If you’re familiar with Hong Kong, you probably know that the Peninsula hotel is the most famous in the region. Almost equally as famous is their afternoon tea that takes place in the hotel’s lovely lobby. While showing my mother around the city, I thought it would be a great idea to treat her to an afternoon tea at the Peninsula.
We went for the champagne option to make sure we really enjoyed ourselves. The Peninsula Hong Kong offers Rose or Brut for an additional fee. Tea is great, but a little bubbly is a nice cherry on top.
After we took a few sips, it was about time to get our tower of treats along with our tea. I went with the Earl Grey and my mother went with the Swiss herb tea. Both good, and were great partners to all of the food! The Peninsula did a great job at decorating these lovely morsels. They all looked gorgeous.
I would say a majority tasted good but a few needed a bit more moisture. Also, they could have used a bit better clotted cream. Overall, the taste and look were lovely.
Throughout the afternoon, there were lots of staff members out and about ready to pour us more champagne and make sure we were happy. I did notice the queue of people that never disappeared throughout the whole hour we were there, so popular. It was a unique and lovely experience which can’t be replicated elsewhere because of this special property. There were a few places for improvement, but the end of the day, I would definitely recommend afternoon tea at the Peninsula hotel in Hong Kong!
If you're familiar with Hong Kong, you probably know that the Peninsula hotel is the most famous in the region. Almost equally as famous is their afternoon tea that takes place in the hotel's lovely lobby. While showing my mother around the city, I thought it would be a great…
Peninsula Hong Kong: World Famous Afternoon Tea Review
Peninsula Hong Kong: World Famous Afternoon Tea Review
I’m getting quite into the restaurant scene in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam. I had a big evening planned for a date night at the Xu restaurant on Hai Ba Trung street. Most will know Xu for their bar which is very popular. The restaurant is located above the bar and offers high-end items such as multiple course tasting menus and a large wine selection.
We were greeted with a smile and ushered up the stairs to the contemporary dining room. The dining room was practically full. For the evening we went with the five-course tasting menu with matching wine. Reading the menu got me very excited! We started off the evening with a Chilean wine called Santa Digna 2016.
I must say that the most exciting dishes for me were at beginning and the end of the meal. The meal started off with a bang with the crab meat soup and Vietnamese duck salad. Individually, I enjoyed them very much.
Another favorite of the evening was the tamarind crab with rice cracker. This was absolutely bursting with flavor and quite gorgeous in its presentation.
What I really also enjoyed was there selection of wines for the evening. All were quite unique and not something you have everyday. This helps to expand all of our horizons!
Service throughout the evening was quite good. Loi was our server, and he was very personable and professional. The food was overall acceptable in taste and looked beautiful, but a few of the main courses could have used some improvement.
After a few hours eating it was time for dessert. The dessert was a tasting menu itself. It featured four different desserts and I must say that each were quite lovely.
It’s clear to see that this restaurant is already quite popular with the completely full dining room and bar. Knowing this, my expectations were set quite high. I’d like to return on a slower night and see if the main courses taste better, but for now, I will have to judge what I have experienced. As stated, I did enjoy some items and loved the wine choices. With all of that being said, my evening at the Xu restaurant in Ho Chi Minh was enjoyable but has some room for improvement.
I'm getting quite into the restaurant scene in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam. I had a big evening planned for a date night at the Xu restaurant on Hai Ba Trung street. Most will know Xu for their bar which is very popular. The restaurant is located above the bar and…
Xu Saigon Restaurant Review (Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam)
Xu Saigon Restaurant Review (Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam)
After living in China’s Guangdong region for half of the year, I feel I have become quite seasoned on dim sum. On my recent stay in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam, I had a Cantonese meal at the Tung Garden restaurant, while staying at the Eastin Grand Saigon hotel. Be sure to read about my stay here!
