Super Saigon @ Persiaran Ampang

When we last dined at The Daily Grind in mid-July, we noticed a new restaurant next door that had taken over the space vacated by Flint Bar & Restaurant.

So, we made a trip here wanting to try Flipp, a new Japanese fusion restaurant, but was politely informed that they were fully booked when I walked through the door.  Oh well, another time then...and that's how we ended up at Super Saigon @ Persiaran Ampang since we were already in the area.

The only decor that caught my eye were the beautiful blue ceramic plates (that I adore) adorning their feature wall.  Hey, I wouldn't mind owning some of these. ^_~

Since we were at an eatery specialising in Vietnamese food, obviously Pho would be top on the list of things to order.  I was pretty excited when I saw my bowl of Beef Pho @ RM18.90 arriving with medium rare Aussie sliced beef (as the ones I've had before usually comes with cooked through beef) together with some white onions, scallions and cilantro.

It's also common to see pho served with garnishes of bean sprouts, Thai basil (sometimes Vietnamese mint might be included), a wedge of lime and fresh Thai chilli peppers.

Vietnamese dishes are also usually accompanied by condiments of sweet, salty, spicy and sour flavours for you to tweak to your liking, so expect to find chili oil and hot chili sauce (like sriracha), fish sauce, hoisin sauce and their special sate sauce (or what we'd call sambal) on the table.

Well, just in case you don't know how to go about eating pho, there's even a guide (at the back of the menu) to show you how you can eat pho like a pro! ;)  But there's no hard and fast rule, you can eat it anyway you deem fit.

I dunk the bean sprouts in, squeezed in the lime and added a drizzle of fish sauce...that's how I like mine.  I'd leave the stinky Thai basil leaves alone coz I just hate those.  I usually leave out the fresh chilli peppers too but this time I added them in (and I'll tell you why in a jiffy).

My first mouthful of the rice noodles (much like kuay tiao), I immediately detected something unpleasant.  I took a second bite and confirmed that the unpalatable taste was still there...and that's why I added all the bird's eye chillies in the hope that it'll help mask the taste.  But, unfortunately, it didn't.  The medium rare beef was perfectly fine though, nice and tender (and if you need your beef cooked a bit more, just dip them into the broth though the broth that came wasn't all that hot, not even hot enough to cook the bean sprouts which retained its raw taste).  In the end, I just ate up the beef slices and left the rest of my pho untouched (the noodles even tainted the broth).

I've come across this offensive taste (and smell) of kway teow before but it's always from our local noodle stalls, never from a Vietnamese eatery.  I've rejected quite a few kway teow based on this but if the noodle shop is still good, I just make sure I don't choose kway teow as my noodle of choice.  I don't know how best to describe this unpleasant taste but it's almost like cockroach smell to me (sorry if the comparison sounds offensive to you).  I don't know if any one of you has ever experienced this before but I have many times...and it only seems to happen with kway teow! >.<  I don't know if the noodles weren't fresh (that day) or if it's due to the choice of their noodle supplier (as in chemicals used in the manufacture of the noodles) or that the handling and storage of the noodles was compromised or merely that my tastebuds are just overly sensitive.  That's why I usually stay clear of kway teow in soup noodles unless it passes my taste test after trying.

In the end, I had to order something else and went with the Crispy Spring Rolls @ RM13.90 (for 6 pcs) wrapped in minced chicken and prawns, served with a sweetish-sourish dip containing pickled vegetables of carrot and jicama.  The rolls were freshly fried, came piping hot, were super crispy and had a good ratio of filling...so, no complaints on this.

Our other order of Broken Rice with Grilled Lemongrass Chicken @ RM18.90 was served with lemongrass chicken, fried omega egg, pickled vegetables, cucumber shreds and a slice of chicken meatloaf together with a dipping sauce.  Nothing stood out, it was just edible.

For drinks, we had Pandan Lemongrass @ RM4.90 (a tall glass but diluted in taste) and La Juiceria's (bottled) Fresh Orange Juice @ RM5.90 (that turned out to be pretty sour).

When the server came to clear our plates, he was at least alert enough to notice that my bowl of pho was hardly eaten and asked if there was something wrong with it.  So I told him.  He just acknowledged what I said and walked away without offering any gesture to mitigate the situation.  Well, kudos to him for noticing...but he might as well not have! >:(

My Personal Opinion

The fact that the server didn't offer to mitigate (or resolve) the issue clearly demonstrates the level of service here. Maybe it was for the best as it made it that much easier for me to decide not to return.

