A luxury resort on Vietnam’s Cam Ranh peninsula could not agree more that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, rolling out a hearty “breakfast hopping” journey entailing four different dining establishments. 

The unusual experience involves starting out at Alma Resort’s Alma Garden before moving to La Casa, Alma Food Court and finally Alma Lounge to sample their rich and varied breakfasts in the same morning. 

“Guests kept asking ‘which breakfast should I go to?’,” said the resort’s managing director Herbert Laubichler-Pichler. “All our breakfasts have their drawcards so we started suggesting guests try them all yet, like bar hopping, it’s best to pace yourself so you can go the distance! Bar hopping is a thing and we’re hoping this delectable journey, in which we pull out all of the stops to help you eat like a king, makes breakfast hopping a thing too.”

Alma Garden beats at the heart of the resort, with live cooking stations that evoke a marketplace atmosphere serving the likes of Vietnamese soups and omelettes made right before the guests’ eyes. Serving an extensive buffet breakfast with Vietnamese, Asian and Western favourites, options range from kimchi, tropical fruits, salads, vegetables, Vietnamese beef stew, and rice, to cheeses, breads, pasties, pancakes, waffles, pretzels, sausages, bacon, and cheesy potato bake.

Next stop is Italian trattoria La Casa, which crafts a high-end a la carte breakfast topped off with a glass of bubbles and cold cuts, cheeses, and yogurt with fruit and almonds assembled on a three-tiered cake stand. Fresh to order options range from ‘Bo Ne’ (Vietnamese beef steak and egg) to smoked salmon, scrambled egg, cream cheese and dill on a croissant.

Laying a solid foundation for the day ahead continues at the third stop, bustling Alma Food Court, situated a short walk from La Casa, past part of the resort’s sustainable farm brimming with basil, rosemary, pawpaw and more. The food court’s predominantly Vietnamese buffet features a host of stations include a traditional rice cake station with the likes of ‘banh cuon’ and ‘banh uot’ (Vietnamese rice rolls), a sticky rice station, a Vietnamese cold cuts and salad station, a banana fritters and shrimp crackers station, and a yogurt and fruit station affording tropical fruit such as mango, longan dragon fruit and pomelo. In addition to an egg station and a hot foods station, a noodle station plates up classics such as ‘pho bo’ (Vietnamese beef noodle soup), ‘bun rieu cua dong’ (river crab noodle soup with crab cakes), and ‘banh canh’ (rice noodles with fish cakes). 

The final stop, Alma Lounge, a spacious venue defined by flowing curbed open spaces and a spectacular view of the sea, offers an a la carte menu of ‘banh mi’ (Vietnamese baguettes with either pork bologna, grilled pork or fried fish cakes), soups, congee with condiments, stir-fried noodles with beef or seafood, Danish pastries, croissants and more. 

Selections of coffee including Vietnam’s famed Trung Nguyen Coffee, salted coffee, tea, freshly squeezed juice, a fresh coconut, and more are on offer during each breakfast hopping stop. 

“Of course our guests can simply have breakfast at one of our four venues of a morning, or try a different breakfast establishment per day. However, if they’re keen on something different, why not have an early morning swim at one of our 12 swimming pools cascading down to Long Beach and then set aside up to three hours, from 7am until 10am, to sample what’s on offer in what’s bound to be a filling morning.”