AsiaLIFE Vietnam June 2018

AsiaLIFE Media Vol. 123

EDIBLE FLOWERS EXPLORING HUE WITH TIM DOLING SAIGON’S GLITTERING DRAG SCENE INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS PUBLISHING HOUSE

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE CLASS OF 2018

BIS STUDENTS WERE AWARDED SCHOLARSHIPS IN EXCESS OF US$1.5 MILLION

The Year 13 Graduation Ceremony took place on Saturday 26th May 2018 at the Park Hyatt Saigon.

Celebrating with the students were over 400 teachers, family members and friends.

UNIVERSITY OFFERS 2018 USA

American University Arizona State University Barrett, The Honors College at Arizona State University Berklee College of Music Boston University Brandeis University Brown University Carnegie Mellon University Clark University Columbia College Cornell University Drexel University Fordham University Georgia Institute of Technology Harvey Mudd College Miami University New York University Northeastern University Pennsylvania State University Pratt Institute Purdue University Quinnipiac University Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Rhode Island School of Design Rutgers University Santa Clara University Stony Brook University Syracuse University University of Arizona University at Buffalo University of California, Berkeley University of California, Davis University of California, Irvine University of California, Los Angeles University of California, San Diego University of California, Santa Barbara University of California, Santa Cruz University of Chicago University of Connecticut University of Georgia University of Illinois at UrbanaChampaign

University of Michigan University of Minnesota University of Oregon University of Pennsylvania University of Rochester University of San Francisco University of San Diego University of Southern California University of Vermont University of Washington University of Wisconsin, Madison Worcester Polytechnic Institute Georgetown University*

UK

Architectural Association School of Architecture Arts University Bournemouth Aston University Bath Spa University Camberwell College of Arts Central Saint Martins (UAL) De Montfort University Durham University Edge Hill University Goldsmiths, University of London Imperial College London Keele University King’s College London Lancaster University Leeds College of Art & Design Manchester Metropolitan University Newcastle University Queen Mary University of London Robert Gordon University The London School of Economics and Political Science Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance University College London University of Bath University of Birmingham University of Brighton

University of Bristol University of Edinburgh University of Exeter University of Kent University of Leeds University of Leicester University of Manchester University of Nottingham University of Sheffield University of Southampton University of Surrey University of Sussex University of Warwick University of Westminster University of York

INDIA

CANADA

Yale-NUS College

Brock University Queen’s University McGill University Ryerson University University of British Columbia University of Toronto University of Waterloo York University

Ashoka University

JAPAN

Nagoya University Osaka University Sophia University University of Tokyo

KOREA

Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology

PHILIPPINES

Ateneo de Manila University

SINGAPORE TAIWAN

National Taiwan University * Denotes offers received by the Class of 2017

SWITZERLAND

Ecole Hoteliere de Lausanne Les Roches International School of Hotel Management

THE NETHERLANDS

Amsterdam University College Erasmus University College Erasmus University Rotterdam Hogeschool Rotterdam University of Amsterdam

HONG KONG

City University of Hong Kong Hong Kong Polytechnic University Hong Kong University Hong Kong University of Science & Technology

www.bisvietnam.com

CAMBODIA // THAILAND // VIETNAM

JUNE 2018 AsiaLIFE Media Vol. 123

VOLUME 123 This month's cover

|JUNE 2018

EDIBLE FLOWERS EXPLORING HUE WITH TIM DOLING SAIGON’S GLITTERING DRAG SCENE INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS PUBLISHING HOUSE

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

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www.AsiaLIFEmagazine.com For advertising and marketing enquiries please contact: +84 163 5077 530 / +84 903 325 543 or adsales@asialifehcmc.com Director

Art Director

Jonny Edbrooke jonny@asialifemagazine.com Editorial Director

Thang Pham L.C. leo@asialifemagazine.com Photo Editor

Barbara Adam barbara.adam@asialifemagazine.com

Romain Garrigue rgarrigue.contact@gmail.com

FRONT

Commercial Director

Editor Peter Cornish peter.cornish@asialifemagazine.com

Nguyen Kim Hanh kimhanh@asialifehcmc.com

Production Manager Hoa Nguyen nguyenhoa@asialifehcmc.com

Contributors Annigje Jacobs Tristan Ngo Reem Mehanna Yendy Tsang

FOOD & DRINK

EVENTS ............................................................... 06 ASIALIFE’S PICKS: RAIN ESSENTIALS. . .......... 07 Q&A Anan Chef Peter Cuong Fr anklin . . ................... 10 WHAT’S NEW IN SAIGON............................. 12 BUSINESS VIEW.................................................. 13 SAIGON PROFILES Designer Jason Gibaud.. 14 TRENDING.......................................................... 15

THE YORKSHIRE BLADE

C OV E R STO RY

Tr usting the chef, omakase-style.. .................... 4 1

A CLASS OF THEIR OWN

Professional and passionate teacher s. . ........... 16

F E AT U R E S EXPLORING HUE

Historian Tim Doling’s latest book.................. 2 2

How to be a better home cook...................... 3 6

LOCAL EATS

Canh chua and ca kho to.................................... 3 7

LAYLA EATERY AND BAR

An elusive downtown nightspot...................... 3 8

GRINGO TACOS Y CANTINA

A stylish new Mexican cantina. . ....................... 3 9

OCTO TAPAS RESTOBAR

Full-flavoured and inter active tapas . . .............. 4 0

KASEN

STYLE & DESIGN FASHION4FREEDOM

Socially responsible and ethical fashion . . ....... 4 2

PAPER WINGS

Made in Vietnam fun fashion for kids............. 4 4

EDIBLE FLOWERS

Fresh flower s as food......................................... 2 4

WE ARE FABULOUS FAMILY

A look at Saigon’s glittering drag scene . . ....... 2 6

LEARNING VIETNAMESE

A long road full of laughs.................................. 2 8

HEALTH & WELLNESS Basic motorbike safety . . ..................................... 3 0

T R AV E L SONG SAA PRIVATE ISLAND RESORT

A luxurious private retreat in Cambodia.. ..... 3 2

TRAVELS IN SABAH: BORNEO AND CLYDE

Meeting a wealth of wildlife in Bor neo. . ........ 3 4 4 AsiaLIFE HCMC

COLUMNS IMBIBE ............................................................................. 5 2 FITNESS .......................................................................... 5 4 EDUCATION HUB .................................................... 5 6 PERSONAL FINANCE ............................................. 5 7 PEOPLE MATTER ....................................................... 5 8 CRAFT SAIGON ........................................................ 5 9 TECH AND THE CITY ............................................. 6 0 FILMFIX ........................................................................... 6 2 TALES OF A GECKOPHOBE ................................ 6 3 HANCOCK IN SE ASIA .......................................... 6 4 COMMUNITY FOCUS ............................................ 6 5 PUB QUIZ ..................................................................... 6 6

EVENTS Saigon Rum Festival @Saigon Outcast Entry: VND60,000

2 JUN

Pop up bars featuring seven brands of rum, with talented mixologists whipping up cocktails for you to enjoy while grooving to a live Latin music band. fb.com/events/1555819734545691

Art Market @Soma Art Cafe Entry: Free Inpages and Soma Art Cafe will host an art market featuring a range of handcrafted products and artworks, as well as music and street food. fb.com/events/609636252722245

9 JUN

2pm - 11.30pm

9 JUN 9pm - 2am

Working in Vietnam @Park Hyatt Saigon Entry: VND950,000 Auscham will host a breakfast briefing that will provide an overview of Vietnam’s current employment laws, work permits and taxation.

Pynk Power @Cinderella Bar A queer women and trans-inclusive party, hosted by Full Disclosure and Les Come Out. fb.com/events/120353208838515

6 AsiaLIFE HCMC

fb.com/ events/102212530661647

28 JUN 8am

The rains are here, and they’re going to stay until November. It’s time to get ready for the water, both the stuff falling from the sky and the stuff that floods the streets and makes getting around a nightmare.

AN UMBRELLA Get a big golfing umbrella to protect the whole family, and a smaller folding version for your handbag or backpack.

Expect to pay around VND100,000 for a big one, and about half that for a smaller one.

You can find umbrellas for sale in supermarkets, convenience stores and from wandering vendors.

7 AsiaLIFE HCMC

WATERPROOF PHONE COVER Sometimes it’s best to build in a few levels of redundancy, especially when it comes to your expensive smartphone, which is probably filled with precious photos and important information, such as the address of your favourite eatery.

Protect your phone from the elements with a waterproof case, available from phone shops and computer stores such as iKnow.

Expect to pay around VND300,000 for a quality waterproof phone case.

BACKPACK COVER Keep your everyday items dry with a backpack cover.

Some backpacks have this feature built-in, or you can buy one from a sports store, department store, luggage shop or online.

Expect to pay between VND20,000 and VND250,000.

8 AsiaLIFE HCMC

RAIN PONCHOS AND WATERPROOF TROUSERS Most popular among motorbike riders, rain ponchos are designed to protect one or two people and their vehicle from the elements.

Rain ponchos are available in one- and two-headed versions, and some even have a nifty clear panel to allow the motorbike headlight to shine through.

One of the great things about Vietnam is that when the rain starts, the raincoat sellers come out, like flowers blooming in the desert rain. You can usually pick up a flimsy single-use raincoat for VND10,000 from a street vendor. Supermarkets usually sell higher quality rain ponchos for anything up to VND200,000.

Waterproof trousers are a bit harder to find. Only some supermarkets stock them (and only in one standard “free size�), and they can cost up to VND350,000.

WATERPROOF SHOE COVERS These stylish numbers slip on over your footwear to protect your shoes and your delicate tootsies.

Waterproof shoe covers are available from online retailers like lazada.vn, shoppee.vn and tiki.vn in sizes 36 to 42. Expect to pay around VND100,000 for a quality pair.

9 AsiaLIFE HCMC

Q&A

CHEF

10 AsiaLIFE HCMC

Peter Cornish talks to Anan Saigon founder Peter Cuong Franklin.

Photo by Romain Garrigue.

With a mix of Western and Asian names, a question often asked is where are you from and what brought you to Ho Chi Minh City?

I was born and raised in Dalat in central Vietnam and immigrated to the US as a teenage refugee, where I was adopted by an American family.

You’re recognised as a pioneer of modern Vietnamese cuisine, fusing your knowledge of traditional flavours and techniques with your French culinary skills. Why do you think you have succeeded with this approach when others have failed?

At Anan Saigon we aim to achieve a delicate balance between the traditional and modern. My culinary approach is to move Vietnamese cuisine forward with modern cooking techniques at the same time respecting the country’s history and traditional culture.

What does cuisine moi mean to you? What made you decide that now is the right time for something like this?

I think Vietnam is entering a period of Renaissance and I wanted to take a new approach to Vietnamese cuisine. Moi in Vietnamese means new, fresh and modern.

This new cuisine is about food that is not only up-to-date, but that has a story and reference to traditional food and local ingredients.

My goal is to learn as much as possible and find ways to modernise traditional dishes to gourmet level using quality ingredients and modern cooking techniques,

all while retaining the spirit and flavour of Vietnamese cuisine. We are trying to break down preconceived ideas and expand the meaning of what it means to be Vietnamese today.

You spent some time in Hong Kong winning critical acclaim for your culinary skills, especially your fried chicken!

What were you doing there and what influences have you brought with you to Vietnam?

My international culinary experiences in Hong Kong, New York, London and other world cities give me a unique perspective to

I am inspired by the street food vendors and market stalls.

create a new style of food.

Your restaurant on Ton That Dam Street, Anan Saigon, specialises in street foodinspired dishes. What inspiration have you taken from Vietnam’s history and traditions to create your current menu?

I am inspired by street food vendors and market stalls. Many of the signature dishes on the current Anan menu, such as the Dalat-style pizza and the banh xeo tacos come directly from my experience doing a lot of eating and talking with the local cooks

and vendors in the Cho Cu wet market.

Anan’s special secret is the offmenu $100 banh mi, probably the most expensive in the country! What can people expect when ordering it?

The banh mi is one of the most iconic sandwiches in the world with a perfect balance of porky goodness from different pork cuts along with fresh herbs and chilli heat, all wrapped a crisp, light baguette.

Through amazing hard work and ingenuity, the Vietnamese can make this tasty sandwich for about US$1.

The traditional street banh mi has a strong French influence already, with a variety of pork charcuterie, so we created a US$100 product (which needs to be ordered a day ahead) by making the sandwich even more French, adding a good amount of sauteed foie gras and black truffle to the sandwich.

I want the sandwich to be luxurious but at the same time retain the integrity and balance of flavours that make it so delicious.

People will get a new experience and hopefully think a little bit differently about Vietnamese cuisine. It does not always have to be cheap to be delicious.

You were recently one of the chefs at the launch of Small Change Vietnam that provides scholarship funding for STREETS International trainees in Hoi An. You also sit on the board of advisors for Streets, can you tell us more about your role, why you became involved and what you hope to achieve?

It is wonderful to be able to give back and be involved in a great cause. When I returned to Vietnam a year ago, I wanted to do something positive and make a difference. I found a kindred spirit in Neal Bermas, the founder of STREETS International.

STREETS is a great organization that provides training for disadvantaged youths for a career and new future in the food and beverage industry. I have met and worked with many of the young students through a number of charity activities.

AsiaLIFE HCMC 11

EL CAMINO

BUTCHER MANZO CRAFT BEER BAR

CRAFT BEER BAR

A beer bar set up by a butcher. What more can be said?

There’s beer and lots of meat.

7/13 & 17/14 Lê Thánh Tôn, District 1 fb.com/Butcher-Manzo-Craft-Beer-Bar-1842603975814900.

KOREAN TACO SPEAKEASY Korean tacos, soju cocktails and other exotic fusion nibbles and tipples, all served with a side of neighbourhood friendliness and some old school hip hop. (Entrance at the back of Cuba la Casa del Mojito).

91 Pasteur Street, District 1 fb.com/elcaminosaigon.

RIA TAPAS AND SANGRIA

JASPA’S THAO DIEN INTERNATIONAL CUISINE

SPANISH RESTAURANT

A new location for an old favourite, Jaspa’s Thao Dien has all the great food you love from the main Dong Khoi location and the now-closed Hai Ba Trung spot. The new joint is bright and spacious, with a kids play area.

Big ideas brought to small food by chef Chris Golding, who draws on his experience working in London, Tel Aviv, Kiev, Cyprus Thailand, Bali and Vietnam to blend authentic Spanish cuisine with international flavours.

15 Tong Huu Dinh, Thao Dien, District 2 fb.com/jaspasthaodien.

2nd floor, 95 Hai Ba Trung, District 1 fb.com/riasaigon.

THE ROOFTOP BBQ

SAGE’S TOGO BAGS BBQ RESTAURANT

An American-style barbecue restaurant that promises a neverending taste of summer with great beer and great food.

2nd Floor, 39 Le Duan St, District 1 fb.com/therooftopbbq.

ECO-FRIENDLY CUP HOLDERS To do her bit to reduce plastic waste, 11-year-old Sage makes reusable cup-holders from fabric offcuts supplied by Paper Wings. Bags are VND20,000 each, and are available from Dolphy Cafe on the corner of Xuan Thuy and Thao Dien streets, District 2. fb.com/Sages-ToGo-Bags-123431515197496.

12 AsiaLIFE HCMC

BUSINESS VIEW NEWS

IN BRIEF IN-DEPTH PROBE INTO GRAB-UBER DEAL

VIETNAM’S QUIET COFFEE REVOLUTION SITTING at the top of the world’s coffee export ranking with Brazil, Vietnam is the second largest producer of coffee in the world. Yet unlike the coffee of Brazil, Vietnam’s predominantly robusta crop is considered inferior by coffee aficionados.

Easier to grow than the arabica bean, robusta is high in caffeine with a bitter taste that many enthusiasts turn their nose up at, preferring the fuller taste of arabica. As a result, most of Vietnam’s crops are turned into cheap, low quality soluble coffee.

An indigenous people living in the shade of the Lang Biang mountain in Dalat are quietly changing perceptions of Vietnamese

coffee. Once a nomadic tribe and now the oldest ethnic group in the South-Central Highlands of Vietnam, the K’Ho community are renowned for their rich heritage and traditions of music.

Many of them now make their living from cultivating the high-quality arabica bean, first introduced by the French at the turn of the twentieth century. They are now leading the way in Vietnam’s quiet coffee revolution.

Turning their passions to growing coffee in the mountains of Dalat, they are producing coffee good enough to grace the finest tables of Asia and Europe.

After an initial probe into the takeover of Uber Technologies by Grab, Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry has launched an in-depth investigation after the primary probe suggested the possibility of the take over breaching antitrust laws in the country.

The probe is expected to last 180 days with an option to extend a further 120 if the investigation warrants. If the combined market share of Uber and Grab exceeds 50%, the maximum allowed in the country, the transaction could be blocked.

VIETNAM PARTNERS IN RESEARCH The University of Mississippi and Vietnam’s National University are forging an agreement to exchange students as part of a new partnership for academic exchange and collaboration.

The agreement began unofficially in January 2017 with the proposal to establish a 2+2 transfer arrangement in which students enrolled in engineering bachelor’s degree programmes would complete two years of their studies at each institution. The proposal also allows for faculty exchange, collaborations in research and English language tuition.

ANIMAL PERFORMANCES STOPPED

ENVIRONMENTAL TAX HIKE UNDER SCRUTINY FOR LACK OF TRANSPARENCY VIETNAM’S proposed environmental tax is running into problems with allegations of lack of transparency, with industry experts concerned about losses and economists demanding to know how the tax will be spent.

The proposal to increase environmental taxes to the highest levels for fuel has come from the finance ministry but is being met with criticism from other ministries who are calling for greater transparency and a thorough impact assessment.

Currently being reviewed by the legislative National Assembly, the proposal calls for an increase of 33% per litre on petroleum and diesel, with monetary increases set at

VND4,000 and VND2,000 respectively.

This rise will encourage consumers to opt for more environmentally friendly alternatives, argues the finance ministry. However, the transport ministry argues that as the government is already making moves to encourage consumer changes, the proposed taxation will distort prices.

There is also concern that the new tax could impact negatively on the government’s plans to boost the transportation sector and result in heavy losses. This is supported by experts who claim the calculations do not fully reflect the greater picture since the cost of petrol also impacts other commodities and supply chains.

Using animals in circus performances have been halted temporarily in Ho Chi Minh City following a request to the city’s authorities from the Asia for Animal Coalition (AfA).

AfA has suggested that some of the animals currently used in performances are being kept illegally despite claims that the animals are owned legitimately. In addition to dogs and monkeys, animals such as bears, orangutans and elephants are often used for performances in Vietnam, something the AfA is keen to stop.

CONTROVERSY OVER ART EXHIBITION An art instillation in a rice paddy in the north western province of Yen Bai is causing controversy amidst fears that it may cause harm to the natural environment and landscape.

Installed at the top of a hill in the Mu Cang region of Yen Bai, the exhibition involves a series of steel poles inserted into the ground with wire decorated with 58,000 crystal beads suspended between them to form the shapes of clouds. It is planned to stay in place until early October 2018.

AsiaLIFE HCMC 13

FASHION DESIGNER JASON GIBAUD

By Barbara Adam.

Photo Jonny Edbrooke.

M

elbourne boy Jason Gibaud has had a bit of a wild and whimsical ride, one that’s taken him from interior design school to Hollywood films to a factory in Ho Chi Minh City.

