their own expertise to local guests.

These developments, not to mention the scores of other wine-focused bars, restaurants and shops around town – think Warehouse, Wine Bar, Level 23 and Le Rendez-Vous – the future of wine is bright in Vietnam.

“I think that it can even be viewed as the next thing, because we are in a country where I find a lot of optimism and enthusiasm for new things,” says Johansson. “Wine comes in a very good way because it’s something relaxing, it’s something fun, you can drink, you can party with it, you can read about it; there’s a history. It’s not only a shot, you know?”

asialife HCMC 31

Murder District 3

in

32 asialife HCMC

Escape Hunt allows visitors to act as detectives and solve mysteries to escape from a room. Michael Tatarski dons a Sherlock Holmes hat to crack the case. Photos by Vinh Dao.

It

was an average Tuesday afternoon but above the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf on the corner of Vo Van Tan and Cach Mang Thang 8, we had just been informed of a murder and were tasked with finding the culprit.

This is not a revisionist dream. It is one of the scenarios presented at Escape Hunt, an exciting addition to Saigon’s entertainment scene that opened in late August. With branches all over the world, Escape Hunt is based on ‘escape the room’ video games and themed along the lines of the Sherlock Holmes series. Your group is locked in a room littered with clues related to the assigned mystery, and you have one hour to solve the case and unlock the door.

Escape Hunt Ho Chi Minh City features six rooms and three different storylines: Murder at the Presidential Palace, Blackmail in the Bar and Kidnapping at the Opera. Two of the rooms have a window that allows teams to watch each other and compete to see who can escape first.

The other rooms are dedicated to single groups of up to five people, who must work together to solve their mystery.

The experience begins in the comfortable lounge, which is reached by following signs through the café to the third floor. Decorated like an old English tea room, visitors can relax on plush sofas and chairs surrounded by detective paraphernalia: magnifying glasses, chemicals, books, a typewriter and an old-fashioned pipe. You can also choose to wear a plaid detective outfit, replete with double-bill cap and cape.

Our group of four was briefed on the situation and led into the appropriate room. We took note of a locked box that requires a key to open. This was our final objective: we had to find the key, open the box and press a button to unlock the main door and escape. We were also told that you are allowed to ask for hints through an intercom but each request costs the team one minute of playing time.

A digital clock on the wall showed our remaining time: 60:00. The attendant exited through a small side door, and we began our detective work.

I can’t go into too much detail without giving things away, but the room was full of items that at first seemed completely random: jewelry, a few clocks, various

handicrafts and a laminated sheet providing information on one of the murder suspects. The pieces of furniture in the room had combination locks which we had to figure out how to open to access more clues. A whiteboard sat on one wall so we could note clues and possible combinations.

We quickly realised this was going to be a serious challenge, and after 20 minutes we had gotten nowhere. A clue was requested, and the subsequent penalty incurred. We improved over the next third of the hour, and the last section turned frantic as we neared the solution. We had uncovered several more suspects, and the information on each one hid a further clue. The final step involved an ingenious use of blacklight, and we finally, triumphantly opened the door. After exiting we were told that we had actually gone over the allowed amount of time, but since the staff knew we were close to solving the crime they decided to let us play on.

Once your group finishes you are allowed to relax in the lounge for a while so you can discuss the mystery and figure what you could have done better, or what your favourite parts were. Hot tea is

To book a game and learn more about Escape Hunt, visit Hochiminhcity.escapehunt.com or call 08 62 908 698.

provided as well, and the quiet piano music in the background provides a great setting.

Even though our group may have been a little slow, we all agreed this was a novel way to spend an afternoon. While Saigon’s creative scene has expanded significantly over the last few years, it still seems that all too often the choices of what to do on a given day fit in a small range and generally involve drinking. I enjoy a few drinks as much as anyone else but Escape Hunt provides a much different recreational outlet: the use of your brain. Thinking through the crime and trying to connect the disparate clues was frustrating but also exciting.

You must book an Escape Hunt room in advance, and they are available from 9am to 9pm every day. The cost ranges from VND 460,000 per person to VND 340,000 per person, with lower prices for bigger groups. This may seem steep at first, but the service and design are both highly professional and the experience completely worth the price. After all, where else can someone with no police experience solve a murder for the cost of a nice dinner?

asialife HCMC 33

34 asialife HCMC

A Changed LAnd Once closed to the world, Myanmar has opened its borders, transforming at a rapid pace and bringing scores of new visitors into the country each year. Michael Tatarski hits the trails in Shan State and gets to know the locals.

Over the past few years, Myanmar has had a major presence in the news. With loosening restrictions and the release of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest, the government has made an attempt to open up its borders to the international community. Today, a tourist visa and flight are well within reach of the average traveler and, as someone who studied politics in university, I was very interested to see these changes first-hand.

I visited the country last year to get a better understanding of what is going on and to beat the masses of tourists that will surely descend on Myanmar as it continues to reform. Nowhere were these changes more evident than in Shan State, a rugged region to the east of Mandalay, the old royal capital. Until recently, this area was a hotbed of ethnic tension central to Myanmar’s slow-burn civil war. It is now largely peaceful and very safe.

My traveling companion and I decided to stop in Kalaw, a scruffy town in the mountains between Mandalay and Inle Lake. The cool air was welcome after the plains of Bagan and we looked forward to taking advantage of the trekking routes in the area. After booking a day hike through a local company we met up with our guide, a young, sarcastic woman named July. In a country whose citizens were only recently able to break their silence, her openness was striking.

As we trekked along a path through steep farmland and verdant hillsides, she explained the area. Dozens of ethnic groups live in Shan State, and she was a member of the Pa-O, a group that fought the national military until deciding to lay down their arms a decade ago. July also shared that the crops we were seeing, mostly tea and oranges, were new. Shan State was once the heart of the Golden Triangle, the region bordering Laos, Thailand and Myanmar that produced most of the world’s opium. Farmers have been convinced to move away from this illicit good and into legal cash crops.

July’s commentary wasn’t all serious though, and she had a wonderful sense of humour. We visited a village that was home

to ethnic Palaung, where she explained the concept of a ‘honeymoon hut’. When a Palaung couple marries, they are brought to a small, isolated house in the mountains, given several days’ worth of food and left on their own. When asked what exactly happens in these huts, July coyly pretended she had no idea.

This village was where we began interacting with the local children, who were an absolute riot, particularly the boys. As we neared a monastery, three boys ran up, smiling and shouting “Mingalaba!”

her – for example, she likes Jack Sparrow and Eminem, and was terrified of foreigners as a child. The scenery was beautiful, with lush hills stretching into the misty distance.

Eventually we came upon a raised wooden house on its own at the bottom of a valley. July asked the owner if we could enter. There was no electricity; the only sources of light were the windows and the fire boiling a tea kettle. My eyes and throat began burning instantly, as the smoke had nowhere to go.

The owner was an older man of Pa-O

– “Hello!” They then proceeded to turn around, pretend to pull down their pants, shout ‘tata!’ and make a loud fart noise with their mouths. We laughed and they began laughing, and soon we were all in hysterics.

July led us into the monastery, and the boys decided to start throwing rocks into it. As we left, they attempted to steal my shoes and then attacked our legs. Farther down the path we met a group of boys playing in a dirt pile who greeted us with the same farting sounds, while several girls looked on in disdain from a classroom. I couldn’t help but notice how happy and carefree these kids seemed without any iPads or TVs to distract them. They did not seem like children who had grown up in an authoritarian state.

Upon returning to Kalaw from the trek, we immediately decided to book another one for the next day, and luckily July agreed to guide us again. We learned more about

ethnicity, like July. Through July’s translation he provided a fascinating local history.

He had lived in the house his whole life, and it was the only one in the area to survive World War II, after Japanese bombing raids destroyed the rest of the village farther uphill. I was curious about the recent tensions between local ethnicities and the government and asked if he considered himself Burmese or Pa-O first. Tellingly, he said, “My tribe has been here for a long time, even before the British.” His honesty was amazing: just a few years ago, no one would have dared to make such a statement.

We returned to Kalaw later in the day, utterly smitten with the people of this stunning area. In a day and age when bad news rules the headlines, it was reassuring to see positive changes taking place somewhere.

For the sake of everyone we met along the way, I hope that continues.

asialife HCMC 35

A very green

Christmas.

Dana Filek-Gibson escapes the heat and noise of Saigon for a holiday in the hills. Photos by Michael Tatarski.

36 asialife HCMC

At the end

of winding Le Lai Street, the Ana Mandara Villas hide over a hill and behind thick clusters of pine trees. While most destinations in Vietnam are peaceful in comparison to Saigon, Ana Mandara's sprawling green grounds are a complete 180 from the frenetic pace of the southern hub. The resort boasts 17 fully-restored French villas spread out over its generous grounds, a top-notch restaurant, a spa and a heated pool with which to occupy your time. But perhaps Ana Mandara's most attractive feature is one it cannot, in fact, control: the weather.

As Saigon's rainy season slides into dry and cooler temperatures have not yet caught up with the absence of rain, Dalat's temperate atmosphere is brisk by comparison, coming in at a pleasant 20 degrees and sunny; in other words, ideal conditions for a Christmas escape.

The first thing you'll want to do during your yuletide getaway is settle into the resort's charming accommodations. Dark wooden floors, whitewashed walls and small touches like the vintage door handles or antique claw-footed bathtub give the place a cottage vibe that's both rustic and opulent at the same time. Large French doors open onto the perimeter of each villa, affording you a peaceful view of your treeclad surroundings. Inside, Ana Mandara

spares no luxury, from ample sitting room to cozy fireplaces to generous four-poster beds.

When you're ready to venture off the resort grounds, begin your Christmas escape on Lang Biang Mountain, 14 kilometres from downtown Dalat. The area's tallest peak, Lang Biang sits 2,167 metres above sea level and enjoys just enough tourism development to allow for your choice of an easy or strenuous trip to the top.

At first sight,

the mountain's entrance is a far cry from natural: Lang Biang bears a Hollywood-style nameplate, perched on a hill often populated by ponies – some painted as zebras – which visitors can ride.

For a more leisurely visit, hire a Jeep up to Rada Point, the lesser of the two summits, where a small cafe overlooks the sundappled hills and valleys in the distance. If you're up for a challenge, however, start up the paved road on foot. It takes some time before the forest begins to thicken and the steady stream of Jeeps dissipates but once you reach the entrance to Bidoup-Nui Ba National Park, home to the highest point of Lang Biang, the paved road gives way to a dirt path that narrows as it moves deeper into the woods.

In a country where most natural attrac-

tions come packaged or altered in some form, Lang Biang's trail is a refreshingly nofrills departure from Vietnamese ecotourism. Much of the climb's appeal lies in its simplicity: en route, birds chirp and small creatures scurry to and fro near the trail.

While you won't encounter many wild animals, it's clear that this is a forest with life.

Scale the final 360 metres to the top, a steep ascent of mud-and-wood steps, and you'll be rewarded with sweeping views of the plateau, shining greenhouse exteriors, lakes, forests and small towns dotting the valleys.

All told, the trek takes around three hours from base to summit and back again.

After your

outdoor excursion, head back to Ana Mandara for some much-needed R&R. You'll want to save your appetite, however, for the four-course tasting menu. An incredible homage to local ingredients, the resort's ever-changing set menus need no fanfare to accompany their simple, flavourful dishes.

Whether crafting beautiful Vietnameseinspired meals, like the Dalat artichoke and pork rib soup, a seamless combination of the local specialty and tender, slow-cooked morsels of pork rib, or translating the Central Highlands' fresh produce into Western plates, such as the broiled chicken breast with mustard sauce and organic vegetables, the chefs at Le Petit Restaurant do not disappoint. Add to this an impressive wine list, expert service and a beautiful, highceilinged dining room, all of which round out the experience.

Finally, as the sun sets over Dalat and temperatures cool even further, retire to your room for a lounge by the fireplace and a glass of wine. Whether your Christmas memories come from a hot climate or a cold one, there is nothing quite like a quiet evening among the trees.

asialife HCMC 37

8

CITY DRINKS

Shrine

64 Ton That Thiep // ShrineBarSaigon.com 11am – 1am // 08 38 142 917

Ton That Thiep's newest cocktail bar adds a touch of class to an old neighbourhood. By Dana FilekGibson. Photos by Brett Davis.

We all know the area around Sunwah Tower well: home to sports bars, low-key hangouts and the odd Italian restaurant, most of which can safely be referred to as 'old haunts' – a cluster of places that have survived the winds of change which run so rapidly through this city.

To their credit, these spots have staying power: think back to your first year in town and you likely visited Ton That Thiep Street at least once.

But while these bars may have longevity, the area could do with a breath of fresh air, and Shrine is just that.

A sleek cocktail bar on a street full of beer and football, the place is certainly a standout for its décor and drink menu. All blonde wood and light green upholstery, porous stone walls and a few tasteful accents, including a giant, serene, all-white Buddha behind the bar, Shrine's interior gives off an air of sophistication without being inaccessible.

It's the sort of spot where you could turn up in flip-flops or high heels, a t-shirt or a tie and still feel like you've dressed the part.

While Shrine offers everything from wine to drinks and snacks to full-blown meals, 38 asialife HCMC

its cocktails are the reason to visit, with an array of both classic and signature drinks making the list. Try the Coco Sake, a pleasant blend of tequila and sake, coconut and pineapple juices that's neither too sweet nor too bland.

Equally worthy is the San Pan, which features a refreshing combination of gin, lemongrass and lime and comes with towering stalks of lemongrass rising out of the glass.

Finally, the Retired Samurai is not to be taken lightly, as its blend of rum and mint also includes a strong kick of wasabi. All cocktails, classic and original, are VND 140,000 apiece, while beers begin as low as VND 50,000.

As for snacks, you'll want to opt for the char siu dumplings (VND 85,000), light, fluffy dough filled with savoury meat and served with a topnotch plum sauce to round out the dish. The 'Saigonised' Peking duck rolls (VND 120,000) are another worthy option, featuring fresh veggies, duck and another delectable sauce to boot. Full meals run between VND 200,000 and VND 300,000 and match their smaller counterparts in taste and Asian-themed cuisine.

Urban Kitchen & Bar 18 Ngo Van Nam, D1 // UrbanKitchenBar.com Mon to Fri, 11am – 12am; Sat to Sun, 10am – 12am // 08 62 506 363

Forget the basics: this swish new downtown outlet is bringing innovation to the city's dining scene. By Dana Filek-Gibson. Photos by Vinh Dao.

Five years ago, homemade pasta, house-roasted coffee or real Heinz ketchup would have moved an expat to tears, so limited was the availability of these beloved foreign staples. It's been a long road since the first restaurateur deigned to serve an English breakfast or pizza made from scratch, but in the interim Saigon has flourished with international cuisines.

So it would follow that the next step in Saigon's culinary evolution lies at Urban Kitchen Bar. The industrial-chic restaurant is only a few months old, but the folks behind it are serious about injecting creativity into the Saigon dining experience with their attention to detail, from antique light fixtures

and decorative cogs to a bar that consists of an impressive pile of grey stones hemmed in by heavy-duty chicken wire.

However, the food is undoubtedly the star of the show.

Urban Kitchen takes a nuanced approach to Western cuisine, producing an eclectic compilation of regional North American dishes – whether it’s comfort food of the American south, Quebecois specialties or East Coast-inspired seafood – and adding its own flair.

The sumptuous sous vide steak with roasted marrow (VND 429,000), for instance, plays to carnivorous diners with a skillet of Australian striploin steak seasoned to perfection and served beside rich roasted

marrow – still in the bone – and a bundle of green beans. Sauces like the shiitake brandy cream (VND 70,000) add an extra layer of complexity. Another worthy add-on is the addictive sriracha mac-and-cheese (VND 90,000), a mash-up of local nui noodles, the namesake Thai sauce and all the traditional elements of the classic American dish.

Urban Kitchen's creativity really shines in its brand-new brunch menu, available weekends, 10am-2pm. From waffles, mangos and cream (VND 150,000) to housemade granola with yoghurt and fresh fruit (VND 100,000), options abound.

Adventurous brunch-goers will like the hearty kimchi potato hash (VND 170,000), a flavour-

ful marriage of kimchi and potatoes topped with a fried egg and bacon. For something sweet, tuck in to caramelised banana French toast (VND 170,000).

Three blocks of golden-brown housemade brioche sit between a bed of granola crumble and roasted baby bananas, drizzled with maple cognac syrup, providing top-notch flavours and textures.

Finally, perhaps the best breakfast masterpiece to grace the brunch menu is the Wafflala sandwich (VND 170,000). A generous helping of honey ham and fried egg, Emmental cheese and chipotle sauce is punctuated by two fluffy buttermilk waffles, sweet potato hash and house salad. asialife HCMC 39

Ploughman's Garden 58 Duong So 1, Tran Nao, D2 // Facebook.com/PloughmansGarden Mon to Fri, 11am – 4pm // 01 204 718 834

Discover the virtues of sustainable vegan and vegetarian food and educational co-op classes in the comfort of a District 2 home. By Ruben Luong. Photos by Vinh Dao.

“I try to use food we grow ourselves or traceable products with no artificial chemicals,” says Seiko, the charming Japanese cook of District 2’s Ploughman’s Garden. “It gives me so much energy to eat natural. Being a part of nature is who we are.”

Seiko, who spent 10 years in Okinawa, where her best friend runs Ploughman’s sister bakery, makes anyone feel at home – and wholesome – with her homegrown vegan and vegetarian cuisine here in Saigon.

“This is my house and I like cooking and people like to eat.

It’s just about being simple and sustainable,” she says.

Everyone is considered a friend. In the ground floor living 40 asialife HCMC

room is a co-op space where patrons get together for ongoing raw vegan cooking workshops, yoga and small Spanish classes through Jaleo school.

This communal sensibility extends upstairs to Ploughman’s airy roof deck with tranquil vibes and salvaged wooden tables crowned by a palm-leaf roof canopy and therapeutic daylight.

These earthy environs complement the main menu, a modest but enticing selection of nourishing dishes. Ploughman’s offers generous portions, but it’s absolutely worth ordering every item off the menu for its eclectic tastes. After all it’s healthy, so it’s okay to be greedy.

For instance, the vegan Gar-

den Lunch Plate (VND 120,000) comes with a vegetarian sushi roll that is a veritable condensed garden. It’s accompanied by samosas, kinpira (stir-fried lotus roots) and a salad of mashed potatoes covered in creamy pesto dressing.

A tofu, mushroom and vegetable patty sandwiched inside wheat pita bread and doused in a cashew mayonnaise sauce make up the veggie burger (VND 100,000), which is nutty, smoky and melts in the mouth.

Of course, nothing is better for the soul than the filling weekly curries (VND 88,000), such as Thai, Japanese, Vietnamese or Indian, which are all vegan and serve ample doses of comfort.

As for drinks, cheers to good health with Ploughman’s vegan smoothies, which incorporate either soy or cashew milk or honey and brown sugar instead of animal milk and white sugar.

One beverage you can drink for days is the homemade ginger ale (VND 50,000) with ginger syrup, lemon and sparkling soda, which will also surprise you with its remarkable flavour and simplicity.

And as if the menu couldn’t get any better, Ploughman’s offers vegan doughnuts (VND 40,000/two) in cinnamon and honey flavours using only flour, apple juice and yeast. They are genius and epitomise the beauty of nature’s gifts.

Quan La Gi 111 111 Duong 17, D7 6pm – 12am // 09 38 184 768

The grill is the focus at this hidden-away gem in District 7.

By Michael Tatarski. Photos by Vinh Dao.

Tucked away in a warren of narrow streets in the neighbourhood behind Lotte Mart, Quan La Gi 111 stands out thanks to the cloud of smoke pouring into the road from its streetside grills. The spacious restaurant is largely open-air, allowing diners to smell their food as it cooks and observe the roving karaoke singers and lottery ticket vendors who frequent the area.

Decorations are minimal with furniture of the stainless steel and plastic variety. The menu, though, should be taken seriously. Page after page of grilled seafood and meat dishes will leave you wishing for a bigger stomach and a number of vegetable options ensure you won’t

overload on protein.

The main draw at Quan La Gi, at least according to the sign out front, is the grilled octopus (bach tuoc nuong). This comes in several different varieties, and we went with the bach tuoc nuong sa te (VND 190,000/kg).

The satay marinade added great flavour to the fresh, slightly chewy octopus. If you’re like me and can’t judge weight, know that a half-kilogram is enough for three or four people, assuming you order other dishes.

And who wouldn’t order more food? We also went for a plate of excellent muc la chien gion (fried squid, VND 89,000), served with a delightful chili sauce. Afterwards we returned

to the grill with canh ga nuong (grilled chicken wings, VND 49,000 per plate) and de vu chao (goat breast, VND 79,000 per plate). The chicken was exactly what one would expect, crispy and satisfying. The goat breast, served with grilled okra and an excellent sauce, was another highlight. The light meat is somewhat chewy and loaded with flavour.

Rounding out this meatoriented feast were orders of rau muong xao toi (VND 30,000) and lemongrass tofu (VND 39,000).

Both were done well, proving the cooks at La Gi know what they are doing beyond the protein dishes.

The restaurant’s menu also

features a number of fish, grilled beef, pork and frog dishes, plus a dizzying array of shellfish and clams. Prices range from VND 40,000-100,000, with some of the seafood options coming in at a higher price point. There is, of course, the usual selection of soft drinks and beer, with bottles of Tiger for VND 15,000.

While Quan La Gi may not be the easiest place to find, it is well worth the effort thanks to the bounty of grilled treats on offer.

asialife HCMC 41

skin

Aloe Vera Foam Cleanser (2) (Skinfood, VND 379,000)

Deep Style is not just reflected in the clothes we wear but in our skin, too. Ruben Luong consults a Korean-influenced facial regimen to determine the skincare products best suited to Saigon living. Photos by Vinh Dao. Illustration by Kendra Bernard.

Sebo Vegetal Pore Minimising Serum (3) (Yves Rocher, VND 649,000) Pore Clean Cleansing Oil with Cherry Blossom (1) (THEFACESHOP, VND 609,000)

Sebum Control Soothing Mask Sheet (9) (THEFACESHOP, VND 89,000)

Local rice paper (10)

42 asialife HCMC

“Our body and skin are similar,”

says beauty expert Pi Hyeonjong in After School Beauty Bible (ASBB), a Korean beauty show. “I’ll compare it for you. What’s better: overeating or eating light? Using less is better for the skin, too. If you use a lot, you’re overeating. The skin can’t take it. Reduce the steps.”

most expats, choosing essential products can be as cumbersome as caring for skin. Meanwhile, breakouts and troubled skin from dust and heat are devastatingly perpetual, requiring prompt attention and care. However, there’s a simple solution to regain control.

Establishing a minimal skincare regimen can be difficult in Saigon, where so many forces are to be reckoned with, necessitating an infinite number of moisturisers, creams or toners for those who care. But with enough ‘whitening’ labels to warrant aversion among

advises. “Use what products you need during the week. Rest on the weekends. Don’t apply anything. Rest when your body rests. Use what’s right for you, and learn to apply products well when you do.”

Poring over pores Hyeonjong continuously discusses the importance of pore care in ASBB as the basis for nice skin. “Something appearing on the skin means it isn’t healthy underneath,” she says in one episode. “If you want to be healthy inside, you don’t want to apply something.

Cleansing, pore care, is important.”

In the mornings, gently massage a cleansing oil to draw out residual sebum and dirt. Try the Pore Clean Cleansing Oil with Cherry Blossom (1), a mild unisex cleanser that is calming and not overly fragrant.

“Oil melts foreign matter and fine dust,” says Hyeonjong. “It attaches well and melts it. Use your hands to help that. You’re not removing it, you’re helping the melting process and it leaves moisture in the skin.”

Beauty before beauty sleep

Rinse with warm water and finish with a gentle foaming cleanser like Skinfood’s Aloe Vera Foam Cleanser (2), recently recommended on Elle. com. When cleansing, use the middle and ring fingers, or the weakest fingers. Softly rotate them in circles, outward, then inward.

