Sprout salad with garnish, a million miles from Saigon.
Vietnamese food is supposed to be fresh, delicate and well balanced.
The meal I ate in Saigon had none of these qualities.
In fact, none of the dishes, (bar the vegetable spring rolls), had any redeeming qualities at all.
The dim sum starters were half way between a Chinese steamed bun, a warm wet sock, and a thinly wrapped parcel of stodgy rice. Unappetising and visually off-putting.
The Saigon Wok Beef would have been sent into the nearby Saigon River had it been served up in Ho Chi Minh. It was served on one of those sizzling plates (very touristy), on a bed of lettuce (hot lettuce!!), and onions. The lumps of beef tasted of nothing.
The waitress tried her best, apologising for what she knew was second rate food.
I didn’t even bother sending it back, I just ordered a vegetable curry. I was hungry and I thought ‘How could you go wrong?”.
I was the one who went wrong. A watery bowl of curry was delivered, completely bland except for a blisteringly hot burning sensation given off by an overuse of curry flavours.
My partner had the Carmelized Pork. Disgusting, was the verdict. Lumps of sweetened pork in a sort of brothy gravy that lacked any sort of character.
The beer was lukewarm.
The waitress apologised. Thai, Japanese and Chinese were the culinary influences, she admitted. She was a good talker and tried to do her employer proud, explaining why each dish was they way it was.
We gave her the full tip, but I would have deducted 30% off the bill for the quality of the food coming out of the kitchen, if it were possible.
They should rename the restaurant; Pan Asian Mish-Mash of Mediocrity.
Saigon Vietnamese Restaurant
cnr Kloof and Camp
Gardens
021 424 7669
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Finally someone that agrees with me. My husband and I went there about a month ago and it was revolting. Our waitress was awful. She didn’t know the menu at all so we couldn’t even ask her questions about the food.
We eventually ordered and I had a dish that was meant to be spicy chicken with lemongrass. It tasted awful, not one hint of what the dish says it is. We called the waitress over and complained and instead of offering to get something else made, the manager came over and said that there was nothing wrong with the food and that is what Vietnamese food tastes like… So I said “Oh, is it meant to taste bland?”, Yes, was his response. Nice. I told him I wouldn’t eat it so he said he will put it in a takeaway box for me. I was furious.
No apologies and we were sent the full bill even though neither of us ate a thing.(my husband didn’t eat his meal either)
The service, food, management & prices are HORRENDOUS and I will never go there again.
Hi Paula,
There’s a touch of “Ah sure, they are only South African’s, we can serve them what we like” going on.
I see it in a surprising number of places.
You can’t fool all the people all the time, and as South African restaurant goers dining out experiences, travel experiences and general knowledge continues to build restaurants like Saigon will either have to change their tune or go out of business.
My favourite (or least favourite) slight on SAFFERS was a well known restaurateur who said to me (after I complained about overdone pasta) “That’s the way South African’s like it done”.
I know it’s tough, but people need to keep complaining and bringing bad food to the attention of restaurateurs.
I brought three friends from London there three months ago. It was like food in a Chinese, nothing like a Vietnam restaurant. Two of my friends have visited Vietnam and they were very disappointed.Everything tasted the same. The waitron did not even ask us why our plates were not finished.
On the few occasions I have been I have had amazing service and relatively good food.
So sad to hear that it has gone downhill.