Looks like this was an un-PHO-gettable experience for me...and I don't mean that in a good way.  Un-pho-tunately for them, I'm not so pho-giving, so this bowl of pho would be my first.....and last! >_<

Super Saigon Pho Cafe
No 34 Persiaran Ampang
55000 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03-2856 9998

Pho Street @ Sunway Velocity

We came here wanting to eat at another place but was (again) disappointed to find a rather long queue at prime dinner time.  That place was none other than Go Noodles House which we have since succeeded in eating at (a couple of times already...yay!).

Since we came without a Plan B, we walked aimlessly around the mall and finally drifted into Pho Street @ Sunway Velocity, their second outlet after Paradigm Mall with a third in MyTown.  The place was kinda quiet compared to some of the other eateries here (great...no need to wait, we thought, we should have known better).

Vietnamese food is well known for their street snacks like fresh or fried spring rolls, pork or chicken skewers, sugarcane prawns, banh mi, banh khot (crispy pancakes) and so on.  So, we got a platter featuring three types called the Vietnamese Snack Platter @ RM18.90 with two pieces each of crispy fried pork rolls, roasted chicken skewers and prawn cakes.

I'm sorry that you have only the pic of the menu to look at...which was probably just as well since the one in the menu actually looked better than the real deal! O_o  Of the three, I only enjoyed the fried pork rolls wrapped in rice paper as they were fried to crispy perfection. ^o^  Mental note to self: Stop pho-getting to take pho-tos of the food (sorry, couldn't resist the pun)! >_<

I also ordered the Sugarcane Prawn Skewers @ RM10.90 and this is how it was supposed to look like....nicely browned and grilled.

But what we got instead looked like this....all pale looking! O_o

It not only didn't look the the part...it didn't taste the part! >_<

As with any place offering Vietnamese cuisine, I'm duty bound to try pho...and it always has to be beef, not chicken, for me.  So, I had the Pho Beef Tender Slices @ RM17.90 of flat rice noodles, bean sprouts, thinly sliced onions and beef slices.

Let's just say the photo of the beef slices in the menu looked a lot better than my actual bowl.  That's because those slices were still pinkish while mine was cooked all the way through.  Luckily because the beef was sliced so thinly, they were still very much tender but the broth wasn't as beefy flavoured as I had hoped.

I've seen food shows featuring Vietnamese pho and they would place the beef and the rest of the ingredients in the bowl before ladling super hot broth over it to cook or half-cook the beef.  I don't know how it's done here but perhaps that's the way to not get overcooked beef! :P

Again, the Dry Rice Vermicelli with Grilled Pork Belly & Spring Roll @ RM17.90 looked too good to resist (at least on the menu)...with well caramelised grilled pork belly (that looked almost like char siew in the pic), spring roll fried till golden and lots of freshly shredded vegetables of carrots, cucumber and bean sprouts.

And then what we got was this....pale looking fried spring roll and grilled pork belly pieces that were also very chewy.

Although the noodles were tossed in a tangy dressing that tasted alright, the julienned carrot shreds were cut too coarse and proved too hard to the bite.

The Fish Sauce Pork Belly with Fragrant Rice @ RM17.90 had small cuts of pork belly cooked in fish sauce with a side of julienned carrot.  The pork was soft and the sauce quite delicious albeit a tad on the salty side.  And what fragrant rice?  You mean that tiny dollop of spring onion thingy on top made the plain white rice into fragrant rice? @_@

The Sauteed Chilli Sliced Beef with Fragrant Rice @ RM18.90 was a mistake as we didn't realise that this dish was fried with one of our most hated stinky herbs.  I don't usually make an effort to get to know names of food I detest immensely but if I have to make a guess, I'd say it's Thai basil.

Again, as you can see, it looked nothing like the one in the menu.  This dish looked like the beef was fried with sliced onions and scallions (not stinky herbs!).

And what sliced beef?  Other than the 2 or 3 slices that were intact, the rest were so thinly sliced that most of them disintegrated into shredded or minced beef! >.<

All the drinks we had (a little pricey at almost half the price of their noodles and rice dishes) of Lemongrass Drink (Cold) @ RM7.90 (non-existent lemongrass flavour), Lime Juice with Sour Plum also @ RM7.90 (that was more sweet than sour) and Iced Lemon Tea @ RM7.50 (diluted with too much ice) were big disappointments.