For extra fortification, shield pores with Cosmopolitan Vietnam-approved Sebo Vegetal Pore Minimising Serum (3), a fresh gel that continues to absorb excess sebum and leaves the texture of combination to oily skins looking matte. Or, consider applying Oil-Free Control Essence (4), which also targets sebum to minimise acne and spots.

Oil-Free Control Essence (4) (THEFACESHOP, VND 379,000)

Hot and cold On a motorbike, skin culprits from wind and heat easily re-penetrate pores. It requires a bit of effort, but protect the skin and maintain a balanced skin temperature. For every degree the skin temperature goes up, there is an increase of sebum secretion by 10 percent, according to Hyeonjong.

During the day, the solution is gradual cooling. Start off with a standard,

“Go for an intermittent beauty diet,” Hyeonjong

quality sunblock of your choice to guard the skin from UV rays. Then, cool and defend simultaneously with a mist, such as spritzes of Herb AntiDust Coating Mist (5), which can be applied after makeup for those who wear it.

“If you just cleanse once and go to bed, the matter can be left over,” Hyeonjong advises.

Fine dust is really small.

If you want to remove all that, you need to use certain products to clean the pores according to their texture.”

Pore Cleansing Brush (7) (THEFACESHOP, VND 399,000)

Invest in a Pore Cleansing Brush (7).“If you use your hands, the matter in the pores doesn’t come out very well.

But you can’t scrub really hard. There is fine hair on the face,” says Hyeonjong. Apply foaming cleanser to the face and then use the tool in soft, circular motions, tilting when necessary, to remove makeup and impurities.

Nighttime is for rejuvenation, so masks like Brazilian Black Sugar Mask Wash Off (8) can counterract Saigon’s harsh environs by smoothing skin. For those prone to scars and oily skin,

For resilient complexion, local rice paper (10) makes an effective brightening mask with milk. “The calcium and protein in milk is good for skin rejuvenation. It breaks down protein. It makes the skin soft and shiny,” explains Korean dermatologist Gu Yongsu on ASBB. Every now and then this is useful since UV rays in Saigon are strong year-round. ASBB suggests soaking rice paper (with high rice content) in milk for 30 seconds. Place the rice paper on the face, wait 10 minutes and wash thoroughly to avoid spots.

“UV rays increase and so you need to brighten your skin with care every day,” Hyeonjong says. “If you’re not diligent, you can’t be pretty.

Remember that.”

Black Sugar Mask Wash Off (8) (Skinfood, VND 339,000)

Between breaks and onthe-go, wipe off built-up dirt or sweat and temporarily save skin from stress with moisturising Olive Cleansing Wipes (6). Olives contain vitamins that calm inflamed skin. Afterwards, take a brief moment to reapply sunblock.

Herb Anti-Dust Coating Mist (5) (Skinfood, VND 399,000)

use two packets of Sebum Control Soothing Mask Sheet (9) per week for quick recovery.

Olive Cleansing Wipes (6) (THEFACESHOP, VND 259,000)

asialife HCMC 43

Photography Clay Frame Hair, makeup and styling The Dollhouse Models Sreyline Bacha and Daehoon Marin Marin T-Shirt Don Protasio Cap Paperboy Sreyline Dress Kelly&Skelley

44 asialife HCMC

asialife HCMC 45

Marin Top Paperboy Pants Don Protasio Sreyline Top Don Protasio Necklace Paperdolls Marin Singlet and vest Don Protasio Sreyline Top Kelly&Skelley Marin Shirt Kelly&Skelley Sreyline T-Shirt KoolasU Crochet vest Paperdolls

46 asialife HCMC

NEW VIETNAM ONLINE STORE @ RIPCURL.COM.VN PRODUCTS - FREE EXPRESS DELIVERY - FREE RETURN

asialife HCMC 47

INTERCONTINENTAL NHA TRANG | SAILING CLUB NHA TRANG | COCO BEACH MUI NE | BAMBOO SQUARE MUINE

listings

hotel & travel CON DAO Con Dao Resort 8 Nguyen Duc Thuan Tel: 06 4830 949 www.condaoresort.com Modern hotel with 45 rooms and seven villas set on 2km of private beach. Onpremise facilities include restaurant, bar, beach-view swimming pool, tennis court and volleyball. Organizes outdoor activities and tours.

Six Senses Con Dao Dat Doc Beach, Con Dao Dist, Ba Ria Tel: 064 3831 222 www.sixsenses.com/SixSensesConDao The first 5 star resort with 50 villas stretch across a mile-long beach, each villas has its own infinity-edge pool facing the ocean and a stunning restaurant.

DALAT Ana Mandara Villas Resort & Spa Le Lai, Ward 5, Dalat Tel: 063 3555 888 www.anamandara-resort.com Luxury 35-acre resort encompasses 17 restored early 20th-century villas and 65 rooms set in the rural highlands. La Cochinchine Spa offers wide range of treatments. Le Petite Dalat Restaurant serves Vietnamese and fusion cuisine.

Heated swimming pool, art gallery and cooking classes in organic garden.

Dalat Edensee Lake Resort & Spa Tuyen Lam Lake, Zone VII.2, Dalat Tel: 063 383 1515 www.dalatedensee.com Nestled in the heart of the “Black Forest

escape

of Vietnam” and discretely hidden along the waterfront of Tuyen Lam Lake, this resort is a perfect launching point for exploring the Highland region. It has two fine-dining restaurants, a cafe and terrace, a cigar lounge, and golfing and tennis.

Equatorial 242 Tran Binh Trong, D5 Tel: 3839 7777 www.equatorial.com/hcm On the intersect of 4 districts, with 333 rooms, Orientica Seafood restaurant and bar, Chit Chat cafe, pool (swim-up bar), gym.

Sofitel Dalat Palace 12 Tran Phu, Dalat Tel: 063 3825 444 www.accorhotels-asia.com Stately lakeside hotel was built in 1920s and retains the period’s aesthetic. It encompasses 38 rooms, five suites, a gourmet restaurant, brasserie, piano bar and Larry’s Bar. Golf can be arranged, and there’s tennis, boules, snooker and billiards on premise.

InterContinental Asiana Saigon Corner of Hai Ba Trung & Le Duan, D1 Tel: 3520 9999 saigon@interconti.com www.intercontinental.com/saigon 305 rooms/suites with floor-to-ceiling windows, five restaurants/bars, meeting/ banquet facilities, spa/health club and lounge with panoramic view.

HANOI

Intercontinental Westlake Hanoi 1A Nghi Tam, Tay Ho Tel: 04 6270 8888 www.intercontinental.com Located on the waterfront with contemporary Vietnamese design, restaurants, business services, fitness centre including exercise classes and pool.

Mercure Hanoi La Gare 94 Ly Thuong Kiet Street, Hoan Kiem Tel: 04 3944 7766 www.accorhotels.com Situated in the Old Quarter with 102 bright, spacious and modern rooms, Brasserie Le Pavillion restaurant serves Vietnamese and international cuisine.

Sheraton Hotel Hanoi K5 Nghi Tam, 11 Xuan Dieu, Tay Ho Tel: 04 3719 9000 www.starwoodhotels.com “Resort within a city” boasts 299 spacious guest rooms with panoramic views, fitness centre, international restaurant and Hemisphere Vietnamese restaurant.

HO CHI MINH CITY

Caravelle Hotel 19 Lam Son Square, D1 Tel: 3823 4999 www.caravellehotel.com One of the city’s most prestigious venues. Features a casino, Reflections Restaurant and al fresco 9th-floor Saigon Saigon Bar.

Mövenpick Hotel Saigon 253 Nguyen Van Troi, Phu Nhuan Tel: 3844 9222 www.moevenpick-saigon.com Has 278 well-appointed rooms/suites, five restaurants/bars, meeting/banquet facilities and a shopping arcade as well as a popular e-gaming centre.

New World Hotel 76 Le Lai, D1 / Tel: 3822 8888 www.newworldsaigon.com Located in the city centre, with gym, outdoor pool, tennis court, event space and Dynasty Chinese restaurant.

Sheraton 88 Dong Khoi, D1 / Tel: 3827 2828 www.sheraton.com/saigon Luxury downtown hotel: Level 23 bar, Mojo cafe, Li Bai Chinese restaurant, fine dining at The Signature on the 23rd floor.

Sofitel Saigon Plaza 17 Le Duan, D1 / Tel: 3824 1555 www.sofitel.com/2077 One of the city’s top hotels with in-room Wi-Fi, two restaurants with international cuisine, two bars, six conference rooms, outdoor swimming pool, fitness centre.

HOI AN & DANANG

InterContinental Danang Sun Peninsula Resort Bai Bac, Son Tra Peninsula Tel: 0511 093 8888 danang.intercontinental.com A world of poetic experiences and jungle-clad romance in a place that cloaks you with luxury. The mastery of traditional Vietnamese design meets modern architectural flair in this distinc-

take flight with travel promotions around the region

Seasonal Detoxification at InterContinental Asiana Saigon

Get your body ready for exciting yearend celebrations and parties at the Spa InterContinental. A special Seasonal Detoxification package will ensure your body and spirit are ready for the festive season’s activities with a foot massage and Thai massage as well as hot stone therapy to release muscle tension and improve blood circulation. The 90-minute detoxification process is priced at VND 1,420,000+ per person, which reflects a 25 percent discount from the original price and is available until 28 February 2015.

Festive Season Special at Evason Ana Mandara Nha Trang

Enjoy a fun-filled beachfront Christmas with Evason Ana Mandara Nha Trang, where a seasonal promotion running from 21–26 December offers guests a few extra presents to

48 asialife HCMC

tive retreat within the dense rainforest of mythical Monkey Mountain.

Green Field Hotel 423 Cua Dai, Hoi An Tel: 0510 863 484 www.greenfieldhotel.com Mid-range hotel with simple but spacious rooms overlooking the garden and pool.

Rates start below US $20 per night.

Located 400 metres from the Old Town.

Le Domaine de Tam Hai Resort Tel: 0510 3545105 www.domainedetamhai.com Occupying an island close to Hoi An, the resort features 12 villas, a private beach, and two restaurants serving French and Vietnamese cuisine.

Nam Hai Tel: 0510 3940 000 www.ghmhotel.com Luxury resort accommodation from single villas to sumptuous five-room dwellings with private pools. Facilities include 8 private spa villas; 3 beachfront swimming pools; library; and tennis, basketball and badminton courts.

NHA TRANG

Evason Ana Mandara Nha Trang Beachside, Tran Phu, Nha Trang Tel: 058 3522 222 www.sixsenses.com/evasonanamandara Beachside resort set in 26,000 square metres of tropical garden, with 74 guest villas, three restaurants, Six Senses Spa. InterContinental Nha Trang 32-34 Tran Phu Street, Nha Trang Tel: +84 058 388 7777 www.Ihg.com A luxury beachfront retreat located in the heart of the city, the resort overlooks the stunning coastline. From there getting around the city is convenient as shopping, attractions, restaurants and bars are easily accessible within walking distance of the hotel.

Mia Resort Nha Trang Bai Dong, Cam Hai Dong, Cam Lam, Khanh Hoa / Tel: 58 398 9666 www.mianhatrang.com Ultimate luxury resort with 50 rooms, divided into villas and condos, catering by well-known restaurant Sandals and Mojito's bar.

make their holiday stay more memorable. Send the little ones off to Ana Mandara's Kid's Club for child-friendly activities while you lounge on the beach and, for an extra VND 1,785,000, enjoy a gala Christmas Eve dinner. For reservations or more information, please contact reservations-nhatrang@evasonresorts.com.

Year-End Celebration Getaway at The Nam Hai

Soak up the spirit of festive season at an award-winning resort with bespoke services.

From 20 December to 10 January, book a fournight or longer stay at The Nam Hai and enjoy complimentary roundtrip airport transfer, daily buffet breakfast, one 60-minute Vietnamese massage at The Spa and one three-course festive set dinner at The Nam Hai's impeccable restaurant. Other small add-ons, including a festive giveaway and select complimentary drinks from the minibar, round out the perks of this holiday package. For reservations or more information, please call 08 38 256 000 or email reservations@thenamhai.com.

PHAN THIET Anatara Beach Resort Mui Ne Beach, KM10, Ham Tien Ward Tel: 062 3741 888 www.anatara.com Beachfront resort with 90 fully equipped rooms, business centre, spa, fitness centre and outdoor pool.

Princess D’Ânnam Resort and Spa Khu Hon Lan, Tan Thanh, Ham Thuan Nam, Binh Thuan.

Tel: 062 3682 222 www.princessannam.com Located on Ke Ga Bay with 57 exclusive villas, eight swimming pools, two restaurants and 1,800 square metres spa complex.

The Sailing Club 24 Nguyen Dinh Chieu, Mui Ne, Phan Thiet / Tel: 062 3847 440 www.sailingclubvietnam.com Open bar overlooking the sea, spacious rooms, restaurant, swimming pool and day spa.

Victoria Phan Thiet Resort and Spa Mui Ne Beach Tel: 84 62 3813 000 www.victoriahotels-asia.com Located on a private beach, 60 cosy bungalows, natural spa experiences among other great activities on offer at the resort.

SCUBA DIVING

Note: AsiaLIFE only lists dive centres recognized by international dive training programs, such as the Professional Association of Dive Instructors (PADI) and Scuba Schools International (SSI).

We strongly advise against diving with unaccredited dive centres in Vietnam.

Rainbow Divers 55 Nguyen Dang Giai, An Phu, D2 Tel: 3744 6825 www.divevietnam.com Diving tours and career/instructor development offered by Vietnam’s first PADI centre. established in the mid-90s. Operates dive centres in Nha Trang, Whale Island, Hoi An and Phu Quoc.

Octopus Diving 62 Tran Phu, Nha Trang Tel: 058 826 528 www.divenhatrang.com PADI/SSI dive centre based in Nha Trang and affiliated with the Sailing Club Co. with additional centres in Mui Ne and Hoi An. Offers a range of services.

VUNG TAU

The Imperial Hotel 159-163 Thuy Van Tel: 06 4362 8888 www.imperialhotelvietnam.com

Victorian-style hotel with 152 rooms, outdoor pool, shopping mall and fully serviced gym.

Ho Tram Beach Resort & Spa Ho Tram Village, Xuyen Moc Tel: 06 4378 1525 www.hotramresort.com Located about 45km from Vung Tau in the Phuoc Buu Reserve Forest, Ho Tram Beach Resort & Spa boasts uniquely designed bungalows and villas.

The Grand-Ho Tram Strip Phuoc Thuan Commune, Xuyen Moc District, Ba Ria Vung Tau Tel: +84 64 3788 888 www.thegrandhotramstrip.com The Grand - Ho Tram Strip is Vietnam's first large scale integrated resort and ultimately will include an 1,100-room five-star hotel, a world-class casino, restaurants, high-tech meeting space, an exclusive VIP area, as well as a variety of beach-front recreation activities. The first 541-room tower of this development opened in July 2013 with its casino including 90 live tables and 614 electronic game positions. The Grand will be the initial component of The Ho Tram Strip, the largest integrated resort complex in Vietnam.

iTravel 175/22 Pham Ngu Lao, D1 Tel: 0836 4876 www.itravel-online.com trung@itravel-online.com Operated out of Le Pub (Hanoi/HCMC) offering a wide range of tour and accomodation options throughout Vietnam, as well as custom-made tours tailored to customer specifications.

AIRLINES Air France 130 Dong Khoi, D1 Tel: 3829 0981 Fax: 3822 0537 www.airfrance.com.vn An airline with a vast and effective global network. Now flies direct to Paris.

Cathay Pacific 72-74 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, D3 Tel: 3822 3203 www.cathaypacific.com Hong Kong-based airline makes three

flights daily to HCM City and two flights daily to Hong Kong’s international airport.

Malaysia Airlines Unit G8 Ground floor, SG Trade Center 37 Ton Duc Thang, D1 / Tel: 3824 6663 www.malaysiaairlines.com Offers daily flights from Hanoi and HCM City to Kuala Lumpur for about $200 round trip, with four economy class fare levels: low, basic, smart and flex.

Vietnam Airlines Hanoi: 25 Trang Thi, Hoan Kiem Tel: 6270 0200 HCM City: 16th Floor, Sun Wah, 115 Nguyen Hue, D1 / Tel: 3832 0320 www.vietnamair.com.vn The domestic route map is extensive, with several flights daily between major and less touristed cities throughout Vietnam. Flies internationally throughout Asia and to Paris, Frankfurt, Moscow, Sydney, Melboure, Los Angeles and San Francisco.

TRAVEL AGENTS Been In Asia www.beeninasia.com info@beeninasia.com

Exotissimo HCMC: 20 Hai Ba Trung St, D1 Tel: 3827 2911 infosgn@exotissimo.com HANOI: 26 Tran Nhat Duat St, Hoan Kiem Tel: 04 3828 2150 infohanoi@exotissimo.com www.exotissimo.com

CHUDU24 hotel booking service 11th floor, 36 Bui Thi Xuan St, D1 Tel: 1900 5454 40 info.en@chudu24.com www.en.chudu24.com Chudu24.com - the locally famous Vietnam hotel booking website now has an English version. The company is known for having the best local prices and reliable service. It has been the number 1 Vietnam hotel booking service for Vietnamese since 2008.

Indochina Ventures 40 Truong Quyen, D3 Tel: 3820 2563/3820 2564 Fax: 3829 2565 info@indochina-ventures.com Tour operator that specializes in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. Can tailor packages to suit customers’ time frames and interests.

Peacefull coffee shop for privacy and the luxury of being in your own space 200A Le Van Sy, Phu Nhuan

LINH‘S WHITE PLEASANT LIVING MINIMALISM 37 THAO DIEN (OPPOSITE AN PHU SUPERMARKET) 67 XUAN THUY - DISTRICT 2 PHONE: (84) - 62819863 - 62818488 E : linhnguyen@hbdecor.com.vn

- www.linhfurniture.com

asialife HCMC 49

listings

food & drink BAR RESTAURANTS

Bernie’s Irish Pub 19 Thai Van Lung, D1 www.berniesirishpub.com This authentic Irish pub in downtown Saigon has a large wine list, a wide selection of single malt whiskey and local and imported beers, including widgets of Guinness. It also has a western and Asian menu.

Buddha Bar 7 Thao Dien, D2 Tel: 3744 2080 An Phu institution serves up tasty meals and good drinks in a friendly, chilled environment. Plenty of room to relax inside or out, plus a pool table on premise.  Corso Steakhouse & Bar Norfolk Hotel, 117 Le Thanh Ton, D1 Located in the chic Norfolk Hotel Corso Steakhouse & Bar is well known for its steak imported from the US and Australia.

Le Pub 175/ 22 Pham Ngu Lao, D1 www.lepub.org One of Pham Ngu Lao’s favourite watering holes, Le Pub also has a good menu of well-executed pub grub and international favourites. Hearty breakfast is available all day and specials are offered daily.

Mogambos 50 Pasteur, D1 Tel: 3825 1311 This restaurant has been around since the mid-1990s, which offers an insight into its enduring quality. Specializes in

feast

American grain-fed steaks, hamburgers and salads served in a pleasant atmosphere. 

rior, outdoor terrace at street level and comfortable lounges upstairs. Good business coffee or lunch venue.

Phatty’s 46-48 Ton That Thiep, D1 Tel: 3821 0705 www.phattysbar.com Jaspa’s Steve Hardy and Ben Winspear’s sports bar has five widescreen TVs, a large drop-down screen and lots of pub grub and beer for fans looking to take in a game or two.

CHINESE

Red Bar 70-72 Ngo Duc Ke, D1 Tel: 08 22 29 70 17 Tucked behind the Bitexco building, Red has one of the longest happy hours in the city (draught beer for VND 25,000 from 9am until 9pm). This, its international food menu and nightly live music makes it one of the liveliest bars around.

The Tavern R2/24 Hung Gia 3, Bui Bang Doan, D7 Tel: 5410 3900 Boasts good international food, a pool table, dartboards and sports coverage on large screens. Outdoor seating on mutiple levels. Second floor sports lounge hosts DJs at the weekends.  Vasco’s Bar 74/7D Hai Ba Trung, D1 Tel: 3824 2888 Chic bar decked in deep reds that gets packed to capacity on weekends. Open Monday to Saturday with live music on Fridays. Food menu by chef with over 10 years experience at La Camargue.

Also does excellent pizza. 

CAFES

Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf 12-14 Thai Van Lung, D1 94 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, D3 Nowzone, 235 Nguyen Van Cu, D5 Metropolitan Bldng, 235 Dong Khoi, D1 International café chain with a wide variety of coffees and teas, as well as light snacks and food. Also sells freshroasted coffee beans and tins of whole leaf tea.  Mojo 88 Dong Khoi, D1 www.sheratonsaigon.com A top-end cafe with an attractive inte-

Li Bai Sheraton Hotel, 88 Dong Khoi, D1 Tel: 3827 2828 Imperial-styled restaurant named after a famous Chinese poet. Nightly à la carte menu with dishes going from 100k VND. Lotus Court 1st floor, Moevenpick Hotel Saigon 253 Nguyen Van Troi, Phu Nhuan Tel: 3844 9222 ext. 168 www.moevenpick-saigon.com Dim Sum and exciting Cantonese cuisine in a unique and elegant setting.

Ngan Dinh Chinese Restaurant Windsor Plaza Hotel, 18 An Duong Vuong, D5 Tel: 3833 6688 Beautiful wood paneling, colourful hanging lanterns and a sparkling mineral gallery make for a relaxing dining experience at the Windsor. Feast on roasted Pi Pa duck, giant grouper and steamed king prawns. Be sure to check out monthly specials.

Shang Palace Restaurant Norfolk Mansion, 17-19-21 Ly Tu Trong, D1 Tel: 3823 2221 www.shangpalace.com.vn An upscale Chinese restaurant with a spacious and welcoming atmosphere.

The menu boasts a wide range of Hong Kong Cantonese cuisine, including both dim sum, a la carte and set menus, regularly changed by the creative chefs.

Yu Chu InterContinental Asiana Saigon, corner of Hai Ba Trung and Le Duan, D1 Tel: 3520 9099 dine@icasianasaigon.com Specializing in authentic Cantonese and Peking cuisine. Award-winning chef prepares dishes including handmade noodles, dim sum and wok-fried items.

Wide selection of live seafood. Five interactive kitchens.

FRENCH

Camargue 74/7D Hai Ba Trung, D1 Tel: 08 35 20 48 88

broaden your palate with promotions around town

Exclusive New Year’s Eve Buffet at InterContinental Asiana Saigon Ring in the New Year at InterContinental Asiana Saigon with a generous buffet spread at Market 39 restaurant. From 6pm-10pm, diners can enjoy a range of festive dishes as well as free-flow Veuve Clicquot, wine, selected cocktails, soft drinks, Tiger beer and water for VND 2,388,000+ per person. Buffet tickets also include free entry to the InterCon's Purple Jade countdown party afterward, where a guest DJ will spin the best tunes to welcome the New Year. Partygoers will receive one complimentary

Le Bouchon de Saigon 40 Thai Van Lung, D1 Tel: 3829 9263 This French diner-style restaurant has an emphasis on hearty home cooking, courteous service and a relaxed atmosphere. Chef David Thai is a well-known industry figure, and this venue can hold its own among the city`s many French restaurants.

INDIAN

Saigon Indian 73 Mac Thi Buoi, D1 Tel: 3824 5671 Popular venue with an enormous menu.

Serves both southern and northern Indian dishes like tandoori, biryani, dosa and idly snacks, plus a wide range of vegetarian dishes. Offers a set lunch menu. Cater service is available.  Tandoor 74/6 Hai Ba Trung, D1 Tel: 3930 4839 www.tandoorvietnam.com Part of a chain of restaurants covering Hanoi and Saigon, Tandoor features a large selection of standard northern Indian dishes, including a good vegetarian selection. Excellent cheap set lunches and reasonable prices all around. Will organize catering for events. 

