Thai Food Express in Viet Nam

Thai Express is a new fast food chain in Viet Nam. It's new for us but it's been popular for a long time in a few different countries. It can be called fast food but I think it's more gourmet as it is very tasty and not really expensive.

I tried Thai Express the first time with my friend in Saigon and last week in Hanoi. I was impressed by how busy they were already, by the good food they served and by the helpful staff. The only thing I wouldn't recommend is the coffee which was not the best but the other drinks were fine. They made very nice salads, stick noodles with seafood in Tom Yum soup, Thailand's pineapple rice fried with seafood and quite a few other Thai specialties.

This is a great place for a quick lunch if you don't have lots of time. For those who are vegetarian it's also a good place to pick. It's an air-conditioned restaurant which is vital for the hot summer weather Hanoi has at the moment. If you are in Hanoi, Thai Express is located right at the top end of Hoan Kiem Lake with a view over the lake. In Ho Chi Minh City, they are pretty centrally located in District 3 but have no view. You'll just have to make do with a great smile from the staff.

Nhà hàng ThaiExpress
Địa chỉ: Số 7 Đinh Tiên Hoàng, Hà Nội
Số điện thoại: 04 62 822 822
Website: http://www.thaiexpress.vn/

Coriander Restaurant

Do you like Thai restaurants? It's a bit hard to decide which Thai restaurant to go to in Ho Chi Minh as there are so many to choose from. My friends told me about the Coriander Restaurant in the back packer area in Bui Vien street. This is a small and simple restaurant like others in this area. When choosing where to sit, there are three options that you can choose: the second floor, the first floor or the back room. I love the back room because it's very simple, traditional seating on floor cushions and nice Thai paintings on the walls.

The menu highlight was Pad Thai, great Thai green papaya salad and you cannot miss the Thai green chicken curry. Take care though, as I was nearly crying when I finished the curry because I forgot to tell the waitress to make it mild.

Beside the Thai menu items, they also have some other Vietnamese and Western dishes and imported Thai drinks. The food is presented carefully and really tasty with big serves and quite cheap compared to other Thai restaurants in town that I've been to. I recommend this one!

Coriander restaurant
185 Bui Vien, District 1
Telephone 84.8.8371311
Mobile: 0909304814
Ho Chi Minh City

Saigon Dec 2007 - Part I

I always wake up a bit late on my holidays and it's no different today as I woke up at 11 Am. After a few minutes washing up, I started my day with a bowl of Saigon hu tieu. There's nothing better than that and a beautiful sunny day. I wandered around for a few hours before stopping at Sasa Cafe in Bui Vien Street for lunch.Walking the whole morning is hard work. The food isn't bad here with the high light being the spanish fried rice with chicken, seafood, sausage and vegetable, fresh spring rolls and cold beer. What I always notice in Saigon is the friendly service, which is one of the differences between the north and the south. In Hanoi, sometimes the service in restaurants can be not very welcoming.

Later in the day, my sister and her friends invited me to Hoang Ty restaurant for dinner. This is my favorite place in Saigon which serves great steamed fish and deep fried fish with lots of different vegetables and herbs, rolled in special Trang Bang rice paper. We ordered these dishes plus Cu Chi beef which was recommended because it was very tender like western beef. We also ordered boiled pork, crab and prawn noodle and pig feet noodles. It was enough food for a whole army and we couldn't actually finish it all.

After dinner, we headed off to play tennis and we were all too full to play and not surprisingly, we couldn't move well to hit the ball!

To be continued.

Mua Rung Restaurant

Don't get confused between Mua Rung restaurant and Mua Rung Discoque. This is a real famous restaurant for southern Vietnamese dishes. When the locals talk about Mua Rung, they always mention Ca Keo hot pot which is the most popular dish at this place. I love this hot pot, too.

This restaurant is huge but it's busy all the time according to my sister. On the day of my visit earlier this year, it was packed. There is nothing special about the decoration and the set up but the friendly staff, great food and reasonable prices make it so popular. You can choose to sit on the first floor, second floor or on the third floor where they all have big fans spraying out a fine mist to cool the temperature down.

The ca keo hotpot contains Ca Keo fish, sour broth(canh chua) include dry onion, morning glory, Keo Neo vegetable, Dang vegetable, lots of herbs, bean shoots, lotus, celeri, water spinach, criander, banana, and other vegetables that I don't know how to translate(Bach Tang, Giang leaves, Keo Neo and a very special vegetable called Nhut which is only available in the south). They use pork bones cooked for a long time to make a natural sweet stock then add some Thai sate stuff and their own special Mua Rung ingredients to make a really yummy sweet and sour stock.

Beside the hotpot, they also serve a variety of Vietnamese food but for me, the highlights are the chicken feet salad, grilled Ca Keo fish, and grilled small river shrimps or sauted beef with onion and green pepper.

