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📝 An Editorial Food Journal
📍 SKG 🇬🇷 • ATH 🇬🇷 • SGN 🇻🇳 • Beyond
🌍 Field Notes — worth seeking
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📍Where to eat in Bangkok: 19 places worth seeking

Overstimulation. In a city that never sleeps and apparently never stops eating, that is the most accurate word to describe the array of options available in Bangkok, where every great meal introduces you to the possibility of an even greater one around the corner.

19 places might not be near enough coverage for such sheer variety, but it entirely the point: a city with such an overflow of good food that it is constantly rewriting your itinerary.

Starting off bright and early with @larderbkk, a Polish-inspired bakery which has gone to become one of Bangkok’s most creative brunch spots (and yes, their iconic Tuna 3000 dish is really that good). In similar fashion, @frans.thailand does an equally satiating bacon toast that is an ideal alternative.

Street food is the city’s pulse and venues like Here Hai (crab omelette), Khao Moo Daeng Si Morakot (crispy pork), Prachak (roast duck), Ruathong (boat noodles) & Rung Rueang Pork Noodles all perfectly encapsulate the city’s foodie-oriented soul, one dish at a time.

A mention has to be made to the legendary Banthatthong Road, with classics like @jeh_o_chula (tom yum soup) and Louis Vanich (seafood dishes) being popular guarantees. The same food street is also home to @haroy.bkk, arguably Bangkok’s best Hat Yai style fried chicken, with fellow fried chicken speciality spot Polo also vying for the title.

Besides street food, the city’s versatility is equally seen at highly sought after dinner tables. @chenin.bkk is a wine bar with a rotating menu, @sritrat serves specialties from Trat province, while izakayas like @fatboyizakaya & @kimi_nomu are glimpses of the city’s love affair with Japanese cuisine, at a quality perhaps unseen anywhere else outside of Japan.

The best spots though, are the ones that are self-discovered. Custard Nakamura is a hidden Japanese bakery well worth seeking, while @charmkrung is a Thai style curry house nestled at the top of a warehouse.

Lastly, head to @chunn.bkk for Thai style steak donburi bowls & @afteryoudessertcafe for some of the best dessert toasts.

#bangkokfood #foodguide #streetfood #wheretoeat #bkk taken in Bangkok by @course.bycourse

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a month ago

📍Saigon Pasta Spots 🇻🇳

From Vietnamese-style crab pasta to properly executed carbonara, below are 7 spots we have singled out while eating our way through Saigon.

Thảo Điền has been emerging as a key area for pasta lovers and @apero.saigon is a good example of that shift. The focus is on fresh pasta, with a menu that leans slightly modern. The carbonara is solid, but the vodka pasta stands out, with rich, satisfying recipes clearly built for comfort.

That same balance carries into @en.kitchenn. The carbonara is well-executed, with the richness coming from egg and cheese rather than excess cream, and a good bite throughout. Simple, but done properly.

From there, @amano.saigon adds a bit more personality. Tucked into an alley near Bến Thành, it brings in subtle local influence. The shrimp pasta combines creaminess with a gentle heat, showing how Vietnamese flavours can be integrated without taking over the dish.

A more contemporary take comes from @moamoa.sgn, set above Nguyễn Huệ. The cannelloni is a strong plate, creamy, well-cooked, and not often seen around the city, in what is definitely a “cool kids” environment, ideal for date nights.

In contrast, @fellini.vn returns to a more traditional approach. Hidden in Thảo Điền, it is one of the more focused Italian kitchens in Saigon. The carbonara has our hearts for its accuracy (and huge portion): egg, Pecorino, guanciale, nothing extra, while the prawn tagliatelle follows the same idea: simple and well-balanced.

@anticofornaio.vn keeps that sense of discipline. The casarecce alla norcina is a reliable standout, creamy, comforting, and filling without being heavy, fitting a menu that prioritises consistency.

Rounding things off, @xuongmiquocte.sgn takes a more flexible approach. Hidden in a Phú Nhuận alley, it leans into bolder flavours. The crab pasta has a deeper, almost bisque-like base, while the salted cream salmon offers a sharper contrast, in what has the makings of a true gem.

#vietnamfood #pasta #saigonfoodie #thaodien #hcmc taken in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) by @course.bycourse

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5 months ago

📍Saigon Street Food Guide Part 11 🇻🇳

How deep does Saigon’s street food culture go? And, with the city’s culinary façade entering a new level, how much reinvention can street food staples endure while balancing novelty with their roots?

