A while back we posted that Hard Rock is coming to town. We’ll we weren’t lying, here is the proof of the photo. Due to open pretty soon, and I’m sure I’ll see most of you there at the opening.

Genere: Rap/Death Rap

Nuovo video per N.A.S.A. Project (Snowgoons e Saigon), il singolo è intitolato “Spacious Thoughts”, e vede la partecipazione di Tom Waits & Kool Keith, è stato diretto da Fluorescent Hill ed è semplicemente spettacolare quindi guardatelo, schermo intero e in hd.

Buona visione!!!!

If you do not fancy bamboo shoots or duck meat – Bun Mang Vit is NOT for you. Truth be told, I found bamboo shoots quite disturbing until I started living in Vietnam. An acquired taste indeed.

SkinnyKhoi loves this duck and bamboo shoots rice noodle stall at 71/1 Mac Thi Buoi, District 1, HCMC. He was there two days in a row! But I guess DelicateRose didn’t enjoy the dishes as much as Skinny did.

What I really like here is the duck meat salad – just look at the glistening duck skin and the nice tender meat with a slight tinge of pink! I usually dip them in the savoury and sweet salad dressing but you can also dip them into the fish sauce on the side.

This is a really local vietnamese haunt and I haven’t seen any foreigners visiting the stall save for those who walked past it to get to Warda and Lac Thai. So be prepared to speak some vietnamese if you would like to get yourself something to eat here. Or bring a vietnamese friend with you – like what DelicateRose and I did.

And most importantly, get here before 12 noon. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Vietnam has seen a surge in tourism in recent years, writes Fingertips’ Daniel Shane, with the south-east Asian destination quickly becoming one of the continent’s hottest tickets

Think of Vietnam and a seemingly endless string of war movies come to mind. From the epic drama of Apocalypse Now to the gritty horror of Platoon, the south-east Asian nation’s infamous war with the US has left a permanent thumb print on Vietnam and its people.

But a lot has changed since that tank crashed through the palace gates in Saigon in 1975 to clinch victory for the Communist north.

Nowadays, millions of visitors from all over the globe trek to the country to experience an array of attractions, from the hustle and bustle of Ho Chi Minh City and the tranquil Mekong Delta in the south, to the relaxing and scenic Halong Bay in the far north.

Perhaps best of all, travellers of all budgets are sure to find accomodation to suit their wallet, with swanky $250 a night five-star resorts being matched in number by a seemingly endless supply of rustic $5 guesthouses.

Vietnam also boasts a fantastic array of culinary delights. Those who sample the country’s native dishes will be treated to a delicious blend of Chinese, colonial French and Khmer influences. Do as the locals and indulge in a bowl of Pho (pronounced ‘po’) – a fantastic noodle soup which can be customised to include beef, chicken and lamb, as well a whole galaxy vegetables.

Visitors to the country will also no doubt be keen to immerse themselves in the rich culture of Vietnam, with intriguing sights such as water puppetry in the capital Ha Noi and the ancient, steeped temples of Hue likely to be high on the list of any traveller.

While travel to picturesque locations such as the ancient imperial town of Hoi An – a UNESCO World Heritage Site – and the breathtaking Halong Bay is cheap and in abundance, the more adventurous may want to take a walk on the wild site and rent a motorbike to traverse Vietnam’s coastline.

Be warned though, local driving is reckless at best and downright suicidal at worst, with terms such as ‘traffic lights’ and ‘pedestrian crossing’ seemingly yet to enter Vietnamese vocabulary.

While still technically under Communist rule – the sight of the Hammer and Sickle flying from all public buildings remains a curiosity – all visitors to Vietnam are sure to find something intriguing about a nation stuck mid-way between the West and the East.

If you’re looking for a local vietnamese restaurant that serves good, authentic vietnamese fare in downtown saigon, Com 13 is the place to go. Located along Ngo Duc Ke street, and just a few doors away from the more well known Hoang Yen and french bistro La Fourchette, its close proximity to Dong Khoi Street makes it an ideal place to have lunch with close friends any time of the week.

I have lost count of the number of times I have eaten here, and the numerous visitors I have brought here on different occasions. Its simple home cooking style keeps drawing me back to their restaurant over and over again. Their sweet and sour pork is delectable and the deep fried pork slices were perfectly deep fried and drenched in their well balanced ketchup based sauce. One dish I never failed to order is their lip-smackingly good ca kho to (caramelised fish in claypot) but those who are watching their blood glucose level might want to refrain from having too much of the gravy that comes with this dish

Com 13 makes a good rendition of the canh chua ca loc (vietnamese sour soup with mullet fish) too. The mix of okra, snake-head gourd, tomatoes, pineapples, vietnamese sage and fresh fish fillet makes this an interesting soup that I fell in love with the first time I tasted it several years ago. Take the fish out of the soup, and it can be a dish on its own. Simply dip the fillet (beware of the fish bones though) into the fishsauce (or soysauce if you like) provided and have a mouthful of the warm sticky steamed rice . Dee-lish!

