Breakfast at Sheraton Ho Chi Minh

The destination for our company trip was Ho Chi Minh. Some of my colleagues told me that the best meal they had in Ho Chi Minh during the trip was the breakfast at Sheraton. Does it really measure up? 

The entrance of Sheraton Hotel Ho Chi Minh. I remembered also staying at this hotel previously during a business trip. Located at the heart of Ho Chi Minh city at 88 Dong Khoi street, within walking distance to the various attractions and shopping, Sheraton is a good hotel choice when staying in Ho Chi Minh. 

Most of the international hotels in Vietnam have this signage outside which certifies their star rating by the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism. 

The hotel has a spacious lobby. At various timings, there are even traditional instrument performances by Vietnamese ladies. 

The lobby lounge. Good atmosphere for a cuppa or some light snacks. Oh did I mention, there is also free wifi available at the lobby area! 


Ok, back to the main topic - the breakfast. Like all international hotels, American buffet breakfast is served at the hotel. The breakfast area is segregated into various sections: 

The cooked food and cold dish section. 

As usual, they have the egg section. Besides eggs preparation, the pancake / waffle section is also here. What is unique is that they also have a selection sausages, beef, chicken and lamb available at this area as well. Tell the chef your choice of meats and they will prepare it in front of you. and don't forget, we are talking about breakfast here! 

The Asian / Japanese section. This is where the porridge, fried noodles, dim sum, miso soup and some Japanese foods are served. 

They even have a separate section which serves Vietnamese pho (beef noodle soup). 

The fruits section - get your quick fix of variety of fruits and juices here. 

When seated, as usual the staff would ask you if you would like coffee or tea. And to our surprise, the coffee and tea comes in a big pot - for you to pour on your own. 

I would normally look for the bread section when I start my breakfast, and I was immediately attracted to this structure. From far, it looks like a decoration with fake bagels on it. But they are actually real bagels! As what my friend Ms M calls it - Bagels do grow on trees! 

They offer a wide assortment of pastries and cupcakes. 

This is actually a toaster for heating up your pastries. Simply love it. Don't you hate those conventional bread toasters, when you try to heat up breads other than the normal sliced bread and they get stuck in the toaster? and you have to end up eating either burnt bread, or cold bread, which are both equally bad. 

Cherry tomatoes with pesto. The menu changes everyday, as when I went on the second day to take this, it was replaced by another tomato dish. 

The tomato lasagne. I was lucky to take a shot of it when they just replaced with a new plate, as it would be snapped up quite fast. As I am a cheese lover, this is just a great dish, with generous servings of cheese and bechamel sauce. Too bad this dish was not available on the next day. 

Crispy bacon. And I'm not joking when I say crispy. It's really crispy. One of my colleagues even took a portion of it as a snack by it's own. Remember  this bbq pork snack from Bangkok? Well it tastes just like the snack, only that it's the fresh version. 

Shrimp dumpling with chives. 

This is unique - salmon dumplings. Salmon is mixed with prawn paste and made into a dumpling. 

Steamed siew mai. 

Fried samosas and sugar cane prawn paste. 

My plate of Asian selection foods. They even have Japanese natto, which I so miss after coming back from Japan. Must have my natto. and it goes well with the cold tofu too!

Fruits are replenished frequently. The pink guava looks so tempting!

Yogurt - they offer original and blueberry flavour. 

This is the only food I remembered during my previous stay at Sheraton Ho Chi Minh. And after so many years, they are still serving it! It's actually Bircher Museli, served in individual glasses. Rich and creamy with hints of nuts and apples in it. 

And here's a close up shot of it. I had 2 servings of it! yummy. If you want to know how to make it, here's the recipe from Jamie Oliver's The Return of the Naked Chef cookbook:

Ingredients (makes around 4-7 portions)
8 large handfuls of organic rolled oats
2 large handfuls of ground bran
1 handful of chopped dried apricots
1 handful of chopped dried dates
1 handful of crumbled walnuts
1 handful of smashed or shopped almonds, hazelnuts or brazil nuts
milk (or soya/almond/oat milk) to cover
1/2 crunchy apple per portion, washed and unpeeled

Put oats and bran into a large Tupperware with apricots, dates and any other soft fruit. Add the walnuts, almonds, any other nuts and seeds. This mixture will keep for up to two months in an airtight container.

The night before you want to eat your pukkolla, put two portions of the oat mixture into a bowl and cover with the milk, grate in half an apple per person and stir immediately to keep apple from discolouring. When you’re ready to eat it, add some cinnamon or banana. 

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Good American buffet breakfasts are what I call comfort food. Best meal of the day, especially when you have all the time to enjoy. Also provides me with some sanity, amidst all the phos, raw vegetables, rice rolls and fish sauces in Ho Chi Minh. Thank you Sheraton, for serving such a wonderful breakfast.   

Sheraton Saigon Hotel & Towers

88 Dong Khoi Street, District 1, Ho Chi Minh

Breakfast served at Saigon Cafe
Daily 6am - 10am