In its central location just behind the Bitexco Tower, Ham Nghi serves as a pertinent place to host the plethora of food outlets that line the street.

From the all day market that has bubbling tubs of fresh fish to the mini-marts specialising in western brands, it’s a street with something for everyone.

But it is at 66–68 Ham Nghi that the biggest name of all, Nhu Lan, presides over the competition. Open 24 hours and standing as a delicatessen, bakery, butcher, roadside barbecue and Vietnamese street food restaurant all in one, this corner property has been here for over 40 years.

Six rows of silver tables with lines of red plastic stools mark a quick dining experience. Friendly staff attend to our order of spring rolls quickly and efficiently. Goi cuon tom thit are fresh Vietnamese spring rolls which ordinarily do not excite as much as their deep fried brothers, yet these seem to have a favourable balance of meat, herbs and lettuce, with two halved prawns lining the spine. At VND10,000 a go they’re a perfect bite to awaken the appetite while pondering the rest of the dishes.

The first of the mains to arrive is an overloaded bowl of bun rieu cua, a crab meat noodle soup. This broth spiked with tomato and tofu carries dense and flavourful crab balls with flaked crab meat descending steadily into the generous portion below. Although the noodles add the possibly unnecessary carbohydrates, the broth remains light yet fully flavoured, a pleasant eat for only VND40,000.

A second VND40,000 dish of com suon bi cha follows swiftly behind, a bountiful plate of broken rice with a trio of pork, barbecued meat, pig skin shavings and the mysterious pork egg custard that graces many com tam menus. The barbecued pork is salty and delicious, slightly sweetened by the caramelised edges. Yet, however delectable the meat is, the skin and pie leave a lot to be desired as you must dodge the frequent grizzle, and the custard’s spongy texture is rather off putting.

A final flourish to make up for the disappointing pork skin and custard comes in the form of a banh mi barbecue, a dish recommended by the waitress. Taken from a spit very similar to a Turkish kebab house, except looking incredibly fresh and obviously put together recently by hand, some glisteningly moist pork meat is spooned into a baguette along with mustard, mayonnaise, cucumber and lettuce. This tasty banh mi for VND25,000 is worth a visit alone to what is a thriving and enjoyable feature of Ho Chi Minh City’s street food circuit.

source form: tuoitrenews

The event was a place for OVs to meet each other and welcome the traditional Lunar New year (Tet) festival in their homeland with a wide range of cultural activities, including a lion dance and a fashion show, as well as traditional Vietnamese cuisine.

It also provided an opportunity for OVs to meet business partners and exchange experiences in promoting Vietnamese products to OV communities and foreign markets.

As a bridge linking Vietnam with other nations, OV businesses play an important role in bringing Vietnamese products to the EU, France, US and many other countries.

With more than 20 years of having exported processed food to the US and Hong Kong, Quach Hung Tong, an OV from the US, said Vietnamese food has great potential in key markets such as the US and Canada. According to Tong these markets are home to a large number of OVs and immigrants from India, Thailand, China, the Republic of Korea and the Philippines who also like Vietnamese products. Tropical products from Vietnam are also favored by European people.

Nguyen Hai Nam, President of the Overseas Vietnamese Business Association in France, said assistance in organizing trade fairs and promotions from domestic agencies and commercial offices overseas is very significant for promoting Vietnamese trademarks abroad.

The Association for Liaison with Overseas Vietnamese says, to facilitate business activities for OVs, the State should simplify investment and residency procedures, create favourable conditions for OVs to live in Vietnam, and offer more attractive incentives.

source form: vov

The 2km walk raised more than VND2.4 billion for poor people in Ho Chi Minh City suburbs to welcome the upcoming traditional Lunar New Year festival (Tet).

The annual charitable event has been held since 2006 with the aim of helping disadvantaged people have a warm and happy Tet holiday. A total of nearly VND11.5 billion has been raised through the past seven charity walks.

Nguyen Bich Phuong, a jogger, said everyone is very happy to join the walk and bring happiness to those less fortunate. She said she hopes more such charity programmes will be held in the future.

source form: qdnd

The Ho Chi Minh City Red Cross and national television VTV has begun raising donations for the “Tet holiday for the poor and Agent Orange victims 2012” charity program, aimed at granting 25,000 presents to needy people.

The program organizers have run many activities, including the “Texting to bring Tet holiday to the poor” program running from December 1 to January 10.

Donors can send SMS messages containing ATMX to the number 1408, with each message donating VND16,000 (US$0.76) to the fund.

Besides, a music show themed “Am tinh mua xuan” (Warm Love in the Spring) will be held at 8pm, January 1 at Ben Thanh Theater to raise funds for the program. The show will be broadcast live on national VTV4 and VTV9, and certain other local channels.

Donors can also contact the HCMC Red Cross at 201, Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, District 1 for contribution, or contact by telephone: (+84) 3832 4992 – 3832 5729; fax 3833 2885.

source form: tuoitrenews

An exhibition featuring photos of children around the world taken by French photographer Yan Lerval has just been opened in Ho Chi Minh City.

