“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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