Quán Ăn Ngon

Quán Ăn Ngon

I like this place.



How can anyone not like it here? The dimmed lights, the lush greens, the flowing water, al fresco (& indoor) dining in a colonial inspired premise, and most of all the variety of authentic Vietnamese food served here.



Quán Ăn Ngon is perhaps the one place we came across that is packed to brim with people. It's almost like you need to get a number for your turn to be seated though the secret is just keep bugging the waiter/waitress that you want a table. Makes the process even faster if you keep it at 2 persons hence why I believe travelling in a small group is better :-) Food is prepared along the corridor, I initially thought it was buffet style! Haha luckily I did not embarass myself by self-service taking the food away.


Nem Nướng Cuốn Bánh Tráng- 70.000 vnd (RM 14)
Grilled minced pork meatballs served with rice vermicelli, Rice papers & vegetables

First on the list was the Vietnamese version of tapas- except eaten with rice papers and not bread! Just chuck everything on the rice paper and roll it up! That's when you get judged on your rolling/wrapping skills.......



I know my wrapping skills is still very failed. The meatballs is lightly grilled and goes well with the other paper roll ingredients ie. fresh lettuce, mint leaves, meehoon-like rolls. As the rice paper is not moistured, it provides a crispy sensation when eaten.


Bún Mắm- 35.000 vnd (RM 7)
Vemicelli soup with seafood & roasted pork in Mekong delta style

We decided to try something else although we still like our pho. The Bún Mắm was recommended by the waiter serving us. It tasted abit spicy and the ingredients can relate to it's distant cousin- the tom yum.


Bo Xiên Nướng- 30.000 vnd (RM 6)
Grilled beef on skewer
Heo Xiên Nướng- 30.000 vnd (RM 6)
Grilled pork on skewer

There was a bbq pit right infront of us and how can we resist not ordering something from there? One skewer each of beef and pork were enough to drive us full.


Chè Súòng Sa Hột Lựu- 16.000 vnd (RM 3.20)
Jelly, water chestnut, tapioca pearls and coconut milk


Dừa Tươi- 20.000 vnd (RM 4)
Fresh Coconut

Quán Ăn Ngon is definitely the place to go in Saigon city for those searching for good Vietnamese food in a lovely ambience. We had wanted to make a revisit here on our last night but it was a bit far for us to walk. FYI, we walked all the way here from our guesthouse and it took us about 45 minutes of walking (& trying to locate it).


Quán Ăn Ngon
160 Pasteur, Phủŏng Bến Nghé, Quận 1,
Tp. Ho Chi Minh.
Tel: (84.8) 3827 7131

[disclaimer: the opinions expressed here are based on my personal views, tastebuds and preference and may vary for others. please dont sue me, i dont have money. kthxbye.]

Phở 2000- Phở for the President

Phở 2000

Upon arrival at Saigon City, our first activity was to EAT! We walked to the city centre in search of food and phở (rice noodles) was our first craving. We stumbled upon Phở 2000 when we were just about to cross the busy streets near Ben Thanh.

Talking about streets, yes you've probably heard it before and I'm gonna reaffirm what others had said, THE STREETS IN VIETNAM IS CRAZYYYYYYY. Cars and motorbikes (tonnes of 'em) just come zooming from every direction and there's literally no way you can ever cross those streets even if it's just 5 meters away! Simple rule of thumb for those crossing for the first time is, always always follow the locals. If they walk, you walk. They stop, you stop. After mastering the beginners level, JUST WALK! The cars and motorbikes will somehow avoid you. Fortunate thing though is they don't drive fast so you won't die as a pancake even if the motorbike hits you. Oh and the honking seems to be their way of saying hello to everyone else on the road.


Bill was here!

Phở 2000 prides itself for having served the President of the United States of America- Bill Clinton. In fact pictures of Bill and his entourage adorned the walls within the shop. When I open my own restaurant in the future, I shall invite Obama to officiate my shop.


Phở Bò
Beef Noodle Soup (R- 33.000 vnd, L-41.000 vnd)

We quickly ordered the Phở Bò, to satisfy our cravings and proudly tell everyone, "We've eaten the REAL Phở Bò yo." The noodles were good, not too soggy and the beef were tender. The soup was flavourful with the basil leaves, chillies (quite hot), beansprouts and a squeeze of lime.


Bùn Chả Giò
Spring Rolls & Vermicelli (33.000 vnd)

Vietnam is also famous for their rice vermicelli and I remember when I was much younger I had this dish during my first Vietnamese meal in Malaysia... The spring rolls were made with meat and other assorted vege that would usually go inside a spring roll. No need for me to elaborate further as the picture already tells you how wonderful it is.


