Little Saigon — Restaurant in Delhi

Definitely overrated, and highly overpriced. We were 2 people, ordered 2 beverages and 2 dry savoury items, noted below in order of arrival;

1. Vegetarian summer rolls : while I can't remember the traditional name as on the menu, it's one of the first noted dishes with summer rolls in the description. Bordlerine tasted alright, which is the only reason I'm being decent with a 2-star rating. Two rice paper rolls stuffed with greens and tofu, microwaved and cut further into 6 bite-size pieces, topped with crushed peanuts. You have the option to add their table-kept chilli oil which just may add some missing flavour. Unexciting but this was the only decent tasting moment. 250 rupees for the said 2 rolls (they'd maybe be as tall as your palm each)

2. Beverages : a cold coffee with grass jelly - highly sweet milk coffee with bland and tasteless jelly cubes at the bottom, served over ice in a cheap paper cup at 350 rupees! It's more expensive than Starbucks which is quite a bar. Another beverage was a calamansi juice with ginger, which was basically a calamansi marmalade (could just be plain marmalade) settled at the bottom of a sweet ginger juice, over ice. Incredibly sweet and at 250 rupees for the same quantity as the coffee. A big letdown and deferred us from any dessert.

3. A final savoury items that was up on their specials board : a vegetarian portion of the hue dumplings (chicken and pork available too). The dumplings were almost made in a bun with a thick, green-coloured (presumably due to its herbivore identity) refined-flour outer layer with an unappealing centre, served in a bowl of a sauce with ginger and pickle. Eaten in bites as per the instruction of the aggressive owner, it lacked the authenticity expected from its hype. A portion of 2 small pieces for 385 rupees, an insane price point.

Besides the rustic run-down layout, open kitchen, an aggressively welcoming and deeply involved owner, the restaurant ceased to live up to its persona. All items for their high-end prices are plucked out of a freezer and reheated in the microwave. Paying a total of 1300 rupees (including taxes on top) in hauz khas for two savoury dry starters that barely fill, and 2 average non-alcoholic drinks the size of your road-side fresh juices but at 150x the price—Little Saigon squeezes every penny for the exclusivity it positions in its menu, with little to no definition apart from the owner asking us to Google everything, and pushing us out as soon as the meal ended. It is nothing else but the basic quality and freshness of the food that will disappoint you.

Would not recommend to others, will continue to look for further Vietnamese options that aren't as egomaniacal, or at least...

On our trip to Delhi frommGurgaon, today, we decided to drop in to Little Saigon in Hauz Khas market, cos we were craving a nice Banh Mi.

If you are looking for a fancy place, this is not the one for you. But if you are looking for something homely, then definitely make a visit. There are just 3 tables and everything is made fresh. The lady, who said she is a chef from Vietnam, was helpful in explaining some of the dishes.

We chose to have the Xoi Man ( sticky rice with pork floss), the Tom Xao Xa OT ( stir fried prawns in lemongrass) and a Banh Mi Saigon ( pork).

The sticky rice with pork floss is a fabulous combination of rice, with pork clay pot, pork sausages, scrambled egg and topped with pork floss. The sauce is essentially the sauce from the pork clay pot.

The prawns were decent but I didn't get the lemongrass flavouring.

The Banh Mi was great. Lovely crusty fresh bread ( that her friend bakes for her) with a generous helping of Pate, veggies and pork. The sauce is sweet and salty and brings things together quite nicely.

Next time, I will try the summer rolls...they looked good ( I snuck a peak at it when it was going to...

Little Saigon is almost a cupboard under the stairs. We actually stood before it and asked a bhaiyyaji on the road if he knew where "little Saigon" was. From his practiced snigger and equally disdainful gesture pointing to the back of our heads, it must happen quite frequently. So fair warning- reserve your seats beforehand. The place is tiny and the food is gorgeous and delicious, attracting fans of authentic Vietnamese food from quite far. My children tucked into the heavenly pork rice vietnamese plate, the wonderful lady chef chose few vegetarian options - a delectable tofu and seitan curry, vegetable clay pot and fragrant sticky rice. There were other tables, regulars I thought who started their orders with artichoke Ice tea and Vietnamese coffee with glass jelly. Both looked pretty and delicious. I was especially tempted by the coffee but I was told the coconut icecream with jelly was to-die-for. It's a strange thing to say but this was hands down the most coconutty of all coconut icecreams...