Asia - Food Safety at Major Hotels

I will be travelling with my family for a couple of weeks to Hong Kong, Da Nang, and Bali. We will be staying at Hyatt Regency/Grand Hyatt’s at all three locations. Can I assume that the foods and beverages at the hotels will be safe to eat/drink? Would you recommend taking precautions with raw vegetables/garnishes, unpeeled fruits, frozen drinks made with ice, etc.. Caught a bad stomach bug a few years back in Mexico which lasted a few weeks, and am trying to make sure we don’t have any setbacks on this trip. Any thoughts appreciated. Thanks.

Frankly, these days you take some sort of chance when eating raw foods, prepeeled fruits, vegetables, salads, etc. anywhere in the world these days, and that includes North America and Europe and most cruise ships. I would rank Hong Kong 5* hotel kitchens as on a par with safety risk in NA/Europe 5* kitchens. I would rank Vietnam and Bali as higher on the risk scale, due to prevailing standards and hygiene of the local labor pool that services the kitchens, and the lack of clean running water with which to clean prepare things like raw veggies. (HK tap water supply is potable.)

My own inclination would be that ice in drinks is OK at all these hotels, since it almost certainly comes from purified water and either made on premises or in a local factory. Fruits unpeeled are OK, usually fruits peeled are also OK, for instance at the breakfast buffet. I am more leery of raw vegetables and salads and tend to avoid them in restaurants, in favor of cooked vegetables....but I also use this practice even in my home country of the USA and save the salads for home prepped fare. You will no doubt not be eating all your meals at the hotel--it would be a shame as there are many wonderful local restaurants to try out. In the truly local places, I normally avoid ice and just get a canned soft drink or cold water or beer from the cooler, and use a straw. And no raw veggies. Other things I would avoid even at the 5*'s: raw seafood of any type, custard and mayonnaise-containing food displays that have been sitting out for an unknown length of time and not on ice, condiments that have been sitting out on individual patron tables (more likely to be old or contaminated than condiments taken from the buffet table).

FWIW, I've been living and traveling in Asia for more than 10 straight years now, and have yet to have a gastro illness. ^ This includes eating in local noodle dives and from street stall vendors--often I trust the food I can see being cooked on hot coals in front of me, rather than something undergoing hidden prep in a 5* kitchen. The 5* hopefully has good sanitation control in food prep, but there are no guarantees that even they can get it right 100% of the time.

Agree with the analysis above in the case of Vietnam. I have 19 yrs experience of VN and have been fine. Was very cautious for the first year or so but just realised I was missing out too much.

Some years ago there was an inverted snobbery around top hotels. Expats would always claim that the best way to get poisoned was to eat at the Caravelle. Local food was safe because people would kill, cook, and eat it in a short space of time. Posh hotels would leave stuff hanging around and staff wouldn't recognise the dangers in such an alien environment. If they did, they'd be too frightened to speak out. Even if this was true, I doubt it's true today. Patrons of such places now include local Vietnamese as well as returning VN and foreigners. Even my ex-assistant who was on US$200 a month some 10 years ago put himself in the metropole last week (at his expense).

From my experience of meeting clients, overindulgence is the biggest risk. Eg someone from a cold London arrives in Saigon, straight down to a bar. The beer's so cheap they drink a week's worth. Next morning rather jet lagged and hung over. Stay in bed for a bit - then a big seafood lunch. How about snake or even snake wine? Then step out into the heat, still rather tired. Next day meetings - but they feel so sick. Must be the food!

My tip is by all means try the local stuff. But don't hesitate to eat a tuna baguette or a pizza if it helps balance your digestion!

Thanks for the sound advice. We look forward to the cultural and culinary experiences.

Should try all the local food!

Try the street vendors.
Street vendors are awesome in Asia!
Pick a stall where lots of people are eating at and just order something.

Asia has great, cheap food, available all 24 hours.

Ahhh, cant wait to go back.

In Thailand I eat uncooked vegies often and absolutely love raw shrimp. Is it risky? Possibly. Is it local style? Yup. Have I gotten sick? Nope.

That is not to say there aren't risks involved, nor that I would eat those particular things anywhere. As jiejie mentioned, actually seeing your food being cooked goes a long way to determining the hygienic conditions and the safety of your food.

In Cambodia I steer clear of the street foods (as do my local friends).

Several years ago I took my parents around Laos and Thailand constantly eating local foods and favoring street side tables for meals. Toward the end of their trip, staying at the Shangri La in BKK, they are at the chinese restaurant (the name eludes me right now) and both were incapacitated the next day.

My take on the above episode is, as jimbo99 states, the locals working at these hotels/restaurants might feel reticent to say something about borderline foods or simply not being aware of the quality. Also, a tourist becoming sick will soon depart regardless. A local's place serving poor quality food will soon go out of business.

Sorry to break it to you, but just because you are (over)paying for places with a Hyatt logo on it, it doesnt mean that you are any less likely to catch a food bug that you would staying at local hotels - or eating at local restaurants.

I've gotten sick from eating at western chain hotels, and eating off the street, I've also lived thru street food.... sometimes its just luck no matter how many precautions one takes.

If it really worries you, maybe perhaps take Dukoral before you leave. I didnt get sick once in Africa after taking it, but India was a different story :D

I eat at local eateries every day in Bali, Have done for the last year and never had any problems.

Look for the places that are crowded with locals and you can generally rest assured that if they are eating it, it should be ok.

In the past, I've had more problems from eating western food in places where they do not understand the preparation standards or hygiene standards for these foods.

It does not hurt to try and look into the kitchen and suss the general hygiene levels of the restaurant itself

If it really worries you, maybe perhaps take Dukoral before you leave. I didnt get sick once in Africa after taking it, but India was a different story :D

Dukoral is an oral vaccine specifically for cholera. It is not very effective for protection against other gastro bugs, and then only for a limited number of people. Though there seems to be a psychological belief that this is so by some who take it as a prophylactic. Most gastroenterologists wouldn't endorse this use. AFAIK Dukoral is still not available in the USA.

I suggest that unless you need a cholera vaccine (refugee work, epidemic outbreak), that you not bother. Far better to practice hand washing, avoidance of raw foods and dodgy foods to extent possible, and perhaps carry some emergency doses of something like ciprofloxacin (enough to do a course should you get fairly ill). For mild upsets and diarrhea lasting a day or so, often nothing is necessary except eat bland, safe hot-cooked foods like rice, get plenty of clean water, and no aggravants like caffeine or alcohol. Just know when to get medical help--especially if you get dehydrated or in children whose electrolyte balance can go downhill very rapidly.

Dukoral is an oral vaccine specifically for cholera. It is not very effective for protection against other gastro bugs, and then only for a limited number of people. Though there seems to be a psychological belief that this is so by some who take it as a prophylactic. Most gastroenterologists wouldn't endorse this use. AFAIK Dukoral is still not available in the USA. .

I by no means endorse its use - nor am I a doctor - but at zero cost (in Canada) - I couldnt say no.