Sinh Tồ Đu Đủ & Sinh Tồ Sapôchê
Papaya Shake (26.000 vnd) & Sapodilla Shake (20.000 vnd)

One of my favourite drinks in Vietnam was the papaya shake (Bangkok was their orange juice). The juices here are relatively cheap compared to Malaysia. Alex had the Sapodilla shake which is actually the Ciku fruit. Yums!


Bowl lickin' good

You know it's good when we both licked our bowls clean. Total bill came to 112.000 vnd or just about RM22. There is no service taxes for restaurants in Vietnam except one that we came across which was abit on the 'atasan' level.

Headin' off to Taiping for work but will be bunking in Ipoh for the night (cos Taiping's hotels are not very haps). Already got a few things in mind that I wanna eat! Will anyone be in Ipoh? If you have my number, call me :-)


Pho 2000
Phan Chu Trinh St. District 1,
Ho Chi Minh City.
Tel: (84.8) 822.2788

26 A Le Thanh Tob St. District 1,
Ho Ci Minh City.
Tel: (84.8)829.2612

[disclaimer: the opinions expressed here are based on my personal views, tastebuds and preference and may vary for others. please dont sue me, i dont have money. kthxbye.]

Assorted Saigon in Collage

From KL to Saigon

There are tonnes of pictures from Day 1 to Day 8 in Vietnam. As much as I would like to post every single one of them, I certainly don't have the time and (bandwidth) to do so. Hence, most pictures will be in collage form except food posts which will be coming soon...

My travel partner (Alex) and I left for Ho Chi Minh City (for laziness sake, I will refer it as Saigon) in the morning and touched down at the quaint historical city an hour and half later. I always do tell people, for the same price (slightly less or more) to travel to East Malaysia, I could do better by going 'abroad' and utilizing my underutilized passport at a shorter traveling duration and experiencing different cultures. Oh and the currency allows me to buy more too :)


Saigon City

We got whisked away to our gueshouse at Bui Vien St- Pham Ngu Loc, District 1 where it is also known as the backpackers street. I will write a separate post on the recommended accomodation but just to share, the accomodation was better than I thought and we really had a great time without having to worry of cleanliness and all.

The first day was spent much on sight seeing around Saigon City. To be honest, you can literally walk the whole Saigon city though you will need very comfy shoes as their pedestrian paths there are pretty screwed up- uneven plaza, some unpaved and some under construction. Our first activity was to EAT. We had pho and proceeded to Ben Thanh Market (similar to Chatuchak Market) to scout for cheap stuff to buy.

Now, before we embarked on the holiday I have read or heard somewhere advising tourists not to take the cyclos (one person trishaw/beca) in Vietnam as you'll suffer the similar consequences as taking the cabs in Malaysia. The first guy who approaced us offered a very unfriendly price so we ignored him. Then came another guy who gave us an offer 50,000 vnd (about RM10) for 2 persons and will take us to 3 tourist place.


The cyclo conning experience

We thought it was a pretty good deal and decided to hop on. Now, to be honest it was a very good experience as these cyclo drivers can manage to manouvere their way through anything (hence, abit scary at times, just like your tuk-tuk). He brought us to all the touristy places we wanted to visit and even more. He kept trying to 'sell-in' his idea of bringing us on a 1 day trip to Mekong. In his words, "Company got new car, I can bring you to Mekong, take you to islands.... only USD50 per person. Very good!"

I hesitated and kept saying I will think about it. Towards the end, he insisted to bring us to his friend's travel agency to buy the ticket. We followed him and it appeared very dodgy. I insisted on seeing some brochures or pictures of what there is to do in Mekong but the lady said she doesn't have.... but cyclo guy assured us that he has some pictures and requested that we purchase the tickets first. Alex and I were smart enough to evade from that situation by saying we'll call them if we are interested and then faster requested him to send us back to the hostel.

He obviously wasn't very happy about it and dropped us off at the park (which still needs abit of walking to the hostel) and when we asked for the price... he said it was 650,000 vnd (RM130) per person!!!! *inserts curse words* Alex and I tried to argue that he said it was only 50,000 vnd but he insisted and we all know very well it was gonna be a dead end arguement with him especially when you're a tourist. It was definitely the MOST EXPENSIVE beca ride I've been on.

We gave him the money and proceeded to curse and stare with prejudice at every cyclo drivers we met for the next 7 days. Oh and we also laugh at others who got 'conned' to ride on the cyclos.

Who Has The Toughest Job in Vietnam?

The Ridiculousness of Ho Chi Minh City's Electric Cables

The electrical man aka Tenaga Nasional Vietnam! May I wish him good luck in his future undertakings of adding/removing/identifying/fixing the cables.

One Photo Post