Continuing my sojourn in Saigon, and having spent the first week (see this report) in a three-star serviced apartment ($70 a night, if you must know) I then treated myself to what was supposed to be my last three nights in the four-star, twice as pricey, Silverland Ben Thanh hotel.
Then, not quite getting my work done, I extended my stay with a few nights in the two-star La Paix hotel, half a block from the Opera House. The changes of scene led to a change of cuisine too, with some unexpected pleasures … and maybe one disappointment.
Breakfast, Silverland Ben Thanh
I tend to avoid hotel breakfasts, recalling the views of the late Anthony Bourdain on breakfast buffets, that you should think what the kitchen has done to the food so it can sit in bain maries for a long time, then think of what the other guest have done since it was put there.
However one of the hotel hosts, Jennifer, insisted I should try theirs. It was OK, and Vietnamese hotel breakfasts can be good as you often get a mixture of American, French and local food. Then I was presented with the a la carte menu (included in the price) which a had a breakfast tortilla and a vegetarian pho.
I couldn’t decide between two of my favourite brekkies, so I ordered both. Delicious! However, having already braved the buffet, I was so full I had to go back to the room for a lie down.
By the way, the Silverland (like its big sister hotel, the fabulously quirky Myst Dong Khoi) provides a free afternoon tea from 2pm, featuring cakes and pastries, nibbles and freshly baked waffles while you are serenaded by musicians playing traditional instruments (although not always traditional tunes).
Indian Vegetarian, Gujarat restaurant, Le Loi
Venturing out from the Silverland on my first evening there, I strolled past the Gujarat Indian restaurant on Le Loi, the broad boulevard from Ben Thanh market to the Opera House. Then I turned around and went in.
This was the real deal, on both counts: the restaurant was packed with Indian families and the menu had not a shred of meat or fish on it. There are a few Indian restaurants in Saigon, hardly surprising when you realise that the sub-continent provides one of the fastest growing cohorts of tourists to Vietnam.
Thius was better than I expected. A vegetable curry, dahl, roti and a mango lassi hit the spot nicely.
Poached egg on smashed avocado, L’Usine, Le Thanh Ton
I hadn’t realised this was part of a chain until I got home but it turns out there is a much bigger L’Usine in the Saigon Centre mall, and others elsewhere. I used to pass this one every day the last time I stayed in Saigon (across the road in the Sunny Serviced Apartments) but never went in.
It is very smart and trendy looking and the food is good and the coffee very drinkable. For a taste of home, I had the smashed avo with eggs which came with peas and pomegranate seeds in the smash.
It was okay but the weird thing was a young guy who walked in with his phone on a selfie stick, talking loudly to someone elsewhere, while filming the place. Even stranger, the staff appeared not to notice. Personally, if it had been my café, I would have selfied him back out the door … but maybe that’s just me.
Japanese Fish, Kushi Katsu Ebisu Shoten, Thai Van Lung
There is an area about half a kilometre from Saigon city centre called, variously, Little Tokyo, Little Japan or Japan Town. It is a maze of streets that is a hub for Japanese restaurants, “hostess” bars and happy ending massage parlours (or so I am told).
I ate in one of the restaurants there but they seem to be very specific and authentically Japanese so unless you speak the lingo, you may not know exactly what you are getting until it arrives.
My second outing, I didn’t get as far as Little Tokyo itself but stopped off at Kushi Katsu Ebisu Shoten on the corner of Thai Van Lung and Le Thanh Ton. The Dot magazine describes it as “like a joyful Japanese fairground has come to town.”
These places are popular with Japanese tourists as well as locals who want a quick bite and a few beers after work. This one, says the Dot, serves Osaka-style kushikatsu skewers – breaded and deep-fried with a dipping sauce – raw oysters in a ponzu sauce, eel and cucumber in a vinegar sauce, and clams steamed in sake.
The interior is a relaxed jumble of makeshift tables. I had grilled fish, prawn tempura, miso soup, rice and a beer for the princely sum of about $15. Gotta love this city.
Eggs in Hell, the Running Bean
I was looking for a different vegetarian brekkie and I found this place just a few blocks from my last hotel, the La Paix on Hai Ba Trung ($50 a night for a huge room). I was expecting a ferociously spicy variation on shakshuka. It turns out “hell” is food that has been blanded down for British and American palates.
On the other hand, I missed being hit by a hurtling scooter by the width of my lapels, so maybe I was closer to ending up in Hell than I imagined.
Banh Mi 74, 74 Hai Ba Trung
Just up Hai Ba Trung, past the rear end of the Opera House, there’s a restaurant that I’ve been dragged to as both guest and host of tours to Vietnam. It’s call Hoa Tuc and it’s in a building that used to be an opium refinery. It’s a classy joint – too classy for this trip – but out in the courtyard there’s a food truck serving Bahn Mi and not much else.
On three different days I had at least two made with omelettes and one with deep-fried fish balls. It looks a bit touristy but local office workers stop in so it must have something going for it. It’s a nice spot just a few steps off the main drag, and the banh mi and iced coffee make it well worth the detour.
Fish and chau dau den, Song Saigon Home Cuisine
In my fruitless search for something to replace the chilli snapper from the Ben Thanh night market, I was always looking for a good fish restaurant. Jennifer from Silverland Ben Thanh said she’d take me to one after work which sounded great.
There were two things I didn’t realise when I said yes. One, it would require a hair-raising 30-minute ride on the back of her scooter through rush-hour traffic. And secondly, the restaurant was run by her sister.
That said, this was fantastic. It’s in a converted mansion at 212 Nguyen Van Hong, District 6 and a lovely quiet location for my last meal in Saigon (for now).
The fish was great (“song” means river in Vietnamese) and Jeniffer insisted on preparing a dessert of black beans and coconut milk over crushed ice called chau dau den in Vietnam, although everywhere from Thailand to Kenya and beyond claims the dish is theirs.
As for getting there, I don’t think Jennifer fully realise what having an 85kg Scot on the back of her scooter would mean until we hit swarming traffic heading for the tunnel under the river. We made it but I took a Grab (the local equivalent of Uber) back to the hotel