Titled “Terre de Regards” (Views of Earth), the exhibition showcases the 42-year-old artist’s works taken on his trips to Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, India, the Himalayan region, Europe and Africa last year.

The freelance photographer from Montpellier told Tuoi Tre Newspaper he had been shooting for 15 years and captured 30,000 pictures about children.

Lerval first came to Vietnam in 2001 and is temporarily based in HCMC. He plans to publish a book titled “Tour du Monde des Enfants” (Children around the World) early next year.

The exhibition is taking place at Idecaf at 28 Le Thanh Ton Street in District 1 and will run until December 17.

source form: qdnd

Department authorities met with bus station managers and transport companies to implement a plan to serve passengers returning to their hometowns to celebrate the annual Tet holidays.

Mr. Hai said that the department will contact transport departments in other provinces and cities to approve an additional charge of 60 percent on bus fares during Tet. All provinces and cities must   synchronize and apply the increased fares at the same time.Thuong Thanh Hai, director of the Mien Dong Bus Station said that this year the demand will be higher as compared to last year on routes to the central and northern provinces. The station has thus proposed to the transport department to permit it to ply 200 more buses and allow companies operating in the station to hire extra buses to serve passengers.

A representative of the Mien Tay Bus Station also forecast an increase in the number of passenger travelling during the coming Tet season by 5-10 percent over last year. The station proposed mobilizing an extra 80 buses to prevent an overload during peak days of January 19 and 20.

Duong Hong Thanh, deputy director of the transport department said that the department will supply Tet buses with badges so that traffic police can identify and create advantageous conditions for travel on various routes.

Besides, the department will also allow high end service providers to hire more buses provided they comply with transport regulations. The department will seek way to mobilize more buses to run on inter-province routes, in an attempt to ensure that no passenger is stranded for want of a ticket.

Bus stations must order transport companies to post fares on boards so that passengers are well informed of the fares.

source form: qdnd

Urban developers and policymakers have long been thinking about a development strategy for Thu Thiem peninsula.

In 1911, though just a small quay in its days, it was marked on the “Environs de Saigon” (or Outskirts of Saigon) map of the city by French administrators.

Two decades later, when the Thu Thiem area was still a wild place, dotted with the occasional presence of simply built huts, a paved road running from the pier along Luong Dinh Cua Street was wide enough for cars to travel, allowing Saigonese to travel to the surrounding towns, like Vung Tau and Bien Hoa, on the shortest route.

The incipient idea of constructing a new urban area on the other side of Saigon River, opposite District 1, took shape in 1968 when the Vietnamese International Development Organization (under the Southern administration of the Republic of Vietnam) first conducted surveys and devised plans for the peninsula’s development.

In 1971, scientists, architects, engineers, economists and transportation experts of the Southern administration came up with a more meticulous plan. The Thu Thiem peninsula, in their new plan, would be developed within a 20-30 year time span, depending on the financial resources and the political situation of the administration.

Urban planners at that time estimated that in 30 years’ time, the city population would more than double from 3.5 to 9 million. Accordingly, the area of Saigon must be 3-8 times enlarged to accommodate the growth in population. Of the many approaches proposed, three were selected and they all included the development of Thu Thiem as a key solution to the expansion of the city.

Thu Thiem’s potential for development and growth would be unleashed once the construction of bridges was completed, these urban experts believed.

After the war ended in 1975, faced with more urgent problems, Ho Chi Minh City authorities put the plan for the development of Thu Thiem on the backburner. Only in June 1996, four months after Prime Minister Vo Van Kiet emphasized the strategic development of Ho Chi Minh City’s periphery, was the Thu Thiem New Urban Area plan adopted by the HCMC government, officially marking the revival of the Thu Thiem’s dream.

The Thu Thiem Tunnel that was inaugurated last month (Photo: Tuoi Tre)

The debt of sacrifice

Back to the opening day of Thu Thiem Bridge, people in district 2 seemed to go crazy about the new construction. Wherever you went, all you heard was excited talks about the new bridge.

On the day Phu My Bridge was opened for traffic, many families took a day off to ride to the bridge and take their pictures against the background of newly-erected structure. And on the day the first tunnel section was completed in the Saigon River, many people woke up early to enthusiastically follow the making of the first underwater tunnel in South-East Asia.

These people who showed excitement and joys at the changes in the life of the city are also the same ones who yearned for their old houses and gardens from which they had to vacate to make way for the new constructions.

Thao, who moved out of her house in Thu Thiem 2 years ago, cannot hide her feelings of nostalgia.

“The house is as old as I am. As I stood witnessing each part of the house being taken down, my heart grew heavier and heavier with sadness. I asked a photographer to take the images of the place where four generations of my family have lived so I can still have something to remember it by!”

In order to create the Thu Thiem New Urban Area, both full and partial clearance was implemented in Thu Thiem, An Loi Dong, An Khanh, Binh Khanh and Binh An wards, wreaking havoc to the lives and settlements of many people living there. Yet they showed no feelings of hatred or resentment.

