Banh Mi Saigon Boss Opens 24-Hr Eatery In Orchard, Serves Unusual Dishes Like Vietnamese ‘Breakfast Fry-Up’
Miss Saigon is a 7-seater serving sandwiches, pho and more unusual dishes like Banh Mi Chao, which looks like the Vietnamese version of an English brekkie.
You might have seen recent headlines about a “bottle-sized” rat spotted outside Banh Mi Saigon, a popular banh mi stall within a Vietnamese provision shop in Ang Mo Kio. This comes at pretty unfortunate timing for the owner of the joint, Victoria Ngyuen, who’d just opened a slightly fancier 24-hour eatery called Miss Saigon at Orchard Plaza two months ago.
According to Banh Mi Saigon’s Facebook page, the incident caused their sales to be “affected by 50% to 70%”, even though the rodent was found rummaging through packets of instant noodles on a shelf at the “outer area of the shop beside the grass patches”, and not inside. Following the incident, the stall, which had small tables set up outside for customers to dine, now only allow takeaways. A representative from both eateries also tells 8days.sg that they “take hygiene very seriously”, and will continue to schedule monthly pest inspections.
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Rodent incident only at Ang Mo Kio, not sister eatery in Orchard
It’s fair to note that Miss Saigon is located at Orchard Plaza and wasn’t affected by the, er, rodent incident. Ho Chi Minh-born Victoria, who now sports a fresh cropped hairdo since 8days.sg spoke to her over a year ago, tells us that while Banh Mi Saigon remains her “flagship stall”, Miss Saigon offers “a greater variety of great-tasting Vietnamese foods to Singapore customers”. That’s why she chose to keep the branding separate, as “the name Banh Mi Saigon doesn’t make sense”, given that “[they] want to try serving more [types of] food”.
Ten new dishes at Miss Saigon
While Banh Mi Saigon focuses on nose-to-tail pork banh mi (Victoria used to work at her family’s banh mi stall in Vietnam) and limited variations of dry noodles and pho, Miss Saigon’s menu is a more extensive, with over 10 new dishes including more varieties of pho and less common items like Banh Mi Chao.
No-frills seven-seater
Miss Saigon is a humble standalone eatery with a counter that accommodates up to seven customers at a time. Most of the space is taken up by the kitchen, and there’s a mini grocery section that’s much smaller than at their Ang Mo Kio shop. Nonetheless, you’ll be able to find authentic Vietnamese snacks and ingredients here, like bánh tráng (edible rice paper) and Vietnamese fish sauce.
On the Tuesday afternoon that we visited, we saw a couple other customers pop by for a quick bite, although Victoria says business is just “okay” so far. She says they’re hoping to “cater to a wider customer base” by opening 24/7, including the nightlife crowd that frequent the numerous bars in Orchard Plaza. Vietnamese cooks man the kitchen, while Victoria shuttles between Miss Saigon and Banh Mi Saigon to oversee the cooking.
The menu
Miss Saigon serves everything that Banh Mi Saigon does, plus around 10 new dishes. Victoria tells us that the ingredients at both Miss Saigon and Banh Mi Saigon come from the same central kitchen, where their Vietnamese charcuterie, assorted off-cuts of the pig like ear and nose plus baguettes are made from scratch. Due to “higher rental costs” in town, some menu items at Miss Saigon - like the sticky rice and a few types of banh mi - cost about a dollar more than at Banh Mi Saigon in Ang Mo Kio.
However, their mains are similarly priced between $7 to $12. 8days.sg sampled two new dishes (Banh Mi Chao and a rice bowl), and three classic dishes.
Banh Mi Chao, $12 (New) (8 DAYS Pick!)
Think an English breakfast fry-up, but with a Vietnamese twist. Well, sort of. Two meatballs and a piece of tinned mackerel are served with a sunny side up egg in a pan, along with a loaf of baguette on the side. While the meat and fish combo seems odd, both are drenched in a piquant tomato gravy that serves as a rather tasty dip for the nicely crusty, fluffy bread. We prefer the juicy pork balls to the inoffensive but unnecessary tinned fish (we’d rather have more meatballs). The portion is a tad meager for the price, though.
Com Tam Suon Bi Cha Op La, $12 (New)
Grilled pork chop, strips of pig skin and steamed egg with minced pork on broken rice. While the pork chop isn’t the juiciest, it was tender enough and well-seasoned with fish sauce, lemongrass and garlic. Quite appetising when eaten together with the fluffy steamed egg, as well as the salty and gelatinous pork skin that’s braised in coconut water, soy and caramel.
Traditional Bread Banh Mi with Mixed Ham, $8.90 (8 DAYS Pick!)
This is both Banh Mi Saigon and Miss Saigon’s signature banh mi. It’s smeared with pork pate, a soy-based sauce and stuffed with four types of house-made Vietnamese hams containing finely ground pork, some mottled with lard, mushrooms, pork skin, and peppercorns. Super savoury and goes well with the refreshing pickled carrots and radish, cucumber, spring onions and coriander. Yum.
Rice Noodle with Grilled BBQ Pork, $9.90
Dry rice noodles with grilled pork, veggies and pickled carrots. The pork is robustly seasoned, and the springy noodles coated in a briny and savoury fish sauce mildly spiked with chillies.
Fresh Spring Rolls, $8.90
Classic Vietnamese summer roll bundled with fresh sweet prawns, rice noodles, carrots and cucumber. Simple and good with its tangy fish sauce dip.
Special Pandan Drink, $4
The artificial-tasting pandan flavour in this milky drink is super strong, and a tad too syrupy for our liking. Guess the neon-green hue should’ve been fair warning. Stick to the Vietnamese coffee drinks here.
Bottom line
A no-frills, convenient spot in town to grab authentic, tasty banh mi for supper as Miss Saigon is one of the rare Vietnamese eateries that open 24 hours. If you’re on a budget, go for the more affordable sarnies, but if you don’t mind spending a bit more, then there are more unusual offerings here too, like the comforting banh mi chao and pork chop rice with steamed egg and gelatinous pork skin.
Miss Saigon is located at #02-56 Orchard Plaza, 150 Orchard Rd, S238841. Tel: 8925 3959.
Photos: Kelvin Chia
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