Saigoneer

Епизоде

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  Eat & Drink | What Cooking Bún Chả for My Birthday Abroad Taught Me About Vietnameseness 11.09.2026 11мин

  “Three pillars uphold what I consider the quintessential Vietnamese birthday experience: Heineken or Tiger beer cans on the floor; the sweet smoky smell of bún chả and nem enlaced with the rainy air of a darkening Saigon sky; and my friends and family under the LED-lit roof of an iCool karaoke room.Versions of this birthday routine punctuated my summers until July 2024, when I left Vietnam for Canada to study. Being the furthest I had ever been from home, I was more determined than ever to turn 20 the right, Vietnamese way — with beer cans, bún chả, and karaoke.” ___Written by Khuê Anh.Read the full article here: https://saigoneer.com/saigon-food-culture/29156-what-cooking-bún-chả-for-my-birthday-abroad-taught-me-about-vietnameseness
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  Natural Selection | Crickets Are More Than Just Chirpy Reminders of Our Childhood 26.08.2026 7мин

  Cricket song. You read the words and immediately hear the chirping. That thrilling trill of strummed air. Humans have been hearing the quivering echo of tiếng dế since we first came into existence. And over time, we’ve attached a variety of meanings to it and the creature that makes it.___Written by Paul Christiansen.Read the full article here: https://saigoneer.com/natural-selection/26694-crickets-are-more-than-just-chirpy-reminders-of-our-childhood
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  Vignette | Xe Trái Cây: If You Can't Find Lovingly Sliced Fruit at Home, Cart-Bought Is Fine 18.08.2026 3мин

  “Asian parents are notorious for their struggle to express love using words, but one only needs to look at their actions to feel that tangible tenderness. A plate of neatly peeled and sliced mango is just as effective as a whispered ‘I love you’ at the end of a call. In Saigon, where enunciated ‘I love you’ are scarce and fruit is abundant, if you don’t have access to lovingly home-cut fruits, I think cart-bought should suffice.”___Written by Khôi Phạm.Read the full article here: https://saigoneer.com/saigon-culture/27099-xe-trái-cây-if-you-can-t-find-lovingly-sliced-fruit-at-home,-cart-bought-is-fine
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  Arts & Culture | An Homage to the Sounds of Saigon Past That Are Going Extinct 11.08.2026 10мин

  For Vietnamese millennials, our existence on Earth somewhat overlaps that bizarre timeline spanning the two extremes from “what is the inter-web?” to “every minutia of life is online,” so, of the multitudes of sounds from our formative years, many have been lost forever or now can only be found in random videos on YouTube.___Written by Khôi Phạm.Read the full article here: https://saigoneer.com/saigon-culture/28199-an-homage-to-the-sounds-of-saigon-past-that-are-going-extinct
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  Vignette | Are We Living in the Final Days of Cô Mía? 04.08.2026 3мин

  The iconic image of cô Mía, whose real identity remains a mystery, was once on virtually every nước mía cart in Saigon. In the past year, however, generic, mass-produced design has taken over local sugarcane juice shops in place of the hand-painted smirk of cô Mía. Is it time yet to add cô Mía to the growing list of endangered species of Vietnam?___Written by Paul Christiansen.Read the full article here: https://saigoneer.com/saigon-culture/27249-are-we-living-in-the-final-days-of-cô-mía
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  Vignette | The Hunt for Vietnam's Dinosaurs Has Found Nothing Yet, but There Is Hope 27.07.2026 3мин

  In a handful of Southeast Asian countries, including Thailand, Malaysia, Laos, Cambodia, and Myanmar, scientists have discovered fossilized remains of various species of dinosaurs, but not Vietnam — not for lack of trying. Are we just really unlucky diggers or were our prehistoric plains and jungles so inhospitable that dinosaurs said “bo xì bo”?___Written by Paul Christiansen and Khôi Nguyễn.Read the full article here: https://saigoneer.com/saigon-environment/28291-the-hunt-for-vietnam-s-dinosaurs-has-found-nothing-yet,-but-there-is-hope
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  In Plain Sight | I Grew up With Print Newspapers and Magazines. Now, They're Disappearing. 21.07.2026 15мин

  “To a child of a provincial town, newspapers and magazines were the most valuable source of information I could get my hands on. They were my windows to the big wild world out there, unveiling the events happening beyond my tiny town, things that at times I couldn’t quite fully understand, but have helped me learn about the interesting complexities of our society. Those papers nurtured my soul, and have no doubt inspired me in my own endeavors in writing today.”___Written by Minh Phát.Read the full article here: https://saigoneer.com/in-plain-sight/28195-i-grew-up-with-print-newspapers-and-magazines-now,-they-re-disappearing
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  Hẻm Gems | A Humble Bún Riêu That Reminds a Child of the Mekong of Home 14.07.2026 8мин

