Miss Saigon

We had driven by here a few times and finally decided to try it out. The atmosphere was cute, quiet and nice and clean. Our server was so lovely and the food came fast and hot. We were pleasantly surprised! We had the Pad Thai, Coconut Fried Rice, Green Onion Cakes (yuuum) and Ginger Chicken. For fast, inexpensive Vietnamese food- we were very happy and very full. Would definitely go back

Miss Saigon is the newest Vietnamese restaurant to open in the city. It’s located less than 5 minutes from Whyte Ave. What makes this restaurant stand out from other Vietnamese restaurants would be the clear millennial influence and late night hours. On weekends, they are open till 4 AM. Perfect for the late night owls and partiers, considering their location as well! On weekdays, they are open till 12 AM. Their menu has a variety of traditional Vietnamese dishes (pho, vermicelli bowl, and rice dishes) as well as some Thai influenced dishes and Vietnamese fried rice dishes I haven’t seen elsewhere.

Their menus were styled like a magazine with the history of pho and Vietnam travel tips in the front, followed by the actual food menu.

These bubble tea lightbulbs were probably one of my favorite part about this food adventure! They’re so cute and they light up at the bottom as well. Perfect IG opportunity hehe. All of their bubble tea are served in these lightbulbs. For bubble tea, there’s milk tea ($5.50), fresh fruit ($6.50), and slush ($5.50). I tried the matcha green tea slush and really enjoyed it. Although it was powder based, the taste of matcha was strong yet creamy at the same time. The restaurant actually gave us an avocado fresh fruit smoothie on the house so my friend was able to have a cute lightbulb drink as well!

Alright, now for the main review… the phoritto! I’ve seen this item on social media before but never thought I’d have the chance to try it in Edmonton. For $12, the phoritto is a decently filling size and is accompanied by a small bowl of meatball soup. The phoritto is stuffed with pho noodles, rare beef, bean sprouts, onions, and cilantro then wrapped in a tortilla wrap. There’s hoisin sauce and sriracha sauce drizzled on the phoritto already. If you can’t handle spice, like me, I suggest asking them for no sriracha sauce when you order! As I was eating it, I noticed that there was a bit more sauce throughout the phoritto. It did seem a bit dry towards each end, though. I’d say the meat got a bit dry and the tortilla got a bit boring to eat (if that makes sense??). I tried dipping the phoritto into the soup broth to solve the dryness but it didn’t really work. My friend figured out another solution after we ate there, which is to take a bite of the phoritto then slurp up some soup broth with it. The phoritto held up pretty well as I ate it and didn’t fall apart. It was certainly a different way to eat pho but I enjoyed it! For the soup, I thought it tasted fine but my friend tried it and said it tasted very salty (different taste buds, I guess?). The meatballs in the soup were very soft and tender, though.

My friend ordered their special beef noodle soup, which comes with slices of rare beef (or steak), brisket, and beef meatballs. There was a good amount of meat in it but the pho noodles were a bit clumpy. It was also lacking the variety of meats that you’d find in Pho Dac Biet at other Vietnamese restaurants such as flank and tendon. He ordered the regular size and said it filled him up. The other sizes offered for pho are large and xlarge. They also offer a “What the Pho Challenge” for those who want to challenge their eating abilities, and a $60 pho bowl for sharing amongst friends and family.

So verdict is: come and try the phoritto and order a cute lightbulb drink as well! Or have some pho when you’re not sober on a Saturday night at 3 AM. I can see this place being busy on weekends since there’s no other pho restaurant in the city opened past 9 PM I’m pretty sure! Best of luck to Miss Saigon!

Miss Saigon is the newest addition to Vietnamese restaurants in Edmonton. I’m not usually excited about new Vietnamese places opening up but Miss Saigon is doing it’s best to shake up the same old same old in YEG. They have a Pho challenge (2lbs meat, 2lbs noodles and 4L of broth) and they even have a Phorrito! The restaurant is tucked away just off Whyte ave by United Cycle. The place is very open and I am a big fan of the decor. Lots of homage to Vietnam with small bits of history hidden away in the menus. They have an open kitchen and the staff are super polite and friendly.

Their menu is well versed with some Chinese and other southern Asian dishes thrown in. But I usually always get the standard. They’re Salad Rolls are really good! They add in pickle veg inside instead of the same old boring lettuce. And you get 4 of them for only $8! Now that’s a steal! They’re not playing around when it comes to their portion sizes for Pho. They’re regular is comparable as a large. And their large and extra large is probably double that (can you imagine their Pho challenge?). I got just a large Special Beef Noodle Soup. Pretty much Pho Dac Biet. They’re broth is super clean tasting, just like Viet mom would make. I can tell they don’t use MSG. Which isn’t a bad thing but to be honest, I kind of like my MSG. My girlfriend got their Bun Bo Hue. Not bad, no MSG again and not spicy enough.

Overall I wasn’t blown away but I really like the direction Miss Saigon is going. Clean and simple Vietnamese food but brought up a bit to differentiate themselves from the same old Vietnamese restaurant formula we all know. I’ll definitely be back to try the Phorrito and maybe the Pho challenge...