{Saigon Snacks} Another long Sunday lunch!

Legend Hotel Saigon - all you can eat buffet

If you're holidaying in Vietnam with kids, and have had your fill of local food, the all you can eat and drink Sunday lunches at the major hotels in Hanoi and Saigon could be just the ticket.

As parents of busy toddlers we're always on the look out for hotels that have a kids area within the restaurant. A perfect way to bribe your kids to eat before going off to play and a way for Mum and Dad to relax with a few drinks while the kids are taken care of.

I hadn't heard of the restaurant kids club concept until we moved to Vietnam. We never dined at hotels in Australia (unless it was a special occasion) because (1) it was ridiculously expensive and (2) I was under the assumption that they weren't kid friendly venues.

In Vietnam this is a growing industry - a fully staffed area within the restaurant to keep the kids entertained - genius! Of course the low cost of labour, and the Vietnamese love of children (particularly light-haired, blue-eyed kids!) makes it a viable business in this country. 

Unfortunately, unlike Hanoi, the large hotels in Saigon don't seem to have the kids club option down pat just yet (although there are a growing number of smaller cafes around the city with playrooms/outdoor playgrounds).

In Hanoi many of the large hotels had fantastic kids clubs that, although fully staffed with babysitters, were also in sight of the restaurant so parents could keep watch.

A few people in our Saigon expat network had recommended the Legend Hotel for its all you can eat international buffet (with free flow wines and beer included in the price), and the attached kids club, so we arrived at 11.30am today ready to eat (and drink!) our fill.

Sadly the kids club was not up to scratch. The room wasn't close enough to the restaurant to make me feel safe about the girls playing in there (and it wasn't staffed) and, as Georgia and Mackenzie would say, the room was "lame". Definitely more suited to babies than toddlers.

Not to worry because the array of food, as well as the friendly ladies at the entrance of the restaurant making balloon animals for the kids, kept them well occupied.

At around US$36 per person, kids under 6 eat free, it was good value.

Legend Hotel Saigon - Ton Duc Thang Street, District 1

If you're in Hanoi visit the Daewoo Hotel - 360 Kim Ma Street, Ba Dinh District.

Although the Daewoo's price of US$25 per person only included a glass of champagne and free flow beer (I need wine!) the kids room within the restaurant was huge.

The room was sponsored by Lego and came with a giant screen to watch movies, a colouring in area, a lego corner and a kiddies buffet, complete with babysitters to help the kids build fantastic Lego creations. Kids under 120cms eat free.