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Tips 1 - 10 of 10 Ho Chi Minh City Restaurants
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Zenta: Gathering And Lingering
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Tip Rating:  Satisfaction: 
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Restaurant Name: Zenta
There is a restaurant in Saigon where one can have the authentic vermicelli dishes from Hà Nội. That place is Zenta.
The Northern Vietnamese cuisine is not something to be messed with because it demands the correct ingredients and a precise taste. There is no such thing as substitution when one is in the kitchen of a northerner. Thus, as hard as many restaurants in Saigon have tried to imitate the northern cuisine over the last 50 years, and sometimes even came close to success, there is a known fact throughout the country: the northern cuisine has to be cooked by a northern born chef.
Vermicelli dishes are some of the simplest to cook but also most difficult to cook correctly, only a northerner can produce these dishes with authenticity. I suspect Zenta's kitchen and chefs are staffed by the best Northern Vietnamese mothers who take great care in turn out nothing but the best.
If the food is what draws people to Zenta, the atmosphere is what keeps them there. As most establishments in Saigon, Zenta is very well staffed and everyone in their courteous personnel is always busy taking care of customers. The spacious dining areas are always filled with locals who often spill out onto the airy outdoor seating. On weekends, tables near the walls are occupied by regulars who park themselves in front of their laptops, taking advantage of the free WiFi.
Together with the authenticity of food and the quality of service, hygiene is placed high on the restaurant’s priority. The bathrooms are sparkly clean and fresh at all time. Once when I decided not to use a certain bathroom stall, the worried attendant asked me if there was something that did not meet my expectation. Now, that's service.
Favorite Dish: Zenta's best dishes are miến xào cua (stir-fried vermicelli with crabmeat), miến gà (vermicelli with chicken), bánh đa cua (rice wafers with crabmeat), bún mọc (vermicelli with meatball).
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Theme: Local
Comparison: about average
Prices: less than US$10
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Phone: (08) 822 4611
Address: 41 Mạc Đĩnh Chi, Q.1, Saigon
Other Contact: info@zenta.com.vn
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Maxim's Nam An: Fussy Service
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Tip Rating: Satisfaction: 
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Restaurant Name: Maxim's Nam An
There were eight of us that night and my niece announced we were going to an expensive restaurant. "No sitting on the stools at sidewalk dumps tonight," she said. Sidewalk dumps? That's what Saigon is famous for, and that's where the food is the best! However, since she was the hostess, I guessed she had the right to choose the restaurant.
We dined at Maxim's Nam An, an elegant restaurant, a place to impress.
We had our own small dining room instead of sharing the large dining area with others patrons. We had our own servers -- one for each side of the table -- whose job was to make sure we did not have to reach for anything on the large table, or fill our plate and bowl, or even think about the food. They were there watching, anticipating, and serving. It was nice for the first fifteen minutes, then it became fussy, then it became a bit invasive for my taste. I felt uncomfortable. I was not a child. I had good table manners. I could handle the serving spoon to extract food onto my plate. I had done that many times before and never with mishap, thank you very much. But no, they were much faster and they politely took the spoon before I was able to grab it, "Please let me serve you," they murmured politely.
It went on like that throughout the dinner like a game of musical chair -- they were the master players, I the novice. At one point, when I looked up and saw them looking back at me in an uncertain way, I had a sudden fear they wanted to spoon-feed me. The thought made me shudder.
Favorite Dish: Food was beautifully decorated but not excellent in taste. Price reflects the service if not the food. The wine menu was small but good.
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Theme: Local
Comparison: most expensive
Prices: US$11-20
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Phone: +84 (8) 829 6676
Address: 13 Ðồng Khởi (Rue Catinat)
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72 Hoàng Văn Thụ: Bánh Cuốn
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Tip Rating: Satisfaction:
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Restaurant Name: 72 Hoàng Văn Thụ
Bánh cuốn (rice flour steamed rolls) is one of the many symbols of northern Vietnamese cuisine. There are two versions of the dish; all are made with very thin and transparent steamed rice flour crêpes.
