Discover Vietnam: A Vietnam Podcast

Born and fled South African Comedian Devin Gray, one of the top rising stars in comedy. With appearances on Comedy Central, International Festivals and pretty much any local bar with a stool and a microphone Devin is sure to set the pace for a whirlwind of hilarity.

And circuituos is a word! I just didn't say it right.

cir·cu·i·tous
/sərˈkyo͞oədəs/
Learn to pronounce
adjective
(of a route or journey) longer than the most direct way.
"the canal followed a circuitous route"

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“Every day I’m walking around this neighbourhood, I’m learning something new.”

What started as a hunt for lunch turned into another deep dive into one of my favourite parts of Saigon.

In this episode of Lunch Walks, I head back to Tôn Thất Đạm, the Old Market street, looking for lunch and end up with a 40,000 VND bowl of bún thịt xào, while uncovering even more of the history hidden in the streets around Saigon Podcast Studio.

Along the way, I stop at a distinctive 1973 South Vietnamese modernist building on Nguyễn Công Trứ, designed by architect Lê Văn Lắm, and take a closer look at its unusual “double skin” design. The building was designed specifically for Saigon’s climate, helping protect it from the sun and rain while improving natural airflow.

Then I head into the Old Market, a neighbourhood shaped by generations of Cantonese, Indian, Indonesian, Malaysian and Vietnamese communities. The more I explore this area, the more I realise just how much history is hiding in streets I’ve walked down hundreds of times.

There’s lunch, Vietnamese sweets, freshly ground coffee, QR payments, another mystery modernist building and plenty more evidence that you can live in Saigon for years and still discover something completely new around the corner.

Key Takeaways

• Why my Lunch Walks are gradually turning into Saigon history walks
• The story behind a 1973 South Vietnamese modernist building
• How the building’s double skin helps deal with Saigon’s tropical climate
• Exploring Tôn Thất Đạm and the Old Market
• The different immigrant communities that helped shape this neighbourhood
• Finding a 40,000 VND bún thịt xào for lunch
• Trying a traditional sweet made with sticky rice, shredded coconut and mung bean
• Buying freshly ground Vietnamese coffee from an old neighbourhood shop
• How quickly Saigon has shifted from cash to QR payments
• Discovering another building using the same distinctive modernist design

Timestamps

00:00 Another Lunch Walk begins
03:30 A 1973 modernist building on Nguyễn Công Trứ
05:00 How the “double skin” design works
10:00 Arriving at Tôn Thất Đạm and the Old Market
14:30 Finding bún thịt xào for lunch
17:00 Vietnamese sweets and a chat with the seller
21:30 Buying freshly ground Vietnamese coffee
24:00 The affordability of living in Vietnam
27:00 Discovering another mystery modernist building
30:00 Back at the studio for the final sweet treat

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“This is why I’m just loving these Lunch Walks. I’m getting obsessed with them now. I’m finding out so much amazing information about this neighborhood.”

What started as a simple lunch walk has turned into something much bigger.

In this episode, I leave Saigon Podcast Studio and head to one of my regular lunch spots in the Nguyễn Thái Bình neighborhood, a place I’ve probably eaten at around 50 times since opening the studio. The original plan was cơm tấm, but as usual in Vietnam, things don’t quite go to plan. 

Instead, I end up with hủ tiếu bò kho, a rich Vietnamese beef stew with noodles, soft carrots, fresh herbs, lime and bánh mì for dipping into the broth. It’s one of those dishes that still feels massively underrated compared with phở or bánh mì. 

But the food is only half the story.

Right next to the restaurant is Al Rahim Mosque, on a site that has reportedly been home to a mosque since 1885. The current building was rebuilt in 2009, but the history of the site opens up another fascinating layer of this tiny part of central Saigon.

We’ve already explored Cantonese influence in this neighborhood and touched on Tamil migration from India through the French colonial world. This time, I start looking at the Malaysian and Indonesian Muslim communities that also helped shape the area, and why there are still halal restaurants clustered around the mosque today.