Along the way he picked up a wife and partner-in-creativity and created three children and a fashion line for kids.

Jason and his wife, Michelle Fallon, met in Brisbane, where they both studied a Bachelor of Built Environment at Queensland University of Technology, majoring in interior design.

But after graduation, they decided interior design wasn’t really for them, so they applied to the prestigious Sydney-based National Institute of Dramatic Arts (NIDA), the Australian film school that counts Academy Awardwinning actor Cate Blanchette and director Baz Lurhmann among its alumni.

At NIDA, Jason studied costume design and Michelle studied set design, and soon they were working with the stars.

Jason worked on international feature films, including Moulin Rouge, Peter Pan, Scooby Doo and Star Wars: Episode Two - Attack of the Clones.

“We had a bit of a gypsy life,” Jason said.

“We went where the films were -- Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane.”

14 AsiaLIFE HCMC

Nomadic

“Our daughter Veve had lived in 26 houses by the time she was eight years old.”

During this nomadic period of their lives, Jason created the costumes for the extras in Star Wars and was the head art finisher on the 2001 film Moulin Rouge, which was nominated for eight Academy Awards and won two, including best costume design.

One day Jason was reading a magazine that featured idyllic scenes from rural Australia.

“I decided I wanted to live in the country,” he said. “So we packed up our house and got in the car and drove to Mullumbimby. We decided when we got there we needed a job, so we started our label.”

Mullumbimby is a hippyish town of about 7,000 people in northern New South Wales, a short drive from the New Age and surfing tourist destination of Byron Bay. Here, Jason and Michelle formed a network of sewers and cutters, dotted throughout the countryside.

International Expansion

But Paper Wings outgrew Mullumbimby, even after the enterprise moved out of their house and into a local business incubator.

As luck would have it, Jason met an Indian

guy, who convinced him that moving their operations to India would give the fashion line the room it needed to grow.

“We worked with a wonderful factory there that was run by nuns,” Jason said. “It was set up around a convent, and employed girls with no family, or with disfigurements that prevented them from marriage. It supported them with a place to live and jobs.”

Jason said the factory, in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, was quite an “eccentric” place, especially because the nuns’ reaction to any operational problem was to go to the chapel and pray.

“They were the warmest and most caring women, but it was obvious that managing a business that way was not practical or reliable,” he said.

Unfortunately, the sheer eccentricity of the factory made production unworkable, and friends suggested Vietnam, with its thriving textile industry, as an alternative base.

Jason and Michelle checked it out, and eight years ago they packed up moved their operations and their children to Ho Chi Minh City.

“This place has a great atmosphere and the workers are really skilled and really proud of what they do,” Jason said. “That really

appealed to me, that sense of pride.”

“I also found that, after India, things seemed quite organised.”

Vietnam Experience

Even so, growing their Paper Wings business has not been easy, especially for someone like Jason who wanted to be a designer but has ended up a manager.

“I unfortunately have to do the jobs of two or three people,” he said. “Design is often pushed to the bottom of the list, and it’s the thing that gets really rushed.”

When Jason and Michelle first started manufacturing in Vietnam, they used a local factory. But as their business grew, they realised that outsourcing was actually making things less efficient.

Now, they have a small factory in Thu Duc District with 75 employees, knitting machines that makes their own jersey, and a digital printer that puts Jason’s designs directly onto the fabric.

The Paper Wings factory is funky, functional and full of light, overlooking a big beautiful old mango tree. About 100,000 garments a year are made here, almost exclusively for export to the US and Australia.

“It hasn’t been easy,” Jason said. “It’s very difficult to navigate the way things work in Vietnam and also understand the cultural differences in how we are used to working and how things work here.”

Paper Wings has a strong emphasis on sustainability. All the garments use natural fibres, and Jason and Michelle try to reduce waste as much as possible, and recycle everything they can. Fabric offcuts are used to make “patchwork” pyjamas, tote bags, plush toys and cup holders.

Fun Fashion

Jason’s goal is to make children’s fashion fun, with garments that are comfortable and robust, which look and feel great in motion.

“There’s no reason why children’s clothes should be dumbed down because they’re children,” Jason said. “It’s not just whacking a teddy bear on a t-shirt and calling it children’s fashion. Kids have complex ideas going on in their heads and they’re incredibly imaginative.

As a designer, I have to compete with that.”

Paper Wings clothes are also designed for longevity, so the pieces can be worn for many years. Maybe a dress begins as a long dress, then “grows” into a mini, and then maybe it’s used as a shirt, Jason said.

“We know people who’ve bought our products and they’ve lasted through three children and now they’re keeping it for their grandkids,” he said. “Hearing stories like that gives us such a great feeling, especially as we work in a business that’s often an environmental disaster.”

Jason said he’s “forever grateful” for what Vietnam has allowed him to do, developing their business into what it is today.

SYNCHRONISED REAL ESTATE LAWS BRINGS STABILITY Vietnam’s laws regulating the real estate market have transformed significantly since the market began to pick up in 2014, however, many of the laws now overlap, creating redundancies the government is trying to eliminate.

Discrepancies between laws governing land, houses and real estate businesses have also been questioned.

However, those who fail to use land for a 12-month period or who have fallen behind schedule within 24 months of implementation will be granted and additional 24-month grace period.

ETIQUETTE CODE FOR SOCIAL MEDIA USERS Vietnamese information and communication authorities are becoming alarmed by the growing hate speech and toxic content on social media, including Facebook, and are examining ways to introduce a code of conduct for the country’s social media users to build a healthier online environment in the country.

According to Information and Communications Minister Truong Minh Tuan, social media interactions should be humane, cultural and ethical. The minister intends consulting with the public to create a code that is succinct and easy to understand.

CITY EYES PLASTIC BAG USE Ho Chi Minh City authorities are examining ways to reduce the use of plastic bags, Tuoi Tre newspaper reported last month.

The city’s Department of Education and Training, in coordination with the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, will raise awareness of the harmful effects of plastic waste among students.

Meanwhile, the Department of Industry and Trade will cooperate with the environmental department and district level administrations to encourage local residents and businesses to reduce their use of plastic bags.

GESTATIONAL DIABETES ON THE RISE The number of cases of gestational diabetes in Vietnam is increasing, an international medical conference heard last month.

Koh Hian Tan, former chairman of the Gynecology and Obstetrics Society of Singapore, said diabetes causes many problems during pregnancy, affecting the health of the mother and the development of the baby.

In Singapore, 30% pregnant women with gestational diabetes have to terminate their pregnancy, and the remaining 70% develop two type two diabetes after the pregnancy, Tan said.

paperwings.com.au.

AsiaLIFE HCMC 15

“S

o, what do you do here, you teach?”

Who hasn’t heard the question a thousand times?

Those of us that answer affirmatively are greeted with either disdain or respect, depending on the audience. Jake Houseago recognises the stigma that exists within the expat crowd: “When I say I teach English, I get standard ‘oh right, yeah’…” and their eyes float distractedly away.

Educators in the international circuit receive more recognition, but some still prefer to say that they work at a particular school, than say that they’re a teacher.

The Vietnamese, however, react differently to teachers than expats generally do. Teaching is a respected profession here and most locals value anyone who calls himself a teacher. It’s not uncommon for teachers to receive praise and gifts, especially on 20 November, Vietnamese

16 AsiaLIFE HCMC

Annigje Jacobs delves into the world of professional and passionate teaching in Vietnam.

Teachers’ Day. But not all teachers are the same, especially not in Vietnam. Some start with nothing but an online course, others have a master’s degree in education and years of classroom experience. The fact remains that all good teachers have one thing in common: they are passionate about helping students prepare for their future.

Booming Business

There are thousands of foreign teachers in Ho Chi Minh City. Most of them teach English as a Second Language (ESL) in a language centre or at a public school.

In practically all “where to teach English abroad” lists, Vietnam is in the top 10. The American website Go Abroad even named Vietnam as the very best place to teach English in 2018.

And for good reason: the demand for language teachers is incredibly high. In fact, Vietnam is one of the fastest-growing job markets for teaching English. In Ho Chi Minh City alone, there are hundreds of language centres and public schools that are always on the lookout for new English teachers.

First of all, because Vietnamese parents recognise the value of English as a foreign language, they strongly believe their kids need it to perform better at school and university, and eventually to get a better job.

Many parents, especially in the larger cities, want their children to start learning as early as possible. State news recently reported that English lessons are being offered to two-year-olds.

The government also wants to boost English with the National Foreign Languages 2020 Project. All school teachers and university teachers are required to undergo language training and an English proficiency test. Their level of English has to be significantly improved by 2020 and the government has allocated a substantial budget to realise this.

The influx of foreign companies into Vietnam also boosts demand for teachers.

For an increasing number of jobs, a decent level of English is now a requirement, rather than a preference.

The Doors Are Open

The high demand for English teachers leads in some cases to a rather casual attitude towards the applicants’ skills, qualifications and experience. Many of the smaller language centres hire teachers who have never been in front of a class. Jake remembers how he started. “I had been staying in Vietnam for a while, and it got to the point where I either had to go back home or stick around and find something to do,” he said. Some of his mates in the pub recommended he consider teaching.

“I had never thought about teaching, but thought I’d give it a shot,” Jake said. He took an online course and was hired by a small language school. “My first day was

terrible, I had no idea what I was doing and wanted to quit right away,” he said.

Jake is not the only one to tell such a story.

At many of the small language centres, teachers are left to their own devices, with very little assessment or support.

The larger, most established language centres, like VUS and ILA, offer guidance and observation classes and only employ people who have both an undergraduate degree and a teaching certification.

Obviously, they need to master English, but that doesn’t always mean they have to be a citizen of a native English-speaking nation.

Seamus Gregan, a former English teacher, knows why. “Non-native speakers often make good teachers because they fundamentally understand why certain things are the way they are,” he said.

Officially, all language centres require their teachers to have some sort of certificate. But there’s a wide variety of training, and not all courses prepare people well for teaching. Most language centres prefer people with a CELTA (Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults), an internationally recognised qualification that is provided by Cambridge English Language Assessment. This course provides its students with both a theoretical and a practical component. Taking the CELTA course in Vietnam, four weeks full-time, costs around US$1,750.

The simplest and fastest way to get a certificate, however, would be taking an online TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) or TESOL (Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages) course.

This will set you back a mere $200 and you’re basically guaranteed to pass the final exam. But it doesn’t give you any practical experience. Hence, it won’t secure you a job at any of the more established language centres, let alone at an international school.

But the smaller, independently run schools will hire people who have only completed online training. And as long as the Vietnamese are willing to pay for essentially unqualified people, things are not likely to change anytime soon.

And the Vietnamese do pay. Teachers who are just starting out make around $17 dollars an hour, and work around 20 hours a week.

A teacher with a little more experience can earn around $1,500 per month, more than enough to live comfortably in Vietnam.

Worth noting is that the Vietnamese teachers who essentially do the same job and are fully qualified, earn about one fifth of what their Western colleagues do.

The high demand and flexible entry requirements make teaching in Vietnam attractive for many young foreigners who want to make a quick buck or two.

“It might be the easiest place in Asia to become a teacher,” Jake said.

But entry is not easy for everyone.

People of Asian origin often have a lot more trouble finding a decent job, despite their qualifications. Singaporean Gabriel Ang, a native English speaker and certified for the AsiaLIFE HCMC 17

Experience in a quality English teaching school will always set you up to be ready for a move into an international school.

- Mary McAloon, deputy head at the British International School

18 AsiaLIFE HCMC

job, applied at multiple language schools when he first came to Ho Chi Minh City.

“Nobody wanted to hire an Asian person to teach English,” he said. Parents of children in language centres particularly wanted to see white people in front of the class, Gabriel said.

Curriculum

The time a teacher spends working at language centres varies from a few months to a few years. Many come to the conclusion that the working conditions and the associated lifestyle are simply not sustainable.

Firstly because of the curriculum. In most of the centres, teachers have to follow a strict syllabus that doesn’t leave much space for creativity.

“You are expected to provide some of the games around the mandatory exercises, but also to keep singing the alphabet song and not complain about it,” Seamus said.

On top of that, teachers in language centres have little autonomy over their working hours. Most work evenings and weekends, which can make socialising with non-ESL teachers difficult.

However, as Seamus pointed out, language centre facilities are good, the class sizes are modest and the odd working hours provide an opportunity for people to work on their passion projects. “Many of the bands, film festivals and craft breweries in Ho Chi Minh City exist because there is a group of young, relatively rich people with a lot of free time during the day,” he said. Seamus used his non-ESL teaching time to give cooking classes and set up two businesses. He now runs a school that teaches kids to cook.

Other ESL teachers, including Jake, choose to pick up a few hours at a public school. “I have more freedom, the hours are better and I get paid more,” Jake said. “But it’s ten times more work.”

Public schools often lack the comfort of the language centres. It’s not uncommon to give a two-hour classes to 50 kids in a room without air-conditioning. But Jake has come to love it. “I know my job, and have seen that the result of my teaching has helped people,” he said. “One day one of my students won a big award for a project I helped her with. She came to me and thanked me so much. Then I realised I was making an impact, and now I’m in it for life!”

Jake has been teaching English for eight years and clearly hasn’t quite had enough of it. “I’m always inspired to learn more, to get more creative with different materials, from popular songs to Shakespeare’s plays,” he said. But curiosity and self-learning alone are not enough to get him to the next level.

“I am at a point in my life where I want to advance my teaching and I can’t do that at a

language centre or a public school,” he said.

Taking it to the next level

Language teachers looking for a lifelong career in education often dream of a job in an international school. There are more than 20 such schools in Ho Chi Minh City. Most of them, especially the top tier schools, only hire people who have a teaching degree and several years of experience.

But there are a few ways to get a foot in the door. Mary McAloon, deputy head at the British International School, Ho Chi Minh City, known as BIS, recommends aspiring teachers complete a CELTA course.

“It will equip you with the skills needed for teaching English as an Additional Language (EAL) in a school like BIS HCMC,” she said. “A number of years’ experience in a quality English teaching school will always set you up to be ready for a move into an international school.”

There are also opportunities at the International School of Ho Chi Minh City (ISHCMC). “We take teachers who are getting their degree and allow them to work alongside a qualified teacher,” said Philip Rogers, principal of ISHCMC’s secondary campus.

Qualifications

Entering an international school as a CELTA-certified ESL teacher is one option. Another one is getting a PCGE (Postgraduate Certificate in Education), a programme that combines the theory behind teaching and learning with practice, and costs around $9,000. This course trains teachers in the education of one particular age group: lower primary, primary, secondary, or students 16-plus. Within each age group, candidates specialise in a specific subject.

The PGCE can be done part-time and distance learning options are available, which means you can earn the qualification while teaching in Vietnam. Gabriel, who entered the international teaching circuit as a substitute music teacher, chose to take this degree and was, after graduation, rewarded with a full-time position at the (now) Australian International School.

Jake, meanwhile, plans to start his PGCE this coming September. “The 18-month programme will hopefully get me into an international school,” he said. “And if I get enough experience under my belt, I can then progress to one of the top tier instutions.”

From abroad

Experience in a less-established international school can defintely be used as a stepping stone to a top tier school. Many of ISHCMC’s new hires, for example, are professionals that have worked at other international schools. But the schools also

AsiaLIFE HCMC 19

look beyond the pool of teachers already in Vietnam.

Teaching graduates often look overseas for jobs, especially when their local labour market is tight. In Canada, for example, there are more qualified teachers than teaching positions.

Others teachers consider the international teaching circuit because of the innovative learning environments and lavish facilities.

“I know public school teachers from England and the US who had to buy supplies, and sometimes even breakfast, for their students because the parents couldn’t afford it,” Seamus said.

To get hired in Vietnam, teachers need to have an open-world view, and professional experience abroad is not a strict requirement. “A good teacher is a good teacher, no matter where they come from,” ISHCMC’s Philip said.

Mentality

Even if you have all the qualifications mentioned above, you are not guaranteed to find a teaching job in Ho Chi Minh City.

A teacher’s mentality has to mesh with an individual school’s philosophy, Philip said. “Teaching is not just about delivering information, it’s about getting kids to learn about key concepts and understandings,” he said. “Our profession has shifted from being the sage on the stage, to being the guide on the side.”

BIS’s Mary McAloon said “being creative, agile, open-minded and flexible” were the most important characteristics of a good teacher.

At the top international schools, you won’t find authoritarian teachers who order the kids to sit still, be quiet and memorise things. It’s actually quite the opposite.“If you set the conditions for learning to take place, it becomes natural,” said Gabriel, who now teaches at an international school in Uganda. “There’s very little need to force a child, learning will happen automatically because their environment encourages them to do so.”

Having a suitable learning environment is therefore essential for every child’s development. “BIS HCMC’s new Early Years and Infant Campus was specifically designed to allow children to learn directly from their environment, with a plethora of creative and adaptable learning spaces, including a sensory walkway, a rooftop classroom, and a splash pool with its own waterfall,” BIS’s Mary said. “This allows even the youngest children to learn by playing and exploring, by being active and through creative and critical thinking which takes place both indoors and outdoors.”

This student-focused approach to education requires a specific skillset from the teachers, according to ISHCMC’s Philip. “They have to provide guidance and structure. They need to get the children to ask the right questions, to reflect, to

20 AsiaLIFE HCMC

critically think,” he said.

Sometimes that means taking a step back, even when a student is about to fail. And sometimes it means accepting that a child knows more about a certain topic than the teacher does. “That can be very scary for a teacher,” Philip said with a smile.

Staying up to date

Once your qualifications, experience and mentality have provided you with an entry ticket to one of the top schools in Ho Chi Minh City, your ride isn’t over.

“We need to keep developing, we need to keep improving, because the world is changing,” Philip said. Reminiscing about his own school days, he said: “our kids are different, our environment is different, what the kids need is very different. Looking at the ISHCMC Secondary Campus, the world has changed a lot indeed: practically all walls function as whiteboards; lessons take place in the corridor; there’s a film studio and a room with 3D printers.”

It can be challenge, and an opportunity, for teachers to stay up-to-date with the latest developments. Both ISHCMC and BIS HCMC offer their staff a range of professional learning sources and several mandatory training days. The latter even offers an Executive Master’s in International Education, a programme designed specifically for teachers working in international schools by King’s College London. Both schools regularly send their teachers away to conferences, workshops and trainings abroad.

But all the hard work pays off, and not only because of the extensive packages the employees receive. BIS’s Mary said: “Working with children, teachers and parents from around the world, along with fantastic colleagues from your host country, is a rewarding and fulfilling experience.’

Keep pushing

For Jake, he continues to dream about working at a top international school as a literature teacher.

Philip offers this advice: once you’ve finished your PGCE, look at some of the other international schools. “If you do an exceptionally good job, you’ll find that your reputation will be out there,” he said. “It’s a small world.”

Singaporean Gabriel knows from experience that a passion for teaching is often the key to sucess. After his initial ESL adventure in Ho Chi Minh City, Gabriel won full-time teaching positions at international schools in Vietnam, China and Uganda.

“When I first came to Vietnam, I never thought about being an international school teacher,” he said. “I didn’t even know how one would get into that kind of role. But it’s all about being resourceful. It really isn’t that difficult once you know how; all you have to do is talk to the right people. There’s always a way.”

It really isn’t that difficult once you know how; all you have to do is talk to the right people.

There’s always a way.

- Gariel Ang

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22 AsiaLIFE HCMC

Barbara Adam sits down with a prolific polymath to talk about his latest book.