The regular bánh cuốn is filled with mince pork, onion and mushrooms, then served with julienne cucumber, sliced chả lụa (pork loaf), blanched bean sprouts, fried shallots, and chopped mint. Diluted nước chấm (fish sauce) is used to dip or pour on top of this delicious combination.
Bánh cuốn Thanh Trì is the version without filling, without julienne cucumber and without blanched bean sprouts. Because of the lack of add-ons, the crêpes have to be very thin and very fine in texture. In addition, nước chấm has to be perfectly mixed so not to overwhelm the delicate crêpes.
In Saigon, although bánh cuốn are sold in many restaurants and street corners, not many of them are authentic and only a handful is worth trying. One of the few places that deserve a visit is a restaurant in Phú Nhuận District, although you will never find this place mentioned in any travel guide.
72 Hoàng Văn Thụ is the name of the restaurant simply because that is its address. The restaurant is family owned and operated; everyone who works on the premise is related to one another. Bánh cuốn was the only thing you could find in this restaurant in the beginning, but since the last few years, the southern born members in the family have added their specialties onto the menu and now you can order hủ tiếu (pork noodle soup) and canh giò heo (noodle soup with pork leg) as well. However, I would not bother with the southern dishes if I were you. Bánh cuốn is what they do well here so just come in, sit down, and gesture toward the steamer if you do not know how to order. Before you know it, you will be among the locals who know where to find the best food in a city that is overflowed with good food.
Favorite Dish: Bánh cuốn nhân thịt, the signature dish.
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Theme: Local
Comparison: about average
Prices: less than US$10
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Address: 72 Hoàng Văn Thụ, Phú Nhuận
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Cơm Tấm Kiều Giang: Breakfast, Lunch, Or Dinner
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Tip Rating: Satisfaction:
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Restaurant Name: Cơm Tấm Kiều Giang
Cơm Tấm Kiều Giang is a well-known restaurant in Saigon. There are two locations, one by Saigon Bridge and the other by the driving range Rạch Chiếc at Rạch Chiếc Bridge in District 2.
The two locations are very close to one another. At either location, there is no fault to be found on the food, the service, or the price. If you cannot understand the dishes by reading the menu, just step up to the display case and point.
Favorite Dish: The menu is large and everything is excellent, but cơm tấm (broken rice) is the specialty and there are many versions of this dish, all are worth trying.
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Theme: Local
Comparison: about average
Prices: less than US$10
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Phone: First location: 899 21 20
Directions: From the city, head toward Saigon Bridge, as soon as you pass the bridge, the first location is on the right side of the street. Continue a bit further and the second location is on the same side just before you go over Rạch Chiếc Bridge.
Other Contact: Second location: 731 09 09
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Windows Café: Romantic Setting
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Tip Rating: Satisfaction:
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Restaurant Name: Windows Café
Windows Café looks best at night when all the lights are lit, and through the foliage, shed little pools of illumination just enough to make your face glow and your companion more attractive. The fact that you cannot read the menu to order the drink is not a huge problem here, after all, who needs to read the menu in a café, right?
If you are at Windows on a date, stay and enjoy the romantic setting. If you are with a group of animate friends, you may find the atmosphere a bit too distracting for a lively conversation. If you are alone and want to watch young people idle the evening away because they have no particular place to go, then this is a good place to be. However, the price of the drinks here is higher than in other café and I cannot find a justifiable reason for that practice.