INTERNATIONAL

Al Fresco’s 21 Mac Dinh Chi D1 Tel: 3823 8427 27 Dong Du, D1 Tel: 3822 7317 D1-23 My Toan 3, D7 Tel: 5410 1093 400 Nguyen Trai, D5 Tel: 3838 3840 www.alfrescosgroup.com Theme restaurant boasting a range of Tex-Mex, Italian and Australian-style BBQ dishes. Huge portions and tasty Australian ribs coupled with a good atmosphere and helpful staff. Good lunch menu.  Au Parc 23 Han Thuyen, D1 Tel: 3829 2772 Lavishly decorated brasserie borrowing from Moroccan and French styles and popular during lunchtime with expats.

Specializes in Middle Eastern and

turkey, whole-baked ham or roast beef rib eye as the focus of your feast. A variety of appealing accompaniments such as Brussels sprouts, chestnut stuffing, roast garlic potatoes, garlic mashed potatoes, mushroom stew, grilled vegetables, apple sauce and green pepper sauce are also available to round out the meal. Prices begin at VND 2,400,000 for the entire Christmas spread. For more information, please call 08 38 272 828 or email ssht.fbsecretary@sheraton. com. Advanced bookings are required.

Park Lounge Afternoon Tea Buffet at Park Hyatt Saigon welcome drink as well as the opportunity to enter a lucky draw and receive great prizes from InterContinental Asiana Saigon. For reservations or more information, please email hotxmas@ icasianasaigon.com or call 08 35 209 434.

Advanced bookings are encouraged.

Festive Season Turkey TakeAway at Sheraton Saigon

This holiday season, host your Christmas Eve at home with Sheraton Saigon's turkey takeaway. Choose from a whole-roast American

50 asialife HCMC

One of the first western restaurants in Saigon, Camargue offers a great selection of French food and wine in a romantic, rustic French villa.

Throughout the month of December, a special Christmas-inspired afternoon tea buffet will be available every Saturday and Sunday from 2pm4.30pm at the Park Hyatt Saigon's Park Lounge.

Indulge in an array of sweet and savoury small bites accompanied by fine Dammann Freres tea. Tickets cost VND 570,000 per guest and the afternoon tea buffet will also be available on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. For reservations or more information, please call 08 35 202 354 or email Saigon.Festive.Desk@hyatt. com. Advanced bookings are encouraged.

North African food. The salad menu is a favourite, and a great range of lush smoothies and juices are on offer.  Black Cat 13 Phan Van Dat, D1 Tel: 3829 2055 Tiny but popular District 1 restaurant serving up an excellent selection of Western and Vietnamese fare and an extensive range of sandwiches and burgers.  BoatHouse 40 Lily Road, APSC Compound, 36 Thao Dien, D2 Tel: 3744 6790 Riverside restaurant with umbrellashaded tables spread across outdoor deck and small indoor dining room.

Serves remarkably fresh and inspired dishes made with choice local and imported ingredients—favourites include the sirloin burger and pan-fried fish and chips.

Boomarang Cresent Residence 2-3-4, No. 107 Ton Dat Tien, PMH, D7 Tel: 3744 6790 An Australian bistro on the scenic promenade at the Crescent in Phu My Hung that serves authentic cuisine from down under, including steaks, burgers, seafood and fish and chips.

The Deck 38 Nguyen U Di, D2 Tel: 3744 6632 Serves upmarket takes on regional specialties made with fresh local and imported products. Well-designed, minimalist dining space and bar on the river are a serious draw.

The Elbow Room 52 Pasteur, D1 Tel: 3821 4327 elbowroom52@yahoo.com American-style bistro offering a wide range of appetisers, soups, salads, sandwiches, mains and desserts, plus an extensive wine menu. Open daily 7.30 am to 11 pm. Breakfast served all day.

Jaspa’s 33 Dong Khoi, D1 Tel: 3822 9926 www.alfrescosgroup.com Unpretentious brasserie-style restaurant specializes in Australian-influenced international fusion cuisine. Full range of drinks including Australian and French wines and good cocktails.

Hosts monthly Spam Cham networking event.  Market 39 InterContinental Asiana Saigon Ground Floor, Corner Hai Ba Trung and Le Duan, D1 Tel: 3520 9099 dine@icasianasaigon.com Seven interactive live kitchens offering French, Vietnamese and Southeast Asian cuisines, including a bakery, French patisseries, pancakes, tossed salads, grilled steak, seafood, wok-fried items, noodles and pasta dishes.

Mekong Merchant 23 Thao Dien, D2 Tel: 3744 4713 Set in a courtyard, this rustic Australianstyle brasserie has brought modern international cuisine to suburban An Phu. Popular for weekend brunches.

Weekly specials and seafood flown in from Phu Quoc.  The Refinery 74/7C Hai Ba Trung, D1 Tel: 3823 0509 Authentic bistro with cane furniture outside, informal indoor restaurant section and a bar area. Cuisine is light, modern European. The menu spans a price range to suit most budgets.

Reflections Caravelle Hotel, 19 Lam Son Square, D1 Tel: 3823 4999 Contemporary fine dining that combines Asian flavors with classic Mediterranean cuisine in an ambiance of understated elegance and European style. Special culinary events include guest chefs from

Michelin-star establishments around the world. Private rooms are available.

Scott & Binh’s 15-17 Cao Trieu Phat Street, Phu My Hung, D7 Tel: 094 890 14 65 Bizuhotel.com A friendly, laid back restaurant in Phu My Hung that serves “comfort food with a twist”. Run by American chef Scott Marquis, this small joint offers classic favourites that are consistently well prepared, making it a popular stop for expats and visitors.

Skewers 9A Thai Van Lung, D1 Tel: 3822 4798 www.skewers-restaurant.com Rustic Mediterranean restaurant where subtle colours and exposed brickwork combine with jazzy tunes. Serves tabouleh, falafel, couscous and kebab.

Highly rated for its grilled meats, bread and dip combos, soups and pastas. 

Viva Tapas Bar & Grill 90 Cao Trieu Phat, Phu My Hung, D7 Tel: 08 54 106 721 A bona fide Spanish tapas bar featuring both traditional and innovative small bites along with beer, wine and mixed drinks.

Both indoor and outdoor seating are available. Open 11am to midnight.  Zombie BBQ 4 Thao Dien, Q2 Tel: 08 35 194 659 Inspired by the current influx of American comfort food in Saigon, Zombie BBQ is an American-style barbecue restaurant focusing on birch-smoked meats, eclectic sides and a handcrafted variety of barbecue sauces to suit all tastes. 

ITALIAN

Basilico InterContinental Asiana Saigon, Ground Floor, Corner Nguyen Du and Hai Ba Trung, D1 Tel: 3520 9099 dine@icasianasaigon.com Contemporary and casual trattoria-style restaurant specializing in authentic Italian dishes and homemade desserts.

Wood-fired pizza oven and a wide selection of Italian wines.

Good Morning Vietnam 197 De Tham, D1 Tel: 3837 1894 Popular authentic Italian restaurant with additional outlets around the country.

Specializes in thin-crust pizza, pasta and a range of Italian dishes. Good selection of Italian wines. 

LovEat 29 Hai Trieu, D1 Tel: 08 62 602 727 Facebook.com/LovEatRestaurant Chic downtown bistro LovEat occupies a prime spot opposite the Bitexco Financial Tower, serving traditional Mediterranean cuisine with an Italian twist. The restaurant prides itself on organic local ingredients and offers full meals as well as coffee, drinks and Italian pastries. Open from 9am til late. 

JAPANESE

Kissho 14 Nguyen Hue, D1 Tel: 3823 2223 Fax: 3823 3343 kissho.wmcvietnam.com Saigon’s newest Japanese restaurant boasts a multi-concept cuisine set in a cutting edge interior. Specialties include teppanyaki, yakiniku, sushi and sashimi crafted by expert chefs. The freshest imported meats and seafood round out the menu, accompanied by an extensive selection of fine wines and Japanese spirits. Open 11.30 am to 2 pm and 5.30 pm to 10 pm.

asialife HCMC 51

Nishimura Mövenpick Hotel Saigon, 253 Nguyen Van Troi, Phu Nhuan Tel: 3844 9222 Exquisitely prepared sushi and sashimi from a globetrotting chef with three decades’ experience. A wide range of cooked dishes and monthly meal promotions are also available.

By Michael Kloster

KOREAN

imbibe ‘Home’ for the Holidays As we learned from The Wizard of Oz, there’s no place like home. But while many of my expat friends travel home this time of year, a fair amount of us don’t. For those who aren’t living where we grew up, the holidays can be difficult. It seems that over the years I’ve forgotten or postponed many of the traditions that accentuate the meaning of being together for the holiday season.

When my son was born last year, I started thinking about the seemingly small things that my family back home incorporates into their celebrations and started to implement these traditions here. Many of these dutiful deeds include drink.

Bringin’ It Back Home My dad is known for his Christmas-time eggnog. Our good friend Ron is just as well-known for his New Year’s blended Gin Fizz. These treats have become iconic to my sense of what makes the holidays real. It was almost a decade after living abroad that I decided to make Dad’s eggnog. Despite the fact that it was 38 degrees outside, no one seemed to mind!

Out-of-whack environmental cues aside, it was wonderful to share this traditional drink with my family and friends here, and we’ll be whizzing up some of Ron’s Gin Fizzes come January 1st!

Hijack Someone Else’s Holiday ‘Cheers!’

Are you feeling left out because you can’t think of any 52 asialife HCMC

The Sushi Bar 2 Le Thanh Ton, D1 Tel: 3823 8042 3A Ton Duc Thang, D1 Tel: 3911 8618 This brightly lit Japanese-style restaurant serves over 40 varieties of sushi at reasonable prices. Sit at the sushi bar or in private rooms upstairs. Open until 11.30 pm, delivery available on request. 

unique potent potables from your Christmases past? Never mind! There are plenty of worthy bevvies already out there! I recently unearthed this doozy: the Coquito. This Puerto Rican specialty (Puerto Rican friends: where have you been hiding this all these years?) seems right in tune with the weather and ingredients we have here in southern Vietnam. They blend up spiced rum (locally, Captain Morgan’s is available – or refer to last month’s column about infusions and concoct your own!), coconut milk, ginger, ground nuts and those Christmas-y kind of spices – like nutmeg, cinnamon and cloves – served over ice. Lots of cultures have their own holiday specialties, like mulled wine, glögg or Wassail. There are myriad possibilities!

Better to Give Like the old saying goes, ‘It’s better to give than to receive.’ This adage holds true no matter what date is on the calendar when it comes to a good drink. If you have a special seasonal tipple to share or want to borrow someone else’s, it’s all good! Shaken, stirred, blended or muddled, it’s up to you. Follow the old, or bring in the new – the most important part of the season is sharing. Cheers!

Michael Kloster is a locallybased hospitality consultant with over 20 years food and beverage experience. He can be reached at luckydogvn@ gmail.com.

Hana 8 Cao Ba Quat, D1 Tel: 3829 5588 Japanese-Korean fusion in the heart of District 1. Contemporary decor with a private, yet open feel. Broad menu including cooked and raw fish and traditional hot pot with fish eggs, rice and vegetables.

Kim Bab Chun Gook R4 42 Hung Phuoc 2, Phu My Hung Tel: 6296 9057 Korean boonshik/snack food eatery serving up a wide variety of light but substantial foods including dumplings, rameyon and fish cakes.

Kumdo 6A Pham Ngoc Thach, D3 Tel: 3824 3253 Korean beef barbecue served in small, welcoming dining rooms with barbecues built into tables. Large selection of raw meat specialties.

SOUTHEAST ASIAN

Baan Thai 55 Thao Dien, D2 Tel: 3744 5453 If you have been missing the delights of Bangkok nightlife then this restaurant and bar should be for you. The Thai chefs whip up all the traditional dishes you know and love, while in the bar there are a host of drinks and activities to help while away an evening.

Lac Thai 71/2 Mac Thi Buoi, D1 Tel: 3823 7506 An elegant restaurant tucked in an alleyway, decorated with art-deco furniture. Authentic Thai cuisine prepared by two Thai chefs. Food is tasty but less spicy than you’d find in Thailand.  Little Manila S2-1 Hung Vuong 2, Phu My Hung, D7 Tel: 5410 0812 Small, no -frills eatery with outdoor and indoor seating located on a quiet street.

Serves a range of dishes from the Philippines (pictured on menu for those unfamiliar) and draught San Miguel.

VIETNAMESE

Cha Ca La Vong 3 Ho Xuan Huong, D3 Tel: 3930 5674 36 Ton That Thiep, D1 Tel: 3915 3343 Two HCM City ouposts of the legendary Hanoi original serve only one dish: the eponymous and delicious cha ca la vong, fish pan-fried at the table with turmeric and dill and served with cold noodles and peanuts.

Com Nieu 19 Tu Xuong, D3 Tel: 3932 6288 The house specialty, com nieu (smashed rice), comes with a shattered-crockery and flying-rice show at this well-known restaurant, prominently featured in Anthony Bourdain’s A Cook’s Tour. An extensive and tasty selection of southern Vietnamese cuisine rounds out the menu.

Grillbar 122 Le Thanh Ton, D1 Tel: 08 38 22 79 01 A Vietnamese restaurant with a focus on charcoal-grilled meat brings classic Vietnamese street food indoors to a modern, clean environment.

Quan Bui 17A Ngo Van Nam, D1 Tel: 08 38 29 15 15 From the team behind Quan Bui, the popular casual Vietnamese eatery on the north edge of District 1, is this fourfloor fine-dining restaurant in downtown Saigon. The chic design and ambience, as well as its rooftop garden, are designed to attract a more up-market clientele.

Temple Club 29 – 31 Ton That Thiep, D1 Tel: 3829 9244 This high-end restaurant attached to an elegant lounge bar is a must-try for its art deco atmosphere as much as for its food.

Wrap & Roll 62 Hai Ba Trung, D1 Tel: 3823 4030 SA1–1, My Khanh 1, Nguyen Van Linh, D7 Attractive downtown venue that brings street-style food into air-conditioned and uncluttered comfort. Choose prewrapped appetizers such as the cha gio (spring rolls) or roll-it-yourself mains with ingredients like pickled shrimps, beef on sugar cane, fish, grilled eel and pork. 

nightlife See bar restaurant listings for more popular watering holes.

The Library InterContinental Asiana Saigon, corner of Hai Ba Trung and Le Duan, D1 Tel: 3520 9099 dine@icasianasaigon.com Unwind with a glass of wine or a cup of tea. The Library provides a welcoming atmosphere for those in search of calm, comfort and personalized service.

VEGETARIAN

Purple Jade InterContinental Asiana Saigon, corner of Hai Ba Trung and Le Duan, D1 Tel: 3520 9099 Chic lounge blends the stylistic influences of contemporary design and opium dens. Hosts live music and serves special drinks, including Shaoxing and Maotai rice wines and an exclusive selection of luxury spirits.

Viet Chay 339 Nam Ky Khoi Nghia, D3 Tel: 3526 5862 Upscale vegetarian restaurant specializes in fake meat dishes. The attractive dining room is suffused with natural light. Located within the walls of Vinh Nghiem Pagoda.

Saigon Saigon Bar 9th floor, Caravelle Hotel, 19 Lam Son Square, D1 Tel: 3823 4999 Popular bar usually packed out with tourists and business travellers searching for some delicious cocktails and a great view of the city skyline. Cuban band Warapo plays every night except Monday from 8.30 pm until late.

Hoa Dang 38 Huynh Khuong Ninh, D1 Swish vegetarian restaurant on a quiet street that serves up nutritious dishes, including meatless versions of bun bo, pho and steamboat. Cosy bar serving non-alcoholic drinks, fruits and other sweets.

jo

e m a n al

a

a

ni

ng

recipes

My Christmas Focaccia INGREDIENTS

• 500g bread flour • 20g yeast • Olive oil • Water

PREPARATION

• Place bread flour in a big bowl. Sprinkle with two pinches of salt and mix.

Create a well in the middle and pour in 340g of water, then add yeast and beat it with the water.

• Mix the yeast mixture with the flour until everything is blended. If it's too sticky, add a bit more flour; if it's too dry sprinkle a bit of water.

• Massage the dough until soft and elastic, then form it into an oval or round shape and sprinkle with olive oil. Put it back in the bowl and cover with cloth for one hour until it has doubled in size.

• Punch the dough and massage it again for a few

• Sprigs of rosemary • 12 cloves of garlic • A pinch of salt

minutes. Get a baking tray and coat with olive oil, then spread the dough mixture until it occupies the whole space.

• Cover the rectangular dough with cloth on the tray for about one hour until it rises. When ready, sprinkle some olive oil on top then start making pinch holes by using your fingers.

• Add the cloves of garlic and rosemary on top.

• Place in oven preheated to 180 degrees C and bake for about 45 minutes to one hour.

• When cooked, serve immediately and accompany with olive oil and balsamic mixture.

Recipe provided by Joanie Manalang Culinarian Food Stylist Artist-chef.blogspot.com // artist.chef@gmail.com

asialife HCMC 53

at home BAKERIES

Harvest Baking 30 Lam Son, Tan Binh Tel: 3547 0577 harvestbaking@yahoo.com This authentic bakery offers a range of specialty baked goods for delivery.

Offering bagels, scones, breads, desserts,cakes, tarts and more.

Chocolate fudge cake and cinnamon rolls with cream cheese icing highly recommended.

Local Eats

By Tristan Ngo

Hoa Viet Restaurant Located in the heart of Phu My Hung in District 7 is an oldstyle Chinese (Cantonese) and Vietnamese restaurant called Hoa Viet. Hoa Viet literally means Chinese-Vietnamese.

This is a surprising find, since the majority of businesses and eateries situated in Phu My Hung are relatively new establishments that were built to coincide with the new city centre.

Hoa Viet, on the other hand, is an old establishment that originated in District 11 and relocated because the family moved house. The move makes sense, since it is not easy to commute from District 11 to District 7. In recent columns I have written more about old establishments in Saigon. The reason why I love old restaurants or institutions is that you can see, feel and smell the rich history of the locations. You will not get that with Hoa Viet in its new location, but what you will get are the old, rich flavours, and that is what I like.

A noodle cart, made of metal instead of wood and adorned with an old Chinese sign, sits in front of the restaurant, which is always good to see. The cart, where the restaurant’s special braised duck noodle and mixed assorted congee is prepared, is a show for all the al fresco tables.

The noodles looked good, but I saved them for another day and opted for a family-style 54 asialife HCMC

meal instead (highly recommended). A family-style meal means you can sample an array of different dishes.

We ordered the steamed salted chicken, which is always a favourite, with a side sauce made of salt, pepper and vegetable oil. The chicken was tender and perfectly steamed.

One surprise was the dau rong xao toi (winged bean, but also known as goa bean, four-cornered or Manila bean) sautéed with garlic. The menu lists the dish as dragon beans as a direct translation, but that is a different type of bean. This is an amazing dish, despite the naming error.

Another surprise was suon rang muoi, or salt-and-peppered fried pork ribs. What can I say? Looked good, smelled good and were very tender.

Most fried pork ribs are tough, but these are my new favourite.

Dau hu non chien muoi tieu, or lightly fried fresh tofu with salt and pepper, was also nice.

This is a very delicate dish and is not so easy to make. It complemented a memorable squash soup with prawn, steamed whole red snapper with soybeans and rice.

336 Ha Huy Tap, My Khanh 4, Phu My Hung, D7 08 54 138 282 6.30am – 10pm Tristan Ngo is the Chef Patron and Owner of Skewers Restaurant and The Elbow Room.

Pat A Chou 65 Hai Ba Trung, D1 25 Thao Dien, D2 The home of the long and crusty baguette. Supplies many restaurants but also sells wholesale. The miniature patisseries such as crème brulée and cheesecake are worth a taste. Opens at 6.30 am.

Tous Les Jours 180 Hai Ba Trung, D3 Part of the Korean bakery chain, Tous Le Jours stocks a superb range of freshly baked good from sugary treats like pain au chocolat to superior quality baguettes and loafs.

Voelker 17 A7 Le Thanh Ton, D1 Tel: 7303 8799 39 Thao Dien, An Phu, D2 Tel: 6296 0066 Small bakery turns out sweet and salted pies and mousses in addition to baguettes and a range of Western sweets.

DELIVERY

Food Panda www.foodpanda.vn Online delivery service with over 500 popular restaurants available. www.vietnammm.com A free website that allows users to order delivery from dozens of restaurants in Ho Chi Minh City.

Simply provide your address and phone number and pay the delivery driver in cash when he arrives

Classic Fine Foods 17 Street 12, D2 Tel: 3740 7105 www.classicfinefoods.com Luxury food primarily imports for wholesale, but also takes orders for its range of dry goods, cheese, meat, poultry and seafood from private clients.

Kim Hai Butchery 73 Le Thi Hong Gam, D1 Tel: 3821 6057 or 3914 4376 Excellent chilled imported beef, lamb, veal and other meats sold at reasonable prices.

Metro Anphu An Phu, D2 Tel: 3740 6677 www.metro.com.vn Warehouse wholesaler located just off the Hanoi Highway in D2. Sells bulk food, fresh fruit and vegetables and meat, as well as paper products, cleaning supplies, housewares--basically everything.

Organik 11A Thao Dien, D2 Tel: 090 273 3841 arlene@organikvn.com www.organikvn.com Online grocer based out of Dalat selling a range of organic vegetables and groceries, as well as imported all-natural products such as cereal, soymilk and tea. Operates a retail shop in An Phu. Phuong Ha 58 Ham Nghi, D1 Tel: 3914 1318 A mini-supermarket that sells an extensive assortment of imported packaged food, cheese, meat, fresh fruit, vegetables and fine wines.

Veggy’s 29A Le Thanh Ton, D1 Tel: 3823 8526 Sky Garden Pham Van Nghi, Bac Khu Pho, D7 Riverside Apartments 53 Vo Truong Toan, Thao Dien, D2 Popular expat market with a huge walk-in fridge area stocked with fresh fruit and vegetables, dairy products and a range of meats. Imported canned and dried foods, wines, beers, soft drinks, spirits and snacks also available.

Willy Woo’s www.vietnammm.com Southern American fare including skillet fried chicken, Belgium waffles and BBQ foods, red beans and rice, Jalapeno corn bread, and other classic southern sides. Delivery only via vietnammm.com

LIQUOR & WINE

GROCERIES

Red Apron 22 Chu Manh Trinh, D1 Tel: 3823 0021 Large wine and spirits wholesaler, with 90,000 bottles stored in its five locations around the country. Sells wine from all around the world, particularly France, Chile, Italy and Australia. Exclusive distributor of such fine brands as Taittinger Champagne.

Annam Gourmet Market 16-18 Hai Ba Trung, D1 Tel: 3822 9332 41A Thao Dien, D2 Tel: 3744 2630 SB2-1 My Khanh 4, Nguyen Duc Canh, D7 Tel: 5412 3263 / 64 www.annam-gourmet.com Boutique grocer with wide selection of foreign foods; Annam-brand coffee, tea and spices; and household products.

Wine and premium beer, full deli counter, produce, dairy-frozen and baked goods on second floor. Cosy café serves coffee, drinks and sandwiches.

Big C Floor B1, Cantavil An Phu Building, D2, Tel: 3740 7105 www.bigC.vn This ‘supercentre’ offers a clean, comfortable shopping environment with a wide assortment of goods, including fresh food and home accessories, available at reasonable prices.

Bacchus Corner 158D Pasteur, D1 Reliable wine and liquor store owned by Tan Khoa Wines with a good range of spirits, whiskies, wines and more all at decent prices.

The Warehouse 178 Pasteur, D1 Tel: 3825 8826 www.warehouse-asia.com One of the city’s premier wine distributors, The Warehouse is an aptly named, stylish wine store that stocks a full range of both New and Old World wines, sparkling wines, Champagne, spirits, imported beers and accessories.

listings

culture CLASSES

AngelsBrush by Vin Tel: 0983377710 Shyevin@mac.com Oil painting course gives learners the opportunity to work from the different objects; explore different mediums, materials and techniques; and interpret line, tone and colour. Instructor works with students on individual basis.