  “District 7 is both foreign and familiar to me after five years studying and working here, but stopping by a sidewalk to have a southwestern bowl of bún riêu is not the only thing that makes me miss home.Here and there, I can sense fragments of my hometown in the accent of the servers, in the way they call out orders, in how they banter with regulars, how they joke around during downtime, the stainless steel tables, the plastic stools, and the giant plastic mugs filled with iced tea. It’s as if my tiny street at home is materializing around me. I see my mom’s figure carrying a bowl of bún from the market home to my dad in the way the server carries orders to our tables.___Written by Minh Phát.Read the full article here: https://saigoneer.com/saigon-street-food-restaurants/28117-hẻm-gems-a-humble-bún-riêu-that-reminds-a-child-of-the-mekong-of-home
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  Vignette | Charting the Flow of the Nhiêu Lộc Canal From Start to Historical Start 06.07.2026 3мин

  To explore Nhiêu Lộc Canal, there are two directions curious Saigoneers can take: you can choose to delve into the history behind its founding, as a waterway established in the 19th century to connect with the Mekong Delta, for travel, trade and help control floods; or you can take a short drive upstream to Út Tịch Street in Tân Bình, where the water begins. We chose the second option.___Written by Paul Christiansen.Read the full article here: https://saigoneer.com/saigon-environment/26905-charting-the-flow-of-the-nhiêu-lộc-canal-from-start-to-historical-start
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  Vignette | An Argument for Why Võng Should Be a Staple Amenity in Every Home 29.06.2026 4мин

  In the past, võng was a mark of prestige reserved for court mandarins and rich nobles who could afford to be carried around by servants. In today’s Vietnam, however, it’s often associated with cheap rest stops and countryside homes, which is a shame because the hammock, our writer argues, is one of the most comfortable places to take a nap out there.___Written by Paul Christiansen.Read the full article here: https://saigoneer.com/saigon-culture/27366-an-argument-for-why-võng-should-be-a-staple-amenity-in-every-home.
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  Vignette | Pristine Blue Sky and Memorial Park: Ruminating on What the Covid-19 Pandemic Left Us 29.06.2026

  “Piercing through the teardrop monument is a heart-shaped hole. It exists because we are all incomplete alone, incomplete without the care and labor of and for one another, a reciprocity so often unfulfilled. Standing before the droplet, I observe what it reflects. I’m there, tiny amidst it all. And above me, the bright blue sky, still looming large, still looming high.”___Listen to the full article at:YouTube: https://youtu.be/O5cP4onL_5QSpotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/7ANeCJeYMqOGvxQezomHv0?si=gYfpQIezTS-1djMLvnqvDQApple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/vn/podcast/saigoneer/id1879690733?i=1000769811514
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  Vignette | Unraveling the Mystery Behind the 'Mùi Việt Kiều' of My Childhood 29.06.2026

  If you have relatives who live abroad, it's likely that you've noticed this aroma, which perfumes their luggage whenever they make a visit. Amongst the Hershey's Kisses, Irish Spring soaps, and multivitamins, there's a distinctive scent that's often referred to as "mùi Việt Kiều." As lunar new year is coming close and so is reunion season, our writer takes a walk down memory lane to reflect on the mùi Việt Kiều of Tết past.___Listen to the full article at:YouTube: https://youtu.be/visObKtvApQSpotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4f2jyM5nnGu9ofxuDawGYB?si=MJMFq15JRuipLwdVPAVgNQApple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/vn/podcast/saigoneer/id1879690733?i=1000768735106
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  Vignette | On Grappling With Our Complicated Bond With Single-Use Raincoats 15.06.2026 6мин

  "Love them or resent them, these raincoats are an inevitable artifact of our species’ optimism and hubris. We always think we will not forget, until we do. And when that moment arrives, the choreography is oddly uniform, open the under-seat compartment, find the raincoats, lift them, and know they will not survive another storm. We pull over and buy more."___Written by Uyên Đỗ.Read the full article here: https://saigoneer.com/society/28436-on-grappling-with-our-complicated-bond-with-single-use-raincoats.
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  Vignette | How Saigon's Free Water Coolers Quench Thirst and Spread Kindness 15.06.2026

