50 Flavors of Vietnam Brunch @ Hoi An (Shangri-La Hotel, Dubai)

Assorted Vietnamese appetizers

While my mom was visiting us in Dubai last month, Scotch and I took her to Friday brunch at Hoi An restaurant in the Shangri-La hotel on Sheikh Zayed Road.

It’s an awesome deal because for 145 dhs (2017 update: the price has increased to 175 dhs) you get unlimited Vietnamese “tapas” (50 to choose from) which are smaller versions of their best-selling dishes. Or you can upgrade to 265 dhs (2017 update: now 295 dhs) for the alcohol package.

Best thing? You don’t even have to get up from your seat because the food is prepared to order, not served buffet style, and served to you at the table.

Here is the food menu of all their brunch offerings:

Hoi An Brunch Menu

All the servers were Vietnamese so my mom was able to communicate with them and order at ease. She could also easily understand the menu because it was also in Vietnamese.

I loved that they were very kid-friendly with baby high chairs, Ikea cutlery, plates, and cups. Funny story, my mom thought that I had brought the Ikea plates and cutlery from home so she kept stopping the wait staff from clearing them!

Kids at Hoi An Friday Brunch

We enjoyed nearly all the dishes. Unfortunately, the Phở was overpowered by cinnamon and the deep fried spring rolls (the ones with crab and shrimp) were way over-peppered. Hopefully, the spicing overload was just an oversight for the day we were there.

And there was one dish that was not at all as described – I even verified it twice with the server. The “Tôm Rim Cốt Dừa” which was listed as Pan-fried sweet water prawns with green beans, shitake mushrooms, and spicy sambal sauce did not have a green bean, shitake nor sambal sauce in sight. Afraid I don’t have a photo as proof because even though it wasn’t the dish it pretended to be, it was still very good and we ate it all!

There were more plates than pictured in the gallery below but some were eaten before I remembered to take photos. Sorry for the grainy photos – we were sitting in the middle of the restaurant and the lighting was poor for photos but here they are anyway. Click a photo to enter slideshow mode:

Salmon roll with Vietnamese dill and Vietnames rice paper rolls with chicken, shrimp, and herbs served with home-made fish sauce

Assorted Vietnamese appetizers

Deep-fried spring rolls with crab, shrimp and shitake mushrooms; served with rice noodles and fresh herbs

Tempura Canadian lobster ravioloi with dried scallops and shitake mushrooms; served with baby rocket leaves and coconut mango sauce

Green papaya with shrimp, cherry tomatoes and green herb lime dressing

Tradtional Vietnamese soup with beef or chicken, asorted vegetables and chili

Wok-fried glass noodles with egg, mixed vegetables, mushrooms, and crab meat

Pan-fried sweet water prawns with green beans, shitake mushrooms and spicy sambal sauce

Grilled, marinated stiploin of beef with sweet potato and asparagus

Clay pot of wok-fried organic chicken with lemongrass, chili, onions, and X.O. sauce

Coconut ice cream in mango juice

Click here for more details and reservations.

Tip: if you have the Shangri-La Essence card – you can get an additional discount of 25% off your total bill. You can apply via the Shangri-La website.

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Hoi An @ Shangri-La Hotel Dubai: “50 Flavours of Vietnam Brunch,” pricing: 175 dhs for food only; 195 dhs with soft beverages; 295 dhs with house beverages. For reservations, call +971 04 405 270.