Photos by Romain Garrigue.

I

f ever anyone was in need of overlydramatic air quotes, it’s Tim Doling, who says he “retired” in 2010.

Since “retiring”, the British historian has written five books on Vietnam and its history, with another in the pipeline. He also writes prolifically about Vietnamese heritage on his website www. historicvietnam.com, works as a translator and cultural tourism consultant, and creates several Facebook pages, including Saigon Cho Lon Then & Now Facebook, and Dai Quan sat Di San Saigon - Saigon Heritage Observatory.

“I don’t particularly like standing still and doing nothing,” he says, without any trace of irony.

Tim is a classically trained historian, with a Masters Degree in Medieval Welsh History from the University of Wales Aberystwyth.

But for most of his career, Tim ran theatres and arts centres in the UK and in Asia.

He came to Vietnam in the late 1990s to work with the Ministry and Culture to develop arts management training curricula for universities. And something about Vietnam (including his now wife, who he met in 1995) convinced him to stay, and delve as deep as he could into the country’s fascinating culture and history.

Tim’s latest book is the 523-page tome, Exploring Hue, Heritage of the Nguyen Dynasty Heartland.

The book includes an overview of the history of Hue, which became the capital of Vietnam in 1636, and the trials and tribulations of Vietnam’s royal families, stories full of intrigue, bloodshed, betrayal, revenge and even a little royal insanity.

Research involved lots of reading, talking to Vietnamese scholars and a bit of Indiana Jones style “beating my way through the jungle”, Tim said. His research is aided by his ability to read and speak Vietnamese.

Exploring Hue includes 23 self-guided tours in and around the former capital, most with about 20 points of historical interest.

GPS coordinates are supplied for each stop, handy for the more out-of-the-way places.

Many of the tours are ideal for walking or cycling.

The book is illustrated with old photographs, drawings and maps, and interesting little sidebars on topics such as Cham architecture, concubines and eunuchs, mother goddess worship and the madness of Emperor Thanh Thai.

“Hue has such a rich heritage and there is

just inadequate explanations for visitors as to what’s important,” he said.

Tim names his two favourite parts of Hue as the northern part of the ancient Citadel and the Gia Hoi Old Quarter, east of the Citadel.

“Gai Hoi is the area where all the Chinese assembly halls are, and where lots of intriguing temples and princely houses are based,” he said. “It’s a really beautiful place to stroll about or ride a bike.”

Tim believes there are huge benefits in preserving Vietnam’s cultural heritage, and in promoting heritage and exploratory tourism. He points to statistics that show Vietnam has a woeful rate of attracting return visitors.

“This is the age of independent tourism,” he said. I think it’s really important to facilitate independent travel because this is a way to generate more income from tourism, from higher income people, people who stay longer.”

Tim acknowledges Vietnam’s historic sites are dreadfully under-explained, with little or no effort made to tell the rollicking stories attached to the buildings, or explain their significance and role in history.

“I’m trying to help fill the gaps so people are not standing there like lemons,” he said.

Tim’s next project is to finish an update of Exploring Ho Chi Minh City, published in 2014. Part of the reason it needs updating, he said, is that some of the sites mentioned in the book are now gone.

“There’s been such massive destruction (in Ho Chi Minh City) over the last 10 years,” he said. “There’s really no concept of how valuable the buildings are, economically. It’s a huge waste, just destroying everything for short-term profit.”

While Tim mourns the loss of the heritage buildings throughout Vietnam, he’s determined to help open up the country’s history to visitors, through books, talks and tours. (He leads train tours through Vietnam several times a year.)

“If my work does increase or lead to a growth in tourism or a growth in return numbers, at least I’ve done something,” he said.

For now, there’s the Ho Chi Minh City book to update, and an Exploring Hoi An and Da Nang book to complete. Because retirement is for enjoying yourself, right?

“My job will never ever be done,” Tim said. “I’m going to cram in as much work as I can while I’m still able.”

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24 AsiaLIFE HCMC

Yendy Tsang investigates the wonderful world of edible flowers in Vietnam.

Photo by Romain Garrigue.

V

ietnam’s long history of turmoil has meant that home cooks have had to be very creative to feed their family, especially in times of famine and near-famine.

All kinds of unusual plants and animals have found their way into cooking pots, including snails, frogs and a vast selection of weeds and greens.

There are also more colourful items flowers.

Here’s a look at which flowers can be your great partners on the plate and where can you get them.

Most edible flowers are available at local wet markets, and can be used straight away.

Some flowers, such as banana blossom can be eaten raw for a lovely fresh taste.

However, not all flowers sold in the markets are safe. Many are imported from China and are sprayed with chemicals and insecticides. It’s best to buy flowers from a reliable source, or from a local grocery store.

Here are seven edible flowers that are available in Saigon.

Pumpkin flower (bong bi): These yellow flowers are big enough to be stuffed. They can then be used in soup, or just simply fried with garlic and beef.

Pumpkin flowers are high in nutrition and are believed to protect blood vessels and increase brain function.

Garlic chive flowers (bong he): These are small white flowers at the end of long thin stalks, with a strong garlic/onion flavour.

Garlic chive flowers can be used in Asian or European dishes, and can even be used as “string” to secure the top of a dumpling.

Garlic chives also work well stir-fried with beef.

Vietnamese water lily (bong sung): These pretty flowers have a very mild flavour, and are often added to hotpots. Another traditional Vietnamese dish is a water lily salad (goi bong sung), usually mixed with pork and prawn.

Bong so dua, which doesn’t have a common

English name and is usually referred to by its Latin name sesbania grandiflora: The tropical flowers mainly grow in Southeast Asia, including in Vietnam, Malaysia and the Philippines.

So Dua flowers are usually white and wing-shaped and are most often used in canh chua (sour soup). The sweet flavour of so dua can help counter the sourness of the tamarind in the soup.

Camilla Bailey, owner of Mad House in District 2, has been using edible flowers in Europe and Asia for more than 15 years. She recommends using so dua quickly, as they turn brown soon after being picked. Camilla also recommends removing the flower stems and bitter pistils before cooking.

Tonkin jasmine (bong thien ly): These fragrant flowers are native to China and are famous for the rich purfume they release at night.

Each bouquet of Tonkin jasmine has many tiny greenish-yellow flowers. They are used in variety of dishes, as their sweet taste goes well with many other flavours.

Try them simply, stir-fried with garlic, in canh chua sour soup or fried with beef.

Banana blossom (hoa chuoi): The banana blossom is the large purple tear-shaped bud that, if left, will form a bunch of bananas.

In Vietnam, shredded banana flower is most often eaten raw, in a salad. Many Vietnamese soups, including bun moc, bun rieu and bun bo Hue, are served with a side dish of shredded banana flower and rau muong (water spinach), which is added to the soup at the last minute so it wilts slightly. Banana flower is also often added to hotpots. Banana flower has a very dry flavour and “if you eat it alone, you have to drink a lot of water,” Camilla said. “It’s definitely best if you eat it with fish sauce and some soft noodles.”

Dien dien (sesbania sesben): The small yellow dien dien flowers come from the Mekong Delta. They are usually harvested during the rainy season, and have a sweet but bitter taste that works well in hotpots.

Another traditional dish that uses the dien dien flower is dua chua dien dien (pickled dien dien flowers).

By marinating the flowers with rice water (the water that’s left after washing rice), salt and sugar for few days, you can enjoy another simple and tasty dish.

Many other uses Flowers are not just used in main dishes, but also for desserts, especially in European cuisine, where presentation is important.

Mad House’s Camilla loves using flowers in cooking, and she says she reserves her big love for hibiscus flowers.

Red hibiscus flowers have a sweet cranberry-like flavour with a bitter aftertaste. They are the perfect choice for tarts, sweets, cocktails and even teas.

“Hibiscus and jasmine both have the bitter and rich aroma when it comes to tea,” Camilla said. “However, I would say I prefer hibiscus because the flavour of jasmine is too dominant while the bitterness of hibiscus is more gentle and `romantic’.”

Camilla advised people to take care when buying flowers for food.

“Don’t get flowers from florists, since they’re sprayed with pesticides or other chemicals,” she said. Sprayed flowers are poisonous, so if you import flowers from the farm, make sure they don’t spray anything to the flowers.

For home-cooking, find the most reliable groceries for fresh flowers. If you’re in need of European flowers, look into buying dried ones instead of the fresh to make sure they aren’t sprayed.

Moreover, you should be tender and soft when washing flowers, Camilla said. “The flowers are so gentle. If you wash them, shake them and dry them, they will break,” she said.

If you’re nervous about cooking flowers yourself, and you don’t know any Vietnamese home cooks who can cook them for you, you can get an overview of some of the local flower flavours at Pizza 4Ps, which serves a four flowers pizza with Tokin jasmine, pumpkin flowers, leek flowers and daylillies.

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26 AsiaLIFE HCMC

Peter Cornish touches base with the glittery fabulousness taking Ho Chi Minh City’s drag scene by storm.

V

ietnam has a history of men dressing up in women’s clothes, or drag queens as they are sometimes called. These men, or women, have long been a familiar sight at rural Tet festivities, and other local celebrations, playing the fool, the butt of a joke, or calling out the winning numbers for lottery tickets.

This particular role was highlighted in a 2017 film, Lo To, telling a heart-breaking story of life’s struggles in Vietnam’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) community, and of a young gay man escaping a life of prejudice to join the bingo callers and be free in his own sexuality. The film explores the life of lottery callers, well known in Vietnam as one of the few jobs an openly gender/queer man could hope to do.

The film has helped build awareness and acceptance of Vietnam’s LGBTQ community and the drag or cross-dressing scene.

Already acknowledged as increasingly progressive on LGBTQ issues, Vietnam decriminalised gay partnerships in 2015 and is working towards laws that recognise and allow legal gender changes.

With these updates to the law has come a greater acceptance of those who do not conform to conventional gender distinctions, but identify as neither, or both, or a combination of male and female genders. And accompanying this increase of acceptance comes a new-found confidence to explore openly what it means to be gay in Vietnam, taking pride and being bold.

Queer and Here

Ho Chi Minh City has hosted a celebration of the gay community with VietPride since 2012, allowing the fabulous to proclaim “we are queer and we are here’ with increased confidence. The event has grown into a large annual gathering of the country’s LGBTQ community, attracting tens of thousands of participants nationwide.

Further boosting this confidence is a growing trend for cross-dressing and a drag movement that is making a mark in the country’s larger cities, as well as some of its smaller ones. Though still in its early days compared to neighbouring Thailand, where there is a long and established history of embracing cross-dressing, in Vietnam drag queens are putting on their glad rags and

strutting their glittery stuff in ways that many would have not imagined possible just a few years ago.

The booming drag scene in Ho Chi Minh City seems as much about providing a welcoming, non-exclusive environment for all as it is about dressing up in women’s clothes and having a fun night out. It provides spaces of non-judgemental selfexpression for the city’s queens and LGBTQ community but also welcomes people of any gender or sexual orientation who want to explore an alternative to gender-rigid stereotypes.

Full Disclosure

At the forefront of drag in HCMC is Full Disclosure, a new show that’s making a splash on the city’s nightlife scene, not only within the LGBTQ community, but also with those comfortable and supportive of ideas that step outside the norms of the heteronormative culture that most of HCMC’s party scene revolves around.

Popping up at different venues around town, Full Disclosure is “a space that facilitates a spectrum of performances ranging from drag to alternative theatre to musical numbers intertwined with having a good time,” said show founder, Englishman Gavin Sealy.

A newcomer to HCMC after time spent in Bangkok, Gavin saw an opportunity in the under-developed alternative nightlife scene here, taking inspiration from what he had seen and experienced in Thailand.

Joining forces with established local queen, Bang Trinh, who performs the popular Trinh’s Show, he has created a space where LGBTQ people can relax, have a good time, and be comfortable with who they are in an environment where they are free from prejudice and judgement.

“We wanted to be visible,” Gavin said.

“It’s a way for the LGBTQ community to connect with the public while being non-political. Others are doing the political thing, but we are more about having fun, having a drink and connecting on a human level.”

Full Disclosure puts on events with performances, games, themes and plenty of interaction between performers and audience. Since starting in 2017, it has become one of the most popular nights in the city, regularly attracting more than 400

guests, not only from the drag and LGBTQ community but from a growing number of people who identify as straight.

“I wanted to help people understand that drag is an art form, not just about LGBTQ,” said Trinh, who heads Team Bang Trinh, one of the leading drag performance groups in the country. With Gavin, she saw the chance to strengthen her message and increase the size of her group, sharing experiences with foreigners and locals.

Trinh’s own show mixes traditional Vietnamese art and culture with foreign musical and artistic influences. Each show is themed and includes music, dancing and acting. She also hosts a talk show discussing topics relevant to the LGBTQ community and helping to develop life outlooks for young gay people. “Team Bang Trinh works with other drag teams to bring people together under a common banner and to encourage open minded thinking,” she said.

Party Fabulous

A recent addition to Full Disclosure’s family of fabulousness is Ricardo Glencasa who hosts their regular party night, Gender Funk. Joining the Full Disclosure family just six months ago, Ricardo brings a full-on party vibe to their events with a night of glitter-inspired disco, soul and funk.

“For me the night is like breathing out and exhaling,” he said. “As a queer person we often suppress part of our personality that’s not always accepted by society.

Gender Funk is a place where we can breathe out and not hold anything in, just relax and let go.” Like the Full Disclosure shows, Gender Funk is attracting impressive numbers of locals and foreigners who want to party without inhibitions or worrying about a restrictive vibe.

Working with those in the LGBTQ and drag community who have paved the way, Full Disclosure brings a message of acceptance and unity, encouraging freedom of thought, freedom of expression and freedom to be who you are among people who accept you for that. And the party fabulous are loving it, glitter and all.

To find out about their next events visit their Facebook pages: fulldisclosurevn / GenderFunk / knynu.bangtrinh.5 AsiaLIFE HCMC 27

28 AsiaLIFE HCMC

Words by Barbara Ximenez Bruidegom. Photo by Jonny Edbrooke.

*(vợ = wife) (vở = notebook) (vơ = socks)

“Y

ou have a very smelly wife,”a young Korean student says to an American classmate twice his age.

While the teacher in the corner can barely contain herself, the American seems confused rather than insulted, as he brings a notebook up to his nose. “My notebook smells?!?”

The teacher, crying with laughter, steps in and calls the attention back to the whiteboard. “Tones are important! Repeat after me: vợ,vở,vơ.” The class dutifully repeats, despite not hearing the slightest bit of difference between the three words, or understanding what exactly has made the teacher nearly wet herself. “Get the tones right or you will insult your friend’s wife, when really what you want to say is that he has smelly socks,” she finally explains, in between more giggling fits.

To a slightly less confrontational European like me, it was funny enough that the young Korean would point out the American’s smelly socks, but that was obviously not the point of the teacher’s anecdote. Somewhere around the fourth or fifth lesson in my beginners’ Vietnamese course, with my linguistic self-confidence already pretty much at rock bottom, she feels it is time for us to learn how sensitive these damn tones really are.

Four years later, my Vietnamese is decent enough, although tones are still a big old mystery to me. This comes as no surprise to my friends, who know I can’t even hold the melody of Happy Birthday, but it is somewhat of a handicap when trying to speak the lingo here. At first I likened it to a speech impediment, a bit like how I can’t roll my r’s in my own native Spanish. Unfortunately, struggling with the Vietnamese tones is much more than just a speech impediment, and it calls for a clear coping mechanism and a solid strategy for choosing the words that are least likely to get you in to trouble.

The first, and easiest, coping strategy is to always smile when you speak. Don’t just curl your lips, you need a real smile, one of those that involves your eyes as well.

You might be about to insult someone’s ancestor, so putting your most disarming face forward goes a long way to avoiding a punch in the face.

Next, speak as complete a sentence as possible, and, whenever you can, try to finish up with one of the many sentenceending words, like ạ, nhá, nhé, nhỉ, mà, luôn

- preferably using the one that best describes your friendly intentions. The context that a full sentence provides, distracts from your bad pronunciation and makes it easier to understand what you are trying to say. The right sentence-ending word will momentarily confuse your audience, as for a split second you actually sound Vietnamese.

Thirdly, choose your vocab. The Vietnamese language has an extremely extensive vocabulary, and, for as long as your accent isn’t good enough to be singled out as a Southerner or Northerner, you may as well pick and choose the regional variation of a word that suits you best. For example, I use the Northern version of big -“to” -- over the Southern word for it -- “lơn”, for the same reason that I stopped ordering any drink in a can (“lon”) very early on.

Get the pronunciation wrong for these two words, and your local friends will burst out laughing as you’ve ordered your beer from a woman’s genitalia. Even though I think I have got the hang of the difference between a can and a c**t by now, when it comes to ordering, it’s still a bottle (chai) of beer for me, just to be safe.

Similarly, I stopped asking to get my nails (móng) done, when I finally figured out why that request always came with lots of giggly taps on my buttocks (mông). Nowadays, I get in with the young Vietnamese and am all trendy, by simply using the word manicure within an otherwise Vietnamese sentence. And my better half has finally figured out why I can always get a laugh from the crowds when I introduce him as “James, but you can call him Jim”. If you’re not sure why, ask your Vietnamese friend or colleague, I’m sure you’ll get a giggle.

Most importantly though, as you try to get to grips with this language, don’t despair and don’t give up. It is a beautiful language, made for poetry and spoken by a quick-witted people with a sense of humour akin to the Brits: a little bit dark, a little bit sarcastic, and with a lot of deadpan delivery.

Accept that it is a bit of a national sport to hear the worst in what you are saying, much like how the locals enjoy watching you eat durian or mắm tôm for the first time.

Take it in the spirit that it is intended: a bit of good old banter between friends. My unintentional slip ups have forged enduring friendships and given me many moments filled with belly laughter to remember. And that’s all the reasons I need, to persist in learning this impossible tonal language.

AsiaLIFE HCMC 29

HEALTH & WELLNESS Jonny Edbrooke reviews some motorbike safety issues that area all too often ignored.

W

earing a helmet -- and a good one -- is an obvious safety factor when riding motorbikes in Vietnam. Even though if you look around District 2 sometimes, it seems we have a way to go on this issue.

There are also a number of other safety issues to be aware of when throwing your leg over a motorbike here, many of which are simple common sense.

Pillion Passengers

Under most countries’ laws you can only have one passenger on a bike and they should be tall enough to sit on the back and have their feet firmly on footrests while holding onto grip at back of bike. You should not carry anyone in front of you when driving, it’s fairly obvious what will happen but if you do hit something and a child is between you and the front of the bike.

Clothing

So it’s hot and it rains here, but when you hit the ground at 40kmh, flip-flops and shorts aren’t really going to offer much protection. According to US Center for Disease Control, 30% of non-fatal injuries in motorbike accidents happen to legs and feet, so put some shoes that might give you some sort of protection.

Also be aware of the Then you have the “Saigon kiss”, the scar left by a muffler burn, usually on the calf. Wearing trousers minimises the risks of getting the dreaded Saigon kiss.

Shopping

Many of us carry shopping dangling from our handle-bars, this impedes the ability to steer especially if you have to make a sudden quick maneuver. The safest option is to install a back pannier and strap on a box with bungee cords. There’s also another issue with shopping, especially if you hang your shopping bags from the handlebars or on a hooks on the front of the bike -- if there are glass bottles inside, you can end up with quite severe injuries in the cast of an accident. Either from the glass bottles smashing into your legs, or from falling onto broken glass when the bike goes down.

