Well, two out of three ain't bad...or is it?! Join me in this one as I chat about my health check in Ho Chi Minh City, whether or not Vietnam is liveable, and the Indian billionaires using Vietnam as their playground!
For more info about the topics discussed in this episode, please pop over to https://thebureauasia.substack.com/p/listen-the-scoop-on-poop-checks-liveable & consider subscribing for my most up-to-date content about Vietnam!
Also, check out my website for even more stuff!
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In this "Korea Special", Matt interviews two long-term resident South Koreans who have called Saigon home for more than 14 years and gets an insight into the topsy-turvy life of Koreans in Vietnam. To wrap up, he reveals the best Korean restaurants in Saigon as voted by Bureau Followers!
The Best Korean Restaurants in “K-Town” as voted by Bureau Followers
Meat & Meet 1 Đ Tôn Dật Tiên, Khu đô thị Phú Mỹ Hưng, Quận 7
Matchandeul 49 Cao Triều Phát, Tân Phong, Quận 7
Perilla 161 Đ Tôn Dật Tiên, Tân Phong, Quận 7
Plan K Chung Cư Mỹ Phúc, 66 Lý Long Tường, Tân Phong, Quận 7
Ilmirak 222-224 Khu Phố Mỹ Hoàng, Khu đô thị Phú Mỹ Hưng, Quận 7
SoFung Chung Cư SKY GARDEN 3, Phú Mỹ Hưng, Khu đô thị Phú Mỹ Hưng, Quận 7
Tram Nam-Korean Century 36 Đường số 6, Tân Phong, Quận 7
Myeong Dong Quan 5 Bùi Bằng Đoàn, Tân Phong, Quận 7
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In this must-not-miss episode, Matt's good mate Nam joins him for a bitch session about life in Vietnam. Matt tells Nam – a Saigon native – what bugs him about Vietnamese culture, while Nam counters with things that bug him about foreigners in Vietnam! Then the episode wraps up with Matt introducing you to one of the best streets for food in Saigon!
Nam's Website:
https://www.thehighball.vn
Nam's Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/thehighball.vn
Nam's Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/thehighball.vn
Hanoi's Weather Dude:
https://www.facebook.com/theweatherdudeinhanoi
Vietnam Coracle:
https://www.vietnamcoracle.com
Where to eat in District 7:
Quán Phở Linh Trang Anh (for phở gà)
185 Đường số 79, Tân Quy, Quận 7
Cơm Tấm 169 (for pork chops & rice)
169 Đường số 79, Tân Quy, Quận 7
Bún Chả Hà Nội Xưa (for bún chả)
144 Đường số 79, Tân Quy, Quận 7
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First up Matt breaks down Ho Chi Minh City's 4th place ranking in Time Out Magazine's recently released list of The World's 20 Best Cities for Food Right Now! Did they get it right? After that, Matt interviews acclaimed Vietnamese director Lê Thanh Sơn on the eve of the premiere of his latest film Móng Vuốt (Claws), a horror set in the highlands of Vietnam. To wrap things up, Matt introduces foodies to 3 top notch places in HCMC to eat and drink coffee that mustn't be missed on any visit to Vietnam's best city!
The World's 20 Best Cities for Food Right Now List:
https://www.timeout.com/travel/worlds-best-cities-for-food
Móng Vuốt Trailer:
https://youtu.be/ce_ZquTeDaw?si=BP02p0cLz1j0MW2o
Lê Thanh Sơn profile:
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3734165/
Bánh Mì Thịt Nướng Cẩm Hường:
118b Nguyễn Thần Hiến, Phường 16, Quận 4
Epic Coffee Roaster:
49 Ngô Thời Nhiệm, Phường 6, Quận 3
The Elbow Room Bistro:
52 Pasteur, Bến Nghé, Quận 1
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In this episode, Matt introduces you to a newly-published book documenting the research and observations of an expatriate who has just celebrated 20 years living in Vietnam. You'll find out the results of The Bureau Asia's poll on what causes food poisoning in Vietnam and then Matt rediscovers the city's first American-style BBQ joint more than a decade after it opened in what turns out to be quite a historical neighbourhood.
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Website: https://thebureauasia.com
Vietnam Uninterrupted: A 20 year journey:
https://www.cimigo.com/en/research-reports/vietnam-uninterrupted-a-20-year-journey/
In this long-awaited return to the airwaves, Matt reveals he's been battling away trying to learn the language, he visits an "old friend" for lunch and stumbles upon what might just be Saigon's best goddamn pizza! That and more!