The eleventh edition of our Saigon Street Food Guide attempts to answer these questions, featuring a D5 dim sum hangout, a bánh mì from a Michelin-starred kitchen and another bánh canh cua discovery.

Starting off with @banhmimoi.saigon, the latest project from renowned chef Peter Franklin, whose starry fine-dining complex has now found a more accessible rendition. A bánh mì cart featuring premium ingredients such as Wagyu and cold cuts sits alongside familiar classics, including a Hanoi-style fish cake iteration.

It might seem counterintuitive for a bánh mì to be positioned as an upscale item, yet these sandwiches leave little to chance. The Wagyu version in particular was generously filled and packed with flavour.

D5 is one of Saigon’s most culinarily diverse neighbourhoods, and perhaps one of the best places to understand just how deep-rooted the city’s street food culture remains. Hoc Lac is a no-frills dim sum spot that embodies this perfectly.

A steady stream of local diners throughout the day is perhaps the best endorsement, with tables filling and emptying without much ceremony. The dim sum itself is comforting rather than overly technical, and that is precisely the point.

Crab noodle soup remains one of Saigon’s more underrated street food staples, despite being one of its most satisfying. Bánh Canh Cua Hoàng Lan delivers a generous, deeply crabby bowl in an unassuming neighbourhood setting, with plenty of meat and a broth that makes the simplicity of the dish particularly rewarding.

As always with the city’s street food scene, the best of discoveries sit outside of guides like these, with personal wandering always leading to the most satisfying rewards.

#vietnamfood #streetfood #banhmi #dimsum #saigonfood taken in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) by @course.bycourse

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a month ago

📍5 pizzas to try in Saigon 🇻🇳

Would you travel to Saigon for pizza? These days, the answer might well be yes. Since opening its first tiny restaurant on Lê Thánh Tôn in 2011, Pizza 4P’s has grown into one of the city’s defining dining institutions, building an identity around house-made cheese, local ingredients and pizzas that comfortably cross the line between Italian tradition and Vietnamese influence.

But 4P’s is no longer the whole story. One of the pleasures of a city as multifaceted as Saigon is watching a familiar format take on new lives, and a new generation of pizzerias is doing exactly that: working with Vietnamese produce, unexpected combinations and distinctly personal interpretations without necessarily drawing the same crowds.

With the utmost respect to 4P’s, these are five pizzas worth seeking beyond the obvious, from an award-winning Italian pizzaiolo to a crab pizza hidden inside a bar.

#vietnamfood #pizza #saigonfood #pizza4ps #hcmc

The first stop is @tranpizza, built around the vision of a self-taught Vietnamese pizzaiolo who has earned a devoted following while maintaining an atmosphere that feels remarkably grounded and unpretentious.

If there is one dish that sums up the experience, it would be the carbonara pizza. In an era where carbonara-inspired dishes are everywhere but often miss the point, this version captures what makes the classic pasta so beloved, bringing together guanciale, freshly cracked pepper and silky egg yolk over a pizza base that manages to feel rich without becoming overwhelming.

Saigon’s D7 has become a popular residential alternative to D1’s high-octane pace in recent years, but there is another major reason to venture down there: @margheri_vn may well be serving the city’s, and possibly Vietnam’s, best pizza. Owned by a Neapolitan, its accolades precede it, from Gambero Rosso recognition to 12th in Asia and 67th globally in the 50 Top Pizza awards.

Indeed, its signature six-cheese and honey pizza is one of the best pizza combinations you will encounter in the city, with the gorgonzola providing the defining note before honey arrives almost as an afterthought, toning down the intensity with a gentle s taken in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) by @course.bycourse

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8 hours ago

📍Best 5 things we ate in September 2026 🇬🇷

September was a month fully dedicated to Greece, with Thessaloniki and Athens taking centre stage and offering just a glimpse of the sheer quality Greek food has to offer. From new-age sharing plates to hidden pastas and an inspired caprese salad, below sit the month’s top bites.

#greecefood #skgfood #athensfood #caprese #modiano

@signora.trattoria might be the city’s most dependable Italian and one we have had the pleasure of dining at on a great deal of occasions. Their caprese salad is one of those dishes that is so timeless yet still manages to excite every time it arrives on the table.

Cherry tomatoes, creamy mozzarella cheese and a dash of pesto, topped with their signature twist, the shredded breadcrumbs. A symphony of textures and flavours, and one of September’s best bites.

Moving on to Thessaloniki with @agoramodiano, the once buzzing and historic food market which was recently given a new lease of life and the first signs are very encouraging.