Mirrors

Firstly, actually have two of them. Yes, there are meant to be two, and they should be angled correctly so you can see behind you, on both sides. The next step is to actually use them. Look in the mirror to check what’s behind you when you approach a turn, or prepare to change lanes.

Tyre Pressure

The majority of motorbike drivers in Ho Chi Minh City get their tyres pumped at local garages, which have no pressure guages. Trevor Long of Saigon Motorcycles, who imports tyre gauges, said this can contribute to accidents.

“I believe it’s one of the biggest causes of avoidable accidents here, over-pressurised tyres,” he said. Trevor recently checked a number of customers’ tyres and found “not one was under 50psi, one was actually 85psi, its should be about 30 to 35psi in the front,” he said. “What happens when you apply the front brake is the tyre flattens out on the road, that’s what gives you your grip, when it’s at 60psi there is no grip.”

If you carry passengers regularly, you will likely want your psi to be on the higher end for the back tyre.

The seasoned bike riders will think this guide is a bit unnecessary. But take a look around the city and you’ll see a lot of people, including expats, making simple safety mistakes again and again.

Following these guidelines could save you from a serious injury, or worse.

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T

he story of how Song Saa Collective came to be is almost as magical as the place itself.

Song Saa founders Melita and Rory Hunter had been living in Phnom Penh for several years before the opportunity to visit the Koh Rhong archipelago arose. When they eventually came across Koh Bong, the island Song Saa Private Island Resort now sits upon, they were horrified.

Though accessible only by private fishing boat, they found remnants of a once paradisiacal place. Plastic pollution and waste had all but destroyed the waterway separating the island from Koh Rhong itself, and the couple felt compelled to act. Buying the island for a cool US$15,000 seemed the only solution and thank goodness – for were it not for that cathartic moment I wouldn’t have had the pleasure of enjoying what I can confidently claim is the best hotel I will ever have the privilege of staying at. The island is now the complete opposite of what it was when they first found it – a gem in the archipelago and one worthy of international acclaim.

Priced upward of US$800 a night, depending on how early you book and

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whether you opt for the very Richard Branson-esque all-inclusive package or not, Song Saa is perhaps the most luxurious all-villa resort with a conscience in mainland Southeast Asia. At the very least, it is the only one in Cambodia offering accommodation in overwater structures.

Set in a cluster of islands just 30 minutes by speedboat from Sihanoukville, Song Saa is the self-professed epitome of barefoot travel. The pre-arrival preference form - on which guests can indicate their favourite cuisine, beverages and activities to be included as part of the resort’s offerings throughout their stay - even dictates that shoes are quite simply a non-necessity while on Song Saa. “Those who want something different, those who want to go beyond luxury, they are seeking experiential travel. And that’s what Song Saa offers,” the resort’s general manager Karen Merrick told me as we sat having coffee just meters from the resort’s own home-made reef. Having spent the better part of 15 years managing and owning luxury resorts in the Maldives herself, I thought better than to argue.

“When people come here, they just want to go off-grid and relax: wear their shirt backward to dinner, whatever makes

them happy,” she smiled. “But beyond that, it’s the story of the island and how it came to be that attracts guests. Song Saa is so incredibly unique on the global map too – considering how recent the sad history of the Cambodian people is, it’s just incredible to see how they’ve evolved in such a short amount of time. It’s the people that make Song Saa.” And she’s not wrong. Many of the staff were physically born and raised on the island, and founders Rory and Mel still do all they can to ensure they are supporting as many Koh Rhong or Sihanoukville locals as possible. The couple both lived on the tiny four-hectare island for almost a decade as they built the exclusive resort, developing strong relationships with the locals and falling more and more in love with the Cambodian culture as the project progressed.

The resort itself is stunning. Some of Asia’s purest white sand beaches and azure waters can be found all across the archipelago and the island of Song Saa is no exception. Tropical palms, whitewashed wooden structures and Café Del Mar-styled daybeds are thoughtfully placed wherever guests might want to lay down with a cocktail and a book, but it’s the resort’s

Lauren Cameron visits one of the world’s most luxurious resorts, right next door in Cambodia.

over-the-water restaurant, the Vista Bar and Restaurant, that takes the cake in terms of impressive design.

Beautiful white lounge chairs, suspended day beds, stunning contemporary decor and a prime view of sunset coalesce to form one of the most magical happy hour spots I’ve ever had the pleasure of experiencing. One very reasonably-priced Caipirinha turned into several as the sun fell behind us, and soon it was time to make our way toward our table for two, perched dangerously close to the edge of the deck with nothing separating us from the ocean but a few softly-lit candles – it was magical.

One can either choose to dine from the daily changing five-course Chef’s Menu (US$75+ a head), a tasteful blend of Khmer flavours and innovative Western dishes, or eat from the All-Day Dining Menu, also served beachside at the resort’s slightly more casual dining venue, Driftwood. All produce is ethically sourced or caught from the archipelago and dinner is served in a different venue each night, unless guests would prefer to dine in-villa or privately on the beach, of course. Whatever your desire, be it a traditional Khmer afternoon tea ceremony, a bioluminescent swim in

the moonlight, a mangrove kayak tour or a sunset sail on The Ahyoka, the Song Saa Collective’s yacht, your wish is the staff’s command. Each villa guest is appointed a guest experience manager, available 24/7 to cater to any whim or need. A morning yoga class beside one of the island’s many infinity pools is just one of several complimentary activities that guests don’t need to fork out extra for. Others include stand up paddle boarding, snorkelling and cultural excursions into neighbouring villages to see the impact of the resort’s own non-profit organisation, The Song Saa Foundation. Established in 2013, the foundation works to protect the habitats of the Koh Rong Archipelago and improve the welfare of its communities in whatever way possible.

Cambodia is deforesting faster than Indonesia, and so throughout Song Saa’s design is a concerted effort to use sustainable materials wherever possible.

“Everything you see, even these tables were crafted from old fishing boats, sustainably sourced,” Karen said, gesturing to the ornate wooden tables we were sitting at. Song Saa’s design team spent three years collecting 3,000 to 4,000 pieces of driftwood and old fishing boats used

to make the furniture and roofing for the resort. And the effort is palpable. Unique, twisted beams of wood in myriad shades of “sunkissed” form the tables and barstools.

Our villa was no exception to the thoughtful design throughout the resort.

We had been upgraded to an overwater villa due to it being our first wedding anniversary – hallelulah! Coming in at US$2,220 a night, our villa boasted no less than three showers (one indoors and two outside), a bathtub with views over the archipelago, a glass floor with reef views, a stunning outdoor lounge and private infinity plunge pool with views over the island of Koh Rhong. It was breath-taking and utterly worthy of its million and one accolades: Condé Nast Traveler’s Gold Standard award, Condé Nast Traveler’s Most Soulful Spa of the Year, Condé Nast Traveler’s World’s Most Beautiful Resort Hotel and National Geographic’s Leaders in Sustainable Tourism title.

But the beauty of the island lies in its personalised guest service, so the rest I will leave a secret… “We compete on the world stage as a 27 villa private island, the only one not backed by billionaires,” Karen said. “That’s what makes Song Saa unique.

We’re bespoke in every way.”

AsiaLIFE HCMC 33

TRAVELS IN SABAH:

On a visit to the Malaysian state of Sabah on the island of Borneo, Mark Bibby Jackson encounters a wealth of wildlife in its natural environment and reacquaints himself with an orange friend.

34 AsiaLIFE HCMC

I

rise to see the most majestic view of Mount Kinabalu. The early morning Sabah sun shimmers off the metallic roofs of base camp, a small trail of slurry distantly indicating where the 2015 earthquake had its most tragic impact, claiming 18 lives.

It is the second time I have awoken to the highest point in Malaysia, and like 17 years

previously, again I will not ascend its summit.

Back then I was exhausted after climbing the Pinnacles in neighbouring Sarawak. A pointless exercise that had taken five hours to climb and even longer to descend, a feat that my ex and myself had completed on our own as our guide had complained of an upset stomach. As we reached the summit, we discovered that, dramatic as the limestone needles look from the air, when you are surrounded by them they are far less impressive and distinctly lacking in any vista. On the way down, we bumped into our guide, who had risen like Lazarus afraid that his charges had become lost in the mists of the rainforest and wandered off track. Fortunately, we had not. So, by the time we reached Mount Kinabalu a few days later we were weary of another fruitless trek and decided instead to feast ourselves upon the spectacular views.

Others are less timid, taking two days to ascend to the 4,095-metre peak, resting the night at the base camp some 2.5 kilometres from the summit, and then setting off at 2am to time their final push for sunrise.

Since the earthquake the numbers have been restricted to 135 per day, so it’s advisable to ensure all your permissions are in order before setting off. Naturally, I would have joined them, but this time I am travelling with my brother and sister-in-law on their first trip to Asia, and it would be rude to leave them behind while I took on Malaysia’s Everest.

We are three days into our trip around Sabah, the smallest of Malaysia’s two states on the island of Borneo. Our first night we had spent at Shangri-La’s glorious Rasa Ria Resort on the outskirts of the state capital of Kota Kinabalu. Arriving late and tired we went straight to bed, but the next day we took the canopy walk and short trail through the resort’s preserved forest to Pekan Nebalu, where we had beclouded views of Mount Kinabalu.

Rasa Ria used to be known for its small sanctuary for orphaned orangutans.

However, the last remaining primates were transferred to the rehabilitation centre at Sepilok in 2016. Instead of seeing this as a challenge, Lori-Jean Collins, its

director of sales and marketing, relishes the opportunity to diversify the resort’s appeal.

With 400 acres of land and three kilometres of virtually private beach, it isn’t difficult to get her point. Plans to open a Discovery Centre along with the longest twin zip-line in Sabah later this year will only help strengthen its appeal.

We spend the next day exploring Kinabalu National Park, where we see Borneo black-banded squirrels, a Bornean forktail, white-throated fantails and Temminck’s sunbird – all identified by our expert guide Roy, who unlike his Sarawak counterpart demonstrated a robust stomach throughout our trip.

In the afternoon we manage to make it to Poring Springs and walk along the high canopy walkway to view the virgin forest from up high – a bit too high for my vertiginous brother – and then return to the foothills of the mountain where we stayed at the Alpine-like Kinabalu Pine Resort, from where we experienced our glorious sunrise the following day.

All this was just a precursor to the main event. I have always had a soft spot for orangutans ever since watching Clint Eastwood strolling down the street with Clyde. And Borneo is one of the two islands – the other being Sumatra in Indonesia – where orangutans are found naturally in the wild. The rehabilitation centre at Sepilok was founded in 1964 by art historian and conservationist Barbara Harrisson to rehabilitate the endangered apes.

According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), a century ago there were about 230,000 orangutans in total. Now it’s estimated that numbers have dwindled to some 104,700 Bornean orangutans, which is considered endangered. However, their plight is not as perilous as the Sumatran orangutan, which is critically endangered, with only 7,500 still alive. In November 2017, a third species the Tapanuli orangutan was announced, and this is the most endangered of all the great apes with only 800 recorded.

Sepilok supports some 60 to 80 orangutans – as well as some sun bears – in 43 sq km of protected land at the edge of Kabili Sepilok Forest Reserve, with the aim of returning them to the wild. Although, the centre is open from 8.45am to 4pm, most people coincide their visit for either the 10am or 3.30pm feeding time. We opted for the latter.

This was my third visit to the centre, which has greatly expanded since my initial trip. In the wild, baby orangutan are reared and trained by their mothers for six years.

Sepilok replaces this with a buddy system pairing a younger ape with an older one to foster the skills they will need to survive in Borneo’s rainforest.

Eventually, we leave and return to our rooms at Forest Edge, Sepilok. I reflect as I watch deer munching in the undergrowth in the setting sun from my balcony while mosquitoes take it in turn to draw my blood. But it is one peculiar and sadly endangered orange primate that is the main draw. Let’s hope it remains that way.

AsiaLIFE HCMC 35

HOW TO BE A BETTER HOME COOK

BY THE YORKSHIRE

B

eing a better home cook is not just about being able to throw a dinner party and dish up delectable plates, it is also about managing the economics, keeping everything tidy and clean, being able to put something together at the last minute and the satisfaction of having an orderly kitchen.

Sourcing good, fresh and affordable ingredients for Westernstyle cooking in Southeast Asia can be a bit of a challenge. But by networking with like-minded individuals you can quickly find out where to get certain ingredients. (Don’t forget to pay your knowledge forward, either.)

Keep your larder stocked, and when you use the last of something, write it down on wipe-clean panel on your fridge door.

Then make a list and plan your shopping so it’s an efficient once-aweek excursion.

Learn how to store ingredients correctly. There’s nothing worse than opening that jar of Dijon mustard to find mould growing on the top, or giving yourself a dose of Delhi belly because you’ve arranged items in the fridge in a slipshod manner.

Keep flour and other dry ingredients in receptacles with tightfitting lids. Small critters will get into anything here if you give them the smallest opportunity. Also remember dry herbs and spices do not last forever.

Now for the prep and cooking. Make sure your knives are sharp (this is for your own safety) and you have other handy items, such as tongs, that will allow you to work more efficiently and safely.

Have four chopping boards, one each for meat, fish, vegetables and herbs, and fruit. I can’t count how many times I have had fruit that tastes of garlic or onion. Alternatively you can have two cutting

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BLADE

boards, and designate each side by using labels covered with sticky tape.

Use a bookstand or phone or tablet stand so you can read your recipe easily. Clear enough space and have plenty of containers at hand for all your ingredients once prepped.

Don’t forget to keep a bin or bowl close by for all your waste.

Clean up as you go. This is something I learned a long time ago, and not only is it more hygienic, it also makes your work area a safer place to operate in.

Remove meat and fish from the fridge at least half an hour before it is going to be cooked or marinated.

Know your oven. Invest in a temperature gauge for your oven, and two instant response probes are also a good idea, especially if you have meat and caramel on the go at the same time.

If you have expensive thick-bottomed pans or skillets, heat them up slowly to prevent warpage and ensure if you are aiming for crispy skin you actually get it.

Do not overcrowd a pan or oven tray. This will dramatically reduce the temperature and prevent things in the oven from cooking evenly.

Work out your timings so you have everything ready at around the same time, and allow for resting of cooked meats.

Always, always make twice as much sauce as you think you will need. The first time I did a private function with another chef we ran out of the prune and Armagnac reduction sauce for our game pie and it was a disaster.

Finally, don’t forget to have fun and involve as many people as you can in the cooking.

CANH CHUA & CA KHO TO

SWEET AND SOUR SOUP AND FISH IN CLAYPOT

BY TRISTAN NGO

PHOTO BY THANG PHAM

P

eople often asked me what my Local Eats columns is about, besides introducing local cuisine that people eat on daily basis. Well that is the idea, but it’s also about finding the best comfort food.

In every country I visit, I always make a point of tracking down the local comfort food.

According to Urban Dictionary, comfort food is “food that gives emotional comfort to the one eating it, these tend to be favorite foods of childhood, or linked to a person, place or time with which the food has a positive association”.

This is so true because we all have a our own comfort food, no matter who we are, what language we speak and where we are from.

I have two very vivid memories of comfort food.

One is of one of the best meals I’ve ever had, in Shizuoka in Japan, back in the early 90s, at a simple family shack. The mother cooked while the dad prepared the dish and their children washed dishes and served drinks to customers. They cooked the simple yet famous Fujinomiya yakisoba, which is noodles stir-fried with pork and cabbage and steamed with beer. It was amazing.

My other strong comfort food memory is from a road trip during my very first trip back to Vietnam. I was traveling on a local bus from Saigon to Soc Trang to visit relatives. We had stopped for petrol and lunch. The trip was quite long back then, requiring two long awful ferries to cross the rivers because the My Thuan and Can Tho bridges had not yet been built.

My lunch that day was a plate of steamed rice with chopped roasted pork, just out of the oven, sides of cucumber, chilli and soy sauce w and a bottle of Coke. I may have just been because I was tired and very hungry, but that thick crispy skin and sweet succulent meat was so good that I swear it is still the best roast pork I have ever had.

So what are my best comfort food? I have a few but in Vietnam for me the big one is the combination of canh chua (sour soup) and ca kho to (caramelised catfish in clay pot). Why catfish? Well there are probably about 20 different versions of the sour soup, and just as many caramelised claypot dishes, with shrimp, eel, squid, spare ribs, tofu and various types of fish.

However, catfish it is probably the most popular and best fish

Chef, patron and owner of Skewers Restaurant The Elbow Room and Cafe Sweet Street.

for these two dishes. Let’s start with the sweet and sour soup (canh chua), as it’s synonymous and indigenous to the southern region of Vietnam, especially the Mekong Delta. This makes sense since most catfish --and the herbs and spices used in this dish -- are from the Mekong Delta River.

To make canh chua you need to assembled all the ingredients. Prep takes about an hour, and the dish requires a further 30 minutes of cooking.

You’ll need catfish head, steak and tail, garlic, tomato, tamarind or lime juice, okra, pineapple, bean sprouts, sawtooth herb (ngo gai), rice paddy herb (ngo om), sweet basil, fish sauce, palm sugar and onion. When done the sweet and sour soup will help balance out the braised clay pot due to the tangy, salty, sweet yet light and fresh taste.

Next is ca kho to (caramelized catfish in clay pot), arguably one of the most popular yet authentic Vietnamese dishes cooked in clay pot. To make this dish you will need lots of brown sugar, garlic, shallots, fish sauce, ginger, pepper, chili pepper and a steak-sized catfish.

So what’s the difference between fish steak and fish fillet, you might ask? The answer is the cut. A fish steak is cut crosswise through the bone, while a fillet is cut whole to separate it from the bone. So what is the better cut? Well that depends on the dish. For example, fillet for fish and chips, steak for ca kho to.

By the way, next time when you order ca kho to, ask for extra thin slices of pork belly to be added the clay pot. You can thank me later.

1. Hoang Yen Restaurant 07-09 Ngo Duc Ke Street, District 1. Telephone 028 323 1101, Open Monday to Sunday 10am to 10pm 2. Cuc Gach Quan 10 Dang Tat Street, District 1. Telephone 028 3848 0144 Open Monday to Sunday 9am to 11pm 3. SH Garden 98 Nguyen Hue Street, District 1. Telephone 028 6680 0188 Open Monday to Sunday 11am to 11pm.

AsiaLIFE HCMC 37

8

CITY DRINKS

Layla Eatery and Bar Second Floor, 63 Đông Du, D1 facebook.com/LaylaEateryandBarHCM.

Barbara Adam seeks out an intriguingly elusive downtown nightspot. Photos by Romain Garrigue.

For a true “hidden bar” experience, you need a hardto-find entrance, a dingy set of stairs and a big punchy “wow factor” behind the front door.

Layla has all that and more.

The entrance isn’t all that hard to find, across the road from the Sheraton in Dong Du Street. But it doesn’t really look like a bar entrance. The stairs are definitely dingy, with extra points for a bit of crumbling here and there.

And the wow factor. Layla has that in spades, with its soaring ceilings, fairy lights and greenery.

Take a tour before selecting a seat -- the leafy open-air garden area, a huge comfy couch-lined lounge area, a “proper” bar area with a long wooden bar topped with botanicals, and a dimly-lit pool room.

Jay Moir and his partner Annie Vu met and fell in love in Australia when Annie was studying hospitality (and Jay was her teacher.) They wanted to share their love, and their love of Australian-style hospitality to Saigon. And when they found an old apartment overlooking Dong Khoi Street, Jay said they knew they’d found the perfect site.

