KiN Group plans Singapore food week at Ho Chi Minh City hotel
The hospitality group is marking Singapore National Day with a heritage dining and networking program aimed at expatriates and local guests.
By Maya Lindqvist · Senior Technology Correspondent
3 min read
KiN Group will turn its KiN Hotel Thi Sach Edition in Ho Chi Minh City into a Singapore-themed cultural venue in August, using National Day programming to push the hotel beyond a room-and-restaurant role. The event reflects a wider hospitality play: branded hotels are increasingly using food, identity and community events to build loyalty among expatriate and local audiences.
The Lepak Makan Club, billed as a Singapore Heritage Gastronomy Week, will hold public sessions on Aug. 8, 14, 15 and 16, 2026, after a private opening on Aug. 7. The program is timed around Singapore’s 61st National Day and is aimed at Singaporeans in Vietnam, friends of Singapore and Vietnamese guests interested in Singaporean food culture.
The event is being produced with SingShiok and led by Singaporean chef Eric Low. KiN said the format will combine a heritage buffet, cultural storytelling and networking, with the hotel positioned as a gathering place for Singapore’s business, professional and entrepreneurial community in Ho Chi Minh City.
Benny Ong, KiN Group’s co-founder and chief business officer, said the company sees its Singapore roots as part of what it can offer in Vietnam, adding that the event is intended to create cultural and business links between the two countries.
The name draws on two familiar Singaporean terms: “lepak,” meaning to relax or spend time together, and “makan,” meaning to eat. The menu is built around hawker-style dishes, including laksa, bak kut teh, fried kway teow, gado gado with peanut sauce, traditional desserts and other heritage items.
Low has more than 35 years of culinary experience across Asia, Europe and Latin America. His background includes representing Singapore at SG Day London in 2014 and the SG50 Diplomatic Dinner in Brasília in 2015, and he is a Worldchefs-certified International Culinary Judge. He is also the founder of Lush Epicurean and the author of six cookbooks, three of which have been recognized by the Gourmand Cookbook Awards.
Low said the Saigon program extends work he has done presenting Singaporean cuisine overseas, with a focus on Singaporeans who now live in Ho Chi Minh City. The broader programming for the Singapore heritage gastronomy week in Ho Chi Minh City includes a pull-your-own teh tarik station, a nostalgic “Mamashop” concept, traditional games such as five stones and congkak, and a Tikam-Tikam Trivia activity.
KiN also said Pang Te Cheng, Singapore’s consul-general in Ho Chi Minh City, is expected to attend the opening evening alongside invited business leaders and members of the Singaporean community. Each evening will include networking elements modeled on the kopitiam, the Southeast Asian coffee shop setting often associated with informal meetings and community exchange.
The Ho Chi Minh City event fits into KiN’s stated plan to build hospitality brands around community experiences as well as accommodation. The Singapore-headquartered group says its businesses span hotel operations, real estate and business services, brand work and technology, with more than 30 hotels across Vietnam and expansion plans in Malaysia, Singapore and China. It projects a portfolio of 13,000 rooms by 2029.