Then, completely randomly, I bump into two visitors from Australia and New Zealand who had come specifically looking for halal food. That turns into a conversation about the mosque, the neighborhood, Vietnamese food, riding motorbikes in Saigon and trying to do business in Vietnam. 

These Lunch Walks were supposed to be about lunch. They’re slowly becoming history walks instead.

Key Takeaways

• Hủ tiếu bò kho combines noodles with Vietnamese beef stew, herbs, lime and bánh mì for soaking up the broth.
• The halal food around this part of District 1 is closely connected to the Muslim community surrounding Al Rahim Mosque.
• A mosque has reportedly stood on this site since 1885, although the current building dates from 2009.
• The Nguyễn Thái Bình neighborhood reflects layers of Cantonese, Tamil, Malaysian, Indonesian, French and Vietnamese history.
• Some of the most interesting history in Saigon is hidden between modern banks, offices and buildings you can easily walk past every day.
• These Lunch Walks are increasingly becoming a way to understand how food, migration, architecture and local history all connect.

Timestamps

00:00 Why Lunch Walks are becoming History Walks
02:00 Halal cơm tấm and the story of Al Rahim Mosque
04:00 Change of lunch plan: hủ tiếu bò kho
08:00 Meeting two visitors searching for halal food
10:00 The history of Saigon’s oldest mosque site
14:00 Exploring more hidden history around Nguyễn Thái Bình
17:00 Why I’m becoming obsessed with this neighborhood

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🎙️ Recorded at Saigon Podcast Studio!

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“They’ve been doing it since 1938. It better be good.”

This Lunch Walk starts as a food mission and ends up sending me even further down the rabbit hole of my own neighbourhood.

I’m joined by my friend James Green, who lives nearby, as we walk through the streets around Saigon Podcast Studio in search of bánh mì vịt quay, or roast duck bánh mì. But before we even get to lunch, we uncover a few stories hiding in plain sight.

We talk about how Pasteur Street was once a canal, discover that one very old-looking cafe façade is actually much newer than it appears, and stop outside the building that once housed the first American Embassy in Saigon.

Then we finally reach the main event.

The roast meat shop says it has been operating since 1938, and this time I’m able to ask the family directly. The woman serving us tells us her Cantonese grandfather started the business, her mother took over after him, and she is now the third generation. Her grandfather came to Saigon from Hong Kong around the 1920s, creating another direct link between this neighbourhood and the generations of immigrants who helped shape it.

And the food absolutely delivers.

Crispy roast duck, juicy meat, bánh mì, chilli, lemongrass and sauce quickly turns into us ordering even more duck because one sandwich simply isn’t enough.

The more of these Lunch Walks I make, the more I realise how much history is sitting right outside the studio, on streets I’ve been walking and driving through for nearly a decade.

Key Takeaways

• Exploring the neighbourhood with my friend James Green
• Discovering that Pasteur Street used to be a canal
• Why some of Saigon’s “historic-looking” buildings aren’t actually historic
• Visiting the former American Embassy in Saigon
• The Cantonese influence on this part of the city
• Finding a roast meat shop that has been operating since 1938
• Meeting the third generation of the family running it
• How her grandfather came from Hong Kong to Saigon in the 1920s
• Trying an incredible roast duck bánh mì
• Why these Lunch Walks are becoming as much about Saigon history as Vietnamese food
• My growing idea for an off-the-beaten-path walking tour around the neighbourhood

Timestamps

00:00 Lunch Walk with James
02:00 Pasteur Street used to be a canal
04:00 The historic-looking building that isn’t historic
07:00 Saigon architecture and neighbourhood stories
10:00 The former American Embassy
13:00 Cantonese immigration and our lunch destination
15:00 Finding the 1938 roast meat shop
22:00 Meeting the third generation of the family
25:00 Trying bánh mì vịt quay
30:00 Ordering even more roast duck
31:00 Could this become a Saigon walking tour?
42:00 Wrapping up the Lunch Wal

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"Send me a message!"

Support the show

🎙️ Recorded at Saigon Podcast Studio!

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🎙️ Start Your Podcast Today!