They gutted the apartment, under the supervision of their partner, architect Dung Nguyen, keeping the original tiles but demolishing the internal walls to create a bright and airy space.

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Jay added a menu of rustic sharing plates and Australianinfluenced comfort food, while Annie drafted a drinks menu with a strong emphasis on botanicals and unusual flavours such as Nutella and wasabi.

The theme running through the entire Layla experience is “interactive”, whether it’s working with the bar staff to build your perfect cocktail, sharing a cheese (VND295,000), cured meat (VND295,000) or barbecue meat (VND300,000) platter with friends or forming new friendships.

“It’s all about everyone getting together,” Jay said. It’s also about being able to keep the cigarette smoke out of your clothes and hair if you so wish, with the main bar areas nonsmoking.

Throw in a “new age and Millennial” soundtrack -- kept to a reasonable level in the early evening, then pumped up as the crowd swells -- and you’re sure to have a fun and interactive time.

The AsiaLIFE team highly recommends the Kiwi Basil Delight sparkling cocktail (VND170,000), with Bicardi, melon liqueur, kiwi syrup, basil, and sparkling wine, and the Viking Funeral infused martini (VND160,000), with Grey Goose, peach liqueur, passionfruit juice and a burning passionfruit Absinthe boat.

GRINGO TACOS Y CANTINA 137 Calmette, District 1, HCMC facebook.com/gringotacos1

Peter Cornish revisits an old favourite in a new location.

Photos by Romain Garrigue.

The first time we met Doug Stratton, owner and head chef of Gringo Tacos, was when we reviewed his small set-up in Ben Thanh Street Food Market where he was selling tacos and burritos to visiting tourists.

Since then, his reputation for delicious Mexican food has grown, and at the start of 2018 he opened his latest restaurant in the up-and-coming foodie area of Calmette and Dang Thi Nu streets in central District 1.

Hailing originally from southern California, Doug has strong opinions about what “traditional” Mexican food is.

He now serves the genuine flavours of the food he’s enjoyed since childhood. As well as sharing some authentic Mexican tastes, his new cantina-styled venue brings a bit of Mexico to Ho Chi Minh City with the ever-ubiquitous

skulls and sombreros, with traditional mariachi playing gently in the background.

With the move to a second location, Doug has taken the chance to expand his menu but still offers up an excellent choice of street tacos, burritos, tostadas and quesadillas, served with a protein choice of chicken, beef, pork or fish.

The first dish we tried was a deliciously cheesy quesadilla (VND100,000) with a light and creamy queso fresco made from fresh milk, which is delivered every morning. Doug tells me this Mexican favourite is particularly popular with Vietnamese guests who call it the Mexican pizza.

Next up was a pork carnitas from the chimichanga menu.

A flour tortilla filled with Gringo’s six hour slow-cooked shredded pork with Mexican

rice and refried beans, then fried to a crispy golden brown.

Served with their homemade Mexican crema this substantial dish comes in at VND175,000.

If you’re hungry, opt for the “Gringo style”, adding a choice of mole rojo or green tomatillo sauce, melted cheese, more crema and some pico de gallo for a very reasonable VND225,000.

Add guacamole for an additional VND25,000.

The pollo (chicken) asado also comes in a flour tortilla filled with grilled citrus marinated chicken breast and more refried beans, and again gently fried to the same crispy golden brown. Topped with more of the homemade crema this dish costs VND165,000, with “Gringo style” at VND215,000.

You can also “Gringo style” any of their burritos for an additional VND50,000.

With a move to a larger venue and a traditional restaurant-bar style cantina there is now an impressive selection of drinks. Mexican cocktails (from VND140,000) with names such as the Paloma, charro negro and Tepache kid, which blend tequila, Vietnamese and Mexican ingredients to create new tastes.

Margaritas are served frozen or shaken, and Heart of Darkness and Rooster beers come draught or in bottles.

With one of the largest tequila selections in town there is a choice of over a dozen different brands and tequila flights will let you try three different marks or three of the same style.

Happy hour is from 5pm to 7.30pm on Coronas, margaritas, Mexican mules and Palomas.

Head on down for a good feed and a fun evening!

AsiaLIFE HCMC 39

OCTO TAPAS RESTOBAR Level 2, 75 Ho Tung Mau, District 1 facebook.com/Octotapas

Annigje Jacobs taps into Saigon’s newest tapas bar.

Photos by Romain Garrigue.

Anyone who has ever been to a tapas bar in Spain knows it’s lively and unpretentious, full of people feasting on full-flavored food, a good amount of drinks and each other’s company.

And that’s exactly the atmosphere head chef Julien Thabault wanted to create in his recently-opened Octo Tapas Restobar.

The restaurant, less than a block away from Bitexco, is in an old building that has been renovated elegantly, with restored brick walls and tailormade ash wood furniture, and without any unnecessary fuss.

You’re welcomed by a display of fresh seafood and a 12-metre long bar that seats around 25 people.

It’s a design that encourages guests to interact. “We really want to mix things up, you might be talking to your 40 AsiaLIFE HCMC

neighbour and the guy behind you at the end of the night,” Julien said.

The stools at the bar overlook the open kitchen where you can see all the action. The cooks are happy to chat or advise you on the menu, although you probably won’t be able to steal much of their time, Octo has been packed since it opened.

Not least because of its excellent menu with timeless classics from Spain, from huevos rotos to the world-famous Jamon Iberico. You can choose from almost 40 different tapas and a few daily specials.

We try four dishes, starting with ceviche de atun rojo (VND140,000). It looks fantastic, and tastes even better.

All ingredients are fresher than fresh, but one thing worth knowing is that Julien has made a deal with Phu

Quoc fishermen to get his own selection of seafood delivered three times a week.

Next are the pimientos de Padron (VND 140,000). The small green peppers come with a wonderfully charred, blistered surface and crunchy salt flakes: simply perfect.

Julien personally travels to Singapore for the Padron peppers, and Octo is the only place in Saigon that serves them.

The almejas con serrano y edamame (VND140,000) too, are absolutely delicious and an example of the chef’s ability to add a local touch, without ever perverting the Spanish cuisine.

We finish with the PX Helado (VND 120,000). A combination of Osterberg’s homemade vanilla ice cream (the only ingredient that isn’t made by the Octo team itself), raisins

and the famous Pedro Ximénez sherry. The four dishes are very different, and I’m equally impressed by all of them. And another great thing about tapas: you don’t have to choose just one, they are made for sharing.

Tapas and wine go hand in hand; the Octo team has created a wonderful selection with as many as six white wines and seven red wines sold by the glass, and many more by the bottle. Much like in Spain, indeed.

The only thing that says you might be in Saigon, is the list of thoughtfully-created signature cocktails (happy hour, every day 4pm to 7pm). Julien and his team aimed to create a finedining experience in a casual, relaxed atmosphere — and they very well succeeded.

KASEN 101 Le Thi Rieng, D1 www.kasen.vn

Barbara Adam experiences a modern version of omakase.

Photos by Romain Garrigue.

Omakase means “trust the chef” and at the sleekly minimalist sushi restaurant Kasen, that means trusting Chef Shinji Murata, who holds something of a reputation as a sushi Nazi.

Chef Murata is nowhere near as fierce as the Soup Nazi from the 1990s television show Seinfeld. But he does have very strong ideas about sushi, and he wants to update Vietnam’s understanding -- and enjoyment - of a traditional Japanese cuisine.

Chef Murata has stripped back sushi to its ancient origins of rice and vinegar. He’s updated the concept with the freshest seasonal ingredients, including seafood flown in from Japan.

“Sushi restaurants in Vietnam are very oldfashioned, serving what they used to serve 20 or 30 years

ago in the US,” he says softly.

“I want Vietnamese people to know contemporary sushi: warm, very tasty rice, cold fish ... and no need for soy sauce.”

And so we forgo the a-lacarte section of the menu and place our trust in Chef Murata, relocating to the thirdfloor dining area to enjoy a procession of fresh and elegant small dishes, all featuring exceptionally flavoursome warm vinegared rice.

The menu is complimented by a small selection of beers, wines and sakes, all selected to enhance the dining experience.

Kasen’s omakase set changes daily, according to what’s in season.

We primed our appetites with a seafood ceviche of octopus, shrimp, cucumber, wasabi, coriander and shallots, piled atop a crispy wonton skin

(VND60,000). We washed our appetizer down with a cold crisp Orion draft beer from Okinawa.

Then our Supreme Omakase Set (VND880,000) began, kicking off with a procession of nigiri sushi dishes -- salmon, Hokkaido scallop, Alaskan salmon roe, halibut, shrimp and unagi (eel).

Midway through we finished our Japanese beer and were encouraged to switch to wine, to see how a New Zealand sauvignon blanc worked with the sushi dishes. (Quite well, it turns out.)

At this point, French-trained Chef Murata decided we needed to experience how sake, served in a traditional masu (wooden box cup), compliments Japanese food. He recommended a seasonal sake, the spring-brewed Shichiken

Junmai Harushibori.

For the next dish was foie gras sushi, a delightful explosion of silky umami foie gras, warm vinegared rice, sesame seeds and miso sauce.

It was this dish that seemed to capture the international essence of the Chef Murata experience. Because foie gras sushi is not actually a fusion dish, but an ingenious substitute for traditional monkfish liver sushi, which has a very short shelf life.

The final dishes were red tuna sashimi and two large handrolls, the first toro (tuna belly), the second crab. And if they weren’t the last dishes, we may have had to use the “stop omakase” concept from Chef Murata’s Los Angeles restaurant. There, the chef keeps serving until the customer yells “stop!”

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F

ASHION.4.FREEDOM prides itself on being the first socially responsible, ethical and transparent supply chain in Asia, created by designers for designers.

Troubled by an industry that often turns a blind eye to its environmental and social impact, and unable to find affordable manufacturers that would produce their designs ensuring standards for both ethics and quality, founder LanVy Nguyen and her team have built an alternative supply chain offering both ethical confidence and quality products.

F4F is a full-scale production company offering a responsible alternative to current production and supply chain options in the fashion industry. Founded on the belief that beautiful, high-quality products can be produced while helping to alleviate poverty and minimising environmental impact, they work directly with village artisans and operate a profit share system.

As well as producing their own range of fashion related products, they now offer their design and production services to

other brands wanting to take advantage of their socially responsible, ethical and transparent supply-chain in Vietnam.

Working closely with F4F experts, clients are supported from early stage concept to proto-type design, and on to production and manufacturing. Needs, costs and risks are assessed along with the competitive landscape, ensuring brands are well positioned and products are relevant to the market.

One of their lines is inspired by the environmental cost of technological freedom. Each year, 500 million tons of e-waste are produced globally as the technology that advances our lives adds to the environmental waste of consumerism.

And as technology constantly changes our lives, artisans struggle to maintain their traditional methods of work, outpriced by low cost mass production. This new collection encourages young artists and designers to blend the old with the new, rather than turning their backs on the past.

It fuses traditional jewellery making methods with new techniques, taking the

precious metals mined from old technology to create a statement affirming the aesthetic value of a consciously designed supply chain.

Taking symbolic inspiration from khoi, this is the first piece in F4F’s SWARM collection, exemplifying the challenges faced by fish as they struggle to swim through increasing polluted waters. F4F refer to this process of jewellery making as data mining, taking old data and giving it a second chance at inspirational beauty.

The SWARM collection “is a construction of select migratory, fluid creatures designed to debate the value and cost of migration, especially of those made by humans in an attempt to find better resources.� Constantly swimming upstream, the khoi represents our environmental struggle in the name of progress. https://www.facebook.com/ FASHION4FREEDOM. http://www.fashion4freedom.com.

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P

aper Wings began life 10 years ago as the culmination of the combined experience of directors and owners Jason Gibaud and Michelle Fallon. A couple in life and business, with successful careers in interior architecture, film and theatre design, the arrival of their daughters acted as the catalyst for them to take a new direction into the world of children’s fashion.

“The Paper Wings name evokes all of the feelings we craft into our collections” says Michelle. “Imaginative, robust play, with a hint of vintage story-book - the garments are first designed on ‘paper’…, then imagination and creativity gives them ‘wings’.”

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listings

hotel & travel CON DAO Con Dao Resort 8 Nguyen Duc Thuan Tel: 0254 4830 939 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: 0254 3831 222 www.sixsenses.com/SixSensesConDao The first 5 star resort with 50 villas stretch across a mile-long beach, each villa 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: 0263 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: 0263 383 1515 www.dalatedensee.com Nestled in the heart of the “Black Forest 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 café and terrace, a cigar lounge, and golfing and tennis.

Sofitel Dalat Palace 12 Tran Phu, Dalat Tel: 0263 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.

HANOI

Intercontinental Westlake Hanoi 1A Nghi Tam, Tay Ho Tel: 024 6270 8888 www.intercontinental.com Located on the waterfront with contemporary Vietnamese design, restaurants, business services, fitness centre including exercise classes and pool.

Mövenpick Hotel Hanoi 83A Ly Thuong Kiet Tel: 024 3822 2800 www.moevenpick-hotels.com Conveniently located in the heart of Hanoi’s business district, a 40-minute drive from Noi Bai International Airport and only 5 minutes from the city centre, Mövenpick

Hotel Hanoi is the latest five-star hotel in town, tailored to meet the needs of discerning guests and especially corporate travellers.

Sheraton Hotel Hanoi K5 Nghi Tam, 11 Xuan Dieu, Tay Ho Tel: 024 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.

Sofitel Metropole 15 Ngo Quyen, Hoan Kiem Tel: 024 3826 6919 www.sofitel.com Located downtown. colonial-style hotel with well-regarded restaurants/bars serving French & Vietnamese cuisine, plus Italian steak house.

HO CHI MINH CITY

Caravelle Hotel 19 Lam Son Square, D1 Tel: 028 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. InterContinental Asiana Saigon Corner of Hai Ba Trung & Le Duan, D1 Tel: 028 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.

New World Hotel 76 Le Lai, D1 / Tel: 028 3822 8888 www.newworldsaigon.com Located in the city centre, with gym,

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outdoor pool, tennis court, event space and Dynasty Chinese restaurant.

swimming pools; library; and tennis, basketball and badminton courts.

Renaissance Riverside 8-15 Ton Duc Thang, D1 Tel: 028 3822 0033 www.renaissancehotels.com 349 rooms/suites with panoramic views over Saigon River. Conference/banquet facilities, rooftop pool, gym, two restaurants.

NHA TRANG

Sheraton 88 Dong Khoi, D1 / Tel: 028 3827 2828 www.sheraton.com/saigon Luxury downtown hotel: Level 23 bar, Mojo café, Li Bai Chinese restaurant, fine dining at The Signature on the 23rd floor.

Sofitel Saigon Plaza 17 Le Duan, D1 / Tel: 028 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.

HUE, HOI AN & DANANG

InterContinental Danang Sun Peninsula Resort Bai Bac, Son Tra Peninsula Tel: 0236 393 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 distinctive retreat within the dense rainforest of mythical Monkey Mountain.

Nam Hai Tel: 0235 3940 000 www.ghmhotels.com/en/namhai/ Luxury resort accommodation from single villas to sumptuous five-room dwellings with private pools. Facilities include 8 private spa villas; 3 beachfront

Evason Ana Mandara Nha Trang Beachside, Tran Phu, Nha Trang Tel: 0258 3522 222 www.sixsenses.com Beachside resort set in 26,000 square metres of tropical garden, with 74 guest villas, three restaurants, Six Senses Spa. Mia Resort Nha Trang Bai Dong, Cam Hai Dong, Cam Lam, Khanh Hoa / Tel: 0258 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.

PHAN THIET

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

Tel: 0252 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: 0252 3847 440 www.sailingclubvietnam.com Open bar overlooking the sea, spacious rooms, restaurant, swimming pool and day spa.

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: 0908 781 756 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: 0258 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.

TRAVEL AGENTS

Buffalo Tours Agency HCMC: Level 8 157 Pasteur, D3 Tel: 3827 9170 Hanoi: 94 Ma May, Hoan Kiem District Tel: 024 3828 0702 www.buffalotours.com Tailor-made itineraries, community-based tourism, cultural tours, adventure trips, golfing and premium trips offered by locally run and well-respected travel agent.

EXO Travel HCMC: 41, Thao Dien, D2 Tel: 028 3519 4111 saigonagency@exotravel.com HANOI: 3rd Fl, 66A, Tran Hung Dao Hoan Kiem Tel: 024 3828 2150 hanoiagency@exotravel.com www.traveltrade.exotravel.com

M A R L B O R O U G H C O L L E G E M A L AY S I A

A Great British Education

Located in 90 acres of South-East Asia Pupils are taught a British curriculum from British educators who know the value of heritage and tradition. For over 170 years Marlborough College has been synonymous with a first-class British education. Now in 90 acres of South-East Asia we

offer our pupils the same opportunity to learn and to grow from the wisdom of those who have gone before them. We are a co-educational Preparatory and Senior School offering an outstanding education for pupils aged 4-18.

For details of our forthcoming Admissions Events visit: w w w . m a r l b o r o u g h c o l l e g e . m y

listings

food & drink DISTRICT 1 Al Fresco’s 21 Mac Dinh Chi D1 Tel: 028 3823 8427 27 Dong Du, D1 Tel: 028 3823 8424 D1-23 My Toan 3, D7 Tel: 028 5410 1093 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.  Anan Saigon 89 Ton That Dam, District 1 Serves up some incredible modern Vietnamese food thanks to chef and owner Peter Coung Franklin. The restaurant and rooftop bar’s name means ‘eat-eat’, and that’s certainly what the menus encourage you to do.

Au Parc 23 Han Thuyen, D1 Tel: 028 3829 2772 Lavishly decorated brasserie borrowing from Moroccan and French styles and popular during lunchtime with expats.

Specializes in Middle Eastern and North African food. The salad menu is a favourite, and a great range of lush smoothies and juices are on offer.  Bamboo Chic Le Meridien, 3C Ton Duc Thang, D1 Tel: 028 6263 6688 Slick, minimalistic restaurant boasting a stunning view of the Saigon River as well as a menu of high­quality cuisine that mixes Japanese and coastal Chinese styles. Worth a visit, even if it’s just for a cocktail.

Basilico InterContinental Asiana Saigon, Ground Floor, corner of Nguyen Du and Hai Ba Trung, D1 Tel: 028 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.

Bep Me In 136/9 Let Thanh Ton, D1 Home-cooked Vietnamese dishes from all regions of Vietnam, with no MSG, just like you’d be served at a family party in the countryside.

Boulevard Grill Bar Leman Luxury Apartments, 22 Truong Dinh, District 3, Ho Chi Minh City boulevardgrill.com.vn Boulevard might look a little like a cafe in a shopping centre, but the two Vietnamese chefs in the kitchen send out fine dining-style dishes. The comprehensive menu carries a wide array of excellent steaks, salads, pastas and other grilled items.

Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf 12-14 Thai Van Lung, D1

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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. 

T: +84 28 3822 9357 E: rese.hcm@koto.com.au This is the Saigon arm of the renowned organisation that began in Hanoi a decade ago. Vietnamese food is prepared with innovative twist by young people Koto are helping get a start in the hospitality industry and on a path for a better life.

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.

Kissho 14 Nguyen Hue, D1 Tel: 028 3823 2223 kissho.wmcvietnam.com Kissho 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.

