Thursday, July 12, 2007

Enjoying barbeque and hot pot dishes in town


When Saigonese people dine out, they often fre-quent restaurants that serve barbeque and hot pot dishes, making the two dishes popular gastronomic trends in HCMC. The restaurants featuring these dishes are often the choices of Saigonese diners because they are ideal places to not only enjoy tasty food but chitchat with family and friends.

Guests who want to have a quiet, airy space to enjoy barbeque and a view of the city center at night can go to the Breeze Sky Bar on the fifth floor of the Majestic Hotel. This Sunday, the bar will introduce a new “BBQ on the Roof Top” program featuring about 20 selected dishes of shrimp, salmon, beef, chicken, and more.

The barbecued meat of each dish will be combined with special kinds of sauce such as apple or peppermint; dishes of salad and deserts are also included. The “BBQ on the Roof Top” program will be offered daily from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. with prices ranging from US$15 to US$24 per dish.

The Breeze Sky Bar with a view of the city center and the Saigon River is open from 10 a.m. to midnight. It also serves an international buffet breakfast, eastern and western food a la carte, plus many kinds of drinks, cocktails, ice-cream and snacks.

Also this July, the Golden Palace Restaurant in the Palace Hotel will introduce a buffet program featuring eight popular kinds of hot pots from three regions to Saigonese diners. The sweet, tasty flavor of the hot pot that attracts many gastronomes comes from beef, goat and shellfish meat, or fish, seafood and curry.



A view of the Breeze Sky Bar in the Majestic Hotel

Hot pot is a dish to share and people can easily see diners gathering around a hot pot chatting happily while putting many kinds of vegetables and meat into the hot soup. The many kinds of ingredients in hot pots are displayed in separated sections for guests to choose from and there will be staff to guide guests when choosing the ingredients for their own hot pots.

The restaurant also offers a dessert buffet corner with tropical fruits, sweet soups, drinks and green tea. Joining this hot pot buffet program, diners will have a relaxing time enjoying the meal with a flow of music in a cozy place. The price is VND144,000++ per person.

Wandering around Hoi An ancient town


Located in the central region of Vietnam in Quang Nam Province, the ancient town of Hoi An, one of six sites in Vietnam granted world heritage status in 1999, is a very popular destination for tourists.

The ancient town is registered UNESCO’s world heritage list as being a well-preserved example of a Southeast Asian trading port dating back the 15th to 19th centuries. Besides the ancient beauty of Hoi An, local tourism has turned the town into a must-visit tourism destination for shopping and relaxation with various art and craft, and tailor shops as well as a variety of coffee shops, bars and restaurants along the riverfront.

Touring around town by cyclo is the favorite way of local and foreign tourists. Along Tran Phu Street and the Hoai River are best choices





By providing tourists with diversified services and local cultural features Hoi An has become an even more attractive destination and attracts a large number of tourists each year. To explore the ancient town, tourists can walk, bike or use a cyclo-pedicab to peruse the narrow streets. Visitors need to bear in mind that they will need to stop often, as every corner of the town is likely to attract their admiration. Hereunder are some newly-taken pictures that feature many activities of foreign tourists in Hoi An, proving the everlasting attraction of the ancient town.

Tourists buy lenterns at a shop. At night, the town becomes even more beautiful bye the light of colorful lanterns. Particularly on the first day and 15th day of the month, tourists can see flower garlands and colored lanterns on the Hoai River












Tourists enjoy a painting by an artist at a gallery. The gallery's owner said that some foreign tourists decide to buy paintings soon after the works are completed