Indulge In The Flavours Of Vietnam At Hilton Colombo

This August, Hilton Colombo is celebrating the bright, bold flavours of Vietnam with its Vietnamese Food Festival from 21st to 30th August 2025 at Graze Kitchen.  The  10-day Flavours of Vietnam Food Festival is hosted by Hilton Colombo in partnership with their sister hotel in Vietnam, Hilton Da Nang and is curated by guest chefs Nguyen Dac Khoa and Tran Van Toan.

Hilton Colombo opened the festival with a ceremonial welcome led by the Ambassador of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam to Sri Lanka, H.E Ms. Trinh Thi Tam,  Guests at the opening night were treated to an energetic and entertaining traditional  Vietnamese cultural performance by guest artistes from Hanoi. Speaking at the opening, Area General Manager of Hilton Sri Lanka, Mahesh Fernando shared that the festival is about building connections through the universal language of food.  “From street food staples to festive favourites, we are thrilled to bring a slice of Vietnamese hospitality to Colombo”. 

Our experience with the Flavours of Vietnam began with a selection of appetisers that highlighted the balance of the sweet, sour and spicy that’s central to Vietnamese cuisine. We piled up on a roasted chicken and cabbage salad and a green mango salad with prawns that cut through the slightly sour taste of green mango.  The pomelo salad with deep fried soft-shell crab was all about pairing citrus with the crunch of a lightly battered crab. It’s not all about salads of course, we enjoyed some wonderfully crispy Vietnamese spring rolls that were crunchy on the outside and packed with juicy filling inside. 

The live BBQ took us back to Vietnam’s famously busy street-food markets. Grilled chicken with lime leaf was smoky with a citrus twist, while the beef tenderloin marinated with lemongrass and chili was juicy with mild flavours. Our favourite was the crispy pork skewers marinated with galangal that had the perfect ratio of pork fat and meat.  They also had an impressive seafood selection where you are spoiled for choice with freshwater prawns, crabs, lobsters, cuttlefish, oysters and mussels with a matching variety of sauces and toppings. 

The Vietnamese Food Festival will run from 21st to 30th August 2025 at Graze Kitchen. Guests at the opening night were treated to an energetic and entertaining traditional  Vietnamese cultural performance by guest artistes from Hanoi

For mains, the spread is nothing short of a Vietnamese feast.  Our choice of carbs included chicken and pineapple fried rice and stir-fried egg noodles to pair with dishes like wok-fried chicken with lemongrass and chili, stewed lamb shoulder with fermented tofu and taro and pork belly with plum sauce and stir-fried bok choy with mushroom sauce.  The dishes, prepared to the Vietnamese style of cooking, offers diners the opportunity to experience ingredients and flavour combinations that are unique to Vietnam’s culinary culture. The pork belly with the plum sauce was sweet and sticky while the stewed lamb shoulder offered a more hearty depth with the fermented tofu and taro. 

What we really enjoyed were the action stations where we got to make our own Bánh Mì sandwiches with our choice of fillings, pickled vegetables and chili. And one cannot savour the flavours of Vietnam if they miss out on a soulful bowl of Pho. The slow-simmered broth with noodles and tender meat of either chicken or beef was the comforting end to our main meal.  

The sweet flavours of Vietnam also had its place in the Desserts section of the buffet. We enjoyed a banana sago pudding with dried coconut and the silky textures of a lemongrass flan while the khúc bach sweet soup with jelly, lychee, and almonds was very refreshing. Our favourite dessert of the night was a classic Vietnamese favourite - lotus seed and longan sweet soup which delicate and soothing to the palate.  There’s also a Vietnamese coffee pop-up for guests who want to indulge in the iconic Vietnamese brews.  The Hanoi egg coffee was a fast seller and so was the Saigon style latte with condensed milk. We enjoyed trying their Salted Cream Coffee which had a daring blend of strong coffee and salt. 

Graze Kitchen at Hilton Colombo undoubtably offers one of the best dinner buffets in town and their festivals that celebrates the flavours of the world truly commits to the delivering an authentic experience to diners.  And this August, guests can enjoy some of the best flavours of Vietnam right here in Colombo at the Graze Kitchen buffet. 

The Flavours of Vietnam runs till 30th August 2025 at Graze Kitchen, with two dinner sittings from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm and 9:00 pm to 11:00 pm. Pricing is Rs. 9,888 nett per adult and Rs. 4,944 nett per child.  

Pictures by Samantha Perera