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We've heard it all before. Vietnam's cheap. The beer's cheap. The food's cheap. And the people are so nice! BUT is everything in Vietnam really as good as everyone says it is? In this episode I give you The Good, The Bad & The Phởgly provide an example of each so that you can plan better and hopefully your Vietnam trip WON'T. GET. RUINED!
Big thanks to Ollie Woods for taking time out to chat to me! Check out all the craft beer stuff he's associated with:
Brew Asia https://www.brew-asia.com Asia Brewers Network https://asiabrewersnetwork.com Beer Asia https://beerasia.net
My favourite craft breweries & pubs you can't miss in Ho Chi Minh City:
1. Heart of Darkness Craft Brewery 31D Lý Tự Trọng St., District 1
2. East West Brewing Co. 181-185 Lý Tự Trọng St., District 1
3. Pasteur Street Brewing Co. Cnr. Lý Tự Trọng & Thủ Khoa Huân Sts., District 1
4. 7 Bridges Brewing Co. 15B/12 Lê Thánh Tôn St., District 1
5. Malt 46-48 Mạc Thị Bưởi St., District 1
6. Rehab Station 27/6 Nguyễn Bỉnh Khiêm St., District 1
7. BiaCraft 1 Lê Ngô Cát St., District 3
8. Belgo 29 - 31 Tôn Thất Thiệp St., District 1
9. Saigon Craft 68 Lý Long Tường St., District 7
10. MixTape Drinks 40 Đặng Thị Nhu St., District 1
11. Rooster Beers 40 Bùi Viện St., Phạm Ngũ Lão, District 1
12. Mr Craft 24 Cao Triều Phát St., District 7
If you find yourself in District 7 some day around lunch time, be sure to give Cơm Tấm 169 a go at No.169 Street 79, Tân Quy, District 7
Wanna sleep in the capsule featured in this episode? Knock yourself out at The Arrivals Hotel 302 Võ Văn Kiệt Street, District 1
Got lucky and need a short-time hotel for a roll around? Try these two out (I've personally inspected them)!
Cupid Hotel 2 Bis Nam Quốc Cang St., Phạm Ngũ Lão, District 1
Bonita Grand Hotel 118 Bùi Thị Xuân St., Phạm Ngũ Lão, District 1
Got ca$hola to splurge? Stay at The Reverie 22-36 Nguyễn Huệ St., District 1
We're back on the poddie train after a 2 month break that included a trip to Cambodia, a flu here and there, a trip home to the Philippines and some family visits here to Ho Chi Minh City.
In this episode we catch up on travel news to Vietnam, including the new visa extensions, and we learn about the matchmaker in Singapore hooking up lonely Singaporean men looking for long-time love with Vietnamese ladies.
Then our "cover story" reveals 5 dark locations in Saigon where some really bad sh*t has gone down throughout its history, including a couple well and truly off the tourist trail.
Be sure to comment and get in touch if you need more details about the locations featured in this episode!
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In this sizzling hot episode coming from a sweltering Thành Phố HCM, we unpack 5 news items that riled us up and got us hot under the collar this week, including a polarising review of Saigon's nightlife, the revelation (or not) that sugar babies are artfully using social media to snare their sugar daddies, and the release of an English-language song by mega-Vietnamese pop star Song Tung M-TP that requires captions for us to understand. Wrapping the episode up, we get our red flags out and give our avid listeners a list of 5 things they should look out for when choosing street food vendors in Saigon.
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In this Reunification Day long weekend episode in Vietnam, we share a carefully-curated a list of lists sourced from the past week's news and social media that our loyal listeners will either love or – quite possibly – hate! Everybody loves a good list, so we're pretty confident you'll like ours! Then we review this month's much-anticipated Netflix release A Tourist's Guide to Love that was filmed in Vietnam last year. Be sure to hang around to find out how many 'banh mis' out of 5 we give this sappy rom-com that was pretty much universally panned on social media in Vietnam upon its release.
Whenever you visit Vung Tau for a short break, be sure to stay at Coco Homestay:
https://www.facebook.com/homestayhotelcoco66halong
Looking for a love hotel? Check these out. Just don't tell them Matt sent you!
https://thebureauasia.com/2018/09/01/bonita-signature-hotel/
https://thebureauasia.com/2018/05/06/playing-cupid/
https://thebureauasia.com/2018/01/06/the-love-den/
Watch Matt's short video 'Vietnam's Bali?'
https://www.facebook.com/reel/995225138520892
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We recap what we got up to this past week, then in response to a recent listicle in the Australian media, we create our own "6 Things Vietnam Does Better Than Australia" list followed by a handful of other news items that caught our attention this week. The highlight of the episode (39'00) however, is guest Michael Brosowski who's the founder of Hanoi-based Blue Dragon Children's Foundation, an NGO that's been fighting slavery and human trafficking for the past two decades.