At the south corner of the market lies a sign with reading “Makaronadiko”. A playful name translated to pasta specialty shop, with pasta variations available both for buying and for eating in. If there one thing that should be on the order, that is the pappardelle with mushroom and truffle ragout, a comforting and balanced dish that sums up the restaurant’s philosophy.

Nostalgia has become something of a recurring theme in modern Greek dining, with chefs looking back at familiar dishes and childhood memories and finding new ways to interpret them. Sometimes it works, sometimes it feels a little too deliberate.

Places like @tokafeneio1987 in Athens firmly belong in the former category, serving as a reminder that achieving the above comes naturally when the sourcing of ingredients leaves no room for doubt. A representative example? Their meat selection. Dishes such as the enormous veal steak and the biftekakia (Greek style meatballs) managed to both satisfy and sum up the beauty of Greek minimalism in food.

Another new opening that will be featured in full next week, @rektifie_ manages to project a certain coolness without relying on it to carry the experienc taken in Greece by @course.bycourse

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2 days ago

📍Thessaloniki (Modern) Bakery Guide 🇬🇷

Thessaloniki has long been a city of bakeries, but what happens inside them is changing.

Alongside the bougatsa, galaktoboureko and traditional Greek pastries that have always been part of the city’s food culture, a new generation of bakeries is bringing sourdough, focaccia, cinnamon rolls, modern takes on Greek classics and even full daytime menus into the mix.

Here are 6 of the most notable, alongside recommendations on the pastries worth ordering.

#skg #bakery #cinammonrolls #skgfood #θεσσαλονίκη

At @sourdough_microbakery, the focus is on bread and baking fundamentals, with sourdough loaves and focaccias made fresh daily. Greek-style savoury pies give the bakery a distinctly local touch, while the focaccias, with their rotating selection of fillings, bring a more contemporary sensibility. It is a relatively simple proposition, but one that gets the important things right.

Must-order: the cheese & tomato focaccia

@orbital2310 takes the bakery in another direction, operating as a micro-bakery before gradually transitioning into a bistro as the day progresses. Its pastries bring a distinctly Greek touch, from the “galatopita” to some of the city’s best cardamom buns, while the menu eventually expands into dishes such as cacio e pepe, chicken cutlets and a rotating selection of pies.

It is less a bakery in the traditional sense than an all-day neighbourhood stop, and a good example of how much further the format can stretch.

Must-order: the galatopita & the cardamom buns

A self-described artisanal bake house, @72h_artisanalbakery has become particularly known for its cinnamon rolls, which might just be among the city’s best. Its presence at Modiano Market is a feast for the senses in itself, with the smell of freshly baked pastries drawing you towards the counter as batches of cinnamon, cardamom and gianduja creations are constantly coming out of the oven.

Must-order: the cinnamon rolls, some of the city’s best

One of the newer additions to Olympou, @pug_thessaloniki focuses on cinnamon rolls, ranging from a simple glaze to variations such as blueberry and Biscoff. It is a long way from the traditional pas taken in Thessaloniki, Greece - Skg by @course.bycourse

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5 days ago

📍Eating Thessaloniki 04 🇬🇷

Nothing says food city quite like diversity, and covering a ramen shop, a smash burger, a Greek fusion restaurant and a profiterole specialist in the same feature is perhaps the best reflection of just how varied Thessaloniki’s dining has become.

Starting with @p22_restaurant, which feels like a hidden gem despite being located along one of Thessaloniki’s most central streets.

A philosophy centred around simple Greek dishes with modern twists comes through in plates such as the “anevato” cheese with pita bread and the shrimp pasta. A few minor miscalculations, including an overly salty ravioli dish, kept the meal from reaching top marks, but there is plenty to like here.

Moving on to @hawkers_skg, which recently added another option to the city’s growing smash burger scene. A fluffy, buttered potato bun is the secret weapon, with variations such as the black truffle and chorizo smash burgers both well worth trying.

Ramen and Thessaloniki may not exactly go hand in hand just yet, but @ramen.tales certainly makes a convincing case for it, while adding plenty of its own identity along the way.

Bowls such as the tantan ramen and spicy beef mazesoba pack plenty of umami while remaining surprisingly balanced, while a varied selection of light bites and sake gives the menu more breadth than the name might suggest.

Finally, @choureal_profiterole, one of the city’s most popular dessert stops and a specialist in all things profiterole and choux. Its build-your-own format offers an almost overwhelming number of combinations, from the choux filling to the chocolate blend and toppings, making every bowl something of a custom creation. The éclairs are also well worth trying.

