Hosting Vietnamese clients in Ho Chi Minh City
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Business in Vietnam runs on relationships. One good dinner often moves a deal further than a week of emails, which is why evening entertaining shows up on almost every business trip here.
Here's how a typical evening goes, and what visitors usually want to know before hosting one.
How the evening usually runs
- Dinner, starting around 6:30 or 7 pm
- A second round at karaoke or a bar
- Home by Grab or a company driver
Not every dinner needs a second round. If your guests are ready to leave after the meal, let them.
Picking the restaurant
- Book a private room (phòng riêng). The main floor is loud, and Vietnamese dinners involve a lot of group toasts.
- For Vietnamese guests, Vietnamese food or a seafood restaurant is the safe choice. Ask about preferences if it's your first meeting.
- Private rooms go fast on Friday nights. Book two or three days ahead and ask whether there's a minimum spend for the room; many places have one.
Ho Chi Minh City has plenty of Vietnamese, Korean and Chinese restaurants with private rooms. Pick by who you're hosting:
- Vietnamese clients: Vietnamese or seafood. Your guests know the menu, so you can let them order.
- Korean partners: District 1 and District 7 (Phú Mỹ Hưng) have many Korean restaurants with rooms.
- Chinese partners: District 5 (Chợ Lớn) has Chinese restaurants with big round-table rooms.
When booking, ask about the room's minimum spend, corkage if you're bringing your own wine, and parking.
Seating and business cards
- The most senior person sits first. Wait for the host to start eating.
- Give and take business cards with both hands, and read the card before putting it away. Start with the most senior person.
- Don't criticize anyone or put them on the spot in front of others. Raise problems privately.
Toasts and drinking
Vietnamese rarely drink alone at the table. Everyone raises their glass and drinks together, many times over.
- You'll hear "Một, hai, ba, dô!" (one, two, three, cheers!) all night. In the south "dô" sounds like "yo."
- "Cạn ly!" means empty your glass. In the city, drinking half is fine.
- If you don't drink, say so early: "Tôi không uống rượu" (I don't drink alcohol). Toast with water or juice. Nobody will push it.
- Fill other people's glasses before your own, and pour for older guests with both hands.
Who pays
Whoever invited pays. Splitting the bill isn't common in Vietnam, and suggesting it at a business dinner can come across as awkward.
If your partner is hosting, offer once to pay, but don't fight over it. Host the next one yourself.
Karaoke as the second round
Dinner often turns into karaoke. For the types of venues, how pricing works and how to check the bill, see Karaoke in Ho Chi Minh City.
When you're hosting clients, book ahead and ask the venue about room size and a rough budget for your group. Arguing over a bill in front of a client is the worst way to end the night.
Getting home: drinking and driving
Vietnam has zero tolerance for drink driving. Any alcohol on your breath can get you fined, and penalties went up sharply in 2025, reaching tens of millions of dong for car drivers plus license suspension.
- If you drove, leave the car and take a Grab.
- If your guests drove, booking them a Grab is a good gesture.
- Late at night, Grab is easier than hailing a taxi. The fare is set in the app.
Sources: Vietnam Briefing (2026), Vietnam National Authority of Tourism, Tuoi Tre News, Kaiwa (2026), VOV