Fork Saigon 15 Dong Du, District 1 Tel: 028 3823 3597 www.forksaigon.com An eclectic tapas-style restaurant that draws inspiration from all over the world, rather than just Spain. Tasty small plates to share, great set lunch deals and fantastic happy hour drink specials.

Guanabana 23 Ly Tu Trong, District 1 Tel: 09 09 82 48 30 Guanabana brings a California approach with its all-natural range of healthy smoothies. The smoothies are available in three varieties and are priced between VND 45,000 and VND 65,000.

Heart of Darkness Craft Brewery 31D Ly Tu Trong, D 1 while Heart of Darkness remains the brewery it always was and always will be, it’s now gaining a well-earned reputation as a place to chow down on some pretty decent grub.

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.

In Saigong Rooftop Bar 27-29 Huynh Thuc Khang, D1 Tel: 028 9934 4350 The city’s only Wollongong-themed bar, this rooftop bar is a relaxing place to undwind with local and craft beers, cocktails and a varied menu.

Jake’s BBQ 50 Pasteur Street, D1 Tel: 028 3825 1311 Genuine, warm service from Chef Jake himself sets this American Barbeque joint apart. A true slice of Americana in Vietnam. Large portions, smoked meats, and the only ‘Jucy Lucy’ burger in town!  Jaspa’s 33 Dong Khoi, D1 Tel: 028 3822 9926 74/7 Hai Ba Trung, Dist 1, HCMC Tel: 028 3827 0931 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. The Dong Khoi branch has recently beed enovated with new menu and decor.



Kay’s Vegan Bistro Hem 84 Nguyen Dinh Chieu, D1 090 395 81 69 Homemade vegan delights from all over Southeast Asia and beyond. With daily specials and ingredients available to take home, it’s a hit with the locals.

Koto 19 Nguyen Dinh Chieu, Da Kao Ward, Di1

La Brasserie 2nd Floor, Hotel Nikko Saigon 235 Nguyen Van Cu, D1 Tel: 028 3925 7777 Offers wide international buffet stations for breakfast and dinner. Nightly live music performance.

La Chola de Lima 74 Hai Ba Trung, D 1 www.lacholadelima.com Tel: 028 3823 8793 The long-awaited newcomer to the food-centric courtyard at 74 Hai Ba Trung, the diversity of Peruvian cuisine is celebrated with a fusion menu showcasing Creole, Japanese and Chinese flavours.

Lac Thai 71/2 Mac Thi Buoi, D1 Tel: 028 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.  Li Bai Sheraton Hotel, 88 Dong Khoi, D1 Tel: 028 3827 2828 Imperial-styled restaurant named after a famous Chinese poet. Nightly à la carte menu with dishes going from 100k VND. Mad Cow Wine and Grill Level 30, Pulman Hotel, 148 Tran Hung Dao Street, D 1 Tel: 028 3838 8639 Casual, almost a homely style of cuisine, and sourced primarily from Australia. “We pride ourselves on great steaks and seafood, with a grass-fed orientated menu” according to Danny Grimshaw, chef and butcher at Mad Cow. Malt 46 – 48 Mac Thi Buoi, D1 Tel: 09 1848 4763 American-style bar that offers good beer, shuffleboard and an interesting pub grub menu in a casual setting.

Manmaru 71 Mac Dinh Chi, D1 Japanese izakaya with a solid lineup of affordable beers, sakes and whiskies.

Whether you choose the casual, pub­like experience downstairs, or the formal dining terrace upstairs, expect excellent food and even better prices.

Service is friendly and efficient and always welcoming.

May Restaurant & Bar 19-21 Dong Khoi, D1 Tel: 028 6291 3686 may.restaurant19@gmail.com We have over 20 years experience in hospitality business in Vietnam with some famous Brand such as Shodow Bar & Café and MAY Restaurant & Bar.

MAY- short for ‘Me and You’, it is all in one premium casual kitchen & bar downtown. Located centrally on the historic Dong Khoi street with a fusion of Western and Asian cuisine and pride themselves in their wine list and international standard of service.

Market 39 InterContinental Asiana Saigon Ground Floor, corner of Hai Ba Trung and Le Duan, D1 Tel: 028 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.

Ming Court 3rd Floor, Hotel Nikko Saigon 235 Nguyen Van Cu, D1 Tel: 028 3925 7777 Featuring authentic Chinese cuisine and a wide selection of delectable All-youcan-eat Dim Sum. Mojo 88 Dong Khoi, D1 www.sheratonsaigon.com A top-end café with an attractive interior, outdoor terrace at street level and comfortable lounges upstairs.

Good business coffee or lunch venue.

Mountain Retreat 36 Le Loi, D1 Tel: 90 719 45 57 A rustic restaurant perched above downtown offering a secluded getaway and tasty traditional food.

NAMO Tuscan Grill 146-148 Pasteur, D 1 Tel; 08 3822 1431 Focussing on rustic Italian fare coming off of their custom-built wood-fired grill. The layout is open and relaxed, reflecting the colour and energy of Florence and the Tuscany region.

Old Compass Cafe 3rd Floor 63/11 Pasteur St, D1 (next to Liberty Citypoint Hotel) Tel: +848 3827 2878 The Old Compass Café has managed to position itself as a quiet oasis of calm amidst the city’s chaos. The menu is simple and offers a choice of breakfast, lunch dinner, gourmet sandwiches, pastries and desserts.

Phatty’s 46-48 Ton That Thiep, D1 Tel: 3821 0796 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.

Quan Bui Add 1: 17A Ngo Van Nam, D1 Tel: 028 38 29 15 15 Add 2: 55 Ngo Quang Huy, D2 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.

Quan Ut Ut 168 Vo Van Kiet, D1 Tel: 028 39 14 45 00 American-style barbecue meets Vietnam-style dining with big wooden tables and benches that are reminiscent of an open-air quan. Serving a wide range of smoked and barbecued meats.

Quince 37bis Ky Con, D1

Tel: 2838 21 8661 Sister restaurant to Quince Bangkok, serving high-end cuisene developed by chef Julien Perraund working from the open kitchen. A short simple menu based on fresh local produce.

Reflections Caravelle Hotel, 19 - 23 Lam Son Square, D1 Tel: 028 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.

Relish and Sons 44 Dong Du, D1 Tel: 012 07 214 294 105-107 Xuan Thuy, D2 Tel: 90 900 4294 Facebook.com/RelishAndSons Burgers are the stars of the show in Relish & Sons, with six varieties, all composed of different but expertly combined ingredients.  Romeo and Juliet Times Square Building, 57 – 69F Dong Khoi, D1 Tel: 028 38 236 688 TheReverieSaigon.com Underground restaurant of the newlyopened Reverie Saigon, Romeo and Juliet is reinventing local dining to encourage the kind of slower, savourthe-moment experience that allows guests to enjoy the space’s ambiance, food and top-notch service.

Royal Pavilion Reverie Saigon Hotel, 4th Floor, 22 36 Nguyen Hue, D1 Tel: 028 3823 6688 Located in the Reverie Saigon Hotel, the Royal Pavilion serves up classic Cantonese cuisine in fine dining style.

Featuring a menu of epic proportions, there is sure to be something for everyone.

Saigon Indian 73 Mac Thi Buoi, D1 Tel: 028 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.  Shang Palace Restaurant Norfolk Mansion, 17-19-21 Ly Tu Trong, D1 Tel: 028 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.

Sancho’s Craft Beer and Mexican Kitchen 207 Bui Vien, D1 090 126 82 26 Real Mexi-Cali food with passion, served with a selection of crafts beers.

Skewers 9A Thai Van Lung, D1 Tel: 028 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. Stoker Woodfired Grill & Bar 44 Mac Thi Buoi, D1

Tel: 090 729 2725 District 1 venue with spacious bar downstairs and upstairs dining room.

Serving a full selection of home aged US and Australian beef complimented by a delicious sides.

Tomatito 171 Calmette, D1 Tomatito is all about the sexy, from the bold and colourful Spanish-themed interior showcasing El Willy’s unique personality, to the hot Latin passion in his interpretation of traditional Spanish tapas.

Tandoor 39A-39B Ngo Duc Ke, D1 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.  The Elbow Room 52 Pasteur, D1 Tel: 028 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.

The Racha Room 12-14 Mac Thi Buoi, D1 Tel: 09 08 791 412 RachaRoom.com.vn With street and hawker specialties from Thailand prepared under one roof – and in one room – The Racha Room is a restaurant-cum-lounge fit for a king.

The Refinery 74/7C Hai Ba Trung, D1 Tel: 028 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.

Tuk Tuk Thai Bistro 17/11 Le Thanh Ton, D1 Tel: 028 35 21 85 13 Tuktukthaibistro.com Tuk Tuk, a chic new modern Thai bistro. With three floors of seating, an open-air roof area and an array of Thai dishes to excite your palate.

Union Jack’s Fish and Chips Upper Deck, 130 Ton That Dam, D1 Jack’s Fish & Chips is a tribute to this traditional British fare that harks back to the childhood of owner Matt Ryan, who grew up on the A30 road from London.

Urban Kitchen + Bar 18 Ngo Van Nam, D1 Tel: 028 62 506 363 UrbanKitchenBar.com 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.

Yu Chu InterContinental Asiana Saigon, corner of Hai Ba Trung and Le Duan, D1 Tel: 028 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.

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DISTRICT 2

ambience, with a gorgeous garden setting designed to attract a more upmarket clientele.

Buddha Bar

D2 By Rupert Dean

IMBIBE WHY WINE? “So what is it about wine?” my sister asked me some 30 years ago. At that time, this question surprised and stumped me. I knew that many people would reply with flowery descriptions about the taste, the feeling or indeed the sensation, but even in those days I felt there was something more to all of this.

The occasion, the people, the art and even the theatre of wine all play a role, but maybe, I concluded, it was indeed something else - like the feeling of belonging to it all, a sort of secret society.

Nowadays I see that I was right on most accounts, but wrong on one. Wine is for everyone. Wine gets more enjoyable the more effort you put into it (and I don’t mean by volume). As one delves into this gargantuan subject, it becomes more and more rewarding. The variety, the culture, the personalities, the production, the dedication and the kaleidoscope of tastes, it is all quite literally intoxicating.

To me it was the start of a personal journey at the age of 20 years old, that became an adventure which would take me all over the world. From California to Tuscany, Shanxi to Santorini, Champagne to the Barossa Valley and from Hawkes Bay to Bordeaux.

I have planted vines and vineyards, pumped over and crushed, fermented and fined, bottled and consumed.

I have been fortunate to eat in some of the most famous restaurants of Europe and have private lunches cooked

by those very chefs to accompany unique bottles of wine. I have also written for the most popular wine books in the world and was the first wine professional interviewed on Chinese TV (live) to an audience of 450 million.

Nevertheless, in rare cases it can be the whole special occasion that remains in the memory, like the bottle of 1976 Rockford shiraz vintage port, decanted (through a Babushka’s tights) and drunk on the Trans Siberian Express as I transversed Lake Baikal, Siberia in 1991 with David Powell, one of Australia’s finest winemakers.

First and foremost, this column will endeavour to be enjoyable, informative and memorable. It will cover the wines available in Ho Chi Minh City, the personalities involved in bringing you these wines, both in the trade in this city and visiting winemakers, plus an overview of wine world from the starting point of the grapes varieties. I hope this column will be an inspiration to those starting out with wine and will create for them, similar long lasting memories.

As the column develops, we will work on establishing a monthly wine event, a humorous light hearted introduction to wine and wine appreciation here in Ho Chi Minh City. The proceeds for this event will be donated to the Small Change charity.

Naturally I welcome any feedback, and am happy to answer questions about wine (or even about me).

Rupert Dean worked in the wine industry and now lives in HCMC working for Regency International. He can be contacted on rupertdean@regencyint.com.

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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. 

BoatHouse 40 Lily Road, APSC Compound, 36 Thao Dien, D2 Tel: 028 3744 6790 Riverside restaurant with umbrellashaded tables spread across outdoor deck and small indoor dining room.

With revamped menu which includes a mix of family-style meals with Mexican featuring predomominately, followed by Italian and Asian fare.  Bia Craft 90 Xuan Thuy, D2 Tel: 028 3744 2588 A cozy bar serving beer­themed snacks and some of the best craft ales in Saigon. Constantly buzzing with the friendly chat of local expats in the area.

District Federal 84 Xuan Thuy, Thao Dien, D2 Serving only the very best Mexican (not Tex-Mex) food, Mexican chef Luis Reyes creates the menu. Luis’s menu focuses on homemade and authentic Mexican food.

Ebisu 66 Song Hanh, D2 028 6276 8787 The city’s soba noodle specialists bring authenticity and professional service to the Japanese table. Sushi and grilled skewers are also specialities, DTwo Sports Bar 55­57 Thao Dien, D2 Tel: 028 3519 4138 Stylish non­smoking sports bar offering all the latest action on a choice of widescreen TVs. Perfect for sports fans who are looking for a cold pint and big portions from a tempting pub grub menu. Mad House 6/1/2 Nguyen U Di, Thao Dien, D2 Founded in 2015 by a couple of dedicated foodies from Denmark, Mad House has become known for its northern European style of honest, unpretentious comfort food as much as its homely yet stylish environment.

Mekong Merchant 23 Thao Dien, D2 Tel: 028 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.  Thai Street 26 Thao Dien, D2 Tel: 08 6654 9525 Authentic Thai menu in a casual garden setting.

Quan Bui Garden 55 Ngo Quang Huy, Thao Dien, D2 Tel: 028 3898 9088 From the team behind Quan Bui, this D2 spot has all the chic design and

The Deck 38 Nguyen U Di, D2 Tel: 028 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.

DISTRICT 3 Boulevard Grill Bar Leman Luxury Apartments, 22 Truong Dinh, D3 A wallet-friendly bistro sending out fine dining-style steaks, salads, pastas and other grilled items. Don’t miss the set lunches.

Cha Ca La Vong 3 Ho Xuan Huong, D3 Tel: 028 3930 5674 36 Ton That Thiep, D1 Tel: 028 3915 3343 Two Ho Chi Miny City outposts 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: 028 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.

Jardin Des Sens 251 Dien Bien Phu, D3 Tel: 0122 585 9069 Mediterranean-influenced fine dining in a historic French colonial villa, Jardin Des Sens is the latest project of twin French chefs Jacques and Laurent Pourcel.

DISTRICT 5 Ngan Dinh Chinese Restaurant Windsor Plaza Hotel, 18 An Duong Vuong, D5 Tel: 028 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.

DISTRICT 7 Kim Bab Chun Gook R4 42 Hung Phuoc 2, Phu My Hung, D7 Tel: 028 6296 9057 Korean boonshik/snack food eatery serving up a wide variety of light but substantial foods including dumplings, rameyon and fish cakes.

Speakeasy S35-1 Le Van Thiem, Phu My Hung, D7 Tel: 093 722 11 03 The Tavern R2/24 Hung Gia 3, Bui Bang Doan, D7 Tel: 028 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.  Q.itchen Factory

2nd floor, Lot DVTM-9, Road 7, Tan Thuan Export Processing Zone, D7.

Viva Tapas Bar & Grill 90 Cao Trieu Phat, Phu My Hung, D7 Tel: 028 54 106 721 Tucked away on a quiet street in Phu My Hung, Viva is colourful and welcoming and has both indoor and outdoor seating. Tapas make up the bulk of the menu and cover traditional dishes as well as a few house specialties that put a quirky twist on things. 

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: 028 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.

Purple Jade InterContinental Asiana Saigon, corner of Hai Ba Trung and Le Duan, D1 Tel: 028 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.

Saigon Saigon Bar Rooftop via 9th floor, Caravelle Saigon Hotel, 19 - 23 Lam Son Square, D1 Tel: 028 3823 4999 A great iconic bar to watch the sun go down over the city skyline, or dance the night away. The panoramic views of the city are spectacular, particularly in the evenings. Live entertainment nightly with Cuban band Q’vans except Tuesday from 9:00pm till late.

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.

Pat A Chou 65 Hai Ba Trung, D1 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 39 Thao Dien, An Phu, D2 Tel: 028 6296 0066 Small bakery turns out sweet and salted pies and mousses in addition to baguettes and a range of Western sweets.

at home DELIVERY

Patty’s Kitchen www.facebook.com/ homecookhealthyfood Home-made meals for pick-up or delivery.

Established 1997

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

GROCERIES

Annam Gourmet Market 16-18 Hai Ba Trung, D1 Tel: 028 3822 9332 41A Thao Dien, D2 Tel: 028 3744 2630 Takashimaya Saigon Center 65 Le Loi, D1 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.

NOW IN STOCK

The latest line of Vogmask face masks, perfect for filtering all the air pollution while adding a bit of style.

Kim Hai Butchery 46 Nguyen Thai Binh, D1 C Tel: 028 3914 4376 This town is definitely big enough for two Australian butchers. Reasonably M priced imported beef, fish, chicken, and more at this original neighbourhood Y fixture.

CM

Meatworks Butchery MY 1, Street 2, Thao Dien, D2 Tel: 028 3744 2565 CY Imported meats from Australia, including top-quality beef and lamb, CMY and locally sourced pork and chicken..

Proudly Australian owned and K managed.

MegaMart An Phu, D2 Tel: 028 3740 6677 Tan Thoi Hiep, D12 Tel: 028 3717 2979 www.metro.com.vn Warehouse wholesaler located just off the Hanoi Highway in D2 between the Saigon Bridge and the tollbooths. Sells bulk food, fresh fruit and vegetables and meat, as well as paper products, cleaning supplies, housewares-basically everything.

We also stock over 150 premium quality imported Italian helmets

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 allnatural products.

Phuong Ha 58 Ham Nghi, D1 Tel: 028 3914 1318 A mini-supermarket that sells an extensive assortment of imported packaged food, cheese, meat, fresh fruit, vegetables and fine wines.

Veggy’s 14 Pham Hong Thai, D1 Tel: 028 3823 8526 Sky Garden Pham Van Nghi, Bac Khu Pho, D7 Popular expat market with a 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.

Vietnam’s only 100% foreign owned and fully licenced 1-stop scooter shop 151 Luong Dinh Cua , Phuong Binh An , District 2 , HCM City.

Open every day 9.00am until 5.30pm. Tel : 0903013690 www.saigonscootercentre.com For more info - info@saigonscootercentre.com

listings By Phil Kelly

FITNESS ONE MAN’S MEDICINE, ANOTHER’S… Although there are thousands of diet books and millions of people following conventional wisdom advice we are the most overweight, obese, unhealthy people ever and childhood obesity across the modern world is becoming an epidemic!

It is clear that this approach of the food plate and convention wisdom, where one diet fits all, is not working. It seems to create more controversy than conclusions. What if all the nutritional controversies could be solved with a better understanding of our DNA and ethnic variation?

What do I mean by this? An easy and relevant example to consider is the ability to digest diary between people of Northern European ancestry and Southeast Asian ancestry. In most mammals, the gene for lactose tolerance turns off once an animal matures beyond the weaning years.

Humans biology was the same as well… until a mutation in the DNA of an isolated population in Northern Europe around 10,000 years ago created an adaptive tolerance for milk. Southeast Asians did not develop this tolerance. Therefore, scientist found that the ability to digest milk depends on the degree to which you have Northern European blood.

Nutrition research and knowledge is being taken to new levels through the study of Nutrigenomics. Nutrigenomics is the study of the effects of foods and food constituents on gene expression. It has been associated with the idea of personalised nutrition based on our DNA. Where one person may find a food medicinal, to another the same food may be toxic.