DanCenter 53 Nguyen Dang Giai, Thao Dien, D.2 Tel: 3840 6974 www.dancentervn.com Purpose built studio with foreign trained dance instructors. Classes in jazz, ballet, tap, hip hop, yoga, zumba, belly, hula, capoiera and more. Kids can start from 4+ and adults of all ages and levels are welcome.

Helen Kling Oil Painting 189/C1 Nguyen Van Huong, Thao Dien, D2 Tel: 0903 955 780 hk.painter@gmail.com/helenkling@ yahoo.com www.helenkling.com Helene is a French painter who teaches beginners (children and adults) various techniques and the art of working with different mediums. She is also a fantastic tool for advanced artists who are looking to increase their creativity.

Printmaking alphagallery@bluemail.ch Classes are held at Alpha Gallery taught by the gallery owner Bernadette Gruber, who offers the chance to learn monotype, intaglio and etching techniques.

CINEMAS

Bobby Brewer’s Movie Lounge 45 Bui Vien, D1 Tel: 3610 2220 86 Pham Ngoc Thach info@bobbybrewers.com Popular top-floor home cinema showing movies five times a day on a large screen. Email for the latest schedule.

CGV cinema Vietnam Hung Vuong Plaza, 126 Hung Vuong, D5 Tel: 08 2222 0388 CT Plaza, 60A Truong Son, Tan Binh Tel: 6297 1981 Crescent Mall, Phu My Hung, D7 Pandora City, 1/1 Truong Chinh, Tan Phu www.cgv.vn State-of-the-art cinema complex screening the lastest blockbusters with plush, reclining seats. All movies shown in original language with Vietnamese subtitles.

Cinebox 212 Ly Chinh Thang, D3 Tel: 3935 0610 240 3 Thang 2, D10 Tel: 3862 2425 Cinebox cinemas show both original language films with Vietnamese subtitles and the dubbed versions.

Future Shorts futureshortsvietnam@gmail.com www.futureshorts.com/vn Vietnam branch of the international network screens foreign and local short films around town. Events often incorporate other media and elements, including live music, performances, installations and discussion. Submissions accepted.

Galaxy Cinema 116 Nguyen Du, D1 Tel: 3822 8533 230 Nguyen Trai, D1 Tel: 3920 6688 www.galaxycine.vn Large, modern cinema that shows the latest foreign releases in English (with Vietnamese subtitles).

IDECAF 31 Thai Van Lung, D1 Tel: 3829 5451 French cultural centre and cinema theatre. Showcases French movies with English and Vietnamese subtitles. Also hosts movies and documentaries from a number of overseas film festivals.

Lotte Cinema Diamond Plaza, 34 Le Duan, D1 Tel: 3822 7897 LotteMart, 469 Nguyen Huu Tho, D7 Tel: 3775 2520 www.lottecinemavn.com Modern cinema with four-way sound system. D7 location houses luxury theatre Charlotte with 32 seats and eight sofas.

GALLERIES

a little blah blah OUT-2 STUDIO, L6 FAFILM Annex 6 Thai Van Lung, D1 albbsaigon-2010.blogspot.com Operates as an engine for contemporary art by organizing projects, exhibitions, screenings and talks. Runs one major art project each year and a reading room with more than 1,000 texts on art, design and creative culture. Free for everyone and open Tue to Sat 10 am to 6 pm.

Blue Space Contemporary Arts Center 97A Pho Duc Chinh, D1 Tel: 3821 3695 bluespaceart@hcm.jpt.vn www.bluespacegallery.com Busy, working gallery with easels propped up outside situated in the grounds of the beautiful Fine Arts Museum. Holds regular exhibitions by local artists.

Duc Minh Gallery 31C Le Quy Don, D3 Tel: 3933 0498 Housed in an opulent colonial mansion, private museum and art gallery showcases the private art collection of Vietnamese business tycoon Bui Quoc Chi. Containing more than 1,000 pieces that range from traditional to contemporary.

Galerie Quynh 65 De Tham, D1 Tel: 3836 8019 www.galeriequynh.com The city’s only international standard gallery, housed in a modern, two-floor space. Organizes regular exhibitions featuring established, emerging local/ international contemporary artists, publishes original catalogs in both English and Vietnamese.

Ho Chi Minh City Fine Arts Museum 97A Pho Duc Chinh, D1 Tel: 3829 4441 btmthcm@hotmail.com Institution housing contemporary/traditional works by Vietnamese and foreign artists. Pieces date from as early as the 7th century. Includes Vietnamese antiques, art crafted by the Cham and Funan peoples.

San Art Independent Artist Space 3 Me Linh, Binh Thanh Tel: 3840 0898 hoa@san-art.org www.san-art.org Artist-run, non-profit exhibition space featuring contemporary work by young Vietnamese artists. San Art hosts guest lecturers and curators. A reading room of art books and magazines is open to the public.

TuDo Gallery 53 Ho Tung Mau, D1 Tel: 3821 0966 www.tudogallery.com Hosting permanent exhibitions of works by the city’s artists, Tu Do deals in oils, silk paintings and lacquerware. More than 1,000 pieces on show.

asialife HCMC 55

listings

By Phil Kelly

Sport Street Huyen Tran Cong Chua, D1 between Nguyen Du and Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Services include mending and restringing broken tennis rackets. Products range from badminton birdies and rackets to basketball hoops, free weights, roller blades, scooters, soccer jerseys and all manner of balls.

fitness Alcohol, Part II Last month, I discussed some of the beneficial properties of alcohol. However, even with all of these positive aspects, alcohol is quite simply a toxic substance. The body can’t store what you drink, so it has to be burned straight away and, while the body gets rid of the alcohol, all other metabolic processes – including fat burning – have to be put on hold.

Alcohol blocks fat metabolism, hinders protein synthesis (muscle development and repair) and stimulates a poor hormonal environment for recovery. In other words, it’s not the calories from alcohol you need to worry about: it’s how your body reacts to this toxin, causing you to store fat rather than burn it.

Alcohol turns off fat burning at a cellular level and kills recovery from exercise.The University of Helsinki found that, after a morethan-moderate drinking session (about six or seven beers for a 75kg male), testosterone levels dropped by 23 percent, growth hormone (HGH) secretion was heavily suppressed and cortisol levels rose by 36 percent. Testosterone and HGH are anabolic hormones that are essential for building muscle and burning fat.

Cortisol is a catabolic hormone that breaks down tissue. High cortisol levels have been linked to increased or stubborn abdominal fat.

I know what you’re thinking: this all makes life sound boring.

But, as I mentioned last month, there is limited evidence that moderate alcohol consumption alone will cause you to gain weight. However if you are striv56 asialife HCMC

sports & leisure

ing for fat loss or a performance goal, you need to act carefully.

The best advice I can give is to not drink more than once per week. Do not go nuts during this one session. If you want to be able to enjoy a drink while striving for positive body change, you can probably have one or two drinks every week.

To protect yourself from excess fat storage and poor fitness gains, however, you should: 1. Get most of your calories from protein and vegetables.

2. Avoid high carbohydrate and fatty foods while drinking.

3. Choose your poison wisely: stay away from carb-laden drinks like beer and fruity stuff. Good choices are Merlot and Pinot Noir wines, as well as spirits (on the rocks or with water and lime).

4. Consume foods and beverages that protect the liver from alcohol damage.

5. Avoid alcohol after hard workouts. The recovery period is where the body actually improves and benefits from exercise. Drinking after workouts will diminish any potential returns.

6. Consume foods and beverages that aid in the detoxification of toxins the day after.

Phil is a health practitioner and expert in body transformation.

His services are available at Star Fitness (Starfitnesssaigon.com), online or at your home. Contact him though his website Philkelly.com or Facebook.com/ BodyExpertSystemVietnam.

CRICKET

Saigon Cricket Assocation Social cricket league plays 25 overs a side matches Sunday mornings at RMIT’s District 7 pitch. Season runs November through May, with friendly games throughout the pre-season. Practice on Saturdays and Sunday afternoons.

Australian Cricket Club Terry Gordon terrygordoninasia@yahoo.com.au saigonaustraliancricketclub@yahoo.com www.saigoncricket.com English Cricket Club Richard Carrington Richard.carrington@pivotalvietnam.com info@eccsaigon.com www.eccsaigon.com Indian Cricket Club Manish Sogani, manish@ambrij.com United Cricket Club Mr. Asif Ali, asif@promo-tex.net keshav.dayalani@rmit.edu.vn

DANCING

DanCenter 53 Nguyen Dang Giai, Thao Dien, District 2 Tel: 3840 6974 www.dancentervn.com Purpose built studio with foreign trained dance instructors. Classes in jazz, ballet, tap, hip hop, yoga, zumba, belly, hula, capoiera and more. Kids can start from 4+ and adults of all ages and levels are welcome. Schedule and news on events available on-line.

Salsa Dancing at La Habana 6 Cao Ba Quat, D1 www.salsaigon.com salsaigon@gmail.com Salsa package for single persons and couple, run by Urko. Lessons every Tuesday (beginners L.A. style at 7.30 pm; intermediate L.A style at 8.30 pm).

Registration required.

FITNESS & YOGA

AIS Sports Centre 36 Thao Dien, An Phu, D2 Tel: 3744 6960, ext 126 sportscentre@aisvietnam.com www.aissportscentre.com Six-lane, 25-metre pool, basketball and netball courts, astroturf hockey/football area and outdoor gym equipment.

Available for party hire - BBQ included on request. Membership packages available. Kids swim club and adult masters programmes. Rainbow Divers offers scuba diving courses for children and adults. Free morning yoga.

California WOW Xperience Parkson Plaza, 126 Hung Vuong, D5 28/30-32 Le Loi, D1 Tel: 6291 5999 The world’s biggest fitness centre chain is one of Saigon’s most modern places to get your sweat on. Located in Hung Vuong Plaza, CWX offers a huge workout area and all kinds of classes including spinning, KickFit, yoga and more.

Caravelle Club Spa 19 Lam Son Square, D1 Tel: 3823 4999 Modern and stylish gym with lots of cardiovascular machines and free weights.

The swimming pool is a great place for a dip, and the massage parlour, sauna, steam room and jacuzzi are there for winding down.

Equinox Fitness & Leisure Centre Equatorial Hotel, 242 Tran Binh Trong, D5 Tel: 3839 7777 Decent-sized 3rd-floor gym with modern cardio and weights machines, sauna, steambath, jacuzzi, and large 4th floor pool great for swimming laps.

Hollywood Fitness World H3 Building, 384 Hoang Dieu, D4 Tel: 3826 4639 One of the latest & best workout environments in the city, suitable for all ages and fitness levels. Personal training is offered.

L’Apothiquaire Fitness Centre 64A Truong Dinh, D3 Tel: 3932 5181 www.lapothiquaire.com Internationally-certified teachers offer daily classes in Sivananda, Iyengar, Power, Yoga, Abdo-Pilates, Taebo and Aqua-Aerobics. Peaceful swimming pool, sauna and steam room.

La Cochinchine Rex Hotel, 146 Pastuer, D1 Tel: 3825 1812 (ext 7477) New and affordable fitness centre located in the heart of the city. This gym has a wide range of weight machines, as well as many cardio machines, including treadmills, cross-trainers and bikes. A good variety of classes are available, including yoga and aerobic dance.

NTFQ2 Spa 34 Nguyen Dang Giai, D2 Tel: 3744 6672 Therapeutic massage with a focus on sports massage to increase circulation, remove lactic acid build-up, restore flexibility and relieve back pain.

Sheraton Fitness Level 5, Sheraton Saigon Hotel & Towers, 88 Dong Khoi, D1 Tel: 3827 2828 sheraton.saigon@sheraton.com www.sheraton.com/saigon Sheraton Fitness features a team of trained professionals and new Technogym equipment. Members have full use of leisure facilities and receive discounts at hotel bars and restaurants and Aqua Day Spa. Star Fitness Gym Manor Apartments, 91 Nguyen Huu Canh, Binh Thanh Tel: 3514 0255 This 1,600sqm gym is apparently the biggest in Vietnam. Has a good range of machines for any type of workout.

Membership involves one time entry fee plus monthly subscriptions and gives free access to regular fitness classes.

Saigon Yoga Tel: 090 835 2265 info@saigonyoga.com www.saigonyoga.com A yoga centre with highly qualified instructors offering hot yoga, Hatha Flow, restorative yoga, kids’ yoga, pre and postnatal yoga and injury rehabilitation.

Also does corporate team building and yoga teacher training as well as organising yoga retreats.

FOOTBALL & RUGBY

Australian Rules Football Tel: 093 768 3230 www.vietnamswans.com vietnamswans@gmail.com The Vietnam Swans play regular international footy matches around Asia. Training sessions are held weekly in HCM City (2.30 pm Saturday, RMIT D7) and Hanoi (midday, Saturday, UN International School, Ciputra). All skill levels and codes welcome.

RMIT Vietnam sports.recreation@rmit.edu.vn A new player on the SIFL scene with a team made up of students from the University. They have their own football ground on-site consisting of two brand new pitches. Contact Landon Carnie.

Saigon Raiders jon.hoff@saigonraiders.com Sociable football side who are always on the lookout for new talent for their weekly matches and training sessions. The team participates in the Saigon International Football League and also has regular fixtures against local teams in the outlying provinces and also participates in international tournaments.

Saigon Saints chris@saigonsaints.com www.saigonsaints.com Expat football club of all ages, which has been running since 1995 and plays in the SIFL. Regularly venture on international tours especially to Bangkok and Manila and play in other local and international tournaments. The players train weekly, and new players are encouraged to join.

GOLF

Dalat Palace Golf Club Phu Dong Thien Vuong, Dalat Tel: 063 3821 101 dpgc@vietnamgolfresorts.com The most beautiful course in Vietnam, combining the crisp mountain air with an environment of stately pine trees.

Overlooking Xuan Huong lake, the 7,009yard course is an enjoyable challenge for golfers of all levels.

Dong Nai Golf Resort Trang Bom Town, Trang Bom Tel: 061 3866 288 / 3677 590 www.dongnaigolf.com.vn Large golf resort with 27 holes, plus a villa complex, bar, sauna. jacuzzi and billiards. The resort sits on 160 hectares of land in Dong Nai Province, about 50 kilometres from the city.

Ocean Dunes Golf Club 1 Ton Duc Thang, Phan Thiet Tel: 062 3821 995 odgc@vietnamgolfresorts.com Designed by Nick Faldo, the 6,746-yard par-72 course winds through seaside dunes, with the variable coastal breezes changing its character each day. An enjoyable and eminently playable course and has become a favourite venue for expatriate tournaments.

Saigon South Golf Nguyen Van Linh, Tan Phu, D7 Tel: 5411 2001 sgs.golf@yahoo.com.vn Nine-hole mini golf course and driving range set amongst attractive gardens just behind FV Hospital. Club, shoe and umbrella hire is also available.

Song Be Golf Resort 77 Binh Duong Blvd, Thuan An Tel: 0650 3756 660 info@songbegolf.com www.songbegolf.com Located 22 kilometres from the city centre, the premier golf course in the area features an 18-hole, 6,384-metre course.

Also has tennis courts, a swimming pool, and a gymnasium.

Vietnam Golf and Country Club Long Thanh My Village, D9 www.vietnamgolfcc.com This facility consists of two courses of 18 holes each, one of which is designed in a more traditional Asian style, and the other in international style. Has other attractions such as boating, tennis and a restaurant area.

LEISURE

Phun Runner info@phun-run.com Social running group that meets Saturdays at 7 am for a scenic run around Saigon before breakfast. Great way to explore the city, meet fellow runners and get fit for future events. Check website for rendezvous points.

Rangers Baseball Club Isao Shimokawaji isao.shimokawaji@sapporobeer.co.jp A baseball club always looking for additional players of any age, race or experience level. Plays Saturdays or Sundays, often against Korean or Vietnamese teams.

Saigon International Dart League www.thesidl.com A highly popular group in town, the darts club runs a competitive year-long league for 16 pub-based teams. There are some excellent players in this sociable and international group. See website for details of how to join and latest 180 scores.

a breeze of serenity

Saigon International Softball League sisl@saigonsoftball.info www.saigonsoftball.info The league plays slo-pitch softball every Sunday (usually at the Taiwanese School in Phu My Hung) and always welcomes newcomers.

Saigon Pony Club Lane 42, Le Van Thinh, D2 Tel: 0913 733 360 A standout facility offering pony rides, riding lessons, horse clinics and pony rentals. Also hosts events and birthdays.

Squash The Landmark, 5B Ton Duc Thang, D1 Tel: 3822 2098 ext 176 www.thelandmarkvietnam.com One of three squash courts in town.

Membership is open to non-Landmark residents and drop-in players. Lessons and racquets are available for additional fees. Balls are provided. Book in advance or phone for further information.

Ultimate Frisbee RMIT, 702 Nguyen Van Linh, D7 www.saigon-ultimate.com Join in this exciting popular sport every Sunday afternoon from 3pm to 5pm in Saigon South. Pan-Asian competitions also organised for the more experienced.

Contact David Jensen at 0909458890 Vietwings Paragliding info@vietwings-hpg.com Promoted by a local advertising executive turned test pilot, paragliding, hanggliding, trike plane can be performed in several locations across southern Vietnam including Dalat, Phan Thiet, Tay Ninh. Call Loco on 0903 825607 for more information.

X-Rock Climbing Phan Dinh Phung Sport Centre 75 Nguyen Dinh Chieu, D3 Tel: 6278 5794 503A Nguyen Duy Trinh, D2 Tel: 2210 9192 www.xrockclimbing.com Offering safe and professional climbing for anyone aged 4 and up. Featuring mountain climbing routes rated from beginner to advanced, climbing and belay-safety courses and training, birthday parties, corporate team building.

Excellent facilities for children and annual membership for kids.

0 .00 D

VN 36

Hideaway Package:

2.2 Đêm

Bao gồm: Lưu trú 2 đêm tại Bungalow hướng vườn Điểm tâm sáng hàng ngày tại nhà hàng Gecko Một bữa tối dành cho 2 người tại nhà hàng Gecko 60 phút trị liệu tại Aurora Spa Sử dụng miễn phí phòng Gym Sử dụng miễn phí sân Tennis vào ban ngày Điều kiện: Thời gian lưu trú tối thiểu là 2 đêm Phụ thu 330,000VND/phòng/đêm nếu đặt phòng vào thứ 6 và thứ 7 Khuyến mãi không áp dụng vào các ngày lễ Có giá trị đến hết ngày 30/10/2015 Giá trên bao gồm thuế và phí phục vụ

Để biết thêm chi tiết xin vui lòng liên hệ: Tel: (84)-(064) 3781 525 - Fax: (84)-(064) 3781 433 - Hotline: 091 3 781 524 Email: Reservation@hotramresort.com - Website: www.hotramresort.com

asialife HCMC 57

listings

health & beauty ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE

American Chiropractic Clinic 161 Hai Ba Trung, D3 Tel: 3939 3930 www.vietnamchiropractic.com A chiropractic, physiotherapy, foot care clinic staffed by American-trained chiropractors speaking French, English,

Chinese, Vietnamese and Korean. Treatsback pain, neck pain, knee pain, also specializing in sports injuries, manufacture of medical grade foot orthotics.

Ciro Gargiulo CARE1 Executive Health Care Center The Manor, 91 Nguyen Huu Canh, Binh Thanh Tel: 3514 0757 care1_reception@vietnammedicalpractice.com www.care1.com.vn A holistic approach is used by this acupuncturist and traditional medicine practitioner to rebalance the body’s energy fields. A wide range of ailments are treated including back pain, allergies and insomnia.

Institute of Traditional Medicine 273-275 Nguyen Van Troi, Phu Nhuan Dr. Le Hung is the man to see at this well-established traditional hospital & training centre. He speaks good English and provides excellent treatments in a

clean environment. The Institute also provides acupuncture lessons.

DENTAL

Accadent 39 Le Duan, D1 Tel: 08 6267 6666 A clinic that brings leading German dentistry to Vietnam. All dentists here were trained in Germany and all equipment comes from Germany to ensure proper hygiene and quality.

European Dental Clinic 17 - 17A Le Van Mien, Thao Dien, D2 Tel: 0918 749 204/08 3744 9744 Expat English and French-speaking dentist. Performs full range of dental treatment including whitening, aesthetic fillings, porcelain crowns, full ceramics, veneer and orthodontic treatment. 24hour emergency line: 0909 551 916 or 0916 352940.

Starlight Dental Clinic Dr. Philippe Guettier & International Team of Dentists 2Bis Cong Truong Quoc Te, D1 Tel: 3822 6222 With 14 years’ experience providing dental treatment to expat and Vietnamese patients, this well-known dental surgery is staffed by both foreign & local practitioners. Au fait with the latest treatments and techniques, the surgery prides themselves on their high standard of equipment & sterilization.

HANH PHUC, International Hospital Binh Duong boulevard, Thuan An, Binh Duong.

Tel: 0650 3636068 www.hanhphuchospital.com The 1st Singapore Standard Hospital in Vietnam. 260 –bedder, provide a comprehensive range of quality healthcare services: Obstertrics, Gynaecology, Paediatrics, Immunization, IVF, Health checkup, Parentcraft, Woman Cancer, Cosmetic Surgery… Just 20- minute driving from HCMC. HANH PHUC International Hospital Clinic 97 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, D1 Tel: 3925 9797 www.hanhphuchospital.com The 1st Singapore Standard Hospital in Vietnam. The clinic is located at the center of Dist. 1, provides a comprehensive range of services specializing in Obstertrics, Gynaecology, Peadiatrics, Immunization, General Practice and Emergency. Open hours: Weekdays: 8am to 5pm; Saturday: 8am to 12pm.

International SOS 167A Nam Ky Khoi Nghia, D3 Tel: 3829 8424 www.internationalsos.com Globally-renowned provider of medical assistance and international healthcare.

Specializes in offering medical transport and evacuation both within and outside of Vietnam for urgent medical cases.

MEDICAL Centre Medical International (CMI) 1 Han Thuyen, D1 Tel: 3827 2366 www.cmi-vietnam.com Located downtown next to the cathedral, the centre provides a high standard of medical care from qualified French and Vietnamese physicians. Its range of services include general and tropical medicine, cardiology, gynaecology, osteopathy, pediatrics, psychiatry, speech therapy and traditional Eastern medicine.

Family Medical Practice HCMC Diamond Plaza, 34 Le Duan, D1 Tel: 3822 7848 95 Thao Dien, D2 Tel: 3744 2000 www.vietnammedicalpractice.com Leading international primary healthcare provider, with a 24-hour state-of-the-art medical centre and highly-qualified multilingual foreign doctors. Extensive experience in worldwide medical evacuations with car and air ambulance on standby.

Also in Hanoi and Danang.

58 asialife HCMC

Victoria Healthcare 135A Nguyen Van Troi, Phu Nhuan Tel: 3910 4545 79 Dien Bien Phu, D1 Tel: 39104545 Well-regarded clinic offering general examinations and specializing in pediatrics, digestive diseases, cardiology and women's health. Offers a membership program and cooperates with most insurance companies in Vietnam and abroad. Open with doctors on call 24/7.

SKINCARE

The Body Shop 87 Mac Thi Buoi, D1 Tel: 3823 3683 www.thebodyshop.com International cosmetics retailer with strong commitment to environment sources natural ingredients from small communities for its line of more than 600 products.

The Face Shop 294 Hai Ba Trung, D1 Tel: 3820 2325 Vincom Center, 70/72 Le Thanh Ton, D1 www.thefaceshop.com Local retailer for the South Korea-based international brand of natural body, bath and skincare products. The company offers hundreds of products for different skin types. Also has kiosks at in Phu My Hung, Diamond Plaza and Zen Plaza.

listings

family ACTIVITIES

Conservatory of Music 112 Nguyen Du, D1 The established training centre for professional musicians offers private piano and violin lessons to foreigners in the evenings.