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Theme: Coffeehouse
Comparison: more expensive than average
Prices: less than US$10
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Address: 43 Nguyễn Ðình Chiểu, District 1
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Quán Cấm Chỉ: The Northern Flavour
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Tip Rating: Satisfaction:
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Restaurant Name: Quán Cấm Chỉ
You will not find this restaurant mentioned in any travel guide because there is nothing spectacular about the place. It is a restaurant with sidewalk tables just like hundreds of restaurants with sidewalk tables in the city. However, if you were a northern born Vietnamese who lives in Saigon, or if you were a southern born who loves northern cuisine, you will mark this one your favourite eatery. In fact, many Saigonites do, and the restaurant had collected enough fans to make it one of the top small restaurants in the city. The fame would be long lived if fate had not intervened and a murder occured on the restaurant sidewalk one night some years back ... Anyway, that's another story altogether.
On the banner, Cấm Chỉ (Forbidden) restaurant states that this is where all northern flavours come together. That is not an exaggerated statement. Everything you order here is authentically cooked and served the northern way, and not one dish disappointed me. It would be best to come here with a local if you are not certain on the food terms, but if you cannot find anyone to invite to dinner, just ask the staff to help with the order.
Favorite Dish: Miến gà (vermicelli with chicken) and cháo lòng (congee with innard) are among the best dishes here, but anything you order will be just as good.
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Theme: Local
Comparison: about average
Prices: less than US$10
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Address: Hải Triều, Chợ Cũ, D.1
Directions: Hải Triều is the one way street that connects Nguyễn Huệ and Hàm Nghi, the best nocturnal restaurant quarter in Saigon.
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15 Nguyễn Trung Trực: Exceptional Xôi Gà
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Tip Rating: Satisfaction:
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Restaurant Name: 15 Nguyễn Trung Trực
Sidewalk eateries in Saigon are not created equal and almost all local residents know where to go and what to order.
Being northern born Vietnamese (and southern born children in northern born families), we tend to flavor the places where authentic northern cuisine are offered, only because in Saigon, it is more difficult to find them than the dime-a-dozen southern eateries. As if that is not discriminating enough, my relatives only order a certain dish from a certain eatery even though there are more or less the same items in every place. My nieces draw a plan each time we head out to eat to make sure we all have the best dishes in the best eateries for the least amount of time spending in traffic.
For xôi (sweet rice), we eat at 15 Nguyễn Trung Trực in Bến Thành Ward, District 1. This is another restaurant you will not find mentioned in any travel guide, but it is known widely among the discriminating food lovers in Saigon. It is a no name restaurant so the address painted on the awning is the assumed name we gave to the place. This is where one comes to eat all versions of xôi, a simple dish that is easy to cook but not easy to cook well.
In addition to xôi, the restaurant offers 50 other dishes that are affectionatedly called "women food" in Vietnamese language. The term refers to bún riêu (rice noodle crab soup), bì cuốn (shredded pork spring rolls), gỏi khô bò (beef jerky salad), bò bía (summer rolls), bánh canh cua (thick noodle crab soup), bún mắm (rice noodle pickled fish soup), etc., all believed to be loved by more women than men. Most of the dishes are very good and some are excellent.
Favorite Dish: Xôi gà (sweet rice with chicken) or xôi lạp xưởng (sweet rice with Chinese sausage). This place does xôi gà exceptionally well; the rice is cooked in the lightest of broth to bring out the fragrance and on a coal stove to make sure the grains are tender without sticking together as most sweet rice do. The result is a delicious smell and taste that immediately make your mouth water and your stomach growl.
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Theme: Local
Comparison: about average
Prices: less than US$10
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Address: 15 Nguyễn Trung Trực, Dist. 1
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Phở 24: Can Chain Restaurants Be Good Restaurants?
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Tip Rating: Satisfaction:
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Restaurant Name: Phở 24
Phở 24 is the largest chain restaurant in Vietnam; there are over 30 locations throughout the country, with the majority of stores in Saigon and Ha Noi. As expected in chain restaurants, every location sports a uniform look and quality. The restaurant is clean and bright, employees wear gloves during food preparation, hygiene standard is high -- except at the location in Hue where I saw an employee stirred the fruit juice for a customer with a spoon, tasted it, then repeated the process in all orders using the same spoon, giving his saliva to everyone who ordered juice that night.
