Little Saigon, Montclair

[jsibley]

Little Saigon has reopened in Montclair, at 19 Elm St. (973) 783-3914. It has taken the place of a Caribbean restaurant (Apples?) and is in quite a large space.

I went last night and the food is still quite good. I had Cha gio (spring rolls), a sour soup with shrimp (quite yummy), chicken with lemongrass and various other ingredients, and Bo Luc Lac (sauteed cubes of beef). Everything was quite tasty. The only quibble is that I've had a better beef at some other Vietnamese restaurants, but the dish was still good.

So, the wait is over! They are open again. (For those who haven't followed the story, the old restaurant was in Nutley and burned down about 2 years ago).

[Jason Perlow]

Great news, Jonathan. Montclair is a great restaurant town.

I guess they felt with Binh Duong opening pretty close to their original restaurant, there was no need to re-open a new place in that area. My only concern is that in Montclair there are so many good restaurants to choose from (including Thai Chef, which arguably has not been able to steal business away from Saigon R. in Englewood with its other location), and it might not be able to drum up the hardcore business it did in Nutley because its original base of customers might not care to drive that far. But I am sure it will get a lot of new people.

[Rosie]

HMMM! This would be a fun place to have an impromtu dinner.

[ghostrider]

This is good to know.

Given that Taste of Asia couldn't keep their Montclair branch in business, I share Jason's concerns above. Maybe Saigon has a better location down there on Elm.

[Wiener]

Since the people and food were so pleasant at the restaurant I might give the place a try, however, I enjoyed the 20 minute walk to the restaurant and the walk home after such a good meal and I will miss that. The charm of the place had as much to do with the location as it did with its' good food. I wish the place good luck for the New Year!

[Curlz]

Whoo hoo! Been hearing about LS since I joined eG, but sadly never got to their previous location--can't wait to try it.

I wasn't sure where Elm Street was, so I just looked on Mapquest--it's slightly off of Montclair's beaten path, but I don't necessarily think that's a bad thing. Grove Street ends at Bloomfield Avenue; when you cross BA, Elm is the other side of the street--east of Church Street and closer to Glen Ridge and the GSP end of Bloomfield Ave. There aren't nearly as many restaurants on that end of Montclair, so maybe they'll continue to pull their fans from the Nutley area as well.

I wish them luck as well!

[jsibley]

I'll add that although this is a more downscale / "up-and-coming" part of town, there appears to be easy parking on the street.

I certainly hope they get enough business. It's quite a large space. Apparently, they opened without any fanfare 2 weeks ago.

[Jason Perlow]

A bunch of us went to Little Saigon for an impropmptu dinner last night -- Rosie + Lowell + Brother + Sister in Law, Mark + Rich, Rachel and Myself.

The restaurant is about five times the size of the original in a much nicer space, however it is not located on the main restaurant drag of Montclair, so getting the news out that they are open again will be key.

Both Rachel and I felt that the food was good as it ever was in the former location, but everyone at the table and the other patrons I spoke to noticed the considerable service issues the restaurant is experiencing right now -- they are not equipped to handle a space of that size, especially when it starts filling up at night, even more so on a weekend evening. We had to get up out of our seats to flag waiters down several times during the meal to try to order stuff and to check the progress of our orders, and one or two of them turned out not to be very familiar with the menu. We actually had a dish mis-delivered to our table that was destined for another one (seafood over pan fried noodles, which looked really good, and we were about 5 seconds from digging into it before it was snatched from the table by the waiter. We ended up ordering a similar dish with soft egg noodles, pictured below)

It happened that the Manager/Owner of Binh Duong in nearby Bloomfield, was over there that night visiting his family, sampling their food and helping out -- the restaurants are related, I think the owners are first cousins. In our opinion Binh Duong's food is just as good as Little Saigon's and its a much smaller restaurant (its about the size that Little Saigon used to be) with very attentive staff -- some people would say that the restaurant is too attentive, because everything you order comes out real fast and you can end up with a lot of plates on your table in no time there. He plans to renovate Binh Duong shortly and expand the menu, I'm actually looking forward to that. But if you have a hankering for Vietnamese, right now Binh Duong is the better choice, they have their act together. Unless the prospect of really bad service doesn't deter you, I would stay clear of Little Saigon for at least a month or two while they get their service issues ironed out, as much as that pains me to say.