DanCenter 53 Nguyen Dang Giai, Thao Dien, D 2 Tel: 3840 6974 www.dancentervn.com Children and teenagers from age 4+ can enjoy jazz, ballet, tap, hip hop, acro dance and break dance classes at this professionally run, newly built dance studio. Schedule and news on events available on-line.

Helene Kling Painting helene_kling@yahoo.com Offers classes in oil painting to both children and adults for 150,000 VND and 300,000 VND respectively. Classes are paced to suit each student.

Saigon Pony Club Lane 42, Le Van Thinh, D2 Tel: 0913 733 360 Close to X-rock climbing centre, kids from three and upwards can ride one of the stable’s 16 ponies. Lessons with foriegn teachers last 45 minutes for kids from age six.

Tae Kwondo BP Compound, 720 Thao Dien, D2 and Riverside Villa Compound, Vo Truong Toan, D2 phucteacherkd@yahoo.com Private and group classes are run after school three times a week by the friendly Mr. Phuc. Anyone over the age of five is welcome to join in the course, which costs USD $50 for 12 classes/month with a $25 fee for non-members. Contact Mr. Phuc directly on 0903 918 149.

BABY EQUIPMENT

Baby 66B Cach Mang Thang Tam, D10 A large store stocking a good range of baby needs, including toys, buggies, cots and bottles. Prices are reasonable.

Babyland Saigon Centre, 65 Le Loi, D1 Quality products including car seats, buggies, prams and travel cots and a good selection of baby toys. Carries Avent bottles and sterilizer sets, and a small range of educational books. Prices are higher than the other places, but so is the quality.

Maman Bebe Vincom Center, 70/72 Le Thanh Ton, D1 Tel: 3825 8724 Stocks an assortment of modern strollers and car seats. Also sells various utensils and practical baby products. Small selection of clothing for ages newborn to 14 years.

Me & Be 230 Vo Thi Sau, D3 40 Ton That Tung, D1 141D Phan Dang Luu, Phu Nhuan 246 Nguyen Dinh Chieu, D3 101-103 Khanh Hoi, D4 287A Nguyen Van Troi, Phu Nhuan The closest thing to Mothercare the city has to offer. Stocks a substantial range of apparel for babies including bottles and sterilizers, cots (including travel cots), clothing, toys, safety equipment and more, all at reasonable prices.

Me Oi 1B Ton That Tung, D1 A small shop adjacent to the maternity hospital bursting at the seams with everything you need for your baby. Clothing, footwear, bottles, nappies, nappy bags and toys all at reasonable prices.

New Parent Street Nguyen Thong Street, D3 between Ly Chinh Thang and Ky Dong Street.

An interesting array of baby formula and hard liquor. A one stop shopping cluster for first time parents.

CLOTHES

DLS Paris 17/5 Le Thanh Ton, D1 Diamond Plaza, 34 Le Duan, D1 Saigon Centre, 65 Le Loi, D1 Vincom Center, 70/72 Le Thanh Ton, D1 A superb range of unique and beautiful clothing for young children (from newborns to pre-school age) at high to midrange prices. The quality compensates for the price. Bedding, baby equipment and furniture and organic and natural supplies also kept in stock.

Ninh Khuong 44 Le Loi, D1 Tel: 3824 7456 www.ninhkhuong.vn Well-known hand-embroidered children’s clothing brand using 100% cotton. Newborn to 10 years old (girl) and fourteen years old (boy). Also stocking home linens. Prices are reasonable.

EDUCATION

ABC International School 2,1E Street, KDC Trung Son, Binh Hung, Binh Chanh Tel: 5431 1833 abcintschoolss@vnn.vn www.theabcis.com UK standards-based curriculum awards diploma with IGCSE’s & A Levels certified

by Cambridge Universit examinations board. From playgroup to pre-university matriculation. Served by 80+ British teachers. Good facilities and extracurricular activities.

American International School 220 Nguyen Van Tao, Nha Be, HCMC Tel: 08 3780 0909 www.ais.edu.vn info@ais.edu.vn Established since 2006, American International School is a private school serving students from Preschool through grade 12. Operate on 4 campuses, the school offers innovative American curriculum with true Vietnamese heritage.

All students are well prepared for academic success appropriate to their needs and aspirations in the US and around the world.

The Australian International School Xi Campus (Kindergarten) 190 Nguyen Van Huong, D2 Tel: 35192727 Thao Dien Campus (Kindergarten & Primary School) 36 Thao Dien, D2 Tel: 3744 6960 Thu Thiem Campus (Kindergarten, Primary, Middle & Senior School) 264 Mai Chi Tho (East-West Highway) An Phu ward, D2 Tel: 3742 4040 www.aisvietnam.com The Australian International School is an IB World School with 3 class campuses in District 2, HCMC, offering an international education from Kindergarten to Senior School with the IB Primary Years Programme (PYP), Cambridge Secondary Programe (including IGCSE) and IB Diploma Programme (DP).

British International School Primary Campus 43 - 45 Tu Xuong, D3 225 Nguyen Van Huong, D2 Secondary Campus 246 Nguyen Van Huong, D2 Tel: 3744 2335 www.bisvietnam.com BIS is the largest international school in Vietnam operating from three purpose built campuses in HCMC catering for students from pre-school to Year 13. The school operates within the framework of the National Curriculum for England and is staffed primarily by British qualified and

trained teachers with recent UK experience. Students are prepared for both IGCSE & the IB Diploma programmes. BIS is a member of FOBISSEA & is fully accredited by the Council of International schools EUROPEAN International School 730 F-G-K Le Van Mien, Thao Dien. Tel: 7300 7257 www.eishcmc.com jura.cullen@cantab.net The EUROPEAN International School Ho Chi Minh City (EIS) offers an international education from Early Years through Primary and Secondary School. EIS is committed to educating students to become creative critical thinkers and problem solvers. In small student centred classes, students are immersed in a multicultural learning environment which values multilingualism. The language of instruction throughout the School is English; the language program includes Spanish, German, French and Vietnamese.

International School HCMC 28 Vo Truong Toan, D2 Tel: 3898 9100 www.ishcmc.com One of 136 schools around the world to be accredited as an IB World School. Offers all three of the IB programmes from primary through to grade 12. The school is fully accredited by CIS and NEASC and has a strong focus on community spirit and fosters an awareness of other languages and cultures.

The International School HCMC American Academy 26 Vo Truong Toan, D2 Tel: 3898 9098 www.aavn.edu.vn The International School Ho Chi Minh City - American Academy is a worldclass middle and high school for children aged 11 to 18 years old. Offering a comprehensive academic program built upon the principles and standards of the American education system..

International School Saigon Pearl 92 Nguyen Huu Canh, Binh Thanh District Tel: 2220 1788/89 www.issp.edu.vn Opening in August, 2011, the single purpose-built campus will cater for nursery through grade five. In the second year, sixth grade will be added. ISSP’s longterm strategic plan includes complete middle and high schools. In the spring of 2011 ISSP will host the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (the largest American accreditation agency in Asia). Accreditation will allow children to easily transfer to schools abroad.

LOUISIANE BREWHOUSE Beachside Nha Trang Asian & Western Cuisine Swimming Pool & Private Beach www.louisianebrewhouse.com.vn

asialife HCMC 59

By Paul McLardie

PERSONAL FINANCE Inventions What is the most important invention that mankind has ever created? Is it the internal combustion engine, penicillin, the internet or the ham-andcheese toastie? Whatever it is, we all know that it will be overtaken by some kind of technology that we don’t know about as yet. As civilisation moves on, however, one area is still lightyears behind. Why do we still use cash and what will be the future for the crumpled dirty notes and coins that we all have in our wallets and purses?

Cash for us is just a method of exchange and a method of storing our wealth. A long time before paper money, in the Micronesian islands, people used massive stones to exchange their wealth for products and services. Will generations in the future look at our paper money and scratch their heads in the same way? Yes, we use internet-based transactions, e-banking and mobile banking now, but will these methods stop us from using cash? Most likely not.

To scrap the notes, some have argued that we would all need to use one global currency. Whether it be the US Dollar, the Euro, the Yen or even bitcoins. One thing standing in the way is the political necessity for nation-states to control the usage and monitor the flows of their own currency and be able to set tax and inflation figures.

To the average person on the street, we are not bothered by the macroeconomics behind the decision, we just need to be able to transfer money from 60 asialife HCMC

one party to another if the technology is there and it is secure.

But what technology? The behind-the-scenes workings of banks are based on ancient systems that date back to Roman times. Financial institutions still use the nostro and vostro (yes, that is Latin) mechanisms of moving money around.

Computer systems and programs may be up to date, but if you are still using a Roman-era mechanism, things do not add up to expansive technology increases.

Data security is the biggest issue that banks and countries have over a paperless economy. Whenever any new security technology comes on board, someone, somewhere will crack it. We all know people who have had their card skimmed or bank account hacked. This will not stop. You can add on retina readers and fingerprint scanners, but again, these eventually will be hacked.

For the present time, cash is king, especially in Vietnam.

Until trust in the financial institutions increases and the technology is there to supersede cash, it will always be king.

Whatever the future holds, whether it be implanted microchips or one individual phone app that works as your wallet, one thing is certain: nothing will ever eclipse the greatness of a ham-and-cheese toasted sandwich.

Paul McLardie is a partner at Total Wealth Management.

Contact him at Paul.mclardie@t-wm.com.

Montessori International School International Program 42/1 Ngo Quang Huy, D2 Tel: 3744 2639 Bilingual Program 28 Street 19, KP 5, An Phu, D2 Tel: 6281 7675 www.montessori.edu.vn Montessori utilizes an internationally recognized educational method which focuses on fostering the child’s natural desire to learn. The aim is to create an encouraging environment conducive to learning by developing a sense of self and individuality. A wide array of curriculum/extra-curricular activities are on offer including Bilingual programs.

Renaissance International School 74 Nguyen Thi Thap, D7 Tel: 3773 3171 www.rissaigon.edu.vn An International British school providing inclusive curriculum based upon the British curriculum complemented by the International Primary Curriculum and International Baccalaureate. The school has made a conscious decision to limit numbers and keep class sizes small to ensure each student is offered an education tailored to meet his or her individual learning needs. It is a family school providing a stimulating and secure learning environment with first-class facilities including a 350-seat theatre, swimming pool, mini-pool, play-areas, gymnasium, IT labs, music and drama rooms, science labs and an all-weather pitch.

RMIT 702 Nguyen Van Linh, D7 Tel: 3776 1369 Australian university located in District 7, offers a highly regarded MBA and undergraduate courses in various fields.

Saigon Kids Centre 104A Tran Quoc Toan, D3 Tel: 3932 5579 saigonkidscentre@yahoo.com An international childcare centre for children aged between two and six years old. Offers a homely and warm environment for children to play and learn.

SmartKids 1172 Thao Dien Compound, D2 Tel: 3744 6076 www.smartkidsinfo.com An international childcare centre that provides kindergarten and pre-school education for children aged between 18 months and 6 years. A fun and friendly environment, the school focuses on learning through play.

Saigon Star International School Residential Area No. 5, Thanh My Loi Ward, D2 Tel: 3742 7827 Fax: 3742 3222 www.saigonstarschool.edu.vn Offers a British primary curriculum approved by Cambridge University and integrated Montessori programme for nursery and kindergarten. Qualified, experienced teachers and small class sizes cater to individual needs and abilities.

Saigon South International School Nguyen Van Linh Parkway, D7 Tel: 5413 0901 www.ssis.edu.vn An International school environment offering an American/international program in a large, spacious campus, to children from age 3 to grade 12. Great facilities, extra-curricular activities and internationally trained teachers giving unique opportunities to learn.

Singapore International School (SIS) No.29, Road No.3, Trung Son Residential Area, Hamlet 4, Binh Hung Ward, Binh Chanh District Tel: 5431 7477 www.kinderworld.net Students play and learn in an environ-

ment where the best of Western and Eastern cultures amalgamate to prepare KinderWorld’s students for today’s challenging world drawn from both the Singapore and Australian curriculum. The school offers International Certifications such as the iPSLE, IGCSE and GAC. Stamford Grammar 214 Nam Ky Khoi Nghia, D3 Tel: 3930 7343 4Bis Phung Khac Khoan, D1 Tel: 3822 3339 www.stamfordgrammar.com enquiry@stamfordgrammar.com International kindergarten following a Singapore curriculum for children from 18 months to 6 years of age. Taught by Vietnamese and native English-speaking teachers. Outdoor play areas, swimming pool, music and art & craft rooms where students can play and learn in a safe environment.

The American School 172 - 180 Nguyen Van Huong, D2 Tel: 3519 2223 info@tasvietnam.edu.vn An independent and private collage preparatory school with a highly individualized and personalized program, The American School of Vietnam offers a strong, US based curriculum for Kindergarten through Grade 12.

ENTERTAINMENT

Diamond Plaza 34 Le Duan, D1 The top floor arcade and bowling alley is bound to keep your little ones entertained for hours with an impressive array of video games. Some child-friendly dining options too, with Pizza Hut on hand, a KFC and a New Zealand Natural ice cream concession.

Gymboree Play & Music Somerset Chancellor Court 21-23 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, D1 Tel: 3827 7008 The Gymboree Play & Music offers children from newborn to 5 years old the opportunity to explore, learn and play in an innovative parent-child programmes.

Parkson Plaza 39-45 Le Thanh Ton, D1 Arcade game after arcade game line the top floor here with a bowling alley and a decent food court thrown in on the floor below. A good place to take the kids after trawling through Parkson’s numerous concession stands.

PARTIES

Beatrice’s Party Shop 235 Le Thanh Ton, D1 A lovely little shop selling everything you need to throw your little ones a good party. A catalogue of entertainers showcases a number of party favourites such as magicians, circuses and more.

Nguyen Ngoc Diem Phuong 131C Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, D1 A curious shop stocking a range of hand-made fancy dress costumes such as masks, superman outfits and much more. The stock changes seasonally, so this is a good place to stock up on Halloween, Christmas and other costumes.

Bibi Clown - Chu he Bibi Tel: 0933 131 012 bibiclown.blogspot.com Does exactly as his name suggests.Great service has earned him a reputation for turning up almost instantly with a superb selection of balloons and games in both English and Vietnamese.

The Balloon Man Mr Hoat 0903 837 326 Does exactly as his name suggests – balloons. He will come to your palce for decoration but English not as good. Also provides helium balloons.

CAMERAS

living BUSINESS GROUPS

AmCham New World Hotel, 76 Le Lai, D1 Business Centre, Room 323 Tel: 3824 3562 www.amchamvietnam.com AusCham TV Building, Suite 1A, 31A Nguyen Dinh Chieu, D1 Tel: 3911 0272 / 73 / 74 www.auschamvn.org British Business Group of Vietnam 25 Le Duan, D1 Tel: 3829 8430 info@bbgv.org / www.bbgv.org CanCham New World Hotel, 76 Le Lai, D1 Business Centre, Room 305 Tel: 3824 3754 www.canchamvietnam.org Citi Bank 115 Nguyen Hue St, D1 Tel: 3824 2118 Citibank Vietnam offers a wide range of banking services to both consumer and corpo-rate. Services include Corporate and Investment Banking, Global Transaction Services, and Consumer Banking.

In Vietnam for 15 years, Citibank has a presence in both HCMC and Hanoi.

Eurocham 257 Hoang Van Thu, Tan Binh Tel: 3845 5528 www.eurochamvn.org German Business Group 21-23 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, D1 www.gba-vietnam.org Singapore Business Group Unit 1B2, 21-23 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, D1 Tel: 3823 3046 www.sbghcmc.org Swiss Business Association 42 Giang Van Minh, Anh Phu, D2 Tel: 3744 6996 Fax: 3744 6990 Email: sba@hcm.vnn.vn www.swissvietnam.com Hong Kong Business Association New World Hotel, 76 Le Lai, D1 Business Centre, Room 322 Tel: 3824 3757 / 3822 8888 www.hkbav.com

Hung Hai 75 Huynh Thuc Khang, D1 A good place to purchase hard-to-find gear and some rare equipment, mainly auto focus lenses.

Le Duc 5B Huynh Tinh Cua, D3 A shop for all your professional accessory needs. From lighting equipment to tripods and reflectors, the shop offers the best equipment and service in HCM City.

Pham The 11 Le Cong Kieu, D1 An authorized service centre for Nikon camera that also specializes in repairing all camera makes. Measurement equipment and spare parts also available.

Shop 46 46 Nguyen Hue, D1 Small shop run by photographer and collector. The owner’s more collectible pieces are pricey, but entry-level manual focus SLRs from the 70s and 80s are affordable.

COMPUTERS

Computer Street Luong Huu Khanh, D1 between Nguyen Thi Minh Khai and Nguyen Trai This stretch of District 1 is literally wall to wall with small shops selling computers, printers, monitors and everything computer related, more so toward the NTMK end of the drag.

A superb place with an excellent reputation for after-sales service with competent English speaking staff and a wide range of products and services.

Freeware and shareware also available on the store website.

CONSULTING

Concetti 33 Dinh Tien Hoang, D1 Tel: 3911 1480 www.concetti-vn.com Consulting and research company for technology transfer and investment.

Embers Asia Ltd. 4th floor, 04 Nguyen Dinh Chieu, D1 Tel: 3822 4728 www.embers-asia.com As the first team building provider established in Vietnam, Embers specializes in making teams better in globally competitive markets. Embers' HR performance management services include: team building excursions, strategic planning retreats, conference facilitations and training workshops.

Ernst & Young Saigon Riverside Office Center, 2A-4A Ton Duc Thang, D1 Tel: 3824 5252 www.ey.com Professional service firm specializing in advisory, assurance, tax, transactions and strategic growth markets.

Grant Thornton Saigon Trade Centre, 37 Ton Duc Thang, D1 Tel: 3910 9100 www.gt.com.vn International business advisors specializing in auditing, management consulting, corporate finance, risk management and information technology.

IF Consulting IBC Building, 3rd Floor 1A Me Linh Square, D1 4th Floor, 5 Ba Trieu Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi Tel: 3827 7362 Fax: 3827 7361 Email: pascal@insuranceinvietnam.com Private insurance and finance.

Quality, Humanity, Humanism

General and tropical medicine Crédit photo City Pass Guide - www.citypassguide.com

listings

NordCham Bitexco Building, 19-25 Nguyen Hue, D1 Tel: 3821 5423 www.nordcham.com

iCenter 142A Vo Thi Sau, D3 Tel: 3820 3918 Professional, polished Apple retailer and repair centre with an attractive showroom featuring some of the latest in accessories and audio. English-speakers on staff.

Honours Apple service plans.

Future World 240 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, D3 Authorized reseller of Apple computers and products, as well as some off-brand items like headphones. Excellent service and English-speaking staff. Accepts credit cards.

Phong Vu Computer 264C Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, D1 Tel: 3933 0762 www.vitinhphongvu.com The biggest and busiest of the PC stores in town. Known for good, efficient service, in-house maintenance and aftersales repair on the second floor.

Dr. Nicolas LAGÜE Graduated from university of medicine of Bordeaux Tropical medicine specialist 12 year-experience in Vietnam

SYS Vi Tinh Saigon 96C Nam Ky Khoi Nghia, D1 www.vtsaigon.com

SPECIAL 10% DISCOUNT ON ALL ITEMS

XMAS COLLECTIONS November 15 & 16th

Wooden and steel * Furniture * Decorative Accessories * Tableware * Ceramic * Lighting 112 Xuan Thuy - Ward Thao Dien - District 2 - Ho Chi Minh City - tel +84 (0) 862 819 917 - shop.thaodien@decosy.asia - www.decosy.asia asialife HCMC 61

Indochine Councel Han Nam Building, 65 Nguyen Du, D1 Tel: 3823 9640 www.indochinecounsel.com Business law firm specializing in legal services to corporate clients in relation to their business and investment in Vietnam.

By Elizabeth Png

HOME IMPROVEMENT Blenders vs Food Processors To most home cooks, a blender and food processor may not seem very different.

Both appear to exist simply for chopping, grinding or pureeing ingredients into bits for our dining pleasure.

So why is it that those in the know tend to keep both handy in their kitchens? Both blenders and food processors actually have their own unique strengths when it comes to different tasks.

And if you’re only in the market for one of these appliances, you may need to figure out which is best suited to your needs.

Food Processor A food processor usually has a wider container for food and its sharp blades are designed more for chopping, grating, shredding, slicing and mixing both soft and hard foods. When it’s not critical that your ingredients are evenly chopped, a food processor can save you the time and effort needed to chop food by hand.

This makes a food processor ideal for mixing ingredients for solid foods like meatloaf and chunky fillings for pies. You can also use them to crush nuts, turn bread into crumbs or knead dough. Do note that some blenders come with accessories like a mill grinder to perform these tasks just as well.

When it comes to liquids and soft foods where you want a smoother result, leave the food processor on the shelf. While food processors may be used to puree fruits and vegetables or cream soups, the result will not be as silky as when you use a blender.

62 asialife HCMC

Blender A blender’s main function is to mix soft ingredients and liquids together, which is why it’s often found behind a bar counter. Designed to give its mixtures a smooth consistency, you’ll find a blender best suited to making purees, smoothies, soups, cocktails and even salad dressings. Most models now even have features like an ice crush for those who love icy cold smoothies.

The containers for blenders are usually designed like a jug.

The wider and shallower containers of food processors are susceptible to splattering when processing liquids. Blenders usually have a triangular glass jar design that creates a vortex force to make blending easier and the result velvety smooth.

It’s also easier to clean out the residue once you’re done.

If you require your bread crumbs or herbs to be ground more finely, a blender can help with that, although it is less suited to chopping solid foods.

The smaller blades in a blender can create air pockets, while the narrower shape of the jug makes it harder for food to reach the blades. Therefore, I recommend models with a serrated blade to address this issue. The vortex force effect created in conjunction with the jug forces food into the blades, ensuring the most efficient blending.

Elizabeth Png is the brand and consumer communications director for Electrolux Vietnam. She can be contacted at elizabeth. png-reade@electrolux.com.

Inspired Image 42/2A Ho Hao Hon, D1 Tel: 091 635 2573 www.inspiredimage.co.uk Image consultant and personal stylist.

Previous clients include business leaders, TV presenters and busy professionals.

International Management Initiative for Vietnam (IMIV) info@imiv.org www.imiv.org The International Management Initiative for Vietnam (IMIV), a non-profit initiative within VinaCapital Foundation that promotes excellence in business leadership and management by bringing to Vietnam proven international executive education and professional development programmes.

Phuong Nguyen Consulting TPC Business Center, 92-96 Nguyen Hue, D1 Tel: 3829 2391 www.pnp-consulting.com Specializing in business facilitation, conferences, education counselling, market-entry research and IT/business consulting.

TMF Vietnam Company Limited Unit 501, 5th Floor, Saigon Trade Center 37 Ton Duc Thang, D1 Tel: 3910 2262 ext. 113 Fax: 3910 0590 www.tmf-group.com With headquarters in Amsterdam and Rotterdam, TMF Vietnam specializes in accounting outsourcing and consulting.

Total Wealth Management 66/11 Pham Ngoc Thach, D3 Tel: 3820 0623 www.t-wm.com Specialists in selecting and arranging tax-efficient savings and pension plans for expatriates. Offers councel on private banking services, wealth protection in offshore jurisdictions, currency risks and hedging strategies.

Towers Watson Vietnam (formerly Watson Wyatt and SMART HR) Sun Wah Tower, 115 Nguyen Hue, Suite 808, D1 Tel: 3821 9488 Global HR consulting firm specializing in executive compensation, talent management, employee rewards and surveys, HR effectiveness and technology, data services and total rewards surveys.

DECOR Antique Street Le Cong Kieu Street, D1 between Nguyen Thai Binh and Pho Duc Chinh A variety of antiques and faux antiques from Thailand, China and Vietnam including silverware, compasses, lighters, brass knockers, urns, vases, abacuses, religious and pagan statues, candlestick holders, furniture and watches.