👉 Book a FREE Discovery Call with me and let’s bring your idea to life!

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“I love this country. I was about to head back to the mall. I’d given up hope, but I knew this country always pulls through at the very last second.”

This Lunch Walk takes me out of Saigon and onto the streets of Da Nang, where I’m hunting down one of Central Vietnam’s most famous dishes: Mì Quảng.

At least, that was the plan.

I set off looking for a highly rated local spot, only for Google Maps to send me to what appears to be a car lot. Add in Da Nang heat that feels close to 40°C, a complete lack of suitable clothing after coming straight from winter in Australia, and a growing temptation to give up and hide in an air-conditioned mall, and this quickly becomes more of an actual walk than expected.

But just as I’m about to admit defeat, Vietnam delivers.

I finally find a local Mì Quảng place and get to compare the dish in Da Nang with the versions I regularly eat back in Saigon. We talk about its lighter broth, peanuts, noodles, the differences between food in Central and Southern Vietnam, and why Mì Quảng deserves far more attention outside the country.

And, as often happens on these Lunch Walks, the food is only part of the story. A random conversation with another customer turns into a chat about Saigon, Ha Long City and his former life working as a bartender on a cruise ship in Ha Long Bay.

Key Takeaways

• Mì Quảng is one of Central Vietnam’s most famous regional dishes.
• Unlike many Vietnamese noodle dishes, it usually comes with only a small amount of broth rather than a full bowl of soup.
• The Mì Quảng I’ve eaten in Saigon tends to have more broth and feel heavier and oilier than the version I try here in Da Nang.
• Vietnamese food changes significantly by region, with Central Vietnamese cuisine often associated with stronger and spicier flavours.
• Da Nang continues to modernise rapidly, with new malls, roads and developments sitting alongside traditional streets and local food stalls.
• Sometimes the best moments while exploring Vietnam come from completely unplanned conversations with strangers.
• Phở and bánh mì might dominate the international conversation about Vietnamese food, but there are countless regional dishes like Mì Quảng that deserve much more attention.

Timestamps

01:00 Searching for Mì Quảng and my confidence in Vietnamese food after 10 years
05:00 Giving up on the original Mì Quảng restaurant
07:00 Almost settling for cơm tấm
08:00 The Da Nang heat starts winning
09:00 Giving up and heading for air conditioning
10:00 Finally finding Mì Quảng and getting rescued by a fan
12:00 Trying authentic Da Nang Mì Quảng
14:00 Meeting a local customer and attempting some Vietnamese
16:00 My verdict on the Mì Quảng
18:00 Why Vietnam has so much great food people rarely talk about

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Support the show

🎙️ Recorded at Saigon Podcast Studio!

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Recorded pre-quarantine, pre-lockdown this episode was intended to be the first of Season 3, recorded at Waves studio.

As you may well know, season 3 became the Quarantine Season and I haven't been able to record any more episodes yet for season 4.

So to celebrate one year of Seven Million Bikes I dusted down the file off the shelf and am releasing it for your listening pleasure as a bonus episode to start Season 4.

Look out for new episodes as soon as I am able to!

Frances is a travel blogger with the well-know blog So The Adventure Begins. She is also well-known for her pink Honda cub she is often seen driving around Saigon. She has been living in Saigon now for three years and is the first Scottish guest to join me on the show. Don't worry, you can understand us!

We talk about her not being an influencer, why she started a blog, breaking up and dating in Saigon, out homeland and of course Scottish accents.

There is the unplanned ubiquitous shout out as always for Matt Ryan! And his deep-fried Mars Bars.

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🎙️ Recorded at Saigon Podcast Studio!

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Welcome back to Lunch Walk #5! Starting from Saigon Podcast Studio on Pasteur Street in the Nguyen Thai Binh neighborhood (District 1), we go down a history rabbit hole — a vanished canal, a 150-year-old bridge tied to Gustave Eiffel's company, and the wild engineering behind the Thủ Thiêm Tunnel — before finishing up with a bowl of bún bò at a historic building on Ton That Dam Street.