#thessaloniki #greekfood #wheretoeat #profiterole #θεσσαλονίκη taken in Thessaloniki, Greece - Skg by @course.bycourse

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7 days ago

📍7 fine-dining experiences worth seeking in Saigon 🇻🇳

Writing about Saigon’s momentum at this point feels repetitive, but no less true. Beyond the city’s flurry of hip fine-casual and modern Vietnamese dining spots, there is another area where the city truly shines: fine dining.

Whether that means elevated French classics, a Vietnamese venue that won the Michelin Guide’s Opening of the Year or a fusion Viet-Japanese omakase, Saigon’s fine dining scene continues to deliver, and, more importantly, surprise.

Starting with @nomdining feels right in many ways. Chris Fong’s project might not be the oldest or most established but has already managed to win the @michelinguide opening of the year award and much acclaim from inside Vietnam.

The concept? Elevated Vietnamese food divided into three floors, with each one representing a region (North, Central, South) and a dining philosophy. There are many reasons to come back to NOM. Whether that is for the immersive experience, or dishes such as their iberico com tam, mi quang and steamed banana cake are for you to decide.

And a welcome reminder that post-meal drinks at @samsaigonvn are the best way to conclude the experience.

@o.culus_saigon is one of the fine-dining addresses that many people overlook, for the sole reason that finding a tasting menu inside a bar is certainly not customary.

That is precisely what Chef @kaynguyennnn has managed to create though, with Oculus featuring a private dining room at the back, which serves dishes sitting somewhere between the extravagant and the familiar. Think uni, paired masterfully with Vietnamese egg fruit, or the genius waffle and butter course, served in between foie gras and wagyu.

A long-held Michelin star is (usually) enough to convince someone of a restaurant’s pedigree, yet @cocodining.sgn keeps on purposefuly innovating, with the newest menu turning its attention to the preservation of Vietnamese culture, traditions and collective memory.

And while that may seem wordy or theoretical, every single component of that philosophy was evident on the plate. The 12 course menu is divided in 5 parts, each one honouring one of the five aforementioned ideas, in what is taken in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) by @course.bycourse

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9 days ago

📍What to eat at Thessaloniki’s (renovated) Modiano Market 🇬🇷

How far will a city go to preserve its culinary traditions? And can a food market whose glory days are long behind it reclaim its place in the city?

The recent reopening of Modiano Market puts those questions to the test, with @ergonfoods leading a major effort to revive an institution once described as the city’s food pulse.

A couple of weeks in, it is still far too early to judge the success of the renovation. But the work so far is impressive.

With Greek produce at its core and a mix of producers, food stalls and places to eat creating a direct link between production and consumption, we have put together our introductory picks of what is worth eating inside Modiano right now.

It would be fair to start from @72h_artisanalbakery. A self-described artisanal bake house, with cinnamon rolls that might just be the city’s best.

Rotisserie chicken is a Greek staple, and Svoura specialises on doing just that, whether it comes in the form of a sandwich, or as a portion.

Hasapotaverna, a venue showcasing Modiano’s symbiotic concept in the best way possible. Meat sourced from Greek farmers at the butcher shop in front, is then sold at the tavern, with freshness and quality practically guaranteed.

Modiano’s dessert section is indeed impressive. What is remarkable is how almost all Greek “glyka tapsiou” have not only been represented but also executed just right.

From chalvas to syrupy phyllo “syropiasta” and loukoumades, leaving room for a sweet treat is practically obligatory.

@agoramodiano

#greekfood #rotisserie #skgfood #modiano #θεσσαλονίκη taken in Thessaloniki, Greece - Skg by @course.bycourse

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12 days ago

📍Where to drink in Bangkok: 5 bars worth seeking

When it comes to Asian drinking destinations, Bangkok is instinctively one of the first cities coming to mind. A frenetic pace of creativity and innovation has led to noteworthy openings as often as weekly, with the five featured below being a mere starting point.

As the winner of the 2025 Bar Design Award, @messengerservicebar has not left anything to chance. A wooden minimalist space has been created to resemble a grocery store, just like its menu. With themes such as “fruit”, “seafood” and “condiments” and cocktails such as Thai Salad, Sushi Roll as well as Truffle & Mascat, there is plenty of choice and flavour variety at a bar synonymous with destination drinking.

Besides the playful pun on a cult favourite, @lostinthaislation is a bar counter reimagining street food staples, from mango sticky rice to pad thai and even spicy beef salad. Despite the gimmicky nature of such concepts, this is one of the most accurate iterations of food to drink concepts you can find in the city, with its sleek, Japanese style vibe adding to the intrigue.

