Sài Gòn Kitchen Vina

Great ambience with great food. We order two dishes and they served very quickly. To be specific, we ordered the Bun Bo Hue and Fried Rice with Salted Fish. Both were great. Staff were very attentive; overall a very pleasant experience.

The dishes served at this restaurant are very quintessentially Vietnamese, and have a home-cooked feel to it, which is what our simpleton family enjoys. We ordered the 4 types of spring rolls, a coconut palm salad, banh xeo and pork ribs cooked with lemongrass and chilli. Our family has been to Vietnam countless times, but genuinely, the portions were massive and we were served with the hugest portion of spring rolls we have ever seen. Staff were really nice and friendly, and went the extra mile to help us with ordering and even gave us tips on how best to consume the dishes.

I have to compliment the service here. First, when I asked which beer to choose, the waiter was honest, saying all the beers tasted the same to him. Second, when I requested to change tables, he recommended one directly under the A/C so it would be cooler. When I was about to use the wet towel, he whispered and gestured that it would be charged, and told me to use a dry tissue instead. He also patiently demonstrated how to eat the Banh Xeo. As for the Banh Xeo, it was my first time having it, and I liked it. I liked the fried pancake with slices of pork and plenty of bean sprouts, wrapped in a paper roll. Eating it with the chilli sauce also made it more flavourful. There was no need to make a reservation as the restaurant was quite empty when I was there.

We went here for a quick lunch. Since we live in nearby area of HcMC we knew already that the price is a bit high and touristy. We gave it a chance thinking that the serving might be bigger or good for sharing. We were a bit disappointed with the serving since it was just good for one person for the rice. Also, one dish approximate around 150-200k VND but the dishes can be shared for 2-4pax. To be fair, the serving was fast and the personnel were polite. They served first the rice, pork belly, and squid. The fried rice had really big Chunk of garlic which we were surprised but it taste good. Next is the pork belly, it was more on fat seared with bell pepper, I didn’t personally like since I felt like eating fatty pork with many oil. The squid we ordered is crispy fried squid with salt. The picture was a bit different with what they have served. However, it looks first like a cheese ring. The taste was somewhat with flavoring and not purely salt. It has something like a hint of cheese. It was good taste also but not something that you want to taste it again. Lastly we tried the soup (Lau) with hot and sour soup of fish. They were generous enough for the fish but a bit high price for common local Lau. Overall, we got full but not highly satisfied in terms of value for the money.

Overall, the taste of the dishes was ok. The restaurant offers a wide variety of options but a bit on the pricey considering the quality. The service crew was helpful but I have bitten on a few spots by midge black flies.