Review Dr. Pepper in Saigon: I’m gonna say YES

We arrived in Ho Chi Minh City on Dec 7, 2017, after eight days in Myanmar. Greg had brought an entire suitcase full of Diet Dr. Pepper bottles to Bangkok at the beginning of our 65-day Southeast Asia Odyssey, however it was now twenty-three days later, and nine days without a single drop of Diet Dr. Pepper.

Dr. Pepper to be found at Chuck’s Burgers

Greg can make do with Pepsi Max, preferring it to Coke Zero, but the night before he scoured, the Internet for Dr. Pepper in Ho Chi Minh City. What he was able to find was an American fast food restaurant called “Chuck’s Burger’s” on Le Lai Street which was reported to serve Dr. Pepper. Here’s a snippet of their on-line menu:

We stayed at the Harmony Hotel Saigon, a choice I made based on its central location and fairly affordable price. (It was a 4-star hotel located on a tree-lined street and we found it to be fine. We had a room which looked out onto a tiny five-foot wide alley, but then, the breakfast room on the top floor with its huge buffet and great views of the city made up for our own room’s lack of view!)

The Harmony Hotel, according to Google Maps, is only 8 minutes walk, that is just over a half a kilometer, from Chuck’s Burgers. That made Chuck’s Burgers our go-to place for dinner on our first night in town.

No pleasant walk in Ho Chi Minh City

Unfortunately, we found Ho Chi Minh City to be a bit different from Thailand and Myanmar – it was ever so much more chaotic, and what was so disturbing was that the motorbikes drove on the sidewalks as if they owned them. Perhaps it would not have been so in less congested areas, but in our area? We tried to walk just that 1/2 kilometer, and struggled to stay on our feet and not get run over. There were moments when we were standing on the sidewalk and actually halted by the gridlock, our legs inches away from hot tailpipes, waiting for the traffic light to change, just so that we could continue walking:

The walking in Ho Chi Minh City was simply unpleasant. It was with great relief we finally arrived at Chuck’s Burgers and saw that the on-line menu didn’t lie:

Yes indeedy, Dr. Pepper

With great excitement we ordered our burgers, and Greg his Dr. Pepper:

I’m really sorry to say that we didn’t like our burgers – they were a huge disappointment. But Greg’s Dr. Pepper was not. What was disappointing to him was that the cook / cashier couldn’t tell him where they buy the Dr. Pepper.

This single can (and I believe one to go!) became his only Dr. Pepper in Vietnam.

Source: https://haiphongtours.com