Entering the door of Saigon Restaurant, the smells of cilantro, lemon grass and lime waft through the air. On a fairly quiet Monday evening, neighborhood residents step into this little eatery anticipating a taste of authentic Vietnamese cuisine.
As a recent addition to the intersection of East 19th Avenue and Agate Street, the restaurant offers a nearby escape from meat-and-potatoes and fast-food fare.
Since the restaurant’s opening in August, business has been steady with new and returning customers, and the restaurant continues to receive positive reviews from local residents, owner Mung Bui said.
“We heard a lot of good things about this place,” first-time visitors Wes Chang and his wife, Justine Walsh, said. “So we came down to try it.”
University student Minh Hoang said Saigon Restaurant is “a welcome change” from the other Vietnamese restaurant in town.
“It almost tastes like my mom’s home cooking,” she said.
With artwork and the whispering sounds of Vietnamese love songs surrounding the dining area, Vietnam seems close to home. Seating about 100 people indoors and 40 outdoors, the restaurant offers a spacious, homey atmosphere.
“We opened the restaurant because we wanted to offer a new eating experience to the Eugene community,” Bui said of herself and her husband, Lee, who cooks Saigon’s fare.
For those who watch their diets, the use of oils, fats and meat is minimal.
“Fresh, uncooked vegetables, salads and rice are the heart of Vietnamese meals,” Bui said.
The menu consists of a variety of entrees for both vegetarians and meat-eaters. The vegetarian dishes vary from sautéed deep-purple eggplant drizzled in garlic sauce with white tofu (Ca Tim Xao Toi) to a mix of bell peppers, mushrooms, onions and tofu swimming in curry sauce (Ca-Ri Chay Xao Dau Khuong).
Non-vegetarian dishes fall under the specialty categories of “pho” (pronounced “fah”) noodle soup, vermicelli dishes, family-style entrees and variations of fried rice.
Customers Chang and Walsh decided to try cold salad rolls as an appetizer. Known as Goi Cuon, they are translucent rice papers wrapped around crunchy lettuce, bean sprouts, rice noodles, steamed shrimp and slivers of pork. They come with a warm dipping sauce made of peanut butter, fish sauce, rice vinegar and drops of coconut milk.
For the principal meal, both ordered the traditional Vietnamese bowl of pho noodle soup, which arrives steaming and accompanied with a platter of fresh lime, jalapeño, cilantro and bean sprouts.
Bui said these ingredients play the same role in Vietnamese cuisine as salt and pepper in American culture.
Chang and his wife, who are new to the area from San Francisco, said “nothing compares to the food in San Francisco, but this comes close.”