La Petite Camille

We tried this Vietnamese resto at Greenbelt 5 sometime during the start of the month. We were looking for a new place to eat that was relatively healthy compared to the usual American fare that I've been hooking up with. So, we entered La Petite Camille, which had about only 3 table occupied.

The restaurant interiors were nice; but didn't necessarily remind me of Vietnam. Nevertheless, I liked the mismatched chairs, lamps, and the overall lighting inside the place.

Since we were looking for a light and healthy lunch, we just decided on Pad Thai and a Pomelo Salad. Sad to say, I can't remember much about the dishes; except that the Pomelo Salad is still better in Pho Hoa and the Pad Thai was generally acceptable. I wasn't even able to note down the prices! Although I think we found it a bit expensive given the serving and taste. 

Pad Thai

Pomelo Salad

Generally, it was a so-so experience, although I should've probably tried the regular Pho too, just to adequately compare taste authenticity to Pho 24 in Vietnam.

Zao Vietnamese

During a night out with a couple friend in Eastwood, we chanced upon this Vietnamese restaurant named Zao. Thoughts of Vietmam food immediately came to mind and I got excited for dinner :) My friend and I both ordered one of the supposed best-sellers, the Zao Noodle Bowl, Rob had Seafood Noodle Stir-Fry, and our other friend tried the Zao Pho.

The Zao Noodle Bowl is composed of dry noodles with fried spring rolls, beef, and pork. Talk about a huge bowl -- the serving was more than enough. Generally, the dish tasted good (but still not comparable to authentic Pho 24 food). I did like the spring rolls though. Zao Pho was comparable to Pho Hoa's beef pho; slightly a bit lacking in taste, but wasn't bad. The Seafood Noodle Stir-Fry was good enough for two, and I liked how they didn't scrimp on the noodle topping (but it's obvious they used veggies as a main extender for the seafood. The dish, however, was kind of nakakaumay especially if that's your main dish already.

Zao Noodle Bowl, P275

Zao Pho, P225

Seafood Noodle Stir-Fry, P235

I found Zao a bit pricey. Although serving was adequate, taste was not exceptional. I guess it deserves a few more visits, but for now I'd still opt for Pho Hoa for Vietnamese cuisine.

Vietnam Eats : Part II

And Vietnamese food and restaurants just keep on getting more interesting  :)


PHO 24
Pho is definitely a Vietnam staple. The most popular is Pho 2000, where then-President Clinton dined at. But  some say that there are other better Pho restaurants; so instead of the most popular, I chose another recommended one -- Pho 24. We ordered Meat Spring Rolls, Grilled Pork with Noodles and Chicken Pho.
We loved the Noodles and Pho!!! Couldn't get enough of Pho. The taste is really not comparable to the popular Vietnamese restaurant in Manila, Pho Hoa. The Noodles is savory in itself and the soup is very tasty -- perfect! Good Pho is a dish I really miss here in Manila :)

Looks clean enough :)

Yogurt Drink

Spring Rolls

Chicken Pho

Grilled Pork with Noodles

SH GARDEN COM VIET
SH Garden is one of the more upscale restaurants in Saigon. It sits on a building penthouse, overlooking the city; beautiful view. We had our last dinner here, at a more special (and of course expensive) restaurant :) You have to take a cool, old-school elevator up to the rooftop, and you'll be greeted by a great view and a cool breeze. We had escargot, spring rolls, and hot bowls of fish and beef. I was hesitant at first, but the escargot was surprisingly yummy. It wasn't purely snail, but was mixed with other ground meat. Spring rolls and Beef was great too :)

Escargot

This is what the meat looks like

Spring Rolls

Beef on a Hot Bowl

Fish on a Hot Bowl

AU PARC
It's great that there are also European-inspired restaurants in Saigon. We chanced upon Au Parc during our walk around the city. Love, love the ambiance of this restaurant! The high ceiling, quaint decor, art, and pops of color instantly provide a relaxed atmosphere, perfect for wine and cheese :) The place was pretty packed with foreigners, but fortunately we got a table. We had Spaghetti with Grilled Peppers, Roasted Tomatoes and Parmesan, plus a Chicken Kebab with Tzatsiki Salad. Plus a beer and freshly-squeezed lemonde to go with our meal.
Although simple, the pasta packed in a lot of flavor; really going well with Saigon Beer. The Chicken Kebab mixed well with the tangy Tzatsiki. And of course, Nemesis Cake for dessert! This flourless chocolate cake was dark and delicious, a great way to end our meal. Happy tummies!