Get a serving of their bong thien ly xao toi (stir-fried flowers of a thousand miles with garlic) or rau muong xao toi (water spinach stir fried with garlic) if you’re feeling sinful from all the meat dishes. Otherwise, if you’re game for more sinful indulgence, order the deep fried chicken skins with fish sauce and I can assure you that you’ll be smiling as you sink your teeth into those delightful crackling skins!

And what’s food without wines? The bottle of beaujolais nouveau was nothing to shout about but it’ll make a nice Sunday afternoon drink with its hints of strawberry and candy aromas.

I’m a big fan of eating locally, and you can’t get more neighbourly than eating at your local quán. Come dine with me and find out what’s on the menu, the price, how to order and, most importantly (especially for the novice), how to eat it.

Quán, to my non-Vietnamese-speaking ear, sounds like ‘wang’ and therefore makes me smile because I have a very base sense of humour. It gets an extra tick from me simply for that reason. Quán’s are small eateries that dot the streets throughout Vietnam, typically set up in the downstairs section or the front rooms of people’s homes. Thus dining at these fine but basic eating establishments often takes on a slightly voyeuristic quality. I know, for example, that the proprietress of my favourite local eatery has a penchant for collecting empty perfume bottles and is rather fond of plastic flower displays – I counted eight bunches up on a cursory glance around.

Hang preparing food for the hungry masses

Quan’s serve up a varietyof styles of food. Our local quan features Com Binh Dan, which roughly translats to ‘low cost rice dishes for the common people’. This type of food is therefore always inexpensive. The most I have ever paid was VND 35.000, around AUD $2.35, which was a complete rip off (I won’t be eating there again)! My local eatery charges a paltry VND 13.000 for excellent food. Com Binh Dan consists of a range of dishes served up throughout the day, although some will only trade at certain times of the day. Typically, there will be a variety of foods to choose from, including fish dishes, pork, chicken and sometimes tofu. A couple of the common dishes include stewed pork served with boiled egg (thit heo kho, which is actually much more enticing than it sounds), tofu filled with pork (đau phu nhoi thit heo), and lemongrass and chilli chicken (ga xao sa ot), with always way more to select from.

Tomatoes filled with pork (ca chua nhoi thit)

Miss Hang of 44 Nguyen Trung Truc (that’s the street name) in Go Vap district, is a whiz in her kitchen, although I have to admit, cooking rice is not her forte. Strange for a Vietnamese person given the importance of rice in their lives, but there you go. In any case, she more than makes up for any rice cooking deficit with her skills in fabulous food creation. She produces roughly 10 dishes each day and there’s usually at the very least a couple that I really like. I am currently in raptures over her tomatoes stuffed with pork (cá chua nhồi thịt).

If I am eating at a new quán, I will always check the price first (bao nhiêu? – sounds like ‘bow new’) as I am a bit over the nasty surprise of ridiculously over-inflated prices that you sometimes find yourself a victim to, ESPECIALLY if you leave asking until after the meal (do so at your peril!). If it is more than VND 20.000 in Ho Chi Minh City, I’ll hurumph, perhaps mutter “măc quá” (very expensive) under my breath, and take my custom elsewhere.

To order food, I just simply point and smile. Sure, you’ll mistakenly order chopped intestines for a tasty looking meal from time to time (I initially thought it was chewy chicken…), but that’s all a part of the adventure – and it didn’t actually taste that bad. Next, take a seat and the food will be forthcoming. You will typically receive a plate of white rice with a small amount of the meat or veggie dish you selected, some vegetable on the side (bamboo shoots, snake beans, cabbage, Vietnamese greens, sliced cucumber, etc), and a small bowl of soup. The latter is typically fairly bland and eaten last, although it is acceptable to sample it as you go with your main.

If you are unsure about what cutlery to use, just look around and see what everyone else is using. Generally when eating from a plate, you use a fork and spoon, and chopsticks and a spoon if eating from a bowl. For a while there, I was using chopsticks for everything, thinking I presented as a worldly woman who was well versed in Vietnamese eating culture, only to find I was looking like a foreign fool!

Xin mời!

look at her ….

Saigon featuring Lil’ Fame of M.O.P. “Rusty Gunz” produced by Low Budget’s own Oddisee. kragenoff!

New video for Rusty Gunz featuring Lil Fame of M.O.P. off of Saigon’s Warning Shots 2 which dropped a few months back.Rusty Gunz – Saigon Feat. Lil Fame

Saigon
Rusty Gunz (feat. lil Fame)
Warning Shots 2 (2009)

Fytusan hackars järnspikars!
Det är ju tammetusan fjärdevärldskriget uppe på dem där hustaken, BAM!

Hochiminh City, 20th Nov 2009 – Vietnam Travel Depot has released excursions to bring nostagia travellers back in time to see Saigon of the old time.

Experience Old Saigon on vintage Citroen Traction Avant with Viet Nam Travel Depot

Contrast to the current bustling, noisy and crowded city, the Old Saigon was charm and full flairs of Paris blended with Far East atmosphere as they once appeared in many movies such The Lovers or Indochine.

