Vietnamese Afternoon Tea, with Veuve Clicquot, at the Caravelle Hotel, Saigon

Vietnamese Afternoon Tea, with Veuve Clicquot, at the Caravelle Hotel, Saigon - Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam - January 2016

1/2/2016

I decided to have afternoon tea in Ho Chi Minh City. I wanted to do this at Graham Greene’s Continental Hotel but their afternoon tea gets very poor reviews. Instead I learnt the Caravelle hotel does a Vietnamese option with Veuve Clicquot, something I could not miss, as I love that hotel and its staff.

I walked in to face a Moët & Chandon bar and my heart sank, thinking they had changed champagnes, like the InterContinental Asiana Saigon, which now has Bollinger as its house champagne.

I was given a perfect table for four looking out at the Saigon Opera House and the Continental Hotel. When the menus arrived they showed they still provided Veuve Clicquot with afternoon tea. Suong, the Manager, told me she had an Issy Beanie Baby too, could life get any more perfect than this.

The Food

I picked the Vietnamese option, with Veuve Clicquot. The deep fried squid mousse in a black sesame seed cracker, with sweet chilli dip, made me wonder if I really ate a pork one in Hoi An restaurant; the minced pork stuffed lotus root with plum sauce was mouthwateringly good; and the Vietnamese sweet rice cream perfect. The rest of the dishes were interesting to try and nothing was unpleasant.

After the food I took advantage of the coffee included to write my postcards

Veuve Clicquot/ Afternoon Tea Deal

They charge VND380 for the Veuve Clicquot Afternoon Tea and, when I later asked for the drinks list, VND450 for a glass of Veuve Clicquot. Afternoon tea is served from noon and so, like me, you can have it instead of lunch.

🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻 (5 out of 5 ‘teddies’) - interesting, and delicious food, ‘cheap’ Veuve Clicquot and charming staff. You could not ask for any more. My tips: try to get a window seat and take advantage of their Veuve Clicquot ‘deal’.