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The Vietnamese Blues

Saigon Blue, a new Vietnamese Restaurant - By Hien, Apr 06, 07

You have probably read, viewed or visited all things Vietnam lately. If people are not talking about China they are undoubtedly talking about Vietnam and Vietnamese food. Recently volumes of stuff has been written about Vietnamese food, and the steady stream of restaurants featuring Vietnamese food is growing in to a river. To fill the crowded media surrounding this topic even further, I thought I would visit Saigon Blue myself, just to see what all the fuss is all about.

First tip for when you're getting there: approach from Wulumuqi Lu, it's right around the corner from there on Yan'an Lu. You can also come from the Hilton on foot, alongside the driveway that stretches from the Hilton to Wulumuqi Lu - it's actually in the adjacent lane.

On first impression, the restaurant was simple and quite nicely decorated with an open kitchen, which made me feel a sense of relief that the food quality could not be too bad. Open Kitchens always suggest to me that the operators don't have anything to hide. This was confirmed by the way we were warmly greeted as we came in. The service was great throughout the dinner too. On to the drinks menu. The usual standards are there, except everything is blue in colour, apart from the Vietnamese beer '333'. It was 30rmb for a beer and 35rmb for a glass of wine, which looked quite reasonable. Well, until the wine was served. The wine came out about 30rmb filled - that's half a glass empty.

A quick glance at the menu and it appears small. I've always liked restaurants with small menus, it gives me a sense that the few dishes they do they must do well. Reading the menu though I found most of the dishes unrecognisable, except for the ever famous Spring Rolls and Pho. Maybe they just didn't get the names right, or maybe they had bad English translations. Whatever the answer, I had to do a blind order. This can be good sometimes, especially when it pulls off and you end up ordering something exceptional. Sometimes however it can turn disastrous. The experience at Saigon Blue turned out to be neither in the end; it was all a bit Ma Ma Hu Hu.

When it comes to Vietnamese food I can be a little pedantic. It must be the way I like it. I found most of the dishes I ordered lacked authentic flavours and were missing some herbs; my gripe with almost every other Vietnamese Restaurant in Shanghai. Perhaps the concept was not about authenticity, but something a little more subtle for foreign tastes. 'So where's me bloody fresh herbs?' A little word of advice, if you like your herbs and fresh spicy chillies, go to City Supermarket first to pick up your basils and sawtooth leafs before going to a Vietnamese restaurant in Shanghai.

Overall I found the whole experience average and quite expensive for what it was, at 45rmb a bowl of Pho, 15rmb for one spring roll and other dishes going between 45 and 70rmb. I guess they are marketing themselves to the nearby hotel, so it might be better to save your Yuan for that trip to the south.

As a comparison, I'll put myself out on a limb and give ratings for the first time, according to my taste:

Le Garcon Chinois (3rd Floor) 8.5/10
Mekong River (Xu Jia Hui, Metro Centre) 7/10
Fong's (Lippo Plaza, Huai Hai Lu) 7/10
Pho (Gubei, Huang Chin Chen Dao, near Gubei Lu) 6/10
F.C.C. Club Vietnam (Ju lu Lu) 6/10
Quan Vietnam (Dingxi Lu) 6/10
Halong Bay (Huaihai Lu) 6/10
Temple Saigon (Hua Shan Lu) 5/10
Saigon Blue (Yan'an Lu) 5/10

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