Au Parc from across the street

Al fresco dining

Lovely :) This is at the 2nd floor

Beer & Lemonade

Chicken Kebab and Salad

Spaghetti - Grilled Peppers, Roasted Tomato, Parmesan

Chocolate Nemesis Cake

FANNY
This ice cream shoppe is definitely something I'd come back for in Saigon. They serve all flavors of ice cream and have some pretty wicked concoctions. It was really difficult to choose what to order. In the end, we decided on the following:
Thunder - Vanilla Macadamia, Caramel and Stracciatella Ice Cream, Caramel, Cranberries and Whipped Cream
Cherry Bibi - Chocolate, Stracciatella and Vanilla Macadamia Ice Cream, Whipped Cream, Caramel Sauce, Amarula Liquor, and Ice
Spring Rolls - Crepe Cakes, Stracciatella and Vanilla Ice Cream, Blueberry & Mixed Berries Sorbet, Chocolate Sauce, Strawberries, Almonds, and Whipped Cream
I loved everything! Ice cream concoctions were very interesting, food presentation was great (especially those exquisite Spring Rolls), and the ice cream and sorbet was yummy. What I love about their ice cream flavors and concoctions is that it's not sickeningly sweet, so you can actually finish off your ice cream without worrying about getting a toothache :)

Cute ice cream shoppe

Look at all those flavors!

And there's more!

Thunder

Cherry Bibi

Spring Rolls

I know there's still much more Vietnamese delicacies and even foreign restaurants lurking around the city. Another reason to visit Saigon again! :)

Vietnam Eats : Part I

You just gotta love Vietnam food! Here is Part One of some of my favorite food finds in Vietnam :)


CHA CA LA VONG
Cha Ca is a special dish, first made by the Hanoi family Doan. Would you believe that they only serve this dish in this restaurant?! And the resto has been in existence since 1871! Imagine the following for this specialty dish! I was at first hesitant to try the resto since I didn't get to have a choice. But Cha Ca is really worth it :) You just order based on how many you are on the table, and they'll be the ones to serve the appropriate portions.

When I first saw the food, I thought to myself, Would this be enough? Surprisingly though, we were full after finishing the whole lot. You have to ask the waiters how to prepare the dish yourself, since there are a couple of things to stir in -- hotpot fish and veggies, noodles, peanuts, more veggies, sauce paste, etc. Plus a kind of naan bread. We found this dish really yummy, and you get to experience a 'real' Vietnamese dish. I highly recommend you try this restaurant when you're in Saigon :)

The meal

All ingredients in a bowl!

STREET FOOD

What's a visit to Vietnam without tasting Banh-Mi? Banh-Mi is their local version of Subway. The bread they use is similar to a baguette and you get to choose your sandwich filling -- meat, veggies, or any combination, should they have it. This, plus a cold coffee should already be a hearty breakfast.

Typical Banh Mi Kiosk

Banh Mi 

Now I don't really know what this is, but I got to try it during a rest stop to Mui Ne. These hotdogs (I choose to call them hotdogs) are awesome! And it comes with a hot, zesty sauce (which is definitely not catsup). Couldn't get enough of this!

NHA HANG NGON

This restaurant seems to be a staple for foreigners -- the place was packed when we got there. However, the place was huge, and we were able to get seats on the second floor. On the way to our designated table, I was getting really hungry just by looking at the yummy food! Along the halls and corridors are tables of food and you can actually see them prepare your order.

We ordered A LOT. I cannot even remember the names of all of the food! What I know is I immensely enjoyed dining at this resto and would love to come back and try all the other food we missed!

Salad

Spring Rolls

Chicken Skewers

Meal staple: Saigon Beer

Me & Rob :)

HOA VIEN BRAUHAUS

When we were in Mui Ne, we tried this restaurant which offered Black Beer! I was told there's also a Hoa Vien in Saigon, so that's good news :) The resto was huge and was overlooking the beach. Would have been a fantastic view during daytime. But the night breeze kept us company :) We ordered Spring Rolls, Baked Oysters and Ribs to go with the beer. Our black beer mugs were full to the brim but I managed to down everything. I gotta admit, it was real good :)  The food was also great and the serving was h-u-g-e. You'll definitely get your money's worth.

a mug of black beer

Spring Rolls

Baked Oysters

Ribs!

TRUNG NGUYEN COFFEE

Ah, what's Saigon without Vietnam coffee? Trung Nguyen Coffee is widely available around the city. No Starbucks here, but Highlands and Trung Nguyen can be found everywhere. Love, love their coffee :) It's just that I can get really impatient waiting for the coffee to be filtered.. But it's definitely worth the wait. We even bought filters and Coffee #5 to take home with us!

Large, spacious interiors

Love it that they have a bookshelf filled with magazines and books

Waiting for my coffee to be done! 

Dessert is a must!

Take-home coffee