naxos

Will be traveling with a group of students next week and am looking for good dinner suggestions.

We are set for Hanoi- always more choices than time to experience them in Hanoi, but am not sure about Saigon.

Y_me?

Ngon (138 Nam Ky Khoi Kghia) offers well-prepared dishes from many different regions, and it's cheap enough that some locals can afford to eat there. The mix is about 70% locals and 30% tourists.

Make a reservation: 08 825 7179.

mgmsteven

The Lemon Grass and the Mandarine are both great. They are expensive by Saigon standards but cheap compared to a comparable restaurant in the US. Mostly tourists but some locals.

naxos

Thanks- I will try to make some reservations.

Chapel Hill Guy

I'll second the Mandarine. Had a great duck dish there for lunch.

alex0683de

I really liked the Temple Club while I was there. A bit expensive by Vietnamese standards, but still far less than what you would pay in the Western world.

And the food was excellent!

Chapel Hill Guy

I was a bit disappointed with the Temple Club. The soup I had was good, but I ordered a soft shell crab dish that was inedible.

Sweet Willie

The Feb United Airline's mag Hemispheres had the following suggestions for Saigon / Ho Chi Minh City

Pho 2000 - www.pho2000.com.vn
Begin your day as the Vietnamese do with a bowl of pho (pronounced "fur") - a nutritious blend of rice noodles, tender strips of beef, and a fistful of herbs/vegetables all steaming in a mouth watering broth.

Com Ngon - 88 Nguyen Du, District 1, Tel: 84-8-827-7895
com Ngon means "delicious cafe", between 7-9pm be treated to a performance of traditional music. Great way to start is with goi du tom thit, green papaya salad w/prawns and strips of roast pork, supplemented with peanuts, crispy garlic, basil, coriander. ca tim mo hanh, grilled eggplant in spicy sauce.

Cafe Central - 18 An Duong Vuong, An Dong Plaza, District 5, 4th floor,
Tel: 84-8-833-6688
a spectacular buffet that presents more than 150 choices of Vietnamese, Japanese and international delicacies.

Au Manoir de Khai - 251 Dien Bien Phu, District 3, Tel: 84-8-930-3394
Set in an inspiring colonial mansion. Enjoy an apertif in the sumptuous downstairs bar or on the veranda before heading up the regal staircase to the dining room. Homemade pate of duck liver w/grapes and armagnac, grilled lamb tenderloin w/dijon mustard. For dessert, chocolate tart w/coconut ice cream and sauteed bananas.

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Chapel Hill Guy

And the January 2005 issue had a Three Perfect Days article on HCMC with a variety of restaurant suggestions: www.hemispheresmagazine.com.

Reading the article sparked my interest in going.

naxos

Thanks- arrived in Hanoi last night and already started the day with pho- I will report on the Saigon restaurants later in the week. Thanks for all the leg work.

Tod E Tosser

Any fresh suggestions on Saigon restaurants? I'm headed back and would like to try someplace new.

Sweet Willie

funny you should ask, I'm just doing some research for our Vietnam trip (Dec '06-Jan '07) and have both Fodor's and Frommer's in front of me.

Fodor's lists the following by cuisine:

Vietnamese:
Hoi An Restaurant, Lemongrass both get a star and are listed as somewhat pricey.

Other selections include: Vietnam House and Restaurant 13

for Vietnamese Street food cheap, it suggests Thi Sac Street where it borders Le Thanh Ton Street, lots of seafood after 5pm
Other cheap options included: Pho Hoa (260C Pasteur Street, district 3) is an open air noodle kitchen. Also Quan An Ngon an open air restaurant serves dishes from three regions of Vietnam, located at 138 Nam Ky Khoi Nghia Street, district 1)

French:
Le Caprice, Bi Bi, La Fourchette, Le Camargue are all listed with Le Camargue getting the star rating.

Chinese:
Ritz (333 Tran Hung Dao Street, District 1) and Dai Dong Restaurant (121-127 Nguyen Tri Phuong St, District 5)

Frommer's lists:
Vietnamese Cuisine:
Ngon (same as Quan An Ngon listed above) as a "find" and cheap. Restaurant 13 gets good marks as does Temple Club, Hoi An. A place called Mandarin (11A Ngo Van Dam, district 1) gets good marks for a Chinese place.

I'm hungry !

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unagi1

I will second Sweet Willie's suggestions of Lemongrass and Restaurant 13. Mrs. unagi1 and I went to SGN last November, and went to each a couple of times.

dtsm

138 Nam Ky Khoi Nghia
Quan Mot, TP
825-7179
email: [email protected]
District 1 location

If I didn't juggle my business cards incorrectly this is great local spot for vietnamese food. Used to be a villa for general back in 70's and converted to restaurant. All returning VKN stop here for lunch - very reasonable and the menu is so extensive (and in local language) - best to look around to see what you like and just point to get the same from the waiter

I make it a point to stop for lunch every time I visit.

PS- the one downside to eating in Vietnam is the inordinate amount of MSG used by everyone. They literally sell 50 and 100 kg bags of MSG at the big box stores like Metro! Probably why Vietnam has largest beer consumption per capita in region

jimbo99

Trouble with Saigon is that many of the newest and most fashionable places come and go so quickly. Think I agree with the comments so far.

For ice cream, I still like "kem goody" at 133 Hai Ba Trung (just beyond the intersection with Le Duan). Its been there donkey's years. Part of the same group that runs Ciao Cafe and Pho24.

A number of nice restaurants on Le Quy Don - just get a taxi there and walk along. See which places have crowds of VN around - though not so crowded you can't get in.

I'd put in a mention for Obrian's Factory (74A2 Hai Ba Trung - opposite the side of the Park Hyatt). An expatty hang-out. Great pizzas and a variety of other stuff too. Can be busy on English football nights... A good place to hook up with a local expat to get some ideas.

Should you be around after midnight, the centre pretty much closes down. You can always go to backpacker land in the Pham Ngu Lao/De Tham area. I ended up there this afternoon - first time in 4 years and there was some great food on offer. To avoid foreigners and get food after midnight, I like Muoi Tri. You leave the centre on Hai Ba Trung until it goes over the canal (and into Phu Nhuan district). Muoi Tri is immediately on the left just as you go over the bridge. A real mix of night workers, unsuccessful bar workers, nice seafood, etc. Inexpensive and at times entertaining. Perhaps for the more adventurous only.

Not sure I'd recommend Pho2000 (pho for the president!)... I feel its a bit of a tourist trap. My current favourite (went there this morning and it was as great as ever) is "Huong Binh" on Vo Thi Sau. It is pretty much opposite the end of Pham Ngoc Thach. No menus... its written on the wall. "ga" is chicken and "bo" is beef and away you go.

For non-vietnamese, Au Parc is nice on Han Thuyen. (The side road parallel to Le Duan, between Dong Khoi and Pasteur). Also the creperie a couple of doors away.

The Highlands coffeeshop chain is almost everywhere. Most of them do a decent tuna baguette and fries for a reasonable price in airconditioned comfort. Also some VN dishes. Some of them can be a bit smokey and noisy. I like sitting outside the one on Dong Khoi (junction of Le Thanh Ton) - same building as HSBC and a great view of the cathedral. They generally have free, decent, wireless LAN if that's what you need.

I'll try and get back with some more specifics in a few days.