My Personal Opinion

From the few things we tried, I'd say the Vietnamese offerings here are below average tasting.  The pho was pretty phogettable (unless you like subtle tasting broth).  The crispy fried pork rolls were the only decent thing here but they weren't unphogettable either (ok, enough with the pun already)...kikiki! ;D

Don't be deceived by the photos, the dishes don't look remotely like what you see in the menu.

I can absolutely guarantee we won't be coming back....and you can take that to the bank! :P

Pho Street Restaurant

Lot B-46 Sunway Velocity Mall

Lingkaran Sunway Velocity

55100 Kuala lumpur

Lien Phat Vietnamese Bread House @ Kepong

We were in the area to pick up some IT-related stuff and planned to have an early dinner there.  I googled the street address (of the IT shop) to see what I could find to eat in the vicinity as it's an area I don't frequently visit.

A few came up and I clicked on one of them, Lien Phat Vietnamese Bread House @ Kepong, and guess what?  I chanced upon two reviews by bloggers that are already on my blogroll....eatdrinkkl and a more recent one from mimi's dining room.  So, if it's good enough for them, it's good enough for me! ;)

One of the most popular Vietnamese appetisers has got to their spring rolls, fresh or fried.  We obviously preferred the Fried Spring Roll @ RM8 (for 5 pcs) served with a Vietnamese dipping sauce of fish sauce, lime juice, sugar, minced fresh chillies and garlic.   It had nuances of salty and spicy but more sweet and sour, all in one dip that paired perfectly with the Vietnamese rolls.

I find that these rice paper rolls taste a lot better than our local popiah (spring rolls) as the rolls are made with super thin rice paper wrappers.  But, even better is if they use the netted rice paper.  It looks like a net and the technique of making it is rather similar to the way our roti jala is made.

I like these netted rice paper rolls, with a filling of pork and vegetables, as the wrappings are super thin and super crispy when fried....yum, yum! ;)

Of course I'm not going to come here and not order the banh mi thit (a Vietnamese pork sandwich) which is obviously their speciality from what is shown on their signboard.  As soon as you walk in, the sight of rows of freshly baked banh mi (that resemble baguettes) greets you at the front of the shop.

Our order of Pork Chop Sandwich (Banh Mi Thit Nuong) @ RM9 arrived with a nice crispy crust and a soft pillowy bread on the inside.  Eat it freshly served on site as the bread tends to harden up a bit if you pack it to be eaten later.

The sandwich was filled with slices of marinated pork and shredded vegetables of carrot, cucumber and onions all doused in their house-made sauce.  The flavours were satisfying.

Our other main was the Pork Chop Rice @ RM10.50 that came with slices of thin pork chops and some kind of a pate of minced meat and vegetables wrapped in a bean curd sheet.

The pork chop slices (there were two) were deliciously marinated and tender.

We enjoyed the pork chop and so ordered a serving of Vietnamese Pork Chop @ RM10 to go.

I also wanted to try one of their soup noodle dishes and I noticed three on the menu.  Unfortunately, the names of those dishes were written in Vietnamese (Bun Heo Hue, Banh Canh Gio Heo & Mi Hoanh Thanh) with no English description and since I don't speak/read the language obviously, I had no choice but to ask the Vietnamese staff.  They looked like beef noodles to me.  I asked what kind of ingredients....she said they're all pork.  I asked what kind of soup....she said they're all soup! >.<  She wasn't very forthcoming with her explanation and she seemed disinterested to explain to me.  She gives me the vibe that if I don't know their food, I shouldn't be eating here.

In the end, I simply pointed to one...Bun Heo Hue @ RM11 which I had no idea what it would be like.  When it arrived, it was a bowl of rice vermicelli with a few fresh pork slices, pork ham (like our luncheon meat), a pork knuckle (yikes!), some sliced onions, fried garlic, chopped spring onions and garnished with Vietnamese basil.

If you have young children and thinking you'd be ordering some kind of soup noodles for them, you'll be in for a shock.  The soup base was spicy but quite nice (for an adult palate).  Since I don't eat pork knuckles, I left it untouched but I don't think it was nice as it wasn't tender when I poked it.

Condiments for the soup noodles

Our drinks of Orange Juice @ RM5 and Iced Vietnamese Coffee with Milk @ RM5.  And no, we didn't take a sip before taking the pic, it was served to us like that...three-quarters of the way up only.  Maybe because the Vietnamese Coffee is really "kao" (thick) and you'll need the ice to dilute it a bit.  I usually wouldn't order this but, hey, I was in a Vietnamese cafe, so Vietnamese coffee it is then.  I had Vietnamese drip coffee once and didn't like it but this one (surprisingly) was alright for me.

