The city of Kingston offers restaurants that provide opportunities to sample food from a variety of ethnic backgrounds - that is one of the wonderful things about living here. (Having grown up in Belleville and Prince Edward County, I know what it's like to have little to no variety other than what you would like on your burger... luckily for both of those areas, things are changing!). Some of these ethnically diverse restaurants are known for doing things not-so-well, while others are known for doing things well. Saigon Delights is one of the latter. Offering delicious (and delightful!) traditional Vietnamese cuisine, this food is good enough to have gotten even this simple eater out of her comfort zone and trying new things.When we arrived at the restaurant at 6pm, there were only 2 other tables seated. By the half-way point of our dining experience, the restaurant was close to full, and the kitchen was pumping out hot and steamy orders. (For the record - this is something that you can guarantee even if you take the food home - it will still be hot when you sit down to eat it in front of the television... Believe me - if there is something I like more than eating out, it is eating food "from out" [normal people call this takeout] while watching my favourite shows on the DVR). By the end of our visit, the restaurant had "thinned out" some, but let's be honest - we are a chatty bunch and some people just can't compete with the duration of our dinners... we also can't expect that people would still be "rolling in" for dinner by the time we had finished up at 8pm (except for a friend of ours who happened to be stopping in for take-out and joined our table for a visit). The number of customers over the course of the evening - and I'm sure tonight wasn't an anomaly - speaks greatly to the food quality.
How am I so sure that there isn't something more to people's desire to visit than the food? Well, if I have to be completely honest (and I think I owe it to this project to be just that), it probably isn't the decor. At first glance, Saigon Delights is a diner. Simple store-front sign with no ethnic markings other than the word "Saigon", checker-pattern tile floor, low hanging lights with metal lampshades, planters with fake floral arrangements, a check-out counter with fresh fish sauce for sale on display (50 cents each for those interested... also delicious), and a mish-mash of odd decorative hangings including what first appear to be wooden cowboy carvings (upon closer examination, they are not cowboys, but people wearing sedge hats... I am not bright sometimes!) and a framed picture of "Belzac's Coffee Shop". On top of all of these attractive items (please note, my face is showing sarcasm as I type... I hope you could read it), the service is touch-and-go. In my visits to Saigon Delights in the past, service has been decent - nothing above and beyond. Water on table, order taken quickly, food brought to table, water filled as needed, pay bill. Tonight, however, service was lacking - resulting in us having to go to the counter to place our order; frustrated for having to wait so long for no one to come see us. That said, other restaurants may not redeem themselves for a return visit from some people if this was the case... but Saigon Delights? The food will keep me coming back every time - even if I have to punch my order into the register myself.So, what food did we enjoy so thoroughly? I'm glad you asked... and I wish that I could say the names clearly, but I'm still brushing up on my Vietnamese... Instead, I offer you numbers (which is what you are welcome to use upon your visit).
Appetizers: #3 and #4: spring rolls (FANTASTIC) and salad rolls (FANTASTIC too, according to Samer and Todd - I just won't eat shrimp, so I will take their word for it).Carrie - #9: a sweet and sour dish (I love me some sweet and sour! Needed a re-do after last week, sadly) with a little spice, piled with chicken, pineapple and mixed vegetables; all over rice.
Tonia - #10: mixed vegetable, red curry and coconut milk stir fry with chicken (you can choose beef, shrimp or tofu if you'd like); all over rice.Samer - #2: chicken and seafood noodle soup filled with Vietnamese rice noodles, chicken, shrimp and a bunch of other delicious smelling ingredients.
Todd - the special of the day: spicy stir fry with chicken, shrimp, mixed vegetables; all over rice.
It is important to know that in many cases, the descriptions sound similar, and in fact have similar ingredients (rice, vegetables, chicken, shrimp...). Further, when food arrives, you may look at it and think "But I didn't order what she ordered" because your plates even look similar. But please don't be dismayed - put your mouth where your money is and dig in. Each dish is different in its own way and well worth the try.
Now, to the nitty-gritty. Our ratings... and it should be no surprise, they are good.
FORK RATINGS
Carrie: 5 forks. It just tastes good. Plain and simple. And even though food is the only factor in the rating, I do feel obligated to say that while I draw attention to the "all beer and skittles" decor (that's cowboy for "unpleasant" - my homage to the carvings), the reality is that I'm still comfortable sitting there for 2 hours with my friends and having a "hog-killing time" (that's cowboy for a real good time).
Todd: 3 forks. No shrimp in the special as advertised, and a whole lot of cauliflower instead of a true representation of "mixed vegetables".Samer: 4.5 forks. Direct quote: "The soup is back!" (after a couple of bad soup experiences quite some time ago, Samer gave it another go, and was quite content to find it had returned to being delicious).
Tonia: 5 forks. Tried and true... It should also go on record that the spring rolls at Saigon are some of Tonia's favourite in town - and she knows her spring rolls!
OVERALL RATING: 4.375 forks.
Not too shabby for a Tuesday night.
Next week's destination? It will be a surprise! Tonia's mom's birthday is next week, so she's joining in on the fun and picking the location :)
Until then, happy eating!
For a complete Saigon Delights menu, click here
Just had to share the sign for the special!
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