The Best of Vietnam Now

CHA CA Tasty morsels of turmeric-dusted whitefish are fried tableside in oil and accompanied by fresh dill, scallions, basil, peanuts, cilantro, and chile sauce, along with a tangle of vermicelli. Get it at 104-year-old Cha Ca La Vong, a rickety house in Hanoi's Old Quarter. Just take a seat and a sizzling skillet appears.

PHO Vietnam's national dish is a piquant consommé spiked with ginger, cinnamon stick, fish sauce, and star anise (though recipes vary), rounded out with rice noodles and either beef (the more traditional pho bo) or chicken (pho ga). Mai Anh in Hanoi ladles out mind-blowingly good pho ga from a steaming storefront cauldron.

BO TUNG XEO Strips of tender raw beef are soaked in a sweet, tangy marinade of soy, garlic, and chiles; you barbecue the meat yourself on a tabletop brazier. Luong Son, a tin-roofed roadhouse in H.C.M.C., is famous for its bo tung xeo—not to mention unnerving specialties like deep-fried scorpion, bonded chicken feet, and fried pig's stomach.

Until recently, Vietnam had few luxury spas. But 2002 saw the arrival of H.C.M.C.'s Spa Tropic, housed in a palm-shaded villa perfumed with jasmine and lemongrass. Tasteful gamelan music plays in the treatment rooms, where the skilled staff administers a full range of services, from body polishes and mud masks to reflexology. It has quickly become popular with Japanese visitors and shiatsu-craving expats. The owner, Thuy Do, is a native of Vietnam who grew up in Colorado.

PHUONG ANH NGUYEN Owner, Q Bar This spring, the Vietnam-born, L.A.-bred entrepreneur scored another hit, with the restaurant Qucina. When she's not building a nighttime ipire in H.C.M.C., here's what she finds time for:
Afternoon coffee at La Fenêtre Soleil: "Great cappuccino and sandwiches in a cute, grandmotherly tearoom."
Bespoke tailoring at Thuy Nga: "Thuy's shop is my favorite—I get most of my clothes made there."
Weekends on Phu Quoc Island: "Incredibly peaceful, with lovely beaches. When there are better hotels and regular flights from Saigon, it will be amazing."

LUC LEJEUNE Co-owner, Temple Club Lejeune, who grew up in Provence, founded Temple Design, an interior design and furniture company, with two partners. In 2000 the team created Temple Club, the best-looking bar-restaurant in town. Some of Lejeune's favorites in H.C.M.C.:
Thien Hau Pagoda "One of the most exquisite temples in Cholon, Saigon's Chinese quarter."
Head massage at Hai Salon "An extended shampoo with scalp massage, for only $2. Local celebs and models go there."
Lunch at La Fourchette "Just like home in France—same atmosphere, same food."