 "Photo: Peter Davis | Student Life")
Rating: 4/5
6101 Delmar Blvd
Saint Louis, MO 63112
(314) 863-4949
Sometimes a guy feels the need to go east on Delmar. It’s just more fun that way, especially when you’re going to a supposed neighborhood gem like Miss Saigon. Truthfully, I did not want to go here. In my experience, Vietnamese food has a terrible tendency of claiming they put absolutely no nut products in a plate, only to serve the plate with a dreaded peanut found buried in the bottom. However, Miss Saigon was specifically recommended to me as being “the place to go” for Vietnamese food. Trust the friends or fear the peanut? Despite the difficult dilemma, I chose to try the place out. They should’ve put me on “Fear Factor.”
Miss Saigon reminded me of the friend who, though their dorm room is somehow always clean, never fails to cause the crunch of something irreplaceable while walking through yours. The dining room was relatively plain looking, but nonetheless extremely well put together and clean. Wood floor, neutral colors, simple table clothes—it was unexciting, but gave off the vibe of calmness and order.
This feeling almost assuredly was aided by the fact that the staff at Miss Saigon is remarkably good. They were friendly, the food was served quickly and the water replacement was a sight to behold. There were moments during that dinner when I don’t know how my glass became refilled. I seriously thought I was paying attention, but one moment the glass was empty, the next it was full. They were that good.
I first tried to pronounce the dishes as they were written in Vietnamese when I ordered, but pretty much after the first syllable left my mouth the waiter started to shake his head in stirring disapproval. I guess I’m not quite fluent. After lowering my head in shame, the waiter insisted that I order by the number, and after that proved difficult, just to point to the item.
For a starter I ordered the summer rolls, which were made of pork and vegetables rolled up into a wonderfully-soft wrap. I enjoyed the texture of the vegetables and pork, and although the taste was a little lacking, once I dipped the roll in the accompanying sweet and sour sauce it became very enjoyable. However, for meat lovers out there, the amount of pork wasn’t outstanding and I never felt like I could actually taste the meat. This dish was inexpensive, so I’d recommend trying it. For friends of the nut, try the spring rolls, which apparently are excellent and served with Miss Saigon’s “tasty” peanut sauce.
The first main dish was a house special, consisting of steak, rice, onions and green beans. I really liked this because unlike the appetizer, there was a large portion of steak, and I felt as though the meat had a flavor of its own outside of the sesame sauce that covered it. The steak was slightly salty and excellently cooked. I really loved how tender and juicy the meat was when I bit into it. The dish’s sauce was good, but didn’t overpower the basics in the plate. The green beans were fresh and firm, providing a nice side component to the steak. Eating the rice, green beans and seared steak all in a single bite provided an interesting and delicious combination of flavors. The onions, which I usually love, were pretty bland. But hey, you can’t win ’em all. This was one of the more expensive menu items, coming in at $14, but I felt it was well worth it.
The garlic chicken was filling and generally pretty stimulating for the taste buds. This meal was $10, but was really a lot of food. The chicken was juicy and plump, the complete opposite of the stringy chicken one can often find oneself eating. Every time I stuck a fork in the poultry, juice oozed out. It felt as though you were eating meat that had been carefully picked out, rather than something the restaurant had found and slapped on a plate. I’m not sure what to think of the garlic part of the garlic chicken. I personally liked it, but I know certain people who I believe would have found the garlic flavor to be too prominent. If you really like garlic, you will love this dish. Otherwise, be careful. Anyway you slice it, this dish was a good value.
For someone who doesn’t particularly like Vietnamese food, I came away from Miss Saigon feeling full and satisfied. With great service, good value and quality food, I advise a trip east down Delmar for you too.
