HCMC Restaurant List Updates: April 2025

A programming note + my trip to Tokyo

Note: This will be my last post for a while. I’m going to take a bit of a summer sabbatical to devote more time to life stuff that needs tending to. Writing is a slow process for me, so posting always eats up more time than I expect. For the next few months, I need to redirect it elsewhere.

If you’re a paid subscriber, your subscription will be paused. This means that when I return to the newsletter, automatic payments will resume. If you don’t want that to happen, please update your subscription settings.

I look forward to coming back to writing here when I’m less distracted. Thank you for your support, readership, and patience. Have a wonderful summer!

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Welcome back to an intended monthly and unintentionally lengthy* overview of my dining adventures here in Saigon. These regular updates are for paid subscribers and include places I’ve newly added to my HCMC Restaurant List, mentions of ones I’ve returned to recently, and anything notable from places I visit regularly enough to consider my Steady Dates. They all reflect my tastes, interests, and preferences and shouldn’t be thought of as an essential guide to city eats. Food is my passion, and I’m happy to write and share these memories, however unwieldy they end up being.

*These overviews are often longer than will appear in your email. If you’re a paid subscriber, please do click out to read the full post on the web and view all the photos.

I hope adding colour to the list each month makes it both more useful and more interesting. I’m happy that I’ve moved the bulk of the who/what/where/why of my eating adventures from Instagram to the newsletter. Having these posts be paid is not about gatekeeping. It is a small nod to the effort I might put into reading about and finding places and a fun thank you to paid subscribers given the more emotional nature of my other paid content.

April’s A tale of two… was about bột chiên. If you missed it, you can catch up by following the link below. Details for the shops mentioned¹ appear in the List Newbies section.

69: A tale of two bột chiên

This month’s entries for Saigon are short short short. Mood, fatigue, and wanting to save indulgence for my trip to Tokyo at the end of April all played a part. That’s why this update is arriving on the later side. I wanted to include where I ate on my vacation, which spilled over into May.

I went to Tokyo in the fall of 2019 for the first time, and I couldn’t wait to go back. Five and a half (LONG) years later, it happened. The visit was at least 10 times better than last because I had no expectations. I knew I loved the city, so it would all just be gravy because I was lucky enough to return. I am going to recommend every place I procured food from, and all of that information is below for paid subscribers.

If you’re not a paid subscriber, I will be updating my Instagram soon to include all the visuals. Stay tuned!

Dining in Tokyo felt noticeably different than last time because I was coming from Saigon and not Edmonton. I have an abundance of Japanese food to eat here, which I ironically didn’t take into account until I was in Tokyo and making decisions about what I wanted for lunch. Places or dishes got pushed to the side when I thought to myself, I can just eat this at home. What can’t I get at home I asked myself? But more like, what can’t I get at home that I’m craving?

Additionally, #zojirushirhirhi didn’t come into existence until after I came home from Tokyo the first time and understood how much a rice cooker would make me happier. Five years later, I eat so much more rice, especially here in Saigon. I cook Japanese rice almost exclusively, so the attraction to rice-adjacent meals also became less pressing for me.

Perhaps because my previous trip was in October and there was less farm-fresh bounty, I didn’t remember just how acutely seasonal Japanese dining can be. By the end of my week’s vacation, it was almost comical how I could expect to see firefly squid, bamboo shoots, asparagus (bonus if it was white), and broad beans on my dinner menus in one form or another, especially the ones serving set menus. Mackerel was the preferred choice for a fish course, and there were lots of delicate herbal flowers added as a garnish that were always surprisingly more flavourful than beautiful. Behind my laughter, though, is gratitude and admiration.

MVP meal of the month was obviously in Tokyo, and it was at a place I was expecting to not be crazy about. It fit the bill for what I was looking for: modern izakaya; within walking distance of my hotel; recommended by a local; and wine-focused. But it didn’t have a “very good” rating on Tabelog, it seemed maybe a little ho-hum, and reserving required committing to an omakase. It ended up fitting the bill tenfold. One hundred fold? Course after course I was happy with the food and the vibe.

But the true cherry on top was getting to sit next to and converse with someone I consider a Japanese twin flame. I learned later I was asked to switch seats specifically because I would then be sitting next her. Who? The Japanese solo dining version of me or maybe who I aspire to be. An older woman who visits a couple of times a week, is beloved by staff (so much so that they switch to her playlist at the end of the night), and likes a stiff drink. I stayed chatting to her and the staff for more than two hours after finishing my meal to savour the moment. Scroll down to read where I met Aya-chan. Also for my hottest non-dining tip!

First up, though, are April’s mentions for Saigon.