You can also find imported Vietnamese instant noodles, fermented bean curd, fish sauce and other sauces for sale here.  I suppose you can get some authentic Vietnamese bottled sauces here.

My Personal Opinion

The kitchen is run by Vietnamese staff and I noticed the place is patronised by many Vietnamese clients as well, so I think you can get a pretty authentic Vietnamese meal here.

After all, there's isn't much to complain about when you can get a wholesome and fulfilling meal for around RM10.  Our favourites were the fried spring rolls and pork chop.  Do drop by if you find yourself in the area looking for a wallet-friendly Vietnamese meal.

Lien Phat Vietnamese Bread House
23 Jalan Metro Perdana 7
Taman Usahawan Kepong
52100 Kuala Lumpur

Revisit: Vietnam Kitchen @ Cheras Leisure Mall

We frequent Vietnam Kitchen @ Cheras Leisure Mall quite a bit because of its location (not too far from where we live) and the affordably priced set menus.

They have a few choices (can't remember how many) of value sets (that cater to the no. of pax).  The last time we were here, we opted for Set C (4 - 5 pax).  This time round, we selected Value Set A @ RM34.90 (for 2 - 3 pax) featuring 3 dishes so that we could add on some other dishes that we wanted.  Actually, the value set should be quite sufficient for a family-of-3 if you're small-eaters (but, we're not....plus my mother-in-law was with us).

The first dish in Value Set A was the Sweet & Sour Chicken and you'd be surprised that a Vietnamese restaurant does justice to this common dish (though more common with pork) found in most Chinese "tai chow" places.  The chicken pieces were well seasoned and crisp in a sauce that's more tangy than sweet which I liked.  I especially loved the way the vegetables of pineapple and tomatoes were cut into more chunky pieces. Many sweet and sour pork dishes in "tai chow" places don't even come with pineapples which I think is so important to lend a tangy, subtle sweetness to the dish.   I'd usually rank a sweet and sour dish with pork no. 1, followed by fish and chicken last....but, I must say, I'm quite a fan of this sweet and sour chicken! :)

The next dish in our set featured Stewed Ribs with Caramel Sauce.  Whenever I see the words "caramel sauce", I'm on the defence straightaway for fear it might be too sweet...but this wasn't.  My spouse liked the sauce so much he lapped it all up with his rice....plus the ribs were downright tender.

Our final dish from the set was the simple Stir-Fried Yau Mak (Romaine Lettuce) with Garlic.  Quickly stir-fried to retain its crunchiness and topped with garlic...certainly one of our favourite vegetables.  Now, would you consider these 3 dishes real value for RM34.90 in a comfortable, air-conditioned environment?  I would.

Unfortunately, the set menu does not come with rice, so you'll need to pay RM2.35 for a bowl.

Since there were four of us and we aren't exactly petite eaters, I added on an extra dish of Fish Fillet with Pineapple Sauce @ RM23.30 which ended up to be my favourite dish of the night.  What can I say....the soft, battered pieces of fish coupled with the zesty pineapple sauce and fresh pineapples opened up my appetite like no other.

The other dish we ordered was one we had before, the Peppered Prawns @ RM23.85, coz it's my son's favourite.  This time, the battered prawns were even better, nicely crisp and those little bits of crunchy batter (that have fallen off the prawns) were the best parts...hehe! :D  The dish came with a fair amount of decently sized prawns and the taste wasn't as salty as the last time....bravo!

Drinks of Mango Milk Shake @ RM10.50, Watermelon Juice @ RM8.35 & Fresh Lemon Honey @ RM8.35

My Personal Opinion

It's a place my family frequents because of its location, good value sets and affordably priced meals with decent enough flavours....especially so when we're looking for a rice meal with dishes.

Vietnam Kitchen

L2-26-01 Cheras Leisure Mall

Jalan Manis 6 Taman Segar

56100 Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 03-9130 9530

Vietnam Kitchen @ Cheras Leisure Mall

There aren't a lot of (decent) food options in this mall other than the ones we'd usually go to like Chicago Rib House, Sakae Sushi and this....Vietnam Kitchen @ Cheras Leisure Mall.

