A bright new café in the epicenter of Vietnam's largest metropolis is taking 'top' and 'bottom' vernacular out of hookup apps and into the real world to create an in-the-know social space for young gay people.
The salaciously named 'Top Chicken Bottom' café bistro, situated in the heart of the backpacker district in central Ho Chi Minh City (aka Saigon), launched in May 2016. It's a modern and welcoming venue, conceived and co-owned by an American called George Walsh and Dương Vĩnh Hội, who's from Vietnam (pictured below).
Before you get the wrong end of the meat, we should point out that Top Chicken Bottom is not selling sex, but an environment where anyone can feel confident to express their sexuality. The chicken dish specials listed on the menu as 'The Power Top' (wings), 'The Hungry Bottom' (legs) and 'The Threesome' (legs and wings) are melt-in-your-mouth divine, as are the range of unusual teas and lemonades on offer.
From the street outside, a flashing LED sign spells out the words 'Top Bottom', accompanied by a smiling server who welcomes intrigued visitors and shows them through the dark and dingy alleyway which leads to the second floor café, which sits above a popular tattoo parlor.
Two months after launch, it's already causing ripples among the youth of Saigon who are eager to come out and are well versed in English language gay sex slang following a dramatic increase in the use of gay dating apps such as Grindr and Hornet. It's also attracting a mix of backpackers and tourists.
"After living in Vietnam for more than two years, I realized that local young gay people were using the words 'bottom' and 'top' to describe sexual roles, just as we do in the West, and it was really only the LGBT community that understood those words used in that context," says Walsh. "Therefore, we had an opportunity to open a venue and harness the power of 'top' and 'bottom' to create a nod-and-wink community-minded 'club' where they could come and feel comfortable and safe and meet like-minded men, women and trans folk.
"There's an optimistic and vibrant sexual revolution happening in Saigon - it's now seen as cool and trendy to come out," Walsh continues. "Vietnam has one of the youngest populations in the world who now have access to the internet and hookup apps, which is really educating them and allowing people to identify as LGB or T.
"I'm very proud to have opened up a real life venue which is helping young people come out of their homes where they often use these apps in solitude and head into the real world where they can make new friends and come out as themselves, whether that be as lesbian, gay, bisexual or trans."
Co-owner Dương Vĩnh Hội continues: "Growing up in Vietnam, I understood the challenges for the LGBT community. Now that times are changing and things are becoming more open, I wanted to give people in my home city a place to feel comfortable and not judged for being themselves.
"There can't be many venues around the world where the server will ask if you're more of a Power Top or Hungry Bottom kind of guy, and then alert you to the threesome special. We find it certainly raises a smile!"
Vietnam is widely seen as taking the lead on LGBT rights in South East Asia, recently abolishing a ban on same-sex marriage and enshrining rights for trans people to officially register their new gender. Despite this, discrimination is still widespread.
"I hope that by providing a sociable space for young LGBT Vietnamese people in the heart of Saigon we can contribute to the increasing confidence they have to be themselves and create a network of supportive friends in the city," adds Walsh. "We hope to have a chain of 'Top Chicken Bottoms' opening up around Vietnam in the near future!"