Aquarium Street Nguyen Thong Street, D3 between Vo Thi Sau and Ly Chinh Thang Dedicated street has everything one needs to display fish: tanks, decor, feed, filters and the fish themselves.

Budget Housewares Street Corner of Pasteur and Nguyen Dinh Chieu Stock up on shower heads, kitchen supplies (juicer, spatula, grater, etc.), coat racks, clothes hangers, pots, pans, champagne flutes, bowls, coolers, trash bins, ironing boards, magazine racks and the like.

Chau Loan 213 Dong Khoi, D1 Tel: 3825 7991 Gallery based in a colonial shophouse stocking mainly Vietnamese-themed oil paintings and images of Buddha. Also deals in better-known reproductions.

Decosy 112 Xuan Thuy, D2 Tel: 6281 9917 Producer of a large selection of European styled furniture and interior fittings, specializing in wrought iron and patine (distressed) wood finishes. Also stocks a wide-range of decorative accessories, crockery and fixtures. Custom design services available upon request.

Dogma 175 De Tham, D1 Tel: 3836 0488 www.dogmavietnam.com Located upstairs from Saigon Kitsch, this art gallery deals in Vietnamese propaganda posters, apparel, accessories and random paraphernalia. Large prints are sold at USD $60 each and small prints cost $25.

Minh Boutique 15 Nguyen Thiep, D1 Lacquerware pieces, tea boxes, teapot warmers, ice buckets and sake drinking sets all handmade in Vietnam. Also sells a range of silverware, egg holders and ice tongs.

OUT-2 STUDIO L6 Fafilm annex 6 Thai Van Lung, D1 Tel: 3825 6056 STUDIO@OUT-2.com www.out-2.com Studio space for independent designers to showcas their wares, sell their work and meet with clients. Open Monday t Saturday 10 am to 6 pm.

Phuong Mai 213C Dong Khoi www.phuongmai-gallery.com Gallery specializing in original oils by Vietnamese artists. The works here are a mish-mash of styles but do contain some standouts, particularly well-known local artists La Hon, Quy Tam and Pham Trinh.

Sapa 125 Ho Tung Mau, D1 Offers a better selection of hill tribe handicrafts than most of its rivals.

Concentrates mainly on the hand-woven clothing of the indigenous tribespeople of the region. There is also a line in ladies’ shoes and the standard range of silk wraps and bags.

Unity 12 Dang Tran Con, D1 Tel: 3823 9375 info@unitycompany.com www.facebook.com/unitycompany Located opposite Galaxy cinema, Unity offers accessories that are designed to seamlessly blend in with your life. Familiar basics are given a contemporary update with the use of modern, alternative materials like silicone, rubber, and brushed aluminum. From orbital lamps and eggshell-white china, to wire-clasped water bottles, each individual piece complements the others in the collection to give your home a sense of Unity.

ELECTRONICS

Hi End Audio 84 Ho Tung Mau, D1 A standout that stocks the very latest and greatest in home entertainment.

Retails in everything from giant plasmascreen TVs to audio equipment. Most top brands are available. iDEAS Shopping Centre 133-141AB Cach Mang Thang Tam, D3 The largest of the electonics stores along the street, the three-storey iDEAS sells every type of electronic and home appliance imaginable. Offers proper warranties. Staff speaks some English.

Future World 240 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, D3 Authorized reseller of Apple computers and products, as well as some off-brand items like headphones. Excellent service and English-speaking staff. Accepts credit cards.

Nguyen Kim Shopping Centre 63-65 Tran Hung Dao, D1 Tel: 3821 1211 www.nguyenkim.com Stocks DVD/CD players, cameras, TVs, hi-fis and more from Sony, Sanyo, Panasonic, Philips and other major manufacturers. Also a good place to pick up electronic kitchen supplies like coffee makers and rice cookers, as well as large and small appliances, from hot water heaters to regrigerators.

Phong Vu 125 Cach Mang Thang Tam, D1 Tel: 6290 8777 www.vitinphongvu.com Two-storey electronics store retails in international products conveniently grouped by brand. Carries computers, home audio, printers, hard drives and more, as well as a variety of mobile phones, handheld electronic devices and accessories.

Savico 117 Ho Tung Mau, D1 Tel: 3821 7993 One-stop electronics and home appliance superstore. All products have a one to three-year warranty.

Tech Street Huynh Thuc Khang Street between Ton That Dam and Nguyen Hue, D1 Sells compact discs, DVDs, electronic money counters, video games and systems, Discmans, mp3 players and portable DVD players.

FURNITURE

Appeal 41 Ton That Thiep, D1 Tel: 3821 5258 A small, upscale shop that offers modern accents for the sleek dining room. The colours of the over-sized vases and fruit bowls are either glistening red or lacquered black.

AustinHome 42 Nguyen Dang Giai, D2 Tel: 3519 0023 Outstanding quality and style for your home. The shop says its products are hand-picked by an American furniture expert from the best factories in Vietnam.

Upholstery, accessories, antiques and more.

Catherine Denoual 15C Thi Sach, D1 Tel: 3823 9394 Beautiful showroom with clean lines and a sumptuous array of bedroom products including bedside lamps, linens, pillowcases and duvet covers.

Decosy 112 Xuan Thuy, D2 Tel: 6281 9917 Producer of a large selection of European styled furniture and interior fittings, specializing in wrought iron and patine (distressed) wood finishes. Also stocks a wide-range of decorative accessories, crockery and fixtures. Custom design services available upon request.

Esthetic 11 Nguyen Huu Canh, Binh Thanh Tel: 3514 7371/7372 Fax: 3514 7370 esthetic@vnn.vn www.estheticfurnishing.com.vn Design and manufacture as order with a mixture of antique and modern furniture.

Friendly staff speak excellent English.

Furniture Outlet 3A Ton Duc Thang, D1 Tel: 2243 7955/3911 0104 Wide selection of well-crafted and care-

fully constructed pine wood pieces at good prices, aimed at customers craving a taste of Europe.

Furniture Street Ngo Gia Tu, D10 between Ly Thai To and Nguyen Chi Thanh Very affordable furniture can be found on this stretch: couches, mattresses, desks, chairs, etc. It often takes some looking to find a gem. A connected sidestreet, Ba Hat, features woodworkers’ shops.

Gaya 1 Nguyen Van Trang, D1 Tel: 3925 1495 www.gayavietnam.com Four-floor store featuring the work of foreign designers: home accessories and outdoor furniture by Lawson Johnston, linens by Corinne Leveilley-Dadda, furniture and lighting by Quasar Khanh, laquerware decor by Michele De Albert and furniture and decor by vivekkevin.

LINH‘S WHITE

37 Thao Dien, D2 Tel: 6281 9863 Furniture shop that focuses on solid wood furniture and decorative items ranging from pillows and lamps to bedding. Also offers kids’ furniture and custom pieces.

Rare Decor 41 Hai Ba Trung, D1 Tel: 3822 2284 137/1 Nguyen Huu Canh, Binh Thanh Tel: 3840 6304/5 Leading home furnishings company in Vietnam, supplying high quality, unique products. Also offer custom made furniture, accessories and lighting for commercial projects and home use.

The Furniture Warehouse 3B Ton Duc Thang, D1 Tel: 6657 0788 namtran121@yahoo.com, ttpnam@ webtnl.com Offers a range of reasonably priced Italian, European and French colonial sofas, indoor/outdoor wooden furniture, lighting and interior décor, as well as custom designs based on clients’ specifications.

The Lost Art 31 Nguyen Cong Tru, D1 Tel: 3829 0134 Extensive product range as well as comprehensive interior design service, from initial conceptualization to design, manufacture and installation of unique products.

LEGAL

Allens Arthur Robinson Saigon Tower, 29 Le Duan, D1 Tel: 3822 1717 www.vietnamlaws.com Australian law firm for law translation services and legal advice on foreign investment and business in Vietnam.

Baker & McKenzie Saigon Tower, 29 Le Duan, D1 Tel: 3829 5585 www.bakernet.com International law firm providing on-theground liaison and support services to clients interested in investigating, negotiating and implementing projects in Vietnam.

Frasers International Saigon Centre, 65 Le Loi, D1 Tel: 3824 2733 www.frasersvn.com Full service commercial law firm providing international and Vietnamese legal advice to both foreign and local clients specializing in transactions in Vietnam.

Indochine Counsel Han Nam Building, 65 Nguyen Du, D1 Tel: 3823 9640 www.indochinecounsel.com Business law practitioners specializing in mergers & acquistions, inward investment, and securities & capital markets.

By Greg Ohan

hot property Dealing With ‘Crazy’ Landlords Tough, difficult, unrealistic or plain-old mean landlords are, unfortunately, common. It should go without saying but if you have a tough or 'crazy' landlord who keeps a close eye on you or has obnoxious requests, the best thing you can do is try to be a good tenant for them. The key to dealing with conflict is to absolutely try to avoid it at all costs. Here are a few pointers to keep in mind. Managing a difficult landlord is as simple as sticking to the rules in your lease: keep your apartment clean, keep any outside area tidy, follow rules about guests, be quiet and pay your utility bills on time. This all helps when an issue arises.

If you're at the beginning of your lease, it's a good idea to go over any questions you might have with your landlord, too. That includes even minor stuff like asking what type of nails you can use to hang pictures and what modifications you can make to the apartment. Landlords all have a particular thing they care about more than others, so it's always a good idea to clear everything up from the start.

The first step is communication. If you need something done and your landlord isn't responsive, make sure you are clear about your request and why it is important. Landlords get all kinds of weird requests from tenants and they might view some as not important, so when you need something, state what you

need and include the reasons why.

Secondly, document everything, from the second you do the initial walkthrough until you finally move out of your apartment. Essentially, any time you communicate with your landlord, it's worth documenting. Hold onto those documents until your lease is up and you have your security deposit back.

Finally, I always suggest speaking with your neighbours. Chances are that if you're having problems with your landlord, you're not the only one. If you live in an apartment complex, talk with other people in the building.

If you realise it's a buildingwide problem, you can band together to talk to the landlord, property management or corporate body as a group.

Or, even better, other tenants might have solutions to your specific problems that they can offer.

Unfortunately, tenant laws and tribunals in Vietnam can be challenging and are rarely pursued. That said, if an issue comes up that the landlord won't help you resolve, you may need to be creative.

My suggestion would be to sharpen your negotiating skills and do what you can to find a common ground.

Greg Ohan is the Director of CBRE, a Fortune 500 real estate services provider. Email your questions to greg.ohan@ cbre.com or visit Cbrevietnam.com. asialife HCMC 63

Phillips Fox Saigon Tower, 29 Le Duan, D1 Tel: 3822 1717 Full service law firm providing legal services in healthcare, education, crime, banking and hospitality among others.

By Gary Woollacott

People matter Personal Branding How strong is your personal brand? Do you even have one?

While it's not an easy thing to master, personal branding is a way of sending a clear and consistent message about who you are and what you have to offer.

A strong, authentic personal brand helps you become known for what you’re good at, sets you apart from others and can position you as an expert in your field. When done right, it can increase your job security by demonstrating your value as a team player and a leader within your company.

Think about public figures: Bill Gates, Oprah Winfrey or Roger Federer. Their individual qualities come to mind – in very different areas – that are linked to who they are and what they do, which is something they usually do very well. Develop your own brand with these types of strengths in mind.

LinkedIn is a free, valuable way for individuals to market themselves to potential employers and others who may influence their careers. Use it, but don’t forget Facebook as an opportunity to reinforce your personal brand. If you have unsavoury pictures, you might want to consider removing them. Social media is a chance for you to showcase your best self to the world; think of the impression drunken pictures or other less-than-glamourous images might make on a potential employer.

Your personal brand is an amalgam of the values, attributes, strengths and 64 asialife HCMC

passions that make up you.

People will use this when they assess whether they should do business with you, hire you or just hang out with you. There's an expression that goes 'your brand is what people say about you when you aren’t in the room', so make sure it’s positive.

Creating a personal brand requires thought and it doesn’t happen overnight; this may be an ongoing process. In my own case, several years ago I knew I had to upgrade my academic qualifications and my employer, so I enrolled for a Master's degree and then went job hunting – that's how it works. Now I write this column, adding to my personal brand.

You might never complete this task – it takes a lot of time, dedication, hard work and patience to craft a personal brand you’re completely happy with – but making an effort to promote and develop your own unique self can afford you plenty of opportunities in the long run.

Revisit it from time to time and make sure that you still have passion for what you do. If you want to be seen as an expert in your chosen field, it’s going to take some time and effort.

As usual, let me know if you have any particular topic you would like to see covered here.

Gary Woollacott works for Horton International in Laos, Thailand and Vietnam. He can be reached at +84 8 3910 7682 or via woollacott@hortoninternational.com.

Pricewaterhousecoopers Legal Saigon Tower, 29 Le Duan, D1 Tel: 3823 0796 www.pwc.com/vn Part of a network of international legal and financial advisors, PWC gives both specialist and general legal advice with a focus on mutli-territory projects.

Rödl & Partner Somerset Chancellor Court 21-23 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, D1 Tel: 3824 4225 / www.roedl.com European legal firm assisting foreign investors with structuring/establishing companies, investment projects, and mergers & acquistions.

LIGHTING

Luxury Light 1483 My Toan 1, Nguyen Van Linh, Phu My Hung, D7 For those who really want to bring a touch of luxury to their homes, this place deals with Italian imported lighting from the ultra - modern to the traditional Murano style chandeliers. Extremely expensive reflecting the quality of the design and workmanship.

Mosaique 98 Mac Thi Buoi, D1 One of the best and most diverse selections of lamps in town with everything from the ordinary decorative lotus silk lamp to more inventive and original designs in lacquer and silk.

MOTORBIKES

Automotive Street Ly Thai To Street, D10 starting at Dien Bien Phu and running southeast Services include mending motorbike seats and sound system installation.

Products range from zebra print motorbike seat covers to car and motorbike tyres, hubcaps, rims, subwoofers and sound systems by Xplode.

Bike City 480D Nguyen Thi Thap, D7 Luxury motorcycle shop carries a range of accessories, including apparel. Sells Vemar helmets, a brand that passes rigorous European Union standards.

Protec Helmets 18bis/3A Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, D1 248C Phan Dinh Phung, Phu Nhuan 417B Nguyen Dinh Chieu, D3 American nonprofit manufacturer makes helmets with densely compressed polystyrene shell with ABS, PVC or fiberglass exterior, available with polycarbonate shatter-proof shield. Options for kids.

REAL ESTATE

Ava Residence 40/10 Nguyen Van Huong, Thao Dien, D2 Tel: 6281 8440 www.avaresidence.com Modern serviced apartments located 5 minutes from the British International School and Australian International School. Affords a great view over the Saigon River. Many facilities available including a swimming pool, Jacuzzi and gym.

CB Richard Ellis Me Linh Point Tower, 2 Ngo Duc Ke, D1 Tel: 3824 6125 www.cbre.com International property consultants and developers with both commercial and private properties for sale, lease and rent.

Diamond Plaza 34 Le Duan Street Tel: 3822 1922 lntdung@diamondplaza.com.vn

Located in the heart of District 1, connected to Diamond PLaza. Services 1- to 4-bedroom apartments with gym, swimming pool and panoramic views of the city.

EasySaigon.com www.easysaigon.com Real estate website helps expats find apartments in HCMC. InterContinental Asiana Saigon Residences Corner of Hai Ba Trung & Nguyen Du, D1 Tel: 3520 8888 saigon@interconti.com www.intercontinental.com/saigonres Contemporary residential space in the heart of the major business and cultural area in District 1. There are 260 one, two or three-bedroom units plus health club and outdoor swimming pool.

Namhouse Corporation 48A Tran Ngoc Dien, Thao Dien, D2 Tel: 0989 007 700 www.namhouse.com.vn Provides rental properties, construction services and interior decorating.

Supports professional services and after-sales.

Thao Dien Village 195 Nguyen Van Huong, D2 Tel. 3744 2222 A riverside complex of international-standard hospitality and F&B outlets with a boutique hotel, four restaurants featuring Italian, Thai, Japanese and Vietnamese cuisine, an event house, meeting rooms and a day spa with well-equipped health-club.

Diamond Island Luxury Residences No 01 – Street No.104-BTT, Quarter 3, Binh Trung Tay Ward, District 2, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam T: (84) 968 293 388 / 3742 5678 F: (84-8) 3742 3232) www.the-ascott.com Diamond Island Luxury Residences offers 68 fully-furnished apartments, ranging from two- to four-bedroom units with private balconies providing panoramic views of the stunning surroundings in one of the most spectacular sceneries in the city. Each apartment comes with a fully-equipped kitchen, en-suite bathrooms, separate work and living areas.

Each lavish space features plush interiors, modern amenities, elegant furnishings and carefully chosen trimmings and fixtures, creating a luxurious harmony of comfort and sensorial tranquility that will have you relaxed and recharged, and functioning at peak performance.

Savills Viet Nam Level 18, Fideco Tower, 81-85 Ham Nghi, D1 Tel: 823 9205 www.savills.com.vn Savills Viet Nam is a property service provider that has been established in Vietnam since 1995 offering research, advisory services, residential sales, commercial leasing, asset management, retail advisory, valuation, investment advisory and more.

Sherwood Residence 127 Pasteur St., D3 Tel: 3823 2288 / Hotline: 0917470058 leasing@sherwoodresidence.com www.sherwoodresidence.com Sherwood Residence is a luxury serviced apartment property and the first property certified by the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism. Modern living spaces meet prime location, comfort and class with 5-star facilities and service.

Snap Tel: 0989 816 676 www.snap.com.vn Online Real Estate service providing information on rental properties exclusively in District 2. Full listings online.

RECRUITMENT

First Alliances #609, Saigon Trade Center 37 Ton Duc Thang, D1 Tel: 3910 2080 Fax: 3910 2079 www.firstalliances.net cv@firstalliances.net As Vietnam’s most established recruitment consultancy, First Alliances operates across all major industry sectors and at all levels of seniority. Also providing HR outsourcing solutions for staffing and payroll,overseas employment and education services.

Not just International or local moving and storage. Crown Relocations offer a wide range of services including orientations, immigration, home search, intercultural training through to pet relocation. Call the team on the above number and check out our website for more information.

UTS Saigon Van Intl’ Relocations 1st Fl, 214 Nguyen Van Huong, D2 Tel: 3744 7102 MOVING!? www.saigonvan.com Full service relocating agency with ware! housing, handyman, insurance & claim, ! orientation an partner career support services also availble. !"#$%&&'(!)%*#)%&&'(!+),-.)%*#)%&&'/!

0#1.!2#3-(!#4$-(!5%$,#.'/!! !6--7!8,#.%9-!/! :&%))+)9!,#!.-&#$%,-!;#.&7;+7-/! ! !"#$%&$''(")*'+,"-%,'.%*$#/*0'

HR2B / Talent Recruitment JSC Thien Son Building, 5 Nguyen Gia Thieu, D3 Tel: 3930 8800 www.hr2b.com HR consulting advises businesses on how to improve employee productivity.

The search team specializes in matching senior level Vietnamese professionals and managers to top level opportunities in both major cities.

RELOCATION AGENTS

AGS Four Winds 5th Floor, Lafayette De Saigon, 8A Phung Khac Khoan, D1 Tel: +84 8 3521 0071, www.agsfourwinds.com ags-vietnam@agsfourwinds.com Global leader in international removals and relocations, with 128 offices in 78 countries.They can move customers to and/or from any location worldwide.

Crown Worldwide Movers 2ndFl 236/6 Dien Bien Phu, Binh Thanh Tel: 3823 4127 www.crownrelo.com hochiminhcity@crownrelo.com

!!!

<=>=?!@!AB!!A!!CDBB!DEFG!!!!H!!!!8%&-8I8%+9#)J%)K$#3! ! <%)#+?!@!AB!!B!!CDEA!LDEM!!!!H!!!!+)5#I8%+9#)J%)K$#3! www.saigonvan.com

JVK International Movers Saigon Port Building, 3 Nguyen Tat Thanh, D4 Tel: 3826 7655/6 chris.honour@jvkasia.com www.jvk.com International agengy with a full range of services including sea/air freight services and worldwide transit coverage.

Santa Fe Relocation Services 8th floor, Thien Son Building, 5 Nguyen Gia Thieu, D3 Tel: 3933 0065 www.santaferelo.com vietnam@santaferelo.com With over 150 offices around world, Santa Fe offers local & international moving, pet transportation, relocation services including home search, orientation, cultural training, immigration & records management.

Being there, or being ‘there’ Crown’s people are always with you.

Preparing you before you go, and helping you settle‐in when you arrive.

Relocating should be exciting and rewarding for everyone.

Our experience and knowledge of worldwide relocations, is shared by all our people in more than 200 locations.

Ho Chi Minh City Tel: +84 8 3840 4237 hochiminhcity@crownrelo.com Da Nang Tel: +84 908 426 427 danang@crownrelo.com Hanoi Tel:+84 4 3936 6742 hanoi@crownrelo.com

And we’ll always be there to help you get the most from your relocation.

Go knowing

www.crownrelo.com/vietnam asialife HCMC 65

listings

fashion By Christina Yu

FASHION RULES Serious Fashion Someone asked me the other day how to be taken seriously at work. I laughed and said, “You are asking the wrong person!” When I was a legal eagle, I lived in a sea of black and charcoal grey. The majority of judges and masters at court in Hong Kong during the 90s were stuck in the Dark Ages. Anything remotely light was not acceptable. Within this confinement, and on days I did not have court appearances, I would wear the most fitted suits and the shortest skirts possible. This did not go down well, as my senior female partners complained that I did not dress appropriately, whilst the male partners encouraged this as a fresh look. On designated casual days like Saturdays, my inner fashion instincts went into full swing, and this could mean grunge, rock or even school girls’ thigh-high socks.

This did not go down well either with my senior partners, who thought this was out of line for a lawyer. But this was Saturday – no clients’ meetings, no court hearings – so what was the problem?

Here is the answer: One cannot be taken seriously unless one dresses appropriately.

Aren’t we supposed to be judged on our performance, competence and quality of work? Yes, but it will take a client or a superior longer to be confident in you, as they will have to know you and the quality of your work first.

1. If you are in the commercial world, a suit is a given. But 66 asialife HCMC

please don’t wear a black suit with a white shirt. Use the inner top to show a print or embroidery that reveals your personality and individual tastes.

2. If you are in the design world, basically you can wear whatever you like, provided that it is edgy, on trend and not over-the-top.

A full A-line skirt with denim jacket and a casual top with bangles can be functional and trendy.

3. If you are in the media or PR field, then you need to be in top form: research your client before the meetings and dress ‘in line’ with the client. This gives a good impression that you know their DNA. After all, you are promoting their brand.

4. If you are in the education business, then you do have to dress appropriately, since, after all, you are supposed to be the role model.

5. Always invest in good shoes. I hate when girls take off their shoes and put on slippers at work. Remember, your office is not your home.

6. Wear deodorant. There is nothing more off-putting than body odour. This overrides EVERYTHING as no one would want to work with you.

Christina Yu is the creative director and founder of Ipa-Nima, an award-winning accessories brand. Email your questions to Christina@ipa-nima.com or visit Ipa-nima.com.

ACCESSORIES

Accessorize Vincom Center, 70/72 Le Thanh Ton, D1 www.monsoon.co.uk/icat/accessorize Fashion-forward accessories including necklaces, handbags, wallets, flip-flops, sunglasses, hair accessories, belts and more.

Banana 128 Ly Tu Trong, D1 Women’s accessories and more, from bags, clutches and belts to clothes and jewellery, all at reasonable prices.

Coconut 100 Mac Thi Buoi, D1 Bags of all shapes and sizes rule the roost in this small shop. Made of silk and embroidered to the brim, these unique bags start at about USD $30, and many are suitable for both day and night.

