Vietnamese Sushi....sure?

Two months in Cape Town has been adventurous, but Girl was starting to miss her Vietnamese food. Her lab members spent Friday at a chemistry conference, so Girl got the day off. We decided it would be a good opportunity to go explore for Vietnamese food in Cape Town. Yes, there is Vietnamese food in Cape Town, though our choice was very limited. We were able to find only one restaurant that served Vietnamese food. It was located off Long Street and named “Saigon”.

Vietnamese sushi bar?
Though the name Saigon suggested that it serves Vietnamese food, everything else about its description would suggest otherwise: “Saigon: Vietnamese Restaurant, Sushi Bar & Take Out.” Now, I’m not saying I am a Vietnamese cuisine expert, but from what I have learned being with Girl, I do not think Vietnamese people eat raw fish. Also, I was a little confused as to their choice of logo. They chose to use the modern flag of Vietnam (yellow star on red background), yet use the old pre-Vietnam War era name for Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Wouldn’t it make more sense to either use the old flag (three red stripes on yellow background) with the name Saigon, or use the modern flag with the name Ho Chi Minh? You know, old with old, new with new. Now that I think about it, I don’t know if I would eat at a restaurant named Ho Chi Minh. It doesn’t sound all that appetizing.

He's as confused about the choice of logo as I am
The menu only had a hint of Vietnamese food. Aside from Pho Bo, there was ca kho though the traditional cat fish was substituted with a white king fish, banana flower salad, and a few dishes with lemon grass. The rest of the dishes were some version of Thai, Japanese or Chinese dishes (orange chicken?). Girl ordered Pho Bo and I ordered hot pot soup. Unlike in The States, the hot pot did not come in a pot, but instead, I received a small bowl of mainly broth with a few vermicelli noodles, mussels, calamari, and sparse veggies. Girl ordered the “large” bowl of Pho Bo, though what she got was not so big. Her Pho Bo was the size of a small bowl back home, though she said it tasted “adequate.” Yes, adequate just about describes the taste of the food. The Pho came with nuoc mam, but no basil. Instead, there were three large red lettuce leaves. We will probably not go back to the Saigon Restaurant, and it will probably remain the only Vietnamese cuisine provider in Cape Town for a while.

Typical bowl of Pho Bo
It wasn’t surprising when we learned that the owner of the restaurant was Dutch and there was only one Vietnamese person working in the kitchen. I’m not saying Dutch can’t cook Vietnamese food, but I imagine it would be pretty hard for an African native to replicate dishes he/she has never tasted. On the bright side, the sushi was authentic and has been rated as the “best sushi in Cape Town” on the internet. It probably has something to do with the sushi chef being an older Japanese man.

Needless to say, we are looking forward to getting back to Nashville for some Pho and Banh Mi (my favorite). Yum!
Banh Mi is not your average sandwich