Actually, I've eaten here many times but don't have any photos to show for it coz that was before I started blogging.  So, the food showcased here are the ones from my recent 2 trips to this place.

We decided to have rice with dishes for our dinner and went with Set C (that was meant for 4 - 5 pax) @ RM79.90 coz the dishes in the other sets didn't 'attract' us as much...but, wait....before *you roll your eyes*...my family said they were super hungry, so I wasn't worried about ordering this 'big' set.

The first dish to arrive was the Peppered Prawns.  This had quite a bit of heat to it from the de-shelled prawns being fried with lots of black pepper, bits of chillies and spring onions. 

Although the flavour was nice, it was too salty for me but it was my son's favourite dish as he has a very high salt tolerance level + he actually loves salty food.

The Vietnamese Sesame Chicken was ok (a bit like sweet and sour)...it was my least favourite of all the dishes.

The Seafood Beancurd that came next was pretty good as I enjoyed the smooth, soft silken house made tofu.  It came sitting in a sauce topped with bits of minced chicken, mushroom, fried shallots and spring onions. 

I really liked the Lemongrass Fish Fillet as the fish was tender, with a distinct lemongrass flavour, and came with a dipping sauce.

The shreds of fried lemongrass on top added fragrance and freshness to the dish but, if you're not a fan of this herb (like my son), you might find its lemongrass flavour overpowering.  I didn't...coz I love lemongrass!

The final dish to round up this set was the Stir-fried Eggplant with Belacan & Dried Shrimps.  The eggplant was fried with onions, spring onions and red chillies with the dried shrimps and "belacan" (dried shrimp paste) lending flavour and saltiness that the dish needed.  We liked this one too.

You would think that they would at least include rice with the set...but, no, we had to pay RM2.20 for each bowl of rice :(

On a separate visit, we opted for individual orders but soon realised that the individual sets (that used to come with an appetiser, soup and vegetables) were no longer on the menu.  My son had the Seafood Fried Rice @ RM15.90 with bits of egg, tofu, fish cakes, vegetables and some good-sized prawns.  No complaints here as fried rice is always a crowd-pleaser kind of dish.

My spouse ordered the Lemongrass Chicken Vermicelli with Fried Spring Rolls @ RM14.90.  If you're one who likes a lot of fresh vegetables on your plate, then you'll surely enjoy this.  It had bean sprouts, carrot, cucumber, iceberg lettuce and mint leaves, topped with sprinkled chopped nuts and an accompaniment of a sweetish-sourish sauce dip.  It was light and refreshing on the taste buds.

The dish came topped with 2 Vietnamese Fried Spring Rolls filled with ground meat (tasted like pork to me), wood ear fungus and carrot.  These Fried Spring Rolls (and the Sugarcane Prawns) are always my favourites when dining at Vietnamese eateries...and the ones here are pretty decent, just not as good as the ones from Royale Vietnam.

For me, I've always enjoyed a good bowl of pho and couldn't resist ordering their Vietnamese Beef Noodle Soup @ RM17.90.  It had thick slices of beef, beef balls and a generous amount of chopped spring onions.

It was served with condiments of bean sprouts, fresh red chillies, Vietnamese mint leaves, a wedge of lime and an accompanying sauce.

I would throw everything into my bowl of pho except the mint leaves, of course...hate those :(  It was a decent bowl of pho...the flat rice noodles were thin and smooth, the beef slices tender, but the broth was slightly lacking for me.

I had Watermelon Juice @ RM7.90 on my first visit.  This was exactly how it looked like...not filled to the brim....when it arrived at the table (and, no, I didn't take a sip before taking the pic).  This didn't impress me at all...if you don't want to give your customers a large serving or look "kedekut" (stingy), for god's sake, use a smaller glass!!

On my next visit, I ordered this Orange Juice @ RM7.90...and it was filled to the top (looks like they have wised up)....they used a smaller glass this time! :D

Although I'm a coffee drinker, Vietnamese coffee is one I would never order at a Vietnamese restaurant.  I was once gifted with some Vietnamese coffee that my sister-in-law bought from Vietnam (when she holidayed there)...and I disliked it immensely! :'(

My Personal Opinion

If you're looking for a fuss-free, fairly authentic Vietnamese meal, this could well serve that purpose.

Flavour-wise, the food is just good enough to be acceptable but price-wise, it's very affordable!

Vietnam Kitchen

L2-26-01 Cheras Leisure Mall
Jalan Manis 6 Taman Segar
Cheras
56100 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03-9130 9530