3G Trois Gourmands (Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh)

3G Trois Gourmands  is a French Dining Restaurant opened by Gils, a France native living in Ho Chi Minh, passionate in French culinary using natural products. The restaurant previously known as Le Toit Gourmand first opened in 2004.
3G Trois Gourmands is located in Ho Chi Minh (Saigon), District 2. It is around 20 minutes to 40 minutes drive away from the city centre depending on traffic conditions. The restaurant is located in a traditional colonial house and its interior is beautifully furnished giving it a classy modern look. The setting inside makes it a perfect place for a romantic meal between couples or gathering between friends.

We had actually wanted to visit La Villa French Restaurant, another French restaurant recommended by my Vietnamese friend. However, by the time we reached our hotel and asked the hotel to reserve a place for us, the restaurant was fully already booked. Hence, we settled for the next option recommended by my friend; 3G Trois Gourmands and got the hotel to assist us in making the reservation. (Note: It is highly advisable to make reservations as these two French restaurants are popular among locals and tourists. You would not want to travel all the way there to find out that it is full.)

Menu cover

The menu cover.

Set Menu and Entrées (Starters)

The Set Menu offers a choice of 5, 6 or 7 Course meal at a nett price of USD40, USD45, USD50 respectively. Do note the price has increased, hence its different from the photo.

We went for the 6 Course Meal which costed USD40 / VND 840,000 (S$50.40) per pax then. The 6 course meal consisted of Truffe Scrambled Eggs (Brouillade Aux Truffes), Homemade cheeses (Assortiment de fromages maison) and a choice of 2 Entrées (Starters), a main dish and a dessert.

Main Dish Menu: Viandes (Meat), Poissons (Fish)

The Main Dish menu consisted of Viandes (Meat) and Poissons (Fish).

Desserts (Sweet Desserts), Glaces Bellany (Bellany Ice Cream)

The Desserts menu which consisted of Desserts (Sweet Desserts) and Glaces Bellany (Bellany Ice Cream).

Truffle Scrambled Eggs (Brouillade Aux Truffes)

The meal kicked started with Truffle Scrambled Eggs (Brouillade Aux Truffes). The scrambled eggs were light, fluffy and buttery. I was impressed by the strong and consistency of the truffle flavour present in it. What a great start!

Entrées (Starters): Scallops Mashed Potatoes Truffle (Coquille St Jacques avec sa Purée de Pomme de terre aux Truffes)

The Scallops Mashed Potatoes Truffle (Coquille St Jacques avec sa Purée de Pomme de terre aux Truffes)was the first Entrées (Starters). This was our favourite starter!

The panseared scallops were incredibly succulent, firm and fresh. Caviar was added on top of the scallops which were laid on a bed of truffle mashed potatoes and seafood bisque foam. The taste of all 3 (scallops, mashed potatoes and seafood bisque foam) was just divine. I was scrapping off as much foam as I could from the plate. If I had it my way, I would be licking the foam off the plate =P.

The both of us wished that we had ordered two portions of this instead of sharing it. This is a must order!

Entrées (Starters): Homemade Smoked Salmon (Saumon Fumé Maison)

The second starter we had was the Homemade Smoked Salmon (Saumon Fumé Maison). This was also excellently executed.

Entrées (Starters): Goose Liver Spring Roll (Nem de Foie Gras)

Entrées (Starters): Burgundy Snails in Garlic and Parlsey Butter (Escargots de Bourgogne au Beurre)

The next two starters we had was the Goose Liver Spring Roll (Nem de Foie Gras) and Burgundy Snails in Garlic and Parlsey Butter (Escargots de Bourgogne au Beurre).

For the former, I preferred the foie gras terrine compared to the foie gras macaron and the foie gras spring roll. Maybe I am too used to having my macarons and spring rolls with their normal fillings. As for the escargots, they were fresh and interestingly, the garlic flavour was much milder compared to those I had in Singapore.

Lime Sorbet

After the starters, the Lime Sorbet was served. This was light and refreshing, probably to cleanse the palate before the main course.

Viandes (Meat): Beef Filet Pepper Sauce or Morels Sauce (Filet de Boeuf Sauce Morilles ou Poivre)

For my mains, I was in a dilemma on whether to order the Beef Filet or Beef Cheeks. In the end I chose the former; Beef Filet Pepper Sauce or Morels Sauce (Filet de Boeuf Sauce Morilles ou Poivre). The beef filet was ordinary. The pepper and morels (mushroom) sauces that accompanied it was the game changer. (The sauces were served separately)

Sides

The potato and zucchini served at the side were awesome too!

Viandes (Meat): Duck Breast with Orange Sauce (Magret de Canard à l' orange)

The partner ordered the Duck Breast with Orange Sauce (Magret de Canard à l' orange) which came as a surprised to me as she was not exactly a duck fanatic.  But after hearing how the staff recommended this dish, she decided to order this.

Viandes (Meat): Duck Breast with Orange Sauce (Magret de Canard à l' orange)

The Duck Breast with Orange Sauce did not disappoint her. The Duck Breast was so tender and the orange sauce served at the side was richly flavoured but did not overwhelm the meat.

Pepper Sauce, Morels Sauce, Orange Sauce

The pepper, morels (mushroom) and orange sauces served separately. We could add the amount of sauces onto our mains according to our own preferences (the little things that matter).

Homemade cheeses (Assortiment de fromages maison)

After we were done with the mains, the Homemade cheeses (Assortiment de fromages maison) was served. We were shocked by the sheer variety and amount of cheese served. Nine types of homemade cheese ranging from goat cheese with truffle, spring onion cheese, red wine cheese, rosemary cheese, saffron cheese, cow cheese and other aged cheese. The both of us were not cheese fanatics and just sampled a little of each. Our favourite among the nine was the red wine cheese.
A video of all nine cheese. It was a waste giving us that much, but I understand that they serve this much for everyone, even if you are dining alone you get these. Cheese lovers would love them.

Desserts (Sweet Desserts): Gils Dessert (Dessert de Gils)

For desserts, we ordered the Gils Dessert (Dessert de Gils) which was recommended by the staff. It consisted of a combination of crushed meringue, nougat, berry coulis, strawberries with vanilla ice cream and raspberry sorbet. This dessert was fantastic! It had different texture and taste and was so addictive. Even though we were full, we had no problem polishing this up.

Desserts (Sweet Desserts): Chocolate Fondant (Fondant au Chocolat)

Our second (last) dessert was the Chocolate Fondant (Fondant au Chocolat). This was something that you could taste else where too. But still I must admit that it was well executed.
The chocolate cake was moist with molten chocolate flowing out of it. Berry and mango coulis was served next to the vanilla ice cream for additional flavour.

Lime Macaron

Just when we thought that we had came to the end of a fantastic fulfilling meal, we were each served a mini LimeMacaron!

Never mind that we missed out visiting Le Toit Gourmand. It was a blessing in disguise as we had such a satisfying meal at 3G Trois Gourmands. Not only was the food delicious, the staff were also very well trained. They were so friendly and hospitable. As the menu offers too many choices, I always make it a point to ask them for recommendations. They would them recommend the dishes and even went down to the extent of describing how the dish looks or tastes like. Their English was perfect! It was a breeze communicating with them.

Even though this was the most expensive meal we had, it was so value for money and affordable. It would be hard finding such food at such prices in Singapore. If we visit Ho Chi Minh again, we would visit 3G Trois Gourmands again even though we have to take a 30 minutes cab ride. This time I would go for the 7 Course Meal =) This is a must try!