Hunting For Good Shops!

It's the weekend! Which means I'm hunting for Good Shops to put online for you next week. Check back in soon ok? Happy shopping! :)

Meantime, if you have a 'Good Shop' you'd think would be a great addition here, do send me a note and I'll make a quick dash on my next hunt!

Aroused @ The Muse

THE MUSE / NANG
Room 209, 181 Dong Khoi, Dist 1 HCMC

On the main street of Dong Khoi, left of the Continental hotel is a row of 'tourist friendly-ready to slaughter-able to bargain' shop fronts with a pseudo modern arcade sandwiched between. "This is the Muse??" I hear you asking. God no!

For a taste of The Muse, you need to look deeper. Within the walls of these shops lie passages to rooms on several floors. Look for 'Mi Silk' out front and walk straight towards a staircase waiting at the back. It's like walking into a brothel only to find a stairway leading you back to an 18th century museum…right after war.
Walking up 2 flights of these somewhat charming stairs will lead you to a pathway with rooms on either side. The feeling of misadventure might strike you right about now as you wonder if you might have stepped into the twilight zone.

Don't fret.

The first door to your right lives…The Muse.

Ring the doorbell and walk into a romance. Immediate recollection of the Wong Kar Wai movie, 2046 comes into play as graphic patterned curtains intertwine with floral decorum amidst deep brown wood and unpolished french tiles. The appearance of our 'Muse' is a matter of chance, more likely to be rustling under the covers of new fabrics than greeting guests at her room. If you do meet her however, it will be obvious.

"Like a lady-in-waiting, she appears from behind the desk where a sewing machine has been replaced by a swanky new notebook. Her well buckled belt captioning her hips as it sways to greet you hello."


Her soft muffled smile, over a firm confident speak leads your gaze toward her treasure. Rows of bold floral printed summer dresses, chiffon lace trimmed gowns, assortment of mix-n-match skirts, scarfs, bags, hats, shoes, sunglasses and accessories to complete your wardrobe. All single pieces, designed and made to make your presence felt, be it walking on the streets of Saigon or at a couture show in Paris.


You start to take in the subtleties of the room, as you begin to gather the breath of her work. From the pop-art paintings to an upper-deck bed stretched over the changing room, you really get a feeling you've not only walked into a boutique but stepped into the life and passion of…The Muse.

We all need a Good Shop! :)

Hi Good Shoppers,



There is nothing more annoying than knowing exactly what you want but not knowing where to find it. And this applies to everything in life I know but when it comes to fashion, food, footwear or any other fetish you may have on a regular basis, sometimes settling for the closest, most obvious retail shops are all we can do.

In Saigon, unless you're a taxi driver trained out of Milan's couture houses, shopping for the things you know you want can be a disappointing affair. Now, Saigon has a vast array of shopping and dining places, you just have to be able to scour through a maze of hidden alleys spread across 16 districts peppered along the way.

Of course, magazines, friends, blogs, keeping your ear to the ground, will help you locate some of these places but unless your life revolves around shopping, its likely we will miss out on certain things pretty often.

Which explains the reason why the 'Good Shop' is here. Over the next few months I will attempt to put up as many shopping outlets in Saigon as I possibly can, so that you, the 'Good Shopper' will never have to scour around the city like a discount tourist on a time crunch.

Welcome to the Good Shop! :)