Saigon II - new Vietnamese

[helenas]

I had a quick dinner in the new vietnamese place called Saigon II in Lincroft (GSP exit 109) on Acme plaza. I have no idea how vietnamese food should taste like, but i liked the appetizers we had: spring rolls served with bean sauce were delicious, as well as battered calamari with weet chili sauce. The main course failed to excite though.

My companion had a mixed seafood and vegetables stir-fry, which was ok, but my pork chops were burned. Another complain is that portions of side dishes are too big for most people. There are no desserts except for fruit shakes (it's not a complain). The prices are standard for this kind of establishment. I definitely plan to return soon, as i'd like to explore the appetizers more, as well as tofu dishes.

They offer takeout.

Saigon II

650E Newman Spring Road (Route 520)

Lincroft, NJ

(732) 933-1964

Open 11am-3pm, 5-9pm

Edited January 8, 2003 by helena sarin (log)

[tommy]

pho is the true test. and also fried egg rolls wrapped in lettuce. vietnamese desserts are for tourists.

BYO i'm guessing?

[helenas]

They offer fried egg rolls with lettuce in a DIY manner: is it the right way to serve it?

There is also quite a selection of pho, which i'll try in my next visit.

And you're definitely right about BYO.

[tommy]

They offer fried egg rolls with lettuce in a DIY manner: is it the right way to serve it?

indeed. wrap them in lettuce. add a little sriracha hot sauce if you want, and dip it. yummy.

[201]

Helena - Vietnamese food is often (not always) dirt cheap. I agree with Tommy that the pho is critical, but I think the pork chops are as well. It's been my experience that many places give them a little char, but that doesn't sound like the case here.

What sort of side dishes did they have?

[helenas]

The pork chops were served with fried rice, which was very decent.

My companion had crispy noodles that were good while crunchy, the thing they lost in sauce (sauce was ok).

As for dirt-cheap, i won't say so. It's not a hole-in-the-wall, and as i mentioned the prices are comparable to this kind of establishments around.

[rozrapp]

Wow, Helena! First Thai food in Old Bridge and now Vietnamese in Lincroft. It's nice to see that our area is starting to have Asian cuisines other than the ubiquitous Chinese, although should I be including Indian in the Asian category? We do have one really good one, Aangan, in Freehold. Anyway, we shall have to try Saigon II. Actually, there was a Chinese restaurant on Route 9 in Howell which also had a small menu of Vietnamese dishes. I think they felt that they wouldn't last if they just stuck to Vietnamese. We ate there several times and always had only the Vietnamese dishes which I thought were quite good (not that I know any more about Vietnamese food than I do about Thai). Unfortunately, for whatever reason, they still closed.

[Jason Perlow]

Pho is TOTALLY where its at for determining the value of a Vietnamese place, as we have said elsewhere. Its the first thing I order (along with cha gio spring rolls) the first time going to a new restaurant.

[=Mark]

Saigon II, run by the folks who brought us Saigon in South Plainfield, has opened in the last month in Lincroft. It is about a mile west on Rt 520 off of Exit 109 of the GSP.

Went last night and was pleasantly surprised! Great springrolls. A spicy and sour prawn soup with sprouts, onion, tamarind, tomato and other exotic veggies. Finished up with an entree of hot & spicy beef with onions and curry.

Looks to be a nice addition to the local ethnic scene. Could have been another Italian or Chinese place...

[helenas]

Posted on Jan 8th - Saigon II - new Vietnamese, Lincroft, Monmouth County

[=Mark]

And to think I figured it was too late to recommend this place for your jaunt today...

How did you find out about it? It's not exactly the most obvious place to stumble across.

[rozrapp]

We tried Saigon II last evening. I went because =Mark, who, obviously, is familiar with this type of cuisine, gave it a thumbs up, and Helena Sarin, who, like me, does not have much experience with Vietnamese food, said she liked it. Unfortunately, I was disappointed, and my husband, who likes Asian cuisine, was not enthusiastic either.

We started out with a bit of miscommunication. Actually, it was more a question of something that we never thought to ask about. (Our server was a young man who spoke perfect English. I think he may have been the owners’ son.) When we ordered, we assumed that, like in Chinese restaurants, items would be served “family style.” So, we ordered cha gio spring rolls, spicy soup with shrimps and vegetables, and a sliced duck with vegetables dish.

The spring rolls arrived promptly, along with large leaves of lettuce and two little bowls of dipping sauce. Our server asked if we knew how to proceed. We had these years ago when we last tried some Vietnamese food, but I would not have remembered what to do; however, I had read Tommy’s reply to Helena as to how one goes about eating them. So I told the server that I did know. There were six thin little rolls, expertly deep-fried. We loved the contrast between the hot, crunchy roll and the cold crunchy lettuce leaf with the added taste of the sauce. Delicious! (Note to Tommy: No sriracha hot sauce. I guess one has to ask for it?)

The soup we ordered was definitely something we had had before. At that time, it was served “family style,” in a very large bowl with a ladle, and we were each given individual bowls. I distinctly remember re-filling our little bowls several times. So, we were totally surprised when the waiter came to our table with a tray that held a bowl of soup, as well as the duck dish and two bowls of rice. When we told him that we had planned on sharing the soup, with the duck dish to follow, he said something to the effect that all portions were individual. The bowl of soup, while not huge, was certainly large enough for two people to share as a soup course. But I’m guessing it was actually meant to be a main course for one person. Our server agreed to take the duck dish back to the kitchen to keep it warm while we ate the soup. We both found the broth to have a very nice, spicy flavor. But that’s the only favorable thing I can say about it. There were two hunks of tomato, a couple of pineapple chunks, and lots of some green vegetable which I can’t identify. All o.k., I guess. But what really sucked was that, for a soup billed as a “shrimp” soup, there was a grand total of three shrimpy shrimp!! No, we were not expecting any oxymoronic jumbo shrimp. But when we had this soup before, the bowl was choc-a-bloc with little shrimp, too many to count. Here, at about $6 for the bowl, we certainly expected more than three!

The duck dish was a disaster. First of all, there was hardly any duck to speak of – mainly vegetables – and the brown sauce covering everything had, for me, a very disagreeable taste. Even my husband didn’t eat much of it. His comment was, “It’s o.k.” But that’s like someone else saying, “It’s awful,” because, as I said, he really likes Asian food. They are charging $12.95 for this dish, which I think is quite outrageous – not because I didn’t like it. That’s a matter of taste preference. But it’s way too high for a relatively small plate of what is essentially vegetables with a couple of pieces of duck mixed in.

Our bill, with tax and tip, came to about $30. In my opinion, this is too expensive for the ambiance – more accurately, the lack thereof since there’s no décor to speak of – and for what’s in the bowl and on the plate.

[Rachel Perlow]

While not commenting on the quality of the food (since I've never been to this place), soup (especially pho) at all the Vietnamese places I have been to is expected to be served to an individual as their main dish. However, if you mention when you place your order that you are planning on sharing it as a soup course, they will be happy to bring out smaller bowls and a ladle to facilitate sharing.