Vietnamese @ Miss Saigon

There's a new Vietnamese restaurant in town. And it's the only one in Penang, too (updated: there's another one called Com Viet at Lintang Burmah). The last time I tried Vietnamese food was when Bingo was still around at Kelawei Rd. (now the place is occupied by Amandari's). I remembered loving their beef noodle soup ... and on one occasion, had a birthday party there for an ex-colleague. That was truly memorable as we thoroughly embarassed her by getting a cute waiter that she had a crush on to take pictures with her! Ahh, the good ol' days ...

Wait. This is not about Bingo. This is about Miss Saigon, the new and only Vietnamese restaurant in Penang now. Located at e-gate, just next to Old Town cafe, this place is hard to miss. Plus, with attractive prices for set lunches (RM10.80++ and RM12.80++ respectively), I was all game to try it out.

I happened to have a bout of sniffles today, and decided that a nice warm meal of beef noodle soup should clear my nose well. When I got to the place, my friend was waiting for me and had already ordered. I made my order and Grumpy guy (presumably the boss) continued standing and when I showed no sign of speaking to him, asked "drinks?" in a rather non-service friendly way. Perhaps he should've explained how special the drinks are instead of just "coffee or tea?". When he said it that way, the western kind of set meal coffee/tea came to my mind. Just as well, because my lemongrass tea was just okay. Grumpy guy then went all smiley faced to coax us to order the side dishes of spring rolls. When I told him we'd think about it, the smiley face disappeared and Grump guy was back. So much for their service.

Now, the food. I probably haven't tasted enough Vietnamese food to be able to give good judgement. How do I say this ... badly cut hor fun / koay teow in an almost tasteless broth. The beef pieces were sliced unevenly and unappetizingly (chunky's the word). Once again, I missed Bingo. The verdict? My friend declares that she will not go there again. I'm open to giving second chances, only that I will order something else.

I did not take any pictures there, but here's what I found on another blogger's website.