Creation 105 Dong Khoi, D1 Tel: 3829 5429 A two-storey shop selling scarves, intricate handbags (from USD $30), tailormade silk dresses and tops. Has a wide range of materials on the second floor.

Ipa-Nima 71 Pasteur, D1 Tel: 3824 3652 77 Dong Khoi, D1 Well-known Hanoi-based fashion brand.

Founder Christina Yu is a former lawyer turned designer who produces eclectic and eye-catching handbags. Also stocks costume jewellery and shoes.

Laura V Signature 11 Dong Du, D1 Tel: 7304 4126 www.laurav.net Vintage designs aplenty with everything from jewellery and hair accessories to funky styled sunglasses, umbrellas and colourful maxi dresses.

Louis Vuitton Opera View, 161 Dong Khoi, D1 Tel: 3827 6318 Designer brand name housing traditional craftsmanship of luxury leather goods for men and women. An array of bags, wallets, cuff links and watches are available.

Mai O Mai 4C Dong Khoi, D1 Tel: 3829 4007 A superb little place with beautiful jewellery and accessories to suit all budgets.

Silver necklaces, bracelets, rings and more in both classic and imaginative designs, as well as gorgeous handembroidered bags.

Mont Blanc Diamond Plaza, 34 Le Duan Notable for fine writing instruments, Mont Blanc also houses cuff links and other male accessories Scorpion Vincom Center B1, 70 - 72 Le Thanh Ton, D1 Tel: 3993 9889 www.scorpionbag.com Selling high-end leather products for both men and women, including shoes, handbags, belts and other accessories.

Features a variety of leather in bright colors and styles.

Umbrella 35 Ly Tu Trong, D1 and 4 Le Loi, D1 Tel: 6276 2730 www.umbrella-fashion.com Sophisticated boutique showcasing a diverse range of imported women’s accessories. Also houses women’s garments from office wear to cocktail and party creations.

ACTIVE WEAR

Roxy and Quiksilver Parkson Plaza, 39-45 Le Thanh Ton, D1 The original active living and extreme sports brands, Roxy and Quiksilver products combine form and function. Choose from outdoor gear to cool indoor clothes.

TBS Sports Centre 102 Nguyen Van Troi, Phu Nhuan This store stocks a range of good sports clothes and equipment from big name brands such as Puma, Adidas, Ecco, Nike and Converse.

Volcom Diamond Plaza, 34 Le Duan, D1 Chic and funky ladies’ apparel brand from America. Lots of tank tops, minis and shorts for day tripping with girlfriends or lazing on the beach.

READY TO WEAR unisex

FCUK 127 Le Thanh Ton, D1 Diamond Plaza, 34 Le Duan, D1 Saigon Centre, 65 Le Loi, D1 Vincom Center, 70/72 Le Thanh Ton, D1 Tel: 3914 7740 www.frenchconnection.com Trendy UK brand with a selection of fashion-forward dresses for women and smart workwear and funky casual wear for men, all at middle-market prices.

Ginkgo Concept Store 254 De Tham, D1 Tel: 0905 493 148 www.gingko-vietnam.com A unique shopping space that offers an original and creative mix of made-inVietnam clothing from local designers, artisans and brands that stay true to the company’s environmentally friendly principles.

L’Usine 151/1 Dong Khoi, D1 Lifestyle store and cafe housed in a period building restored to evoke the aesthetic of an early 20th-century garment factory. Carries an exclusive, frequently refreshed line of imported men’s and women’s fashion, including T-shirts and footwear, and a range of unique accessories. Entrance via the street-level Art Arcade.

Runway Vincom Center, 70/72 Le Thanh Ton, D1 Tel: 3993 9988 runway.sg@global-fashion.vn Massive and minimalist design-led interior lets ultra high-end designer garments stand out. Carries men's, women's and children’s clothing, swimwear, shoes, accessories along with home décor. Brands include Chloe, Marc Jacobs, Balenciaga, Sergio Rossi and Eres.

Versace 26 Dong Khoi Designer brand in men’s formal wear.

Houses suit jackets and trousers, shirts as well as an array of men’s accessories.

Also stocks womens clothing and shoes.

men

Lucas 69A Ly Tu Trong, D1 Tel: 3827 9670 Fashion store housing contemporary designs in casual, office and evening wear imported from Hong Kong.

Massimo Ferrari 42-A1 Tran Quoc Thao, D3 Tel: 3930 6212 Bespoke menswear shop also boasts its own brand of contemporary preppy attire tailored for the tropics. Carries a line of European-quality shoes, bags and accessories designed in-house, as well as exclusive Orobianco unisex bags, designer fragrances and eyewear.

of accessories and bags.

Timberland Parkson Plaza, 39-45 Le Thanh Ton, D1 Sells everything the brand is known for, from heavy-duty boots to tops and trousers that are both smart and casual.

The emphasis is on muted tones and unobtrusive logos for men who don’t like to show off.

Converse 186 Hai Ba Trung, D1 148 Nguyen Trai, D1 122 Ba Thang Hai, D10 Tel: 3827 5584 www.converse.com.vn Sells iconic Chuck Taylor, Jack Purcell and All-Star sneakers and Converse brand clothing and accessories. Also at department stores around HCMC.

women

Charles & Keith 10 Mac Thi Buoi, 18-20 Nguyen Trai Tel: 3925 1132 Vincom Center, 70/72 Le Thanh Ton, D1 www.charleskeith.com Singapore brand housing youthful and trendy shoes of a contemporary, high fashion design.

BCBG MAXAZRIA Vincom Center, 70/72 Le Thanh Ton, D1 American brand sells women’s day dresses and tops, evening gowns and wear-to-work attire in many prints and colours. Also carries a small selection of accessories, sunglasses and watches.

Footwear Street Ho Xuan Huong Street, D3 between Cach Mang Thang Tam and Ba Huyen Thanh Quan Le Thi Hong Gam in D1 between Pho Duc Chinh and Calmette Selection ranges from leather loafers to plastic thongs and everything in between.

Corner Boutique 23 Ly Tu Trong, 1st floor Tel: 012 36 310 099 Corner.com.vn Hidden on the first floor of a downtown apartment building, Corner Boutique boasts an elegant, eclectic collection of womenswear, accessories, handbags, shoes and small trinkets. Open daily from 9am to 9pm.

Nine West Saigon Centre, 65 Le Loi, D1 Vincom Center, 70/72 Le Thanh Ton, D1 Stocks an extensive range of designer footwear for women. Handpicked by a global community of independent trendsetters and stylists.

ER-Couture Boutique 43 Thao Dien, D2 Tel: 3744 2411 www. er-couture.com erolskov@er-couture.com Exclusive Scandinavian brand offering designer garments. Versatile fashion for women in European sizes 34-44. Each style is released in limited quantities and can be tailored to individual taste.

Geisha Boutique 85 Pasteur, D1 Tel: 3829 4004 enquiry@geishaclothing.com Facebook: Geisha Boutique Australian fashion label offering a contemporary range of casual and evening wear with an Asian influence. Printed tees, singlets, shorts, skirts, jeans, summer scarves, dresses, silk camisoles and satin maxi dresses.

Mango 96 Mac Thi Buoi, D1 Tel: 3824 6624 Saigon Centre, 65 Le Loi, D1 Vincom Center, 70/72 Le Thanh Ton, D1 A favourite with fashion-conscious women, this mid-range store stocks clothes from simple tees and jeans to evening wear.

Marc Jacobs Rex Hotel, 155 Nguyen Hue , D1 Tel: 6291 3580 This spacious shop with high-ceilings carries up-market clothes, shoes and accessories from the internationally recognized designer brand.

Valenciani Saigon Centre, 65 Le Loi, D1 Tel: 3821 2788 66-68 Nguyen Trai, D1 Tel: 7302 4688 valenciani.sg@gmail.com www.valenciani.com Homegrown luxury boutique carries silk dresses, velvet corsets, chiffon shawls and a range of accessories, all designed in-house.

SHOES

Aldo 157 Dong Khoi, D1 Offering a wide selection of affordable footwear from mid- to high-range prices.

Carries office-appropriate and partyready heels and flats, as well as a range

Sergio Rossi 146AB Pasteur, D1 Rex Hotel, 141 Nguyen Hue, D1 World-renowned Italian brand stocks a diverse European-style collection of upmarket shoes and bags made of quality materials, from crocodile and python skin laterals to garnishings of Swarovski crystals and colourful beads.

Star Polo 97B Nguyen Trai, D1 Mix of imported shoes and locally made footwear crafted from Australian leather for men and women as well as imported ones. Sizes from 38 to 42 for men, and from 34 to 40 for women.

TAILORS

Dieu Thanh 140 Pasteur, D1 Tel: 3824 5851 www.dieuthanh.com Experienced tailor shop specializes in swimwear and cotton clothing, as well as business suits, evening dresses, luxury fabrics and accessories.

Dzung 221 Le Thanh Ton, D1 One of the most reliable and respected men’s tailors in town with prices and production time to reflect the quality of the workmanship. Shirts start from US $30.

Fabric Street Hai Ba Trung, D1 across the street from Tan Dinh Market.

Spools upon spools of fabric manufatured locally and abroad, with more than ample variety of textures, colours and materials to choose from.

Massimo Ferrari 42-A1 Tran Quoc Thao, D3 Tel: 3930 6212 Traditional Italian sartorial techniques are employed to offer a full wardrobing service and custom tailoring for men.

Stocked with imported fabrics primarily from Italy. In-office and workplace fittings available.

Uyen 13 Nguyen Thiep, D1 An excellent option with English-speaking staff and a good selection of fabrics (although the price takes a dip if you bring your own) and some off-the-rack staples to copy. Reasonable prices.

asialife HCMC 67

1 h in Ch an h

nh Di

PHU NHUAN Ng uye nV an

B

nD

yn Hu

inh

Ph u

ng

Tro i

Dieu Tran Quang

h Huynh Va n Ban

Ph a

hV an B

Ng

Na m

Tran Quang

T han g on g Qu y

Ly Ch inh g on Xu Tu

Ph u

n

Bi e

Ng uy en Th ien

en uy Ng

Pha

ity rs ral ive atu es n U f N nc o cie S

68 asialife HCMC

uo An D

g uon ng V

r che Tea ining Tra ersity v Uni

Cu

n

DISTRICT 5

Ha

M hi nT

h in

K

nh Cha iet V m

Van

u Ph

nh

n uye Ng

ng Tro inh nB Tra

ng Pho

an To

an Tr

n So

e uy Ng

Th ua t

To

ng uo gV n Hu

Di

V

Ba nC o

Ly Tha i

E

en Hi g on hu oi .T hu .C Ng

Qu ye n

en uy Ng

V C u M hu on ar o ke i t

Thanh

inh

V

Ca oT ha ng

District 11 2km

Tra nM

2

Do

D

en Di

Ng uy en Th o

DISTRICT 10 g han 3T

u Sa

en

Lan Ma n Sp Anh g Th ang Leis orts & Tam ure Clu b

ung

i Th Vo

Ky D

inh

Tru on gD inh

on g

Th

H Hoa

Tran M

Cac h

Van Dang

en uy Ng

C

n Tra

Sa inh Train igon Quy Sta en tion

Tan Binh 0.5km

h

nS y

n Dang Tran M

Ky K

Le V a

Dieu

Tran V a

Nh Tran

Nguyen Du C4, D3, D4 Nguyen Hai Tu B4 Nguyen Hue D4, D5 Nguyen Huu Canh B2 Nguyen Huu Canh C5 Nguyen Huu Cau B3 Nguyen Khac Nhu E3 Nguyen Khoai F3 Nguyen Ngoc Phuong B5 Nguyen Phi Khanh B3 Nguyen Sieu C5, D5 Nguyen Son Ha D2 Nguyen Tat Thanh E5 Nguyen Thai Binh D4, E4 Nguyen Thai Hoc D3, E3, E4 Nguyen Thi Dieu D2, D3 Nguyen Thien Thuat D1, E1, E2 Nguyen Thong C1, C2, D2 Nguyen Thuong Hien D2 Nguyen Trai D3, E2 Nguyen Trung Ngan C5 Nguyen Trung Truc D4 Nguyen Truong To E4, E5 Nguyen Van Cu E2 Nguyen Van Hai B3 Nguyen Van Lac B5 Nguyen Van Thu B4, C3, C4 Nguyen Van Troi B1 Pasteur C2, C3, C4, D4 Pham Hong Thai D2, D3 Pham Ngoc Thach C3 Pham Ngu Lao D3, D4, E3 Pham Viet Chanh B5 Pham Viet Chanh E2 Phan Dinh Phung B2 Phan Ke Binh B4 Phan Van Han B4, B5 Pho Duc Chinh D4, E4 Phung Khac Khoan C3, C4 Suong Nguyet Anh D2, D3 Tan Vinh E4 Thach Thi Thanh B3 Thai Van Lung C5 Thi Sach C5 Thu Khoa Huan D4 Ton Duc Thang C5, D4, D5, E4 Ton That Dam D4 Ton That Thiep D4 Ton That Tung D2, D3 Tran Binh Trong E1 Tran Canh Chan E2 Tran Cao Van C4 Tran Dinh Xu E2, E3 Tran Hung Dao D4, E2, E3 Tran Khac Chan B3 Tran Khanh Du B2, B3 Tran Minh Quyen D1 Tran Minh Quyen C1 Tran Nhan Ton E1 Tran Nhat Duat B3 Tran Phu E1 Tran Quang Dieu B1, B2 Tran Quang Khai B3, B2 Tran Quoc Thao C2, C3 Tran Quoc Toan B2, B3, B2 Tran Van Dang C1, C2 Truong Chinh C3 Truong Dinh C2, D3 Tu Xuong C2, C3, D2 Vinh Khanh E4, E5 Vo Thi Sau B3, C2, C3 Vo Van Tan C3, D2, D3 Vuon Chuoi D2 Xo Viet Nghe Tinh B4, B5 Yersin E4

Airport 3km

ng Ho Le

3 Thang 2 D1 Alexandre de Rhodes C4 Ba Huyen Thanh Quan C1, C2, D2, D3 Ban Co D1 Ben Chuong Duong E4 Ben Van Don E4, E5 Bui Thi Xuan D3 Bui Vien E3 Cach Mang Thang Tam C1, D2, D3 Calmette E4 Cao Ba Nha E3 Cao Thang D1, D2, E2 Chu Manh Trinh C4, C5 Co Bac E3 Co Giang E3 De Tham E3 Dien Bien Phu B4, C3, C2, D1, D2 Dinh Cong Trang B3 Dinh Tien Hoang B3, B4, C4 Do Quang Dau E3 Do Thanh D1 Doan Nhu Hai E5 Doan Van Bo E4, E5 Dong Du D5 Dong Khoi C4, D4, D5 Hai Cua B5 Huynh Tinh Cua B2 Huynh Van Banh B1 Khanh Hoi E4 Ky Con B3, C3, C4, D5 Hai Trieu C5 Ham Nghi D4, C5 Han Thuyen C4 Ho Hao Hon E3 Ho Huan Nghiep D5 Ho Tung Mau D4, D5 Ho Xuan Huong C3, D2 Hoa Hung B1 Hoang Dieu E4, E5 Hung Vuong E1 Huyen Tran Cong Chua D3 Huynh Man Dat B5 Huynh Thuc Khang D4 Ky Dong C1, C2 Le Cong Kieu D4 Le Duan C4, C5 Le Hong Phong D1 Le Lai C3, C4, D3 Le Loi D4 Le Quoc Hung E4, E5 Le Quy Don C3 Le Thanh Ton C4, C5, D3, D4 Le Thi Hong Gam D4, E3, E4 Le Thi Rieng D3 Le Van Phuc B3 Le Van Sy C1, C2 Luong Huu Khanh D2, E2 Luu Van Lang D4 Ly Chinh Thang B2, C2 Ly Thai To E1 Ly Tu Trong C4, C5, D4, D5 Mac Dinh Chi B3, C4 Mac Thi Buoi D5 Mai Thi Luu B4 Mai Van Ngoc B1 Me Linh B5 Nam Ky Khoi Nghia B2, C2, C3, D4, E4 Ngo Duc Ke D5 Ngo Thoi Nhiem C2, D2 Ngo Van Nam C5 Nguyen Binh Khiem B4, B5, C5 Nguyen Cong Tru E4 Nguyen Cu Trinh E2, E3 Nguyen Dinh Chieu B4, C3, C4, D1, D2, D3 Nguyen Dinh Chinh B1

A

Di en

Street Guide

2

yen Ngu

DISTR Trai

3

4

5

Gia Dinh Hospital

Ng .H uu

Ca u

N g u yen

N

Qu Tr an

Ng hia

Tru on g

TranQu

Ph am

DISTRICT 3 Le Q

u Sa

Hu ye n

ye n T Ngo ho ng

Nh ng Th an uo hQ H ua n an Xu o H hi nT ye u Ng

ieu Ch

eu

ran

uye n

Tra i

H.

Ng

c Ba Co

Ho n

Kh

Nh u g ian G Co

HCM City Boat Quay (for Vung Tau)

u g Tr Con

Thu Thiem Tunnel

Tru ng Co .

Ng

Van Ben

n Do

i u Ha n Nh Doa

uo cH un g

g an Ho

Die

u

Vung Tau

h

Ho

u r ie iT Ha

n ha tT Ta en uy Ng

a Nh

e

o Ng

To

o Da

Ba

h Bin

h an Kh

an Tr

ng Hu

ao Xu C

Ng

cK Du

Cat Lai Ferry 9km

ep

nh Vi

TRICT 1

Din h

Trinh

am Th

Tra n

Ng.

Le Q

De

Cu yen Ngu

Hu e

V

i uo

hi . Ng H.H

ac

nh Ca

Na m

g on Tru Ng

Vien

ai Th en y u Ng Ky C on

iB Th

u Hu

Saigon Bridge & Highway 1 3km

Le Cong Kieu

te et lm Ca

Bu i

on

gG

uy en

M

Du

m

a

nh hi cC Du

t

iH Th Le

Ham Nghi

S

am

Ngo

n To

Th a

ng

p hie tT g Ton Th a an Kh c u Th nh Huy

i Lo Le

o Da Bus tion ta

n rsi Ye

Binh

CoT Marke ng Qu yn h

u Da Q.

hai

Do

ang

ao

am Th

L Ngu Pham

De

ha nh

an Tr

c Ho

i Le La

ng Hu

n Be anh t e Th ark M

h

hie

en uy Ng

ac h

Do

Ng

hK

cT ha n ng

an Th Le

i Lo Le

Le

o Ph

Ng

i Tra

ai Th

Tu ng

en uy

Pham Hong Thai

oi

To Tha

ng . La L.V

l

Bin

iV an Lu at ng u Q ieu a S B o Ng Ca

l al H n n h To w n

nT ru ng Tru c

ye n

g

u Ma

To nT ha t

inh

Kh

on Tr

ng Tu

n ua iX ieng Th Le Thi R i Bu

g on

nN nA uye

Pa ste ur

an hT rin h

Th iS

m Da

Ng

Do ng

g

Du

o & Ga Bo rd tan en ic s a

en ga uy g N Ng un Tr

Ho

Tam

en uy

.

T. T

Tha ng

Tu Ly

h nT

H

M

Tu Ly

ur

ang

ng Tro

n ye

Lu on gH uu K

Cultural Park

Kh

u Ng

ai Kh

t ye

h An

Th u

Po Cen H st tra ai Of l Ba fic Tru e n

an Du Le

Du en uy g N Ng uy e

Co ng Ch ua

inh

es od Rh

a gh H ia

To n Ch u

Ng u

an Du

Le

te Pas

Su

Cao Th

Hu Re-unification ye Palace nT Tru on gD

u Ng

Lac

n

e eD dr

a Na ex m Al Ky Kh oi N

V

Cac hM

an nT Va o V

h in

ur

oi Th

Di

te HT

Ho levi V an sion g

DISTRICT 1

War n Remnants n Ta Museum o Va

Gi aT hi eu

ien

t Da

nh

iem

Ng oc Th ac h

hT

Zo

n Va an Ph

Di

uy en

nh Di n e uy Ng Ma cD inh Ch i an V o a C an Tr

on

uo cT ha o

H St oa Di adiu Lu n m

ieu Ch

n ua

en

Ng

uy D

Pa ste

u Th an nV

e Vi Xo

h in eT h g tN

h Cu

an

hu nP Bie

en B Di a

M

Tra nQ

e uy Ng

Qu ye n

oc To an

ho i

m Ta n Va ark e L P

Nguy en D u

Va n

oc Toa n

V

g

2 Bis Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, D1

h Tin

Me Linh

Cu a

aT run

Ma iT Ph hi Lu an u Ke Bin h

Tha ch T hi T han g n h a au r T . iS C h .

T D o

Huy n

ng uo Ph oc

iB

Hoang S a

Ng HaiTu

Khai Tran Quang Ng. Phi Khanh L. V. Ph uc

Ng

i nh

Ha

Van

n

N

Cuu

e uy Ng

Ky K

hT

yen

Pham Van Han

Truon g Sa

c Chan

Duat

Hu yn

ai .H .V

BINH THANH

ha Tran K

h Du Tran Khan

Ngu

Ng u yen Van

Vo Huy Tan

Huynh Man Dat

o

Tha Ton D ng u Mu c seu m

La

at Tran Nh

yen gu

Cu

Dinh Tien Hoang

Phan Xich Long

Do

an Van B

District 7 & Nha Be

o

asialife HCMC 69

DISTRICT 4

appchat Santa's Bag: Christmas Gift List

Seasonal Cities

Set budgets, plan gifts, create wish lists and generally organise the pre-Christmas mayhem in your life. Gift recipients can be downloaded from your contacts or Facebook friends and the app also stores shopping lists, ordered gifts, stocking stuffers and other extras.

A worldly app which provides seasonal guides to 11 major cities around the globe, from Sydney to Shanghai, Berlin to Barcelona. Information includes sights, events, bars, restaurants, accommodation and, of course, weather-related tips which are updated quarterly. Asian cities include Tokyo and Shanghai.

Learn Vietnamese

Swift Key

Review your Vietnamese vocabulary on the go.

WordPower's free version includes hundreds of flashcards complete with words, pictures and northern-accented sound bites for pronunciation.

Study the bare essentials in Free WordPower or, if you'd prefer to go all out, spring for the USD $9.99 full version, which includes 2,000 of the most common words and phrases in the Vietnamese language.

For those whose fingers can't quite get the hang of touchscreen keypads. Adapts to typist's vocabulary and memorises commonlyused words and phrases. Also features a nifty time-saving function which allows typists to slide their thumb across the keypad to create words rather than typing individual letters.

Khan Academy

VSCO Cam

An educational app which offers a vast library of articles and videos on everything from math and science to arts, humanities, computing, economics and finance. Refresh your knowledge of Calculus, delve into the world of Islamic art or learn the basics of computer programming. The app is geared toward students but can be used by anyone.

A top-notch photo editing app that's been hailed as â&#x20AC;&#x153;the next Instagramâ&#x20AC;?. You won't find followers or likes here, just photographs and the artists behind them. Create your own unique images, upload and share them through VSCO's own photo-sharing network or browse a series of curated images from other users.

70 asialife HCMC

The Beat – with Q4 radio

2014 Highlights

By Crazy Fool and Samia El-Balawi Three of the biggest manmade inventions are undoubtedly the glorious pint, the humble Scotch egg and the rip-roaring rout of rollicking rock 'n roll. Luckily, 2014 has tasted all in abundance.

Picking the ear-tickling highlights of 2014 is an almost impossible task bent on opinion and the fear of absentees.

Yet space and our deliverance of alt, indie, hip-hop, dance, iconic rock, punk, folk, blues, metal, jazz, reggae, ska – pseudo, psychedelic and transient in every category – has squeezed our choice down to a small but exceptional few. We narrowed the criteria for 2014's best down to one requirement: they all had to be endorphin-guzzling, ear hair rumblers.

Fortunately, the globe has delivered sonic delights in buckets. Music has never been in a healthier state. This year rocked and there has been no better place to be than Planet Ear. It’s worth an honorary tipping of the titfer here to Loud Minority and Saigon Sound System for putting live music in Southeast Asia on the map.

