Buffet Breakfast at Nha Hang Restaurant in Vien Dong Hotel @ Ho Chi Minh City [Vietnam]

Despite its classification as the most important meal of the day, I am not a breakfast person and would usually go for brunch. However, such unconventional routine is not the norm when I travel overseas, since I would want to spend more time checking out eateries!

At times, I would also diligently go for breakfast when it's covered in my accommodation, as in the case of my recent visit to Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), where I stayed at Vien Dong hotel for five nights.

Breakfast was at the resident Nha Hang Restaurant  on level two and I got to check it out only on day three of my stay. My intent wasn't even to have breakfast as the Great Kon had already planned for breakfast at a dim sum restaurant in HCMC Chinatown. 

Interior of the restaurant; nothing fascinating but I did notice the restaurant would play host to weddings at night and we chanced upon one such wedding on the last two nights of our stay. My favorite spot would be those by the windows, where I can do some people watching too! 

Now on the food available as part of the complimentary breakfast; you get pretty normal Asian offerings like sautéed chicken with chilli, stewed beef with wine, stir fried vegetables, fried noodle, fried rice.  

Western would always be on the menu; pork sausages, chicken sausages, bacon, potatoes etc. I have a question here though; why were there bread underneath the sausages? To soak the oil and moisture? 

Of course, the bread area. Aside from slices of white and whole meal bread, you could also get some baguette, which I think is more commonly seen in Vietnam (at least in HCMC) than slices of bread. 

No idea why the butter was not individually packed. Given that the above pattern requires time and effort, I think it would be easier to provide a large slab of butter with a butter knife for guests to take as they wish.

Limited cereal, and orange and strawberry jam. 

Ready made butter garlic bread for lazy ass like me. 

Drink section with your usual coffee, tea and fruit punch. In addition to milk, you can also find condensed milk, which I prefer over granulated sugar. Healthy souls can opt for detox water (lemongrass and mint infused I think).

Yogurt fridge. Beside would be the hot and cold water dispenser. Our room at Vien Dong Hotel actually provided free sachets of G7 3-in-1 coffee and instead of boiling water in my room, I would bring one  sachet to Nha Hang Restaurant and use the hot water dispenser. 

Salad and cheese and salami section. To be frank, I usually avoid these at buffets, unless they have blue cheese which I quite enjoy if there are accompanying chutney and nuts. 

Canapes! Carbo-heavy; avoid!

You can find kimchi too; while I don't reject kimchi, I am worried of a stomach upset when I am overseas. It can be torturing finding a sit-down toilet in a developing country. 

While pho is the official dish for Vietnam, you don't get it at Nha Hang Restaurant. In its stead would be a live station serving hu tieu bo kho; also a noodle dish but with stewed beef. 

Way more interested in the egg station.

Fried egg, sunny side up, omelette!

Limited desserts. 

Not appealing except for the coconut jelly. 

Indian food!? The sautéed chicken with chilli didn't sound too Indian but I think the chef added bell peppers of green, yellow and red to make it different. And honey pancake doesn't seem right too. Maybe better to have naan or roti. 

I wouldn't want to admit this.... but I realized I always make a beeline for the porridge area nowadays... It just feel so comforting to have porridge in the morning, especially those with condiments like pork floss, peanuts etc which you can add yourself.

Plain porridge was an option, and sometimes, you get mixed porridge! Those preferring non grains can also opt for soup! p.s. I absolutely enjoyed the mixed porridge; I bet it would be enhanced by mixing in a sunny side up too! 

Fruits would be another section I would seek when it comes to complimentary hotel breakfast. Reason being I don't really dare to buy fruits from street stalls, given the dubious hygiene and my sensitive stomach. 

Standard breakfast for the next few days. As you can probably guess, I am boring when it comes to breakfast. In the past, I can make do with just toast with jam and two sunny sides-up.

Only thing I can't resist; bananas and the ones at Nha Hang Restaurant maybe small but they were sweet. One of my travel companions mentioned that the quantity I ate in one sitting was equivalent to the amount he ate in a year! I didn't eat a lot; maybe five bananas each time? 

=====

Click here for my 6 Days Itinerary in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) - Pearl of the Far East @ Vietnam