Vacation Martini

Only ok, as it was kinda watery. This place, Sandy Beach Resort, in Danang, Vietnam, caters to a mix of local and foreign tourists, but I was still  surprised that they knew what a proper martini was on the first go around. 

Other than that, the service sorta sucked at this resort.  Good location, indifferent service = go to Hoi An Beach Resort when you are visiting Danang instead.  

Best Martini in HCMC

The best martini in town (HCMC) is served at the Park Hyatt lobby level lounge.  

I first grabbed a drink here months ago because a friend of mine who was holed up in the Park Hyatt on business told me that the live lounge act was pretty good.  I went one night, grabbed a drink to test out the bartender's skill and waited for the solo act to start.  

After a bit of waiting, I asked the bartender if the music act was on tonight, and if so, when it would start.  The person sitting near me chirped up and said it will start soon - because she was the act.  I guess that's one reason for drinking tea in a bar.

She - Jen Woodhouse - was pretty good - a nice mix of familiar covers of singer-songwriter material and original stuff.  The performers have gigs of 6 months at a time, and, interestingly, they are recruited off of Myspace!  The Saigon Park Hyatt management uses Myspace, how odd is that?  

One funny thing is that the Park Hyatt is very Vietnamese in overstating the truth when advertising their lounge acts.  The Park Hyatt ran week-long full page adverts stating that the act following Jen Woodhouse - Kat Parsons -  was from Austria.  I met her briefly and it turns out that she was merely born in Austria and grew up in the DC area.  Heck, we even went to the same schools.  I guess I'm Austrian too!       

Martini at Lush

Pretty darn good and extra olives as requested. The picture of the bar
staff is for Thirsty.

Martini: Sheraton (Saigon)

The best bet(s) for a martini in Vietnam is from an internationally managed hotel.  Here is the Sheraton's version - it's pretty good and the extra olive comes without having to ask.  However, it is kinda small for my taste.  As you can see, there is PLENTY of space in the glass for me.  C'mon Sheraton dudes!

I think it's $8 USD or so, ++.  "++" for those who are unfamiliar means the abomination of +10% tax and +5% service charge. 

Speaking of local hotels, two have swapped their branded management - the Omni Saigon now goes by the unfortunate name of Movenpick - I thought it was a typo when I saw the signage in the papers.  

What a god-awful name.  Yes, I know it's Swiss or something like that, but...  it sounds like some sorta combo betwixt a Costco and Public Storage.  The former M Hotel (nee Guoman Hotel) in Hanoi will also become a Movenpick.  And the Amara Saigon has been taken over by local hotel management and renamed the Ramana - sounds pretty much the same if you say it in Vinglish.  

I wonder if their martinis will change.          

Martini Review: Wild Rice

• Location: Wild Rice (La Lua)
• Size: nice and hearty, in a margarita cocktail glass though
• Olives: extra pitted olives, as requested
• Taste: nice! maybe strain the ice a bit better, but tasty nonetheless
• Price: 65k
• Synopsis: 4 of 5 stars

Martini: Le Pub

• Location: Le Pub
• Size: medium sized cocktail
• Olives?: lime twist
• Taste: pretty solid, except I'm not too keen on the lime twist replacing olives. That seems to be the standard in this part of the world.
• Price: 25k on a cocktail night special (half-off)
• Synopsis: 3 of 5 stars, because I would order this again.

Martini Review: Pane E Vino

* Location: Pane e Vino - (nearby) Hanoi Opera House.
* Size: small cocktail glass, and not to the brim.
* Olives: one, green.
* Taste: after navigating through a bit of floating ice (Pane e Vino, meet strainer, strainer, Pane), it tasted like a lemon drop. This country has heard of a martini, right?
* Price: 3.5 USD. This is Vietnam. Why is the menu priced in a foreign currency? And besides, isn't trading in US dollars illegal or something?
* Synopsis: 0 of 5 stars, because I think it was vodka and not gin in this lemon drop.

Martini Review: Mediterraneo

* Location: Mediterraneo - Old Quarter, Nha Tho Street
* Size: small cocktail glass, and a short pour at that. Even VA wondered what was up with the shortage.
* Olives: two green ones. No pits, as I recall.
* Taste: watered down to heck. Is there gin in this thing? Tasted like La Vie; easily emptied before the bread basket arrived.
* Price: 60k or so.
* Synopsis: 0 of 5 stars, because I was drinking mostly water.

Martini Review: KOTO

It's difficult to find a nice martini around town. Here's my little search for one.

• Location: KOTO (Know One, Teach One) - 59 Van Mieu
• Size: a jigger short in a full sized cocktail glass
• Olives: three black canned olives. WTF?
  
• Extraneous: a twist of lime zest. Did I order a gin and tonic or something?
  
• Temp: adequately cool.
  
• Taste: ok, but odd. Missed the brine of green olives and got the cardboard/tin of black olives instead.
  
• Price: 55k or so.
  
• Synopsis: 1 of 5 stars, the minimal rating for something with gin in it.