And now, without further ado, here are our 2014 highlights: Alabama3, W.O.M.B.L.E. Vol 2 alt-J, This Is All Yours Angus & Julia Stone, Angus & Julia Stone

72 asialife HCMC

Band of Skulls, Himalayan Ben Howard, I Forget Where We Were Benjamin Booker, Benjamin Booker Black Infinity, The Illuminati of Love and Death I and II Blood Red Shoes, Blood Red Shoes Bombay Bicycle Club, So Long, See You Tomorrow Broken Bells, After The Disco Brody Dalle, Diploid Love Death From Above 1979, The Physical World The Horrors, Luminous Jack White, Lazaretto Jamie T, Carry On The Grudge John Butler Trio, Flesh & Blood Julian Casablancas + The Voidz, Tyranny Kasabian, 48:13 Kim Churchill, Silence/Win Matthew & The Atlas, Other Rivers Milky Chance, Sadnecessary Nick Mulvey, First Mind Parque Courts, Sunbathing Animal Red House Glory, Living A Lie Royal Blood, Royal Blood Skaters, Manhattan Sticky Fingers, Land of Pleasure War Against Drugs, Lost In The Dream Wolfmother, New Crown Young The Giant, Mind Over Matter #1 Dads, About Face

soundfix soundfix Kindness Otherness

In a cover story interview with The FADER earlier this year, Kindness’ Adam Bainbridge described himself as “just a kid from Peterborough that loves music. It’s the dominating thing, above making it – just being a fan.” The British musician’s devotion to music is clear in his own work. Though Bainbridge classifies his genre as the catch-all pop, his songs reveal a connoisseur’s knowledge of disco, jazz, soul, hip hop, funk and R&B. His sophomore album is fashioned with skilled artistic flourishes – a thrilling saxophone sample here, a seductive bass there. Bainbridge thrives with savvy collaborations, including his former roommate Devonté Hynes, Ghanaian rapper M.anifest and the inimitable Robyn, whose yearning vocals on 'Who Do You Love' are the icing on a cake of a great record. By creating music as a fan first and foremost, Bainbridge is set to earn a legion of his own admirers.

Grouper Ruins

Being the loudest voice in the room isn’t always the best way to make people understand. The quietness of Grouper’s latest work makes you want to tune in. Ruins is the tenth studio album from Grouper, the ambient solo project initiated a decade ago

by Portland, Oregon-based musician Liz Harris. Each of the record’s eight tracks serve as serene antidotes to the hustle and bustle of lives experienced in fast forward. More intimate and pared down than Grouper’s previous work, the album was made in a coastal village in Portugal and is built around gauzy acoustic piano melodies and the occasional background noise captured during recording – the patter of rain drops, the croak of frogs or the familiar beep of a microwave. Harris murmurs her vocals in such a way that the ruminative words are barely discernible but her songs aim for being heard by the soul.

album review

endorsed

by Mai Lynn Miller Nguyen

Voluspa

By Ruben Luong

Azealia Banks

Olcay Bayir

Broke With Expensive Taste

Neva/Harmony

After releasing only a handful of tracks since 2008 – crowned by her indie dance hit '212' in 2011 – rappersinger Azealia Banks is finally releasing her debut album in late 2014. Despite her early success, the Harlem-raised 23-year-old has earned more notoriety of late for Twitter tiffs with Iggy Azalea, Perez Hilton, T.I., Lily Allen and other newsmakers than for her music. With the selfreleased Broke With Expensive Taste, Banks finally lets her music speak for itself. The feistiness that Banks displays in her personal life is fuel for her work, as she raps with a deep-voiced confidence reminiscent of early Missy Elliott. Banks has created an album full of chutzpah and surprises, sprinkled with xylophones, a salsa interlude (with verses in Spanish), EDM, cheeky profanities and UK garage. Years have passed since she first started recording this album but Banks hasn’t lost a beat.

Turkish music is a bricolage of genres, with influences from Middle Eastern, Central Asian, Mediterranean and Balkan musical traditions.

Singer-songwriter Olcay Bayir provides her own contribution to this mix, drawing upon both her classical opera training and Anatolian roots for a distinctive sound. Although now living in London, Bayir comes from the southeastern Kurdish region of Turkey, a historic crossroads where traders travelled between the West and East. Her debut album features both original compositions and interpretations of long handed-down folk songs, each capturing a sweep of emotions from heartsick to plaintive to joyous. An intoxicating combination of Turkish lute, clarinet and violin accompany Bayir’s full-bodied soprano as she sings in a variety of regional languages. Even though the lyrics may not be understood by many, her music breathes the promise of enigma, beauty and passion.

The holidays don’t seem nearly as warm or cheerful without at least one Voluspa candle burning lustrously in a room. Made from a pure coconut-wax blend, this is not only a trendy, year-round commodity for home décor but sure to be this season’s coveted yuletide treasure.

Voluspa candles are packaged in opulent tins and jars of romantic, holiday-ready hues that are no less discerning or luxurious than the people who buy from the household brand. Worldwide, they are stocked in renowned retailers, and they are honorary staples in the homes of Hollywood’s elite.

While they are an unofficial emblem of status, Voluspa candles are also a testimonial in craft and sophistication.

Voluspa’s wicks are 100 percent cotton and it is one of the first candle companies to use cococut wax commercially. Its proprietary coconut-wax materiale is made by collecting coconuts and then cold-pressing the oil from coconut flesh.

Coconut oil is then hydrogenated into coconut wax.

According to Voluspa’s website, independent lab tests show the company’s coconut wax blend burns up to 90 percent cleaner than a 100 percent soy wax candle of the same size and fragrance.

Not only is the entire candle sustainable and pesticide-free, its creamy white mixture supposedly harvests fragrances more potent than traditional soy wax candles and also yields extended burn times.

It all began in 1999, when Southern California-based couple Troy and Traci Arntsen created their first scented

candle in their kitchen. They were certainly well-equipped to do so – Troy had an advanced background in technical engineering while Traci had a deep knowledge of botany. As a result, Voluspa’s candles are brilliantly refined and scientific, but also heavily organic and exotic.

Some currently featured candles that exemplify this include the limited edition Goji Tarocco Orange Large Embossed Candle, which blends goji berry, mango and tarocco orange to inspire a distinctly ‘autumnal ambiance’.

A seasonal best-seller is the Golden Cypress Sawara fragrance, which has a calming, ‘sugary scent of snapped cypress needle’ and ‘the heart of a green velvet-floored forest in early Autumn’.

Another limited edition product, the Baltic Amber Three-Wick Candle, is inspired by the Far East, emitting scents of amber resin, sandalwood, cedar and vanilla orchid that would suit fall just as well.

For those daydreaming of winter in Saigon, the Branche Vermeil candle should inject a bit of wintertide with citron, balsam and sugar that is intended to conjure iciclecovered winter spruce.

A full range of candles can be viewed and ordered at Voluspa.com, where they are organised in decidedly posh collections including: Maison Holiday, Blanc, Noir, Rouge, D’or, Jardin, Vermeil and Japonica.

Voluspa candles (VND 599,000-999,000) are also available in select scents at L’Usine Le Loi and Dong Khoi.

asialife HCMC 73

boxoffice

Penguins of Madagascar

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb

Nightcrawler

Super spy teams aren’t born… they’re hatched. Discover the secrets of the greatest and most hilarious covert birds in the global espionage biz: Skipper, Kowalski, Rico and Private.

These elite of the elite are joining forces with a chic undercover organization, The North Wind, led by handsome and husky Agent Classified (we’d tell you his name, but then we’d have to… you know). Together, they must stop the villainous Dr Octavius Brine from destroying the world as we know it.

This epic concludes the adventures of Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman), Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage) and the Company of Dwarves. Having reclaimed their homeland from the dragon Smaug (Benedict Cumberbatch), the Company has unwittingly unleashed a deadly force into the world.

Enraged, Smaug rains his fiery wrath down up the defenseless men, women and children of Lake-town. As darkness converges on their escalating conflict, the races of Dwarves, Elves and Men must decide to unite or be destroyed. Bilbo finds himself fighting for his life and the lives of his friends in the epic Battle of the Five Armies as the future of Middleearth hangs in the balance.

Museum guard Larry Daley (Ben Stiller) is one of the few people who knows the secret of New York’s American Museum of Natural History: each night, the exhibits spring to life. But now the ancient Egyptian stone tablet that powers this magic is starting to wear out. In order to find out how to fix it, Larry must travel to the British Museum. Among those along for the ride are Pharaoh Ahkmenrah (Rami Malek), Teddy Roosevelt (Robin Williams), Attila the Hun (Patrick Gallagher), Roman centurion Octavius (Steve Coogan) and Old West cowboy Jebediah (Owen Wilson). In London, they join forces with Sir Lancelot (Dan Stevens) and meet the tablet’s creator (Ben Kingsley).

This thriller is set in the nocturnal underbelly of contemporary Los Angeles. Jake Gyllenhaal stars as Lou Bloom, a driven young man desperate for work who discovers the high-speed world of LA crime journalism. Finding a group of freelance camera crews that film crashes, fires, murder and other mayhem, Lou muscles into the cut-throat, dangerous realm of nightcrawling – where each police siren wail equals a possible windfall and victims are converted into dollars and cents. Aided by Rene Russo as Nina, a veteran of the bloodsport that is local TV news, Lou blurs the line between observer and participant to become the star of his own story.

Opening Dates Cinemas Movies CGV

Penguins of Madagascar (28 November – 11 December)

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (19 December) Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb (19 December)

cgv.vn Nightcrawler (28 November)

BHD Star Cinema Penguins of Madagascar (28 November – 11 December) bhdstar.vn

Galaxy galaxycine.vn

74 asialife HCMC

Penguins of Madagascar (28 November – 11 December) The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (19 December – 1 January) Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb (19 December – 1 January)

The information on this page was correct at the time of printing. Check cinema websites for screenings.

bookshelf Suspended Sentences: Three Novellas Patrick Modiano, Mark Polizzotti (translator) Yale University Press In this trilogy of novellas French author Patrick Modiano, winner of the 2014 Nobel Prize in Literature, reaches back in time, opening the corridors of memory and exploring its mysteries.

Each novella in the volume – Afterimage, Suspended Sentences and Flowers of Ruin — were each published separately. However, they also form a single whole in which Modiano draws on his own experiences, blended with the real and invented stories of others, to describe the lives of orphaned children, mysterious parents, forgotten friends and enigmatic strangers in Paris. Shadowed by the dark period of the Nazi Occupation, these novellas reveal Modiano’s fascination with the lost, obscure and mysterious: a young person’s confusion over adult behavior, the repercussions of a chance encounter, the search for a missing father and the aftershock of a fatal affair.

The Strange Library Haruki Murakami, Ted Goossen (translator) Knopf (US) Harville Secker (UK)

Internationally-acclaimed author Haruki Murakami’s The Strange Library, a fantasy about a schoolboy imprisoned in a nightmarish library, was originally published in Japanese in 2008. This month, it will be released in English for the first time in the form of an illustrated short novel. It begins when the schoolboy visits his local library on the way home to find out how taxes were collected in the Ottoman Empire. An old man leads the boy to a reading room located under the library, where the boy finds himself trapped with a mysterious sheep man that makes doughnuts and a girl that can talk with her hands. “We are very excited to be publishing a special illustrated edition of The Strange Library as an unusual gift book for Christmas. Murakami’s imagination is unique and this is a wonderfully creepy tale that is sure to delight [Murakami] fans,” said Liz Foley, publishing director at Harvill Secker.

Pogue's Basics

The Book of Strange New Things

Flatiron Books

Michel Faber Hogarth

David Pogue

Did you know that you can scroll a web page just by tapping the space bar? How do you recover photos you’ve deleted by accident? What can you do if your cell phone’s battery is dead by dinnertime each day? Award-winning tech expert David Pogue offers wise tech advice with Pogue’s Basics, a book that will change everyone’s relationship with technology through 225 essential techniques for making gadgets seem easier, faster and less of a hassle. Illustrations accompany each tip, such as how to bring a wet phone back from the dead, the fastest way to charge an iPad, the 10 best apps to put on your phone, how to type symbols, how to use map apps on your phone without an internet connection and more. Pogue is the founder of Yahootech.com and has served 13 years as the technology columnist for the New York Times.

The Book of Strange New Things begins with Peter, a religious devotee, as he is called to the mission of a lifetime, galaxies away from his wife, Bea. Peter becomes immersed in the mysteries of an astonishing new environment, overseen by an enigmatic corporation known only as USIC. His work introduces him to a seemingly friendly native population struggling with a dangerous illness and hungry for Peter’s teachings drawn from his Bible, which becomes their ‘book of strange new things’. But Bea begins to send letters from home that are increasingly desperate: typhoons and earthquakes are devastating whole countries, while governments are crumbling. While Peter is reconciling the needs of his congregation with the desires of his strange employer, Bea is struggling to survive. Their trials lay bare a meditation on faith, love tested beyond endurance and a responsibility to loved ones.

asialife HCMC 75

odd one out...

With ample displays of tinsel and fanfare, Saigon's luxury hotels have begun their annual monthlong campaign to become the city's sole provider of turkey and hangovers.

76 asialife HCMC

The holiday season is upon us.

If you lean in, close your eyes and hold this magazine to your ear, no doubt you'll pick up the distant sounds of ABBA's 1980 hit 'Happy New Year' emanating from its pages*.

Already, business owners are decorating their storefronts with mistletoe and nude Santa decals. The noble yuletide giraffe – trusty steed of the fourth Wise Man, if memory serves – stands sentinel before convention halls and shopping centres throughout the downtown area. And for reasons none of us will ever comprehend, media outlets the world over have once again permitted Mariah Carey and her endless collection of Bedazzled arm slings to hijack the airwaves for the entire month of December. Indeed, it's the most wonderful, magical, manic-depressive time of the year.

But perhaps the season's greatest development is the Hunger Games. No, not the big-budget Hollywood blockbuster starring Jennifer Lawrence and Stanley Tucci's bouffant; I'm talking about an epic, bloodthirsty, adrenalinepumping competition that

As the Christmas holidays ramp up, Dana Filek-Gibson selflessly dedicates the month of December to overeating.

takes place in our very own city. Because someone made the mistake of endowing me with a company email account, I have been the recipient of more buffet brochures, Christmas specials and holidaythemed press releases than you can shake a stick at, and there is no question about what will take place in the coming weeks. With ample displays of tinsel and fanfare, Saigon's luxury hotels have begun their annual month-long campaign to become the city's sole provider of turkey and hangovers.

And I, Dana Filek-Gibson, will not rest until I have found a victor.

For expats, December can be a roller coaster of highs and lows. One minute, you're rejoicing in the blissful simplicity of a holiday without your weirdest relatives and the next, nostalgia hits you. Catch a few bars of Bing Crosby and suddenly the flannels come out, the air-con goes on and before the delivery man has even arrived you're on the bedroom floor, pining for eggnog and your aunt's tedious, half-baked ramblings. Amid the absence of bad sweaters, Christmas gifts and family tensions, I

count the hotel buffet as one of Saigon's most uplifting yuletide phenomena.

And so, from mid-December on, anyone who wishes to conduct business will find me and most of my previous month's salary among the city's wellladen buffet tables. This will be a difficult endeavour – already, I've had to reinstate my fat pants, courtesy of Thanksgiving – but I am willing to make the sacrifice. I will leave no salad bar unused, no roll unbuttered, no cake uneaten until only a single buffet remains. As you go forward in your own holiday celebrations, I wish my fellow Saigon residents a happy holiday season. May you find health, happiness and the upscale restaurant with the best free flow champagne deal. Come next year, I entreat you to keep a weather eye on AsiaLIFE's upcoming content, as it will all be produced under heavy influence of tryptophan. And if, somewhere on the streets of District 1, you look up and hear the sound of cannon fire, think of me. *Just kidding. It's not the magazine; it's your nearest phone store.

L e tt e r f r o m

Hanoi

- N e i g hb o u r h o o d C o l o u r s Katie Jacobs admires the post-art deco charm and timeless architecture of Hanoi’s Ha Hoi neighbourhood.

A barber sits at the end of a small alley, meticulously cutting hair. The tools of his trade are set out below the dangling rubbery pink roots of the Tropical Angel Hair vine, a fitting environ for a man in his profession. He glances into the black-speckled mirror as I pass, and in the reflection I see Hanoi’s iconic peeling yellow paint on a wall of the colonial mansion behind.

As a part-time tour guide of Hanoi’s French Quarter, I often field questions related to the city’s colonial past. Last week, an eager woman asked about the fading yellow colour painted on many of the older buildings. “All yellow with green shutters,” she pointed out excitedly. Realising I had no answer for this most obvious of questions, I decided to do a little digging. It turns out that many of Hanoi’s French residents originally came from the south of France, where the yellow-green colour scheme

was popular. In an attempt to recreate their homeland, they built exact replicas of houses, including adopting the colour palette. On top of this, the houses owned by elite Vietnamese families were also painted yellow as a sign of wealth and prestige.

This leads me back to the location of the barber – one of my favourite neighbourhoods in the city. Just south of Hoan Kiem Lake but north of Thien Quang Lake is a small pocket I refer to as the Ha Hoi neighbourhood, Ha Hoi being one of the area’s main cross streets. The area is a favourite on my walking tours for its small winding roads, flowerfilled courtyards, unique architecture and cute cafes and clothing boutiques. It is where I go to escape Hanoi’s chaos when I need reminding of why I love this city.

A friend and historian, who is currently writing a book about the neighbourhood, calls

it Hanoi’s 'VIP Quarter' for the grand, modernistic villas built by elite Vietnamese in the 1930s and 40s. Embracing what is known as an international style, these post-art deco houses are boxy and asymmetrical, often with features such as circular porthole windows, flat rectangular awnings, curved walls and spiral staircases.

These houses were the first generation of buildings designed by university-trained Vietnamese architects for Vietnamese clients. The designs weren’t French, nor were they Vietnamese: they belonged to the world. The development of this area came at a dynamic time for Hanoi and the design is indicative of a society reaching out to a global future.

The 'VIP Quarter' of the 1930s would have looked different to the Ha Hoi area of today. Streets were quieter and the population was smaller.

However, the area still retains a certain charm and history that

is lost in other parts of the city.

Even with the rapid changes Hanoi has undergone in the past few decades, there have been no major developments in this area. “A bit busier and more crowded, but still looking pretty much the same as when I was a little girl,” says one resident, who has lived in the area for nearly 60 years.

Drinking tea at a small stall near the barber, the area seems timeless. Sure there are motorbikes, modern signs and people on cell-phones; all the benefits of progress are here. But there is also comfort in the enduring images of washing lines hung between old buildings, small street-side tea stalls where nobody is in a rush and ladies in conical hats cruising down the road on push-bikes. At the end of the street the barber works, always busy, cutting hair under the shade of the Angel Hair Vine, as he has probably done for 50 years.

asialife HCMC 77

pub quiz

Merry 11) What is the surname of Tolkien’s hobbit Merry?

12) Flora, Fauna and Merryweather are whose fairy godmothers?

13) Who or what was 'merry' in Franz Lehar’s operetta?

14) Where does the phrase “Eat, drink and be merry" come from?

15) In one film version of the story, Robin Hood and his merry men were joined by Rabbi Tuckman. Who played the Rabbi and directed the film?

Celebrity Santas

Mas 21) Mozart, Nat King Cole and Winston Churchill were all members of which 78 asialife HCMC

Thöïc hieän lieân keát xuaát baûn: Coâng ty CP TT QC AsiaLIFE Media In 4,000 cuoán, khoå 20,5cm x 27cm taïi Coâng ty ITAXA ñòa chæ 126 Nguyeãn Thò Minh Khai, Q.3.

Giaáy ÑKKHXB soá: 1808 - 2014/CXB/03 - 37/ThT Quyeát ñònh xuaát baoen soá 290/QÑ-NXBTT, caáp ngaøy 13/10/2014 In xong vaø noäp löu chieåu thaùng 11/2014

26)

AsiaLIFE Media Advertising Communications JSC 2Bis Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, Da Kao Ward, District 1 Tel: +84 8 6680 6105 For advertising and marketing enquiries please contact: +84 938 298 395 / +84 8 6680 6105 or adsales@asialifehcmc.com Distribution: Super Long +84 937 633283 AsiaLIFE is a registered trademark. No content may be reproduced in any form without prior authorisation of the owners. © AsiaLIFE Media Advertising Communications JSC

27)

7 3

5 2

9 1

6 6

4

1

7

3

28)

5

Chris 16) Which Chris was the brother of actor Sean and musician Michael?

17) In the Madagascar films, who provides the voice for Marty the zebra?

18) Which 16th century dramatist and poet was widely regarded as the foremost tragedian of his day?

19) Which tennis player holds the record for the most Grand Slam singles finals?

20) Who, in 2002, went from 'Dirrty' to 'Beautiful'?

Thoâng tin du lòch vaø vaên hoaù ôû Vieät Nam ASIALIFE HCMC Publishment Manager: Nguyeãn Theá Sôn Editor in Chief: Leâ Thò Thu Höông Editors: Phöông Lam Giang Traàn Ngoïc Thöông Designed by: ASIALIFE MEDIA JSC Cover & content by: ASIALIFE MEDIA JSC VIETNAM NEWs AGENCY PUBLISHING HOUSE 116 - 118 Nguyeãn Thò Minh Khai, Q3

4

8

8

6

7 29)

30)

2 9 3

2

5

4 7

Pub Quiz Answers

1) By what name is 58-yearold musician Stuart Leslie Goddard better known?

2) Where do pilgrims go to kiss the black stone?

3) Which Greek god of love is the Greek counterpart to Cupid?

4) Manfred von Richtofen is better known as whom?

5) What is another name for ferrous oxide?

6) What wood is traditionally used to make longbows?

7) Name the imaginary city in Samuel Taylor Coleridge's poem 'Kubla Kahn'?

8) There is a statue of her in Dublin, but is the name of the girl who “wheeled her wheel-barrow, Through streets broad and narrow, Crying, 'Cockles and mussels, alive, alive, oh!'"?

9) Name the largest airline of the Russian Federation.

10) Which Merchant of Venice wanted his pound of flesh?

organisation?

22) Nassau is the capital of which country?

23) What is the capital of Syria?

24) Which golf tournament is played every year in Augusta, Georgia?

25) In which TV series did Father Mulcahy plant a vegetable garden?

1) Adam Ant 2) Mecca 3) Eros 4) Red Baron 5) Rust 6) Yew 7) Xanadu 8) Molly Malone 9) Aeroflot 10) Shylock 11) Brandybuck 12) Princess Aurora – Sleeping Beauty 13) Widow 14) The Bible 15) Mel Brooks 16) Penn 17) Chris Rock 18) Christopher Marlowe 19) Chris Evert 20) Christina Aguilera 21) Freemasons 22) The Bahamas 23) Damascus 24) The (US) Masters 25) MASH 26) Danny DeVito 27) Gary Oldman 28) Cristiano Ronaldo 29) Bryan Cranston 30) Bill Murray

A Merry Xmas! (Your present – just look at the first letters)

Why we love a Energized Engaged Empowered

mess

Because at ISHCMC we understand that sometimes you have to get your hands a little messy to be truly innovative.

Today’s students need to do more than memorize information in traditional classrooms. They need a more evolved approach to education that allows them the freedom to pursue their passions fearlessly. In addition to a strong academic foundation, they need opportunities to be creative, innovative and analytical, all of which lie at the heart of the ISHCMC philosophy.

Come and see the difference we can make in your child’s life.

A fully accredited IB World School, authorized to teach all 3 programs of the International Baccalaureate curriculum to students ages 2 – 18 years.

28 Vo Truong Toan, District 2 Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam Tel: +84 (8) 3898-9100 Email: admissions@ishcmc.edu.vn www.ishcmc.com

Carla, Grade 5 & Ella, Grade 2 ISHCMC Students