HCM CITY -- As the Duanwu Festival or Dragon Boat Festival, celebrated widely in China, Hong Kong and Southeast Asian countries, is approaching, Sheraton Saigon Hotel & Towers is offering a collection of its ever-innovative dragon boat dumplings, boasting delicate flavours hand made from the finest ingredients, expected to be the ideal choice for guests in the season.

Sheraton Saigon dragon boat dumplings are exquisitely hand-made from the finest ingredients.— Photo courtesy of Sheraton Saigon

The pyramid-shaped dumplings feature five different filling choices wrapped in aromatic bamboo leaves with each dragon boat dumpling hand crafted by a skilled cooking team of the hotel’s Li Bai Cantonese restaurant.

Held annually on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, the Dragon Boat Festival is commonly called Double Fifth Festival. This year’s festival will fall on Thursday, June 22. The festivities vary from region to region, but share several distinctive features with ceremonies such as dragon boat races, folk entertainment, bathing in herbal concoctions and feasts lavished with rice dumplings - a notable part of celebrating the Dragon Boat Festival with family members and friends.

Traditionally, dragon boat dumplings feature bold tastes concocted with glutinous rice filled with seasoned pork belly, salted fried shrimp, sausage, salted egg yolk, shiitake mushroom, and assorted nuts. In Việt Nam, dragon boat dumplings are similar to bánh chưng or square-shaped sticky rice cake in terms of ingredients and texture, having another twin version of sweet flavour called lye water rice dumplings, served with sugar or syrup.

In the lead up to the Dragon Boat Festival, Sheraton Saigon launches the dragon boat dumplings under Li Bai’s secret recipe for the third year, starring the savory Cantonese culinary style with authentic flavors. Sheraton Saigon's collection of deluxe dumplings highlights the classic filling including salted egg mixed with pork belly, signature chicken with Li Bai black pepper sauce, exquisite delicacies such as abalone and conpoy to our modern take of a vegan option featuring shiitake mushrooms, lotus seed and whole chestnuts bursting with tantalizing aroma.

Each dumpling is meticulously crafted by Cantonese chefs of Sheraton Saigon and for ultimate flavour blending, a zesty artisanal condiment; Li Bai’s renowned X.O sauce is highly recommended to pair with dumplings as a dipping sauce.

At Li Bai gastronomes can savor freshly cooked dragon boat dumplings with authentic Cantonese flavor.— Photo courtesy of Sheraton Saigon

At Li Bai, gastronomes can savor freshly cooked dragon boat dumplings or indulge in the convenience of take-home options, perfect for gifting or long-term preservation.

Dragon boat dumplings are available for sale between May 24 and June 22, with the tasting booth at the hotel lobby from 9:00am to 7:00pm daily. Dumplings can be purchased individually or in gift sets and are priced at VND178,000++ per piece for assorted nuts with mushroom fillings (vegan option); VND188,000++ per piece for the options of pork belly and chicken with black pepper sauce and VND258,000++ per piece for the best-selling dried scallop, and VND348,000++ per piece for the exceptional premium abalone fillings.

For more information or to order, call 028 3827 2828 or visit https://www.libaisaigon.com/ . — VNS