Recognizing the sacrifice born by these people, Tat Thanh Cang, chairman and secretary of the People’s Committee of District 2, said, “The new urban area is built upon the sacrifice of all people here. That is the debt that all future leaders and inhabitants who will enjoy the new urban area must never forget.”

source form: tuoitrenews

A raging fire swept through a barley sugar factory in Binh Tan rural district in Ho Chi Minh City during early hours of this morning.

A neighbor said the fire erupted following an explosion and almost immediately engulfed the factory belonging to Thanh Cong Ltd. Company.

At 5:25 am, firefighters arrived on the scene and successfully put out the blaze 3 hours later although many firefighters sustained burns and injuries while battling the flames.

Around 180m2 of the factory were burnt to the ground. There were no immediate reports of casualties.

According to initial information, the factory has been in operation for 10 years and is owned by Le Tan Loc, a local resident.

Firefighters are battling the fire. Photo: Minh Duc

A firefighter sustains burns after fighting the fire. Photo: Dai Viet

source form: tuoitrenews

With the police cracking down on illegal road racing in Ho Chi Minh City, motorbike racers have begun to race later at night and move to new locations in the suburbs.

Erstwhile favorite racing spots like Phan Xich Long Street in Phu Nhuan District and Hoang Hoa Tham – Nguyen Van Dau Street in Binh Thanh are now closely guarded by officers.

Thus, at around 8 pm on October 8 more than 20 bikes gathered at far-flung Thanh Da in Binh Thanh District. Half an hour later two young men on Honda Waves insanely did wheelies down to Xo Viet Nghe Tinh Street.

Near the Ung Van Khiem intersection they spotted policemen, and roared and honked defiantly. Turning carelessly, one of the racers crashed into another bike, sending a man riding pillion crashing to the ground. But they picked themselves up as if nothing had happened and dashed down Binh Quoi Street.

Five hours later a group of 20 racers gathered at the Le Duc Tho – Thong Nhat crossroads in outlying Go Vap District.

With the roar of a Dream II signaling the start of the race, the bikes streamed into Thong Nhat Street. The riders were cheered on by a hysterical crowd that never stopped screaming.

Ngoc Hung, a student living on Hoang Hoa Tham Street in Binh Thanh, said thanks to the police’s efforts, illegal racing had almost been rooted out in the last few weeks.

But the racers have merely changed strategy. They now race on Monday or Tuesday instead of the weekend. For instance, at 11 pm on October 10, as soon as the police left, around 200 bikes rocketed towards the Nguyen Van Dau – Hoang Hoa Tham crossroads.

Some rode on the sidewalks, leaving the road to those considered the best racers. Several wheelies and revs later, the whole street had woken up. Half an hour later someone screamed “Police!” The party was interrupted and the racers fled into alleys to make a clean getaway.

Some racers regard HCMC’s suburbs as their fiefdom. At 9 pm on October 8, Ly Thuong Kiet Street in Hoc Mon District was mobbed by hundreds of upgraded bikes.

Duc Hoang, a race participant, said: “Lots of new faces here, they come from downtown. More men, more fun.”

The bikes stormed from Song Hanh to Ly Thuong Kiet and then Nguyen Van Bua Street. Near Nga Ba Giong Memorial, the race finally began.

Young street racers pose threats to safety of street goers at mid night (Photo: Tuoi Tre)

Truong Thanh Huu, who lived on Nguyen Van Bua Street, lamented: “The disturbance usually lasts from 7 pm to 2 am, and sometimes it never seems to stop. The roads have become more crowded in recent days.”

On Nguyen Thi Soc and Highway 22 in Hoc Mon District, big crowds gathered along the streets to watch a group of 50 scooters revving up and swerving. Their plate numbers showed that half of them were from the downtown area.

On hearing the siren and flashes from police car arriving, they quickly split into tiny groups and gather again at Hoc Mon wholesale market 30 minutes later.

The Nguyen Thi Soc – Nguyen Anh Thu – Highway 22 triangle was soon thundering with the noises of engines and the yells of racers.

Unless authorities do something about it, unfortunately for local residents, this area is likely to become a favorite place for racers.

source from: tuoitrenews

The Ho Chi Minh City police have pressed charge against Tran Anh Huy for violating traffic laws that left 2 dead and 15 injured in an accident on Ly Thai To Street on October 7.

According to Colonel Truong Van Hoa, head of the Investigation Agency under the Ho Chi Minh City Police, 42-year-old Huy has pleaded guilty after the police showed his car didn’t have any technical problem as he had earlier claimed.

Huy, who is a doctor at Nhi Dong Pediatrics Hospital No. 1, confessed to the police that he had mistakenly slammed on the accelerator pedal instead of the brake after his car collided with two motorbikes and thus crashed into several other motorbikes waiting for the green light at a crowded junction of Ly Thai To and Su Van Hanh streets in District 10.

Earlier Huy blamed some technical problems of his Toyota Altis car.

He said he had lost control after the two air bags in the car were inflated.

source from: tuoitrenews