“Saigon is a true culinary cosmos that welcomes and loves every culture and cuisine, which explains why four restaurants with such different styles are all so well loved,” explains Ivan Barone, Saigon Café’s executive chef.

Chef Ivan Barone has been working hard to ensure every detail of Flavohood Season 2 falls perfectly into place.

Indeed, the city is filled with different neighborhoods boasting unique culinary identities alongside standalone standout restaurants. Representing District 1 to Thảo Điền, the four alluded-to restaurants, The Brix, Mekong Merchant, Fume, and Saigon Café, are being brought together to form a Flavorhood at Saigon Café’s grand buffet. Now in its second season, the Flavorhood is running from the beginning of October until December 3 at the Sheraton Saigon Grand Opera Hotel. The two-month celebration aims to give diners a taste of Saigon’s vibrant culinary landscape while spurring the chefs’ creativity.

One of Saigon’s greatest gastronomic virtues is its diversity, as exemplified by the sheer number of international cuisines served around the city. The Brix, for example, exists at the nexus of Mediterranean flavors and French techniques exemplified by wood-fired cooking. Mekong Merchant, meanwhile, specializes in fresh seafood with particular acclaim for its homemade bread. And while Japanese is found throughout the city, Fume brings a novel approach thanks to Kobe-born Chef Shozo Tsuruhara and his love of charcoal cooking. Though Barone’s expertise is rooted in his Italian heritage, he helms an international selection that emphasizes local Vietnamese ingredients and creativity at Saigon Café.

On the first day of their week, the head chef will be personally preparing the dishes including Phong Nguyễn of The Brix (left) and Jay Taylor of Mekong Merchant (right).

Following a one-week-on, one-week-off schedule, each of these beloved Saigon restaurants is bringing one of their best-selling signature dishes that relies on secret, unexpected ingredients. And the first night of each week will feature the head chefs of the restaurants preparing them personally. Specifically, the event started off with Chef Phong Nguyễn of The Brix bringing roasted baby chicken with piri piri mayo, aji verde, baby potato, and black garlic jus, followed by vanilla and coconut riso with caramel, puffed rice, and passion fruit sorbet. Mekong Merchant’s Jay Taylor came next with his smoked labneh and slow-fermented-dough pizza, accompanied by zucchini salad with smoked feta, hummus, baba ghanoush, and grilled pita bread. Barone himself, representing Saigon Café kicked off November with linguine cacio e pepe in a wheel of Parmigiano cheese with spicy Sichuan-style lobster, and the cheesy focaccina.

From the 16th through the 22nd of November, Chef Shozo Tsuruhara of Fume will be offering his binchotan charcoal, straw-fired warayaki, and seasonal ingredients sourced from Japan. And most spectacularly, from November 27 - December 3, all four chefs will unite at Saigon Café via all of their dishes: the Mediterranean flavors and wood fire of The Brix, the Western cooking of Mekong Merchant, the Italian flavors of host Saigon Café, and the contemporary Japanese flavors of Fume. This will allow guests to savor meals from all four restaurants, prepared by the chefs themselves, along with the regular buffet options. Vietnamese and international guests alike can thus travel through unique flavor neighborhoods in a single meal.

Guests can select from the special Flavorhood item as well as favorites, including seafood, from the familiar favorite Saigon Café items.

 Saigon Café is a perfect host for such an experience. In addition to its inviting space with beautiful views of Đồng Khởi Street, which has welcomed families, couples, and special events for 23 years, its beloved buffet has earned a reputation for the highest quality ingredients expertly crafted for diners’ evolving tastes. It’s particularly loved for its phở, tiramisu served on the spot, and seafood buffet with Nha Trang lobster, crab, grilled oysters, sushi, and sashimi, alongside Asian and European dishes, all of which are accompanied by the special Flavorhood items. It comes together to become what Barone describes as, “less like a traditional hotel buffet and more like a curated food market where five-star abundance meets independent restaurant soul.”

Saigon Café's spacious dining allows for comfortable meals and a wide selection of freshly made dishes.

In addition to spotlighting just how great foodies have it here in Saigon, Flavorhood Season 2 is a testament to camaraderie found in the local F&B scene. Barone, the host of the week, nods to the event’s tagline ‘from Brotherhood to Flavorhood,’ explaining, “I worked with them [the chefs] many times, and I am a big fan of their restaurants. I know their restaurants very well, and I wish to bring them to Saigon Café.”

Whether part of the Flavorhood, another culinary event, or an average day, Saigon Café is known throughout the city for its sumptuous spreads.

Frequent guests to Saigon Café understand Flavorhood Season Two fits squarely in the restaurant’s embrace of exciting, global cuisines. For example, in 2025, Sheraton Saigon Grand Opera Hotel launched Ticket to Asia with unique seasons bringing guests to different countries or regions alongside chefs from the Marriott International System. The hotel's General Manager, Julian Wong, notes, “At Sheraton, we are the world’s gathering place. In Saigon, that means one simple promise: we connect, and we welcome everybody. Flavorhood brings that promise to the table, where local and international guests sit side by side, taste the same dishes and share the same stories.”

Chef Shozo Tsuruhara of Fume eagerly awaits the Grand Chefs Market when he will return to the kitchen to prepare warayaki for guests.

From November 27 to December 3, all the chefs’ dishes will be served, including at the Grand Chefs Market finale on the 27, when each chef will be preparing the items personally. The night is also the Sheraton Saigon Grand Opera Hotel’s annual Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony, making it a perfect celebration of the arriving festive season.