Alli and I have talked about going to Saigon Cafe for a long time, since we started dating over 5 years ago. It’s always been a restaurant we’ve driven by and said “we should go there”. I had tried the restaurant almost 6 years ago but I didn’t remember much, and now that I have expanded my food boundaries I thought it was time for round 2.
The restaurant is great, a tiny location right on Elmwood near Buffalo State College. It’s small, so you never know how long the wait may be, but we sat down right away. After seeing that they didn’t serve Pho, a dish that I saw Anthony Bourdain almost get a boner over in his latest No Reservation‘s episode, I went for something I’ve never had before. We started the meal off with some soup, Alli got herself the Wonton Soup, described as:
Fresh wonton wrapped with ground pork in a clear broth with thin slices of chicken and garnished with cilantro & scallions
And I tried the Vietnamese Hot & Sour Soup (which might go down as the best soup I have ever eaten), which is described as (i chose mine with shrimp):
Fresh shrimp or chicken i hot & spicy broth, topped with red & green peppers, pineapple, cleery, tomatoes, and garnished with Vietnamese spicy herbs
Mang Tay
Now, the only negative thing I can say about our experience was that they did get Alli’s order wrong, she originally ordered the Bong Chi (Fresh broccoli, onions, baby corns, carrots, stir fried in a brown sauce) but they thought she said Mang Tay. Luckily that turned out great for her and she loved it, it is:
Fresh asparagus, onions, baby corns, carrots, stir fried in a light brown garlic sauce
Pad Thai
Taking the advice of my friend, I tried the Pad Thai:
Stir fried rice noodles with shrimp, chicken, egg, peanuts, bean sprouts, scallions, and Thai seasoning
It was nothing too exciting and risky but I actually have never liked egg’s and to have it in my meal is adventurous for me. The entire meal was amazing, and for anyone who wants to expand their normal night of Applebee’s or TGI Fridays I recommend you try this place out. Also is great for a date like situation, and they are known for their drinks as well, however I stuck with a Sapporo.
just ate there and ordered the same exact thing don got. my gf got an item from the special menu also. that soup, don is right, so much flavor
My husband and I went on our first date there. It was years ago, probably around their first year. The decor is much better now and the food is still just as great. Had the Vietnamese pancake from the appetizer menu. Great.