Hello from Vietnam! I’ve been here since February 2nd, and a week has really flown by. Vietnam is 12 hours ahead of NYC, but adjusting to the time difference and the heat somehow isn’t too bad this time. See what it’s like traveling from JFK, New York, to SGN, Vietnam in 2+ days.
First week in Vietnam recap - Tết prep
Note that if I don’t mention the city name, it means that the place is located in my hometown, Biên Hòa, Đồng Nai (Bien Hoa city in Dong Nai province). It’s about 1 hour North of Ho Chi Minh city.
Left - right, top - bottom:
My brother’s 3-month old daughter, named Tú Anh and nicknamed Dâu, got baptized on Sunday, and I was her Godmom.
Currently, I’m very into made-in-Vietnam pottery, the traditional styles, and have made it a mission to source a few more to bring back to NYC. They come in pretty handy for many food styling projects. My vase is from the famous pottery brand Bát Tràng. Highly recommend making a visit to Làng gốm Bát Tràng, Bat Trang Pottery Village, if you’re in Ha Noi. The little bowls with lids are commonly used for Gà tiềm thuốc bắc, Chinese styled herbal chicken soup, or to steam things, but I’m planning to use mine for desserts or to store a few knick knacks.
Finally got to try banh mi from Bánh mì Huynh Hoa, a pretty hyped banh mi spot in Ho Chi Minh city. Each loaf is stuffed to the rim with thick cuts of hams, Vietnamese butter, pate, pork floss, and lots of veggies (68,000 VND/$3). It was good and huge, and I could barely finish the half. I had the other half the next day, and it was so good. Just stick it in an air fryer for a few minutes!
Cà phê trứng (egg coffee, left) and cà phê muối (salt coffee, right) at An Nam - They’re not really new drinks but are considered new-ish offerings at coffee shops in my area. I usually don’t like drinks that are too milky, creamy, or sweet, but these are definitely a treat once in awhile. Don’t miss out if you see them on the menu in Vietnam.
My siblings and I went flower shopping 2 days before Tết in hopes that they’d be in-bloom during Tết. I’ve always preferred trees over annual flowering plants, so we’ve got a Hoa mai vàng, yellow Mai plant (1.5 millions VND/$62) and Cây hoa giấy, a dwarf bougainvillea tree (800,000 VND/$33). I’d avoid orchids, sunflowers, or any chrysanthemums. Fun fact: in the North of Vietnam, cherry blossoms are more common for Tết, but the yellow color from the Mai flowers are more of an icon of Tết in Vietnam.
Morning commute to get breakfast and coffee looks something like this minus the hectic traffic out in the main roads (you wouldn’t want to pull out your phone or have your belongings not attached to your body, for safety reasons!). We’d usually hop on a moped with a face mask, helmet, and go for a ride anywhere, everywhere. If you’ve ever been to NYC, traffic in NYC is kinda like that plus it’s 10 times worst in Vietnam because of the amount of mopeds and people not following any rules. That’s why I’d rather hop on a moped than sitting in the car and being stuck un traffic for hours.
My sister, Mẫn, holding Dâu, after dinner at my grandma’s house for Đám giỗ ông ngoại. Giỗ ceremony is a coming together of family to pray and give offerings to their deceased relative/s. Ông ngoại is mom’s dad.
Bún Bò Bà Thanh - my cousin’s favorite Bún Bò, beef noodle soup, and we had it for breakfast! There’s no way we’d get things like this this early in the US. And it’s so cheap in Vietnam (50,000 VND/$2).
My cousin got these Tuyết mai stems or Pigeon orchid for my grandma, and I immediately asked her to take me shopping. My mom picked up some Tết decorations, and I had such a blast decorating. Felt like Christmas all over! The big vase is also from the Bat Trang brand (800,000 VND/$33), and I got it from the pottery stand at Bien Hoa market. It’s a little cheaper because these are made to sell locally, and they might contain imperfections.
Reunited with some of my high school friends, and it was so fun. Most of them are married and have kids. Some live in the US but come home for Tết, after many years being away, just like me.
One of my favorite activities do to in Vietnam is to go to coffee and tea shops to try out new drinks and check out the interior. Featured is Cung Nam Coffee, a very popular coffee shop that my brother took me to the last time i went back. I love that they used traditional and old objects that are known in Vietnam instead making it modern and all-beige.
Bánh Xèo is a crispy stuffed rice pancake or crepe, another popular dish in Vietnam. It is more common to have it later in the day versus for breakfast or lunch in Vietnam, but we called ahead and reserved a few made around noon at Bánh Xèo Cô Hồng. Some criteria to look for when judging if a Bánh Xèo is good include a crispy and super thin crepe, good ratio of stuffing to cake, good nước chấm (sweet and sour garlic fish sauce), and an appetizing looking platter of rau sống (leafy vegetables and herbs).
This year’s nail trend is mắt mèo, cat’s eyes is the literal translation. It’s really just a sparkling coat of polish, any colors, that contain metal particles and can be ‘activated’ by a magnet. I did gel on my natural nails, and I thought the technician at Bùi Phương Ly did a pretty good job, especially at cutting my cuticle skin and getting the polish layers super thin.
My sister took us to Đề-Ba Café, and I had Cafe bắp, corn coffee. Again, another thick and creamy coffee! I love the minimal and dark interior, and the drinks are super cute.
Lô tô - a popular game kids and adults play during Tết, similar to Bingo. One person would call out the numbers, one at a time, and players would place a small object (we used peanuts, lol!) to mark it on their Lô tô tickets. You’d win all of the money if you score 5 numbers in a row.
My first dinner in Vietnam. We got take-out from Lẩu tôm Năm Ri and have it delivered via the ShoppeFood app — a beef stir fry dish, fried rice, squid salad, and their famous shrimp hot pot.
Plant delivery in Vietnam - all done on a tiny moped. It’s such crazy to see a huge amount of the shippers, drivers, and delivery people out on the streets in Vietnam these days.
Got my hair dyed 2 shades lighter and cut at Huỳnh Hair Studio.
My Map of Vietnam - updating as I go!
I’m doing my best to share what I’m up to, daily, on my IG stories and Tiktok. By the time this newsletter goes out, we’d probably be up getting ready for the first day of 3 - 5 day Tết celebration. Then we’ve got a little family vacation to Đà Nẵng and Hội An. I’ve never been to both cities, so I’m very excited. My dad seems to be the most excited because he did live Đà Nẵng for 15 years during his teenage years before he moved south and met my mom.
Life in Vietnam is so different, and it makes talking about life in NYC feels so inaccessible and far-reached. Maybe it’s because of the conversations I’ve been having and all of the thoughts that are running through my mind. Anyway, February is New York Fashion Week. I’m sad to miss out on a lot of it, but promise I’ll catch up and share with you my thoughts about everything later on.
That’s all for now. Thank you for being patient with me during this time. Thank you for being a subscriber. A paid subscription is really just like you buying me a coffee, but having you log in weekly or daily means a lot more than words can say.
Chúc Mừng Năm Mới/Happy Lunar New Year!
An :X