Here are some pics from that evening, taken by Lowell Saferstein:

A portioned out mini-bowl of Hu Tieu noodle soup, with chinese style roast pork and shrimp.

A bowl of Crab Soup, ordered by Mark Stevens

A portion of Vietnamese Crepe (which had mungbeans, shrimp, pork, and other veggies in it) with a peice of Shrimp/Pork Summer Roll.

Sauteed Mixed Seafood over Soft Egg Noodle

French-style Flan egg custard

Vietnamese Iced Coffee

Lowell Saferstein holding his nose while chugging some Durian Shake.

[Curlz]

Thanks for that up-to-the-minute reporting! Esp the honesty re: the service--I know how many Little Saigon fans there are (were) on this board, so it's good to know the truth--let's hope they make some positive changes quickly. Can I assume that takeout would be more than acceptable right now? If so, I'll tell my brother to hold off going there but encourage him to pick up a few dishes when he gets off the train one night.

I'm curious about the decor/style of the place, esp since I was never at the previous location. Binh Duong is about as downscale as one can get; is LS going for a little more 'formality'? I can see that there are tablecloths, but I also see paper napkins. Just curious--do you think they're trying to fit in with the other Montclair restaurants in that sense?

[Jason Perlow]

Little Saigon is definitely more upscale than Binh Duong is currently. Binh Duong is a very casual restaurant, like Little Saigon used to be at its former location.

I would imagine that the service issues would be transparent if you were ordering take-out.

[=Mark]

Service issues aside, all of the dishes served were very good to excellent! Really liked the crab soup that also contained corn and quail egg. I didn't know at that point that the meal ettiquitte would be to share everything, had I known then, more folks than just Rosie would have had a share... That would soon be rectified.

The crepe was excellent as were the fried rolls. Lowell kept exclaiming how good the buttered frogs legs were. Enjoyed my first taste of "Eau de Turnpike Refinery" that comprised the Durian shake. All in all a fun meal, in typical eGullet fashion we pretty much outlasted most all of the other diners for what ended up in excess of a three hour meal.

[Rachel Perlow]

That's true. We arrived at 5:30, only a couple other tables had people at them, and they looked like family of the restaurant/waiters. Sometime around 7 PM, I got up to go to the ladies, and was surprised to see the place packed (my back was to the rest of the dining room). By the time we left around 8:30, it had cleared out a bit, but was still around half-full.

Like the others said, the food was very good, just as I remembered it. I particularly liked their grilled beef with lemongrass and ginger and the BBQ pork. We ordered a basic Pho Tai (rare beef) and a simple Hu Tieu, if I were ordering a soup as a meal, I would probably order one of the more complicated combos.

The atmosphere, while still casual, is definitely nicer than it was as the previous incarnation. Nicer chairs, white tablecloths, decent restrooms (I remember in Nutley one teensy tiny little WC). But, yes, paper napkins. That doesn't bother me. What did was having to ask repeatedly for water, coffee, napkins, Sriracha, etc.

They seem to have two or three waiters covering a dining room three times the size of Binh Duong, they need more, or at least add a couple busboys. I have a feeling on a slower weeknight they might be able to handle it. Actually, most of the food came out hot and promptly, for the most part. It really seems to be a front of the house problem, coordinating the drinks and other service requirements.

[ghostrider]

Looks delish! Wish that intestinal issues (see New Years Eve thread - or not) hadn't prevented us from joining you folks.

Nice to know that the food is up to snuff. We tend to dine so late, if left to our own devices, that service probably won't be an issue.

[Rosie]

We had a delicious evening at Little Saigon. The poor service didn’t bother me as much as it bothered the Perlows. I was happy to have three hours to try the mulitude of dishes that we ordered. My one complaint besides having to ask for water etc. was that the napkins were pitifully thin. If you are going to have cloth tablecloths then have cloth napkins.

This is a partial list of the items we had and I starred my favorites:

Summer rolls

Spring rolls

*Crispy fried crepe

*Fried sticky rice balls with roasted chicken

Crab and young asparagus soup (didn’t taste this)

Pho Tai (sliced rare beef noodle soup)

*Saigon Shrimp and pork rice noodle soup

*Stir fried egg noodles with seafood

Fried rice with ? (chicken, beef or pork)

Sauteed chicken with satay sauce

*Sauteed beef lemongrass with clear vermicelli in curry sauce

*Grilled lemongrass ginger beef

*Crispy salted shrimp

Buttered frogs (menu description not mine)

*Sautéed mustard greens

*Seaweed and tofu salad

Durian (awful smelling not bad tasting but I never need to go near this drink again)

Vietnamese hot and iced coffee with condensed milk

Homemade flan

And a tremendous THANK-YOU to Jason and Rachel who so expertly ordered for us.