Except that one particular case, I have nothing to complain about Phở 24. The food is fine although it is not exactly great. The same recipe and procedures are applied in all locations, thus all locations achieve a certain degree of quality uniformly, but as everything in uniform, there is no excellence and no character.
That is the problem. Phở is the dish that thrives in character. A bland phở is not a good phở, no matter how well or clean it is prepared.
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Theme: Local
Comparison: about average
Prices: less than US$10
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Directions: There are many locations, check the website for one near you.
Website: http://www.pho24.com.vn/index.php
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Quan An Ngon: Style, Not Substance
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Tip Rating: Satisfaction:
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Restaurant Name: Quán Ăn Ngon
Quán Ăn Ngon has two locations, one in Hà Nội and one in Saigon. We ate at the first one with Hiền and like it very much. Upon returning to Saigon, we went to the second location and felt flat with disappointment.
Both locations function under the same concept: food from all three regions are cooked and served on the same premise. Both locations sport more or less the same design: an open village market. Both locations employ the same type of staff: energetic young men and young women serving food, and capable older women in the food preparation area. However, that's where the equality ends.
Although the quality of the ingredients is the same, the authenticity and taste at Quán Ăn Ngon in Saigon are far below its counterpart in Ha Noi and I could not understand the reason. Between my grandniece, my sister, and me, we ordered eight dishes from all three regions, and not one of them lived up to my expectation.
I was not happy with the experience, although I did like the uniform worn by the food preparers in this location better than the one in Ha Noi.
Style or substance, must I chose one over the other? What’s wrong of having both? How difficult is it to cook well in Vietnam, a country where good food is placed as top priority in everyone's life?
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Theme: Local
Comparison: more expensive than average
Prices: less than US$10
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Phone: 8 829 9449
Address: 138 Nam Kỳ Khởi Nghĩa, Dist. 1
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Eating Phở The Purist Way
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Everyone knows that phở is the quintessential Vietnamese food, but not many people know that the correct way to eat phở is without being succumbed to add-ons.
The worst thing one can add to a bowl of phở is hoisin (black bean) sauce. The broth, which is the most important element of a bowl of phở, has to be cooked with the flavoured-rich cow bones for at least 10 hours before it is deemed fit to taste, and longer before it is ready to be served, that taste cannot be altered with sugar-laden Chinese hoisin sauce. To us Vietnamese who come from the northern region that gave birth to phở, putting hoisin sauce in phở is the same as covering a masterpiece oil painting with lacquer.
The second worst thing one can add to a bowl of phở is hot sauce. Phở is not supposed to be spicy or red. If burning your tongue with hot sauce is your idea of good food, then you should eat bún bò Huế instead. As I have explained above, you should never dilute a carefully cooked phở broth or alter its taste with any kind of sauce.
The third worst thing one can add to a bowl of phở is bean sprouts. Bean sprouts are the stuff that one eats with central and southern dishes such as hủ tiếu Mỹ Tho, bánh xèo Nam Vang, mì Quảng, etc. Bean sprouts do not enhance any dish except acting as filler, and phở does not need fillers, everyone knows so!
Favorite Dish: A true bowl of phở is eaten simply with a few cilantros, a few mints, a slice of lime and a couple freshly sliced ớt (chili pepper) if must. That's all. One has to be able to taste the clean but rich broth, the tender but with a slight pull in texture of the noodles, and the sweetness of the best cut of beef barely cooked in the broth, all of which cannot be masked, covered, or altered.
So, next time when you order a bowl of phở, eat it the way it is meant to be, the purist way, because phở takes the most important place in Vietnamese cuisine, a place that should not be crowded with a bunch of groupies like lame bean sprouts, pre-made Thai hot sauce, and sugary Chinese hoisin sauce!
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