Where health is concerned our genetics’ really do establish if food is one persons poison and another’s medicine. This concept

of nutritional genetics is also true if we consider that a high carb, low fat diet is suitable for one genetic type of person and ‘poison’ for another. How food affects us on a cellular level is the real key to health and achieving great body composition. Genes and hormones play a much more important role than calories ever will.

The main hormones that play crucial roles in achieving fat loss, and health, for example, are: insulin, glucagon, human growth hormone (HGH), cortisol, leptin, ghrelin. Insulin and glucagon control sugar usage and whether fat is stored or ‘burnt off’. Ghrelin and leptin are hunger hormones that send messages to the brain controlling how much you eat.

If you’re eating or lifestyle habits stimulate increased or decreased levels, or are resistant, to these hormones you will experience food cravings or reduced satiety levels no matter how much you eat. Hormones like cortisol and estrogen can even determine where in the body, fat will be stored or burned. In addition, human growth hormone (HGH) is very important, as there is no better fat burner than our muscles.

HGH stimulates your body to burn fat rather than store it. With an even better understanding of your genetic code you could devise a much more individualised nutritional plan to optimise your health and function.

Good nutrition does not need to be complicated! However, we all have bodies that are built in different ways, react differently, look different… we are all unique.

We are as chemically different on the inside as we are physically on the outside. There can never be any one diet that works for everyone. These are key considerations when devising a nutritional plan.

Phil Kelly is a health practitioner and expert in body transformation. His services are available at Star Fitness (starfitnesssaigon.com).

54 AsiaLIFE HCMC

sports & leisure

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 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 DANCING

DanCenter 53 Nguyen Dang Giai, Thao Dien, District 2 Tel: 028 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: 028 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.

California WOW Xperience Parkson Plaza, 126 Hung Vuong, D5 28/30-32 Le Loi, D1 Tel: 028 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 work-out area and all kinds of classes including spinning, KickFit, yoga and more.

Hollywood Fitness World H3 Building, 384 Hoang Dieu, D4 Tel: 028 3826 4639 One of the latest & best workout environments in the city, suitable for all ages and fitness levels. Personal training is offered.

NTFQ2 Spa 34 Nguyen Dang Giai, D2 Tel: 028 3744 6672 Therapeutic massage with a focus on sports massage to increase circulation, remove lactic acid build-up, restore flexibility and relieve back pain.

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.

Dalat Palace Golf Club Phu Dong Thien Vuong, Dalat Tel: 0263 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 7,009-yard course is an enjoyable challenge for golfers of all levels.

Dong Nai Golf Resort Trang Bom Town, Trang Bom Tel: 0251 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.

The Bluffs Ho Tram Strip Phuoc Thuan, Xuyen Moc, Ba Ria - Vung Tau Tel: 064 378 8666 http://thebluffshotram.com/ info@thebluffshotram.com Designed by Greg Norman, The Bluffs is a 50-hectare 18 hole links-style golf course associated with The Grand Ho Tram Strip integrated resort, about a 2.5 hour drive from Ho Chi Minh City.

Song Be Golf Resort 77 Binh Duong Blvd, Thuan An Tel: 0274 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.

LEISURE

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.

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.

listings

health & beauty ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE

American Chiropractic Clinic 161 Hai Ba Trung, D3 Tel: 028 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.

CARE1 Executive Health Care Center The Manor, 91 Nguyen Huu Canh, Binh Thanh Tel: 028 3514 0757 care1_reception@vietnammedicalpractice.com www.care1.com.vn Care 1 Executive Health Care Center in the Manor is the main facility for health screening and wellness check-ups.

To fit into your busy life, Care 1 offers one stop service - modern, comprehensive healthcare services and state-of the-art facilities all in one place.

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: 028 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.

Starlight Dental Clinic Dr. Philippe Guettier & International Team of Dentists 24 Thao Dien, D2 2Bis Cong Truong Quoc Te, D1 Tel: 028 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. With the latest treatments and techniques, the surgery prides themselves on their high standard of equipment & sterilization.

Minh Khai Dental Clinic 199 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, D1 Tel: 028 3925 3399 nhakhoaminhkhai@gmail.com www.nhakhoaminhkhai.com No.1 Dental Clinic 51 Ba Thang Hai, D10 Tel: 028 3929 0909 nhakhoano1@gmail.com www.nhakhoano1.com Located in District 10, No.1 offers general dentistry services include fillings, checkups and teeth cleaning and specialist

dental care that includes dental implants, orthodontics (braces), endodontics (root canals), prosthodontics (false teeth, including dentures, crowns and veneers) and cosmetic dentistry, such as laser teeth whitening.

West Coast Dental Clinic 27 Nguyen Ba Lan, D2 Tel: 028 3519 1777 www.westcoastinternational.com

PEOPLE AT HEART

CENTRE MÉDICAL INTERNATIONAL Fondation Alain Carpentier

MEDICAL Centre Medical International (CMI) 1 Han Thuyen, D1 Tel: 028 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, gynecology, pediatrics, ophthalmology, psychology, psychiatry, osteopathy, acupuncture and psychomotor therapy. .

Family Medical Practice HCMC Diamond Plaza, 34 Le Duan, D1 Tel: 028 3822 7848 95 Thao Dien, D2 Tel: 028 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.

ÊTRE PROCHES DE NOS PATIENTS RENFORCE LA QUALITÉ DE NOS SOINS

BEING CLOSE TO OUR PATIENTS STRENGTHENS THE QUALITY OF OUR CARE

VIỆC GẦN GŨI VỚI BỆNH NHÂN NHẰM TĂNG CHẤT LƯỢNG DỊCH VỤ CHĂM SÓC

General and tropical medicine • Pediatrics • Cardiology • Obstetrics/Gynecology • Traditional oriental medicine • Psychiatry • Psychology • Osteopathic medicine • Psychomotor therapy • Speech and language therapy • Childbirth education classes • Home nurse service •

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 comSKINCARE prehensive range of quality healthcare 120x85mm.indd 1 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: 028 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.

Raffles Medical Clinic 167A Nam Ky Khoi Nghia, D3 Tel: 028 3845 4218 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.

Victoria Healthcare 135A Nguyen Van Troi, Phu Nhuan Tel: 028 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.

01 Han Thuyen, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam Tel: (84.28) 3827 23 66/67 - Fax: (84.28) 3827 23 65 Email: info@cmi-vietnam.com

The Body Shop 216 Hai Ba Trung, D1 Tel: 028 3820 5845 87 Mac Thi Buoi, D1 Tel: 028 3823 3683119 Nguyen Trai, D5 Tel: 028 3923 2918 Parkson CT Plaza, Tan Binh Tel: 028 6297 2095 Parkson Cantavil, D2 Tel: 028 6296 0265 Diamond Plaza, D1 Tel: 028 3822 1887 check out more outlet via website 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 81 Nguyen Hue, D1 Tel: 028 3829 3058 Diamond Plaza 34 Le Duan, D1 Tel: 028 3507 0800 Vincom 70-72 Le Thanh Ton, D1 Tel: 028 3936 9308 Parkson Cantavil, D2 Tel: 028 37407180 check out more outlet via website www.thefaceshop.com.vn Stamford Skin Centre 99 Suong Nguyet Anh, D1

Tel: 028 3925 1990 www.stamfordskin.com The Stamford Skin Centre has grown to include qualified specialists who treat 3/16/2018 8:44:08 AM general diseases of the skin such as acne, eczema and other forms of dermatitis, rosacea, psoriasis, skin cancers.

Offering treatments for simple blemishes and outbreaks on a person’s face, a long standing melasma, acne scars, wrinkles or sagging skin that if treated, removed, or substantially improved.

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: 028 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

AsiaLIFE HCMC 55

available on-line.

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.

BABY EQUIPMENT

By Shannon Brown

EDUCATION HUB EARLY CHILDHOOD EATING I have been in Vietnam for nearly four years, and my biggest challenge as a health and education consultant centres on food. There seems to be many misconceptions in Vietnam around solid food, milk, nutritional needs, and forceful feeding of toddlers, so I would like to dispel some persistent myths.

First, let’s talk about solid food. Babies are generally ready to start eating solid food at five or six months.

You can tell a baby is ready when they reach for food, can sit up well on their own, and generally weigh around twice their birth weight. It’s important to start easy, with rice cereal, and slowly add in pureed meats, vegetables, and fruits. Between seven and 11 months, babies can be introduced to finger food small bites of fruit, vegetables, pasta, and soft meat. After they turn one, they can generally eat the same food as an adult, starting with onequarter of an adult portion and increasing as the child grows and asks for more.

Second, let’s talk about milk, especially powdered formula milk. Many parents believe formula is high in nutrients their children are lacking: the truth is that these nutrients can easily be found in food, and this misinformation is simply good marketing. Formula is not recommended after 12 months of age. Continuing past this age can lead to all kinds of problems, both physically and behaviourally.

Children can become overly

dependent on milk, which can lead to a delay in eating normal food. The sugar in this milk is very filling, which reduces a child’s interest in eating other food that they need to grow. Excessive formula milk can lead to tooth decay, hyperactivity, acid reflux, stomach aches, poor appetite, an imbalance of gut bacteria, and a higher risk of later obesity, diabetes, and heart disease.

Third, I would like to mention nutritional needs.

Each day, nutritionists recommend that toddlers get 3 oz of grains, 2 oz of protein, 1 cup of fruit, 1 cup of vegetables, and 2 cups (16 oz) of dairy. Experts also advise giving children milk with their food, not as a separate occasion, so that children have time to feel hungry.

Ideally, children are eating three meals and two snacks a day, evenly spaced by two or three hours.

Lastly, children generally start to show an interest in feeding themselves around 14 months, and can usually master the spoon by 18 months. Yes, children might make a mess, but it’s part of the learning process! Ellyn Satter, an early childhood food expert, explains that children should be in charge of how much and whether or not they eat, and that caregivers need to be in charge of the what, where, and when of eating. Parents and teachers need to ensure they are providing healthy food, at consistent times, in a safe and comfortable environment.

Shannon Brown works in international education in Ho Chi Minh City and has a background in social work, public heath, and early childhood education.

56 AsiaLIFE HCMC

Maman Bebe L2-11, Vincom Quang Trung, Go Vap 3rd Flr Parkson Hung Vuong Plaza, D5 L2-11K, Vincom 72 Le Thanh Ton, D1 www.mamanbebe.com.vn 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 52-54 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, D1 191 Hoang Van Thu, Phu Nhuan S11-1 Sky Garden 1, Phu My Hung, D7 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.

CLOTHES

Albetta 32 Tran Ngoc Dien D2 58 Nguyen Duc Canh, Tan Phong, D7 Albetta is a British family owned company, with a factory in Saigon, which produces beautifully designed and handcrafted clothes, gifts, shoes and accessories for children. Their new Lucky Luca collection shown are available in Albetta shops now.

DLS Paris Diamond Plaza, 34 Le Duan, 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.

Little Anh – Em 41 Thao Dien, D2 A French brand made in Vietnam offering a wide selection of colourful, simply packaged and thoughtfully collated “sets” of garments for girls and boys from newborn to 10 years old. Lifestyle pieces also available include sleeping bags, bedroom accessories and bags.

Ninh Khuong 42 Le Loi, D1 Tel: 3824 7456 71B Dong Khoi, D1 22 Nguyen Trai, D1 344 Nguyen Dinh Chieu, D3 343 Hai Ba Trung, D1 27 Le Van Sy, Phu Nhuan 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: 028 5431 33/34/35/36 office@theabcis.com www.theabcis.com Judged “an outstanding school” by British Government Inspectors, the ABCIS is accredited by CIE, AQA and Education Development Trust and members of COBIS and FOBISIA. Serving 2-18 year olds in a caring environment, it delivers

a globally valued curriculum based on best UK practice. This culminates in the award of IGCSEs and A levels from the Cambridge and AQA examination boards. These “gold standard certifications” afford entrance to the very best universities around the world.

American International School 220 Nguyen Van Tao, Nha Be, HCMC Tel: 028 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 2 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: 028 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: 028 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 www.bisvietnam.com Early Years and Infant Campus 101, Thao Dien Street, District 2.

Junior Campus 225 Nguyen Van Huong Street, District 2.

Secondary Campus 246 Nguyen Van Huong, D2 Tel: 028 3744 2335 BIS HCMC is the largest international school in Vietnam and operates from three purpose-built campuses in the residential area of District 2, catering for students from pre-school to 18 years of age. The school provides a broad, balanced and differentiated curriculum to within the framework of the National Curriculum for England. Staffed primarily by British qualified teachers with a minimum of 3 years’ experience. Students are prepared for both IGCSE & the IB Diploma programmes. BIS is a member of FOBISIA & fully accredited by the Council of International Schools.

EUROPEAN International School 730 F-G-K Le Van Mien, Thao Dien.Tel: 028 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.

By Paul McLardie

PERSONAL FINANCE LISTEN TO YOUR MOTHER Our mothers always told us not to sell ourselves short. Her point was that we shouldn’t underestimate ourselves.

But when you sell a stock short, you’re saying that other investors have overestimated it. You think it’s worth a lot less than they do. By short selling, you hope to benefit from a fall in the stock’s price.

Selling yourself short isn’t nearly as financially painful as wrongly selling a stock short.

This lesson covers what short selling is, its risks, and why you shouldn’t bother.

What is short selling?

When you buy a stock, you’re taking what’s called a long position in the stock. You think its price will rise and you will be able to sell for a profit. If you take a short position in a stock, however, you are betting on the opposite - that the stock price will go down, and you will profit from the decline.

The upside-down version of owning the stock, or selling the stock short, involves borrowing the stock from another investor. You’re obligated to replace those shares in the future, but you hope to buy them at a lower price than they are currently selling for. So you sell the borrowed shares now in the hopes that the stock will decline. If the stock’s price does fall, you then buy the stock back at the lower price and return the borrowed shares.

Here’s an example. You think BP’s stock is overpriced at £5.80 per share, so you decide to short it. Your broker borrows 1,000 BP shares from another investor and sells them, netting you about £5,800.

International School HCMC Primary Campus 28 Vo Truong Toan St.,D2 Secondary Campus 01 Xuan Thuy St., D2 +84 (28) 3898 9100 admissions@ishcmc.edu.vn 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. With two campus; Primary and Secondary.

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.

The International School HCMC American Academy 26 Vo Truong Toan, D2 Tel: 028 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..

ENTERTAINMENT

Let’s say you were right about it being a poor investment, and the stock falls to £2.90 per share. Now you can buy 1,000 shares for just £2,900 and return them to your broker. You pocket £2,900, less whatever you have to pay for the broker’s services. Not bad. And you thought stocks had to go up to make mone.

International School Saigon Pearl 92 Nguyen Huu Canh, Binh Thanh District Tel: 028 2222 7788/99 www.issp.edu.vn The International School Saigon Pearl (ISSP) is a world-class Elementary School for children aged 18 months to 11 years old offering a full American school curriculum in Vietnam. With a custom built primary campus ISSP’s ethos is centered on building caring relationships with each child and family.

The risks of short selling Short selling has its problems, though. For starters, your profit potential is limited because a stock price can’t drop below zero. When you take a long position in a stock, your profit potential is limitless because there’s no ceiling for the price.

The biggest risk, however, is losing your shorts. If you sell short and the stock price goes up instead of down, you must now pay a higher price for them. The stock market goes up more often than it goes down. Also, when you sell short, your losses are potentially unlimited. If you take a long position, the worst you can do is lose your investment.

Montessori International School International Program 42/1 Ngo Quang Huy, D2 Tel: 028 3744 2639 Bilingual Program 28 Street 19, KP 5, An Phu, D2 Tel: 028 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.

Why you shouldn’t bother You may be thinking to yourself that we’re being a little dramatic. Surely it can’t be that hard to avoid getting burned that badly. After all, you can buy back the shares before they climb that high and limit your losses.

Maybe you can. But knowing just when to act is tough. Even the pros have been burned trying to short stocks.

If professional money managers can get it wrong, what makes you think you can do it?

Paul McLardie is a partner at Total Wealth Management. Contact him at Paul.mclardie@t-wm.com.

Renaissance International School 74 Nguyen Thi Thap, D7 Tel: 028 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: 028 3776 1369 Australian university located in District 7, offers a highly regarded MBA and undergraduate courses in various fields.

SmartKids 1172 Thao Dien Compound, D2 Tel: 028 3744 6076

Saigon South International School Nguyen Van Linh Parkway, D7 Tel: 028 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.

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.

Gymboree Play & Music Somerset Chancellor Court 21-23 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, D1 Tel: 028 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.

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 place for decoration but English not as good. Also provides helium balloons.

listings

living CAMERAS

Kiet Camera Ground Floor, Lucky Plaza, 69 Dong Khoi, D1 Ver reliable shop with large range of kit and very good prices. If he hasn’t got in stock, Kiet can quickly find it.

Pham The 11 Le Cong Kieu, D1

AsiaLIFE HCMC 57

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

By Gary Woollacott

PEOPLE MATTER GDPR: WHAT IS IT? You may have heard of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) which came into effect in late May. Broadly, it’s a European Union (EU) regulation that covers how organisations can collect and store information on EU citizens. Individuals have the right to inspect that information and request that it be modified or deleted. Over here in Southeast Asia, some might say, “yes, but it doesn’t affect us”. Well, it could, and we all need to consider it as there are significant penalties for noncompliance.

Naturally there is much comment in the EU about GDPR. To an extent we’re lucky, here in Asia, as we can watch how the Europeans comply, and then adapt. But most international companies (including us) have already started working on it. If you have an account with an EU financial institution, you may have received an email asking for your permission to hold your information. It might come soon – everyone has to be asked individually. There must be a good reason to hold your information, they can’t store data that serves no purpose.

Another requirement is that it must be as easy to say no as to say yes: no more long forms filled with scary legal language (that none of us really reads or understands anyway).

So you see, this is really a big deal. If you’re reading this online, here are two useful websites: www.eugdpr.org/ key-changes.html and www.

eugdpr.org/gdpr-faqs.html.

Start there. From our point of view, GDPR gives us an opportunity to clean house, improving our database to make sure it complies.

And then we can use it as a marketing tool. We will show our more thoughtful clients we know how to treat private information (we have a lot – your resume and much more). Many of our clients are multinationals, also struggling with GDPR compliance; and we anticipate sharing our experience with them will improve our relationships.

Candidates will be more confident using our services (which are free anyway) as they know we treat their information with respect. We don’t send out resumes to clients without candidates’ approval. Some recruiters do, which might, in the future, get them into trouble.

It has been two years since the EU sought to update its 1995 privacy directive; this is what we have now. And it’s big, with lots of heat and smoke being generated in the search for compliance.

It reminds me somewhat of the Y2K fuss. And SarbanesOxley in 2002; controversial at the time, but it helped a lot of organisations resolve potential conflicts of interest. Maybe GDPR will be like those two.

The good news is that because of where we are in the world, we can pause to see how the Europeans deal with it, and then follow the best approach, avoiding their mistakes.

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

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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: 028 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.

Thuan My 32 Cach Mang Thang 8, D3 2 Thao Dien, D2 Apple Authorized reseller and Premium Service Provider of Apple computers and products. Excellent service and Englishspeaking staff.

ELECTRONICS

Nguyen Kim Shopping Centre 63-65 Tran Hung Dao, D1 Tel: 028 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 refrigerators.