Chinatown has seen a resurgence to creative drinking concepts in recent years, and @god_bkk is the latest highlight to that trend. As the menu boldly claims, Genius on Drugs was created out of a discovery that “logic is our greatest limitation”, with that touch of madness evident everywhere, from the oyster martini and ramen inspired cocktail creations to opera playing in the bathrooms, in what is a truly logic-defying experience.

A newcomer on the scene, @cherryolivecocktailclub concept & duality is partly betrayed by the name. A cocktail menu based on moods, with fun and serious being used as the dichotomy between feelings and emotions, this is definitely one to watch.

Last but certainly not least, a skyscraper in Sathorn is home to one of the most aesthetically striking spaces in the city, @invitation.only.bkk, with the elevator to the 55th floor revealing an all-red David Lynch-esque setting and a vibrant drinking room which feels like a jazz hideaway from a different time.

#bangkok #bkkbar #cocktails #wheretodrink #mixology taken in Bangkok by @course.bycourse

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14 days ago

📍2 new openings to try in Thessaloniki 🇬🇷

Momentum would be an ideal word to describe Thessaloniki right now. Greece’s second city is seeing a noticeable wave of new openings, while the recent expansion of the metro is reshaping the city beyond its dining scene. With the Michelin Guide reportedly set to arrive by the end of the year, there is a sense that Thessaloniki is entering a particularly interesting new chapter.

Two recent openings, in very different styles, offer a good glimpse of that direction.

Starting off with @knisa_skg (a Greek word used to convey the smokey aroma of grilling meat), a restaurant that is in many ways a guarantee of quality.

Alongside premium cuts such as baguette, piranha, rib eye and the occasional wagyu, there are dishes like the beef tartare with truffle mayo, asparagus with hazelnuts and an exceptional fig cheesecake that are there to shape the experience, not just complement the meat.

@xaroumenes_sardeles is literally translated to Happy Sardines, and perhaps that is the as good a summary of the restaurant’s concept as you can come up with. With a youthful energy, open-kitchen concept and primarily seafood-focused menu, it is one of the city’s most popular recent openings and it is easy to see why.

Dishes such as the chilli-garlic grilled prawns, “snitzel” sea bream and calamarata with shrimp tartare and smoked cheese moved comfortably between familiar Greek flavours and less expected combinations, with the result feeling playful without losing sight of where it comes from.

Do not skip their orange crepes with mastic ice cream for dessert, a local take on crepes suzette that is the ideal ending.

#skgfood #steak #sardines #greekfood #θεσσαλονίκη taken in Thessaloniki, Greece - Skg by @course.bycourse

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16 days ago

📍Saigon cinnamon roll suggestions 🇻🇳

There are signs that a city’s food ecosystem is starting to peak. One of them lies in the sheer depth of its bakery and café culture: when even something as specific as the cinnamon roll can support its own little subculture, you know a city has become serious about its pastries.

Over time, we have developed our own shortlist of Saigon’s rolls, from dependable café staples to technically precise bakery creations.

@everyhalf.coffeeroasters is perhaps the safest place to start. Coming from one of the city’s most dependable café chains, their cinnamon roll is no-frills in the best possible sense: moist, soft and consistently satisfying.

At @bluedreambread.saigon, choosing a pastry might be one of the harder decisions in the city. The bakery has an extensive selection, but the cinnamon roll continues to deliver, with the caramel topping being the real differentiator.

@gardenkisses.bakeshop is perhaps the best of them all. This is what a proper cinnamon roll should feel like: soft without collapsing, generously spiced and finished with frosting that gets the balance right.

Then there is @butter.and.flour.sweetie , an online-only cinnamon roll operation that has built its offering around the pastry itself, with variations such as apple and blueberry.

@bartels.vietnam takes a heavier approach. Their roll is denser, richer and considerably more indulgent than some of the others on the list, but that is precisely where its charm lies.

At @cantin.bakery , meanwhile, the cinnamon roll reflects the same French-inspired precision found across its sister venue, Lua Wine Bar. It might look relatively restrained at first glance, but the pastry itself is packed with flavour.

@lostnsought_bakerycafe offers another strong option, tucked away in the leafy surroundings of Thảo Điền. It is a more relaxed take, but one that still gets the fundamentals right.

Last but not least, @breadventure feels almost like a small neighbourhood bakery transported from France. Its cinnamon roll follows the same philosophy, focusing less on excess and more on technical precision.

#vietnamfood #cinnamoroll #bakery #pastries #saigonfood taken in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) by @course.bycourse

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19 days ago