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Saigon is one place which constantly has to deal with many visitors who come to have a taste of not only the location but the dishes on offer in Vietnam. As a result, there are many restaurants at your disposal with every turn you make. Irrespective of the fact that visitors are spoilt for choice, you should make a point of selecting the best place to satisfy your taste buds. For the first time visitors, these tips should guide you when diving at a restaurant in Saigon.
1. The dishes a restaurant offers
Getting a finger licking meal is what you should look for and not only filling your tummy. Luckily, this task is not difficult as you can easily get to see what the different HCMC restaurants offer, many only offer dishes from a specific region of the country. This can be achieved by looking at their menus online before setting foot into the place.
You can easily find out what a restaurant in Saigon offers by looking at their name. For example if you see “Japanese Restaurant” or “Indian restaurant” you will know that they offer Japanese dishes or Indian dishes that is quite obvious but if you read the Vietnamese restaurants’ billboards, you will see they often mention a specific region (Hue, Hanoi, Haiphong, etc.).
Some restaurants at Pham Ngu Lao Street, district 1 ask their waiters to stand outside then invite or give the menu to the customers so you do not need to go into the restaurants but still know what they offer and decide to eat or not.
2. Not judging the restaurants by the outward look
The saying ‘do not judge a book by its cover’ heavily applies in Vietnam. Most of the Ho Chi Minh City restaurants do not have the appealing modern look and you should therefore not rule out a place here by the outer look. You may be amazed to find that the best and authentic food is confined within those old looking walls. For example the Nem restaurant (15E, Nguyen Thi Minh Khai street, Ben Nghe Ward, district1, Ho Chi Minh city). The outside of this restaurant is not beautiful or appealing. It looks like a square box with black glass. However, you should get inside to enjoy a very wonderful dish named “Nem cua be” – a special dish from Hai Phong city. It is sure that you will want to return to this restaurant before you leave Saigon.
3. Making simple interaction with the locals
The locals are constant customers to the restaurants and due to this; they know the best places where you can get sumptuous meals. Therefore, chatting up with them will most certainly land you in a great restaurant in Saigon, not forgetting that you will make other new friends. You can make friends with students because they can tell you some restaurants with wonderful dishes but with reasonable price. You may wonder how students in Ho Chi Minh can go to restaurants, it is very simple because they usually go in groups because then they can share the bill and this is much more economical.
4. Following the crowd
This is one of the few occasions where ‘following the crowd’ can actually be beneficial, the reason being, a great place in Ho Chi Minh City has a great following and therefore many visitors. Thus, if you get to a spot which is fully packed, then you most likely are looking at the best eatery around.
5. Making an initial booking
For the renowned Saigon restaurants, they are mostly packed and as a result, getting a table may be challenging. In order to avoid this, you can make a booking prior to your arrival. With this, you will get the table reserved for you and get to enjoy your meal comfortably.
6. Going to a place where restaurants are close together
The simple fact behind this is that, a place where restaurants are close, the quality and diversity of dishes is awesome in order to keep up with the competition. Therefore, if you need mouthwatering meals, you should consider going to a HCMC restaurant bordered by other competing ones.
7. Having a look at the online reviews of the different Saigon restaurants
This is a great option for the first time visitors. This has been promoted by internet which has eased the flow of information. You will ideally get to know about the different eateries here by looking them up online. The information you get includes feedback by clients which will tell you whether the place is great or not.
8. Settling for professionalism in a plate.
By looking at the period of operation (the date the business was launched) and the diversity presented by the HCMC eating spots, you can get an idea of the expertise expected on your plate. Hence, if you need a meal presented with professionalism, you can consider these aspects of business existence and diversity on the meals.
9. Going for a stroll rather than driving
If you are already in this great city, getting to a restaurant in Saigon is considerably easy when walking rather than driving. This is because, you will easily spot a great place when you walk past it and get taken away by the addictive aroma which is not the case when inside your car.
10. Considering the money to part with
Any form of purchase be it goods or services cannot be considered without thinking of money. Therefore, despite the fact that you want wonderful Saigon meals, ensure you look at the prices offered by the different places and you will easily get a pocket friendly place.
About the author: Nick Thompson is a Spain business owner who is living and working in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City). He has his own blog Go-Vietnam and he is also a contributor of Saigon City Guide.
