Saigon Vietnamese Restaurant

[Somtamnication]

For years, I have been eating at the so called Vietnamese restaurant in Phuket Town. This place cannot compare to the real one in Chalong.

Last Saturday, my friend and I wanted Pizza, so we went to the Pizza joint at the Fisherman´s Way Plaza (100 meters from Tesco) in Chalong. CLOSED! This was at 7 pm.

Then we dropped by Delish. CLOSED! On a Saturday?

We glanced around and saw Saigon, next to Delish.

We went in expecting the usual Thai stuff.

Leatitia, the owner, greeted us with a smile. She suggested stuff of the menu (a small menu, thank God).

As the tamarind chicken came, we gobbled it up quickly. Then we ordered Vietnamese fried rice (more vegetables in it), shrimp tempura and then she said her ginger chicken is good.

Food came and went like it was going out of style.

She has all Vietnamese cooks, the food is not greasy at all (she boils the chicken to take off the fat prior to cooking) and the fried rice was excellent.

She has lived in France for 30 odd years so she speaks it fluently. How she treats her staff is a view to behold. Never seen a Thai boss hold a door open or help with dishes or wipe the floor like she did.

I have no financial interests in this place.

The menu is small and for a reason...QUALITY. The beef soup has Aussie beef and she has an excellent eye for detail. The interior is small yet very friendly. All furniture imported from Vietnam.

On a side note, she was raided by the cops asking for money...she presented them with all work permits for her staff. They left with a grimace on their faces. Good for her!!!

Try the place.

I went back yesterday for lunch and I can vouch for the consistency and quality of her restaurant.

Dishes are at about 100-150 baht per, the beef soup a little over 200 Baht.

This is the real stuff, try something different.

[steelepulse]

You should post this in the pinned "favourite restaurants" thread so it won't get buried in a few days. Sounds excellent.

[Somtamnication]

Good idea. Tks!

[napalm]

I tried the Saigon restaurant yesterday. We ordered 4 different dishes and we found all of them to be bland/tasteless. I will give it another try someday, but will not order the Pho soup or any type of spring rolls again.

[MrMakMak]

I have tried the restaurant because of this thread, very nice restaurant.

Pros:

You can actually park comfortably

You don't have to hear drunken male and bargirls from the bars next door

You don't have to deal with the average thai staff

Food taste GREAT, very viet with a little touch of french

Wine isnt overpriced

Owner is very nice and happy

Clean toilets

Clean restaurant and kitchen

Cons:

Have to hang around rawai/chalong

Candies are free, that's bad for anyone with a sweet tooth

You don't have to wait an eternity to get your food therefore you cant complain about lazy thais as in the average restaurant you would from what im reading in the 'recommand a restaurant' thread.

Think i might give it an other try again tonight, food was delicious.

[pagallim]

On the basis of the reviews in this thread, tried the place this evening. Service wasn't a problem as we were the only 2 people there, apart from a couple of guys having a drink, waiting for the proprietor's husband, who after he arrived, they promptly disappeared for a night out.

The staff speak English, French, and Vietnamese, very limited/to no Thai. Menu is very small, maybe 15 choices, with a couple of soups, and the remainder grilled meats with the options of making rolls out of wafer thin crepe like sheets. The fried rice was good. Overall, it wasn't terrible, but certainly wasn't good, and really not authentic Vietnamese (let alone with French influence) either.

Wine was something of a bargain. 90b a glass for a reasonable French red. Large glasses but (relatively) small measures should see them get 6 glasses a (70 cl) bottle. They'll be lucky to break even at that price.

For me, they need to do something like a 'blackboard' menu, with a couple of 'dish of the day' type things, freshly cooked. Otherwise, sadly, I think it's destined for the 'do you remember........' thread. Oh, they're closed Sunday lunchtimes also.

[pagallim]

I've been reflecting on my comments above, and whether they're really valid. On reflection, I believe they are. I think the biggest problem is possibly a lack of kitchen space, so essentially everything is prepared beforehand, and then reheated when ordered. This is reflected in the quick service times.

I think it's also important to reconcile that this is not an expensive restaurant, and the old adage of 'you get what you pay for' could never be more true. That said, I know of several establishments not very far from this particular restaurant, that offers good quality, and freshly prepared food for equivalent prices.