Check them out at Mua Rung restaurant
4 Su Thien Chieu
Ward 7 District 3
Tel: (84-8) 9307064 - 9307036
Ho Chi Minh city

Nam Giao Restaurant

Going to Saigon to eat Hue food is a bit weird for but I love Hue food and Nam Giao Restaurant is my favorite place to eat traditional Hue cuisine. I took my mother and my nephew there. We ordered quite a few different dishes which in the end added up to only 135,000Vnd, such a cheap place.

The restaurant is located in a small alley which is really busy especially both at lunch and dinner. The soups like bun bo Hue and cakes like banh khoai are amongst the most popular. If you're in Ho Chi Minh, it's worth stopping here for a cheap meal.

Nam Giao Restaurant
136/15 Le Thanh Ton District 1
26/B13+14 Su Van Hanh District 10
Telephone: 08. 8250261 / 8621203

Alibaba - Indian Restaurant

This Indian restaurant in Saigon has a special name and I like it. It's a small restaurant with a good chef, great food but the service is not really what I expected. They didn't explain what each dish was when it arrived at the table and, it seems that smiling is a very difficult thing to do here :) However, the owner is a friendly Indian guy. I reckon that they need to ask the staff to change their attitude or they will lose their customers.

I really can't remmeber what I ordered except for plain nan and garlic nan, some curries and tandoor dishes. I enjoyed my food and watching Indian music videos with beautiful Indian singers on a big screen. It was a bit like Bollywood. We need one good Indian restaurant like this place in Hanoi.

Alibaba Restaurant
60 Le Thanh Ton - Dist 1
Ho Chi Minh City
Tel:P 84.8.823 3594
Email:alibaba@hcm.vnn.vn

Dzoan Cam Van

Cam Van is a well known name for most Vietnamese who work in hospitality because she has her own cooking show on TV and I decided to go to her place to try it when I was down south a while back.

As I expected, the food was delicious and well presented, the staff were really friendly and helpful. I tried quite a few different starters and I was really impressed about the flavours in the food. I also tried the most popular dish, the hot pot with seafood and beef, which was the highlight. Doan restaurant serves generous portions that are enough for at least two people and it's not expensive at all.

You can choose to sit inside with airconditioning or outside in the garden or at the back of the restaurant with fans, overlooking the foutain.

Check out at: 438 Vo Van Tan, District 5, Q3
Ho Chi Minh City
Tel : 84.8. 39291949/59
Email:dzoan53@yahoo.com.vn

Bach Dang Ice Cream

I'd heard heaps about Bach Dang ice cream before but this was the first time I tried it. I don't really know how many branches of Bach Dang ice cream are in Saigon but I think the ice cream at the shop I ate at was really good.

I chose my favorite, coconut ice-cream in a coconut with dragon fruit, grapes, some sweets and some chocolate ice cream. Yum, I always loved this kind when I was a young boy in Nha Trang where the ice-cream is the best but I have to admit Bach Dang ice cream is of the same quality.

There are lots of different kinds of ice cream and juices which are available here and it's not very expensive. They also decorate the cream with many shapes like hearts, flowers, baby faces ... and fruit decorations as well. This is a good place worth coming to for a cool down with friends, where the second floor is air conditioned and the ground floor has water fans.

Bach Dang Ice Cream
28 Le Loi Street
District 1
Ho Chi Minh City

Lac Thai Restaurant

I am not much of a Thai food fan, but my friends took me to an amazing Thai restaurant which is in a small alley in Saigon. The restaurant is not big but it is very nicely decorated. We sat on the top floor which meant I had to force my lazy feet up to the third floor on a small metal staircase. It was a big surprise, a small area with low tables and so laid back like Japanese style.

I am not a fish fan either but I did love their cat fish salad, the fried shrimp patties also. The dish I can't forget is the Thai style soup with beancurd. It was simple and delicious. The pineapple fried rice was impressive looking, served nicely in a pineapple.

Lac Thai is not a really pricey place. It deserves its small following and perhaps the owner needs to spend some income on advertising to attract more customers. Highly recommended.

Here is the address: 71/2 Mac Thi Buoi - Ben Nghe - Dist 1
Ho Chi Minh City
Tel: 84.8.823 7506

Fish Rolls, Hoang Ty Restaurant

My sister and her friends took me to this place and I was confused about the name because on the sign it said Trang Bang and I don't know what Trang Bang actually is. At this very busy local restaurant they serve a variety of food but by the way people were ordering, I reckon steamed snake head fish rolled in rice paper with over 10 different veggies is the most popular dish here. They also serve a special long round noodle with pork or pigs feet or normal noodles with Thac Lac fish.

The food was good but as usual with local restaurants the atmosphere was really noisy. I think it was worse than usual because it was June 1st, which is Childrens' Day in Vietnam. Lots of screaming kids running around.

