InterContinental Asiana Saigon

We resided at the InterContinental (Saigon) on our first night, the experience was as expected and more. The staff were so very helpful, spoke proper English, well mannered and friendly, I've had great services at 5 star hotels, but this was the best. 
This hotel is within walking distance to the city centre, enjoy the walk or go by taxi, it'll be nothing you've experienced before, horn beeps coming from all corners just like people and cars, it's an organised chaos. 
We were given a corner room, so we had a great view of the city, I'm grateful to be here so dirty rustic roofs or tall fancy building don't matter to me. Most 5 star hotels have "club lounge" and the room we booked gave us access to it, therefore we could enter anytime for free drinks, they also had happy hour (free cocktail alcohol time), & light: breakfast, lunch and dinner. But for breakfast I always prefer the main restaurant there's way more food there, as you'll see below

welcome refreshment: lightly sweetened detox lemon grass drink and chilled towel

club lounge at InterContinental (Saigon) 

small delicious dishes I picked out, tuna baguette, grilled salmon, rice paper roll, caramelised chicken drum stick

fruits: dragron fruit, watermelon (full of seeds but its so sweet), papaya, sweet pineapple, sapoche (sweet and soft, they make awesome smoothies)

A replica Eames chair

 this is the entrance to the main restaurant where we had breakfast

breakfast buffet and refreshing coconut juice (YUM)

 wonton noodle soup

wrapped steamed pork rice rolls

fruits and coconut galore

pho bo, beef noodle soup

typical bread, butter and spreads. If you think you'll lose weight here, think again, theres food for all taste buds.

 ham and salad bar

 french Jam

grill bar

Lẩu Cá Kèo 87

87 Bà Huyện Thanh Quan, Quận 3 - Hồ Chí Minh

I haven't had that many Eel Hotpot, but I must admit this is the best I've had by far. This is a down to earth place close to the city centre, it isn't the cleanest most hygienic restaurant I've been to in Vietnam, but it's what I love and expect. Total bill was about $25 AUD!

BBQ Goby Fish (Ca Keo Nuong) + Tamarind fish sauce - Delicious !!! especially the sauce, drools

that's an Eel's tail, don't be disgusted heheheh, it was delicious. 

Vietnam Airlines Business Class

Want a little taste of Vietnam? I'll be updating my blog with photos of my experience, from flight to food to other randomness. 

Welcome aboard to Vietnam Airlines Business Class. 

Lets talk about the cost of these airfares, the usual price range from $700 (off peak) to $1500 (peak season) on economy class, so it seems ridiculous to spend over $3k for an 8 hr return trip from Melbourne to Saigon on Business class. Have you heard of OPTIONTOWN? Optiontown is a site where you can upgrade from "economy" to "business" class on various airlines (including Vietnam Airlines). It cost approximately $300-$500 each away to upgrade (double for return cost) on top of the original airfares you paid for. For example, on off peak season you pay $700 (economy class) + $600 (optiontown upgrade return) = $1300 for a Business class seat through Optiontown. Personally I think this is a fantastic find, especially when you are going on a honeymoon or a special occasion and you want to be treated like royalty at a fraction of the original price. Is there a catch? Yes but no biggy:

1. Once you have your economy airfares, go onto Optiontown, fill in the blanks (including the PNR # on your ticket) then press show upgrade... prices and seats availability will show up. After payments are made, there will be a confirmation of your debit. However Optiontown does not guarantee customers a seat until the date of departure, if there is no available seats money will be reimburse into your account. That has never happened to me so I'm sure it won't happen to you
2. Business class customers usually get 40kg of luggages whereas economy are only allowed 30kg on Vietnam Airlines, hence upgrading your seat on Optiontown does not mean you can get that extra 10kg. Remember to pack under 30kg even if you purchase an upgrade on Optiontown
3. Business class customers have access to business lounge, even though you've got the upgrade, you have NO access into the business lounge.
4. You will get a front of line pass, so when going through customs you can go into all express lanes without queuing. 
5. When checking in, just wait at the designated gate, and listen up for your name on the overhead speakers. Once your name is called, go to the gate front desk and your upgrade ticket will be replaced with your old economy class ones... ENJOY!

