Friday, October 14, 2011

TOKYO: Banh Xeo Saigon (Vietnamese) バインセオ・サイゴン 03-3211-0678



Address: 100-0006 東京都千代田区有楽町2-7-1 有楽町イトシアB1Right next to Krispy Kreme doughnuts in the basement of the ITOCIA Building.   Click on the link map below for better directions.  


Map:  Scroll down to the bottom or click on the following link:  http://vietnam-banhxeo.com/access/

Open:  11:00 am – 10:30 pm. 

If I lived in Tokyo, Saigon would definitely make my “Favorites” listing.   I ordered the chicken pho set which came with three good size pieces of spring rolls, the pho soup, plus a small jelly like dessert: chè.


Chicken Pho Set


The spring rolls with avocado, cucumber, and shrimp were fresh, crisp, and delicious! 

The chicken pho was fantastic!  Just like when I was back in Vietnam!  It definitely was not missing anything, unlike Sendai’s Chao restaurant.  I couldn't stop eating the broth. 

My only “I’ll pass on this” moment came with the chè dessert.   To me, it seemed to have a hint of chestnut and cinnamon taste to it.  Despite those flavors being quite delicious separately, I really didn't care for them together in this gelatinous dessert, but my wife loved it! 

Oh, at first I thought there was something wrong with the water they served, but then I realized it was tea, akin to green tea.

Another plus, Saigon serves Vietnamese coffee!  But ... even though the coffee was reminiscent of authentic Vietnamese coffee, this was missing something.  Still, it was very good.


Vietnamese Coffee


The service was very attentive even though the restaurant was crowded.  We walked in on a Sunday evening before a holiday at around 5 pm.  We walked by later in the evening around 8 pm and there were people waiting to get in.

This was the second time I’ve been to Saigon and I look forward to coming again.  I highly recommend this restaurant if you’re in the neighborhood.  According to their website they have other locations that may be just as good … or not.



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