  Much like mushrooms sprouting after the rain, grassroots water sources have appeared during dry spells in every corner of the city. Bearing friendly messages like “Free drinking water” or “Cool water for travelers,” stainless steel containers and insulated buckets dot the sidewalks to serve as mobile wellsprings for those in need of hydration.___Listen to the full article at:YouTube: https://youtu.be/p52DctXZijwSpotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1GiZpTKFVgWBFIb059oWfl?si=hRWJCDgtRnG1DkFGrlMs5AApple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/vn/podcast/saigoneer/id1879690733?i=1000770556269
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  Vignette | How Soy Milk Symbolizes an Imagined Vietnam of My Childhood in France 08.06.2026 4мин

  “I still remember vividly the anticipation running through my veins, when I saw a waiter bringing me a glass of sữa đậu nành, every time my family took me to one of the many Vietnamese restaurants of the 13th arrondissement of Paris, the city’s renowned Chinatown. For me, this glass represented the quintessence of typical Vietnamese drinks during a good meal: one of the rare glimpses into the daily customs of my ancestor’s culture.”___Written by Tom Phạm.Read the full article here: https://saigoneer.com/saigon-food-culture/28928-how-soy-milk-symbolizes-an-imagined-vietnam-of-my-childhood-in-france.
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  Vignette | How Saigon's Free Water Coolers Quench Thirst and Spread Kindness 01.06.2026 4мин

  Much like mushrooms sprouting after the rain, grassroots water sources have appeared during dry spells in every corner of the city. Bearing friendly messages like “Free drinking water” or “Cool water for travelers,” stainless steel containers and insulated buckets dot the sidewalks to serve as mobile wellsprings for those in need of hydration.___Written by Uyên Đỗ.Read the full article here: https://saigoneer.com/saigon-news/27167-how-saigon-s-free-water-coolers-quench-thirst-and-spread-kindness.
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  Vignette | Pristine Blue Sky and Memorial Park: Ruminating on What the Covid-19 Pandemic Left Us 27.05.2026 4мин

  “Piercing through the teardrop monument is a heart-shaped hole. It exists because we are all incomplete alone, incomplete without the care and labor of and for one another, a reciprocity so often unfulfilled. Standing before the droplet, I observe what it reflects. I’m there, tiny amidst it all. And above me, the bright blue sky, still looming large, still looming high.”___Written by San Kwon.Read the full article here: https://saigoneer.com/saigon-news/28824-pristine-blue-sky-and-memorial-park-ruminating-on-what-the-covid-19-pandemic-left-us.
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  Vignette | Welcome to the New Age of Mass-Produced, Enshittified Plastic Bánh Giò 24.05.2026 6мин

  From banana leaves to a plastic mold, one food producer's decision to change the design of its bánh giò is sparking debates online. What does it say about the shifting tastes and economic health of today?___Written by Khôi Phạm.Read the full article here: https://saigoneer.com/saigon-food-culture/28768-welcome-to-the-new-age-of-mass-produced,-enshittified-plastic-bánh-giò.
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  Vignette | Unraveling the Mystery Behind the 'Mùi Việt Kiều' of My Childhood 20.05.2026 6мин

  If you have relatives who live abroad, it's likely that you've noticed this aroma, which perfumes their luggage whenever they make a visit. Amongst the Hershey's Kisses, Irish Spring soaps, and multivitamins, there's a distinctive scent that's often referred to as "mùi Việt Kiều." As lunar new year is coming close and so is reunion season, our writer takes a walk down memory lane to reflect on the mùi Việt Kiều of Tết past.___Written by Khôi Phạm.Read the full article here: https://saigoneer.com/saigon-culture/28719-unraveling-the-mystery-behind-the-mùi-việt-kiều-of-my-childhood.
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  Vignette | On Finding Packaged Existential Relief at Saigon's Convenience Stores 15.05.2026 6мин

  “When running away from life’s many grievances, I often find myself at the convenience store. I’ve crossed every stratum of society in those murky hours. I’ve shared space with fratty kids fresh from the club, arms full of beer and noise. I’ve stood beside quiet students hunched over textbooks and aging calculators. I’ve seen the same kind of existential blues that I carry myself in strangers.I've also met so many of the quiet cogs that keep the city running: janitors, delivery drivers, security guards, stopping in for a bottle of water, stealing five minutes of rest before heading back into the night.”___Written by Uyên Đỗ.Read the full article here: https://saigoneer.com/society/28571-on-finding-packaged-existential-relief-at-saigon-s-convenience-stores.