Saigon House

[Rosie]

Saigon House, 320 Rt 10, East Hanover (973-887-8815). BYO.

We tried this new storefront restaurant last night and for the most part liked the food enough to return here to try other menu items. The service was very attentive with one of the owner’s daughter’s as our waitress. She’s going back to college though and I hope her replacement is just as conscientious. She explained some of the items to us, made recommendations, removed plates as we finished each dish s to make room on the table, and checked with us numerous times to see how we were doing. The prices on the lunch menu are the same as the dinner menu and have more noodle soups and rice dishes to choose from. I’d look at both menus if you dine here.

We started off with sugar cane shrimp which were good but came with limp noodles and the sweet/sour Vietnamese sauce rather than the peanut sauce that was listed on the menu. The Vietnamese pancake filled with shrimp, pork, and bean sprouts was interesting and reminded me of an omelet. I liked the marinated flavor on the two quails and the serving was more than adequate for four people to share. The spring roll was filled with shrimp, pork and mushrooms and not greasy which was a plus.

Our favorite entrée was Rock and Roll beef consisting of sautéed cubes of very tasty flank steak served over watercress. We also had a special cooked watercress dish which was light and refreshing. The egg and clear noodle soup with sliced pork, shrimp, fish balls, and crab meat had fake crab meat which I hate and what I think was a quail egg rather than fish balls. I was fine with the taste but Lowell thought it was bland. Once he added some lemon, chile sauce, and jalapeno the soup was kicked up a notch. The crispy egg noodles topped with sautéed seafood and mixed vegetables was fine, not my favorite, and I could only find calamari and shrimp in this dish.

We shared a bean paste/coconut dessert which no one liked. With tax and tip the bill was $110 for four people which seemed higher than what we usually pay for Vietnamese food.

[Jason Perlow]

Rosie, how would you compare the place to Little Saigon? The service at the very least sounds a lot better...

[Rosie]

Rosie, how would you compare the place to Little Saigon? The service at the very least sounds a lot better...

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I was hoping you would go there and tell us that. You're the expert.

I think the quality of the ingredients are better but the prices seem to be higher. I don't eat Vietnamese food that often and was at Little Saigon over a year ago.

[Jason Perlow]

We went to Saigon House this evening with Rachel's parents this evening for dinner.

I think this place has a lot of potential but its only 3 weeks old, and thus, they have a lot of kinks to work out. On a Friday night they were very busy and the restaurant is currently understaffed -- because they are so harried, we had some food come out cold (first order of spring rolls had to be redone) and they even ran out of some stuff, such as the Banh Xeo shrimp crepe. However as Rosie said, the servers are very attentive and also very good guides to the menu, if you aren't familiar with Vietnamese food. We also got the owner's daughter, she's very attentive and very nice (and very pretty, Tommy) and I hope we get her again.

Edit: Rachel added the captions below the pics...

3. Bo Bia - Jicama Rolls ($4.95)

1. Cha Gio - Spring Rolls ($4.95)

4. Goi Cuon - Summer Rolls ($4.95)

8. Muc Rang Muoi - Crispy Salted Calamari ($9.95)

36. Bo Luc Lac - Rock and Roll Beef ($12.95)

40. Mi Xao Don Thap Cam - Combination Crispy Noodles ($14.95)

61. Com Hen Tay Cam - Baby Clams Rice in Clay-Pot ($10.95)

I turned the bottom of the rice up for Jason to capture the crisped bottom. It was much tastier than it's grey appearance would leave you to expect.

24. Pho Dac Biet - Combination Beef Pho ($7.95)

25. Hu Tieu Mi ($7.95)

Coconut Cheesecake with Lychee (cake of the day $4.50)

Our favorite dishes of the evening were the Rock and Roll beef, which is known elsewhere as Vietnamese beef salad, and its one of the best renditions of this dish we have had -- in fact I'd have to say its even better than Saigon Republic's and Mo Pho's. The roll appetizers (Spring Rolls, Summer Rolls, Jicama Rolls) were not bad but the portions were very small so they are not ideal for sharing. The fried squid was good, although I would say Binh Duong in Bloomfield does it better, its more tender there. The pan fried noodles was good although it really didn't distinguish itself as anything particularly special. The crockpot rice dish with the clams was interesting although I am not sure I would order it again.

