Thao Dien, Ho Chi Minh City’s “Omotesando,” Is Quietly Changing Hands | What I Saw on Xuan Thuy Street

Every time I walk through Thảo Điền in Ho Chi Minh City, I feel the neighborhood turning over. It is an area lined with stylish places and Western-facing shops, something like Omotesando in Tokyo, and over the past six months to a year it has changed its face considerably, above all around Xuân Thủy street.

This article is a column about the changes I have watched happen while walking this neighborhood myself. I will show you the swap that is under way right now, from a resident's point of view, before it reaches the guidebooks.

A neighborhood called Thảo Điền——Ho Chi Minh City's ”Omotesando”

Thảo Điền sits on the east side of the Sài Gòn River, across from District 1 in central Ho Chi Minh City. It used to be called District 2 and is now part of Thủ Đức City (TP. Thủ Đức). It's an upscale area where many Western expatriates live, packed with well-designed cafes, restaurants, and shops. That polished air really does bring Omotesando in Tokyo to mind.

What made this neighborhood interesting, though, was that it was never polished all the way through. Until about ten years ago, Thảo Điền was a genuinely local place. So until very recently, sleek Western-run shops and old-school local eateries and stores stood side by side on the same street. That blend was exactly what made Thảo Điền itself.

Just crossing the Sài Gòn River takes the noise of Ho Chi Minh City down a notch. The tide of motorbikes thins out and stylish cafés appear under the street trees — time runs at a slower pace here than in District 1. That calm is what drew Western expats and design-conscious Vietnamese to the area.

Walk the street and you see popular brunch cafés, imported-food shops, yoga studios, cars on the school run for the international schools——the international character of a place people actually live in, visible everywhere. Less a tourist spot than ”a stylish town for the people who live there”. That, I think, is the real face of Thảo Điền.

The “swap” happening on Xuân Thủy

Over the past six months to a year, though, that mix has started to break down fast. The local shops that had been there are closing one after another and coming back as something new. On Xuân Thủy street in particular, the change is plain to see.

The popular pizza place that stood on Xuân Thủy for years (Pizza 4P’s) is gone as well, and I hear it moved somewhere else. Japanese-style yakiniku restaurants have closed or relocated too. What's increasing instead are Korean barbecue places and craft beer bars. Honestly, the speed at which the lineup on a single street turns over is startling.

What stands out most is the Korean presence. Barbecue, craft beer, cafes——Korean-born businesses are changing the face of Ho Chi Minh City, and that wave has clearly reached Thảo Điền too. My impression is that on the ”stylish base” laid down by Westerners, Koreans are now stacking a new layer.

Behind this, I think, is that demand in the neighborhood itself has shifted. On top of Western expats, there is a growing Korean community living in Ho Chi Minh City and a growing number of young Vietnamese who spend money on eating out. The shops turn over to match that new customer base —— that cycle seems to be spinning. The sheer speed of the turnover may be proof of how much money and movement this neighborhood attracts.

The wave of change is reaching the hẻm, the back alleys, as well

This change is not only about the main streets. Thảo Điền hashẻm, a mesh of narrow lanes spreads through the neighborhood, and new Korean and Western shops are starting to move deep into those back alleys as well.

Local shops, by contrast, feel like they're gradually thinning out. New businesses pushing deep into the alleys tells me rents and land prices in this area are climbing. The quiet hẻm are slowly turning into ”places that get discovered”.

What makes the hẻm fun is that the scenery changes completely the moment you step one lane in off the main road. Behind the polished storefronts, lived-in alleys and new hideaway-style shops sit together —— that double structure is, to me, the pleasure of walking Thảo Điền today. Then again, given the pace of turnover, that ”hideaway” feeling may not last long either.

For food, “fusion” beats “purely Japanese”

There is one more trait particular to Thảo Điền. Plenty of Westerners live in this neighborhood, and relatively affluent Vietnamese gather here as well. Perhaps reflecting that customer base, the restaurants have a distinctive slant of their own.

With Japanese food, for example, what stands out is not so much pure Japanese cooking as Japan-Vietnam fusion, or Korean food, or fusion-leaning Vietnamese. “A refined, blended flavor” is preferred over “the authentic taste exactly as it is back home”——and that character of the neighborhood shows up right in the lineup of restaurants.

That fusion has taken root on this street looks, on reflection, like a natural outcome. For Westerners, a new experience is more appealing than a faithful reproduction of the flavors back home; for wealthy Vietnamese, food a step beyond the familiar local fare is what lands. Because those different expectations meet on the same street, "blended flavors" find exactly the right place to sit.

The Thảo Điền to come —— sightseeing means District 1, but this may be next

The mainstream of Ho Chi Minh City sightseeing is still District 1. Bến Thành Market, Đồng Khởi Street, the Reunification Palace — the familiar spots really are clustered there. But watching how far the development and the turnover of shops has gone in Thảo Điền, I cannot help thinking this might be what comes next.

For now it is an area centered on Westerners, but if shops keep spreading deep into the hẻm, it should pull in tourists as a much larger whole. After making the standard rounds of District 1, crossing the Sài Gòn River and going as far as Thảo Điền lets you catch the air of “the next Ho Chi Minh City” a step ahead of everyone else. Because it changes so fast, though, if a shop catches your eye, it is best to look in that same day.

As for how to actually walk it, I would start by strolling down Xuân Thủy and stepping into whatever cafe or restaurant catches your eye. Turn off into a hẻm from there and a different face of the street opens up. Getting there from District 1 takes about 20 to 30 minutes by Grab. From late afternoon into the evening the craft beer and grilled-meat places start filling up, so it is easier to split the day: walk in the afternoon, eat and drink after dusk.

Frequently asked questions

Where in Ho Chi Minh City is Thảo Điền?

It sits on the east side of the Saigon River from District 1 in central Ho Chi Minh City, in what used to be District 2 and is now part of Thủ Đức City (TP. Thủ Đức). It is about 20 to 30 minutes from the center by taxi or Grab.

What kind of neighbourhood is Thảo Điền?

It is an upscale area where many Western expatriates live, a place like Ho Chi Minh City's ”Omotesando”, gathering stylish cafés, restaurants, and shops. Until about ten years ago it was ordinary local ground, and even now polish and local life are mixed together.

What is there on Xuân Thủy?

A street lined with stylish places to eat and drink. Turnover has been heavy the past few years, with new Korean barbecue restaurants and craft beer bars opening. The local shops are gradually disappearing.

Can you eat Japanese food in Thảo Điền?

You can, though rather than pure Japanese food, what stands out is Japanese-Vietnamese fusion, plus Korean food and fusion-leaning Vietnamese food. The character of an area full of Westerners and affluent Vietnamese shows up in the flavors as well.

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