At the finish of our meal, we only paid 270.000Vnd for six people, which included a few beers, soft drinks and dessert. I thought they had made a mistake but it was right. Another good thing about popular local food shops like this is that you don't need to make any reservations :)

Banh Canh Tan Hoang Ty
106 Cao Thang Dist 3
Ho Chi Minh City
Tel:84.8.8332077

Viet Nam House

Viet Nam House is a very nice restaurant located in the most expensive location in Saigon, Dong Khoi Street. But you will be surprised because the food is excellent it's not expensive at all.

Live traditional music is on almost every night,which creates quite a nice atmosphere. The staff are great. I love to see people smiling when they work.

While looking at the menu, I got recommendations from the staff and they were all good. the Papaya salad with pork and prawns was a great starter, fresh and tangy. The Grilled beef in La Lot leaves and stir fried mixed vegetables with tofu and mushrooms were also knowledgeable choices for my main course. I think the fish in clay pot had an amazing rich sauce but the fish was a bit over cooked.

Viet Nam House
93-95Dong Khoi Street
Tel:(84).8.829.16231
Ho Chi Minh City

Renaissance Riverside Saigon Hotel

Eating in hotels can be a bit boring because there are so many which serve acceptable food in a very formal atmosphere. The Riverside Cafe in Saigon where I went recently with my friends is great, quite expensive compared to other places but worth the money. There are lots of options to choose: salads, main courses and desserts are available from the international buffet. A soft drink and water are included.

Sit on a comfortable chair in the non-smoking area to make your meal more enjoyable. Plates are changed after each serving which is good and the staff are friendly, beautifully attired and well trained.

I also went to an amazing bar on the 5th floor called the Atrium Lounge. I ordered the best Mojito ever at this bar and was really pleased with the very relaxing music. It was a nice surprise. It’s not as expensive as I thought either, and all long drinks and cocktails start from $6. For a special occasion or a drink before a meal, I recommend this place. Remember, it's on the 5th floor.

Check these places out at: Renaissance Riverside Saigon Hotel
8-15 Ton Duc Thang Street
Tel:(84)8.822 0033
Ho Chi Minh City

Open Mouth

I have eaten in many different restaurants in Viet Nam, from local to high class restaurants just for the very simple reason, to find out about the food and for my blog. I realized that there are differences between Hanoi, where I am living now, and the south. In a high class restaurant in Ho Chi Minh City, it’s more expensive than in Hanoi, even though the food is about the same quality. Maybe we are paying more for better service? Another difference is that in Ho Chi Minh City they charge a 5% service charge in most restaurants, which is not very popular in Ha Noi, except in 5 star hotels.

I love to try all styles and I love to eat food all around Viet Nam. The only things that I really care about are service and staff behavior. The hygiene is not really a problem for me - I'm probably immune! - but I'm fond of clean places, on the street or wherever, and a comfortable seat. In Hanoi, I usually eat out at small places and most of them are stalls on the streets and in markets where you get the best food for not much money.

Restaurant 19

Restaurant 19 is just another restaurant that I ate at in Saigon, a local restaurant serving Vietnamese food at a good price and very busy with mainly foreigners.

The highlights at this restaurant, recommended by the staff, was the chicken with chili and lemongrass, the fish curry and the mango salad with beef. At half the price of other restaurants in the same area but with the same quality, restaurant 19 is a pretty good choice. The only thing this place needs is comfortable chairs and tables which might improve the appearance and attract more people.

If you ever come to Ho Chi Minh City, check this restaurant out for good food and good service.
Restaurant 19
19 Ngo Duc Ke Street - District 1
Ho Chi Minh City

Nam Phan Restaurant

This well-known restaurant has a beautiful garden and lovely decor at the entrance and inside. Nam Phan is a special place.

The old French building is covered with lots of green plants and surrounded with tables which are set up along the side. It's an impressive first sight. The inside decor is very simple with lots of beautiful old hand made shirts and big wall hangings on the walls.

Nam Phan is a cool, airy space with good food and excellent service, even though their serves aren’t as big as other places. The presentation of the food could have been better, too, especially considering it's a pricey place.

Nam Phan Restaurant
64 Le Thanh Ton - District 1
Tel: 84.8. 829 2757
Fax: 84.8.825 7495
Email: nam-phan@hcm.vnn.vn

Lemongrass Restaurant

Located in the very expensive Dong Khoi-district 1 where a lot of high class hotels, restaurants and expensive shops are situated is Lemongrass Restaurant.

It's a very simple menu but the food is tasty and of course very pricey. The staff is one of the reasons which make people come here. They always have a smile on their faces and are really helpful with good recommendations if you don't know what to choose..

Lemongrass Restaurant
4 Nguyen Thiep – District 1
Ho Chi Minh City
Tel: 84.8. 822 0496