There are many lovely places to dine with a view in Saigon, one just has to search on Google and a wide array of restaurants, cafes and rooftop bars will pop up on the search result list.
Because there are a lot of options, it is quite difficult to make a decision. What can I say, a luxurious problem indeed, haha!
So I had to look into what the family really want to eat for lunch, what they want to see and experience in order to make an informed decision on which restaurant, bar or café to go to.
Well, I am the type, and so is my family, who travel for the love of food and the beautiful places to dine at or even simply to hang out with a drink. They do not have to be exclusive and expensive at all, but I tell you, they surely enhance (or decrease) the overall experience, as well as the quality and enjoyment of our holidays.
The family firstly wanted to have lunch so the place should be open for lunch time. We prefer a more casual yet elegant atmosphere, so the formal restaurants are out of the list. Then we wanted to have some views of the city, if possible on a rooftop where we are able to see an almost 360-degree panorama of Ho Chi Minh City. This is quite a demand but if we are going all the way to the top of a building, why not make it the best. This also means that the restaurant should have a great view even if we are sitting indoors. In some of the properties I saw, the outdoor area only has spectacular views. I know my parents, they will never want to sit outside because it is humid and hot.
After lots of googling and reading, we finally settled for the Shri Restaurant & Lounge.
The restaurant lounge is located on the rooftop of Centec Tower in the middle of the business district. It is an office building so going in we saw a lot of office workers in business attire. It was like a déjà vu for me, bringing me back to my working days in Manila during the mid-1990s and early 2000s. I have always been a city girl, it is where I am at home most, although I would love the peace and quiet, from time to time, of the countryside as well.
As expected, the parents do not want to sit outside on the rooftop terrace. It was just too hot. SisterJ and I did go outside to survey the city views and take pictures. We were very pleased! The parents were happy enough to take a peek of the panoramic views from where they were sitting inside the restaurant.
This hotel building (I believe the Hotel des Arts Saigon MGallery Collection) is connected to Centec Tower through a glass bridge from the rooftop bar and pool (as seen in the above photo) to the Shri Restaurant & Lounge. Quite handy when the hotel’s guests want to dine at Shri, they have private access to the glass bridge, which by the way looked stunning.
Shri customers are however off limits to cross the glass bridge to the rooftop bar and pool of this hotel property.
Anyway, we ordered a culinary mix for lunch.
We loved everything that was served except for the pork steak which was somewhat dry. It was a bit overcooked we thought. We, however, enjoyed the hearty meat paella. The tapas mix was a delightful experiment, we wished it was a much bigger plate. The Vietnamese shrimp and pork spring rolls and the green salad with seared tuna made sure the lunch was refreshing to our palates.
And oh, I loved my cocktail drink which I cannot remember the name anymore. It was just a try out for me since I generally disliked cocktails due to its sweet taste, but the wait staff who served us promised me it is a citrusy type of cocktail. Indeed I quite liked it!
I took pictures of the dishes one by one of course:
The lunch was a success!
We loved the location of Shri Restaurant & Lounge and the panoramic city views it has to offer. The casual yet elegant ambience and the glass walls that enables you to see the city view even when sitting indoors were just perfect. The food and service overall were just good enough. We can definitely recommend this place.
With our stomachs full and the tropical Asian heat (even in November), we thought it’s time for some proper siesta back at our hotel.
Travel Period: November 2016
Destination: Ho Chi Minh City (Southeast), Vietnam
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Happy Travels! Enjoy Life =)
All pictures were taken by a point and shoot pocket camera or a smartphone.