Saigon Bistro - All u can eat

[Gabor 296]

Following the Viet restaurant thread I decided to try it...

 

The Saigon bistro situated in the Central Festival Centre on the 6th floor. A big sign of the All you can eat ( 12-18 from monday to friday ) but no any signs of the buffet table... Walked in, looked left, looked right, buts till no any signs of the buffet... However to observe the menu, not a cheap restaurant...but also not an expensive... Nobody approached to me to help looking on my confused stagger, I had to ask one of the waiter about the buffet concept... He throwed a special menu in my hand and started to jabber: You can choose any items from this menu, as much as you want,they are reduced in quantity... you have 90 minutes to do it, the not eaten items will be billed as extras for the menu prices...

 

 

 

My orders arrived randomly, at least I don't saw any logic in it...

 

Crispy fried egg noodle with pork:

 

It was almost perfect... no any harsh tastes, but really tasty, tender pork meat, crispy vegetables... yummie... Too sad, the crispy egg noodle stack was almost inedible with the cutlery, so I gobble it with my forks and hands... It was tasteless, but somehow gave a good impression to the whole experience...

 

 

BBQ pork noodle soup:

 

It was tasty, the pork tasted like real BBQ pork from the charcoal...was tender and delicious... Thanx God, no additional spices on the table to ruin it's taste... ( the thais sat next to my table got the usual 4 item spice set ) However the glass noodle was more rough, than in the usual thai noodlesoup,so again a fight with it... Yes, the reduced portion... maybe in the quantity of the meat, but not in the noodle... a cheap trick... I would order an other one if not the restrictions about the inedible items, just to put the meat into the original soup...but I don't wanted any more noodles...

 

 

Yum Wunsen and pork sausage: The typical thai glass noodle salad with pork sausages... The pork sausage was forgettable, but the salad was tasty, crispy fine vegetables and spicy... and I mean spicy... but not the direct way the thai food is spicy, but in a shifty way... When I ate the salad it was fine... but when I finished it the torture started... not only my tongue, but my lips started to burn... and heavily... The people looked on me with a strange view, to see me fishing out the ice from the coke and suckle them, sometimes use it as a lipstick to relieve my lip burn... It made almost 10 minutes to get back to normal... Understand me right... I'm eating spicy in thailand and Ihave no problems with it, many of my mates can't eat my meals because of the chilly... but it was something different...

 

 

Heo la Lot:

 

Grounded pork with spices lapped up in some leafs... it was tasty despitethe leafs were a little bit bitter, but OK...the dipping sauce was something different from the dipping sauces I know, but delicious... A great food... but I would forget the rigid ( again ) glass noodles it was served with...

 

 

 

OK, let see the ice cream...a surprise, was offered also in the menu... They don't made any frills... a huge tray with cups.. one ice cream ball in every cup... 5-6 different tastes... I choose two cups, one chocolate and one vanilla... Tha waiter asked me with a strange face: Are you sure it will be enough ? Not a stylish feed for the eyes, but a feast for my tongues... delicious, high quality thick ice creams...

 

 

All in all the quality of the food was vary, from the superb fine to the killing spicy ones... Obviously the " buffet idea " was founded on the high quality food concept with the " feed the customer with the noodle to be stuffed quick " Looking around, the menu ordered foods were huge portions, some shared one food for two... The waiters were almost unfriendly, but correct... In the " buffet menu " was included the coke refill, but I had to remember the waiters to refill... except when I desperate sucked the eye cubes to get rid of my lip burn...

 

The buffet price was friendly, 198 baht including the beverages and the ice cream... ( somehow the 198 baht on the bill was 207 baht... probably the + hidden VAT system imported from the US... try this in my own country, where the VAT is 27% ) Great offer for the big eaters, but not for me, because of the noodle invasion... If the items were on a real buffet table I would be a regular...

[Parkwahn 61]

Cheers Gabor I will give that a go next week, I was waiting for the wonder and here it is..

 

Thanks again , looks ok

[Wobbly 13]

I hope it tastes better than it looks

[glynbuk 29]

Thanks for that Gabor, looks worth a look

[Idefix 2,275]

Hi,

Thanks for taking the time for pictures and a report :)

I don't know Vietnamese food, but examples here don't look much different of some Thai food. Looks good.

 

I am not a fan of "All you can eat" places as I am a very light eater. First 3 plates I would have been full already. That's though sometime a good way to test new food, mainly when portions are not too big, like here

 

How to understand exactly the "Left over food will be charge at menu price" ? A plate you don't touch because you're full ? A plate you can't finish ?

[Gabor 296]

 

 

How to understand exactly the "Left over food will be charge at menu price" ? A plate you don't touch because you're full ? A plate you can't finish ?

 

Exactly...

[tomcat76 327]

Exactly...

 

'Doubt they'll get many repeat customers...

[MM 6,562]

 

'Doubt they'll get many repeat customers...

