Saigoneer
Date: 14 December 2019.
By: Brendan Ryan

Photos by Alberto Prieto.
District 5, Saigon’s Chinatown, is full of delicious eateries serving Cantonese food. For something new, try Va Thanh, an unassuming restaurant with top-notch Taiwanese home-style cooking.
After high school, I lived with a host family in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, for nine months. While there, I immersed myself in the language, the culture and, most importantly, the food. My host father was an excellent cook, and most nights I would feast on whatever he made. He had a preference for pig’s ears, something I quickly learned to enjoy.
I love Taiwanese food. It is somehow sweet, savory and light all at the same time. For me, Taiwanese food has become synonymous with comfort, and it takes me back to nights sitting around my host family’s table in Kaohsiung chatting about our days. When I first came to Saigon, I immediately started searching for Taiwanese restaurants. I was fortunate enough to stumble upon Va Thanh.
Va Thanh operated in Saigon since 1998, and they just moved to a new location in District 5 four months ago. The entire restaurant is spotless and very minimalist. A television hangs prominently for all customers to see as restaurants in Taiwan often have the news playing and Va Thanh is no different. The owner told me that if he doesn’t keep the news on, customers complain. At lunchtime, there is a steady stream of Taiwanese clientele chatting away while watching the latest developments. [FULL STORY]