Excellent Vietnamese food served up at this unassuming Colorado Springs eatery | Dining review
Cody Van Hooser, The Gazette
There was nothing terribly inviting about the exterior of Saigon House, but once inside, we were made to feel at home.
We could have easily driven past the unassuming restaurant at the end of a very small strip mall. I’m glad we stopped because we enjoyed a well-prepared Vietnamese meal augmented by excellent service.
Once inside there’s little to distinguish it from other Asian restaurants: The artwork, the requisite fish tank and the menu with a range of familiar dishes make it all very comfortable. From the moment we were welcomed to the time to pay, our server was friendly, knowledgeable and surprisingly attentive given how busy she was. The front of the house was her domain, along with answering the phone for carryout orders. She could give a master class in what constitutes good restaurant service.
Chicken with snow peas served with fried rice and an egg roll.
If we had wanted to eat vegan, with most Asian cuisines lots of veggies are usually part of the mix, so that wasn’t an issue, but we did need to know about sauces. Our friendly server (unfortunately, I didn’t learn her name) readily explained the number of sauces and ingredients that could be swapped to ensure a vegan meal.
We started with a summer roll ($2.50) and steamed dumplings ($7.95)CQ. The roll was plump with shrimp, ground pork, mint and rice noodles visible through the semi-transparent rice paper. It was served with a side of peanut sauce. The only problem was that it was overshadowed by the dumplings.
Six pinched pouches filled with seasoned ground pork arrived in our dumpling order. These are also available fried; however, there’s something about coating the soft chewy dough that encased the fillings in the accompanying tangy and sweet dipping sauce that enhanced the flavors of these two-bite, semi-circle morsels.
There’s nothing like a noodle bowl on a hot summer day because it was really a salad. Yes, there were rice noodles, but also an array of other ingredients that made this so refreshing: chopped lettuce, cucumbers, sprouts, cilantro and chopped peanuts. The egg roll noodle bowl ($10.95) was rimmed with pieces of crunchy egg rolls. A house sauce for pouring over everything added a pleasing saltiness.
Chicken with snow peas ($8.25) was a vibrantly colorful and tasty dish. The bright-green peas were cooked just enough to still get the crunch that signaled their freshness. Thin pieces of chicken were lightly covered with soy sauce-based brown sauce. Finely cut pieces of carrots added another element of color to the plate. This was served with a substantial amount of fried rice flecked with bits of scrambled eggs.
Chicken sate vegetables ($10.95) was new to me. I expected pieces of skewered, grilled meat (satay) served with veggies. Our served explained this was not the dish that would be served. Instead, broccoli spears, sliced red pepper and onions with thinly sliced milk-white pieces of chicken were in a small pool of creamy and slightly spicy ginger-colored sauce. It, too, came with a large serving of fried rice.
Portions are generous, so our to-go-boxes were appreciated.
House of Saigon
Vietnamese cuisine
Location: 1014 S. 21st. St.
Contact: 719-473-6707; House of Saigon.com
Prices: $8.25 to $12.75
Hours: 11 a.m.-8:30 p.m. Monday through Friday; noon-8:30 p.m. Saturday; closed Sunday
Details: Credit cards accepted.
Favorite dishes: Steamed wontons; egg roll noodle bowl.
Other: Gluten-free and vegan options available.