Sango Aquarium Cafe

A moray eel tempted by Tiger Beer

Sango Aquarium Café is possibly the most entertaining place I saw in Ho Chi Minh City. It's a bar with a lot of aquariums, and one hell of an assortment of aquatic life. There's a moray eel, seen above. There's a baby crocodile. There's a puffer fish and a couple trigger fish, some glass cats (see-through fish - incredible), seahorses, and my personal favourite, a Hawksbill Turtle. Which the owner rescued from the table of a local Chinese restaurant. It being endangered and all didn't bother them - so long as it tastes good. I wish I had a picture of the Hawksbill for you, because I found it extraordinarily beautiful, graceful in its own goofy way. But they didn't turn out well in the low light of the café - the turtle was quite active. The eel was much more compliant.

When you drag out a miniature tripod at a bar and start taking pictures, the owner will come over and talk to you. He's Japanese, moved here about ten(?) years ago to help with his father's restaurant, and somehow ended up running an aquarium bar. If you're in HCMC, go - it's a wonderful place.