[ghostrider]

Is the grilled lemongrass ginger beef made with fresh ginger root, or the dried stuff?

[Rachel Perlow]

Actually, the ginger wasn't that discernable. These were little beef rolls. Eat by rolling in lettuce with herbs.

[Cook456]

Glad to hear it reopened. Sorry to hear it's not in Nutley.

I would be nice to run over for takeout like I used to do.

Can't wait to enjoy the yummy spring rolls and duck salad.

[Wiener]

Next time try the plum soda. Sweet and salty at the same time.

[ghostrider]

Actually, the ginger wasn't that discernable. These were little beef rolls. Eat by rolling in lettuce with herbs.

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Thanks. I get periodic fresh ginger cravings. Probably time I returned to cooking my own again.

[phaelon56]

It has taken the place of a Caribbean restaurant (Apples?) and is in quite a large space.

Unless Apple's moved after the one time I was there I think it may be a different space. When I visited Apple's (which was a surreal experience that did not include staying for a meal), I remember it being a few blocks off Grove on the side of Bloomfield that's closer to Rte 3 - the mapquest link in this thread shows the site as being on the other side of Bloomfield. Apples was in a semi to mostly residential neighborhood in an older wooden structure that also housed an antiques or furniture store. Apart from a take-out customer it was empty when I visited at dinner time and the two older ladies in the kitchen ignored both the take-out customer and me for a protracted length of time. That fact, combined with high prices and a weird atmosphere (e.g. fancy wallpaper and ornate formal dark wood dining chairs with lacy tablecloths but clear covers over the tablecloths and glaring flourescent lights hanging from the ceiling) prompted me to walk.

Does Little Saigon still have that appetizer with the sort of birds nest dish made from matchstick julienned sweet potato deep fried and served with a few grilled shrimp in each? It's the one where you pour on the sweetish oil/vinegar/hot pepper sauce and eat it in folded lettuce leaves. I love that dish and have yet to ever to see it in any other Vietnamese restaurant.

[pnapoli]

Does Little Saigon still have that appetizer with the sort of birds nest dish made from matchstick julienned sweet potato deep fried and served with a few grield shrimp in each?  It's the one where you pour on the sweetish oil/vinegar/hot pepper sauce and eat it in folded lettuce leaves.  I love that dish and have yet to ever to see it in any other Vietnamese restaurant.

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yeah they do...i had it on a visit last week. it's excellent.

[Rachel Perlow]

We returned to Little Saigon last night with my parents. Pluses, all the food was excellent as usual, especially the fried squid appetizer, grilled rolled beef with lemongrass and the chicken with fried rice cakes. Service was still a little scatterbrained. Pace your ordering (order apps then more after those arrive) or you'll get your food in very fast yet random sequence.

Note for next time: order the sweet potato nests filled with shrimp. This dish passed by our table at least four times. It looked fantastic, but we already had plenty of food on the way.

[Curlz]

The timing of this post is really, funny, Rachel...I was reading baristanet.com yesterday and a post about LS in their food archives caught my eye. As you can see, there are decidedly mixed reviews. The original article is from January, but the posts that follow aren't nearly as glowing. I wanted to know if any folks from eG had been back recently, as I haven't been able to get there yet.

[Cook456]

The timing of this post is really, funny, Rachel...I was reading baristanet.com yesterday and a post about LS in their food archives caught my eye.  As you can see, there are decidedly mixed reviews.  The original article is from January, but the posts that follow aren't nearly as glowing.  I wanted to know if any folks from eG had been back recently, as I haven't been able to get there yet.

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I still haven't gotten to the new location, as yet. The old site in Nutley was much closer and I could do take out.

[waves2ya]

I have been twice in the past week, week and a half...

Truly thankful they have graced the greater Montclair area. The soups are wonderful and spring rolls, sweet potato fries and summer rolls - really everything - have been a dream.

I've had beef soups (well done & rare beef), wonton soups, ginger & duck soup and a seafood soup - all equally interesting and capable.

Edited March 14, 2005 by waves2ya (log)