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 AustinHome 42 Nguyen Dang Giai, D2 Tel: 028 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.

Decosy 112 Xuan Thuy, D2 Tel: 028 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.

CO-WORKING SPACES

Dreamplex Level 9 – 10 – 11 21 Nguyen Trung Ngan, District 1 Tel: 028 7306-6880 dreamplex.co A coworking space for startup entrepreneurs, creatives, consultants and investors to work collaboratively or privately. There’s a meeting hub to connect enterprises with domestic and global investors, as well as assist with

recruitment.

The Hive Saigon 94 Xuan Thuy, District 2 Tel: 028 3620 3481 thehive.com.vn Open spaces and private offices in a three-storey building for creatives and entrepreneurs. Part of a network of coworking spaces throughout Asia.

PepperHouse 19 Hoang Sa, District 1 Tel: 028 3910-2028 pepperhouse.asia PepperHouse provides a space to stay and work in Ho Chi Minh City. Bright, open, and the perfect place to hunker down to get some work done and network.

Saigon Coworking 101 Cu Lao, Phu Nhuan District Tel: 0965 100 244 and 0902 740 106 saigoncoworking.com One of the first coworking spaces in Saigon, Saigon Coworking was founded for startups and networking for young foreign entrepreneurs. The space partners with local professionals to help with legal, financial and IT consulting. Has an onsite kitchen and green rooftop garden.

Start Saigon 18bis/14 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, District 1 Tel: 028 6682-8580 start-saigon.com Start Saigon is a 24/7 co-working space dedicated to information technology start-ups and entrepreneurs. With a rooftop garden, pool, fast optical-fibre internet, and a meeting room, they also host after work parties and barbecues.

Workyos Viettel Complex, Tower A 12th Floor, 285 Cach Mang Thang Tam, District 10 Tel: 028 6288-2882 workyos.com Drop in and work in one of the open spaces, or rent a desk or private office longer-term. Branding consultation available from the experienced staff. Also available are meeting and event rooms, a bar and a “relax” room.

RECRUITMENT

First Alliances #609, Saigon Trade Center 37 Ton Duc Thang, D1 Tel: 028 3910 2080 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.

HR2B / Talent Recruitment JSC Thien Son Building, 5 Nguyen Gia Thieu, D3 / Tel: 028 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.

Horton International 5F, Vitic Building 6B Nguyen Thanh Y Street, D1 Tel 028 3910 7682-3 www.hortoninternational.com Established in HCMC in 2005, Horton International services local and multinational companies seeking to recruit high quality personnel. Horton International is one of the world’s leading executive search groups with 50 offices in 30 countries. For more information, contact vietnam@hortoninternational.com.

RELOCATION AGENTS

By AsiaLIFE

CRAFT SAIGON

Unit 2404, 24th Floor Pearl Plaza Office Tower, 561A Dien Bien Phu Street, Ward 25, Binh Thanh District Direct: 84 8 3840 4237 http://www.crownworldwide.com Want to avoid making mistakes??

To learn how contact Crown for all your relocations needs. We provide services Internationally, locally and commercially as well as provide storage solutions long and short term.

HANAMI SEN Tam Nguyen turned her passion for traditional Japanese kimono into a business.

When Tam lived in Japan, she joined some kimono-wearing classes, but never quite got the knack of getting dressed in a traditional kimono without assistance. So she designed a new easy-to-wear style of kimono, made with vintage Japanese kimonos.

She added the obi, the traditional kimono sash, to the collar of her DIY-style kimono.

The result is a new kimono that can be worn as a coat.

Tam uses the fabric offcuts from her coats to make beautiful scarfs, clutches, pillowcases, and bed and table decorations.

When she returned to Vietnam three years ago, she continued to use kimono fabric to make gifts for friends and family, receiving myriad compliments.

Just before relocating to

England, Tam set up her own business, and her products are now available at her own shop at 94 Xuan Thuy, Thao Dien, District 2.

Each item, whether it’s a coat, clutch or a pillowcase, is unique, for every kimono has a differen pattern.

Tam named her business after the traditional Japanese hanami, or cherry blossom, festival.

“For me, I really enjoy and respect the beauty of flowers,” Tam said. “And Sen is my beloved daughter’s name, it also means Lotus in Vietnamese – the flower symbol of my homeland. I appreciate my homeland, but more, I appreciate my daughter.

When I look at how Hanami Sen develops, it’s just likes how I follow the growth of my girl.

They are meaningful to me, both of them. This is what Hanami Sen represents.”

UTS Saigon Van Intl’ Relocations 1st Fl, 214 Nguyen Van Huong, D2 Tel: 028 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'

!!!

<=>=?!@!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

Santa Fe Relocation Services 8th floor, Thien Son Building, 5 Nguyen Gia Thieu, D3 Tel: 028 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.

listings

fashion 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.

Ipa-Nima 71 Pasteur, D1 Tel: 028 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.

Craft Saigon is a monthly column to highlight new small businesses in the city, if your business wishes to be featured please email craftsaigon@asialifemagazine.com.

READY TO WEAR unisex 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.

Retro KID 345/3 Nguyen Dinh Chieu, D3 Tel: 0909 168 350 Featured Street wear imported from Thailand and US as well as local designmen’s and women’s fashion, including T-shirts and footwear, and a range of accessories.

Runway Vincom Center, 70/72 Le Thanh Ton, D1 Tel: 028 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.

men

Massimo Ferrari 42-A1 Tran Quoc Thao, D3 Tel: 028 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.

women

ER-Couture Boutique 36 Thao Dien, D2 Tel: 028 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.

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.

TAILORS

Dieu Thanh 140 Pasteur, D1 Tel: 028 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.

Massimo Ferrari 42-A1 Tran Quoc Thao, D3 Tel: 028 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.

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 59

THE RISE OF SPYING APPS ON SMARTPHONES

O

n a rainy Tuesday in May, a dismayed customer came into the shop with an interesting issue that I rarely encounter.

On her iPhone 6s, tucked away in a folder she had created for apps she rarely uses, was an app called mSpy. I’d never heard of the app before nor had I any prior information about it, but given its name, one would immediately speculate the nature of its function. She accidentally came across it when performing her regular app updates and this particular app was asking for confirmation for the update.

Gauging what information was being disclosed by the customer (and, more importantly, what information was not being disclosed), the topic was sensitive and I was reluctant to probe further, but as the conversation progressed, she did share that her and her partner were going through troubled times. So she did suspect that he had something to do with the presence of the app, even though he had denied any knowledge of it. However, further investigation into the settings of the app revealed that it could activate the microphone remotely to record audio, which was automatically forwarded to a linked device.

Experiencing that situation, it fueled my curiosity on mobile spy apps, which are developed to track the location and activity of another mobile device. Although uncommon, we do sometimes get nonchalant inquiries at the shop regarding “safeguarding apps to track activity”, but after doing my due diligence, what I found was that occurrences of “spying apps” are not so uncommon.

Most of these apps tout themselves as monitoring software to safeguard your child’s device and track their online activity on their personal mobiles. The features of these apps, however, could be used for other such not-sobenign purposes. For example, a visit to the Spyzie website, another tracking app, leads you to a landing page that presents the tagline, “All the information you need, one parental control solution”. On the flipside when you search Google for “how to spy on your girlfriend’s iPhone”, Spyzie is the first link that comes up and

60 AsiaLIFE HCMC

even runs ads alongside Google search results.

Same holds true for apps such as TeenSafe, FlexiSPY, XNSpy and Phone Sheriff.

The most common features that these apps share are: 1) Tracking and intercepting calls - allows you to listen to incoming and outgoing phone calls by patching you in as a three-way caller.

2) Recording phone calls - which you can review at a later time at your convenience.

3) Ambient listening mode - giving you the ability to remotely enable the microphone discreetly.

4) Remote camera control - enabling access to the camera to take photos on demand at any given time.

5) Information access on other apps - so you can access other social media and chat apps, (ie.

Facebook, Snapchat, iMessage, etc.) installed on the phone and retrieve data.

6) GPS location and geo-fencing - in order to locate the phone.

What bodes true for the gamut of these apps to be installed on a device, is that the person installing the app has to be able to get into the phone, whether it be an iOS or Android device.

That means the person installing the app knows your phone passcode or the Apple or Google Play ID password.

In most countries, such tracking apps constitute personal privacy violations, however, in the same countries, there are no laws that render child tracking illegal. For example, installing an app to track your child’s location for the sake of safety is legally legitimate, but using the same app to digitally monitor your spouse’s whereabouts and activity is considered wiretapping, stalking or even hacking. Therein lies the paradox of our technology.

The digital tools we have developed to gather data for seemingly innocuous purposes are the same tools that could be used by people who may have malicious intentions or intend to abuse technology without the consent of others.

JURASSIC WORLD: FALLEN KINGDOM As the fifth instalment in the Jurassic Park series, this episode takes place four years after the destruction of the Jurassic World theme park, with the animals allowed to roam freely. Owen Grady (Chris Pratt) and Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard) form a rescue team and return to the island of Isla Nublar. Their mission is to save the remaining dinosaurs from a deadly volcano that’s about to erupt.

They soon encounter a terrifying new breed of dinosaur, the hybrid Indoraptor, who escapes amidst the team uncovering a conspiracy that threatens the entire planet.

OCEAN’S 8 Five years, eight months, 12 days and counting – that’s how long Debbie Ocean (Sandra Bullock) has been devising the biggest heist of her life. She knows what it’s going to take, a team of the best people in the field, starting with her partner-in-crime Lou Miller (Cate Blanchett). Together, they recruit a crew of specialists, including jeweller Amita, street con Constance, suburban mom Tammy, hacker Nine Ball, and fashion designer Rose. Their target? A necklace that’s worth more than $150 million. This is a spin-off of Steven Soderbergh’s Ocean’s trilogy.

THE INCREDIBLES 2 Incredibles 2 takes off where The Incredibles ends, with the introduction of the villain The Underminder (John Ratzenberger).

The Parr family struggles to maintain normal lives while Helen (Holly Hunter), as Elastigirl, continues to fight crime and campaign for the return of “supers”. Meanwhile, Bob (Craig T. Nelson), also known as Mr. Incredible, stays at home caring for their children Violet (Sarah Vowell), Dash (Huck Milner) and Jack-Jack, discovering the baby’s secret powers in the process. Also, the Parrs and their ally Frozone (Samuel L. Jackson) find they must battle a new villain, who goes by the name of Screenslaver.

SICARIO 2: DAY OF THE SOLDADO FBI agent Matt Graver (Josh Brolin) calls on mysterious operative Alejandro Gillick (Benicio del Toro) when Mexican drug cartels start to smuggle jihadi terrorists across the US border. The war escalates even further when Alejandro kidnaps top kingpin’s daughter Isabela Reyes (Isabella Moner) to deliberately increase the tensions. When the young girl is seen as collateral damage, the two men will determine her fate as they question everything that they are fighting for and the Mexican government discover the plot and Graver orders Reyes’ execution. Gillick refuses and turns rogue.

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phobia pho•bi•a (fō’bē-ə) n. A persistent, abnormal, or irrational fear of a specific thing.

W

hen parents know they are having a baby, they are usually filled with thoughts about the best way to raise their child. Family arrangements and financial support, together with what the parenting style to follow, are some of serious topics that needs to be considered.

Then comes the fun aspect of what the baby will look like. Who is she or he going to resemble?

After our baby was born, my husband and I had many long conversations about what she would be like in the future. We listed the good qualities and talents on both sides of the family, and made a wishlist of characteristics. Yet all the happy family fun always ended when a gecko popped and sent me into a panic.

My husband is quite adamant that I don’t transfer my reptile and insect phobia to our daughter. He thinks it’s unfair, and I happen to agree.

Fear is crippling and I really wish she has no such inhibitions. As all parents do, I wish may daughter can live her life to the fullest. Gecko phobia, as trivial as it sounds to most people, makes you think twice about every single move. Shall I sit in the garden? Shall I go out to the terrace?

Shall I open a window? Shall I live in Southeast Asia?

Easier said than done. I try to keep calm when I see a gecko when I’m with the baby. Right now she is especially aware of everything around her. If a gecko pops up,

I just take her and move to another place, trying my best not to scream.

One day I was carrying my daughter around the kitchen when we saw a gecko on the wall. She pointed at it signaling towards him with her hands as if asking it to come closer. I didn’t’t know what to feel -- terrified or proud. She reacted naturally, saw something new and wanted to explore it. On the other hand, I saw something terrifying, or so says my subconscious. Gladly the gecko didn’t understand my daughter’’s hand signal and moved away eventually. No, I din’t think it was cute!

My husband was super proud of our little brave explorer. He also recognised how much effort I made to keep my cool.

Little he knew that I was sweating like a husky in the desert and my heart was beating like a drum.

I have to say that I am starting to give in to the fact that I am going to be living around geckos for as long as I am in this part of the world. I am not less scared. I just realise I can’t win. I can’t stop them from coming inside my home or roaming around everywhere I go.

There are a lot of them and they always have a way. Repellents don’t really work.

Traps are cruel and even if I turned a blind eye, that doesn’t really work for me. I guess I have reached the point of acceptance.

I am not sure if I should consider my therapy to be successful. The conversations I am having with my

therapist feel useless. It is all about trying to be more rational about my fear of geckos and the fact that they are harmless. I truly appreciate the logic but the problem is when I see a gecko I get into a fight-or-flight mode, my mind freezes and I can’t really think about how harmless the gecko is. All I am capable of doing at that time is actually running for my life.

In a way, I think my relationship with geckos passed through the seven stages of grief. I was definitely shocked with how many geckos there are in Ho Chi Minh City.

My fear of them was crippling and painful. I was angry and frustrated that everything I tried didn’t work. I got depressed and started withdrawing from social activities not only because of fear but also of the strain that comes with an uncontrollable fear of something largely considered trivial.

I felt guilty for putting so much pressure on my little family as we have to tailor our activities so not to trigger my anxiety.

Things looked up a bit when I started therapy and I felt like “I got this”. I kept trying to rationalise how I think of geckos and the actual harm they may cause me.

Skipping the “reconstruction and working through” step, I guess I reached the step of acceptance. Definitely I exchanged hopelessness for the hope that one day I stop fearing geckos. Or maybe without them popping up everywhere I go.

AsiaLIFE HCMC 63

hancock in se asia

CHANGE THE RECORD

W

ith a background in, and 30 years of my life dedicated to music, this is me having a gripe. I was lucky enough to have been a teenager in the 1960s when pop, rock and soul music exploded across the planet. It truly was an astonishing time to be alive, with great bands releasing singles at a staggering rate. Every week there would be half a dozen new entries in the charts and the standard was incredible.

People ask me what my favourite genre of music is. I am always fascinated by the concept. I like music, all of it as long as it is good. I love rock, pop, folk, country, klezmer, classical and even some of the more accessible jazz. My favourite concerts here in Ho Chi Minh City have been the classical ones at the Saigon Opera House, amazingly talented musicians in a truly iconic venue.

I really am not a fan of music in pubs, not because I don’t like it per se, but because I feel genuine embarrassment for the musicians who are flogging themselves to death on the stage, for an audience that is ignoring them or playing pool or talking, or shouting or basically doing anything that doesn’t involve involvement. It’s a personal thing born out of my first European tour when I was booked into wholly unsuitable venues, and had the most miserable month of my life.

64 AsiaLIFE HCMC

This is not to say that I haven’t enjoyed any live music here, I have. I used to go to watch The Wanderlusters on a Tuesday night when I spent more time in District 1. I think Los Mosquitos are fantastic, they sing and play with real passion, have incredible musicians and get the audience involved.

The Lost Art are really good as well and in Daniel Tooman have an exceptional front man. There are more as well.

The general lack of imagination for recorded music in bars here drives me crazy. Luis Fonsi does it slowly every half an hour in just about every bar in town. I guess that 27 million YouTubers can’t be wrong, but overplaying ruins everything.

And once the bars find a genre, that’s it. What’s good enough for Luis is good enough for Enrique so now we have to suffer Bailando every half an hour as well. Play them back to back and nobody notices that the song has changed.

Meanwhile Camila’s heart is still boringly in Havana and Megan Trainor still believes that men prefer more “booty”.

It’s all about variety; remember that?

When clubs played The Beatles, Fairport Convention, The Stones, The Beach Boys, The Temptations, Fleetwood Mac, Al Green, ELO, Tom Jones, Led Zeppelin, Dolly Parton and endless, superb others. If you didn’t like a song you waited four mins and generally got something that you did.

Now if you don’t like a song you’re going to have to hold on for the next generation.

I remember going to concerts where the support act would be completely different to the headliners and nobody cared because it was all wonderful. Nowadays it’s more often than not, some up-and-coming “star” that a record label has managed to bribe onto the bill. About 90% of the crowd stay in the bar.

I don’t know when this obsession with certain songs started but for me it was in Bangkok and Hotel Bloody California every five minutes, everywhere for five years. Viva La Difference!

Following a successful 25-year career as a singer/ songwriter/musician, Keith pulled out of the rat race and moved to Southeast Asia in 2008. First living in Thailand, then Cambodia and Ho Chi Minh City since 2013. www.inseasia.com

FRIENDS FOR STREET CHILDREN

I

magine leaving your village for life in the big city, with no home or job to go to.

Imagine being unable to go to school or work because youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re an immigrant or have no papers. Imagine sleeping in a doorway each night, tired and hungry after a day on the streets. This is the reality of life for more than 11,000 Vietnamese street children, trying to eke out an existence, often hungry and despondent.

Founded in 1984 by Thomas Tran Van Soi to confront this shocking reality, Friends For Street Children Association (FFSC) works to re-integrate these children back in to society, and to prevent them from ending upon the streets in the first place.

As well as providing food, shelter and medical care, a priority for FFSC is the

educational and developmental support that children need for a brighter future. Adopting a comprehensive approach to development, their focus is as much on emotional education as it is on intellectual abilities.

FFSC also offers parental training, helping to raise awareness of the need to educate children, and to equip them with the soft skills needed for family life and successful parenting. Through this, much of their work is to prevent disadvantaged kids from ending up on the streets and being caught in the web of poverty and social ills.

Operating in Ho Chi Minh City for more than 30 years, FFSC has grown from their initial development centre to seven centres.

They also run a guest house and a handicraft workshop as social enterprises, providing

much-needed income for disenfranchised women and helping to fund the work and activities they do at their centres.

Located in the poorest areas of Ho Chi Minh City, they cater for many displaced children who have migrated to the city from rural provinces, providing accommodation, food and learning facilities. They currently support more than 1,300 children and their families in different neighbourhoods.

For children who do not have access to the mainstream education system, FFSC provides elementary level education with the goal of integrating them into public schools.

Their professional teachers, social workers and volunteers provide these children with the chance to gain knowledge, develop their potential, and deepen life skills and values through education and training.

For children who can attend public schools and university but who are unable to afford the cost, FFSC provides financial support for education and basic living expenses.

Health and dental checks are carried out by volunteers and basic treatment is provided when needed. Training sessions on health issues, life values, and life skills are conducted for children, families, teachers and volunteers.

FFSC believes that caring for children means caring for humanity. They can only achieve their goals with the generous support of caring and concerned individuals and organisations. Regular and personal progress reports link sponsors with children, helping to share how investing in displaced or distressed kids can make a life changing difference. https://www.facebook.com/ FriendsForStreetChildren http://www.ffscvn.org.

AsiaLIFE HCMC 65

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