How are the services? I would have thought stewardess would be extra polite and friendly on this class, besides doing a job well done, some of their attitude and snobbiness were also up there somewhere. Don't get me wrong, this isn't my first experience on business class, other groups of cabin crews who served us on other occasions were awesome... but not today. So please don't take them the wrong way if you get some attitude from a few of them. 

Another annoying thing on Vietnam Airline flights are their bad English accents, I feel sorry for those who don't understand Vietnamese on these flights because I cannot understand their strong English accent on the overhead speakers. 

On another note we had an overflow of food, the seats reclined and we could lay comfortably flat with an abundant of games and Hollywood movies to watch (The Great Gatsby was fantastic).

 Entree: smoke fish, prawns and chicken on bread. This isn't my thing, but others seemed to like it. It's chilled, salty and fish was raw. 

Another entree: coleslaw, raw beef, chicken, tomato salad and capsicum. 

 Garlic bread and the soup was delicious, I loved it!

beef steamed veggies on rice, again I didn't enjoy this that much

 

udon, scallop and veggies

rice, mango, pork, mushroom and baby corn

Dessert: fruits, coconut tart, ice cream, coffee and tea

We were welcomed by pouring rain, it was humid and sticky but that's the feeling of being in Vietnam. 

Emperor's Cream Puffs

Emperor's Garden Cake & Bakery makes awesome bread, egg tarts and cream puffs. Where there’s a line at a small window, jump in the queue, it doesn’t take long to get to the front - it’s worth the wait, and prices are just right just like the taste!  I haven’t tried much, but I’m a fan of these cream puffs, every time I visit Sydney I would try to get my hands on them

Hammer and Tong 412

Is Hammer and Tong 412 over-rated? Or am I just under rating it? I’m not being critical, I love the joint, the nice people and overall menu was very creative and out there compared to many brunching menu which always includes the typical bacon, eggs, toast and hash browns. However whatever I did try was on the saltier side of my palate, and drinks were overall average. Chef Simon Ward who formerly worked at Vue du Monde started Hammer and Tong 412 surely showed his creativity but taste wise it was pretty average.

Coffee, Hot Chocolate and Watermelon juice wasn’t the best, I’ve had better

Breakfast Ramen – 62˚C hens egg, bacon, mushroom, spring onion with bacon dashi ($15)

Soup and ramen was again average, the egg was perfect, bacon was like overly marinated salted chewy pork belly.

Soft Shell Crab Burger ($12) – never had anything like it, it’s different but again the crab was very salty, could use a bit more mayo, and I like my buns crunchy and toasty (not everyone does). But Yes I do recommend this dish

Highpoint Pancake Parlour

Back in 2008 I use to be a waitress at the Highpoint Pancake Parlour where I would take grave yard shifts and get home at like 6 AM in the morning; dynamic and work flow were great. You would only know how dirty a place is once you start working there, and Pancake Parlour isn't the most hygienic place to eat at if you are a germ freak.
Today was the first day I've ever returned as a customer since I left in 2008. Its changed a lot, but menu remained mostly unchanged with a few new items and an increase in prices.

I always get so worked up on the prices here, its unbelievably expensive for just cooked flour and ice cream (its organic Melbourne made ice cream), even the drinks are over priced. Atmosphere and staff are good, food is slow to get to the table, and it doesn't taste as extraordinary as the price. Though their specials and lunch menu isn't too badly priced. 
They are now open 24/7 at Highpoint so you're literally paying for overtime services, thats if you reckon a pancake craving at 4 AM is inevitable then its all worth the price. Where can you find a 24/7 restaurant besides McDonalds?

Strawberry Swiss Mountain Malt (essentially thick strawberry milk shake) - $8.70! I could get at least 6 litres of Big M at this price when they go on a special frenzy at the local super market.  

Lemon Ice Tea - $5.70

Short Stack - $11.90! I'd rather eat Hot cakes at McDonalds + free maple syrup. Special maple syrup at Pancake Parlour comes with a price

Fresh Strawberries on Crepes - $20.50! crepes were cold and leathery in texture, strawberries were fresh but I'd rather buy my own punnet and add expensive ice cream at home

Ham Chicken Schnitzel, butter, side salad, cheese pancake and wedges - $25.90! Well I guess this was the best value dish we got, because each item on this plate if ordered separately would add up to a ridiculous price. This was delicious too, hot ham crispy chicken with great wedges