Same rules apply in many of the cheap bbq places. This prevents waste and people taking food they cannot eat.

Moral: eat what you take and don't take what you cannot eat.

No problem.

 

[tomcat76 327]

Same rules apply in many of the cheap bbq places. This prevents waste and people taking food they cannot eat.

Moral: eat what you take and don't take what you cannot eat.

No problem.

 

Sometimes you take, taste, and then decide not fresh, cold, don't like, whatever... So, it'd be a problem for me. Each to his own. Knowing the above, I'd avoid this place (and other places with similar rules).

[steamer 158]

Sometimes you take, taste, and then decide not fresh, cold, don't like, whatever... So, it'd be a problem for me. Each to his own. Knowing the above, I'd avoid this place (and other places with similar rules).

 

I've never seen this rule enforced anywhere but if one loads up their plate and just leaves it then I have no problems if the restaurant chooses to charge for the uneaten portion.

[jacko 8,815]

I can understand them wanting to deter people from loading up their plates and not eating all their food, but surely leaving something behind (the gristle from the meat, the tasteless veggies, whatever) should be expected. Awkward one to police I suspect. I have felt the same sense of waste, for example, seeing what an Arabic family can leave behind at a buffet breakfast. I suppose if it doesn't taste like camel-milk yoghurt they don't want to eat it!

[mmaaarrrkkk 41]

Sometimes you take, taste, and then decide not fresh, cold, don't like, whatever... So, it'd be a problem for me. Each to his own. Knowing the above, I'd avoid this place (and other places with similar rules).

 

Good ...... less food wastage. I never understood when there is so much hunger in the world , people still throw food away or allow food to expire!

[tomcat76 327]

So righteous.

 

How is stuffing something down one's throat one tries & finds they don't like going to help a starving person exactly? Geez - do yourself a big favor & get down off that high horse for just a minute! I didn't say I'd deliberately take anything I know I'm not going to eat, just to fill my plate. And to help you with your apparently very limited "understanding", I mentioned some reasons why I might decide I don't like it. And even if on occasion my eyes do happen to be bigger than my stomach, and I might happen to take more than I find I can consume, it's still not deliberate and still not really something I have to justify to anyone else, and cramming it all down still isn't going to help anybody. You need to work out the whole "cause & effect" thing a bit better before you start throwing grenades.

Edited November 3, 2012 by tomcat76

[samfreeland 64]

Good ...... less food wastage. I never understood when there is so much hunger in the world , people still throw food away or allow food to expire!

I suppose if their was less food wastage the people who go through the bins looking for food would find none.

Edited November 3, 2012 by samfreeland

[jacko 8,815]

Good ...... less food wastage. I never understood when there is so much hunger in the world , people still throw food away or allow food to expire!

There is a darned sight more poverty in the world, and there we go wasting money on flights and holidays.

[Guest Fatboyfat]

Good ...... less food wastage. I never understood when there is so much hunger in the world , people still throw food away or allow food to expire!

Maybe a package holiday to stay with the Korowai tribe in PNG would be the thing for you. I've heard they are in great need of food donations at the moment!

[nakisses 1]

The all you can eat promotion is NOT available anymore

[tomcat76 327]

'Tried that all-you-can eat buffet-style place in Central Festival back in February. Sucked! I mean REALLY SUCKED! Nothing in the buffet line was even warm. 'Turned out to be a PERFECT example of having to leave food on one's plate... 'Tried several things, and couldn't finish even one of them. About the only edible thing in the place was the meat, all of which is cooked to order. Not bad really, but it takes forever! You select your beef, pork, chicken, or fish, turn it in on a tagged plate and take a matching indicator back to your table, and wait...........and wait............and wait..... The place also has a time-limit (90 mins I think - they put the "check-out" time on your bill). Now most meals I eat certainly don't take 90mins, but in this place that's not long enough for many seconds on grill items, believe me. My final grill order took so long (over half an hour), that with my time-limit approaching anyway, I just paid up & walked out. 'Wish I could remember the name of the place, but it's the place up on that food floors that prominently displays the all-u-can-eat signs and steak availability. Not recommended.

[atlas2 4,329]

'The place also has a time-limit (90 mins I think - they put the "check-out" time on your bill). Now most meals I eat certainly don't take 90mins, but in this place that's not long enough for many seconds on grill items, believe me. My final grill order took so long (over half an hour), that with my time-limit approaching anyway, I just paid up & walked out. 'Wish I could remember the name of the place, but it's the place up on that food floors that prominently displays the all-u-can-eat signs and steak availability. Not recommended.

It happened to me once.

 

I shouted, "Why's it taking so long? It's not rocket salad!"

[nkped 1,208]

About the only edible thing in the place was the meat, all of which is cooked to order. Not bad really, but it takes forever! You select your beef, pork, chicken, or fish, turn it in on a tagged plate and take a matching indicator back to your table, and wait...........and wait............and wait.....

Cannot abide them anywhere in the world.