Both the noodle soups were somewhat of a disappointment, the Hu Tieu's chicken stock really could have been intensified a bit more and the egg noodles in it came out clumpy. The Pho was decent, and had a good amount of beef and "stuff" in it but maybe we are just spoiled by Saigon Republic and Mo Pho's really intense beef stock -- the anise flavor is not as pronounced as we'd like and again, the beefyness was just not there -- I think this place is capable of producing a really strong stock, maybe they just need to let it go a bit longer and use more beef bones.

The Vietnamese iced coffee was strong and not too sweet, which is the way I like it.

Everyone liked the Litchi and Coconut Cheesecake.

Since the steak salad was so good, we're really interested in trying some of their other beef and grilled and sauteed dishes -- their beef rolls and lemongrass beef that was brought to the other tables smelled very good. Also, some of the other noodle dishes being brought to other tables smelled really good as well, so thats something to try for next time.

They are definitely more expensive than your typical Vietnamese place (Binh Duong is dirt cheap in comparison, but its a hole in the wall) and they are obviously trying for a classier atmosphere than your typical Pho and summer roll stall. I would definitely say if you live in the area to give this place a try, but I wouldn't go on a really busy weekend night -- the place was crazy at about 7PM-8PM but it got quiet at 9PM, so you could probably go later on a Friday or Saturday night. I'd try it on a weeknight where you can get the best attention and the staff isnt freaking out as much. Compared to Little Saigon the service is very good and attentive, even with their quirkiness -- we'll go back when we are in the area again. This should say a great deal because I won't go back to Little Saigon in Montclair which after being reopened for a year in their new location manages still to have horrendous service.

Edited January 7, 2006 by Jason Perlow (log)

[Rachel Perlow]

Captions added for Jason's pics above.

My comments: my mom got Jasmine Tea, which came in an individual Bodum French press pot, very nice. I really liked the Baby Clam Rice in Clay Pot. They also have Seafood Rice in Clay Pot, which I'd like to try next time. The service of this item reminds me of Bibimbop -- the bottom got a little crunchy, I liked it a lot.

Some items were better than at other places, like the beef salad (better than Saigon R's version) and I liked the crispy noodle combo dish, or at least it's better than Little Saigon's version. However, Bing Duong in Bloomfield's calamari is way better, and almost every other place we've mentioned on eG has better/bigger/cheaper versions of Goi Cuon and Cha Gio. And, no other Vietnamese place as yet to best K.T.'s versions at Saigon R or Mo Pho.

So, it's a good, serviceable, Vietnamese restaurant in an area without any other Vietnamese restaurants (except for the small take out stall inside Kam Man, just up Rt 10, near Home Depot), so it's a welcome addition to the neighborhood. However, the staff seemed overwhelmed, so try it on a weeknight if you live in the area.

Edit: I was reviewing their lunch menu, there are several more soups offered at lunch versus dinner, although the prices for most items are the same at lunch or dinner, if you want to try a soup other than Hu Tieu or Combo beef pho, you'll have to check it out for lunch.

Edited January 7, 2006 by Rachel Perlow (log)

[Rosie]

Great pictures Jason. Try the cooked watercress if they have it as a special.

[scott123]

With tax and tip the bill was $110 for four people which seemed higher than what we usually pay for Vietnamese food.

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$110!?! Wow!!!! From the outside, Saigon House appears like it would be a LOT more competitively priced than that. At least that was my first impression. And lunch prices are the same as dinner?!?! If this place was in Montclair, Madison, Summit or Morristown, sure, that kind of pricing would be appropriate. But a rinky dink strip mall on route 10?

[Rachel Perlow]

Just to clarify, the prices for the identical items they offer at lunch and dinner are the same prices. But there are many dishes offered at lunch that are not offered at dinner that are not expensive, rice plates, more soups, stews and grilled things over rice vermicelli for $7-8; whereas at dinner there are more sauteed dishes and casseroles and seafood selections for $11-20.

[jmondo123]

I must have hit a REALLY bad night. This was not only the worst Vietnamese restaurant I've ever been to, it was possibly the worst restaurant that I've ever been to. Every aspect was embarrassing. My wife felt exactly the same way. We were there about six months go.

Sorry to sound like a troll, as this is my first post here.

Is there another Vietnamese restaurant along Rt 10 that I could be confusing this with?