Key Takeaways:

• The lost canal: Pasteur Street (formerly Pellerin) once ran along a canal through the heart of Saigon, filled in decades ago. A look at the shophouses and Cantonese and Tamil immigrant communities that once lined the route.
• Cầu Mống ("Rainbow Bridge"): Built around 1880, ~150 years old, and engineered by a company linked to Gustave Eiffel. Originally a road bridge connecting District 1 and District 4, later dismantled and rebuilt during tunnel construction.
• The Thủ Thiêm Tunnel: Finished in 2011 (years behind schedule thanks to unexpectedly soft riverbed soil), built using the "tube tunnel" method: four ~26,000-ton tubes dredged into a trench under the Saigon River and connected with millimeter-level precision.
• A functional building with character: The unassuming structure managing the tunnel's ventilation, drainage, and lighting — designed to actually fit the neighborhood.
• Lunch stop: Bún bò at a historic building on Ton That Dam Street, now home to cafes, vintage shops, and cocktail bars tucked above a street of Vietnamese-only menus.

Timestamps

• 00:00 — Intro from Saigon Podcast Studio
• 03:07 — Cầu Mống, the Rainbow Bridge & its Eiffel connection
• 09:16 — How the Thủ Thiêm "tube tunnel" was built
• 13:56 — Arriving at the lunch spot on Ton That Dam Street
• 18:33 — Plans for a "Discover Vietnam" series & walking tours
• 20:33 — Bún bò arrives

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This was recorded via Skype from quarantine, you may have to turn the volume up.

For no other real reason than I haven't spoken to Jay in nearly a month and is one of my favourite people to talk to, I call up JK Hobson to have a chat about the state of the world today, life on the outside and how he is coping with quarantine. 

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🎙️ Recorded at Saigon Podcast Studio!

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A sudden five-minute monsoon just poured down before I even got moving today, so this one starts in blue skies and puddles. I'm walking along Hồ Tùng Mậu — once an actual canal until it was filled in back in the 1920s — and finally sharing some proper research I did on this neighborhood I keep saying I love. Along the way I point out a cluster of hundred-year-old shophouses, a hidden alley bar, and buildings I really hope survive the next wave of glass-and-concrete development. I also grab a rare bag of tofu with fermented shrimp paste (tofu nắm) before finally sitting down for a bowl of mì gà a few blocks from the studio.

Key Takeaways

• This neighborhood has real history behind it: Hồ Tùng Mậu was once a canal, and many of the surrounding shophouses date back to the early 1900s — built with tall windows and shutters designed for the heat and rain, long before AC existed.
• Preservation is informal, not guaranteed: None of these century-old buildings are officially protected — some survive mostly because they're awkwardly wedged between other structures, not because anyone's actively saving them. One inspiration for wanting this area preserved: George Town in Penang, Malaysia, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
• The good stuff is easy to miss and easy to lose: Tofu nắm is a favorite that's genuinely hard to find — worth buying on sight rather than waiting until after lunch, because the seller might be sold out next time.
• Big personal update, worth knowing: After a year since an MS diagnosis and a strong initial recovery, a second round of treatment two months ago has brought lower energy and more frequent illness — though the latest MRI brought good news, with no new lesions and existing ones inactive.
• The podcast keeps growing in unexpected directions: The YouTube channel just crossed 950,000 views, and the "how's your accent understood on national TV" comments keep coming now that the VTV show is underway.

Chapters and Timestamps

• 00:00 – A surprise monsoon, then blue skies along Hồ Tùng Mậu
• 02:00 – The canal-turned-street history and hundred-year-old shophouse architecture
• 06:00 – A hidden alley bar and why some old buildings quietly survive
• 12:00 – Penang as inspiration for preserving this kind of neighborhood
• 20:00 – Podcast milestones and life on VTV's Vietnam Explained
• 24:00 – Sitting down for mì gà and talking through the meal
• 28:00 – Wrapping the walk, more neighborhood history, and heading back in the rain

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Support the show

🎙️ Recorded at Saigon Podcast Studio!

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