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!

#thebureauasiapodcast

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

The Bureau Asia Website

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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.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebureauasia

Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/thebureauasiagroup

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!

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebureauasia

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/thebureauasiagroup

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!

Follow Matt on Instagram

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https://www.instagram.com/melaniecasul

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Check out The Bureau Asia Website

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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.

Follow Matt on Instagram at www.instagram.com/mattcowanasia

Follow Mel on Instagram at www.instagram.com/melaniecasul

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Check out The Bureau Asia Website at www.thebureauasia.com

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

Follow Matt on Instagram at www.instagram.com/mattcowanasia

Follow Mel on Instagram at www.instagram.com/melaniecasul

Follow The Bureau Asia on Instagram at www.instagram.com/thebureauasia

Like The Bureau Asia Facebook Page at www.facebook.com/thebureauasia

Join The Bureau Asia Facebook Group at www.facebook.com/groups/thebureauasiagroup

Subscribe to The Bureau Asia YouTube Channel at www.youtube.com/@TheBureauAsia/videos

Check out The Bureau Asia Website at www.thebureauasia.com

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

Follow Matt on Instagram at www.instagram.com/mattcowanasia

Follow Mel on Instagram at www.instagram.com/melaniecasul

Follow The Bureau Asia on Instagram at www.instagram.com/thebureauasia

Like The Bureau Asia Facebook Page at www.facebook.com/thebureauasia

Join The Bureau Asia Facebook Group at www.facebook.com/groups/thebureauasiagroup

Subscribe to The Bureau Asia YouTube Channel at www.youtube.com/@TheBureauAsia/videos

Check out The Bureau Asia Website at www.thebureauasia.com