The decor is of what you would expect to find in this type of dim sum restaurant. White tablecloths throughout and lots of staff to serve you. For the dinner, we decided to focus a majority of our energy on the dim sum menu to see what kind of quality the Tung Garden restaurant could offer.
Some of my favorite items from the evening were the seafood dumplings and the suckling pig. Almost all of the food was lovely. The restaurant was fairly busy and the staff did a great job at serving us when we needed. Constantly making sure my tea cup was full made Pierre happy! We were never left for long and I appreciated this aspect of the service.
The Tung Garden restaurant makes a grefat venue for a large group, a romantic date night and everything in between. The food, service and atmosphere were lovely. I enjoyed myself and can easily recommend you to visit the Tung Garden Chinese restaurant inside of the Eastin Grand Saigon hotel!
After living in China's Guangdong region for half of the year, I feel I have become quite seasoned on dim sum. On my recent stay in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam, I had a Cantonese meal at the Tung Garden restaurant, while staying at the Eastin Grand Saigon hotel. Be sure…
Tung Garden Restaurant Review (Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam)
Tung Garden Restaurant Review (Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam)
This was my second trip to Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam, and this time I tried out the Eastin Grand Saigon hotel. Coming from the airport, the hotel is about halfway to the city center, which makes it very convenient after your flight. Around the hotel, you’ll find lots of restaurants to explore which I found enjoyable. This was my first Eastin hotel visit and I was excited for the new experience!
I arrived at the front desk reception counter, but was quickly moved to the executive lounge for my VIP check-in. In the executive lounge, I was served a welcome drink and cold towel. The executive lounge design appeared to be quite modern and I was excited to spend my days in this beautiful environment!
After a smooth check-in process, I went up to the top floor of the property to explore my room. My seventh floor room had a fairly nice view of the surrounding city. The room held a business style, which was clean and professional. There was a large desk near the window, which was superb for taking care of business! Bedside power outlets made sure my phone was happy. The bathroom had a shower stall but no bathtub. I liked that during the turn-down service in the evening they left chocolates.
On the third floor, you’ll find the Eastin Grand Saigon’s rooftop pool and gym. Throughout my stay, the pool seemed to be a popular place to relax. It was very quiet and tranquil. The gym overlooked the pool and had lots of equipment. I was sure to work out every day and never had any trouble finding an open piece of equipment. I enjoyed the quality of the Technogym equipment.
After a workout, I headed down for afternoon tea in the executive lounge. The executive lounge is on the ground floor of the Eastin Grand Saigon and had many comfortable places to sit. It was sectioned off so even if there were many people, it never felt very crowded. The afternoon tea occurs every day from 2:30pm to 4pm, offering cakes, tea, coffee and fruit.
In the evening is when the party really started in the executive lounge. The Eastin Grand Saigon’s selection of food was magnificent. Lots and lots of food, which easily was enough for a dinner. The alcoholic beverage selection was somewhat limited but still sufficient.
During breakfast, the executive lounge offered both an à la carte menu as well as a buffet. I was a fan of their eggs benedict served on toast.
The Eastin Grand Saigon has a few food and beverage outlets to take note of. The first would be there Mot Hai Bar, located on the ground floor. I commend the staff for the lovely drinks! They also have the Tung Garden Chinese restaurant on the first floor which I have enjoyed a meal and written about in a separate article.
In conclusion, my first stay in an Eastin branded hotel was positive! I noticed a few hiccups along the way but overall I was satisfied with the service and amenities. Depending on your plans in Ho Chi Minh, the hotel can be very conveniently located. Ultimately, I can recommend the Eastin Grand hotel in Saigon, Vietnam.
This was my second trip to Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam, and this time I tried out the Eastin Grand Saigon hotel. Coming from the airport, the hotel is about halfway to the city center, which makes it very convenient after your flight. Around the hotel, you'll find lots of restaurants…
Eastin Grand Saigon Hotel Review (Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam)
Eastin Grand Saigon Hotel Review (Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam)
