The short answer: Our lamingtons are built on the classic Australian blueprint — squares of vanilla sponge, coated in a house-made chocolate icing, and rolled in desiccated coconut. But the reason we bake them here in Bàn Cờ Ward, District 3 today is because of a very picky Australian neighbor who was missing home during the 2021 Ho Chi Minh City lockdowns, and challenged us to match his grandmother’s recipe.
📸 Image: A plate of freshly coated lamingtons covered in coconut, Dulce de Saigon District 3 — replace with real photo.
What makes a proper Lamington?
A lamington isn’t just a piece of cake with chocolate on it. It’s an Australian institution. A proper lamington requires a sponge cake that is sturdy enough to be handled, but light enough to stay tender. It has to be dipped in a chocolate icing that is thin enough to soak slightly into the outer layer of the sponge, but thick enough to hold a generous coating of desiccated coconut.
We bake ours from scratch, using real butter for the sponge, and we don’t take shortcuts on the chocolate coating.
The Apartment, the Lockdown, and the Picky Neighbor
To understand why an American-style bakery in Vietnam makes an Australian classic, you have to go back to our origins. Dulce de Saigon didn’t start in a pristine commercial kitchen. It started in our apartment during the strictest COVID lockdowns in 2021.
At the time, expats across Ho Chi Minh City were isolated. People were missing their families, and more specifically, they were missing the comfort foods they grew up with. We started taking requests. Thu, our head baker, used those requests to build her experience and what would eventually become the Dulce recipe book.
One day, a local Aussie neighbor reached out. He wanted lamingtons. But he was quite picky — he explicitly stated that they had to taste close to his grandma’s.
Chasing Grandma’s Recipe
When someone sets the benchmark at “my grandma’s baking,” the stakes are high. Thu didn’t just bake one batch and call it a day. She baked, tested, and handed samples over to him. We worked directly with him, tweaking the density of the sponge and the sweetness of the chocolate, until we hit the exact flavor profile that reminded him of home.
The Taste of Home
That process — taking an inspiration from the community, working with them to get the flavors exactly right, and delivering a memory — became the foundation of Dulce de Saigon. A lot of the items you see on our menu today started the exact same way. We aren’t just baking cakes; we are recreating the taste of home for people who are thousands of miles away from it.
If you’re an Aussie missing the taste of your grandma’s kitchen, or if you’ve never had a proper lamington in your life, we’d love for you to come by the bakery and try one. Grab a coffee, sit down with a fresh square of coconut and chocolate, and tell us if we hit the mark.
That picky Aussie neighbour? He approved. And the from-scratch standard that won him over is the same one behind our 4.8★ trung bình dựa trên 682 đánh giá Google.
— Garret, Đồng sáng lập
Về tác giả: Garret Nelson is Dulce de Saigon’s co-founder, who lived through the 2021 Saigon lockdown that started the bakery — this lamington story is from those exact days. A longtime Saigon F&B operator. More at câu chuyện của chúng tôi.
📍 Làm thế nào để sở hữu ngay
We bake them fresh daily at our shop in District 3 (382/15 Nguyễn Thị Minh Khai, Phường Bàn CờChúng tôi mở cửa từ 8 giờ sáng đến 9 giờ tối.
If you can’t make it in, we deliver across Saigon:
– Giao hàng trực tiếp: order.ipos.vn
– Ứng dụng GrabFood | ShopeeFood
– Events & Large Orders: Nhắn tin trực tiếp cho chúng tôi trên Zalo (0903 305 993) with 48 hours’ notice.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What is a Lamington?
A beloved Australian dessert consisting of squares of butter sponge cake coated in an outer layer of chocolate icing and rolled in desiccated coconut.
Does Dulce de Saigon make authentic Lamingtons?
Yes. Our recipe was developed and perfected through rigorous taste-testing with an Australian expat in Saigon to ensure it tasted just like his grandmother’s.
Are they made with real butter?
Absolutely. We never use margarine or preservatives in our bakes. Our sponge is made from scratch using high-quality butter.
Can I order lamingtons for an event?
Yes — we cater to large orders and events. Give us 48–72 hours’ notice for custom or bulk requests by messaging us on Zalo (0903 305 993).
