Saigon food options... Christmas Day

[matt_will_fix_it]

Hi - there seem to be a few travelers to SGN here so seems like a good place to post

I'll be in SGN on Christmas Day & am looking to go somewhere for a nice Christmas lunch/dinner. Menu or style (Asian/western) not so important, just looking for a nice environment to have some good food & a few drinks. Any recommendation of a suitable hotel or restaurant from fellow SQ Talkers would be great

Cheers,

[MAN Flyer]

Despite many visits I have never been there at Christmas myself so can't help with that. However, I am back in a few weeks so will ask for any recommednations.

Where are you staying ?.

[matt_will_fix_it]

Just staying at one of the budget hotels (roughing it on this one!)... but looking to go to a nicer hotel for a feed.

I guess I'm just looking for recommendations for a nice place to go (having never been to SGN before) & I'll find out if they're taking bookings for Christmas.

[Kyo]

I don't know if you would find this Christmas-sy, but there is a Brazilian churrascaria around District 1. Loads of roasts... had it the last time in SGN but was feeling rather bloated after that.

[UK flyer]

If you come to Vietnam then you have got to try Vietnamese cuisine...right?!!!

Ngoc Suong (19C Le Qui Don, District 3) is my favourite in Saigon. Some of the BBQ dishes are to die for (such as the chilli BBQ prawns; see pic below). The food is fresh, very tasty and it's so popular with the locals that it can get extremely busy at weekends. No idea what it's like on Christmas Day though - you'll be hard pressed to find any tourists here - because the prices are what Vietnamese locals expect to pay - much, much less than some of the overpriced restaurants in District 1.

You can get here for under US$2 by taxi, it's not far from the city centre hotels.

http://www.ngocsuongvn.com/vn/restaurant-vn.php

My photos:

[matt_will_fix_it]

Thanks for the tips UK flyer and kyo. Ngoc Suong is looking particularly good, will definitely check it out.

[Kyo]

I will be in SGN and HPH next week. Will ask my Vietnamese counterparts for more recommendations for you and see if I can get photos.

[MAN Flyer]

I don't know if you would find this Christmas-sy, but there is a Brazilian churrascaria around District 1. Loads of roasts... had it the last time in SGN but was feeling rather bloated after that.

If you are talking about Au Lac Do then that is actually in District 3, although close enough to D1 to think it's there.

I will be in SGN and HPH next week.

I will miss you by just over a week...in both places. Don't hear of many others going to HPH!. I presume you are working up there, unless you are en route to Do Sun or Halong ?.

matt_will_fix_it I know a number of good local places in Saigon, it's whether they are open on Christmas Day. I will ask my local friends how things are then.

BTW, I have edited the title of the thread to show it's the City we are talking about and not the airport.

[Kyo]

MAN Flyer: It could well be that Au Lac Do you mention. Honestly, no idea with Vietnamese names... too many different characters I don't recognise / cannot follow. We didn't drive for too long from the Renaissance where I've stayed everytime I'm in SGN (I may try something new this time).

HPH is definitely off the beaten track - and I'm there for purposes of work. Purposes of work inevitably end up becoming excuses to drink and there are too many people in HPH who adore Chivas (and my liver does not thank me for it). It's a bit of a pity because going to VN always for work has always ended up with me preferring to go other places more, where I can have a real break/holiday.

But as long as you keep your Lounge Meet schedule up to date, you might bump into me in SGN / HAN sometime as I do go in and out. This time I didn't want to do the 3-hour drive from HAN to HPH so I purposely chose a flight into HPH and will skip HAN altogether (also heard how bad it was flooding a few weeks ago there, with half the airport shut down or something).

Anyway the suggestion for Brazilian was only because I thought the Op preferred something resembling a Sunday Roast. And I don't think anything will be really different over Christmas since it's not celebrated as a holiday there. Business as usual, I'm sure. Maybe the Hilton will have a Christmas buffet lunch for foreign visitors.

Oh, and good tip on Ngoc Suong, UK Flyer - will request for our Saigon guys to book us a spot next week! Looks most promising...

[MAN Flyer]

I am sure the Brazilian will have been Au Lac Do. It will take 10 mins or so from the Renissance. I used to stay in the Ren all the times up until a few years ago when they doubled my corporate rate. I've been in the Sheraton since, although that's getting too expensive now with the plummeting Gordon Brown Peso.

Yes, there are a few in Haiphong who like a drink, at any time of the day and in the office.

I also don't do the road trip from Hanoi any more, preferring the flight from Saigon, which I am doing again in a few weeks. However, I have twice been shafted by VN when trying to go back down as they tend to 'nick' the HPH bird if any other Airbus goes tech. Their thinking being 'ah well, they can drive to Hanoi and jump on one of those flights' They have a few A320's grounded at the moment as well I read recently. Jetstar/Pacific also fly SGN-HPH now.

[Kyo]

I'm doing Jetstar HPH-SGN for sure.

The SGN-HPH Jetstar timing didn't quite work for me, though, so Golden Lotus, here I come!

Thanks for the tip about them 'nick'-ing the HPH bird though! I hope they don't do that to me ex SGN-HPH next week. I will be most upset, and probably quite stranded otherwise.

[UK flyer]

Oh, and good tip on Ngoc Suong, UK Flyer - will request for our Saigon guys to book us a spot next week! Looks most promising...

Ask for a table upstairs on the open air balcony. We really liked it up here. You will not be disappointed with the food - it's excellent! And so are the prices.

[sabian]

If food/menu does not figure, Renaissance has a very decent seafood buffet about USD30odd ++/head.

I was there for the NYE dinner. The crowd was a good mix of locals, foreigners and tourists working there.

Ngoc Suong is overhyped. The prices aren't exactly value for money for the taste and ambience. (apologies if I ruffled some feathers, just leaning more towards seafood in Singapore/ Malaysia.)

As for the Brazil foodies, it is in D3. there use to be 2 other similar competitor outlets that have since bitten the dust.

Some other options include Augustine (French) that is across the road from Sheraton. It is next to Lemongrass (serving local food). Where you see Gloria Jean's (iced blended coffee), that is the small lane where you will find Augustine & Lemongrass.

If you are into diim sum, take a cab to Hung Vuong Plaza (cab fare - abt VND60-70,000/ 20-25min cab ride). There is a Chinese rest. above the "California Gym" on the top floor. Decent pricing and atmosphere for dim sum. Along the way and back, you get to see the real urban VN.

Or you can head to Yee Bo, located at the beginning of Le Thanh Ton (opp. sushi express and thai express), they have decent dim sum/ hotpot steamboat.

If you are after pizza/ribs/ and the usual, there is an Al Fresco's opposite Sheaton's popular with expats or Underground (I'd expect them to have something lined up for X'mas) abt 7 mins from Sheraton along Dong Khoi.

Let me know if you want something else. Or if u have zeroed in on something, will get u the contact details/ location.

Cheers