Inspired by the postcards of Old Saigon, the excursion will cover some major places such as Cathedral (1918), Post and Telegraph, Saigon Town Hall (1924), Ville Rex Hotel (1924), Municipal Theatre (1898 – 1900), Catinat Street, Ben Thanh Market (1925), Saigon Zoo, etc.

The excursions of Old Saigon can be traveled on a half day or full day basis. Passengers can also choose to experience Saigon on modern air-conditioned vehicles or the vintage Citroen Traction Avant of 1935 (limited seats). The company also presents a set of Old Saigon postcard when the tour concludes.

About Vietnam Travel Depot
Online travel portal specialized in travel to Vietnam focusing on individuals and small groups travel. More information the company, its offers and rates please visit www.vietnamtraveldepot.com or tel:  ( 848 ) 5404 3116.

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Transported by Citroen

Old Saigon on half day, price from US$90/pax (group of 2 persons)

Old Saigon on full day, price from US$145/pax (group of 2 persons)

My bad for not getting anything on here in a bit, busy as hell. If you haven’t already, grab both these Mixtapes below. DJ Benzi and Clinton Sparks helped release Mike Posner’s second mixtape One Foot out the Door. With features like KiD CuDi, Bun B, Big Sean, Clinton Sparks, 3OH!3, and Saigon the 12 track mixtape is real solid and worth a listen. Remixes to Soulja Boy’s Kiss me thru the phone, XV’s Mirror’s Edge, 3OH!3’s Don’t Trust Me, and Posner’s own Cooler than me. The album is avaliable FREE on iTunes or his website HERE. Below is a stream of the tracks One Foot Out The Door, and the Gigamesh produced Cooler Than Me Remix.

Lil’ Wayne hasn’t really put me in awe like he was able to do in the Carter II days until this mixtape. Really brought the heat and impressed me and most everyone I’ve talked to about it. He cover’s Jay-Z’s D.O.A. and Run This Town, KiD CuDi’s Make Her Say, and Black Eyed Peas I Gotta Feeling. To me the difference in this mixtape were the beats, the great choices of beats on covers listed above combined with tracks like Swag Surfin’, Ice Cream Paint Job, Watch my Shoes, and break Up make this tape fire. Another FREE download HERE. Also, below is Break Up featuring Short Dawg & Gudda Gudda and Watch My Shoes. I highly Recommend you get both of these tapes.

Saigon developed a little fame by entrenching himself in the New York underground. Lil Fame developed a following that built the NY underground that Saigon later capitalized off of. Somehow Saigon fell off the rap radar, at least on radars that ZIF respects. Perhaps it was his tenure on HBO’s Entourage or maybe his emotional and fluffy “beef” with Joe Budden, either way, Saigon’s name does not enlist the ooh’s an ah’s from hip hop heads like he did half a decade ago.  What I like about this video is the no-nonsense commitment to keeping this video “NY Gully”, nice grainy graphic, with plenty of shots of New York’s primary asset, it’s grand skyline. On a career note, I think Saigon needs to pair up with the likes of Fame and other proven industry rappers, he’s at that re-dip stage of his career. You know, like when you dip a nacho in cheese, and then bite half of it off, chew, and then dip again. Yeah, a half eaten nacho, that sounds about right.

MPFREE: Saigon – Rusty Gunz Featuring Lil Fame

There are so many versions of pho in this city that almost every vietnamese I know has his or her preferred stall – it could be the broth, the quality of the beef, the hoisin sauce, the condiments, the pho (noodles) – you name it. I wouldn’t say this stall is the best pho in town, but it does have something different to offer.

The noodles here are not the typical thin strips of pho that you normally get at most stalls but they are more similar to the slurpy, smooth, delicate hor fun/ kway teow that I’m familiar with. Kinda reminds me of Ipoh Sar Hor Fun sans the shredded chicken. The broth is flavourful on its own but its aroma and taste will be magically lifted with the help of a squeeze of lime and a small handful of basil. The stall owner reminded me that I should not go OTT on the basil – just a few leaves would be more than sufficient or it would overpower the delicate taste of the broth – sound advice indeed.

And even the cafe sua da tastes a little different here

I’m pretty sure by now you would have noticed the chinese influence on the bowl that they served my pho in, the signature stainless steel spoon, and the unmistakable chopsticks? Let’s just say that it was comforting to enjoy a bowl of noodles here while listening to their chattering and gossipping in cantonese.

They are located at 52 Ngo Duc Ke Street, District 1, HCMC. Ask the driver to drop you off at the intersection between Nguyen Hue and Ngo Duc Ke. It’s a few doors away from La Nicoise.

The most memorable part of Saigon for me is the traffic… imagine trying to cross a road with 15 motorbikes in a row traveling one direction, and another 15 forming a row going the other direction.  If I wasn’t hiding behind locals, I waited for 20, 30 minutes and held my breath while crossing, too afraid to look.