Follow Michael on Linkedin at www.linkedin.com/in/michael-brosowski
Learn more about Blue Dragon Children's Foundation www.linkedin.com/company/blue-dragon-children's-foundation
Check out the Blue Dragon Children's Foundation website www.bluedragon.org
Read Micheal's blog lifeisalongstory.com/about-me-about-this-blog
Watch Matt's REEL from his visit to see the "Pope Mobile" in Las Pinas, Manila https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cmds_O5jyaP/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Watch Matt riding shotgun in a jeepney in Manila https://www.instagram.com/reel/CmbWIqtjSb-/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Listen to Matt's "Vietnamese food" episode https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/vietnamese-food-isnt-actually-healthy/id1669942888?i=1000598022808
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As usual, Mel joins me to discuss the news and happenings for the week in Vietnam and the region, and then we call in Saigon-based hospitality guru and communications consultant, Chris Thompson, who helps us get our head around why just one restaurant in Vietnam made it into this year's Asia's 50 Best Restaurant list.
Connect with Chris on Linkedin at www.linkedin.com/in/chris-thompson-079a88223/
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In this episode, we review the week that was in Saigon, then we try to get to the bottom of why littering is rampant in Vietnam with the help of RMIT Vietnam lecturer and researcher, Dr Justin Pang.
Connect with Dr Pang at www.linkedin.com/in/dr-justin-matthew-pang-jmpang/
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Check out The Bureau Asia Website at www.thebureauasia.com
In this episode, we air our gripes about road users in Vietnam, chat about the "awards" season in Southeast Asia and beyond, and review a Japanese steakhouse that passed under our noses for years before we tried it. Then we wrap up the episode with a list of 10 things YOU SHOULDN'T DO when visiting Saigon!
Try out Il Corda when in Saigon for a steak! (*We paid our own way)
https://www.facebook.com/ilcorda
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Matt and Mel popped over to Thailand recently for a short break and during their little sojourn to the Land of Smiles, they came to the realisation of just how freaking loud and grubby their hometown of Saigon is in comparison to Bangkok! Matt also surprises Mel with a gift in the form of a "radio commercial" to promote free tickets for this month's upcoming Coracle Music Festival on the beaches of Mui Ne in Vietnam!
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In this teaser from The Love Episode (out on Valentine's Day), we find out one stereotype about Vietnamese women in the bedroom.
Listen to the full episode here:
https://open.spotify.com/episode/3NbyBSc76RD4ZnlZmNLsHx?si=KExzx6zRSL2p16k0Skq8aw
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On this Valentine's Day episode, we preview upcoming Netflix release A Tourist's Guide To Love which was filmed in Vietnam last year and is due to drop on April 27, then we call good friend Stella to ask her some of our burning questions about love and relationships in Vietnam – don't miss it!
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Fakeness abounds in Southeast Asia which makes it rife in Vietnam, too! Sometimes, however, it can be life threatening.
Taken from the Vietnam V The Philippines: Who's winning??? episode. Check it out here:
SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4M0h8ZWq6W6dKj8lGQRsFz?si=501791efb3ed45ee
ANCHOR: https://anchor.fm/thebureaupodcast/episodes/Vietnam-V-The-Philippines-Whos-winning-e1ucui4
APPLE: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/vietnam-v-the-philippines-whos-winning/id1478396971?i=1000597807814
Vietnam and the Philippines share a lot of common ground and are just a 2-hour flight from each other. The Philippines has long enjoyed a head start in its development, but in the last decade, Vietnam has made up a lot of ground to challenge its neighbour as more liveable. In this episode, we compare the two countries against indicators such as political stability, healthcare, culture & environment, education and infrastructure. So, who comes out on top?!
Rock music history fans, check out Matt's recent episode on the history of rock music in Vietnam:
https://open.spotify.com/episode/0UfkoPVUbWEGVig6zC1V0Z?si=b2554f3c0dc24c78
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Here's a short clip from the Manila episode called It's NOT always fun in the Philippines! Listen to the full podcast here on The Bureau Podcast and let me know what you think!
Full episode link: https://spotifyanchor-web.app.link/e/YykCCA2aSwb
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