Night market at Ho Chi Minh

Ho Chi Minh is bustling with roadstalls and vendors peddling their goods at night. Selling a variety of goods from clothes, bags, shoes to art pieces, decorative items, there is something suitable for everyone.

This is the side street with temporary set up stalls located just beside Ben Thanh Market. As Ben Thanh market is closed at night, many of the vendors move outside to sell their goods. 

Many of the push cart trolleys sell this glutinous rice snack. Each colour represents a different flavour, such as sweet potato, pumpkin, pandan...

Fruit peddlers at the night market... no stall, no license needed. All you need is a plastic chair and some space. 

A variety of exotic fruits can be found in Ho Chi Minh such as jackfruit, mangosteen, custard apple, and huge mangoes!

Fresh flower sculptures are sold at this shop. 

Fresh rose bouquets are sold. 

Beautiful bouquet of pink roses. I wonder how much it cost? shouldn't cost too much, as I remember buying a stalk of rose at Ben Thanh market for only SGD0.30. 

Shops selling Vietnamese coffee powder can be found almost everywhere. Besides coffee powders, they also carry coffee filters which is essential for a cup of traditional Vietnamese coffee. I still think it is quite tedious to make a cup of coffee this way. By the time the coffee finish dripping from the filter, the coffee is cold already. Nespresso still wins hands down for me. 

It's hard to guess what this stall is selling, until you study closer at the ingredients. It actually sells baguette sandwiches.. if you notice the baguette on the second level, and the variety of hams below. Baguette sandwiches are also a common food of the locals, due to the influence of French during it's colonial period.

We were attracted by the smell of grilled cuttlefish from far away. 

They still use the traditional way of grilling cuttlefish above charcoal. 

We bought one for sharing. It costs around SGD3 per piece. Is it considered cheap? maybe it costs cheaper for locals...

The finished product. Don't be fooled by it's mild orange colour, it is actually quite spicy! 

This couple is selling Vietnamese rice paper rolls (something like popiah). The husband fills the rice paper rolls with the fillings while the wife grills it on top of a simple charcoal pot. It is then wrapped up and eaten like a popiah. 
If you realise, they are selling it at the pedestrian streets, with just a simple charcoal pot and 2 stools. No stall front, no license, no hygiene standards. But I guess it must taste good, as many locals were buying from them. 

Painting shops are also very popular in Vietnam. Many foreigners do come here to buy a painting or two back to their home country. 

Besides the traditional vietnamese style paintings, modern or "imitation" art paintings are also sold in the shops. 

These are actually 3D pop up cards, and they cost a hefty SGD2-3 a card. 

Although the cards are not cheap, I give credit to the people who carve out the 3D works. They are really intricate and super complicated!

Vietnam is still packed with motorcycles. Almost every person owns a motorcycle there. It's hard to cross the roads there, as there are usually no traffic lights and many vehicles. As our guide put it: "your hotel is about 8 mins walk away. 3 min for walking, 5 min to cross the road". What an adapt way to describe how hard it is to cross the roads of Vietnam. 

The Saigon Opera House looks stunning at night. The play had just ended, as there were many people coming out from the Opera House. 

Feeling hungry after a long walk back to the hotel, I bought an instant pho from the convenience stall opposite our hotel. This one is under the Pho24 brand, which is one of Vietnam's largest Vietnamese pho chain. Also not cheap, costing me around SGD1.50 a cup. The soup and the pho was quite good. And I actually couldn't find it selling at a few of the supermarkets I went to.. hmm only convenience stalls carries it? 


Ben Thanh Night Market
Phan Chu Trinh and Phan Boi Chau street 
Open from 1830hrs - 12 midnight

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

DONQ Boulangerie, Takashimaya Singapore

Finally! I can officially declare that I have visited the DONQ Bakery at Takashimaya, Ngee Ann City. Located at the basement food level of Takashimaya, DONQ has been gaining popularity from both locals and Japanese, with many of them buying $$ of bread from this bakery. 

Be welcomed by this unique circular display of breads, which mostly are the best selling items. 

The dutch bread - (a french bread wrapped with cheese and Dutch topping) must be the no.1 selling item in DONQ, as they are being replenished frequently, and looks absolutely divine. 

Aricoveil - a french bread with Japanese green bean... hmm is that a good combination? Heard that the green beans are imported from Japan.

Spinach & Red Chedder breads

Fromage Coupe - French bread with processed cheese. 

Spicy stick - a french bread with black pepper, cheese and bacon filling. 

Walnut Raisin bread - I would have preferred just a walnut bread instead as I'm not a big fan of raisins. 

How about some croissants for a change? I realized that croissants are generally not that cheap, with this sausage croissant selling at $3.60 a piece. Much more expensive than the french breads. 

Cinnamon apple looks good too! It's a danish type of bread with almond cream and topped with apple cinnamon. 

Don't be fooled by the dark appearance. This chocolate boule packs loads of chocolate into a small bun. 

Macha Dainagon Roll. Dainagon refers to the red bean in the roll. Swiss roll cake I have tried before, but not bread rolls. But I guess it should taste great, judging at the hefty price tag of this roll.

Choco Bread (1/2 portion) - they must have used good chocolate in large quantities, else you would not get this contrasting colour between the chocolate and the white bread. 

Still too expensive? Get the hard toast instead at $3.80 for half a portion. I wonder why it is called hard toast when it obviously looks so soft inside. And it's dairy and sugar free too! 

Savoury breads such as the Spinach and sausage bun in the centre is one of the popular items in the bakery. I guess Singaporeans just love any bread which contains sausage.. 

Some other breads they offer in the bakery. I guess they must have close to 50 items in the bakery. Kudos to the DONQ bakers. 

And all the wonderful breads come from this small open concept bakery. 

My purchase of Dutch Bread @ $2.40 a piece. Initially I thought it was quite expensive, for a small bread like that. but when you cut it up, it all makes sense, and I even thought that it was well value for money. 

And this is the reason why. There is a generous serving of cheese contained inside. The bread would taste better if you toast it in the oven just before eating it. It's really crispy outside but soft in the inside. 

Ms K bought a baguette. Both of us didn't realize that it was so long, until she had difficulties putting it on the tray. I even had to use my tray to help her balance the baguette. 

Even with prices which are quite hefty, the bread shelves keep refilling and the queues keep forming at DONQ. I guess it is due to the high quality and quantity of ingredients being used into making a bread. As the chinese have a saying - 一分钱 一分货 (meaning you get what you pay for), this is especially true for DONQ. Although the breads are at the pricier side, they are definitely worth every cent you pay. 

DONQ Takashimaya Ngee Ann City

391 Orchard Road, Takashimaya Food Hall #B2-03

read about DONQ @ Tokyo Ikebukuro here